Breakfast Sausage Casserole

To raise money for the Women's retreat, our church made a cookbook.  This breakfast casserole is the first actual meal I have made from it.  This was super easy and very tasty.  It would be tasty to add some onion and peppers to it as well.... but not if you ask my husband!
Life has been a bit ho hum lately.  With everyone back living at home I suppose that is a good thing! I just haven't been blog motivated.  March recipes are rather meager.... I better get my back side into gear!

Breakfast Sausage Casserole
1 pound ground pork sausage
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 eggs, beaten
2 cups milk
6 slices white bread, toasted and cut into cubes
8 ounces shredded cheddar and Monterey jack cheese blend

Directions:
Brown sausage in a medium skillet; crumble and drain.
In a large bowl, mix together mustard powder, salt, eggs and milk.  Add the sausage, bread cubes and cheese; stir to blend completely.  Pour into a greased 9x13-inch baking dish.  Cover and chill in the refrigerator overnight.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Cover and bake 45 minutes.  Uncover and reduce temperature to 325 degrees F.  Bake for an additional 30 minutes or until set.
   **  I did not let it set overnight... I didn't plan that well!  I just reduced the cooking time to a straight 45 minutes and it was done.

Have the Cake Challenge - Pots of Gold Cake Pops

I've had Bakerella's Cake Pop book since it was released... but have I ever made cake pops before??? Nooooooo.  I was excited about this month's challenge (Have the Cake) because it forced me out of my comfort zone and into the land of cake pops.  Aside from having to make my own black colored chocolate, these really weren't that difficult to make.  Of course, these simple pots of gold are nothing at all like the beautiful creation in the Cake Pop book.  I used a simple cake mix for my cake and had leftover home made Malted Frosting left over from a cake I made last month.  These were a big hit with my Sunday school class.

  Thanks for the challenge!

Snowmen treats

I'm sure that these ideas are old to most of you.  However, I'm a grandma now and get

 to do all these fun things that were too "babyish" for my grown kids.  

Sure I have my Sunday school kids and the Cubbies Preschoolers....

 there's just something special about doing it for you own

 little one and seeing the delight in her eyes!

The first snowman we made for gifts for the Sunday School children. 

My fabulous hubby wrote a poem for us to attach on the bag. 

 He is amazing and his this gift for just being able to whip up a poem whenever I need one.

Feel free to use the poem yourself but please give Neil Thiele credit for writing it.

  A link back to my blog would be awesome too!

I’d like to make a snowman, that wouldn’t melt away,                                             

I’d make him with my own two hands so with him I could play.                            

I’d love him and he’d love me.  Together we’d have fun,                                        

sharing our adventures until the day was done.                                                       

But Winter doesn’t last all year, and I begin to think                                                          

the snowy friend that I had made, will soon begin to shrink.                                             

His face will start to sag and droop, almost as if he’d felt                                         

the sun that shines upon his face and causes him to melt.                                         

I know that I will miss my friend but I will have no fear,                                         

‘cause I can make another when it snows again next year.                                       

           

But Jesus is a better friend, which never goes away                                                  

He made me with his own two hands, exactly just this way.                                    

I’ll love Him ‘cause He loves me, together Gods’ own son                                      

will share in everything I do, whether it be sad or fun.                                              

He’ll never move away from me, and in my heart He’ll stay                                    

‘cause I believe God sent His son, and for my sins He’d pay.                                  

 He shines his face upon me, and I can say I’ve felt                                                 

                                           That Jesus let me truly see and caused my heart to melt.                                                                                                  

Now the Lord is with me, of that here is no end.                                                    

His love is always with me, Jesus my best friend.                                                     

 Written by Neil Thiele 

12/22/2011

This next snowman was for a snack for my grandsweetie.  She is really big on

Frosty the Snowman these days.... seriously big on it.  Like seven times a day

she wants to watch it, big.

This was so simple to make and it really made her day.

Easy Chocolate Turtles

Nothing new really. This candy has been seen on the Internet for several years now, 

but that doesn't stop me from sharing these highly addictive treats!  

