••••GERMAN CHOCOLATE CAKE••••

(Source: gringalicious.com & photos also)

••••My DAD'S favorite!!! This looks AMAZING!!

German Chocolate Cake

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Yield: about 16 servings

Ingredients

Cake:
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted
• 2 1/4 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 1 teaspoon soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1/2 cup strong black coffee
• 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 5 oz German chocolate (or any chocolate with about 46% cocoa), melted
Filling:
• 4 egg yolks
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 1/4 cups evaporated milk
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups fresh coconut shreds, toasted (or 1 cup unsweetened dried [aka desicated] coconut shreds, toasted)
• 1 1/4 cups chopped pecans (or walnuts)
• 150g bittersweet chocolate, chopped
• 1 teaspoon butter
  

Instructions

Cake:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 C) and grease 3 9-inch round cake pans with oil. Whisk together butter and sugar until creamed then beat in eggs. Add soda, salt, baking powder, vanilla, and cocoa and stir until smooth. Stir in coffee and buttermilk, followed by flour, then stir in melted chocolate until batter is smooth.
2. Divide batter among the prepared pans and place in oven. Bake for 35 - 40 minutes until toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool for about 15 minutes then loosen edges with knife and remove cakes to wire rack to cool completely.
Filling:
3. While cake is baking, whisk yolks and sugar together until light in color and frothy. Add evaporated milk and pour into a medium saucepan. Bring to a low boil over medium low heat, stirring constantly. Continue stirring as it starts to boil until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in butter until melted and smooth. (If any bits of yolk have formed lumps at this point, pour mix through a fine mesh strainer.) Add vanilla, salt, nuts, and coconut and allow to cool for about 25 minutes before spreading on cake.
Assemble:
4. Spread filling gently in between layers of cake and on top. Melt chocolate and butter in a double boiler or microwave safe bowl and pour into a pastry bag. You can add the chocolate however you like. I chose to drizzle in a criss-cross pattern over top and then in zig-zags around the edge.
   

••••BEEF BOURGUIGNON••••

(Source: cooking channel.com & photos, recipe courtesy of Jim)

••••BEEF BOURGUIGNON!!! 

••••YOU ARE IN OUR THOUGHTS, TO THE PEOPLE OF PARIS••••

• Recipe courtesy of Laura Calder
• Show: French Food at Home
• Episode:  Confidence Builders 

TOTAL TIME:

3 hr 10 min

Prep:

20 min

Inactive Prep:

20 min

Cook:

2 hr 30 min

YIELD:

8 servings

LEVEL:

Intermediate

INGREDIENTS

For the stew

4 pounds boneless stew beef, such as chuck or sirloin tip, cut into large chunks

2 tablespoons pork fat or olive oil, plus more if needed

2 carrots, peeled and halved

2 onions, peeled and halved

4 cloves garlic, just crushed

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 (750ml) bottle red wine

4 cups beef stock

1 bouquet garni (made from bay leaf, parsley stems, and thymesprigs)

• For the garnish
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus more if needed
• 6 to 8 slices bacon, cut into lardons
• 40 baby onions, peeled
• 16 ounces mushrooms

DIRECTIONS

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. 

Remove the meat from the refrigerator and bring to room temperature, about 20 minutes. 

Heat the oil in a large casserole. Working in batches, brown the stew meat well on all sides, removing as you go. When the meat is done, cook the carrots and onions in the same pot until tender and lightly golden. Add the garlic, and cook one minute. Add the flour and cook, stirring for 2 minutes. Pour over the wine and the stock. Add the bouquet garni. Return the meat to the pot, cover, and transfer to the oven until the meat is very tender, about 2 hours. 

While the meat cooks, prepare the garnish: Heat the oil, in a pan and brown the bacon, and remove. Add the onions and cook until browned all over, remove. Finally, brown the mushrooms, and remove. Deglaze the pan with 1/2 cup water, reduce, and then pour over the garnish. Set aside. 

When the meat is done, remove it from the pot. Strain the stock, discarding the vegetables. Pour the liquid back into the pot, and boil until thick enough to coat a spoon. Return the meat to the pan and add the garnish. Cover, and simmer until the onions are tender and the flavors have blended, 10 minutes. Adjust the seasonings. Serve.

••••PUMPKIN BREAD PUDDING••••

(Source: spaceshipsandlaserbeams.com & photos also)

••••I LOVE BREAD PUDDING!!!

