Cinnamon Roll Poke Cake

                                           

       
                                                                   

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My husband is 79 today and I am baking him a cinnamon roll cake to celebrate.  Andy and I are lucky, we are both healthy, brain active, and on foot. Andy attends classes at Ohio State along with students decades younger than he and he finds it stimulating and exciting. So tonight we are having Chinese take out and cinnamon roll cake from a new book I received yesterday called Poke Cakes.  Don't rush to buy it, I only found two cakes that interest me, but you may find the entire thing likable.  I could not resist this one because Andy has a sweet tooth...me, not so much.  I am not a sugar freak, but I will taste this one and let you know how it is.  I will give you the recipe in case you want to make this. (Rave reviews from the sweet toothed gang.)

1 box yellow cake mix                               

4 eggs
1 cup sour cream
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar
2 T. flour
1  T. ground cinnamon
2 C. powered sugar
5 T. milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven 350; spray baking dish with cooking spray.
In a mixing bowl, combine cake mix, eggs, sour cream, and oil; beat as directed on cake mix box. Spread batter in prepared pan and set aside.

In a small bowl, beat together butter, brown sugar, flour and Cinnamon until smooth and creamy.  Drop cinnamon filling onto cake batter by spoonfuls.  Drag a knife through batter and filling until swirled together.  Bake 33-40 minutes or until cake tests done.  Cool 15 minutes.

With a fork or wooden spoon handle poke holes in warm cake.

In a spouted bowl, whisk together powered sugar, milk and vanilla until smooth.  Drizzle over cake allowing holes to fill .  Serve warm or at room temperature.

Yee Haw, Cowboy lasagna is good!

This is a lazy Sunday.  Since I was not time savvy I selected cowboy lasagna which holds nicely for Sunday's meal along with the last of the garden tomatoes, cucumbers, and great green onions from the store tossed with fig basalmic vinegar. I exchanged out nearly everything to suit what I had on hand and it was (and is) delicious. It's strange to call this lasagna because there is not a noodle in sight, but then cowboys were not well acquainted with pasta. I never heard," hey chow boss, how bout pasta marinara around the camp fire tonight."

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Supper's ready!

Cowboy lasagna:
Ingredients
1. 1 lb of ground beef  or (Bob Evans zesty sausage)
2. Minced onions - 4 tbsp. (more, left over from tacos)
3. Worcestershire sauce - generous sprinkling
4. Parsley - roughly 3 tbsp, divided (plus other herbs)
5. One can of tomato soup - 10 3/4 ozs (I used Ro-tel with a little dab of sugar)
6. One can of corn - 15.25 ozs (I used peas.)
7. Dried ground mustard - 3 tsp
8. One package of tater tots - 32 ozs
9. Salt and Pepper to taste
10. Mozzarella cheese - roughly 4 cups

Directions
1. Brown ground beef with spices - drain.  Add can of soup and can of corn, simmer for about 10 minutes.
2. In a greased ( I used butter.) 9x13 baking dish, arrange tater tots in single layer.  Cover with 2 cups of cheese.  Pour ground beef mixture over top and cover with remaining cheese and 1 tbsp of parsley. (I did a layer of potatoes, a layer of cheese, a layer of meat and started over.)
3. Place in a 350F oven for 30 minutes.  Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Saturday Beth and I had a girls day out.  We made it to four stores, lunch, and a stop at Lexus to get a manual for our new car, before my leg gave out and screamed Go Home. Trader Joe's on Saturday is a stupid move, but we got there during the OSU game, so we were safe. Next was World Market where I picked up some unusual pastas with plans to enhance them.  Next... FrontGate. I did not like FrontGate as much as I was prepared to like it. Pier One knows what to charge for those glass pumpkins shown on TV.  $18. each and they are not that big. I thought it would be fun to do the table with glass pumpkins for when the Otterbein ladies came to the house, but, I will select something else.
It is always fun with Beth.  She's a blessing.

Recipes worth a go~

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Crispy Baked Portobello Mushroom Fries

Portobello mushroom slices coated in breadcrumbs and baked until golden brown, crispy and delicious!

Servings: makes 2 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Total Time: 20 minutes

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 medium portobello mushrooms, gills removed and sliced 1/4 inch thick
• 1/2 cup flour
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 1/4 cup parmigiano reggiano (parmesan), grated
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Dredge the portobello slices in the flour, dip them in the egg and then into a mixture of the panko breadcrumbs, parmesan, thyme salt and pepper.
2. Place the mushroom slices on a wire rack on a baking sheet and bake in a preheated 425F oven until golden.

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Buffalo Chicken Grilled Cheese Sandwich

All of the flavors of buffalo chicken wings rolled up into a golden brown grilled cheese sandwich.

