In honor of the 100th post, I thought I would celebrate by sharing some of my favorite cakes along with some updates about my life. I’ll pair my favorite cakes with the areas of my life according to how I see fit. There really should be a cake for every situation. I hope you enjoy the pairings I’ve made.

Topic #1: Favorite Things: Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Cream Cheese Icing

For starters, I thought I would list a few of my recent favorite things. This cake would not really be my favorite (the Pink Lady Cake below is probably my choice), but this cake definitely won in terms of favorites over the past year or two. This cake has been made at least 5 times, and considering the number of other cakes that have also been made that is quite a few times. It is definitely a crowd-pleaser, and that makes it a true favorite.

Some of my favorite things:

1. Playing with Hurley- Pretty self explanatory I think. He’s just so cute.

2. Reading - Lately I’ve been re-reading the Harry Potter series. I’m currently on Chapter 6 of The Order of The Phoenix. If you haven’t read the books but you like the movies you are really missing a great deal of amazing additions to the story until you read the books. I recently read the Hunger Games series too. Any suggestions for exciting and fantastical or science fiction novels are appreciated.

3. Pinterest- if you haven’t joined Pinterest yet I don’t know if I want to encourage you to start. It’s a little bit addicting. Pinterest is a website where you can create “pinboards” on various topics. I have several boards like “home decorating”, “food I want to make”, “favorite outfits”, etc. When you’re browsing the internet you can click on pictures you see and “pin” them to your boards. So when you are logged into Pinterest, you are constantly seeing only super cute and fun ideas and things that other people have “pinned”, and you get caught up in everyone’s wonderful ideas and inspired to create. Pinterest is covered with ideas for using chalkboard paint, and recently I was inspired to turn a few picture frames into chalkboards, which are now hanging happily in my house. Since I started using Pinterest I have also bought and made a plan to use furniture stripper to refinish some old furniture I have. See, Pinterest is inspiring. I don’t know if I’ll be able to do the project as well as the picture I saw, but at least I feel crafty. I think that might be the point of Pinterest.

Proceed to Pinterest with caution, but if you do proceed look me up and follow my pinboards

4. Music- Lately I’ve been choosing Mumford and Sons over and over when I turn on music. I must love them. I also recently found a classical radio station (yes I use the radio in my car) and have been listening to that a lot lately as well. I played piano growing up and have always loved old classical stuff. I love Rachmaninoff, Vivaldi, and Brahams. I promise, I’m not at all pretentious. I by no means think I am cooler than you because I like Classical music.  I really just genuinely love it. I also love Missy Higgins. She’s my best friend I think.

5. Movies- Lately Netflix has been my absolute favorite thing. Instead of canceling when they raised their prices a few months ago, I looked at all my options and ended up bumping up my contract to 2 DVDs/Blu-rays at a time instead of 1, and I haven’t looked back. I love movies, and I don’t know if I really have a favorite except my childhood favorite, Princess Bride (I think that’s everyone’s favorite movie who was born before 1985). Instead of sharing my favorite movie I think I’ll tell you what’s at the top of my queue. 1. The Soloist 2. The Darjeeling Limited 3. The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe 4. The Chronicles of Narnia: Price Caspian 5. Pride and Prejudice. Please let me know if I’ll be wasting my time with any of these.

Enough favorites, on to more cakes.

Topic #2: My Wonderful Bible Study Friends: Pink Lady Cake

I think it is fitting that the Pink Lady cake be used to represent the Bible Study that I’ve been going to for the past 4 years. The simple fact that it’s pink is fitting because there are 11 girls that attend (no boys allowed!). There are other reasons the Pink Lady Cake is the perfect fit for us.

Over the past 4 years we have grown in numbers a lot. We started off as just 4 girls who got together every Wednesday night to read the Bible, but we mainly just enjoyed being together and drinking coffee, and if a little Bible got thrown into the mix every week then all the better. We didn’t have a real plan or goal, just to get together with some girls that we could pray with and count on in the tough times as well as the happy times. Over the years we have added more girls and have gotten into a better routine and reading through the Bible every week.

I started dating Brian almost immediately after the Bible study first started. When that happened, I stopped hanging out with a bunch of my “guy” friends. I think that happens to a lot of girls when they finally start dating “the one”. Those other relationships just seemed in the way, so they were over pretty quickly. I started to crave friendships with girls, and the Bible Study provided me with exactly what I needed. The word I want to use to describe both the Bible Study and the cake is “dense”. That is one dense cake in the best way possible. It’s hefty, and if you cut into it cold you better be able to bench at least 150. The Bible Study is dense too. The love we have for each other is thick and hard to cut through. I know I’m risking being extremely corny here, but it’s true. The weight of our individual problems are nothing against the strength that the group holds together. Right now in my life, my Bible Study is a tower of Pink Lady Cake.

