Magical Frosting

My Kitchen Cafe and Cook's Country Magazine

*Makes about 4 cups frosting (plenty for two 9-inch cake layers)

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups milk (I used 1 % and it was delish)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
24 tablespoons (3 sticks) butter, cut into 24 pieces and softened at room temperature

In a medium bowl, combine the sugar, flour, cornstarch and salt. Slowly whisk in the milk until the mixture is smooth. Place a fine-mesh strainer over a medium saucepan and pour the milk mixture through the strainer into the saucepan. Cook the mixture over medium heat, whisking constantly, until the mixture boils and is thick enough that it starts to become difficult to easily whisk. This could take anywhere between 5-10 minutes, depending on your stove, heat, etc. It should bubble quite a bit at the end (be careful of the splatters) and thicken considerably.

Transfer the mixture to a clean bowl and cool to room temperature – this is extremely important! If it is even slightly warm, the frosting won’t beat up properly. I refrigerated my initial mixture overnight. If you do this, make sure to pull it out in time to let it warm back up to room temperature. If you try to proceed with the rest of the recipe and the mixture is too cold, the butter won’t absorb into the frosting like it should.

Once the frosting is completely cooled to room temperature (it should have no hint of warmth at all!), beat the mixture with the vanilla on low speed until it is well combined, about 30 seconds (a stand mixer will work best for this). Add the butter, one piece at a time, and beat the frosting until all the butter has been incorporated fully, about 2 minutes. Increase the speed to medium-high and let the mixer work it’s magic. Beat the frosting for five minutes, until it is light and fluffy. Let the frosting sit at room temperature until it is a bit more stiff, about 1 hour. I suspect if you chill it for an hour or so, it would be stiff enough to actually pipe with instead of frosting with a rubber spatula.

Chocolate Version: Add 1/4 cup cocoa powder to the sugar, flour, cornstarch, salt mixture in the first step. Once the frosting has been mixed for five minutes and is light and fluffy, mix in 3-4 ounces of semisweet chocolate that has been melted and completely cooled to room temperature.

*Makes two 8-inch or 9-inch cake layers or a 9X13-inch pan*

Divine Chocolate Cake
My Kitchen Cafe and Martha Stewart

1 ¼ cups unsweetened cocoa powder
2 ½ cups all purpose flour
2 ½ cups sugar
2 ½ teaspoons baking soda
1 ¼ teaspoons baking powder
1 ¼ teaspoons salt
2 large eggs plus 1 large egg yolk
1 ¼ cups warm water
1 ¼ cups buttermilk
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, making sure the baking rack is in the middle of the oven. Prepare your cake pans by cutting out a piece of parchment or wax paper to line the bottom of the pan. Grease the pans, place the parchment or wax paper in the bottom of the pan and lightly grease again. Dust the pans with flour (or cocoa powder if you don’t want the white dusting on the finished cakes). Set the pans aside.

Using a fine mesh strainer, sift together the cocoa, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl. Add the eggs, yolk, warm water, buttermilk, oil and vanilla. Mix on low speed (with a handheld mixer or in the bowl of an electric stand mixer) until smooth, about 3 minutes.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Bake the cakes for about 32-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean or with moist crumbs. Do not overbake! Remove the pans from the oven and set the pans on a wire rack to cool for 15 minutes. Gently run a thin knife around the edges of the pans and unmold the cakes, removing the parchment paper liners from the bottom of the cakes. Let them cool completely, top sides ups, on a wire rack.

Trim the tops of the cake layers with a long serrated knife to make them level. Frost as desired.

