Pages, Pucks and Pantry

Watermelon Caprese Skewers with Cucumber White Balsamic

Every month I receive a box of sample sizes of artisan food products from Hatchery. I love the fact that they include recipes online that use the amount of the sample items provided. Makes it easy to figure out what to make with these small sizes of product.  

For June, one of the products featured was Cucumber Balsamic Vinegar from Olivelle. The recipe Hatchery provided was for these Watermelon Caprese Skewers. Both Mr. L and I admit, we were a bit leery about cheese and watermelon, but these turned out to be quite tasty. I will definitely make these again.

WATERMELON CAPRESE SKEWERS WITH CUCUMBER WHITE BALSAMIC

1 small watermelon, cut into cubes
1 16 ounce log of mozzarella, thinly sliced
1 bunch basil, leaves removed from stem
Olivelle Cucumber White Balsamic Vinegar
Toothpicks/skewers

Assemble the skewers: add watermelon cube, basil leaf, and mozzarella slice. Repeat with the rest of the components.

Serve on a platter and dress with Olivelle Cucumber White Balsamic. Serves 10-15.

NOTE: Since it was just Mr. L and I, I didn't make a full batch. I just cut up some of the ingredients and made about 7 of the skewers.

NOTE: I'm sure you can make this with any balsamic vinegar but the Cucumber White Balsamic does give it a nice flavor and keeps it clean looking (where a dark balsamic doesn't). I added the vinegar to the watermelon since it sucked up the liquid better and then swashed a bit over the whole skewer.

NOTE: The mozzarella log is round. To make these look good, I had to chop the sides off the cheese to make them square. I did that for the photos. After I just cut the rounds in half. Not the best presentation but still tasted the same.

Chicken Au Champagne or Champagne Chicken

Over the years myself, my husband, my mom, and many of my friends have belonged to one wine club or another. It's always fun to try new wines and find new favorites, not to mention having the wine delivered directly to your door. At some point Mr. L and I looked around and realized we actually had too much wine (I know, that seems like such an impossible possibility) so we decided to join a champagne club and have champagne delivered directly to our door instead.

Believe it or not, every once in a while, after we open a bottle of champagne, there is actually some left. Again, such an impossible possibility, but it does happen. So I usually go looking for some dish I can use the leftover champagne in. This time I found a recipe on Pinterest that used the champagne and included ingredients I had on hand.

This dish was good enough that I'd actually open a bottle of champagne to make it again. And again. And again. One of the reasons I chose this recipe as opposed to others was that there is no cream, which I think makes this a lighter (and therefore healthier, and therefore I feel no guilt in eating this) dish.

You can find the recipe on Cooking with Curls website here.

Chicken au Champagne
(Cooking with Curls)

Main ingredients you'll need:

chicken breasts or thighs (skin on, bone in)
shallots
brut Champagne
mushrooms
fresh tarragon

NOTE: I used chicken thighs.

NOTE: You'll need a cup of champagne so when you open the bottle in the morning for those mimosas, you might want to set aside the champagne for dinner before you begin. Otherwise you might drink more than you think and not have enough...then you'd have to open another bottle of champagne. And then if you forget again, you'll just keep opening bottles...and then you won't be awake to be able to cook the dish for dinner. Trust me. I have personal knowledge.

The Graveyard Smash (aka the Buzz Aldrin)

Halloween is less than a month away. And I have not experimented with a single tasty treat to cook on that special night. I just don't have a lot of time these days to figure out how to make cool Halloween food dishes. What with the baseball playoffs, hockey starting up, travels, birthday parties, working weekends, weddings....I'm barely finding enough time to make myself a piece of toast. Add the fact that it's 100 degrees outside today and I don't want to do much of anything much less figure out how to make a mummy wrapped red velvet pumpkin cake. The thought of trying to bake or cook things for Halloween puts me into a state of panic that makes me look...well it would work great for a costume on Halloween night to scare the neighbors.

