NOOK edition now available

My book, Masters & Disasters of Cooking is now available as an ebook for the NOOK e-reader on the Barnes and Noble web site.

For a limited time only, get Free Ground Shipping when you purchase the print edition of Masters & Disasters of Cooking. This would make a great Christmas gift for a cook of any level, or anyone that loves good comical stories. Visit my web site for details on the FREE shipping discount.

Butter Pound Cake

I have a Butter Pound Cake in the oven right now and it is already making the house smell good. Back in 2010, I wrote a post about Lemon Pound Cake saying that when I make it I use a cake mix with a box of pudding. This time, I'm making a Butter Pound Cake and using an easy recipe that I have which makes a wonderful cake from scratch. If you're on a diet, I wouldn't read any further. This one is rich. If the icing doesn't appeal to you, dusting the top of the cake with powdered sugar is another option.

If you look at my last post about Pound Cakes, you will see that you can use just about any type of pan. I normally use a Bundt pan, which is what is mentioned in the recipe below.

Butter Pound Cake

1 C. butter, at room temperature
1 3/4 C. sugar
5 eggs
2 C. flour
1 t. vanilla

Preheat oven to 325 f. Grease and flour a Bundt pan, set aside. With a mixer, cream the butter, sugar, and vanilla together. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each egg. Slowly add the flour a little at a time. Once the batter is mix thoroughly pour into the Bundt pan and bake for about an hour. Remove from oven and let cool slightly. Invert cake onto a plate. Let cake cool completely before applying icing below.

Powdered Sugar Icing

1/2 C. powdered sugar
1 T. butter, softened
1/2 t. vanilla

Mix all ingredients together and add boiling water a spoonful at a time until the mixture reaches the consistency to drizzle over the cake. Too thin and it will run off of the cake.

Masters & Disasters of Cooking on sale

My book, Masters & Disasters of Cooking is on sale for a limited time. Take 15% off your purchase from now until October 7, 2011. This book would make a great Christmas gift for you favorite cook or someone who loved funny stories. To purchase the book at 15% off, visit my web site. Thanks.

Carol

Community Salad

Below is an excerpt from my book, Masters & Disasters of Cooking. It's available in both print and ebook at Lulu.com or in print at amazon.com.

I love salads, but hate to make them. With the convenience of lettuce in bags now, putting together a bog salad is much easier than it used to be. This recipe is one that we’ve made at my office several times. Each of my co-workers in the office would be responsible for bringing in at least one ingredient listed in the recipe. Just before lunch, someone puts it all together in a large bowl and we have a great healthy lunch that everyone enjoys.

Chef’s Salad

1 large package lettuce, washed thoroughly
lean ham, cut into small pieces
1/2 pkg. fresh spinach
tomatoes, diced
radishes, sliced
1 cucumber, chopped
fresh mushrooms, sliced
green or red peppers, chopped
red onions, sliced into rings
broccoli flowerets
cauliflower flowerets
1 apple, chopped
1/4 lb. Cheddar cheese, shredded
1/4 lb. ham, chopped
1 pkg. Good Seasons Italian dressing
1 packet artificial sweetener croutons, optional

Mix all vegetables together in a large bowl. Add apple and ham and cheese as a top layer. Finish with rings of red onions and tomatoes. Mix Good Seasons dressing according to directions on package, but add the artificial sweetener prior to the oil. Add the dressing to salad just before serving.

91 Days Until Christmas

From now until Christmas, I plan on occasionally posting ideas for home-made gifts from the kitchen and maybe even some non-food gifts. Every year, I tried to make something from the kitchen for my family and friends for Christmas. I have a pretty long list and want to share some of my favorites to hopefully give you some ideas that you can use.

I'm going to start with my favorite, Hot Chocolate Cones with homemade hot chocolate mix. I've made the hot chocolate mix several times for my co-workers. The first time I made it, I found some really nifty small glass jars with hinged lids at Big Lots to put them in. I think the jars were only $1.00 each. The last time I gave the hot chocolate, I made the Hot Chocolate Cones and they were a huge success, so much so that my boss wanted to order about 50 of them for his wife to give as gifts at work. That was a little too many for me to work on in the short amount of time I had, so I had to decline, but it might be something you could think about. Just remember to check your state's health codes about making and selling food items.

Homemade Hot Chocolate

8 quarts powdered milk
1 - 15 oz. can Nestle Quick
1 - 6 oz. jar powdered non-dairy creamer
2 c. powdered sugar
1/2 bag mini marshmallows - optional

Mix all of the above ingredients, except the marshmallows, in a huge bowl. Store in containers to give as gifts. Add a tag with instructions that say "4 1/2 T. of mix to a hot mug of hot water and enjoy."

Hot Chocolate Cones

Homemade Hot Chocolate Mix, recipe above
mini marshmallows
milk chocolate chips
clear disposable cake decorating bags
wire ties
ribbon

To make it less messy, each cone will use 2 cake decorating bags. In the first bag, place enough mix to make two cups of hot chocolate. Tie the bag closed with a wire tie and trim off the excess of the bag. Place that bag into a second bag. Push the top of the first bag down as well as you can and then pour about 1/8 of a cup of the chocolate chips on top and enough to cover the top of the first bag. On top of the chocolate chips, put about 1/4 c. mini marshmallows. If you want to add some pink marshmallows, or whatever they might have around Christmas, for a little color you can. Twist the second bag close with a wire tie and with the ribbon, tie a tag on it with the mixing instructions.

You can find cake decorating bags at just about any craft store and also at Walmart.

Carol

Healthy Broccoli Cauliflower Casserole

I can never refuse Broccoli Cauliflower Casserole and I have the best recipe. While it is fairly healthy to start with since it has so many veggies in it, I think I have made it even a little more healthy by altering the ingredients just a little.

The recipe calls for Velveta Cheese, butter or margarine, and cream of mushroom soup. All of these have a high fat content, but by substituting lower fat versions, the dish can meet many diet plans. White rice is also another ingredient. I suppose you could substitute the higher fiber brown rice, but I've never tried that. I'm just not a fan of brown rice, so I keep the white rice in it.

The recipe says to bake this in the oven, however, when I prepare this I make in the microwave. From steaming the broccoli and cauliflower to the final preparation, I use the microwave which helps keep the kitchen cool.

Broccoli Cauliflower Casserole

1 - 10 oz. bag of frozen chopped broccoli
1 - 10 oz. bag of frozen cauliflower
1 c. cooked rice
1 c. Velveta Cheese 2% Milk, cut into small pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 stick low fat margarine
1 can fat-free cream of mushroom soup
Seasoned bread crumbs

Steam the broccoli and cauliflower in the microwave according to directions on the bags. Saute the onion in the margarine. Mix all of the ingredients together in a casserole dish. Spread bread crumbs on top. Bake at 350° oven for 30 minutes, or microwave on high for 5 minutes.

Brownie Power

I was contacted this week by the Administrator of BrowniePower blog about exchanging links. When that happens, I always check out the blog before I agree and when I visited this site, I was not disappointed. Come on, who doesn't like brownies? OMG, this site has the best brownie recipes on it. The first recipe I'm going to try is the York Peppermint Brownies. I highly recommend the BrowniePower Blog. This is going to kill my diet, but brownies are so worth it.

Carol