You just take these ingredients:

1 bag of Rolo candy 

1 bag of M&M’s or pecan halves 

1 bag of pretzels (knots, squares or rounds)

Place the pretzels on a foil lined baking sheet. Unwrap the Rolos and set one on top of each pretzel. 

 Pop it into the oven at 250 degrees for about 4 minutes. 

 The Rolos will look about the same, but that’s long enough to make them soft. 

 Gently place and M&M or pecan on top of each Rolo and press down a bit. 

 Let them cool completely.

Cooky - Candies

My mom loves Christmas and she loved baking Christmas goodies. Standing for long periods of time no longer works for her, so I carry on the baking tradition for her (oh darn, eh!!!!) I have great memories of her and I being in the kitchen.  Of course, being a sprinkle addict you can imagine how happy I was helping her out with holiday cookies!  I'm sure I got more sprinkles on the floor than I did on the cookies (I know my kids did!) but what great memories.
This recipe is from my all time favorite cookie book, "Betty Crocker's Cooky Book".  Though the pictures are a bit dated, the recipes remain down right delicious!

Cooky - Candies

Betty Crocker's Cooky Book

1 cup butter or margarine

3/4 cup sifted confectioners' sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla

2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup rolled oats

Frosting

1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate pieces 

1/4 cup milk 

     OR

2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

2 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon butter, softened

1 tablespoon light corn syrup

1/2 teaspoon almond extract or vanilla, if desired

Food color, if desired

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Mix butter, sifted sugar, and vanilla well.

Add sifted flour,  salt and rolled oats into butter mixture.

Shape teaspoonfuls of dough into rounds, balls, crescents, triangles and bars. 

Bake on ungreased baking sheet 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden around edges.

Let cool or wire rack.

Chocolate Glaze:

Melt chocolate; add milk; blend until smooth.  

Dip cookie tops in chocolate; then dip into desired toppings.

Powdered Sugar Glaze

Combine powdered sugar, water, butter, corn syrup and vanilla in small bowl;

 mix until powdered sugar is moistened. 

Beat at medium speed until smooth, adding additional water, if necessary,

 to reach desired spreading consistency. Tint with food color, if desired.

Glaze cooled cookies. Let stand until hardened (6 hours or overnight).

Chocolate Gingerbread men and women

This months "Have the Cake" challenge was to make gingerbread men.  While I love ginger cookies, I'm really not a big fan or rolled out gingerbread cookies... they are too dry and hard.  Still, this recipe was rather decent (still not a fan, but almost!) and it had chocolate.  Come on, you know anything with chocolate just has to taste better!  Frost with royal icing, if desired.

Chocolate Gingerbread Men (and women!)

adapted by Vivian 

original By Sydney Mike

Ingredients

3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus

2/3 cup cocoa powder, sifted 

1 tablespoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

2/3 cup vegetable shortening

1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed

1 large egg, room temperature

3/4 cup unsulphured molasses

Directions:
Position racks in the top & bottom thirds of the oven, then preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Grease several large baking sheets, then set aside (or cheat like I do and use a Silpat!).
In a large mixing bowl, sift together flour, cocoa powder, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and baking powder until spices & coca are evenly distributed, then set aside.
In a 2nd large bowl, & using an electric mixer on medium speed, cream shortening & brown sugar until smooth & airy, about 1 minute. Beat in egg & then the molasses.
Turn off mixer & add prepared flour mixture, then AT VERY LOW SPEED beat just until crumbly bits of dough form, but not until the mass begins to cohere into a ball.
With flour lightly dust a clean, dry work surface as well as your hands. Turn dough out & knead just until it forms a smooth mass, about 30 seconds.Divide into thirds & cover them with a clean kitchen towel.
With flour lightly dust the work surface again & roll one of the thirds to a rectangle about 1/4 inch thick. Flour the dough & a rolling pin only as necessary (I like to use a piece of  Cling wrap on top of the dough to prevent sticking).
Use a large gingerbread-man cookie cutter to cut the dough into the desired shapes, then use a metal spatula to transfer them carefully to the prepared baking sheet(s). Gather any scraps, lightly dust again with flour & roll out a 2nd time, creating additional gingerbread men.
Bake for 4 minutes, then rotate sheets top to bottom & front to back; Bake another 4 minutes, or until cookies feel dry but still are a little soft.
Remove from oven & cool on the baking sheets for 2 minutes before transferring the cookies to wire racks to cool completely.
Keep no longer than 2 days at room temperature, several more days in the refrigerator, OR up to a month in the freezer.
Original recipe: http://www.food.com/recipe/chocolate-gingerbread-men-334306#ixzz1fjGb4r8u