Topic #3: Family: Sweet and Light Coconut Cake

Brian doesn’t read my blog so I say that gives me license to talk about him as much as I want.

About 2 years ago the company Brian started working for out of college shut down, and he lost his job. He was one of those people searching for work in a terrible job market right at the start, and he was lucky to find one about 5 months later. We have known since he got that job that it wasn’t his dream job, but we were thankful that he had something when so many other people didn’t. I’m grateful to the company he worked for, because that job gave us everything we needed while he looked for something that was actually in his field. A few weeks ago he got a new job doing something he’s good at, and he started last week. The change in his attitude is night and day. He seems so happy, and I feel like he’s almost a different person. He blames it on football season, but I am so thankful that he has a job he actually likes (so far). The hopeful outlook I have on his life and our relationship is light and happy like this cake. The cake is fluffy and soft like a good dream. That’s how I feel right now at home.

Topic #4: Work: Sour Cream Coffee Cake with 4-way Streusel

In May I was given a promotion and moved into a position that is in charge of fundraising, our volunteer program, and community relations in general. I love my job. Working for an organization that I care a lot about gives me the energy to get up and go to work every day with enthusiasm. It has been different though since I moved into my new position. If I thought I was busy before as the Events Coordinator, it was nothing compared to the place I am now. I don’t mind though. My focus is constantly on the children and getting them the services they need, and everything I do is worthwhile because of them. Working in a place that prays daily and asks for God’s guidance before making decisions is a really comforting thing, and I’m glad I that get to work at a place where He’s the boss.

As it relates to the cake, my job is a jumble of flavors, like the 4 way streusel. This streusel is made with 4 different main ingredients and each guest gets to pick and choose which flavor they want. It has a lot of variety and surprise, when sometimes the flavors unexpectedly overlap. Oops. The cake is also heavy, which the job can sometimes be. But, at the end of the meal you can lay on the couch and sigh as the heaviness settles into a very restful sleep. If I didn’t feel the heavy, the down time wouldn’t be as sweet.

Topic #5: Future Plans: Maple Gingerbread Layer Cake with Salted Maple Caramel Sauce

I love planning for the future and looking forward with lots of hope for good things to come. This cake makes me feel that hope. Maybe one of the reasons I feel this cake points to the future is that it a “gingerbread” cake, and that makes me excited about the holidays.

So what are the future plans? Well for now it’s moving into our new house that we signed a contract for this weekend. At the beginning of the year I said that one of my goals was to buy a house this year, and I’m kind of amazed that it’s actually happening. We will be living in a space that we won’t be planning to leave any time soon. That is the first time that has happened to me or Brian in about 10 years. College happened, and then after college it was a string of apartment living, getting married and moving in together, another apartment, 2 rent houses, and now we are finally moving into a space of our own. I can paint the walls any color I want. I can plant a garden and know I’m not leaving it in a year. I’m really excited.

Other than that, the plan is to stay happy. Brian and I both have jobs we love, and we have a dog that we couldn’t imagine life without. Maybe someday we will have kids but right now that isn’t part of the immediately plan. I’m open and excited about where life is going to take us.

So that’s it for the update. I hope you enjoy the cake pictures, and that you pick one out and make it for yourself. They are all amazing.

Growing up, I was always the boring kid who only liked vanilla ice cream. I don’t think it was necessarily that I disliked the other flavors as much as it was that I just loved vanilla, and I didn’t see any reason to eat any other kind. I had a friend who gave me such a hard time about it. She and I played softball together, and often after practices or games we would go to get ice cream. She would order really fun flavors and I would ALWAYS order vanilla. Vanilla is so simple and perfect. It’s smooth and creamy, without swirls of goo or hard chunks of candy or nuts. I love it. She did get me to order peppermint once and I did enjoy that, but ordering something different was always short lived and I would find myself reverting back to vanilla time and time again. There’s really no beating it.

I’ve tried many different brands and love Edy’s, Haagen-Dazs and the other super smooth and thick varieties. I’ve never really been a big fan of home-made ice cream either. Something about the process seemed so… not worth it. If you are able to go to the store and pick up a tub of insanely delicious and smooth wonderfulness for $5.00, then why go through all the effort and end up with a vanilla flavored ice cup, which is more of a slushy consistency than you’d like?  It just didn’t make sense to me. Of course, that was because I had never tried really good home-made ice cream.

