The Best Chocolate Sheet Cake. Ever. When I posted my recipe for "The Best Lasagna Ever" yesterday, I couldn’t have anticipated that I’d wind up hearing from Draco, a real-live Italian who lives near Bologna, Italy, where lasagna was first created. Nor could I have ever predicted I’d hear from MP, who lives in an Italian neighborhood and buys Parmiganno-Regianno by the bag, dang it. I might just go ahead at this point and clarify that yes, my lasagna is, in fact, "The Best Ever"…unless you live near Bologna, Italy or in an Italian neighborhood or anywhere near Mario Batali. Okay? Now…this cake? The Cast of Characters. First, melt 2 sticks regular (not unsalted) butter in a saucepan. When the butter is melted, add 4 heaping tablespoons cocoa powder… And mix thoroughly. With the heat still on, pour in the boiling water… And allow the mixture to bubble for 30 seconds. Turn off heat. In a large mixing bowl, combine 2 cups flour, 2 cups sugar… And 1/4 teaspoon salt. Stir together. Pour the hot butter/chocolate mixture over the top…
OuR KrAzy kItChEn...: Save Room for Dessert...Cajun Cake AKA, dump cake, which is a rather unattractive moniker for such a delicious, yet easy, cake. Growing up in largely Cajun town of LaPlace, La, I ate this cake often, and I've never tired of it. Nor will you, I dare say. My version is an adaptation from an old cookbook of my mother's, Cajun Cooking. I pumped up the flavor using brown sugar for some of the granulated, as well as adding both vanilla and a pinch of salt, which rounds out the flavor. Also, because we're all about the icing, I doubled the icing recipe. Cajun Cake 2 cups flour 1 cup granulated sugar 1/2 cup brown sugar 2 teaspoons baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 16-oz crushed pineapple with juice 2 large eggs Coconut-Pecan Icing Preheat oven to 350 degrees; butter or spray an 11x7 baking dish and set aside. Coconut-Pecan Icing 12-oz can evaporated milk 2 sticks unsalted butter 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar 2 cups packed shredded, sweetened coconut 1 cups toasted and chopped pecans 1 teaspoon vanilla 1/4 teaspoon salt
Petite Lasagnas | Can You Stay For Dinner? - StumbleUpon recipe slightly adapted from Hungry Girl (makes 12) 12 oz raw ground turkey ¼ tsp salt, divided ¼ tsp pepper 1 cup chopped onion ½ cup chopped mushrooms 14.5 oz can crushed tomatoes, or tomato sauce 2 cloves garlic, minced 3 tsp dried oregano, divided ½ tsp dried basil 1 ½ cups part skim ricotta cheese 24 small square wonton wrappers (the kind near the tofu in the refrigerated section of the produce dept) 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese Preheat oven to 375ºF. Add the crushed tomatoes and 2 tsp of oregano. In a large bowl, combine the ricotta, a pinch of salt and pepper, the remaining teaspoon of oregano, and the basil. Coat a 12-cup muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. Using half of the ricotta mixture, divide it among the 12 muffin cups. Gently press another wonton wrapper on top of the mozzarella layer. Repeat the process by distributing the remaining ricotta, then the remaining tomato sauce, and finally the rest of the shredded mozzarella. Nutrition Info for 1 petite lasagna:
Appetizer Recipe: Bacon-Wrapped Potato Bites with Spicy Sour Cream Dipping Sauce | Apartment Therapy The Kitchn Okay, we're not going to win any awards for thinking up this combination, but hey — these potato bites are easy, delicious, and perfect for a sports-loving crowd, should you find yourself surrounded by one this weekend. They even remind us of sports-bar food ... like little deconstructed potato skins. (Image credit: Emma Christensen) We decided to make these after countless evenings munching on these bacon-wrapped dates, which are also very yummy, but got us thinking about other things we could wrap in bacon. If you can find tiny new potatoes, those would be even more aesthetically precious. With the creamy wedge of potato and the crunchy bacon, the sour cream dip is what pushes this appetizer over the edge. Makes about 3 dozen bites 1 pound small or medium red potatoes 2 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided 1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary 1 tablespoon olive oil Freshly ground pepper 12 ounces to 1 pound thick-cut bacon 1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream 1 to 3 teaspoons hot sauce Salt and pepper
Speech-language therapy resources and games that work Pierogi Recipe | Cooking Momofuku at home - Momofuku for two - StumbleUpon October 2, 2010 My mom is obsessed with keeping a stocked freezer, but I guess I don’t really take after her, because my freezer tends to be relatively empty, aside from random containers of stock/ramen broth, frozen dumplings and pierogi. I admit, I store buy frozen chinese dumplings and pierogi for those times that I just don’t feel like cooking. I tell myself it’s because of ease and convenience, but really, I just love the taste of frozen pockets filled with deliciousness. Pierogi are fast, tasty, and ideal for when I let myself get too hungry and become a crazy unthinking monster. It’s Oktoberfest right now and that means two things: beer and sausages. I found an old Gourmet magazine pierogi recipe on epicurious.com and for my first pierogi making experience, it was great. I couldn’t resist putting my own twist on the pierogi though: instead of filling all the pierogi with a potato cheddar cheese filling, I mixed up potatoes with green onion oil.
