Brown Sugar and Cornmeal Bundt Cakes with Honey Whipped Cream

by penji1

This recipe comes from the cookbook “Bite – Size Desserts” by Carole Bloom.  They taste great but I had trouble getting them out of the pan intact (even using Pam Baking Spray) but I’m not sure if that was the recipe or the pan I was using.  I didn’t make the Honey Whipped Cream (although I’ll include the recipe for you) because I didn’t have any whipping cream and I didn’t have time to go to the store because this was another little thank you for my wardrobe friends so I piped in a star of Buttercream Frosting and then sprinkled some Pampered Chef Sweet Honey Vanilla Sprinkles over that.  Also didn’t make them bundt shaped as I didn’t have a mini bundt pan, instead I experimented with a new pan I got not too long ago from Amazon which has 3 different shapes (the one you see in the picture above, a shell shape and a sort of dome shape).  I think we all know by now that I change recipes up all the time with little hesitation.

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

2/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

2 eggs, room temperature

1 egg yolk, room temperature

1/2 cup flour

1/2 cup fine yellow cornmeal

pinch salt

1/4 teaspoon lemon extract

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

finely grated zest of 2 lemons, divided

1/3 cup whipping cream

2 tablespoons honey

cakes:

1  Preheat oven to 325.  Spray cavities of a 2 1/2″ x 1 1/4″ nonstick Bundt cupcake pan with baking spray.

2  Beat butter on medium until it’s fluffy, about 2 minutes.  Add brown sugar and beat together well.

3  Lightly beat eggs and egg yolk with fork in small bowl.  Add to butter mixture 1 tablespoon at a time, scraping bowl as needed.

4  In a separate bowl, mix together flour, cornmeal and salt.  Add to butter mixture in 3 stages, mixing well after each addition.  Add lemon and vanilla extracts and zest from 1 lemon and mix well.

5  Bake cakes for 30 minutes (mine only took about 15), until golden and cake tester inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool and invert from pan.

honey whipped cream:

6  Whip cream on medium until frothy.  Add honey and continue to whip until cream holds soft peaks.

7  Fit a 12″ pastry bag with large open star tip and fill with whipped cream.  Pipe rosette of cream in center indentation of each cake.

garnish:

8  Sprinkle remaining zest of 1 lemon over top of cream on each cake.

Pink Flowers Mini Fondant Cake

by penji1

This was a little thank you for all the wardrobe ladies I’ve been working with the past week and a half (plus an opportunity for Courtney to practice her flower making skills).  The cake is about 6″ round and is that White (or in this case Chocolate) Sour Cream Almond Cake recipe plus my favorite Vanilla Buttercream Frosting and then topped with Wilton White Fondant.  Came our pretty cute and Cort’s flowers are awesome!  We’re getting better with each fondant cake we make!  🙂

Chocolate Swirl Coffee Cake

by penji1

YUM!  Don’t remember where the recipe came from though!  🙂

1/3 cup flaked coconut

1/4 cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts of course)

1/4 cup sugar

3 tablespoons butter, melted and divided

2 cups Bisquick

1/4 cup sugar

2/3 cup water or milk (I used milk)

1 egg

1/3 cup chocolate chips, melted

Heat oven to 400.  Grease 8 x 8 x 2″ pan.  Mix coconut, nuts, 1/4 cup sugar and 1 tablespoon melted butter together.  In another bowl, mix Bisquick, 1/4 cup sugar, water or milk, egg and 2 tablespoons melted butter, beating vigorously for 30 seconds.  Spread batter in pan.  Spoon chocolate over batter and lightly swirl through batter with knife several times for marbled design.  Sprinkle coconut mixture over top.  Bake 20 – 25 minutes or until top is light golden brown and cake feels firm when touched in center.

Wardrobe Dinner at The Painted Pony

by penji1

For the past week and a half, I have had the great pleasure and privilege of working on a Disney movie called “Guide To Life” in the wardrobe department with some wonderful women who I am glad to call friends!  The first few days that I worked were in the Salt Lake area and then this last week we were down in St George and our boss (the costume designer) Carolyn took us out on Wednesday night for a fabulous dinner at “The Painted Pony” in downtown St George.  The food was both delicious and beautiful and all the ladies were patient and accommodating as I took pictures of all their meals to share with you guys so thank you Carolyn for the wonderful dinner and thank you Kacie, Barbara, Jacquie, Shantell and Natalie for letting me take pics of your dinners before you even got to have a bite!  If you are ever in St George, then check out this restaurant!  It is beautiful inside and the food is delicious as well as beautiful too.  This restaurant is one which also takes advantage of local produce and uses fruits and veggies from it’s own organic garden.  (These types of restaurants are rapidly becoming my favorites!)  And now, on to the food!