That all changed when I met Brian’s family. Brian’s mom has made home-made ice cream on several occasions with great accomplishment. Recently though, Brian decided he wanted to learn how to make ice cream, and I was extremely skeptical that he would be able to pull it off. His mom is great at it though, and I thought maybe with a few tips from her he could, with time, generate something that would be semi-worth  the effort. He read through some recipes and decided on Alton Brown’s Vanilla Ice Cream from the Good Eats 2 Cookbook. Honestly, I didn’t pay attention at all to how he did it. I don’t know if it’s hard to do or not, or what the steps look like as you do them, but I do know with certainty that the ice cream he made is one of my favorite vanilla ice creams on the planet. My view of home-made ice cream has changed forever.

In order to make ice cream you need an ice cream maker, which we don’t have. We do, however, have a KitchenAid Mixer and Brian’s mom let us borrow the ice cream maker attachment. I don’t know if the brand of ice cream maker affects the outcome, but whatever the KitchenAid ice cream attachment did was perfect.

Hurley really wanted some. He watched Brian the entire time he ate.

Here is the recipe from the Good Eats 2 Cookbook. The result is a mouthful of joy.

Vanilla Ice Cream- makes 1 1/2 quarts (enough for 8 people to eat it with pie and still have some left over)

Ingredients

3 cups half-and-half
1 cup heavy cream
8 large egg yolks
9 ounces sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions

1. Combine the half and half and cream in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Remove from the heat and set aside.

2. Whisk the egg yolks in a large mixing bowl until they lighten in color. Gradually whisk the sugar into the yolks until smooth.

3. Slowly ladle one thrid or the hot dairy into the yolk mixture, whisking constantly. (This is the tempering part.) Return this mixture to the pot containing the rest of the dairy. Cook over low heat, stirring frequently, until the custard thickens slightly, enough to coat the back of a spoon (170- 175 degrees F).

4. Wash the original mixing bowl. When the custard is ready, transfer it to the bowl, stir in the vanilla, and cool at room temp for 30 minutes. Cover and refrigerate until the temperature drops below 40 degrees F. Best to let it chill overnight.

5. Pour into a prepped ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer’s directions. Within 25 to 30 minutes the ice cream will attain a classic soft-serve consistency. Enjoy it as is or move it to the freezer to harden for another 3-4 hours.

This year has been a slow year for the blog, and I’m really sorry about that. I hope that in the months to come I can remember to take pictures of the food I make and tell everyone about it, but it’s been hard. My job got busier (but I love it), and my dog is so dang cute and playful. It’s hard to stay in my chair when I sit down to write and he comes and looks up at me with a ball in his mouth. I’ve been really happy, but I do miss sharing things on here so hopefully I can get back into it.

I knew I couldn’t let summer pass without telling you about this peach pie though. This pie was amazing. I’ve said before that I’m a big fan of streusel, and pretty much any pie with streusel on top makes me extremely happy. This was really easy to make, and if you are in the market for a peach pie during the last days of summer I highly recommend this one.

The recipe is from Bon Appetit, and you can find the original recipe here. I looked through dozens of recipes from different website and cookbooks and it was the streusel topping that made this one win. There are also several other recipes that look fantastic. One I want to try next is the Summer Peach Pie with vanilla and cardamom, or Peach and creme fraiche pie. Check those out for some other options.

Deep Dish Peach Pie with Streusel Topping- Serves 8 or more

Ingredients

Instructions

streusel topping

• Stir flour, oats, sugar, and salt in medium bowl. Add butter; rub in with fingertips until mixture holds together in moist clumps. Mix in pecans. Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover; chill.

crust- if making yourself

• Blend flour, sugar, and salt in processor 5 seconds. Add butter and shortening. Using on/off turns, blend until mixture resembles very coarse meal. Drizzle 3 1/2 tablespoons water over. Blend until moist clumps form, adding more water by teaspoonfuls if dry. Gather dough into ball; flatten into disk. Wrap; chill at least 1 hour. DO AHEAD Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled. If necessary, soften dough slightly at room temperature before rolling out.
• Roll out dough on floured work surface to 14-inch round; transfer to 9-inch deep-dish pie plate. Cut off all but 1/2 inch overhang. Fold overhang in; crimp edge. Chill crust.

filling

• Stir sugar and next 4 ingredients in large bowl. Mix in lemon juice, then peaches; toss. Let stand at least 20 minutes, tossing occasionally.
• Set rack at lowest position in oven. Slide foil-lined baking sheet under rack onto oven floor (to catch any drips). Preheat oven to 400°F. Spoon filling into crust. Scatter topping over, breaking up large clumps.
• Bake pie 30 minutes. Reduce oven to 350°F; bake until juices bubble thickly and topping is golden, covering edges with foil if browning too quickly, about 1 hour. Cool on rack at least 1 1/2 hours. Serve warm or at room temperature. With a scoop of home made vanilla ice cream- recipe to come soon!

