Vi-cation.

It’s a thing.

Last week I brought you the coconut curd. Which is still somehow, unbeknownst to me – still in my fridge. Yes, I’m asking myself the same thing, “How the heck has it made it this long?!”. It’s not for a lack of trying. In all honesty, I think I’m just being stingy with it because it’s so dang freakin’ good I want to savor it. But with Ben in class tonight, maybe I’ll just go all “Nutella jar and a Spoon” on that container and devour it. There is no shame in that right?

Please someone tell me it’s allowed.

To keep on the tropical theme I wanted to bring you another curd that was zesty, lively and worth every pucker of your lips.

I give you Key Lime Curd.

It’s very simple and one quick substitution from our coconut curd yields tantalizing results that you’ll want to top a cake with or dip a spoon into. It’s allowed. I promise.

Into a bowl went all of the ingredients until it was whisked into submission. The most difficulty part of this venture was the juicing of 1 pound of key limes and zesting the little buggers without going Pretty-Woman-with-the-escargot on each and every one. They really are slippery little suckers!!

And it was necessary to wear nitrile gloves because that much acid on one’s hands has disastrous results. Chemical peels don’t feel good, on your face or on your hands. Ever.

Once everything was whisked together and light and fluffy it was poured over a double boiler on medium and whisked until the whole mixture reached 170 degrees. Into a large bowl it went and into the fridge to cool.

Of course as any home cook and taste tester would do, I sampled it along the way. Repeatedly.

Whisk yourself away on a little zesty little vi-cation. ASAP as possible. (The Office, anyone? Dang.)

Key Lime Curd

Yield: 16 oz.

Prep Time: 10 MInutes

Cook Time: 20 Minutes

Total Time: 30 Minutes + 2 Hours Chilling Time

Zest and Lively Curd

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Butter, unsalted and room temperature
1 cup Sugar
3/4 cup Key Lime Juice
1 Tbsp Key Lime Zest
2 whole Eggs
2 Egg Whites

Directions:

In a mixer, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in one egg at a time, allowing to mix completely before beating in another egg. Beat in key lime juice and zest until incorporated.

Over medium heat, in a heavy bottom pot or a double boiler, stir cream/egg/lime mixture. Stir mixture frequently until temperature reaches approximately 170 degrees and the mixture begins to thicken. Approximately 10 minutes.

Pour into bowl and let cool in fridge. When cool, place in air tight container and use within a week. Dollop on biscuits, fill cupcakes or spread between layers of cake. Or devour with a spoon.

Adapted and Inspired by Bell'alimento

And sorry about all the “P”-alliterations, I don’t know what came over me… maybe it was Monday.

Anywho.

The classic perogie is potato and cheese aligot style wrapped up in a basic dough. But with a wheel of brie at my disposal it only seemed appropriate to frappe it into the mix and add some asparagus, for ya know – a health factor.

If it’s got something green in it, it must be healthy. Right? Okay fine, it’s a bit of a stretch but bear with me – these are amazeballs.

I halved a basic recipe since I am after all only feeding Ben and myself and having 55 perogies in my house sounded totally counter productive to my weight loss goals. (Which aren’t going nearly as well as hoped, but that’s another story.)

For the basic dough recipe, I used 1 1/2 cup AP flour, 1 egg, 2 Tbsp Sour cream,  3 Tbsp of water and salt and pepper to taste.

Into the mixer it went and kneaded into submission. Whilst it rested for 30 minutes the innards were prepared and taste tested time and time again. What? Don’t judge.

And in the interest of full disclosure – I started out with these in the bowl but had to switch to the mixer after my noodle arms gave out. Their strength sure ain’t what it used to be…

Into a medium pot, a skinned and cubed russet potato was brought to a boil in salted water and then simmered for about 12 minutes until the cubes were fork tender. At the same time 10 stalks of thin asparagus were washed, trimmed, roasted at 400 degrees until soft with a little garlic olive oil and then chopped into bits.