Crazy Cooking Challenge:Dark chocolate Kahlua Mudslide Fudge

Once again Tina, from the Crazy Cooking Challenge, has given us a task: find a blog that has fudge and recreate it.  Oh my but there are so many wonderful sounding fudge recipes out there!  I wanted to try them all, but my thighs stopped me.  On Pinterest I had pinned a recipe for Kahlua fudge.  This recipe had been pinned many times. I don't expect that I am the only one that will make this recipe, but I did make some adjustments that may separate me from the others.

 Before I get to those changes, please give a big thanks to La Phemme Phoodie.  She has a wonderful blog that just so happened to feature these delectable bits of fudge-y happiness! Click on the above link and give her some blogger love!
This fudge is fantastic.  Its creamy, and not overly sweet.  Even my mom, who dislikes dark chocolate, gives it two thumbs up!  I added a teaspoon of espresso powder right before I added the chocolate.  The original recipe calls for 3 cups total of chocolate but I only did 2 cups and I omitted the nuts (yes dear, I did that for you sweet husband of mine!)  be sure to click on her link to see the original recipe!

Kahlua Creamy Fudge (Adapted from La Phemme Phoodie)
INGREDIENTS:
1 1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 (7 0z) jar marshmallow creme*
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1/4 cup salted butter
1/3 cup Kahlua Mudslide
1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon espresso powder

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate pieces
1 teaspoon vanilla

DIRECTIONS:
Line an 8 inch square pan with baking foil.or parchment paper.
In a 3 1/2 quart saucepan combine sugar, marshmallow, milk, butter, Kahlua and salt. Bring to a rapid boil, stirring constantly for 5 minutes. Remove from heat; add the espresso powder and chocolate. Stir until melted. Add vanilla. Turn into prepared pan.
Cool on wire rack for 30 minutes and then refrigerate until firm. To serve cut into squares.
Serving: Approximately 2 1/2 pounds

 Here's a tip; make the length of the foil, or parchment, a bit longer  This way all you need to do is cut around the pan and pull out the fudge!.

Make it yourself candy: Butterfingers

I try to be good with my eating during most of the year. Yes, I have a sweet tooth, but I really do try to limit myself.  Come Christmas time, though, I go full out in the candy mode.  I love making candies! There is just something so lovely about seeing a plate of glossy chocolates.  

Lately, however, I have been experiencing signs of aging (I guess that's what happens when you are in your 40's) and standing at a stove plays havoc with my fibromyalgia. So when I see a recipe for candy that uses minimal ingredients and is quick to make, I am all over it! 

Candy Corn Butterfingers

adapted from Taste of Home forums

1 lb. candy corn

16oz jar peanut butter (I used a generic brand of  peanut butter)

16oz good quality chocolate, tempered  ( I cannot stand the stores chocolate coatings but they will work if you want to go that route) 

Melt candy corn in microwave on high 1 minute. Stir and continue cooking in 15-second intervals til melted, stirring after each interval. Stir in peanut butter. Spread mixture in an 8x8 pan lined with parchment. Cool completely. Cut into squares. Dip in melted chocolate candy coating. Lay on waxed paper to set.

Note: I made mine using the stove top with a double boiler.  It worked great!

