Carrot Cake - SMS

Thanks for stopping by Little Bit of Everything. I am so excited!! This is my week to host Sweet Melissa Sunday's. As I flipped through the cookbook a few weeks ago, it was hard to decide which recipe to choose. I wanted a recipe I could make without a big FAIL and something I knew I would like. I love carrot cake. The best carrot cake I've ever eaten was at an Omaha restaurant, The Flatiron . The chef, Jennifer Coco, is nominated for a James Beard award for the second year in a row. The Flatiron's carrot cake was to die for yummy!! I am in search of that carrot cake recipe. Would this one be the one?

I admit I haven't baked a lot of layer cakes. For sure, I haven't baked many from scratch. One of the first was this one. The results were great and left me feeling encouraged to bake more layer cakes. One of my 2010 cooking resolutions is to attend cake decorating classes. I wish I had done that before this week, so my cake would be even a fraction as beautiful as some of the other SMS bakers.

Baking a layer cake always takes me back to my childhood. My mother made a lot of layer cakes. Although no one recipe sticks in my mind. Do you think that's because the mind isn't what it used to be? I remember when she was baking a cake and I would come stomping into the kitchen, she'd say walk softly or you'll make the cake fall. We had to tiptoe through the kitchen. We didn't dare think about opening the door. I opened the door at one point on this cake and could hear my mother scolding me!

The only carrot cake I've ever made uses baby food carrots. It's a delicious moist cake and so easy to put together. This cake was relatively easy to put together. The most time consuming part is grating the carrots. If you have a food processor, it makes it easier.

I've read some of the other Sweet Melissa bloggers comments about the 1 1/2 tablespoons of cinnamon in this recipe being a typo. I thought it seemed liked a lot but I love cinnamon, so I didn't hesitate to go ahead with tablespoons instead of teaspoons.

When I tested the cake at 40 minutes, it was done. I was concerned that it might be overdone but it was perfect.

I'm sad to say this wasn't the to die for carrot cake recipe. I thought this cake was good but not great. The texture is the moist texture you expect in a carrot cake but the cake is lacking in flavor. I liked the bites with frosting much better than the ones without. I am glad I used the cinnamon as tablespoons and not teaspoons or it would have really been lacking in flavor. I am anxious to see what the other Sweet Melissa Sunday's bakers thought of this recipe.

Along with each recipe in the book, Melissa shares a story or some other tidbit about the recipe you are making. Melissa made this cake for her sisters wedding.

Carrot Cake with Fresh Orange Cream Cheese Frosting
- makes one 8-inch cake -
From...The Sweet Melissa Baking Book, by Melissa Murphy.

Ingredients
For the cake:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
4 large eggs
3/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 pound carrots, grated medium fine
3/4 cup walnut pieces, coarsely chopped

For the fresh orange cream cheese frosting:
12 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
Zest of 1 orange
1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softene
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Procedure
Before you start
Position a rack in the center of your oven. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Butter and flour two 8x2-inch round cake pans. Line each pan with an 8-inch round of parchment paper.

To make the cake

1. in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and baking powder.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whip attachment, beat the eggs at high speed until light and frothy, about 1 minute. Decrease the speed to medium and add the oil, sugar, and salt, and mix until just combined. Decrease the speed to low and add the flour mixture, mixing until just combined.

3. Remove the bowl from the mixer. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the carrots and walnuts.

4. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared cake pans. Spin the pans to level the batter. Bake for 45 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove to a rack to cool for 20 minutes before turning the layers out onto the rack. Cool completely before filling or frosting.

To make the frosting
1. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the cream cheese, sugar, and zest. Start on low speed and then increase to medium-high speed and beat until smooth, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

2. Add the butter and mix on medium speed until just fluffy and smooth, about 45 seconds more. Add the vanilla and mix until just combined. Do not overbeat.

To complete the cake

1. Cut 4 strips of wax or parchment paper about 12 inches long by 3 inches wide. Place the bottom cake layer trimmed side up on your serving plate. Tuck the wax paper under the edges of your cake on all sides. Later, after frosting the cake, you can pull away the stripes to reveal a nice clean serving plate.

2. Using a metal offset spatula, spread the filling across the top of the layer, but leave about 1/2 inch uncovered around the outside edges. (This leaves room for the filling to be squished down but to stay inside the cake.)

3. Place the second layer trimmed side down on top of the filling and press down gently with your hands.

4. Apply a light, even layer of frosting on all sides of the cake. Place the cake in the refrigerator to chill for a good 30 minutes.