I was reminded by reading something in a magazine earlier today that you don't have to try all sorts of strange new recipes that call for heroic feats of artistic endeavors to make food for Halloween, you just need to give normal food strange, horrible sounding names. Kids won't care when you put store bought cookies on the table if you give them names that put fear into their hearts. Lady Fingers become Aunt Ethels Fingers (after that crazy aunt they are all afraid of); Macadamia Nut Cookies become Cookies with Baby Teeth. Red Velvet Cookies become Vampire Blood Cookies...you get the idea.

Suddenly the pressure is off. I don't have to be Martha Stewart (Gweneth Paltrow? Blake Lively? pick your generation) and spend hours trying to create some concoction worthy of first prize at a Food Network competition. What I need to do is just cook some basic items and give them crazy names and get food on the table. Sure, I might find time to make that Monster Bacon Meatloaf in the shape of a zombie head, or bake those Candy Cane Cupcakes that look like ghosts. Or maybe I can just just dip some dates in chocolate, name them nesting Cockroaches, put dessert on the table, and call it a day.

My friend Pillownaut who works for NASA came over for dinner a few weeks ago and I thought it necessary that I make some sort of drink with Tang...specifically since I had Tang leftover from making Tang Pie with her months before. Checking around the net I found a simple recipe for a Buzz Aldrin which made great use of my leftover Tang. We enjoyed trying the concoction though I admit, they were a bit sweet to have more than a few. I say make these on Halloween, drop in a cute Halloween straw, change their name to "Graveyard Smash*" and you have a fun, adult drink for the Holiday.

GRAVEYARD SMASH aka the BUZZ ALDRIN

Tang (for garnish)
1 orange slice
4 ounces vodka
2 tablespoons Tang
Ice

Place garnishing Tang on a plate. Run orange slice around the rim of the glass; rotate rim of glass in Tang so that the rim is covered like salt on a margarita glass.

In a cocktail shaker, add Tang, vodka, and ice; shake. Strain into glass.

Makes 1 cocktail

NOTE:  Actually the Tang around the edge of the glass was great. No sweeter than rimming the glass with plain sugar and it really did give it a bit of a tangy flavor.

NOTE: Mix the Tang well with the vodka before adding ice or you might have a pile of un-melted Tang at the bottom of the shaker.

*There is no rhyme nor reason for the Graveyard Smash name except that it sounded much scarier than The Buzz Aldrin. And possibly because if you drink more than one you might actually get smashed.

Bison Burgers with Cabernet Onions and Wisconsin Cheddar

Except that's not true, there was no Bison in the burgers, though there was supposed to be. I specifically wanted to use the bison meat we had in the freezer so I went online and found this Bon Appetit recipe. It wasn't until Mr. L went to cook said recipe that I realized I'd pulled out the pound of wild boar meat instead*. No matter, the burgers still came out good.

One of the other reasons I picked this recipe to try was because of the Cabernet Onions. I'm finding that Mr. L and I rarely finish a whole bottle of wine with dinner these days (dang that trying to be healthy and watch portions thing) and cooking with leftover wine has become a necessity. These onions sounded wonderful and they were. In fact, bison meat or not, this is actually just a normal burger, but kicked up a notch because of the great wined onions.

The photo that Bon Appetit shows for this burger is a bit misleading. The onions on the burger barely register a tint of pink. As you can see, my onions definitely look like they have been cooking in wine. The cheese on the Bon App photo also was not melted onto the burger bun as the recipe states. Clearly it was artfully draped over the burger and slightly melted to bend it a bit. If you follow directions, I bet your burger turns out more like my photo. If it turns out like the magazine, you should be a food stylist. Just sayin'.

I admit to needing a bit more condiments on my burger. There may have been mayo added. A bit more mustard. And I know there were some heirloom tomatoes floating around at the time the burgers were being put together but there is no photographic proof they existed.

I still think the addition of some bacon might have done wonders with this recipe too. You can find the recipe here.