Easy Sausage Stuffing

What I like best about stuffing is the top part that gets all crunchy!  Don't get me wrong, I eat all of the stuffing. Its just that the crispy topping is just so yummy!  For the past nine years I have been making a variation of this stuffing recipe.  Not much really changes, sometimes I use fresh herbs and other times I use dried.  If my kids are going to eat it then I leave out mushrooms and  I will cook the onions and celery in a bit of butter before adding to the stuffing. Sometimes I add dried cranberries, too.  The bread is pretty much whatever I find I have on hand.  This time I used a whole grain bread but it works great with sour dough, rye, whole wheat or even the cheapie white bread you get at the grocery store. I have used this inside a turkey but mostly I make it on the side because I like to stuff my turkey with fresh herbs and lemon.  Besides, I get more of the crunchy topping when its cooked separately!

Sausage Stuffing

2 pounds bread, cut into chunks

1 package Jimmy Dean Sage Sausage

1 medium onion, diced

3 stalks celery, diced

8 ounces fresh mushrooms
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
3 stems of fresh thyme, leaves removed
1 sprig of rosemary, chopped

1 can (14 1/2 ounce) Swanson Chicken broth  ( or use your own homemade broth)

Directions:
Cook and drain sausage, crumble.  In large pot add sausage, cubed bread, onions, celery and seasonings; stir until evenly moistened.
Bake at 325 degrees F or 30 minutes covered.  Uncover and bake 15 minutes more

Caramels

Next to baking, making candies is an all time favorite thing to do.  However, I have a confession to make... I absolutely hate having to wrap candies!  BORING!  The sad fact is, if you don't wrap some candies, caramels for instance, you have nothing but one big sticky mess.
This recipe has been in my family for years and is from an old candy making book (How to Make Candy; Culinary Arts Institute 1983). If you like soft chewy caramels then this is the recipe to try.

Caramels
2 cups sugar
1 1/2cups light corn syrup
2 cups evaporated milk (I use the skim evaporated milk and works just fine)
1/2 cup margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine sugar and corn syrup in heavy saucepan.  Stir occasionally and heat to 300 degrees F.  Add evaporated milk and margarine.  Stirring continuously, cook to 250 degrees F.  Remove from heat and add vanilla.  Pour onto a lightly buttered baking sheet.  Cut and wrap individually in wax paper.

Tootsie Roll Fudge

I always hit the candy aisles after holidays.  I can get my candy as much as 75% off regular price and I then use it for decorating cakes, cookies, cupcakes, etc throughout the year.  Yes, I will admit that I do eat a teeny, tiny portion of it (I see those eyes rolling!!!!) but honestly, I do it because I want to be thrifty!.  Last year I had finally found those little Tootsie Rolls on clearance and was able to make a recipe that I had stored away from many years ago.  Tootsie Roll fudge is an easy recipe and its a great way to get the kids involved (hey, somebody has to unwrap all those candies!)

Tootsie Roll Fudge

adapted from Taste of Home magazine

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter

2 cups Tootsie Roll Midgees

2 tablespoons peanut butter

3-3/4 cups confectioners' sugar

2 tablespoons milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Sprinkles

Directions

Line a 9-in. square pan with foil. Grease the foil with 1 teaspoon butter or spray with nonstick cooking spray; set aside. 

In a heavy saucepan, melt the Tootsie Rolls, peanut butter and remaining butter over low heat, stirring constantly.

 Gradually stir in the confectioners' sugar, milk and vanilla (mixture will be very thick). 

Spread into prepared pan. Using a sharp knife, score the surface into 1-in. squares. 

Top with sprinkles or you may choose to top with holiday M&M candies. Cool. 

Using foil, remove fudge from pan; cut into squares. Store in an airtight container. 

Yield: about 2 pounds.

Chocolate Fudge Butterfingers Cookies

Butterfinger candy bars are absolutely wonderful!  I know that there are people out there that disagree and we are all entitled to our opinions :-)  Someday I would like to try and recreate the candy bar itself, but for right now I am not that ambitious.
Blog hopping, I came across a recipe for Butterfinger cookies and I just knew that I had to give the recipe a go.  I went to the store and bought three candy bars.... the recipe called for two but I had to make sure that they were a quality product, didn't I? I even ate the candy bar in the parking lot. I had to be sure that I was getting the best available!
Once home I set about following the recipe and was pleased with the ooey, gooey, chewy outcome.  I'll be looking for Halloween candy clearance sales to see if I can get a deal on more candy bars.... this is a keeper recipe!
I found the recipe for Chocolate Fudge Butterfingers at barbarabakes.com .  She posted this recipe as part of a twelve weeks of Christmas Cookies Blog Hop.  I spent a bit of time browsing through her blog.  She is also a daring kitchen baker so she and I have that in common.  I fully credit this to her (which she adapted from the Picky Palate) and she would be thrilled if you made it and thanked her for the recipe (here)!  I did change the recipe slightly and you can see my changes written in the italics.