Once the the ‘taters were boiled, the asparagus chopped and the brie was stripped of it’s rind and cubed, the three along with a little extra salt and pepper to taste were all added to the food processor and blended until smooth.

About now the 30-35 minutes was up and the dough was ready to be rolled out and cut into 3″ circles, filled and fried.

Using my cookie dough scoop little bits of potato and cheese were added to the rounds, that were then folded over and secured. Use the tines of a fork to ensure proper crimping if necessary.

Lather, rinse, repeat with the remainders and you’re ready to fry/boil!

Into a skillet they went with 5 Tbsp of olive oil over medium heat. Cook until both sides are browned and you’re ready to devour. If boiling them is more your style, bring a pot of water to a moderate simmer, toss in some sea salt and place 3 perogies into the pot at a time allowing to cook until they just start to rise from the depths. About 3-4 minutes.

Last night we chose to consume the remaining perogies along side german sausage and caramelized onions. It was like seeing the light. And it was dang good.

Asparagus and Brie Perogies

Yield: 20

Prep Time: 45 minutes

Cook Time: 25 Minutes

Total Time: 1 Hour and 15 Minutes

Ingredients:

Dough:
1 1/2 cup All Purpose Flour
1 Egg
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 cup Water
Filling:
1 Russet Potato, skinned and cubed
4 oz. Brie Cheese, no rind and cubed
10 Stalks of Asparagus, trimmed
1 Yellow Onion, caramelized
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Pepper
1 Tbsp Garlic Olive Oil

Directions:

Dough:
Whisk together all dough ingredients in a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment. Let side and rest for at least 30 minutes at room temperature.

Filling:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Trim asparagus ends. Place stalks on non-stick pan and drizzle with garlic-olive oil. Roast until for tender, 8 minutes.
Slice and caramelize onion over medium high heat in a non-stick skillet. Set aside.
While asparagus is roasting, skin and cube russet potato. Place in medium pot of water with salt. Bring to a boil over high heat and then turn down to simmer. Cook until cubes are fork tender. Remove from heat, drain and set aside. Cut away rind of brie cheese and cube. Set aside.
When all are finished cooking, place potatoes, asparagus and brie into a food processor along with salt, and pepper and blend until smooth.

To assemble:
Roll out perogie dough until about 1/4" thick. Cut out with a 3" round biscuit cutter. Fill each round with approximately 1 heaping Tablespoon of potato mixture. Fold over dough and seal. Crimp edges with tines of a fork. Set aside on a non-stick baking pan.
Repeat until all are filled.
Once ready to cook, preheat a non-stick skillet with 4-5 Tbsp of olive oil over medium heat. Place perogies into pan and allow to brown on both sides - about 4-5 minutes each side. Set aside to drain on paper towel and eat while warm.
If you prefer to boil them, place 3 at a time into a pot of slightly salted simmering water for about 4 minutes, or until they almost begin to float. Drain and eat while warm.

Recipe inspired by Thibault's Table

There seems to be no need to actually consume sugar to result in a sugar high so lofty that would make even the most capable of diabetic meters shudder with fear. Instead of an number resulting on the screen, it would just quiver and scream, “Enough already!!”.

Much like looking at Medusa would turn one to stone – looking at the cakes from this last week would turn one into an instant sugar fiend.

But for us Cake Week writers, we revel in it. Pushing the limits of our culinary expertise and our waistlines all in an effort to give you a sugar high and inspiration that will last beyond the minutes you will spend with us on the blogosphere. It is our gift to you.

If you haven’t seen the sugar sins created this week, go visit these girls – STAT! Kirsten, Mads, Allison, Kat, and Jeanne have whipped up a virtual smorgasbord of sugar for you to feast your eyes on. Literally.

My gift to myself will be paid back after spending the next 40 years on the hamster wheel treadmill. But I do these things for you. Honest.

