Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake

Last year at BlissDom (the most fabulous blog conference evah!) I was lucky enough to sit with my friend Andi when she won George Duran's cookbook Take this Dish and Twist It. Since Andi doesn't cook- and she knew I did- she graciously gave me the cookbook.

This chocolate chip cookie cake, which George credits to his mom, is one of my favorite recipes. And since I'm at BlissDom again (as this publishes) I thought it would be the perfect time to share this yummy dessert!

Ingredients

Nonstick baking spray with flour added

¼ c butter (½ stick) softened

2 T granulated sugar

2/3 c chopped pecans

2 T mini chocolate chips (or mint chocolate, peanut butter, butterscotch, white chocolate...)

2 ¼ c all-purpose flower

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1 c butter (2 sticks), softened

½ c granulated sugar

½ c packed brown sugar

2 tsp vanilla

4 eggs

¾ c buttermilk

1/3 cup Irish cream liqueur (yummy!))

1 3/4 c mini chocolate pieces (for chocolate topping- optional)



Preparation
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Coat a 12-cup fluted tube (bundt) pan with the nonstick baking spray.
For the topping, in a small bowl combine the ¼ cup butter and 2 tablespoons granulated sugar until creamy. Stir in the nuts and 2 tablespoons chocolate chips. Spoon into the bottom of the prepared pan; place pan in refrigerator while you make the cake batter.

For the cake, in a bowl stir together the flour, baking soda, and salt. In a large mixing bowl beat the 1cup butter with an electric mixer until creamy. Add the ½ cup granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla; beat for 1 minute. Add the eggs one at a time, beating for 30 seconds after each addition. Combine the buttermilk and Irish cream. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour and buttermilk mixtures alternately to the batter, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the 1¾ cups chocolate chips. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.

Bake about 50 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted into the cake comes out clean. Immediately invert the cake onto a cooling rack and let cool completely, If desired, drizzle with Chocolate Topping (recipe below).

CHOCOLATE TOPPING: In a small saucepan combine 1c mini chocolate chips and 2 tsp shortening over low heat. Stir until melted.


NOTE: For best results, have all ingredients at room temperature.

Fish & Hush Puppy Skillet

The minute I saw this recipe in the latest issue of Cuisine magazine I knew I would be making it. I love that it utilizes one of my favorite cooking tools: a cast iron skillet!

This is a very easy recipe to put together and is a bit lighter than traditional fish and hush puppies since it's not deep fried. The recipe calls for catfish, but I personally prefer cod, so will be making it with that fish in the future. This recipe will definitely be making a return trip to our table!

Ingredients

2 c self rising cornmeal mix (I used Jiffy corn muffin mix)

1/4 c scallions

1 red jalapeño, seeded & minced

2 tsp garlic

1/2 tsp table salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

3/4 c lager beer

1/2 c buttermilk

1 egg

1/4 c canola oil

2 catfish fillets (8 oz each) cut into 2" pieces

1/2 c fish fry mix (note: get one that is cornmeal based and used for dredging rather than batter frying)

1/2 c ketchup

1/3 c mayonaise

1 T dill pickle relish

1/2 tsp prepared horseradish

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Mix cornmeal mix, scallions, jalapeño, garlic, salt and pepper in a bowl. Whisk beer, buttermilk and egg together; stir into cornmeal mixture and set aside.

Heat oil in 10 inch cast iron skillet until it shimmers.

Dredge fish in fish-fry mix, then fry in hot oil, on only one side, for 2 minutes.

Pour hush puppy batter over fish in skillet. Transfer skillet to oven and bake until golden and an inserted toothpick comes out clean- about 15 minutes. Remove and let rest 5 minutes. Loosen edges with a knife then top skillet with serving plate and flip both plate and skillet- carefully as skillet is still hot!

Whisk together ketchup, mayonnaise, relish and horseradish in a bowl for sauce.

Serve with coleslaw (of course).

Irish Cream Cheesecake

This Irish Cream Cheesecake has become one of my most requested desserts for family gatherings. It is so unbelievably creamy... The mixture of the cream cheese and the Irish Cream is so amazingly smooth...

I adapted this recipe from one found at cooks.com.

Ingredients

Crust

1 c graham cracker crumbs

6 T melted butter

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Mix crumbs and butter together and press into 9" springform pan. (if crumbs are too dry add a bit more melted butter) Bake about 20 minutes and cool on wire rack.

If you prefer a chocolate crust use chocolate wafers or chocolate grahams.

Filling

4 pkgs. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, room temperature
4 eggs, at room temperature
3/4 c. sugar
3/4 c. Irish Cream

Blend cheese and sugar together until smooth. Mix in 1 egg and Irish Cream. Add remaining eggs, one at a time. Pour into cooled crust.

Bake at 325°F for 45 minutes. Cool to room temperature. Cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate 4 hours or up to 2 days. Top with whipped cream and chocolate curls.