The stove and oven put off enough heat in 30 minutes to make life miserable for the evening. I’m sure we aren’t the only ones with this problem. I should have posted this a few weeks ago at the beginning of this long, hot string, but I’m sure there are still plenty of hot days ahead.

Here are some of my favorite recipes for when it’s too hot to cook. These recipes require no grilling, stove, or oven. Now you should have no excuse to go out to eat every night.

1. Sandwiches are a great choice, and this one is one of my favorites. This is a Roast Beef Sandwich with Cranberries that I wrote about a few years ago, but you can easily substitute the roast beef for turkey and it works very well. All ingredients are cold and refreshing.

(photo courtesy of Bon Appetit)

2. This Wild Arugula Salad looks amazing, and if you use store bought croutons you don’t have to use your oven at all.

3. The third recipe I have is Summer Rolls with Peanut Sauce from Mark Bittman’s Food Matters Cookbook. These are presented as an appetizer in restaurants, but I think you’ll find that a few of these are quite substantial as a meal, and they are so good for you. Sorry I don’t have a picture, but just read the recipe and you’ll see how wonderful these are.

4. This might be my favorite recipe from this last year, and even though I’ve made it at least 8 times I don’t have a single picture of it anywhere. There could be two reasons for this. #1, I generally am so excited to eat it once it’s done that I forget to take a picture before it’s gone, or #2, I decide not to take a picture because it’s sort of ugly. I can’t ever get it to bring a good presentation, but the combination of flavors is so amazing that I promise you won’t be disappointed. This recipe uses a slow-cooker, which doesn’t generate a lot of heat but produces a wonderful meal.

Slow Cooked Chicken with Tomatillos, Potatoes, Jalapenos, and Fresh Herbs from Rick Bayless’s Mexican Everyday

Ingredients:

1 medium white onion, cut into 1/4 inch thick rounds
salt
4 medium (about 1 pound) red-skinned or Yukon gold potatoes, sliced 1/4 inch thick
8 boneless, skinless chicken thighs (1.5-2 lbs)
1 cup (loosely packed) cilantro leaves or 1/3 cup (loosely packed) fresh epazote leaves
1 1/4 pounds tomatillos, husked, rinsed, and sliced 1/4 inch thick
1/4 cup slicked canned pickled jalapenos
2 tbs jalapeno pickling juice

Directions

Spread the onion over the bottom of a slow-cooker. Sprinkle with salt. Continue with layers of the potato slices, chicken thighs, cilantro, and then tomatillos, sprinkling salt evenly over each layer before moving on to the next. Scatter the jalapeno slickes over everything, then drizzle with the picking juice. Cover and slow-cook on high for 6 hours. Serve in bowls and sprinkle with cilantro.

5. Guacamole is probably my favorite no-cook food. I know it’s an appetizer, but use it as the base on tostadas and you’re on your way to a delicious no-cook meal. Tostadas are a great way to clean out the fridge of any leftover taco meat, chorizo, or baked chicken. Sprinkle on some cheese, sour cream, salas, and guacamole, or whatever else you have in your fridge. I generally like tostadas with a base of black beans, and you can microwave those for a minute or two and spread them on the tostada before topping.

I hope everyone stays cool, whether you’re in Oklahoma or somewhere else fantastic. For now, I’ll keep drinking lots of iced tea and dreaming about moving to Alaska.

I’ve decided to join Team Coconut.

There are definitely two teams in this world. Team Coconut and Team Won’t-touch-coconut-with-a-ten-foot-pole. I’ve only recently begun to like coconut. After years of turning down wonderful looking desserts and granola because they contained shredded coconut I asked myself why I was saying no. I realized I didn’t really have a reason. I hadn’t even tried anything with coconut since I was little, and maybe my taste buds had changed. I decided that I was going to try it again with an open mind. The result was delicious.

My mom likes coconut, and this year for Mother’s Day I made her this cake. It is a simple cake to make, and the result is extremely moist and delicious. I was a little reluctant to make a cake that sounded so easy for Mother’s Day. I felt like I was cheating using a cake mix and pudding mix in the same cake, but Tyler Florence recommended it and I trust him completely. You should too. This is a fabulous cake.