 

BISON (WILD BOAR) BURGERS WITH CABERNET ONIONS AND WISCONSIN CHEDDAR
(Bon Appetit)

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
3 cups sliced onions (about 2)
3/4 cup Cabernet Sauvignon or other dry red wine
1 pound ground bison (buffalo)
2 tablespoons chopped shallots
1/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
4 organic hamburger buns
6 ounces sliced Wisconsin white cheddar cheese
Dijon mustard
1 small head of escarole leaves separated

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in heavy medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions, sprinkle with salt, and saute until tender and golden brown, stirring often, about 10 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and continue to saute until very tender and well browned, about 15 minutes longer. Add wine and cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid is absorbed, about 5 minutes. DO AHEAD - Can be made 3 days ahead. Cool, cover and chill.

Preheat broiler. Gently mix meat and next 3 ingredients in large bowl. Shape into four 1/2-inch-thick patties. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon oil in heavy large skillet over high heat. Sprinkle burgers with salt and pepper; add to skillet. Cook until well browned, about 2 minutes per side for medium-rare.

Open buns and arrange, cut side up, on rimmed baking sheet. Place cheese slices on bun tops. Broil until cheese melts and bottom halves are lightly toasted, about 1 minute. Spread bottom halves with mustard. Top each with a few escarole leaves, then burger. Spoon onions atop burgers, dividing equally. Cover with bun tops; press lightly. Serves 4.

NOTE: Yeah, wild boar instead of bison. Will have to make this with bison some day. Might have also added a pat of butter to the boar to make it moist while cooking.

NOTE: We used brioche buns from the bakery. They were not organic.

NOTE: The white cheddar was not from Wisconsin but it was organic.

NOTE: The onions took twice as long to brown and twice as long for the liquid to evaporate during cooking than the recipe specified.

NOTE: Any leftover Cabernet Onions go really well on steaks or in omelets.

*We found packages of wild boar, bison and other interesting type meats at our local Sprouts Farmers Market grocery store.

 

Green Beans with Snail Butter

No snails were harmed in the making of this dish. In fact, there are no snails in this dish at all. The title (and you know I had to make this recipe just because of the title...ohh, watch people squirm when I tell them what I'm serving!) refers to the loads of butter and garlic these beans are cooked in. The two which are usually found in servings of escargot.

This recipe came from David Lebovitz's My Paris Kitchen. It's a simple recipe which doesn't take that long to make. But don't let that fool you. It tastes fantastic. Especially if you like lots of butter and garlic (which both Mr. L and I do).  Though I cook green beans with butter and garlic on a regular basis, I've never quite added this much (nor the topping of a bit of lemon juice, a simple touch I usually forget). I do get into a rut and cook vegetables the same way time after time. When you're busy and just trying to get a veggie side dish on the table, it's always nice to go back to known recipes and not have to think. This will be one of those recipes I return to on a regular basis.

You can find the recipe on Serious Eats here, or just click on the recipe title. Hopefully you'll share this with someone you know and love since you just might end up with garlic breath.

GREEN BEANS WITH SNAIL BUTTER
Haricots Verts Au Beurre D'Escargot
from My Paris Kitchen by David Lebovitz

Ingredients needed:

Green Beans
Unsalted Butter
Garlic
Parsley, Flat Leaf
Salt
Pepper
Lemon Juice

Note: Recipe serves 4

Note: My parsley seemed to disappear into the dish where the photo in the cookbook shows a much larger chop. Next time I won't chop so fine.

Would I make again? Most definitely.

Russian Beef and Cabbage Soup

One of the first things I did when looking for Russian type recipes to make during the Olympics was check Eat Your Books to see if I had any non-russian cookbooks that might have Russian recipes. Not many came up. One that did was this soup from Americas Test Kitchens Slow Cooker Revolution Volume 2. Not exactly authentic but the dish sounded appealing and the fact that it used a slow cooker meant more time for me to watch Olympic events.

If you take a look at the ingredients you'll notice there is no cabbage listed. The recipe calls for sauerkraut. I admit at first that using sauerkraut instead of some fresh cabbage sounded like something that wouldn't normally be done, but in reading some of the Russian cookbooks I bought, sauerkraut was used in the old days due to the fact that fresh vegetables weren't always available. Americas Test Kitchen said that they used sauerkraut as a way to get around prepping fresh cabbage.