5. After the crumb coat has chilled, smooth on your final layer of frosting.
The cake keeps in a cake saver in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. It tastes great eaten at room temperature or chilled.

Roast Chicken

I've made Roast Chicken several times recently but I've forgotton to photograph until after we'd carved it. Roast Chicken is a wonderful Sunday dinner.

As with all roasting, this chicken is cooked at a high temperature. The last couple of times I've made this, we've had to turn off the smoke detector, open the doors and windows because of all the smoke it created. I did some reading and discovered there are a couple of things you can do to prevent this. One, which I used this time, is to line the bottom with vegetables. The other way is to put water or chicken broth in the bottom of the pan. This worked perfectly, no smoke at all and the oven is so much cleaner.

Roast Chicken is a perfect Sunday dinner. The great thing about Roast Chicken is you can cook once and have at least two more meals from one chicken. I use the leftover chicken for chicken salad or chicken quesadillas and I make chicken broth from the bones.

Do you have a favorite roast chicken recipe?




Roast Chicken
Adapted from Ina Garten

1 (5 to 6 pound) roasting chicken
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 large bunch fresh thyme
1 lemon, halved
1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise
1 large yellow onion, thickly sliced
4 carrots cut into 2-inch chunks
4 - 5 potatoes cut into chunks
Olive oil

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Remove the chicken giblets. Rinse the chicken inside and out. Liberally salt and pepper the inside of the chicken. Stuff the cavity with the bunch of thyme, both halves of lemon, and all the garlic. Brush the outside of the chicken with olive oil and sprinkle again with salt and pepper. Tie the legs together with kitchen string and tuck the wing tips under the body of the chicken. Place the onions, carrots, and potatoes. Toss with salt, pepper, thyme, and olive oil. Spread around the bottom of the roasting pan and place the chicken on top.

Roast the chicken for 1 1/2 hours, until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and thigh or a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest part of the thigh registers 180. Remove the chicken and vegetables to a platter and cover with aluminum foil for about 20 minutes. Slice the chicken onto a platter and serve it with the vegetables.

Childhood Memories of Jello Salad

How many of you remember those jello salads at family dinners or holidays? I know I do!!! In recent years, I've come to associate jello with being sick or having a medical procedure. Not a good association. While cleaning the basement, I ran across my jello molds. I am not sure if these came from my mom or Tim's mom. Finding these brought a smile to my face and memories of those jello salads from childhood.

I am not sure I have ever made a molded jello salad.

Julie's Jello Salad

1 box of Tropical Jello
2 cups boiling water
1 can of crushed pineapple
2 bananas
1 carton of Strawberry Greek yogurt

Add the boiling water to the jello, stir well. Chill until partially set. Whip until fluffy, gradually add yogurt, whipping until smooth. Add crushed pineapple.

Grease jello mold with cooking spray. Pour jello into mold. Add sliced bananas. Chill until set.

When ready to serve, dip the jello mold into a sink of hot water. Don't leave it in the hot water too long. Place a plate on top of the mold. Flip over to invert.

No SMS Today - No Knead Bread

After being on the scales at the doctor's office recently, I was reminded to cut back on baking sweets. I don't know about you but if they're in the house, I have NO willpower. I eat them!!

This week's Sweet Melissa Sunday's recipe, Roasted Pecan Cake, was chosen by the creative and talented Leslie at Lethaly Delicious. Sorry, Leslie but I had to pass one this one! You can also find the links to the other SMS bakers here!

Instead I am posting about another food I love, bread. Okay I think I see why those scales are going the wrong way, desserts and bread!! But what's better than the warm, wonderful smell that fills the kitchen while bread is baking? Maybe eating it while it is warm?

Last week while browsing the blogsphere, I found this recipe for No Knead Bread. No Knead Bread seems to be all the buzz these days. Sounds easy enough, why not give it a try?

The recipe calls for cracked peppercorns. Not easy to do. I ended up using my wooden meat mallet. Even with that, I ended up with some uncracked ones! Next time, I think I will use my coffee grinder. The dough is very, very sticky. Basically it's the type of dough you would expect with out kneading.

No Knead Bread is known for it's beautifully browned, crisp crust. None of my dutch ovens are safe in a 450 degree oven, so I used a glass casserole pan. My crust was browned but not as crisp as I would have liked. I am browsing the aisles at Goodwill in hopes of finding an old cast iron dutch oven.