Blueberry Oatmeal Crumble Bars Blueberry Oatmeal Crumble bars with crumbly oats, plump and juicy blueberries and a hint of lemon make these crumble bars the perfect snack or dessert. These bars are super easy to make, taste delicious and wonderful for those upcoming summer cookouts, picnics, or pot lucks. They have the picture perfect balance of fruity, tangy and crumbly. You might have noticed that these oatmeal crumble bars are similar to the Blueberry Crumble Bars that I shared with you in January, except with these the crust and crumble have crunchy oats. These crumble bars are best straight out of the refrigerator and even better topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream! Blueberry Oatmeal Crumble Bars Printer Friendly Version For the Filling:3 cups fresh or frozen blueberries1 tablespoon lemon juice1 teaspoon lemon zest1/2 cup sugar2 tablespoon cornstarch For the Crumble and Crust: Directions: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Yields: 20 bars Source: adapted from Baking Bites, originally adapted from Land O Lakes
Alligator Eggs! A puzzle game by Bret Victor / May 1, 2007 Materials Step 1: Print out this PDF onto six or so different colored sheets of paper.(Even better, photocopy it onto cardstock.) Step 2: Print out this PDF onto a couple white sheets of paper. Step 3: Cut out the pieces! Pieces These are hungry alligators: Hungry alligators are hungry. These are old alligators: Old alligators are not hungry. These are eggs: Eggs hatch into new families of alligators! Families Here's a small family: A green alligator is guarding her green egg. Here's a slightly bigger family: A green alligator and red alligator are guarding a green egg and a red egg. Here's a huge family! We've got yellow, green, red alligators guarding this family. Notice that eggs only use the colors of the alligators guarding them. Eating Now, things are going to get messy. That green alligator sure is hungry. I think you know what happens next. Unfortunately, the green alligator's eyes were bigger than her stomach. Now, we're down to one family. And eat!
Creamy Roasted Tomato & Basil Soup recipe - StumbleUpon Hi All! The very first time I had REAL tomato-basil soup for the first time at The Noodle Cafe when I was about 12 or 13. This little gem is in a small suburb of Chicago (where I grew up) and to this day it’s still one of my all time favorite restaurants. There are a few reasons for this: 1) The food is amazing. 2) All of there food is made from scratch…including their pasta (duh) 3) The restaurant itself is teeny tiny…teeny tiny in the best way possible, with only a handful of tables. 4) They have some of the most personal, friendly staff you could ask for, with amazing service. Anyways, this place is known for a few things, there pastas, their caesar pasta salad (yea you’re reading that correctly) and last but not least….their creamy.tomato.basil.soup. Creamy Roasted Tomato & Basil Soup Makes 7 cups Directions: 1.