I made a few changes to the recipe that you will see noted below. You’ll notice from the picture that the frosting doesn’t cover the entire cake. It’s meant to top each layer- and once you taste it you’ll see that the frosting isn’t needed everywhere. The cake itself is very sweet and moist. I even cut out some of the powdered sugar from the frosting because as I was making the icing I could smell the sweetness of the cake and knew I wouldn’t want so much sugar added with the extra sweetened coconut I was already adding to the frosting. You might like the extra sweetness, so I went ahead and listed the original recipe and put my adaptations to the side. Let me know if you make it the original way and love it- I was just too scared to commit to the extra cup of powdered sugar.

Kiki’s Famous Coconut Cake from Tyler Florence Family Meal

Makes one 9-inch cake

Ingredients

Cake:

1 package yellow cake mix
1 3.4 ounce package instant vanilla pudding
4 large eggs
1/4 cup coconut or vegetable oil
2 cups sweetened shredded coconut

Frosting:

2 cups sweetened shredded coconut
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
2 teaspoons whole milk (I forgot to add this and it turned out fine)
3 1/5 cups confectioners sugar, sifted (I ended up only using just over 2 cups and it was plenty sweet, but add more if you have a pretty good sized sweet tooth)
1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 3 (I used 2 and made two layers, filling each with a little extra. I did this because the batter didn’t even fill the pan 1/3 of the way, and I had just read in the Cake Bible that you should fill cake pans at least 1/2 way to ensure even baking. My cake was awesome, but do three layers if you want a grander display) 9 inch round cake pans and dust with flour, tapping out the excess.

In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, oil, and 1 1/2 cups water. With an electric mixer, beat on medium speed until well combined. Sir in the coconut.

Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans and bake for 30 minutes (35-40 minutes if you are making only 2 layers) or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Make the frosting: Spread the coconut on a rimmed baking sheet. Toast in the oven for 10 minutes, or until lightly browned, stirring once or twice to ensure it browns evenly. Let cool. Combine the butter and cream cheese in a mixing bowl. Use an electric mixer on medium-high speed to beat until fluffy. Add the milk and beat until smooth. Beat in the confectioners’ sugar, then beat in the vanilla. Stir in all but 1/2 cup of the toasted coconut.

Place one cake layer on a cake stand and spread with some of the frosting. Add the next layer, then more frosting, then the last layer (if you made three) and top with the remaining frosting. Top with the last 1/2 cup of shredded coconut. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Well, unfortunately it’s been in a transition stage. I’ve been adjusting to a new job that takes most of my heart and mental energy right in the middle of the busiest time of year. I started this job in December, and after spending a few weeks of easing back into remembering how it all worked I’m now in full swing of planning the biggest event of the year. In April my organization will have a brunch and auction at a fancy hotel for 750 guests, and my job is to plan it and keep it all organized. I’m the person who hears all sides of the story and knows every single detail. It’s actually been really fun to do, but it’s hard to turn my brain off when I come home and stop thinking about details. If you’ve ever planned a big event or a wedding you probably know what I mean. When you lay in bed at night you thoughts of “I need to call the florist,” or “I almost forgot aunt Jean wants to sit with cousin Amanda, I need to fix that on the seating chart!” or “Did I ever put a deposit down for the cake? What if I lost my cake and my wedding will not have a cake!” run through your head. Everything turns out fine in the end, but the details drive you crazy up until the big day. Having a well organizes system is the only way to do it. Fortunately I have that. What adds to it a little is that I have a golf tournament about a month after the big brunch event that I keep telling myself not to forget about. My job plans 4 major fundraisers a year plus other events around our organization, so I’m always thinking details. After 8 hours + of detailed thinking I end up at home wanting to sit down at the end of the night and watch Parenthood or American Idol and switching my brain off completely.

I’ve learned that there are certain things I need in order to transition my brain from work to home so that I can be a worthy contributor to my family. There is sort of a transition routine that I’ve started and I’m trying to get the hang of. So far I think it’s working out pretty well. When I get home every afternoon, the first thing I do is change out of my professional work clothes and put on jeans, and around that time (approximately 30 seconds after walking through the door) Hurley starts asking me to take him on a walk. He runs to the garage door and starts whining and stretching his neck as far as it will go towards his leash that hangs on a tall piece of furniture next to the door. He look sat his leash, then looks at me, then his leash, then me, all the time whining as loud as he can and looking absolutely pitiful. I grab my Nikes and as I put them on he comes over to me and runs back and forth, his excitement growing. Then I put on his leash and we are off. Typically we go on a fast 30 minute walk, and by the time we are done I’m ready to make a cup of coffee and think about starting to make dinner.