Chocolate Fudge Butterfinger Cookies

slightly adapted from Picky Palate

1 3/4 cups flour1 1/4 cups cocoa powder (I used Hershey's Special dark  cocoa)

2 tsps. baking soda1/2 tsp. salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup granulated sugar    (I reduced sugar to 3/4 cup)

3/4 cup brown sugar

2 eggs1 tsp. vanilla

2 Full size Butterfinger Bars, crushed

1 1/2 Cups semi sweet chocolate chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. and line cookie sheets with parchment or silpat liners.In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Set aside.In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time. Add vanilla and mix until well combined

Stir in flour mixture until just combined. I did the dry mixture in three additions just so I wouldn't have a floury mess with my stand mixture.  Then stir in crushed Butterfinger and chocolate chips.

Using a medium cookie scoop, drop by rounded spoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheets. Bake for 9-11 minutes, should still be soft in center. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before removing to a wire rack to cool completely.

Yields 3 dozen cookies

Chocolate Whopper Cookies

Hi, my name is Vivian and I am a chocoholic.  Well, chocolate is just one of my addictions... I have a serious sprinkle addiction too.  But today we will focus on my chocolate- really, focus Vivian, focus (Now I want to get up and grab a handful of whoppers!).  I recently bought some Carnation Chocolate Malt powder.  I cannot for the life of me remember why I bought it.  I suppose a recipe popped up that looked good but I haven't a clue which one it might have been.  Organization has to become one of my goals.....sigh.

In any case, I had this malt powder and felt it was time to use it.  Several recipes popped up on Google that used malt powder or extract but they seemed flat. Not quite what I was looking for.  Plus, most didn't include Whoppers and it just wouldn't be any fun to not include those!  Further research led me to All Home Made Cookies which had a Chocolate Malt Cookie that used malted milk balls but not the powder.  If I didn't get those cookies made soon all my Whoppers were going to be gone.  I decided to just revamp their recipe and they turned out quite yummy!       

                    

 Chocolate Malt Cookies

adapted from AllHomemadeCookies.com

Ingredients:

3/4 c. sugar

3/4 c. butter, softened

1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 egg

1 1/4 c. Pillsbury Best® All Purpose Flour

1/4 cup Carnation Chocolate Malt Powder

2 T. unsweetened cocoa

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

2 T. sugar

42 chocolate malted milk balls

 Directions:

Cream together 3/4 c. sugar and butter, in a large mixing bowl. 

Add vanilla and egg, blending well. Add the next 5 ingredients and mix until blended well. 

Shape dough into 1-inch balls and roll around in remaining 2 T. of sugar until lightly coated.

Place cookie balls onto an ungreased cookie sheet(I prefer to use parchment paper) and bake for 7-10 minutes at 400 degrees, or until edges are set.

Remove cookies from oven and press 1 malted milk ball into the center of each cookie. 

Cool for 2-3 minutes and remove from pan.

Makes about  3 1/2 dozen cookies

The cookie Carnival

Fudgy Cats was the selection I made for this months Cookie Carnival (found at midwest living. com).  To be honest, the fudgy brownie was just "eh".  You know, the not bad but not exceptional either type. I like the idea of cutting out cats, or in my case spiders, but I would not make this recipe again.  While not every cookie (or brownie) recipe is a success story, I have found several "keeper" recipes through the Cookie Carnival.   Tami does a fantastic job keeping the momentum going and we are always on the lookout for members.  Come check her blog out here!