For my contribution to cake week – the lovely women and I had a time picking out who would make what. And as the resident cake decorator of our group, I was nominated to create a layer cake. And after hours on Pinterest with the same cake coming up time and time again, it became my duty to recreate the Rose Ombre Cake from Glorious Treats.

To cap our Cake Week – the rest of us girls wanted to pay homage to our fearless leader, Kirsten of Comfortably Domestic. Today is our leader’s birthday! And with four boys and a bacon slayer of husband we wanted to make sure she was appropriated garnished in pink for this tribute.

Despite the multitude of pinks in the cake and the frosting – composing this piece is not nearly as daunting as you imagine. Just slightly time consuming.

If you’re feeling bold – here is a white cake recipe that I used. With a perfectly tender crumb and a moist, yet not too moist texture, it was a carb-o-holics dream.

Or feel the freedom to use a boxed white mix. There’s no shame in it – there’s a reason box cakes have managed to stand the test of time. They’re consistently tasty and always a win.

To begin, I doubled the recipe to make 4 layers of the whole cake. Using a 9″ pan left me with shorter layers, where an 8″ would have been ideal. The batter was divided into four bowls and each dyed in a progressively darker color. For the pink, I wanted to keep with a dusty pastel color using the Rose Petal Pink from Wilton.

The same process was used when making the frosting. I used the cooled cakes as a color chart to make sure the frosting and cakes didn’t differ to much. Remember when decorating that the colors will intensify after a couple of hours. So if it’s not the perfect shade when you mix it – walk away and let it meld. For realsies!

To put the whole kit and kaboodle together, three of the four layers were leveled so that there was no odd drooping. And aesthetics do mean something in the grand scheme of things. The final and top layer was left with it’s slight natural dome to makes ure the decorations on top had a little extra volume on them.

To fill between the layers – pipe a small barrier around the outer edge of each layer so that your filling doesn’t go squishing out the sides. In between each layer lemon curd was poured and smoothed.

Then lather, rinse and repeat until you’re at your final layer. Viola! Easy peasy, no?

To cut down on my frosting time, I utilized my ridiculous massive frosting bag and tip to make short work of the process of spreading this White Chocolate Frosting from Kirsten, our hero and leader. (The recipe is below)

The 16″ bag and #789 tip used, allow you to pipe your frosting on in an even layer and all that’s left to do next is smooth it out. It’s brilliant. So once the top was frosted and smoothed, it was time to complete the sides and smooth them out as well.

Now for the funnest part – the decorating of the roses.

Just like when coloring the batter, the frosting was divvied up and colored to match. With a disposable bag and a tip 1M in hand I went to work make the rose. With your bag at a 90 degree angle, one quick swirl around your starting point will create a mock-blooming rosette.  Because the cake was so short the ending tapers weren’t as delicate as they could have been.

But at least I knew if it wasn’t delicate, it would have been tasty in the end.

Again – repeat with a lighter color for the subsequent rows!

So there you have it – an ombre rose cake fit for a Comfortably Domestic housewife, surrounded by waves of testosterone, a true friend and our birthday girl Kirsten – or someone else special in your life.

Everyone deserves cake.

Now go make this and promptly devour.

And if you don’t believe my “Oh my holy Lord this cake is so amazing!” take it from Huck, it really is epically delicious. Homedog took a giant lick out of the frosting when I wasn’t looking. It’s on the back side of the cake, so you don’t see the evidence…

Until now. I cried, and then poured myself a drink.

White Chocolate Buttercream

Yield: 3 Cups

Prep Time: 20 Minutes

Cook Time: 15 MInutes

Total Time: 35 Minutes

The Only Frosting You'll Ever Need!

Ingredients:

1 C. unsalted butter, softened
2 ½ C. powdered sugar (or more, depending on desired consistency)
Pinch of salt
6 oz. good quality white chocolate, chopped (NOT white chocolate chips or candy melts!)
¼ C. heavy whipping cream
¼ tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

Put the chopped white chocolate into a small bowl. Heat the chocolate in 30 second increments in the microwave set to 60% power. Stir after each increment, and continue to heat 30 seconds at a time, until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Set aside and allow to completely cool.