The coffee is a key element to my transition period. I haven’t quite gotten the timing of it down, but sitting with a cup of coffee for about 20 minutes while reading blogs or checking Facebook is such great “me” time. After that, I make dinner, another stress-relieving thing for me, and chop, stir, taste, and season until I am no longer thinking about doilies or sponsorships.

Brian makes great coffee in a French Press. I have always enjoyed when he makes it for me but until recently I’ve never known how he did it, I just allowed myself to be waited on hand and foot and stay unaware of the recipe. I typically stick with drip coffee and it works out great, but his is definitely better. Now that I have this new routine, I had to ask him what to do because now I’ve begun to make a cup for myself before he comes home. It’s a nice little moment to myself before he gets home and I start cooking dinner.

I really don’t know why Brian makes coffee this way or where he learned how, but knowing him he learned it from a book he read about coffee once and it just stuck with him. He loves to read and he knows all of the ins and outs to why this is the good way to make coffee- but honestly I just like it. There will be no scientific reasons behind why this coffee is the best way to make it, you’re just going to have to trust me that it’s awesome and try it.

Coffee done Perfectly
Makes 34 oz (about 4 mugs)

Ingredients
34 oz purified water (we use a Brita pitcher)
1/2 cup fresh coarsely ground coffee
1/4 tsp salt

Directions
Put coffee grounds and salt into a French Press. Boil water in a tea kettle or saucepan. When the water is boiling, turn off the heat and let sit for a few seconds, then pur the hot water into the French Press. Stir gently to make sure the grounds aren’t just sitting on top of the water. Let sit for exactly 4 minutes, then press the handle down very slowly to push the grounds to the bottom of the pot. Pour into a cup and enjoy immediately.

The thing about birthdays is that it’s all about the birthday boy or girl. The dessert is one that they choose, and that they love, regardless of what the other people in the room want. It’s their personal right, as the birthday person, to have their favorite dessert ready for them with candles and a room full of people singing happy birthday.

There have been some attempts to include more choices in desserts than only the birthday person’s wish. The half chocolate/half white cakes were a good start. The Great Divide Ice cream is another excellent addition to the dessert world. The assorted cheesecakes where every slice is different are another great idea. But what do you do if your mom asks for bundt cake, and you have a room full of people who like different flavors?

Actually this didn’t happen. My family all likes bundt cake and my mom did not demand any type of dessert. She actually just wanted me to make what was easiest for me (she’s so sweet) until I forced her to say something that sounded good to her, and she said coffee cake. I think she knew it was easy (she’s so sneaky) but it was something she actually really does love so it worked out. When I started planning out the recipe I decided to make the cake into four sections and use four different types of streusel, just to make things interesting.

But, this really would work if you had a crowd of people who were strongly opposed to almonds.

What I did was I took a normal sour cream coffee cake recipe, and I made regular pecan streusel. When I got to the part where I spread the streusel in between the cake layers before baking, I simply added other ingredients to the mix in four sections. Then, I put the rest of the batter on top, and put the remaining streusel on using the same method and putting the same toppings over the spot I had put them in the middle of the cake. I baked the cake like normal. When I flipped it over, I kept track of which spot contained which ingredient, then topped the cake with a little bit of that ingredient on it’s section so people knew what was in each section. Then I put the glaze on. It was magic.

As you can see, I ended up with a regular pecan section, an almond section, a coconut section, and a raisin section.

You want to know what everyone picked? I guessed everyone right.

My mom (the birthday girl) picked coconut. My dad and Brian both picked raisins. Christy (my sister) picked pecan, and I picked almonds. I’m all about almonds. Each of the 4 sections were picked. It felt like a huge success.

I’ll be really honest though, the actual cake was a little dry. It may be because I made it the day before the party, but I’m not sure. What I would do is make this recipe instead for Almond Streusel bundt cake and not the one I made. Or, you can take your chances and just make sure you eat it the same day. It was by no means bad, just a little dry.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake with 4-way Streusel, adapted from Ashkenazic Sour Cream Coffee Cake from Epicurious.com
Serves about 8

Ingredients
Streusel Topping:

• 1/2 cup granulated or brown sugar, or 1/4 cup each
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg or cloves (optional)
• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter or margarine, softened
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans, grated coconut, golden raisins, or chocolate chips, or 1 cup any combination

Batter:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon double-acting baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter or margarine, softened
• 1 cup granulated or brown sugar or 1/2 cup each
• 4 large egg yolks, or 3 large eggs
• 1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream or plain yogurt
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest (optional)

Glaze (optional):

• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract
• 1 to 2 tablespoons milk or water

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (325°F if using a glass pan). Grease one 9-inch square pan,9-inch Bundt or tube pan, or 9-inch springform pan. Line with parchment or waxed paper, grease again, and dust with flour.