And gnocchi? Well, it seems Russians do make their own versions of gnocchi, though the authors of the cookbook said they used the packaged version so they didn't have to make the gnocchi from scratch. Hardly authentic but I said what the heck, and I decided to give this recipe a try.

The soup came out decent. The meat, though very tender was a little dry (more on that in the notes). Mr. L asked for seconds, which is always a good sign. I liked the bit of tang that the last bit of sauerkraut gave the soup. There wasn't an overwhelming sauerkraut flavor so don't be afraid of that. The soup heated up really well the next day and became much more flavorful.

 

RUSSIAN BEEF AND CABBAGE SOUP
(Slow Cooker Revolution Volume 2)

2 cups chopped onions
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
8 cups beef broth
2 cups sauerkraut, rinsed
1 1/2 pounds sirloin steak tips, trimmed
Salt and Pepper
1 pound vacuum-packed gnocchi
2 tablespoons minced fresh dill
sour cream

1. Microwave onions, garlic, tomato paste, oil, and thyme in bowl, stirring occasionally, until onions are softened, about 5 minutes; transfer to slow cooker. Stir in broth and 1 cup sauerkraut. Season beef with salt and pepper and nestle into slow cooker. Cover and cook until beef is tender, 9 to 10 hours on low or 6 to 7 hours on high.

2. Transfer beef to cutting board, let cool slightly, then shred into bite-size pieces. Using large spoon, skim excess fat from surface of soup.

3. Stir in gnocchi, cover, and cook on high until tender, about 30 minutes. Stir in shredded beef and remaining 1 cup sauerkraut and let sit until heated through, about 5 minutes. Stir in dill and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with sour cream. Serves 6 to 8

Notes from the recipe:
*Use a 5 1/2 to 7 quarts slow cooker
*Be sure to rinse the sauerkraut well or the soup will become too sour
*Do not use refrigerated or frozen gnocchi, it will turn gummy in the soup

NOTE: I asked my butcher about "steak tips" and he said use either a sirloin steak (which I did) or to use stew meat. I chose the sirloin because the butcher said it would be more tender (and of course it did cost more). The meat was a bit dry for my taste. It was very tender so maybe less time in the crockpot next time? Or maybe I figure out what steak tips are?

NOTE: Part of the recipe explains about smart shopping for sauerkraut. I agree that the canned versions are horrible. There are some great versions in jars or vacuum-sealed bags (check the refrigerator section). Or if you're lucky, you might be able to find a farmers market like the one locally here where the guy sells some awesome homemade sauerkraut.

NOTE: As per instructed I used vacuum packaged gnocchi. There were several brands available at my local supermarket and I know you can buy them at Cost Plus World Market. I was surprised how well they held up and how tasty they became in the soup.

NOTE: I cooked this for a bit over 9 hours and then the addition 30 minutes.

NOTE: The sour cream actually added a bit of richness which I really liked so I'd definitely add that to the finished dish.

All in all, not a bad soup. Though the taste didn't blow me away, I'd make it again if I had someone who liked sauerkraut. Can't say it's even close to any real Russian dishes, but it was nice to serve during the Olympics while watching all those folks in the snow (of course it was pretty warm there though LOL).

 

Tang Pie

I didn't see many of this years Oscar movies. In fact, I think in all the major categories, we saw only three of the nominated films. The annual Oscar party that we normally go to was cancelled. Which means my yearly cooking up Oscar foods and joining in the festivities of researching food from the movies wasn't a priority. On Oscar night I did make some Corn Chowder (sort of for Nebraska, not a movie I saw) and I made blue jello with whipped cream (for Frozen which I did see).

The one dish that I planned on making, if we had gone to an Oscar party, was Tang Pie, since one of the two movies we did see that was up for best picture was Gravity (the other movie was Dallas Buyers Club). I grew up with Tang being synonymous with space travel. Everyone wanted to be an astronaut growing up and everybody (yes adults) drank Tang just to be able to say that they were drinking what the astronauts drank. I can't remember really liking Tang back then, but I do know that I drank it.