Once white chocolate has cooled, sift the salt and powdered sugar over the butter, in a large bowl. Cream the butter and sugar mixture together until light and fluffy, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed.

Measure the whipping cream into a cup, and stir in the vanilla extract.
With the mixer running on low speed, gradually pour the cream mixture the bowl.
Once the cream mixture has been incorporated into the frosting, fold on the melted (but cooled) white chocolate until incorporated.

Increase the mixer speed to medium-high, and beat frosting for an additional 3 minutes.
Makes about 2 ½ cups of frosting.

Kirsten Kubert of Comfortably Domestic

My dad and I were able to steal away a few hours this last weekend to go revisit our old stomping grounds from way back yonder. We used to adventure here several times a year as I grew up. Outside of the tiny town of Roslyn we jaunted up and over the mountains to the small town frozen in the same form it took in it’s heyday.

Surrounded by peaks, bull pines and nostalgia we explored the old and familiar town.

For those of you who the name “Roslyn”, might sound familiar – it is the town where the hit 80′s/90′s show Northern Exposure was filmed. Perhaps one of my pictures later on will jog your memory. And if that’s not enough, it’s where Aiden from Sex and the City got his start. Hello!! Hawt man! Even with that mangy hippie ponytail.

We stopped at our favorite smoke house, Carek’s that will soon be celebrating it’s 100th anniversary. There is no smoke house like it. The landjagers and jerkies can’t be beat. The cold concrete building still stands with it’s cold and salty familiar smell.

As for lunch, we went to a town favorite, The Brick for burger and beer. You can never lose when you drink a local beer. Since I ditched Ben for the day while he babysat Huck, I felt it the best way to repay him was in beer. I was forgiven.

The day was spent with my dad, reminscing, spending quality time together left me just plain, happy.

Throughout the day snap-happiness took over so I could capture my love of this town, same as it ever was.

Enjoy.

Near our old camping grounds north of Roslyn.

An Oasis. Remember the moose walking through town in front of this mural in the opening credits in Northern Exposure? This is it!

And that in itself is saying something, because we all know of my unabashedly full blown love affair with Nutella and Biscoff. This is like watching The Bachelor, and being at the Final Three. Who do you send packing, crying with mascara all down their face to the confessional cameras in the back of the limo, and who do you take for the final whirlwind love-fest adventure to some far off island in the Seychelles?

All three of these have incredible qualities.

I say this all while thinking it’s kinda like what all the guys of The Bachelor say to the girls before they dump their weepy asses outside the door of a Hollywood Hills mansion with flood lights and cameras for us to sit there and watch with voracious appetites for tears, hanging on the edge of our seats. Sorry – do you think I have issues with the Bachelor? I just can’t get into this season. At all. But that’s another story.

In all honesty – the beauties of all three of these spreads just shine. Nutella for the obvious reason that it is loaded with cocoa. Biscoff because it’s like the girl who’s somewhat mysterious and you can’t quite figure her out, but dang is she just incredible.

And now – enter Coconut Curd. Sweet, but not too sweet. Creamy, silky and something you want to take your time and enjoy but at the same time all you want to do is make out with it like your life depended on it.

So, go make this silky beauty for yourself and host your own little “Bachelor” – and see which one comes out on top.

Begin with two whole eggs and two egg whites, setting aside.

Resource yourself a can of coconut milk, shake vigorously and then pour off 3/4 of a cup.

Into a mixing bowl, beat together 1/2 cup unsalted butter and 1 cup sugar. Whip it until it’s sufficiently creamed together and becomes fluffy.

Then add in the eggs, one at a time, beating until light and fluffy in between each addition. Lastly, add in the coconut milk.

Add the whole mixture to a heavy bottom pot, or in my case a mock-double boiler. I set a metal mixing bowl over my deep pot filled with about 1 cup of water.