Tip: To keep cheesecake from cracking use a waterbath:

Cheddar Ale Soup

Because my family lives so close together we gather annually for Christmas. The kids open gifts from their cousins and grandparents and we adults plan a meal that usually centers around soups for the main dish.

This year I found a recipe in the Williams Sonoma catalog that I had to try. They were doing an "English Christmas" theme and the Cheddar Ale Soup sounded like just the thing to follow an afternoon of sledding.

The soup was smooth and rich and pairs wonderfully with fresh baked Irish Brown Bread.

Ingredients

4 thick cut bacon slices, cut into 3 " strips

2 Tbs. unsalted butter (If you omit the bacon, use 4T butter)
1 yellow onion, finely diced
2 celery stalks, finely diced
2 carrots, peeled and finely diced

3 cloves minced garlic
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 c pale ale
1 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce

2 c milk

2 c chicken broth
1 1/4 lb. sharp cheddar cheese, grated
Kosher salt and ground pepper, to taste

In a large, heavy soup pot or Dutch oven, cook bacon over medium high heat, approx. 8 minutes. Drain on paper towels; discard all but 2 T of bacon fat.

Reduce heat to medium add and melt the butter. Add the onion, celery and carrots and cook, covered, until soft- about 20 minutes. Add garlic, cook 1 minute.

Stir in the flour and cook for 3 or 4 minutes.

Add ale, stir constantly 3-4 minutes.

Add Worcestershire, milk and broth; bring to a simmer over medium high heat. Reduce heat to medium low; simmer 10-12 , minutes.

Puree with an immersion blender.

Set pot over medium low heat. Add cheese by handfuls, stirring constantly; do not boil. Season with salt and pepper.

Garnish with crumbled bacon. Serves 4 to 6.

Kitchen Tip: What to do with Extra Egg Yolks

I have hundreds of recipes that call for egg whites and I truly hate wasting the yolk. As I was thumbing through a very old cookbook the other day searching for a recipe for homemade noodles I saw a tip.

Hard boil the yolks.

I had honestly never even thought to do this. Brilliant!

Just place a small pan of water on the stove top and bring it to a boil. Gently add the unbroken yolks and boil about 5 minutes. Cool, then chop and place in refrigerator for use in salads and salad-type sandwiches.

Cinch! Conquer Cravings, Drop Pounds & Lose Inches by Cynthia Sass - A Review

I spent the final days of 2010 on a diet. Completely crazy, I know, but I figured if it worked and I began 2011 a few pounds lighter I might just be able to continue in 2011 during the "resolution breaking phase".

The plan I chose is a new one by Cynthia Sass M.P.H., R.D. called Cinch! I was given the book as a review and, after reading it, enjoying the conversational tone Sass uses to convey her message, and appreciating that she explained why she chose the foods for the diet (always good to know why you are eating what you are eating) I jumped in with both feet and did the 5 Day Fast Forward plan; a "jump start" to weight loss.

The 5 Day Fast Forward


The 5 Day Fast Forward is stringent, to say the least. It consists of 5 foods, prepared 4 ways, eaten on a schedule, for 5 days. By day 5 I was terribly sick of them- but I had lost 6 pounds.

What was more amazing to me, though, was that I had no desire for the party fare served at a New Year's Eve party I attended the evening before the Fast Forward ended. I had one drink, and ate a couple of appetizers the hostess had made. But I had no desire to sample everything, or keep grazing. And that, my friends, is HUGE!

The Cinch! Core Plan

Another aspect I appreciated was that the option was open for you to skip the Fast Forward if it was just too stringent and move on the the Core Plan. This 25 day plan (30 if you skip the Fast Forward) gives you options for 4 meals, by now your body has a schedule, plus one dark chocolate indulgence per day.

The menu items are easy to prepare, easy to plan ahead, and follow a "5 piece puzzle" of produce, whole grain, lean protein, plant based fat and specific spices. Learning this 5 piece puzzle will help keep you on track after the core plan ends.

Final chapters of the book discuss emotional eating, walking as exercise, and living the plan.

Pros and Cons

The Cinch! plan includes no red meat. As a Midwest girl, this is a bit painful as we have a deep freeze filled with beef and pork. But I understand the logic and plan to cut my family's red meat intake to 2 meals per week.

The cost of preparing a separate meal for myself and another for my family has been a bit daunting to work into our tight budget (raspberries are expensive in the dead of winter!) but now that I have worked through the Fast Forward I am able to buy whole foods and create menus for my family that use the same ingredients as my meals.

Certain organic foods are suggested- and Sass gives her reasons for choosing them. I truly appreciate that she says not to use organic if it doesn't fit into your budget or you just don't want to. Organic is not a deal breaker.

Vegan and vegetarian options are also given, making this a plan suited to anyone. If weight loss and healthy eating are part of your plan for 2011 I highly recommend Cinch! by Cynthia Sass.

Disclosure: I was provided a proof copy of Cinch! to review. Images and thoughts are completely mine and were not suggested or compensated.