Showing posts with label recipes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recipes. Show all posts

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Gooey Butter Cake

My friend Trudy used make this cake for birthdays when we worked together years ago. Trudy always called it South Saint Louis Gooey Butter Cake. As I think back, it was at least 25 years ago when I first tasted this cake. Trudy now lives in Minneapolis with her husband and three children. I wonder if she still makes this cake?

For some reason, I never asked Trudy for her recipe. A couple of years ago, I purchased Paula Deen's, The Lady and Sons Just Desserts cookbook. Gooey Butter Cake is one of the many delicious dessert recipes in this cookbook. In addition to the traditional Gooey Butter Cake, Paula has recipes for variations of Gooey Butter Cake. Some of these variations are Lemon, Peanut Butter, Chocolate Chip and Banana. I tried the chocolate chip and Banana recipes. With the banana recipe, I felt like the bananas overpowered the flavor of the cake. The chocolate chip was okay but I think I am a Gooey Butter cake purist, I like the original recipe.


Paula Deen's Gooey Butter Cake

Cake
1 yellow cake mix
1 egg
1 stick butter, melted

Filling
1 8 oz package cream cheese (softened)
2 eggs
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 16 oz box confectioners sugar
1 stick butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease 13x9x2 baking pan.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine cake mix, egg and butter and mix well. Pat into the bottom of prepared pan and set aside. Still using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth; add eggs and vanilla. Dump in confectioner's sugar and beat well. Reduce speed of mixer and slowly pour in butter. Mix well. Pour filling onto cake mixture and spread evenly. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Don't overbake, cake should be a little gooey in the center.

Remove from oven and cool completely. Cut into squares.

Enjoy!

Saturday, March 28, 2009

Hamburger Casserole

As I thumb through recipes and cookbooks contemplating what to blog about, I find myself drawn to recipes that remind me of someone or something special. This is a recipe I remember making in high school. I don't know it's origin. My father is one of those people that likes his meat, potatoes and veggies to be in their separate place on his dinner plate. He's not much for casseroles. This Hamburger Casserole is the one casserole that my Dad eats and actually loves. My Dad turns 90 in a few weeks, I think I will make this for his birthday dinner.



Hamburger Casserole
Into a well buttered casserole dish, place layers in order . Season each layer with salt and pepper.
2 -3 medium potatoes, sliced
2 -3 carrots, sliced
Can of peas (drained, saving liquid)
1 onion, sliced
1 stalk of celery, sliced
Over top of vegetables, placed 1 pound of ground beef, browned and drained.
Combine liquid from peas with can of tomato soup and pour over the top of ground beef.
Cover. Bake at 325 for 2 hours.

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Nana's Quick Chocolate Cake

The quick chocolate cake we often enjoy is a recipe passed down from my best friends mother and my son's grandmother. Cancer took Nana from us too soon, as it sometimes does with our loved ones. This is one of those recipes you pass on and everyone loves. It's easy to make...hence the title...and oh so delicious.



Nana's Quick Chocolate Cake

4.6 oz box cook and serve chocolate pudding - cook as directed
1 box chocolate cake mix (any kind, do not make as directed)

After pudding comes to a boil, add box of cake mixture. Mix well, it will be a little lumpy.
Spread into 9 x 13 pan (grease and flour pan first) - sprinkle with 10 oz bag chocolate chips(nuts optional)

Bake according to time and temperature on cake mix box.

Sunday, March 8, 2009

Champagne Risotto with Leeks and Asparagus

Nine years ago, along with several of my girlfriends, I took a cooking class on Risotto. I'd always wanted to learn to make risotto but was reluctant because all I ever heard was how difficult it was to make.

If someone were to ask me if risotto is difficult to make, I would say it is not. However, I do feel it is one of those dishes that takes time and TLC. For me, risotto is total comfort food. In traditional Italian restaurants, risotto is served prior to the main course. I prefer to serve it as the main course. This particular risotto recipe is meatless which for some, like my husband, disqualifies it as a main dish.

The key to great risotto is the rice. Superfino Arborio is what is used most often to make excellent risotto. It has the longest, fattest grain, the characteristic white kernel in the centerand a capacity to absorb liquid.



Choose a heavy pot with a stainless steel interior. The pot should have sides at least 4" high with a surface area that is not too wide, which would cause the liquid to evaporate too quickly. Assemble all of your ingredients ahead of time so you can tend to the pot as the risotto cooks. Your liquid should be heated to a simmer prior to starting your risotto.