Prep: 15 minutes

Baking: 30 minutes

Servings: 6

Ingredients 

• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ½ teaspoon pumpkin spice
• ½ cup almond milk
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup
• 3 tablespoons pumpkin puree
• 9 pieces thick brioche (French bread)
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar

Instructions

1. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, vanilla extract, pumpkin spice, almond milk, and maple syrup.
2. Add pumpkin puree. Mix well.
3. Using 6 ramekins (individual serving size), tear apart 1½ pieces of brioche for each ramekin. Fill halfway full of bread and pour about half of the egg mixture on top, distributing evenly in each ramekin. Use a spoon to pat down thebread so that it soaks up the egg mixture. Fill the remainder of each ramekin with the bread. Pour the remainder of the egg mixture into each ramekin. Pat down the bread once again.
4. Place ramekins on a baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap and keep in the refrigerator for 12 hours.
5. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Remove ramekins from the refrigerator. Remove the plastic wrap and bake in oven (on baking sheet) for approximately 30 minutes, or until golden. Remove.
6. The contents of each dish will rise quite a lot, but they will settle within a few minutes after removing from the oven.
7. Sprinkle brown sugar on top of each serving. Add additional maple syrup if you so desire. Serve and enjoy!
   

   
   

   
   

••••CHILI TIP••••

(Source: cooking classy.com & cooking channel.com & kappboom wallpaper & lbjlib.utexas.edu)

••••CHILI TIP••••

••••CHILI TIP••••

•IF YOUR CHILI IS TOO SPICY••••

•YOU CAN ADD: SOUR CREAM OR SUGAR OR HONEY••••

••••TURKEY TIP••••

(Source: Google+ & kappboom wallpaper)

••••TURKEY TIP!!!

••••MINI FRUIT BREAKFAST PIZZAS••••

(Source: cookingonthefrontburners.com & photos also)

••••LOOKS SO GOOD!!!

••••MINI FRUIT BREAKFAST PIZZAS••••

••••PREP TIME: 10 minutes

••••BAKING TIME: 18-20 minutes

••••MAKES: 8-10 mini pizzas

Ingredients

• One package of puff pastry sheets (2 sheets)
• 1 beaten egg
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 4 teaspoons corn starch
• dash salt
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 1 /2 cups mixed berries - blueberries, raspberries and/or blackberries
• 1 teaspoon butter
• 8 ozs. 1/3 fat reduced cream cheese
• 4 tablespoons orange marmalade
  

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 and line two cookie sheets with parchment paper
2. On a lightly floured surface roll each sheet into a 10 x 10 inch square
3. Cut (8) 4 1/2 " (approx) circles and place on lined cookie sheets (4 per sheet)
4. With a small sharp knife, lightly score about 1/2" from edge in a circle shape being careful not to cut through pastry
5. Brush the 1/2" edge with the beaten egg and sprinkle with some sugar
6. Bake until golden brown (18-20 minutes)
7. Remove from oven and using small knife again rescore the edge and push the centers of the pastries down to make a well
8. Cool completely
9. In a small bowl beat the cream cheese and marmalade and set aside
10. In a medium saucepan, combine the 1/4 cup of sugar, cornstarch and salt. Stir in the water and 1/4 cup of the berries
11. Cook over medium heat until thickened then add one more cup of berries and the butter. Stir until butter is melted.
12. To assemble, divide the cream cheese mixture between the 8 puffs then divide the cooked berry mixture over the cream cheese.
13. Top each with remaining berries - adding more berries if desired.
14. Note: For mine I used small cookie cutters to make added decorations for the pizzas from the leftover pastry. These can bake in the oven at the same time but will be done much faster - check and remove them when golden brown.
    
    
    

    
    

••••RED WINE POMEGRANATE CRANBERRY JELLY••••

(Source: goodlifeeats.com & photos also)

••••LOOKS AMAZING!!!••••

Red Wine Pomegranate Cranberry Jelly

Ingredients:

16 ounces fresh or frozen cranberries
3/4 cup pomegranate juice
1/2 cup red wine
1/2 cup agave
1/4 - 1/2 cup brown sugar (depending on your sweetness preferences)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
pinch ground ginger
5 grinds fresh peppercorns

Directions:

Combine all of the ingredients in a medium sized sauce pan, about 2 - 2 1/2 quart sized, and mix well. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Then, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for about 10-15 minutes, until the cranberries have burst.

Remove from heat and transfer to a blender. Holding the lid on the blender very securely, puree the mixture until completely smooth. Transfer to a serving dish.