Beet Salad - sherry vinaigrette, goat cheese beet gateau, honey, walnuts

Salmon Salad

Chopped Caesar - garlic croutons, parmesan chips

French Onion Soup - served in a giant hollowed out onion

Bacon Wrapped Duck - apple stuffing, celery root puree, cider reduction

Rack of New Zealand Lamb - sweet potato and fennel gratin, quince chutney, mint sauce

Butternut Hazelnut Raviolis - sage brown butter, mushroom ragout, preserved lemon, parmesan

Oozy Gooey Chocolate Cake - house made peppermint ice cream

Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee

Coconut Key Lime Pie - lime custard tart with coconut graham cracker crust

Coconut Tapioca Martini - chocolate croquettes

I had the French Onion Soup, the Chopped Caesar Salad and the Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee, as well as bites of the lamb and duck which were both to die for especially the duck!  So, if you are ever in St George, check out The Painted Pony which is open for lunch as well!

The Bidens’ Pasta Caprese

by penji1

This recipe comes from the September 2010 issue of the Food Network Magazine and yes, it is Joe Biden’s recipe but whatever your politics, this pasta is delicious!  🙂

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1 shallot, minced

1 small clove garlic, minced (I pressed mine of course!)

kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

1 teaspoon sugar (optional)  (I included it because I was using store bought tomatoes but I bet if you make this with tomatoes from your garden, when you have them, you won’t need the sugar)

2 pounds mixed heirloom tomatoes, cored, seeded and cut into 1/2″ pieces

1 pound pasta, such as campanelle, penne or fusilli

12 ounces fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2″ pieces (I used shredded)

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil (my fresh basil plant reached the end of it’s life so I left this out)

1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest

1  Whisk olive oil, lemon juice, shallot and garlic in a large bowl.  Season with salt and pepper.  Add sugar, if desired (depending on the sweetness of your tomatoes).  Add tomatoes and gently toss.  Marinate at room temperature, about 15 minutes.

2  Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Add pasta and cook as label directs.  Drain in colander and run under cold water to stop cooking.

3  Add pasta and mozzarella to tomato mixture and toss.  Stir in basil and lemon zest and season with salt and pepper.  Refrigerate, tossing occasionally, until serving.

Chili Pasta Bake

by penji1

I found this recipe on a can of S & W Ready Cut Diced Tomatoes and it looked like something my family would like.  I used mild salsa but it was still a little spicey so Bob and Zach loved it, Cort hasn’t tried it yet, I tried it and liked it but it was a little spicey.  I’m leaving on Monday to go work on a movie out of town for the whole week so I’ve been spending some time today making some food for the family to eat while I’m gone.  Bob requested pasta so I made this one which is hot and another one (next post) which is cold since you never know how the weather is going to be around here this time of year.

10 oz penne pasta

1 pound ground beef

1 cup chopped onion

2 tablespoons chili powder

1 (14.5 oz) can S & W Ready Cut Diced Tomatoes

1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce

1 cup salsa

1 (7 oz) diced green chilies, drained

2 cups shredded Mexican cheese

1  Cook pasta according to package directions, drain.

2  Cook meat and onion in large skillet, drain.  Add chili powder, undrained tomatoes, tomato sauce, salsa and chilies.  Cook 5 minutes.

3  Toss pasta and sauce.  Spoon into 13 x 9″ baking dish.  Top with cheese.  Bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Monster Marshmallow Cookies

by penji1

This recipe comes from the April 2011 edition of the Food Network Magazine.  It was the winner of one of their secret ingredient recipe contests where the secret ingredient was marshmallows.  A lady named Paula Marchesi from Lenhartsville, PA won with this recipe which she said she created to please all 5 of her sons.  I’m eating one as I type this and they are chewy and good, especially the marshmallows which are all melted and gooey and yummy!

cookies:

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

1 cup packed light brown sugar

2 eggs, at room temperature

1 tablespoon vanilla

2 cups quick cooking oats

1 1/4 cups crispy rice cereal (like Rice Krispies)

1 cup milk chocolate chips

1 cup coarsely chopped pecans (I used walnuts)

1 cup miniature marshmallows

topping:

1/2 cup milk chocolate chips

1/2 cup miniature marshmallows

2 1/2 teaspoons half and half (I used more, maybe double or even more than that, to try and get the topping runny enough to drizzle over the cookies)

pinch of cayenne pepper (I left this out)