Laura's Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

submitted by Melanie Sisterscafe.blogspot.com

2 cups butter

2 cups white sugar

2 cups brown sugar

4 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

4 cups flour

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

5 cups oatmeal--measure and then blend to flour in blender

24oz chocolate chips

Mix butter, sugars, eggs and vanilla. Blend all dry ingredients in a seperate bowl. Add to wet ingredients and mix until blended. Stir in Chocolate chips. Chill for an hour or so. Bake in a preheated 375 oven for 10 minutes. It is important to NOT overcook. I bake mine until barely brown

Chicken Tettrazzini

from tastyfoodilove.blogspot.com


Ingredients:

2 T butter

2 cups sliced mushrooms

1 medium onion, chopped

1 26oz can cream of chicken soup

1 1/4 cup milk

3 cups cubed cooked chicken (I just used one can, we aren't big meat eaters here)

1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/3 tsp pepper

4 cups hot cooked spaghetti (8oz)

Directions:

In skillet over medium heat, in hot butter, cook mushrooms and onion until tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. In bowl, combine soup, milk, chicken, cheese, parsley, pepper, and mushroom mixture. Add spaghetti; toss to coat. Spoon into 3 qt. Oblong baking dish. Bake at 375 for 25 minutes or until hot and bubbling. Stir. Sprinkle with additional cheese if desired.

Marshmallow Brownie Cookies

found on realmomkitchen.com

•1/2 cup butter
•1 cup granulated sugar
•1 egg
•1 teaspoon vanilla extract
•1 3/4 cups flour
•1/2 teaspoon salt
•1/2 teaspoon baking soda
•1/2 cup cocoa
•1/2 cup milk
•1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)
•Large marshmallows, cut in half
1.With a mixer, cream together butter and sugar. Add egg and vanilla extract; mix well.
2.In a bowl, whisk together flour, salt, soda, and cocoa.
3.Add dry ingredients to butter mixture in thirds alternating with the milk. Stir in nuts if desired.
4.Drop by teaspoonsful onto a greased cookie sheet approximately 2 inches apart. Bake at 350 degrees F for 9 minutes and remove from oven.
5.Immediately place a marshmallow piece (place with the sticky cut side down) on the top of each cookie and bake for 2 more minutes. When cookies are cool, frost each cookie with frosting.
Chocolate Frosting:

•1/2 cup butter
•3 tablespoons milk
•1 teaspoon vanilla extract
•1/3 cup cocoa
•4 cups confectioners’ sugar
Mix ingredients together well and frost tops of cooled cookies.

Peanut Butter and Honey Popcorn

from prudence pennywise

8 cups popped lightly salted popcorn (low-fat microwave popcorn is fine)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla (optional)
Place popcorn in a large bowl. In a small saucepan, combine sugar and honey. Bring to a rolling boil. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter until smooth. Add vanilla, if using. Pour peanut butter syrup over popcorn. Stir and serve. (You can place the popped popcorn in a large paper bag, then pour over the syrup and shake.)

Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad

What to do with that left over adobo sauce? Make this salad from Our Best Bites

SALAD:

4 c. chopped Romaine Lettuce
2 c. chopped grilled chicken (you could use Taco Chicken if you want)
1 c. cherry or grape tomatoes, washed
1/3 c. vertically-sliced red onions
1 avocado, cubed
1 15-oz. can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 8 3/4 oz. can corn, rinsed and drained Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad

DRESSING:

DRESSING:
1/3 c. chopped fresh cilantro
2/3 c. light sour cream
1 1/2 + tsp. adobo sauce from canned chipotle chilies
1 tsp. chili powder
4 tsp. fresh lime juice
¼ tsp. salt

OPTIONAL:

Tortilla Strips

Make sure all salad ingredients that need to be washed or rinsed have been. Combine lettuce, chicken, beans, corn, onion, and tomatoes in a large bowl and gently mix with your hands (which you have obviously and thoroughly washed, of course! :) ). Set aside.

Mix dressing ingredients. I say to start with 1 1/2 tsp. of adobo sauce and then go from there, probably 1/4-1/2 tsp. at a time. If you're serving this for a crowd, it's probably better to err on the side of not spicy enough rather than too spicy, but if you're just making it for your family and you have taste buds of steel, have at it. You could even chop up one of the chilies and toss it in there if you're feeling super-brave. Then taste the dressing and you'll know what heaven tastes like. Set dressing aside.

If you're making tortilla strips, fry those puppies up now. I didn't make them here because I'm trying my darndest not to be naughty nutritionally, but if I make this salad for some kind of festivity, I always make the tortilla strips. Allow them to cool.

When you're ready to serve, add avocado, tortilla strips, and dressing. Gently combine with your hands and serve.