I honestly didn't even know they still made Tang until my friend Pillownaut* who blogs for NASA came across a recipe last year and decided we should try it. She procured a container of Tang and we proceed to make Tang Pie which we figured was going to be too sweet and not that appetizing. Au contraire! The dang thing turned out to be quite tasty. Somewhat like an orange mousse with a tarter orange creamsicle flavor. And super easy to make. I think if anyone is having a retro party, a kids birthday party with a space theme or heck, just wants to make a conversational dessert, Tang Pie is the way to go! And congratulations to Gravity for it's many Oscar awards Sunday.

TANG PIE

1 can sweetened condensed milk
3/4 cup Tang powder drink mix
1/2 cup sour cream
1 (9 oz) tub Cool Whip
1 graham cracker pie crust

Mix condensed milk and Tang. Add in sour cream until well blended. Then fold in tub of Cool Whip. Pour into pie crust and refrigerate for 4 hours until set and cold.

Note: You can read Pillownauts post about Tang Pie here. She said that if she was to make the dish again she would "cut the sour cream to 1/4 cup (it was too tasteable), and replace with ditto amount of whipped cream, or light cream cheese".

Note: We used a standard 9" premade graham cracker pie crust you can buy at the store. I had no trouble using a premade crust. I figured if we were using Tang, making your own crust from scratch was a bit ridiculous.

Note: I think the Cool Whip containers come in 8 ounce tubs these days so you may have to buy two tubs to make this dish. Just think...you'll have leftover Cool Whip to decorate that Jello dessert you'll also make.

Note: Don't worry about all that leftover Tang you'll have from the container you buy. You'll find lots of recipes for desserts, drinks and yes, savory dishes that use Tang as an ingredient!

*If you are a space buff you should check out Pillownauts blog and Twitter feed!

Soba Noodles with Pork and Scallions

Sometimes I may have a hundred recipes bookmarked in a cookbook, but when I finally cook from it, none of the bookmarked recipes are what I finally make. Though this recipe for Soba Noodles with Pork and Scallions was bookmarked in America's Test Kitchens The Best 30 Minute Recipes cookbook, it wasn't high on my list. What was high on my list was trying to use the many ingredients in my pantry that seem to have disappeared from my cooking radar*. I went looking for recipes in my cookbooks that used soba noodles and this is the recipe that showed up in my Eat Your Books library.

I know that Americas Test Kitchen is all about following directions and ingredients exactly. They spend lots of time and energy figuring out what makes a recipe good. That being said, I didn't quite follow what was written but the dish was still good. Had a really good flavor. I'm sure this dish would taste excellent if you followed the Americas Test Kitchen's instructions to a tee. But it was pretty damn good the way I made it. Took me more than 30 minutes from start to finish, but then that's not unusual for me.

SOBA NOODLES WITH PORK AND SCALLIONS
(The Best 30-Minute Recipe)

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/2 pounds pork tenderloin, cut into thin strips
10 ounces shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and quartered
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
3 cups bean sprouts, well rinsed
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup mirin
1/4 cup rice vinegar
8 ounces soba noodles (see note)
salt
4 scallions, sliced thin

MAKING THE MINUTES COUNT:
Prep the mushrooms before cooking the pork. then prep the remaining ingredients while the mushrooms brown.

1. BOIL WATER FOR NOODLES:
Bring 3 quarts water to boil in large pot.

2.STIR-FRY PORK:
Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in 12-inch non-stick skillet over high heat until just smoking. Add pork, spread into single layer, and cook without stirring for 1 minute. Stir pork and continue to cook until most, but not all, of pink color has disappeared and pork is lightly browned around edges, about 3 minutes longer. Transfer pork to clean bowl, cover, and set aside.

3. STIR-FRY MUSHROOMS: Add remaining 2 tablespoons oil to skillet and return to medium-high heat until shimmering. Add mushrooms and cook until browned, about 4 minutes.

4. COMBINE PORK, MUSHROOMS, AND SAUCE: Stir garlic and ginger into mushrooms and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in bean sprouts, soy sauce, mirin, rice vinegar, and pork with any accumulated juices. Cook until pork is just heated through, about 1 minute. Remove from heat, cover and set aside.