Banana and Chocolate Mascarpone Crepes | Evil Shenanigans - Baking & Cooking Blog The combination of chocolate and banana is highly underrated. Aside from some frozen bananas dipped in chocolate, and chocolate chip banana bread, the combination is largely overlooked. Well, break out your bananas because we are going to make something that will make chocolate lovers rejoice. The crepes are chocolate but they do not have any sugar in them. If you love chocolate and bananas then you need to make this recipe. Banana and Chocolate Mascarpone Crepes Yield 12 crepes For the crepes: 2 tablespoons Dutch-processed cocoa powder 1/2 teaspoon vanilla 2 eggs 3 ounces all-purpose flour 1 ounce unsalted butter, melted and cooled 1 tablespoon coffee liquor 3/4 cup Milk, 1% or higher For the filling: 6 ounces mascarpone cheese 1/3 cup powdered sugar 1/2 cup heavy cream 3 tablespoons Dutch-processed cocoa powder 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 tablespoon coffee liquor Pinch of salt 3-4 large bananas, sliced into 1/8″ disks Additional powdered sugar for dusting Chill the batter for 30 minutes.
Gillian McKeith | You Are What You Eat DAY ONE l DAY TWO l DAY THREE l DAY FOUR l DAY FIVE l DAY SIX l DAY SEVEN It’s a good idea to have some pulses sprouting throughout the week for use in salads and stir-fries and as snacks, so get sprouting. Good choices include mung beans, puy lentils, green lentils, brown lentils and chickpeas. 7:30 - A glass of warm water with lemon juice. A nettle tea 7:45 - Brisk 20-minute walk 8:15 - One pear 8:45 - Quinoa porridge. 10:15 - Vegetable juice. 12:00 - Brisk 20-minute walk 12:30 - Chickpea and mint soup with grated carrot salad. Mid pm - Bean dip with vegetable crudités. 6:00 - Dance for 20 minutes to loud music 6:30 - Chestnut roast with steamed vegetables 9:00 - A small handful of almonds Put some prunes and muesli in soak for tomorrow. Soak some chickpeas, alfalfa, mung beans and lentils for sprouting ^ Top 7:30 - A glass of warm water. 8:15 - A bowl of soaked prunes 8:45 - Soaked muesli 10:30 - A small handful of mixed seeds 12:00 - A brisk 20-minute walk 9:00 - A small pot of soya yoghurt
Lemon-Basil Ricotta Stuffed Shells in a Champagne Cream Sauce: - StumbleUpon Can you EVEN believe I almost forgot to share with you this delicious baked pasta recipe? It was back in November when I made this pasta… and I remember the day perfectly… It was real sunny. My hair in a scrunchy, the stretchy grey comfy-pants are on, I was totally rocking the whole I-don’t-give-a-care-what-I-look-like-it’s-my-day-off look like nobody’s business. I’d once again put laundry on the back burner that afternoon {who has time for THAT?} POW {that’s the sound it makes in my brain when a recipe happens}! Please don’t think I ran out and bought champagne. Butter a baking dish and set aside. On the large holes of your box grater; shred a cup of Pecorino Romano or Parmesan cheese. Season the ricotta with a little extra salt and pepper if you haven’t already. Combine half of the pecorino with the ricotta and set aside. Measure out 3/4 cup of champagne. Cook the pasta just short of al dente in salted water. Drain and spread them out onto a rimmed sheet pan or some parchment paper.
makes » how to make butter Homemade butter is easy, relatively quick to make and amazingly delicious. If it cost less than buying butter at the grocery store, it would be too good to be true, which is why this is not the case. All things considered, though, I still think it’s well worth it. This stuff is precious, so I think the best use of it is not in baking, but rather, on top of freshly baked, still warm, bread, muffins or crumpets. Are you ready for this? It’s intense. We begin with cream. Next, get a container with a tight-fitting screw-on lid that will not spurt cream all over your kitchen when you shake it vigorously. Begin shaking the container up and down in a rhythmic pattern. The next 3 minutes will feel like you’re shaking a brick. All of a sudden, within just a few shakes, the jar will begin going “shuk shuk shuk” and you’ll be able to feel the butter separating from the buttermilk. After that, let the faucet water get as cold as it gets, then fill the jar to just under the top of the butter.