Fudgy Cats
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup butter, melted
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/3 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder1 teaspoon miniature semisweet chocolate pieces

Directions

1. Line a 15x10x1-inch baking pan with foil. Grease the foil; set pan aside.

2. In a small mixing bowl, stir together the flour, the 3/4 cup cocoa powder, cinnamon and salt.

3. In a large mixing bowl, combine granulated sugar and melted butter. Stir in eggs and vanilla. Add the flour mixture to butter mixture and stir until combined.

4. Spread evenly into the prepared pan. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near center comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack. Cover and chill 3 to 24 hours.

5. Uncover the brownie layer. Lift from pan using foil. Cut into cat shapes using a 3-inch cookie cutter or a knife. In a small bowl stir together the powdered sugar and 2 teaspoons cocoa powder. Sprinkle over cat cutouts. Press 2 chocolate pieces into each cutout for the eyes. Makes 14, 3-inch cookies.

Chex Brittle

Fall season at the Thiele household means snacking.  OK, you got me... any season for us is snacking season.  But in the fall I tend to gravitate towards crunchy handfuls of snack foods.  A particular favorite of ours is caramel corn (find the recipe here )  Lately I have been craving salty/sweet and I was really hoping to find a snack mix that would fulfill that itch.  While this is a pretty darn good tasting recipe, it wasn't what I was looking for.  I tossed it with some popcorn salt after it came out of the oven, which made a big difference, and I added some caramel candy corn.  

Chex Brittle

adapted from chex.com

8 cups Chex Rice cereal

1 cup salted peanuts

1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

popcorn salt, optional

candy corn, optional

Heat oven to 325 degrees F.  Spray two 15x10x1-inch pans with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, mix cereal, peanuts, condensed milk and vanilla until evenly coated.

  Spread in pans making a single layer.

Bake 12 minutes.   Remove from oven and lightly sprinkle with popcorn salt, if desired. Spread on waxed paper to cool, about fifteen minutes.  Break into pieces and add candy corn.  Store in airtight container

Chocolate Apricot Bark

If I wanted to make this candy look super pretty then I would have to painstakingly place each piece of dried apricot, cranberry and cashew on top of the melted chocolate to give it color and presence. There's just one problem with that... see, I am critical of the way my things turn out.  Some people can toss upon their ingredients and create an elegant dish.  Alas, I am not one of them!  I sit there with my tweezers and place each piece gingerly down and still think it looks funky.  In all honesty, I tend to just give it up and toss the whole think into a bowl and mix it all up.... it keeps me sane.
The trick to making a good chocolate bark is using a good quality chocolate.  A rookie mistake is using the flavored barks that are often sold around the holiday season for candy making.  While they do melt nicely, they don't taste all that fabulous.  I like to stock up on the Ghiradelli candy bars when I find them on sale.
I like to use the 60% cacao bittersweet and their semi sweet chocolate for use in this recipe.

Chocolate Apricot Bark

• 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 8 ounces very good bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• 1 cup whole roasted, salted cashews
• 1 cup chopped dried apricots
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries or Craisins

Line a  small sheet pan with parchment paper; the bigger the sheet of paper, the thinner the bark will be.  I like to keep my paper trimmed down to about 9inch x 10inch.

Chop the chocolates and melt the 2 chocolates in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, melt completely. Add the cashews, apricots and cranberries and mix together.  

Pour the melted chocolate over the paper and spread to form a rectangle, drizzle with white chocolate if desired. Let set for about 2 hours. Cut the bark into desired size and serve.  Can be stored at room temperature in container with tight fitting lid.