5. BOIL AND DRAIN NOODLES: Add soba and 1 tablespoon salt to boiling water and cook, stirring often, until al dente, about 4 minutes. Reserve 1/2 cup of cooking water, then drain soba and return soba to pot.

6. TOSS NOODLES WITH PORK, MUSHROOMS, AND SAUCE: Stir pork-mushroom mixture and scallions into noodles. Add reserved cooking water as necessary to moisten, and serve.

Makes 4 servings.

NOTE FROM COOKBOOK:...avoid the darker colored sobas made from 100 percent buckwheat, as they take twice the amount of time to cook as the lighter colored soba, which are made with part buckwheat and park regular wheat.

NOTE:  My soba noodle package was a bit over 9 ounces...but I was trying to use up stuff in my pantry and not have a small portion of something left over, so I threw in the entire amount. Was it too much noodle? Yeah, but I don't necessarily consider that a bad thing.

NOTE:  Probably didn't add as much garlic as required but added a bit more ginger (since that used up the nub of ginger that I had).

NOTE: Used Brown mushrooms (baby portabelas)  and there wasn't 10 oz, but again I used what I had.

NOTE: Next time I'd cut the pork into smaller pieces.

*I used soba noodles from The Pantry Project. They were number 72 on the list of the numbers that Greg picked. Yes, I am still going through my pantry...things keep seeming to multiply because the dang pantry always seems overstuffed!

 

 

Incredible Melted Ice Cream Cake

This really was pretty incredible. Yes, there is ice cream in this cake but it's not an ice cream cake. No keeping the cake in the freezer, no melting of ice cream if you leave a piece of cake out a minute or two. But there is ice cream in this cake. Genius I tell you, Genius.

I've been wanting to make this cake ever since I came across it in The Cake Mix Doctor Cookbook. It's pretty simple. You add your favorite ice cream to the cake mix. That's pretty much it. I suppose the flavor of whatever ice cream you add has a lot to do with the end results. I used Bananas' Foster Ice Cream from Hagen Dazz. I got this wonderful sort of banana bread flavor. Everyone asked for more.  But the genius of the recipe is that you can add whatever flavor ice cream is your favorite. Or whatever flavor ice cream you happen to have on hand.

Don't be put off by what might seem like a lot of instructions for this simple recipe. The Cake Mix Doctor Cookbook is pretty thorough on how it describes what to do. Be sure to follow the notes of the recipe to help get the best end product.

The looks of family and friends (not to mention kids) when you tell them you added ice cream to the cake is worth making this cake alone!

INCREDIBLE MELTED ICE-CREAM CAKE
(The Cake Mix Doctor)

Vegetable Oil spray for misting the pan
Flour for dusting the pan
1 package (18.25 ounces) plain white cake mix
2 cups melted ice cream, your choice of flavor
3 large eggs
Frosting or glaze (optional)

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly mist a 12-cup Bundt pan with vegetable oil spray, then dust with flour. Shake out the excess flour. Set the pan aside.

Place the cake mix, melted ice cream, and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Stop the machine and scrap down the sides of the bowl with the rubber spatula. increase the mixer speed to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping the sides down again if needed. The batter should look thick and well blended. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with the rubber spatula. Place the pan in the oven.

Bake the cake until it springs back when lightly pressed with your finger and just starts to pull away from the sides of the pan, 38 to 42 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack to cool for 20 minutes. Run a long sharp knife around the edge of the cake and invert it onto a small rack, then invert it again onto a second rack so that the cake is right side up to complete cooling, 30 minutes more.

Store this cake in a plastic cake saver or under a glass cake dome at room temperature for up to 1 week. Or freeze it, wrapped in foil, for up to 6 months. Thaw the cake overnight on the counter before serving. Serves 16

Cookbook Notes: You must have 2 cups of melted ice cream for this recipe. For super-premium ice creams with little overrun, that's 1 pint frozen. But for less expensive brands with a lot of air piped in, you'll need to begin with more than a pint.

