 I'm unsure why tomorrow is declared Drink Wine Day in the US of A. Why is tomorrow so special? It can't have anything to do with the harvest, me thinks. Perhaps it's a way to fight the mid-winter doldrums. I think you'd stand a better chance of raising spirits (ha!) with a Chocolate Day, or a Eat Cake While Wearing Jammies Day, but maybe that's just me. Here's the link to the official DWD website if you want to check it out. Yummy looking wine cocktail recipes in the side-bar that I may have to investigate further. In other news, I baked these blueberry muffins yesterday. The recipe is my go-to muffin recipe from Alton Brown. I adapted it by using one cup of frozen blueberries from the stash in my deep freezer. I buy many pounds of wild blueberries every summer and divvy them up into one cup portions, which are a convenient amount for most recipes.  Yes, the recipe makes a dozen muffins, and yes, there is one missing from the photo. That's because it was in my tummy as soon as it was cool enough to eat. Son1 and his partner arrived about an hour later and each ate a muffin as an afternoon treat. Breakfast this morning took care of a few more. I think I'll be baking another batch fairly soon. Don't forget to subscribe to my newsletter it you want all the latest details on new releases, more recipes I've baked/cooked, and cute cat pictures!
0 Comments
 The most wonderful day of the year – Chocolate Cake Day!!!
There are other cakes worth celebrating, of course. Spice cake with maple frosting, vanilla cake with chocolate frosting, or lemon cake with a lovely tart glaze, but in my mind, chocolate cake can’t be beat. I’ve baked many versions of chocolate cake over the years. A popular one in our house is a three-layer confection filled and frosted with the most amazing cocoa frosting. An old stand-by is a venerable family recipe for chocolate cake baked in a tube pan and slathered with vanilla frosting. Yum! Chocolate cake has been around for over 150 years and I think that deserves – cake! So here’s the recipe that I turn to more often than not when I have a hankering for chocolate cake. Aunt Hilda’s Chocolate Cake 2 cups sugar ½ cup butter, room temperature 2 eggs ¾ cup sour milk (milk + 1 teaspoon vinegar) 1 teaspoon vanilla 2 cups flour 1 teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon baking powder ½ teaspoon salt ½ cup cocoa, dissolved in 1 cup very hot water Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and dust with cocoa a Bundt pan, tube pan, or two 9-inch layer pans. Sift together flour, soda, baking powder and salt. Cream sugar and butter until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs and beat until well combined. Add dry ingredients alternately with milk and cocoa water. Mix until well blended (mixture will be very wet). Pour into pan, or pans, and bake for 45 – 50 minutes. (25 - 30 minutes for layer pans). Tester inserted near centre should come out clean. Cool in pans on rack for 10 minutes. Turn out and cool completely. Do you have a favourite chocolate cake recipe? Today is National Cheese Lover’s Day and I’m super excited! Hm…not really. I’m of two minds, or two tastes, when it comes to cheese. Offer me a hunk ‘o cheddar and I’d say a polite “no thank you”. (As compared to my childhood response of “eww…gross”. I like to think I’ve matured since I was seven.) Uncooked, i.e. raw, unadulterated, naked, as it were, cheese is not appealing to me and never has been. Offer me a plate of hot, gooey macaroni & cheese (homemade, of course) and I’ll dive right in. I’ll gladly consume any other baked dish that contains cheese like lasagne or cheese soufflé. And I love freshly grated Parmesan sprinkled liberally atop pasta. Geez, I’m getting hungry. So far my only caveat to my personal ban on raw cheese is a cheese ball appetizer I made over the holiday season. Oh my goodness gracious, it was divine and won rave reviews from all our guests. Here’s the link to the recipe. I promise you will not be disappointed. The recipe makes a goodly amount so I divided it into two portions, formed into log shapes and wrapped in plastic before refrigerating. Ooh, this would be perfect for that large televised sporting event, that football one, the one that’s coming up in a couple weeks. (Hubby is a Packer’s fan, i.e. a Cheesehead – oh, ha! – so we don’t really care what happens in that “super” game.) Just when you thought this third Sunday in January couldn’t get any more exciting – what could top cheese? Well, hold on to your hat – or feathers – because today is also Penguin Awareness Day! So as you go about your day, be aware of any penguins who might cross your path, like this cutie.   A few weeks ago I was a guest on Love Romance Reads sharing my favourite Christmas cookie recipe (you can read it here) in which I mentioned the difficulty I had in choosing a favourite candy bar. I’m a firm believer in the use of rewards and chocolate is my go-to reward for achieving a writing goal. Or as comfort should I receive a four-page, single-spaced editing letter for my latest romance novel. If I could have only one specific chocolate bar for the rest of my days, it would be a Nestlé Coffee Crisp. No, wait, I’d choose a Cadbury Fruit & Nut bar. I tell a lie, I’d pick a Lowney Cherry Blossom. Actually… I think you see my problem. Thinking of that last one, the Cherry Blossom, reminds me that I do have a firm favourite within a box of chocolates. If you were to share from your box of chocolates, perhaps that box of mixed chocolates you bought just in case guests dropped in as they are wont to do this time of year, and if the variety contained a chocolate covered cherry, be assured that I would choose the chocolate covered cherry. Every. Time. Certainly, I enjoy the pecan clusters, and the toffee, and the hazelnut thingies, but my first love in the boxed chocolate world is the chocolate covered cherry. Now I must confess to a bit of skulduggery. If the box of chocolates is one of those with two layers, as most are, and the chocolate covered cherry has already been eaten from the top