Because I’m a rebel – I added 1/4 of a vanilla bean to the mixture when I put it in the pot to cook. The bean was halved, scraped of it’s caviar and it was all added to the egg/cream mix in the pot. Once cooked the bean portion was removed.

So – over the double boiler it went and was whisked until it reached about 170 degrees and became thick.

I prefer a double boiler because it is a tad more forgiving than just over my notoriously unpredictable range. Do whatever works best for you.

Then, once it was heated, thickened and causing me to drool uncontrollably like a dog listening to a bell, it was removed from the heat and placed in the fridge to cool. Once it’s cool, it’s time to take a big dollop on a spoon and taste it for yourself.  Be greedy. It’s allowed.

Use within a week, putting on a biscuit or spreading between the layers of a cake. Or really – just devour it with a spoon. Foregoing your lady-like qualities is acceptable in this instance. Nay, a requirement.

Now – get to it.

Coconut Curd

Yield: 16 oz.

Prep Time: 10 Mintes

Cook Time: 20 Minutes

Total Time: 30 Minutes

Creamy, silky and not to sweet. This is perfect on a biscuit or between cake layers!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Butter, unsalted and room temperature
1 cup Sugar
3/4 cup Coconut Milk
2 whole Eggs
2 Egg Whites
1/4 Vanilla Bean, halved and scraped

Directions:

In a mixer, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in one egg at a time, allowing to mix completely before beating in another egg. Beat in coconut milk until incorporated.

Over medium heat, in a heavy bottom pot or a double boiler, stir cream/egg/coconut mixture. Add in vanilla bean caviar and vanilla bean husk. Stir mixture frequently until temperature reaches approximately 170 degrees and the mixture begins to thicken. Approximately 10 minutes.

Pour into bowl and let cool in fridge. When cool, place in air tight container and use within a week. Dollop on biscuits, fill cupcakes or spread between layers of cake. Or devour with a spoon.

Adapted from Bell'alimento's Lemon Curd

But instead of me wallowing or complaining – which I’m not – I wanted to share some of the most drool inducing and sinful food I’ve found on the internet machine as of late.

Chocolate Guinness Goodness from Sprinkles Bakes

I mean, really? Guinness in a cup, and topped with cream. I’ll take 7 and then someone to roll me off of my ass and onto a treadmill.

Crab Guacamole from Recipe Girl

There are no words other than a resounding, “YES, Please!” coming from my lips at this very moment.

Apple Brie and Walnut Tart by Darjeeling Dreams

Stopped dead in my tracks. With a wheel of brie and lovely Opal apples at my disposal, this baby is totally on my list for this weekend. Like, for cereal.

Turkey Cranberry Monte Cristo by Paula Deen

Is it weird that in February I’d be willing to bake a whole turkey just so I can make this one sammich? Okay good, because it looks ri-donk. Of course, I’ll tone it down a bit, because 3 sticks of butter for one sammie isn’t quite in the cards for me and I don’t have stock in Victoza. Sorry – Paula Deen jokes, too soon? Lovsies you Aunt Paula.

Pumpkin Creme Cannoli from Lauren’s Latest

For months (Months, I say!) I’ve been staring at these and was so worried about getting burned out on pumpkin that I put these on the back burner. But now – they’re popping up in my head again like a song on repeat. Red Solo Cup has been my “stuck-in-my-head-like-a-gum-stuck-to-my-shoe” song for weeks now. Must. Make. These.

Red Wine and Chocolate Cake from Sarah Keifer of Vanilla Bean Blog

As I sit here with a glass of wine in my hand, I couldn’t help but be floored by this creation. And as a member of the estrogen-nation I am a firm believer in the powers of chocolate in any form. Yes, it can! I would vote this baby into high office!

