Tried and True

Let's start with the color red.

One of my favorite colors.
And then there's chocolate.
Also, one of my favorite things.
Throw in white fluffy icing
and, again, you have another one
of my favorite things.
Put them all together and you have
the classic, tried and true,

Red Velvet Cake.

Just like the cake this cute little girl
(my niece, Courtney) is eating -
from our wedding back in 1985!
She was gobbling UP that
Red Velvet Cake! Mmm.

Even though it's a classic,

there are still varying degrees
of this cake and icing.
So be-ware. :)
A genuine Red Velvet Cake
should have red food coloring
AND cocoa. 
There's not but a few spoonfuls
of cocoa in the recipe,
but it's just enough to give it
a richness with some chocolate undertones.
(that's some swanky food talk right there)

I will try not to judge you
if your cake is not as deep red as ours
or if it's lacking in cocoa.

Just kidding?!
But seriously. :)
This recipe actually came off the
packaging from a bottle of red food coloring
wayyy back in the day.

WHAT YOU NEED FOR THE BESTEST
RED VELVET CAKE:

- - Cake - -
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoons vanilla

1 teaspoons butter flavoring

1 1/2 oz. bottle of red food coloring
(with 1-2 bottles worth of water)

3 heaping Tablespoons of cocoa

2 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk

1 tablespoon vinegar

1 teaspoon baking soda

- - White 'Flour' Frosting - -

6 tablespoons flour

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups milk

2 cups shortening

2 cups granulated sugar

4 teaspoons vanilla

1 teaspoon butter flavoring

WHAT TO DO FOR THE CAKE:

Preheat oven to 350.
Cream shortening and sugar
until well combined and fluffy.

Add in the eggs and flavorings,
mix until pale yellow.

In a separate bowl combine cocoa and
food coloring - then refill the bottle
1-2 times with water
to make a smooth paste.

Add paste to first mixture.

Combine flour and salt and alternately add
to the batter along with the buttermilk.
Beginning and ending with flour.
In a separate small bowl,

combine vinegar and soda -
a bit of a foam up/fiz will happen -

add this to batter and mix well.

Pour batter in two 8/9 inch cake pans

that have been greased and floured

or sprayed well with non stick spray.

Bake appx 30 minutes
checking for done-ness - when the sides
of the cakes barely begin to shrink

from the sides of the pans
they are done.

 Remove cakes from the oven
and immediately cover with wax paper
(not paper towels), this will keep
the cakes from losing their moisture.
Let them sit for several minutes
before removing onto a wire rack,
keeping the wax paper on the cake -
after the cake is inverted,
place another sheet of wax paper
on the top of the cake -
making the cake sandwiched
between two wax paper sheets.
Confused yet?!
Now let cakes cool or place in the freezer
while you prepare the frosting.

FOR THE FROSTING:

Combine milk, flour and salt
in a microwavable bowl
stirring frequently
until very thick.
Cover with saran wrap
and place directly on the mixture

to avoid creating a skin

and let it cool completely.

While this mixture cools,

(either in the fridge or out on the counter),

place the shortening and granulated sugar

in a mixing bowl and mix for 5-10 minutes

 until the mixture looses most of it's

grittiness. It seriously takes a long time.
Then add flavorings. Mix well.

When cooked mixture has cooled,

scrape it into shortening mixture
and mix very well.

This is traditionally called
"flour" frosting.
It is delicious and I love, love it

way more than cream cheese
for frosting for this cake.
If you've always had cream cheese with yours,
please give this old fashioned traditional one
a try.  It is most yummy.
You will have a little bit of icing leftover -
because I have already doubled it for you.
I got most tired of skimping to get this cake iced,
and have been doubling it for years.
Use the leftover icing to spread
between some chocolate chip cookies
and your kids will think you
have been to the Great American Cookie Co.
Enough said.

(I may have forced myself to use ALL of it)

To ice the cakes -
you can ice your cakes as is
to make a two layer cake
or slice each cake in half horizontally
to make a spectacular looking
layer cake.

So sorry this post is forever and ever long.
But I promise you this cake is worth
every single letter of the alphabet used here!

That's what I'm talking about people.

ENJOY!!!!

Nothing into Something

Have you ever turned trash
into treasure?!?
Isn't it a fabulous feeling?!
My husband would say we are
on the verge of
a hoarders intervention,
but, SO. MUCH. TREASURE.
from all this junk is what I'm sayin'.