Champagne Risotto with Leeks and Asparagus

1 pound asparagus. Trim ends. Cut into thirds.
(I prefer to cut the aspargus into smaller pices)
2 leeks.
(Cut the leeks just below the dark green part. A leek has a lot of layers on the inside. These layers have sandy grit and dirt between them. You have to wash a leek well. If you are going to cut the leaks into rings or small strips, do that first, and then put them in a bowl of cool water.)
1 shallot, peeled and chopped.
6 Tablespoons butter, olive oil can be substituted but butter is preferred.
1 quart of Chicken Stock
1/2 bottle of Champagne
2 cups arborio rice
Salt, Pepper
1/2 cup - 1 cup parmesano reggiano, freshly grated

1. Heat stock and 1/2 bottle of champagne in a separate pot. When simmering, begin the risotto.
2. In the saucepan you are using for the risotto, saute shallots and leeks in 3 Tablespoons butter until opaque and bright green. Approximately 3 minutes.
3. Add rice and continue to saute for 3 minutes. Stirring frequently.
4. Begin adding stock, 1 ladle at a time. Stirring frequently. When liquid is almost all absorbed, add the next ladle of stock. (Correct heat is very important in making risotto. It should be very lively but if it is too hot the liquid will evaporate too quickly and the rice won't cook evenly.)
5. Continue this process until the rice is al dente and most of the stock is incorporated. This will take about 20 - 25 minutes. Stir when adding each ladle of sauce.
6. Add asparagus pieces. Taste. Adjust seasonings and continue cooking for 5 minutes. Asparagus should be just tender and bright green.
(I always feel that it needs salt)
7. Rice should be creamy and soft in texture and al dente.
8. Finish with remaining 3 tablespoons of butter and parmesano.
9. Stir and serve immediately.

Risotto cannot be prepared ahead of time. It cannot be reheated. I make risotto cakes out of my leftovers. I flour my hands and make small risotto cakes. I dip the cakes in an egg wash and then flour. Heat olive oil in a skillet, cook the cakes until golden brown and hot.

Sunday, March 1, 2009

Memories of Girl Scout Cookie Time

Who doesn't love Girl Scout cookies? I am always thrilled when a neighbor or someone at work has a daughter who is selling Girl Scout cookies. This year did not disapoint me, a neighbor and someone at Tim's work sold cookies.

Besides being a yummy treat, Girl Scout cookies take me back to my childhood. I was a Girl Scout and do have fond memories of putting on that uniform and going door to door selling them. Do Girl Scouts even wear uniforms today? I know there are a lot more varieties of cookies today then back in the 60's when I sold them.

I always buy at least a couple of boxes of Thin Mints, the best selling cookie. Also reminiscent of my childhood is a recipe for Mint Brownie Pie, using Thin Mints. After rifling through my accordion file under Pies for the recipe and coming up empty, I felt that feeling in the pit of your stomach when you lose or break something important to you. The last time I remembered making the recipe was at the lake a few years ago. One more slot to look in, could it be in Frozen Pies? Even though it's not a frozen pie, refrigerated yes, frozen no. Yes, there it was, filed in Frozen Pies by mistake.




I am not sure of the origin of this recipe. It dates back to the early 70's. The recipe card was part of what must have been one of my first recipe books. My accordion files contain several of these handwritten recipe cards. This week, I was trying to remember the name of the little girl on the recipe card. You know that feeling when you know you should know the name and just can't come up with it? I did the Alphabet memory trick...A? No B? No, nothing was jogging my memory. I tried googling dolls from the 70's, although I wasn't really sure she was a doll. Today I reached for my husbands reading glasses, hoping it would really magnify the small print just under her image. Just as I was holding the glasses over the print, it came to me...Betsey Clark. Betsey Clark was an artist for Hallmark cards who created this little girl.






Mint Brownie Pie

19 Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies
1 cup sugar
4 egg whites
dash of salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1 cup whipped cream

Chill cookies in refrigerator several minutes. Break or cut into even crumbs. Beat egg whites and salt together until peaks form. Gradually beat in sugar until stiff peaks form. Fold in cookie crumbs, nuts and vanilla. Spread into buttered 9" pan.

Bake 35 minutes at 325. Once pie has cooled, spread on whipped cream. Chill in refrigerator 3 -4 hours before serving.