1/3 finely chopped pecans (I left the nuts out of the topping because it was already kind of thick and hard to drizzle)

1  Make the cookies:  Preheat oven to 350.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.  (I usually disregard the parchment paper because I mostly cook with stones and usually you don’t need the parchment paper with stones however with this recipe, because of the marshmallows, I would line your sheets with parchment no matter what kind of sheets you are using.  It will make getting the cookies off so much easier because of the melted marshmallows.)  Combine flour, baking powder and baking soda in a large bowl.  In a separate mixing bowl, beat butter and sugars on medium high speed until fluffy.  Beat in eggs 1 at a time on medium speed then beat in vanilla.  Add flour mixture and beat on low speed until combined.

2  Stir in oats, cereal, chocolate chips, nuts and marshmallows.  Drop heaping tablespoonfuls of dough (or use a cookie scoop) onto baking sheets, about 3″ apart.  Bake until golden, 10 -12 minutes.  Transfer to racks to cool.

3  Make the topping:  Combine chocolate chips, marshmallows, half and half and cayenne pepper in saucepan over medium heat, cook, stirring, until mixture is smooth, about 5 minutes.  Remove from heat.  Stir in nuts.  Drizzle over cookies and let set, about 4 hours.

Makes about 4 1/2 dozen

Pink and White Fondant Birthday Cake

by penji1

Courtney and I are on the lookout for opportunities to practice our fondant cake decorating skills so when my friend LaRobyn told me about the birthday party she was throwing for her daughter Bailey, Cort and I asked if we could make a cake for the party.  We asked what she wanted and her only requests were chocolate cake and hot pink decorations so here it is.  It came out pretty good for only our 2nd fondant cake except for a slight slope in the top layer which (fortunately) you can’t really see in the picture.

The cake recipe is that White Almond Sour Cream cake recipe again (only with chocolate cake instead of white and vanilla extract instead of almond), the frosting under the fondant is my favorite Buttercream Frosting and the fondant is Wilton White Fondant that we bought at Michaels.

Happy 12th Birthday Bailey!  We love you!

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

by penji1

These gooey, chocolately, yummy cookies come from Wendy Paul’s “101 Gourmet Cookies for Everyone” cookbook.  This is the base recipe and then there are 5 variations which I plan on getting to some time in the future and when I do, I’ll be sure and post them.

1/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup brown sugar

1 cup butter, softened

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 (4 oz) package chocolate instant pudding mix (powder only)

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 1/4 cups flour

2 cups white chocolate chips (I didn’t have any white ones so I used a bag of white and semisweet swirled chips)

1  Cream together sugars and butter until light and fluffy.  Add eggs, vanilla and pudding mix.

2  In a separate bowl, mix together baking soda and flour.  Gently add to wet ingredients.  Fold in chocolate chips.

3  Use a small cookie scoop to drop dough onto lightly greased cookie sheets.  Bake at 350 for 8 – 10 minutes, until sides become golden.  Remove from oven and cool completely on wire rack.

Pasta Primavera

by penji1

This recipe comes from the April 2011 edition of the Food Network magazine.  Yummy!

salt

12 ounces fusilli or other corkscrew pasta

1/2 pound sugar snap peas, halved lengthwise, or broccoli florets (or a combination of both)  (I used both)

2 carrots, shredded  (I cut them into thin strips)

1 yellow bell pepper, cut into thin strips

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling

4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced  (I pressed it with my garlic press)

1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved  (I used grape tomatoes)

1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes  (I left this out)

1/2 cup roughly chopped fresh mint  (left this out too)

1/2 cup grated Paremesan cheese

4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled  (used more Parmesan instead of this)

1  Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  Add the fusilli and cook as labeled directs.  Add the sugar snap peas and/or broccoli, carrots and bell pepper to the boiling water during the last 2 minutes of cooking.  Reserve 1/2 cup cooking water, then drain pasta and vegetables and return to pot.

2  Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the garlic and cook until just golden, about 30 seconds.  Add the tomatoes, red pepper flakes and 1 teaspoon salt;  cook until the tomatoes begin to wilt, about 2 minutes.  Stir in 1/4 cup of the reserved cooking water.  Pour the tomato mixture over the pasta and vegetables.  Add the mint, Parmesan and half the goat cheese and toss to combine.  Season with salt.

3  Divide the pasta among the bowls.  Top with remaining goat cheese and drizzle with olive oil.