Do you know what the greatest food treasure
in the land is???
Banana Bread.  Oh yes it is.  Y.U.M.

It's amazing that you can take
nasty o' bananas that need to be trashed
(because they are having a fruit fly party),
and turn them into something magical.
Who would have thought?

Isn't this a pretty miraculous feat?

We usually under cook ours a bit
so the top caves in just a little.
It's cooked, just not as firm as the rest.
Gummy is yummy in our book!

Now, the fruit flies, oh, we can get rid of those -
(bonus recipe below)
but, do not throw those sad aging bananas away.

Our recipe makes "exactically"
1 large loaf pan and 2 small ones.
One for now, the other two to give
your starving college kids
or to throw in the freezer
and treat yourself later
when you realize they are still in there.
Or does that just happen to me?!

This Banana Bread recipe came out of

The Longview News Journal

many, many moons ago and

written by Barbara Richardson, whom my mom loved.

This recipe soon replaced the tried and true one

that my mother had faithfully made.

Mom's recipe was a bit simpler
and only required TWO bananas.

Barbara Richardson's requires the whole bunch!
(approximately 5)

Nice and banana-ey, just the way I like it.

WHAT YOU NEED:

3/4 cup butter, at room temperature

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

3 cups mashed bananas, over ripe

3/4 cup milk

5 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

6 teaspoons baking powder, yes 6

1 1/2 cups chopped nuts, optional

WHAT TO DO:

Preheat oven to 350.

In a medium size bowl, or in your mixing bowl,

cream butter and sugar until pale yellow and fluffy.

Add eggs and vanilla

while scraping down the sides of your bowl

until well combined.

Stir in bananas and milk.

It will then look gross, like curdled milk.

Hang in there and just keep going.

In a separate bowl, combine dry ingredients.

Slowly add dry ingredients

to the mixing bowl and mix

until incorporated.

Stir in nuts, if using.

Divide equally into greased and floured pans.

(We actually just used non stick spray)

Bake for approximately 1 hour

for the largest loaf,

30-40 minutes for mini loaves.

Check doneness using an ice pick

or toothpicks.

The middle should be mostly done

or completely done if that's

how you roll.

After removing from the oven,

let the pans sit for a few minutes

before removing the loaves onto a wire rack.

I always cover them with a sheet of wax paper

when they come out of the oven
to keep them from drying out.

I actually place the loaves

into large ziploc baggies

while they are still quite warm

to retain their moisture as well.

Muy, muy, muy.

Whether yours has a gummy middle or not,

I hope you and your crew lap it up.

Our favorite way to eat Banana Bread

is to slice a chunk off and toast it.

Top it off with butter and a spread of cream cheese!

ENJOY!!!

Now, to deal with those pesky fruit flies.

WHAT YOU NEED:
Apple Cider Vinegar
Dish Soap
Small Drinking Glass

WHAT TO DO:
Pour apple cider vinegar into a small glass
to about 1 inch deep.
Drizzle about 4-5 drops of
dish soap into the glass.
Slowly with a spoon or your finger,
stir the two together without
sloshing it up the sides or making bubbles.
Set this mixture right in your kitchen window
and wait for the party to begin.
The fruit flies will smell the fruity-ness
and be drawn to get closer and closer
and then, whoops, they drown.
Hate that.

I don't know how old this recipe is or
where it came from, but it works
amazingly well.
It only takes a few days to round 'em up
and before you know it there will be
more fruit flies at the bottom of the glass
than you knew existed in your kitchen.
Eek.
I will refrain from posting the
'after' photo. :)

Have fun!

Cinco de Yummo

We love Mexican food so much,
our family celebrates by
eating it almost weekly, all year long.
Since this weekend is Cinco de Mayo.

I thought we would celebrate a bit early
and start it off with Pico de Gallo.

Pico de Gallo, also known as Salsa Fresca,

is a staple food or condiment
in Mexican cuisine.
Ingredients most often already on hand
if you are preparing anything
in the realm of Mexican food.
Onions, tomatoes (we used Roma's),
a Jalapeno, Cilantro and a Lime or two.
Easy and delicious.

Have you ever attempted it before?!
I've never really cared for
Pico de Gallo in restaurants -
until I tasted Chuy's Salsa Fresca.
I realized this stuff CAN be delicious

without being horridly hot
as most restaurants recipes usually are.