We enjoyed the peppery flavor of this bread. We used the leftovers for grilled cheese sandwiches. Yum! I want to try making this bread with rosemary and garlic. I love the smell of rosemary while something is baking!

What ingredients would you like to use in this recipe?






Peppercorn, Potato, and Parmesan No-Knead Bread
- makes one 1 1/2-pound loaf -

Adapted from The Art of Eating In by Cathy Erway.

Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
About 3 tablespoons black peppercorns, cracked (I placed mine in a Ziploc bag and rolled over it with a rolling pin several times)
1 5/8 cups water that was used to boil a potato, slightly cooled
Parmesan

Procedure
1. In a large bowl, combine flour, yeast, salt, and pepper. Add water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest for at least 12 hours, preferably about 18 (or two days), at warm room temperature, about 70°F.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest for about 15 minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball, tucking folded parts underneath. Sprinkle and gently pat grated Parmesan across the top of the loaf. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, semolina, or cornmeal, and place the loaf seam-side down in it. Coat another towel with flour and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, the dough will me more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4. At least half an hour before dough is ready, preheat oven to 450°F. Put a 6-8 quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex, or ceramic) in the oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slid your hand under the towel and place dough Parmesan side up in the pot. Cover with lid and bake 20 minutes; then remove lid and bake another 15 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

One Year Ago Champagne Asparagus Risotto.

Golden Crusted Brussels Sprouts

While shopping at Costco recently, my husband suggested we purchase brussels sprouts! Amazing! This is a guy who a year or so ago refused to even think about eating brussels sprouts.

I have a couple of brussels sprouts recipes that we love. There's this one, given to me by son and this one I found on the internet! I wanted to make something different this time. I found this recipe on 101 Cookbooks, Heidi Swanson's wonderful blog!

These are delicious and so easy to make!



I am sharing this with all of the other Foodie Friday participants over at Designs by Gollum. Check them out, there's a ton of great posts.

Golden Crusted Brussels Sprouts
24 small brussels sprouts
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for rubbing
fine-grain sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup grated cheese of your choice - I used Robusto

Wash the brussels sprouts well. Trim the stem ends and remove any raggy outer leaves. Cut in half from stem to top and gently rub each half with olive oil, keeping it intact (or if you are lazy just toss them in a bowl with a glug of olive oil).

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in your largest skillet over medium heat. Don't overheat the skillet, or the outsides of the brussels sprouts will cook too quickly. Place the brussels sprouts in the pan flat side down (single-layer), sprinkle with a couple pinches of salt, cover, and cook for roughly 5 minutes; the bottoms of the sprouts should only show a hint of browning. Cut into or taste one of the sprouts to gauge whether they're tender throughout. If not, cover and cook for a few more minutes.

Once just tender, uncover, turn up the heat, and cook until the flat sides are deep brown and caramelized. Use a metal spatula to toss them once or twice to get some browning on the rounded side. Season with more salt, a few grinds of pepper, and a dusting of grated cheese.

Western Iowa Wine Trail - Outdoor Wednesday's

Last Saturday was a beautiful sunny day. We spent the day along the Western Iowa Wine Trail. It was their Mardi Gras celebration. There are 7 wineries on the trail. We went to 5 of the 7. Each winery had a Mardi Gras food dish and wine tasting! While Iowa wines aren't the traditional wines, each has their own characteristics and made for a fun day of wine tasting.

The day ended with this beautiful Western Iowa sunset. Stop by Outdoor Wednesday's to find links to all of the other beautiful Outdoor Wednesday pictures!

Buttermilk Cornbread

Have you ever made cornbread from scratch? I must admit those little blue Jiffy Mix boxes have been in my cabinets for years. Not the same boxes :)

In my never ending quest to "Use It Up", this weeks leftover ingredient was buttermilk. I found this recipe on All Recipes.

This recipe makes a delicious, moist cornbread. It's easy to put together and I think if you didn't have buttermilk, regular milk could be substituted. Of course, we'd have to change the recipe title!

Buttermilk Cornbread
1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup white sugar
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
Directions
1.Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease an 8 inch square pan.
2.Melt butter in large skillet. Remove from heat and stir in sugar. Quickly add eggs and beat until well blended. Combine buttermilk with baking soda and stir into mixture in pan. Stir in cornmeal, flour, and salt until well blended and few lumps remain. Pour batter into the prepared pan.
3.Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

One Year Ago - Mint Brownie Pie