2. To make the streusel: Combine the sugar, flour, cinnamon, salt, and nutmeg if using. Cut in the butter to resemble coarse crumbs. Divide this mixture into 2, 3, or four bowls, depending on how many different streusel toppings you will be using. Stir into each bowl your pecans, almonds, raisins, coconut, or a mixture of each.

3. To make the batter: Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a large bowl, beat the butter until smooth, about 1 minute. Gradually add the sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes. Beat in the egg yolks, one at a time. Blend in the sour cream, vanilla, and zest if using. Stir in the flour mixture.

4. Spread half of the batter in the prepared pan. Sprinkle with streusel keeping each streusel type in a well defined section. Carefully cover with the remaining batter and sprinkle with the remaining streusel, being careful to top each section with the right type of streusel so it matches the streusel in between layers.

5. Bake unitl the cake is golden and pulls away from the sides of the pan, about 50 minutes. Set on a rack and let cool in the pan for at least 15 minutes. Flip cake over and top with a tablespoon of each streusel topping over the section where that topping is so your guests know what piece they are getting. Serve warm or at room temperature. Wrap the kuchen in plastic and store at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

6. To make the glaze if using: Combine all the glaze ingredients, stirring until smooth and of pouring consistency. Drizzle over the cake and let stand until set.

7. Eat while drinking coffee or hot tea and talking with your family or friends.

I was going to write about brownies today, but this soup was so amazing I couldn’t think about anything yes. Yes, the vegetable soup beat the brownies. I don’t know what’s happening to me.

I can honestly say without exaggeration that this soup is the best soup I’ve ever had in my life.

After I first had that thought, I spent some time thinking through all of the great soups that I’ve tried. A few great ones came to mind, but as I was eating this I knew it had them all beat. The flavors of the vegetables along with the small bit of Italian Sausage and fire roasted tomatoes blend together perfectly, and you are left with a delicious broth that you won’t want to leave a sip of behind. Which, as it turns out, is perfectly fine because this soup is probably not only the best soup, but the healthiest soup in the world.

Probably.

I really wanted to make a healthy dinner, because before I made this soup I made this cake:

It’s my friend Rachel’s birthday, the same person I made the cake for when I posted about it over a year ago, and she is having a party with about 30 people. The recipe is awesome-  you can find it by clicking here- except this version is twice the size, measuring 12x12x8 and weighing 15 pounds. After creating such a massive chocolate and peanut butter masterpiece I knew I wanted something healthy.

Now, the soup recipe originally came from Mark Bittman’s book The Food Matter’s Cookbook, and it’s called the Clean-out-the-Fridge Vegetable Soup. It has so many variations in the book because for each vegetable you use he gives you 3 choices to pick from. For example, I used an onion, but for that ingredient I could have also used scallions or leeks. For the carrots I could have substituted parsnips or turnips. For cabbage I could have used spinach or broccoli. I chose the vegetables I liked, added some extra tomatoes and a little Italian Sausage, and it turned out wonderfully.

The recipe in the book said this made four servings, and if you are a giant Lumberjack then this might be true for you. It actually made about 7 Brian and Molly sized servings, which I think is fairly normal… I think.

My favorite Vegetable Soup with Italian Sausage
Slightly adapted from Clean-out-the-Fridge Vegetable Soup from The Food Matters Cookbook by Mark Bittman

Ingredients
4 tablespoons olive oil
8 ounces mild or hot Italian sausage, casing removed
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 yellow squash, chopped
1 cup frozen corn kernels
10 ounces cabbage, chopped (about half a medium sized head)
salt and pepper
2 15 ounce cans fire roasted diced tomatoes with their juice
1/2 cup chopped basil
Grated Parmesan cheese for garnish, if desired

Directions
1. Put 1 tablespoon of the oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add Italian sausage and cook, breaking the sausage into bite-sized bits, until the sausage is cooked through and browned. Remove the sausage from the pan with a slotted spoon (it’s alright if little bits stay in the pan). Add the rest of the olive oil to the pot, then add the onion and carrots and cook, stirring often, until the onion is soft, about 10 minutes.

2. Add the squash, corn, and cabbage. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, for a minute or two, then add the tomatoes and 6 cups of water. Bring to a boil, then adjust the heat so the mixture bubbles gently. Cook, stirring every now and then, until the vegetables are soft and the tomatoes have broken up, about 15 minutes.