Servings: makes 1 sandwich 

Prep Time: 5 minutes 
Cook Time: 10 minutes 
Total Time: 15 minutes

Printable Recipe 

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup cooked shredded chicken, warm
• 1 tablespoon hot sauce
• 1/2 tablespoon mayo (optional)
• 1 tablespoon carrot, grated
• 1 tablespoon celery, sliced
• 1 tablespoon green or red onion, sliced or diced
• 1 tablespoon blue cheese, room temperature, crumbled
• 1/2 cup cheddar cheese, room temperature, grated
• 2 slices bread
• 1 tablespoon butter, room temperature

Directions

1. Mix the chicken, hot sauce, mayo, carrot, celery and onion in a small bowl.
2. Butter the outside of each slice of bread, sprinkle half of the cheeses on the inside of one slice of bread, top with the buffalo chicken salad, the remaining cheese and finally the other slice of bread.
3. Heat a non-stick pan over medium heat.
4. Add the sandwich and grill until golden brown and the cheese has melted, about 2-4 minutes per side.

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Supper's ready!

Cowboy lasagna:
Ingredients
1. 1 lb of ground beef
2. Minced onions - 4 tbsp
3. Worcestershire sauce - generous sprinkling
4. Parsley - roughly 3 tbsp, divided
5. One can of tomato soup - 10 3/4 ozs
6. One can of corn - 15.25 ozs
7. Dried ground mustard - 3 tsp
8. One package of tater tots - 32 ozs
9. Salt and Pepper to taste
10. Mozzarella cheese - roughly 4 cups

Directions
1. Brown ground beef with spices - drain.  Add can of soup and can of corn, simmer for about 10 minutes.
2. In a greased 9x13 baking dish, arrange tator tots in single layer.  Cover with 2 cups of cheese.  Pour ground beef mixture over top and cover with remaining cheese and 1 tbsp of parsley.
3. Place in a 350F oven for 30 minutes.  Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

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Bacon

Let me eat cake~

Alone at last, well almost. There are four sleeping dogs but not another human on the property and here I am thinking about cake. (Oops  I spoke too soon.)  Cake:  Isn't it a lovely word?  It slips out along with a vision and a memory. I was browsing Pinterest which is a site that is a beauty and one that does not miss much.  A coconut cake popped up and even though I swore not to enter the kitchen today if at all possible my mind is touring the pantries.  Do I have this?  Do I have that? Darn  it, I have it all. What is it about coconut? Either you can eat it by the bag full or you hate it.  I know a person who is actually insulted it if it appears on the table at any house she visits. I serve it any way because I can't resist. It is simply beautiful and delicious and clean yet sticky.  Baker's is the best in my opinion.  So, I was going to do an ode to coconut today and then up popped a pumpkin skillet cake.  I have mother's large iron skillet that I have used  for blueberry buckle and baking has good results when this skillet is used for hearty English type dense cakes, but not for coconut cakes or any thing delicate. I am going to do both cakes with an emphasis on coconut (in writing only) today.

pumpkin- pecan skillet cake with salted butterscotch glaze

Yield: 10 servings

Prep Time: 20 min

Cook Time: 45 min

Ingredients:

CAKE:
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) salted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated white sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup unsweetened pumpkin puree
1 cup Gold Medal® White Whole Wheat Flour
1/2 cup Gold Medal® All-Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1/3 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans (optional)

GLAZE:
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1/2 cup butterscotch (or caramel) syrup
1 to 2 tablespoons milk

EXTRA:
flaky sea salt

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a 10-inch cast-iron skillet.

2. To make the cake: In a large mixing bowl, using an electric mixer to combine the butter and sugar until they are well mixed. Mix in the eggs, vanilla and pumpkin.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flours, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until combined. Add the buttermilk and mix until incorporated. Stir in the pecans (if using). Scrape the batter evenly into the prepared skillet and smooth the top. Bake 40 to 45 minutes, or until the center is set (a toothpick inserted into the center should come out clean). Let the cake cool completely in the skillet.

4. To make the glaze: In a medium bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, syrup and 1 tablespoon of milk. If the mixture is too thick, add another tablespoon of milk. It should be of thick "drizzling" consistency.

5. Drizzle the glaze onto the cake in the skillet. Save the extra glaze (in a covered container) to add extra drizzle to individual servings. If you're into adding sea salt, sprinkle it on top!

Tips:

*If you don't wish to use white whole wheat flour, you can certainly use ALL all-purpose flour in this recipe.

Plethora of coconut cakes on http://www.pinterest.com/kitschycupcakes/crazy-for-coconut/

Coconut loaf cake 

• 3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
• 2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pan
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3 large eggs
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk, divided
• 1 1/2 cups sweetened shredded coconut, toasted, divided
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a loaf pan. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large mixing bowl with paddle attachment, beat butter and granulated sugar on medium-high until light and fluffy, scraping down bowl as needed. Add vanilla, then eggs, one at a time, beating well and scraping down bowl. With mixer on low, add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with two 1/2-cup additions buttermilk, and beat until combined. With a rubber spatula, fold in 1 1/4 cups coconut.