Irish Potato Pie

      I'm rather keen on holidays myself. While the kids were growing up I took great care to have the house decorated for every holiday. We even celebrated some of the lesser known celebration days such as Dr. Seuss day, Chocolate day... etc. The kids loved it and made for great memories and now I've restarted the tradition with my grandsweetie :-)
      Saying that, when I was asked to step in and fill the spot for the March challenge (have the cake) I was instantly drawn to traditional Irish desserts. There are many fabulous recipes sounding recipes out there but many included the use of whiskey or beer. I certainly want to try some of the stout beer recipes I found but was looking for something without alcohol. Interestingly enough, I came across this recipe for Irish Potato Pie and, to quote,"this recipe, with slight adjustments, was brought over "on the boat" by the cook's great-great-aunt shortly after a potato famine in the 1880s. When asked why she had brought a potato pie (rather than a fruit pie) recipe with her, she'd answer that she had hoped that America would have an abundant supply of potatoes, as in Ireland there was "nary a sound potato to be had there. May God bring them back." Of course, God did, and we celebrate that with the fine legacy of Aunt Bridget's potato custard pie. Mary Cummings, New Smyrna Beach, Florida, The Old Farmer's Almanac Recipe Contest, Dublin, New Hampshire."

     Doesn't sound like I could get a more traditional recipe than that! I found this pie to be a combination of vanilla custard and tapioca... taste wise, not texture wise.  The pie itself is rather firm like pumpkin pie is.

Irish Potato Pie

recipe from http://www.almanac.com/recipe/irish-potato-pie 

Yield: 8 to 10 servings

3 eggs

2 cups half-and-half or light cream

2 cups mashed potatoes (whipped smooth with no lumps)  I'm assuming they mean without milk or butter... that's what I did any way.

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon Irish whiskey, brandy, or sherry (optional)  

1 unbaked 10-inch deep-dish pie shell with high fluted edge

Freshly grated nutmeg

Toasted slivered almonds

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a mixing bowl, beat the eggs slightly. Stir in the half-and-half or cream, potatoes, sugar, vanilla, salt, and liquor (if using). Beat well until smooth.

Cover the fluted edge of the pie shell with aluminum foil to prevent overbrowning. Pour the filling into the shell and sprinkle with nutmeg. 

Place on the center rack of the oven and bake for 40 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for 15 to 18 minutes more, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Sprinkle the almonds around the outer edge and dust with additional nutmeg. Serve at room temperature; store in the refrigerator.

Have the Cake challenge 2/2011 : Romeo and Juliet Cake

This month's Have the Cake Challenge was to make a Romeo and Juliet cake.  What's that??? You've never heard of it?  That's ok, it was a new one to me as well. Sugar Plum Fairy found this recipe on the Chocorango blog and asked that we make this as festive for Valentine's day as possible.  As luck would have it, I have two birthdays in February; one on Valentine's day and the other on the 15th. I made this cake for my mother in-law's birthday.... actually, I made little individual cakes using the heart shape cupcake pan I have. I had to reduce the cooking time to 16 minutes (rotating the pans after 8 minutes) and the directions were a bit confusing so I ended up winging a few things. There's milk in the recipe, but the directions here or on the site this was taken from said when to add it. I decided that I would combine the milk and oil and where the directions stated to add the oil that's when I put it in. Also, I didn't know what to do with the guava jelly... that probably sounds stupid since the obvious answer is to put it on the cake. However, the jelly is.. well, its jelled. So to make it spreadable I added some water into a small pan and then added the jelly to warm it together and liquefy it. While it was still quite hot, I dipped the little cake tops into it. Having the paste would have been better, I'm sure of it. But I was lucky to find the jelly in our area so jelly it was.

Romeo and Juliet Cake3 large eggs

200g sugar

200g flour

2 tbsp cornstarch

1 tbsp baking powder

20g grated parmesan cheese

200ml milk

40ml oil

Topping

300g goiabada cubed (guava paste)

water

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350˚F. Grease a 22cm round pan. Sift the flour, cornstarch and baking powder. Set aside.

Beat the eggs with sugar for 10 minutes in high speed. Beat for more 2 minutes in slow speed. Fold in the sifted ingredients. (It was at this stage that I combine the milk and oil together) Mix in 1/4 of batter the oil. Fold in the remaining batter and mix the grated parmesan.

Spoon into the pan and bake for 25 minutes. Let cool on a rack. Cover with goiabada.

   Topping

Melt the goiabada with water. Let boil, stirring until reduce. Let cool slightly and cover the cake.

  I added a bit of water to the jelly in a small saucepan... thinned it out and then topped the cake with it.

Serve: 8 portions.