3. Add the basil and Italian sausage and adjust the heat once again so that the mixture bubbles gently. Cook until all the vegetables are very tender, 5 to 15 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary. Scoop into bowls and top with parmesan if desired.

It’s snowing oustide, which makes it chili inside.

Get it? Chili? I’m so funny.

This is Hurley’s first time to see snow. I don’t think he quite knows what to make of it yet. When I took him outside he just kind of sat in it and looked around like he didn’t know what was going on. I’m sure when it accumulates a little more he’ll start to run and play in it. Maybe.

Or maybe he will just sit inside in this chair and listen to records. Or maybe a little bit of both.

Either way, while he does those things, I’m going to be inside warming up with a hot bowl of chili.

This chili was probably the best chili I’ve ever had in my life. I think I’m starting to fall in love with Rick Bayless a little bit. His recipes are my favorite ones to cook. When I tried this I said, “It tastes like Mexican chili,” to which Brian replied, “Yeah, but way better!” We both loved it.

The chorizo gives this dish a spicy kick that we both loved. If you don’t like spicy chili, you can substitue ground turkey, beef, or pork, but I fear that the flavor of the entire dish will be dramatically mellowed. I wouldn’t change a thing.

Chorizo and Black Bean Chili slightly adapted from Salsas that Cook by Rick Bayless
Makes 4-6 main dish servings

Ingredients

1 medium-sized red onion
1 bunch green onions, roots trimmed off, cut into 1/4 inch pieces (I used about 8 stalks)
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped or pushed through a garlic press
1 pound raw Mexican chorizo sausage, casing removed (we got ours at Whole Foods in the meat department. It doesn’t come in casing so you can get the exact amount you need)
2 cups Frontera Chipotle Salsa (Rick suggested Roasty Red Guajillo Salsa, but we couldn’t find it. I honestly loved the chipotle salsa and I can’t imagine loving this chili any more than I did)
3.5 cups cooked black beans, drained
2 15-ounce cans fire roasted diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon dried oregano, preferably Mexican
1 cup shredded Mexican Chihuahua cheese, Monterey Jack, or Cheddar for garnish (I used Monterey Jack)
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish
1/2 cup sour cream, for garnish (optional)
Crushed tortilla chips, for garnish (optional)

Directions

Mix the red onion, half of the green onions, the garlic and chorizo in a large saucepan an dset over medium heat. Cook, stirring from time to time, until the onions are soft and the chorizo cooked through, about 15 minutes. Raise the heat to medium-high and cook, stirring, until everything is richly browned. Spoon the mixture onto a plate lined with paper towels to drain off the fat. Stir the salsa and 1/2 cup water into the pan, scraping the bottom of the pan to incorpoarted the browned bits. Add the beans, tomatoes, oregano and drained chorizo mixture. Partially cover, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer for 30-45 minutes to blend the flavors.

Divide the chili into bowls and garnish as desired. Eat in a chilly house as snow falls outside your window while watching football.

I would like to thank my brother Timmy and Tyler Florence for my first ever “Weeknight Favorite”.  This year for Christmas Timmy gave me the Tyler Florence cookbook, Tyler Florence Family Meal. It’s quickly becoming one of my favorite cookbooks, and this pasta recipes was one of the best new recipes I’ve tried in a long time. It was incredibly easy, incredibly light, and incredibly delicious. I give it 5 stars.

I would also like to apologize for my blog being down yesterday. Not only was it down, but I lost the posts and comments that were generated the day before the crash. Not fun.

Oh well. At least we have pasta.

Angel Hair Pasta with Chile, Lemon, and Arugulaonly slightly adapted from the Tyler Florence Family Meal Cookbook.
Serves 6

Ingredients
2 cups panko bread crumbs
8 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 garlic cloves, silvered (he says slivered but I wasn’t sure what that meant, so I just sliced them as thinly as I possibly could)
1/4 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
Grated zest of 1 lemon
1 pound angel hair pasta
2 cups lightly packed baby or wild arugula
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese for serving

Directions
In a skillet, combine the panko with 2 tablespoons of the oil and toss to combine. Toast over medium heat, stirring, until the bread crumbs are golden brown, about 10 minutes. season with salt and pepper, then transfer to a small bowl.

In the same skillet, heat the remaining 6 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes and cook for 10 to 12 minutes to infuse the oil and gently cook the garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the lemon zest and remove from the heat.

Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil. Add the pasta and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until al dente. Drain the pasta well, and transfer to a large bowl. Immediately add the arugula, the infused oil with the garlic, and the bread crumbs. Use tongs to gently toss everything together. Mound the pasta on a large platter and serve, topping with grated Parmesan as desired.