Transfer batter to pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, 60 minutes. Let cool in pan the remove cake from pan and let cool completely on rack.

Whisk together confectioners' sugar and remaining 2 tablespoons buttermilk. Drizzle over cake and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup coconut.

Christmas Coconut Cake

Well, you get the idea.  Go to Pinterest and search coconut cakes and the recipes and pictures appear in all of their glory.  Love them all.

The sisters are coming, the sisters are coming....again

Each year my Otterbein sisters get together for an afternoon of pleasure.  Each person brings a salad and along with these delectable dishes is a bunch of catching up.  Andy and I hosted it last year and we have volunteered to do it again this fall on the 24th of September.  We are inviting the husbands this year since they now do most of the driving.  Andy will have a good time chatting with the guys.  I am not supposed to make anything....like that is going to happen.  I am told I could buy dinner rolls if I wish, but that's it. LOL

Last year there were ten or twelve of us which is a rather large crowd coming from all over the country.  Everyone is so busy one never can figure a good time for everyone to get here easily.

Today is the first OSU home game and some Cincinnati relatives are coming for the day and night.  We are going to have a bite to eat before they leave here for the band show.  Andy is chomping at the bit because our band director was fired, unfortunately, and he thinks there will be some shenanigans going on at the skull session, so he wants to be front and center on that. My menu got bigger than I wanted it too: corned beef with potatoes and carrots, chicken/noodles,and the oxtail pasta dish, (carbs, carbs, carbs) sliced tomatoes and cucumbers, kale salad (my first) and the number one poke cake for dessert. After the band session four will come home (the rest go to the game) and seven of us will watch the game and have take out Chinese; I'm done cooking. (OSU lost it's first opener in years. Andy's bummed.)

I am in the mood for pumpkin something something.  I found this recipe on the English Kitchen blog.  I think I will give this a try.  She is not English, but lives in England and the English have the best old fashioned baked items: sticky buns come to mind, but their best seem to be the dense loaf cakes and breads.

*Cinderella's Pumpkin Cake*

Makes 16 servings  

Printable Recipe  

This is a wonderfully moist and delicious pumpkin cake.  Nicely spiced and iced!  

For the cake:

380g of sugar (2 cups)

4 large free range eggs

225ml of sunflower oil (1 cup)

280g of plain flour (2 cups)

2 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 tsp ground cardamom

400g of pumpkin puree (1 15-oz tin)

1 tsp vanilla  

For the icing:

115g of cream cheese (4 ounces)

115g of butter, softened (1/2 cup)

225g of icing sugar, sifted (2 cups)

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp cinnamon extract

fudge bits to decorate

   

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4.   Butter and lightly dust a 9 inch bundt pan with flour, shaking out any excess.  Set aside.

Beat the sugar and eggs together until light.   Beat in the oil.  Sift together the dry ingredients.   Add to the egg mixture, combining it well.  Stir in the pumpkin, combining it in well.  Turn into the prepared baking tin, smoothing over the top.

Bake for 55 minutes, or until the top springs back when lightly touched and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.   Allow to set in the pan for 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack to finish cooling completely. Once it is completely cool, froze with the icing and decorate with the fudge bits.

To make the icing blend together all of the ingredients until smooth and creamy.   You may need to add more sugar.  I often do.   Frost the cake and sprinkle on the fudge bits before the icing sets. (English Kitchen's blog picture and recipe) Thank you.

Ina Garten's  no cook GAZPACHO FOR A CROWD.  We have a bounty of tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, herbs and what ever it takes to turn this soup out for company.

GAZPACHO FOR A CROWD!! This is the ultimate no-cook tomato soup – chop up tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, red onion and garlic in a food processor or blender and whisk in olive oil and vinegar. It’s a fresh salad in a bowl. I am going to add some Mr. and Mrs. T's bloody Mary mix and some hot sauce.

   

Grab the bed rails, it's time~

"Yesterday is history.
Tomorrow is a mystery.
Today is God's gift.
That's why we call it the present"
Joan Rivers

Get the bed rails on the bed, I have officially gotten old.  I was dreaming this nightmare of robbers stealing my stuff and my chasing them all over the Middle East trying to get it all back. Suddenly I found myself in a corner and thought what the hell, I just gave a thrust outward  to give chase, rolled out of bed knocking two blocks of wood off the antique night stand and scaring the dogs so badly they didn't think to bark.  Now I have a golf ball sized lump on my head and as I was rubbing it I looked at the clock and it was 6:18 and still dark so I thought I had gone blind. Why is it still dark at 6:18 in the morning what happened while I wasn't looking?  Andy was already downstairs, so all of this was news to him as the dogs rushed ahead of me to bark about what had just taken place.  We are going to have to have some sort of alert system because you can't hear a thing in this house especially with Andy wearing head phones all the time.