Cookbook Notes: This was originally made with Ben & Jerry's Cherry Garcia ice cream. With cherry and chocolate pieces and the cream and the eggs in the ice cream, you need little else. Your liquid, your fat, and your flavorings are all in the melted ice cream.

Cookbook Notes: This recipe works well in a 13 x 9 inch pan.

Prep Time: 5 to 7 minutes
Baking Time: 38 to 42 minutes
Assembly Time: 10 minutes

NOTE: Though there isn't pudding mix added to this recipe, I still used a cake mix that did NOT contain pudding in the mix (again, there are a host of reasons listed in the cookbook). I used a Duncan Hines cake mix as it doesn't have pudding in the mix. I used the French Vanilla flavor as that was the only "white" version my store had.

NOTE: Make sure the ice cream is melted. Pour into a measuring cup and if you don't have 2 cups, and you don't have any more ice cream in the freezer because you ate that second pint thinking you really wouldn't need it for this recipe, add a little milk to get to that 2 cups measure. But be serious. Just buy 2 pints and eat what's leftover after you make the cake.

NOTE: I understand that some flavors of ice cream for whatever reason don't work. I've only made this with Bananas' Foster Ice Cream (Hagen Dazz) and the author said she used Ben and Jerry's Cherry Garcia. There are a ton of wonderful ice cream flavors out there so I say experiment!

NOTE: I baked my cake in a bundt pan.

NOTE: The original recipe calls for a frosting or glaze to be put on the finished cake. I didn't use the glaze as I wanted this to be eaten by hand and easily portable.

This went over really well. I gave a taste to one of my drivers and when I went to the other office the next day folks there were asking about it...I guess my driver raved about the cake to all!

 

Guacamole Quinoa Salad

I originally found a little blurb in some magazine that said to make (or buy) your favorite guacamole and just add it to rice. Sounded perfect to me. But then I went looking for guacamole recipes.  Then I went looking for guacamole salad recipes and came across a great sounding one from The Barefoot Contessa. Then I thought I'd be healthy and look for a recipe where the guacamole was added to brown rice. And from there I went to quinoa. And after looking at all the recipes for the various versions of guacamole with a grain, it was past my bedtime and too late to cook, much less even eat (recipe searching can be such a time suck!). 

The next day I woke up to several cookbooks with tabbed guacamole quinoa recipes not to mention about 50 bookmarked pages on the internet. Next time maybe I'll just stick with adding my basic guacamole recipe to some quinoa.

This really does have a guacamole taste to it. It held up pretty well overnight and was a great addition to my lunch the next day with some grilled chicken (see, I may eat Taco Bell Crunchy Burritos one night  but I do try to eat healthy the rest of the week).

GUACAMOLE QUINOA SALAD

3 cups cooked and cooled quinoa
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 Roma tomato, diced
1 Tablespoon minced jalapeno pepper, seeded (1 pepper)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup small diced red onion
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1 large ripe Haas avocado, seeded, peeled and diced small
2 Tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

Combine quinoa, garlic, tomato, jalapeno, cilantro, onion, and cayenne in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl mash the avocado with the lime juice and salt. Gently fold the avocado mixture into the quinoa mixture. Serve at room temperature. Makes 4 good sized servings.

NOTE: None of these measurements has to be written in stone. I listed 3 cups of quinoa but you might want a bit more avocado mixture than quinoa so only add 2 cups. Add more diced onion or garlic if that's your thing. Leave out the cilantro if you don't like the stuff. Put in more avocado. Use white onions instead of red. Add crushed garlic instead of minced. Use cherry tomatoes instead of Roma. Heck just add some of your favorite Pico de Gallo to an avocado and use that. Play with your food!

NOTE: I like a little heat in my guacamole so I added half of a second jalapeno and even a few seeds to give it a bit of a kick.

NOTE: When this sat for a bit it gave off lots of liquids. I poured most of it off and the salad was still pretty moist. The limes I had were pretty big and gave off a ton of juice so I think I did add more than just two tablespoons. I think next time I might stick with adding the lime juice a bit at a time when mashing the avocado so it's not so overpowering.