layer, I’ve been known to sneak into the second layer, before the top layer is completely eaten, and take the chocolate covered cherry. I know this breaks a long-held tenet of boxed chocolate eating etiquette but I can’t help myself. Perhaps this requires a public service announcement. Ahem… If I’m anywhere near your box of chocolates, and if, upon exposing the second layer for the first time (or so you think) you discover the chocolate covered cherry is missing, be assured it was not an error in the packaging. DO NOT send an angry email or letter or telegram to the chocolate company demanding a refund or some other form of redress. Also, if chocolate covered cherries are your favourite you might consider removing them from the box of chocolates, both layers, before offering the box to me. What is your favourite candy bar? Or if you no longer eat sugary treats, which treat do you fondly recall from your childhood? Don't forget to sign up for my monthly newsletter - exciting news will be coming soon! Is there a clear winner? Yes. Me! Because I get to eat more than I should! I’d be telling an untruth if I said I remember exactly what the pot stickers from last week’s recipe tasted like (way-way back when I actually made them). But I do remember that they were delicious. This week’s version was equally delicious. (We had friends over and they had no problem eating their fair share.) The filling was moist and tasty and plentiful. And the dipping sauce was a pleasing mix of tart, sweet, and hot. Hubby thought it was a tad too vinegary, but I didn’t think so. I was unable to find pot sticker wrappers and so used wonton wrappers – square instead of round. Which meant, I think, that there was a bit too much extra dough after crimping which got a little tough during the steaming portion of the preparation. An itsy bitsy tiny flaw in no way the fault of the recipe. But if you can find pot sticker wrappers, the round kind, use those. Here is the recipe as copied exactly from: Ultimate Appetizer Ideabook 225 Simple All-occasion Recipes Kiera and Cole Stipovich Published by Chronicle Books Pork Pot Stickers In a large bowl, combine ½ medium head shredded napa (or savoy) cabbage with 1 tsp kosher salt and toss. Transfer to a colander and let drain for 30 minutes. Over a sink or bowl, press out excess moisture from the cabbage. In a medium mixing bowl, combine 8 oz (230 g) ground pork, 1 Tbsp thinly sliced green onions, ½ tsp ground white pepper, 1 clove minced garlic, 1 tsp grated fresh ginger, 1 Tbsp soy sauce, 1 Tbsp rice vinegar, 1 tsp mirin, and 2 tsp cornstarch and mix well. Add the drained cabbage and mix until incorporated. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold, at least 1 hour or for up to 1 day. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and sprinkle it lightly with cornstarch. Place a 3-in (7.5-cm) pot sticker wrapper in your hand and place a rounded 1-tsp scoop of the filling in the center of the wrapper. Wet the inside edge of the wrapper with water and bring the edges together, forming a half-moon shape and pressing firmly with our fingers to seal. (If desired, pleat the edges together or press with a fork.) Place the pot sticker on the baking sheet and cover with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap (to prevent drying out) and form more pot stickers using additional wrappers and the remaining filling. (If making ahead, freeze the pot stickers on the baking sheet for 15 minutes, or until frozen solid. Transfer to an airtight container and freeze for up to 1 week. No thawing is required before cooking.) In a large heavy-bottomed non-stick or cast-iron skillet (keep the lid close by for later use) over medium-high heat, warm ½ tsp vegetable oil and ½ tsp sesame oil. When the oil is hot, place the pot stickers in a single layer with the sealed edges facing up and cook until the bottoms are golden brown, about 2 minutes. Add about 1/3 cup (80 ml) hot water to the skillet and cover immediately. (Stand back from the skillet while adding the water to avoid getting splashed.) Continue to cook, covered, until the water evaporates, about 3 minutes (or about 8 minutes if the pot stickers were frozen). Remove the lid and allow the pot stickers to cook uncovered for another 2 to 3 minutes, or until the bottoms are crisp and golden. Transfer to a serving dish and serve warm with Pot Sticker Dipping Sauce. Pot Sticker Dipping Sauce In a small bowl, mix together 2 Tbsp rice vinegar, 1 Tbsp soy sauce, 1 Tbsp water, ¼ tsp sesame oil, 1 tsp honey, 1 tsp finely grated fresh ginger, 1 small clove minced garlic, ½ tsp thinly sliced green onion, and 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes. Use right away or refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Bring to room temperature before serving. Cheers! For the last two Wednesdays, we’ve enjoyed hot spinach and artichoke dip (here’s the recipe link). Should you be unable to eat the entire thing in one sitting (we tried really hard but alas, couldn’t do it), be assured it freezes well and reheats well in the microwave.
This week I was in the mood for something different. And so I opened my new appetizer cookbook, flipped through a few pages, and got inspired to make pot stickers. I have made them before but I wanted to try a new recipe. Fair warning, pot stickers are time- consuming, a bit fiddly, but well worth the effort. Now, I’m not about to share a recipe and sing its praises without testing it first. Just because it’s published doesn’t mean I’ll like it. And I don’t share recipes unless I like the resultant food. So, to tide you over, here’s the link to the pot stickers, or Gyoza, that I have made before. I’ll let you know about the new recipe next week. And if it’s a success (I’m sure it will be) I’ll share it with you. Maybe you’ll want to make both versions and do a comparison. Sounds like an excellent idea to me! More pot stickers to eat!!! Cheers! P.S. Don't forget to head over to the newsletter sign-up page to--well--sign up for my newsletter. You'll receive a fabulous surprise in your inbox! |