Note:  I want to tell you about these expensive Sleep Number beds.  I have fallen out of that bed two times.  Here are the draw backs: expense, base set too low to clean under, mattresses too high for short people to get into gracefully (or not.) The necessary trappings to go on the bed ( very difficult to get these on the bed at all) are astronomical in price and if you ever want to move this skating rink sized bed you need to get their techs back to disassemble, move, and reassemble it for around $149. Seek other options is my best advice.

Over Labor Day's festivities, Joe Lechler brought me some Cincinnati goodies.  Two packages of ox tails from my favorite meat store.  Yesterday I put them in the deep crock pot with all the tomatoes from the garden that I could stuff in there, some Mr. T's Bloody Mary spicy mix, peppers, celery, corn on the cob, and all the left overs that fit the bill from the meals on Labor Day.  It burbled all day.  This morning, after I righted myself and stopped thinking 9  1  1 , I got busy separating the good from the done for.  I got the meat off the bones and each of the four dogs got a bone and spent a pleasant hour or so outside and away from my feet.  After all the good was extracted I was left with a delectable sauce.  So I made two dishes of LUMACONI pasta with ox tail sauce and meat, and, of course  cheese.  One for tonight's dinner and one for the week end guest coming for the OSU football game. That was the first thing that went right today.

Then Sally and Jim arrived from Cincinnati bringing back our car which Jim had to borrow because his broke down on the way up here for Labor Day.(That car promptly broke down two days later. We are now in our full moon stage... oh yes, I believe in the full moon theory; lived it.)  Sally and Jim didn't get to stay...maybe because I was a little dizzy acting and maybe because Jim really did have a noon meeting back in Cincinnati.  Any way after they left I needed an ice capp from Tim Hortons badly!  Got in the returned car and Jim had put on the safety brake.  I do NOT KNOW where the release is on that car, or any car because I never use a safety brake.  So no ice capp for me. The way this day is going I should not be driving any way.

Unforgettable Taste

If you are like me, there are memory foods that stick to the ribs, unfortunately, but also in one's mind.  I was reading David Lebovitz's blog this morning and saw this picture of his tour of France. (He also lives and writes from Paris.)  He showed this picture of pâté from the Loire region and I immediately thought of Marie Claude's Paris party to celebrate the opening of her new antiques shop.  There was a pâté there among many generous dishes and it looked like this and probably tasted like the one I had that special evening which was near the end of my thirty years of trips to Paris.  I'll hope to never forget that taste or her kindness.

                                                                  

I was a very little girl when my parents took me to my grandparents 50th wedding anniversary party.  It was way out in the country and so snowy that my grandfather had to bring horses and a wagon to transport everyone from their cars to the house.  It was an exciting adventure and one that is so memorable.  When we got in the house, the table was laden with the most delicious looking food.  But, one platter stood out--what was that delectable white loaf sitting proudly among the various and beautiful offerings?  When my mother asked what I wanted on my plate, the first point was at the white roll, sliced and ready to be enjoyed.  My first bite and I was hooked for life on pork.

I must say I will eat potatoes in any form at any time.  When I am not feeling well, a potato fixed any way is exactly what I need...that coupled with an apple seem to do the trick for me in many cases.  I don't know why.  When I was doing the antiques circuit in England,  I always looked forward to a jacket potato from the cart outside the main door especially in Birmingham.  Those large fluffy clouds that cushioned combinations not thought of in America soothed my aching bones.



Even during the winter I can conjure up the taste of corn on the cob. Now you don't find this in London and Paris very often; I've never seen it in either place, but it is easy to break into thought during those snowy days in the USA.

I don't know how long Glenda and Joe's daughter, Mary Susan and Tom, her husband, have been married.  but they were the cause of this obsession.  We were having a bridal shower at a restaurant in Cincinnati and Glenda was to do the dessert and she pulled out this concoction.  I could never forget the first taste of this refreshing cake if my life depended on it. I have served it countless times to rave reviews.  At outdoor graduation parties after a heavy dose of scrumptious, pull this from the frig and it becomes the center of attention. Poke cakes are wonderful, no doubt about it, and this is the queen of poke cakes.

W




Prime Rib Restaurants & Steakhouses | Lawry's Restaurants

Well over fifty years ago Andy and I honeymooned in California while he worked on the Minute Man Project for the government. Andy planned something different and special for us to explore every week end.  Lawry's Prime Rib and Steak House was one of the adventures.  Their prime rib can be cut with a fork and simply melts in one's mouth.  It is the best as far as we are concerned.