Our version has about the same level of heat
as Chuy's does - which is much less spicy
than most restaurants out there,
and better flavor, so dig in!

We enjoyed this along with some
amazing Avocado Chicken Enchiladas.
Delicioso!



WHAT YOU NEED:
-- 6-8 Roma Tomatoes, diced - peel on
-- 1 Medium Onion, diced
-- 1 large Jalapeno, seeded and diced
(I repeat, we did not use the seeds --
if you like hot, add seeds or switch to Serrano's)
-- 1/2 of a bunch of Cilantro, chopped
-- Juice of 2 Limes
-- Salt/Pepper
-- Garlic Powder, optional

Yield: about 4-5 cups

WHAT TO DO:
In a medium size bowl
combine all of your diced and chopped ingredients.
Pour on lime juice and add salt/pepper to taste.
Stir well and refrigerate.
You can serve this immediately
but it definitely gets better with age.
Make it the night before your Cinco de Mayo
celebration or whenever you see fit.
Stir well before serving.
But, get ready for your guests
to be gathered around the Gallo!

What are YOUR plans for Cindo de Mayo?!?



ENJOY!

Time for a Meltdown

I love how our country
creates all kinds of days to celebrate.
All legit, right?! 
Orrr just a Hallmark conspiracy?!?
Anyway, it's still fun to celebrate -
or as we like to say, an excuse to eat!

So, if you didn't know already,
today is National Grilled Cheese Day.
Yes. Oh, yes it is.

The sandwich above is one we had
at The Meltdown on 30A,
a yummy little place in Florida.
It was made with three cheeses and bacon.
That my friends was an amazing
sandwich (as well as all their other flavors).
They offer SO many inspirational ideas -
take a look at their menu.

Go crazy - get to grillin'
and try things that push the limits.
See how many ideas you can come up with
without even using American cheese.
That is SO not my fav thing.

Blek.  But you do whatever it is
that you love.  Use any cheese
your little heart desires.
It's National Grilled Cheese Day
for cryin' out loud.
Visit The Meltdown on 30A
if you're ever in the Florida Panhandle
or try your hand at making your own!
Check out how we made our own
while we were there last year
for Spring Break by clicking HERE.

Now, go celebrate
National Grilled Cheese Day
and have a meltdown!

ENJOY!

Salami ....the New Bacon

Several months ago we stumbled upon a sweet find.
We had a few slices of Hard Salami in the fridge
leftover from making a Muffaletta.
so I decided to fry them up to get rid of them.
Lo and behold - they were like little slices
of bacon heaven, yet, almost better.  Almost.
The better part is that it is quick, EASY,

less mess and super flavor.
The down side part is that, well, it's just not bacon.
But watch out bacon, it could very easily take your place.
It has a great flavor - sort of crispy around the edges
and is great to nibble on by itself or
pile onto a breakfast sandwich, ANY time of day.

WHAT YOU NEED:

hard salami
baking sheet

WE ADDED:
an "everything" bagel
OR
english muffin, both toasted
feta cheese
shredded sharp cheddar
a fried egg - cooked to your liking

WHAT TO DO:
Preheat oven to 350.
Immediately lay the thin salami slices
on a baking sheet - as many as you'd like
Place baking sheet in the oven as it preheats
and by the time it has reached the right temperature,
the salami will most likely be ready.
There's no exact time really -
just know they cook very quickly
and it all depends on your oven.
My best guestimate is that they'd be done
in 3-5 minutes.  They need to barely
be turning darker around the edges -
FYI, they crisp up as they cool off.


A bit crispy around the edges,
a bit 'floppy' in the middle equals perfect!
Remove from the oven and lay the salami slices
onto a paper towel to drain a bit.
If you'd like to make a breakfast-y sandwich,
cook up a fried egg while you melt some cheese

onto your bagel or english muffin under the broiler.

Lay that fried egg onto the toasted bread
along with some feta cheese
and a few slices of cooked salami
and voila - a breakfast-y sandwich
that will become a morning necessity.
It could very well look just like this one
with runny egg yolk and all.

If you want to eat on the go,
cook your egg a bit more or use scrambled.

No problemo.
These sandwiches are the bomb
and have become such a yummy fav of ours.
Hope you will love them just as much!

ENJOY!!!