Brown Butter Ice Cream from Jessica of The Novice Chef Blog

*Stares blankly ahead at this screen unable to form coherent sentences or words*

Browned butter is a gift form the gods wrapped up in a pretty caramel colored bow. And Jess decided to sprinkle a semi-truck’s worth of fairy dust over the whole damn thing and turn it into ice cream. What a horrible (awesome) person she is (who is making me fat just by looking at this picture.)

Baked Avocado Fries from More Than Mary

And lastly, how could I not include another “wanna be fry” recipe – using green veggies. I might have made some out of asparagus, but avocado? Be still my heart. Somehow I don’t think I’ll mind getting the itchy allergy mouth reaction from a boat load of these babies. Accio, avocado fries!! Damn you Harry Potter, why don’t your spells work?!

Tell me – What recipes have you found and been dying to try? 

*All pictures are borrowed directly from the bloggers/photographers sites. Aren’t they freakin’ awesome. Credit given where it is due. If you see anything out of place, please let me know!*

With a bunch of asparagus in hand, a little lemon infused olive oil and Kikkoman Kara-age Ginger mix I went to work. And in 10 minutes – *BAM*, it was done and I was nomming away and on my way to healthy curves.

With a bunch of asparagus, washed and ends snapped off, they were laid out onto a non-stick baking pan (or Silpat if you have one) and drizzled with 1 − 1/2 teaspoons of olive oil.

Then into a gallon zip lock bag when the slathered and coated beauties where 1/2 cup of Kikkoman Kara-age was dredged over the top. After about 20 seconds of shaking it like a Polaroid picture, the spears were laid out again onto the pan and set into an oven set to 425 for 7 minutes or until the spears and coating begin to crisp. Take out, sprinkle with a little pepper, lemon zest or sea salt and promptly devour.

But if oven-frying isn’t your thing, feel the freedom (yup, you’re allowed) to fry these babies in a pan of 2 Tablespoons of olive oil over high heat until they turn golden brown. Of course frying them in a pan is going to crisp them quicker and more efficiently, but then the health factor becomes somewhat negated. I only said, somewhat!! At least it’s still veggies with minimal breading. You got that going for you.

Now go forth and gather your vegge. Jamie Oliver would be proud…I hope.

Lemon Asparagus Fries

Yield: 2

Prep Time: 5 Minutes

Cook Time: 10 Minutes

Total Time: 15 Minutes

Ingredients:

20 spears of asparagus
1 1/2 tsp. Lemon infused Olive Oil
1/2 cup. Kikkoman Ginger Soy Kara-Age Mix
1/2 tsp. Sea Salt
1/4 tsp. Lemon Zest

To pan fry:
Use above ingredients, adding additional 2 Tbsp. of oil to non-stick skillet on high heat.

Directions:

To Oven Bake:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Wash asparagus and snap off bottom ends. Lay out on non-stick baking pan. Drizzle with olive oil. Into gallon zip lock bag, pour in kara-age mix. Place in asparagus and dredge in mixture until all spears of asparagus are coated. Lay out on baking pan and bake in hot oven until coating begins to brown, about 7 minutes. Asparagus should be fork tender.
Devour while warm, and season with sea salt and lemon zest if you would like.

To Fry:
Preheat 2 Tbsp olive oil in non-stick skillet on high heat. Prepare asparagus as described above. When oil is hot, drop in each spear and allow to fry until golden brown - about 60 seconds each side. All to drain on paper towels. Season with sea salt and/or lemon zest. Devour while warm.

*The Kikkoman Soy-Ginger Kara-age was provided to me by the FoodBuzz Tastemaker’s program. Recipe is my own and so are the opinions above.*

Beer makes everything better. Including soup. And with all the cold we’ve been having I’ve been eating soup non-stop. I usually crack a can of some edible and “pretty well passes for soup” Healthy Choice soup for lunch (don’t judge me, Weight Watchers here!), but as of late – I’ve needed more. More chunks of meat and vegg, thicker gravy-like stew, and that warm sensation as it heats you from the inside out.

Me and soup have a thing going on. And I don’t care who knows it. And if it is served with a slice of baguette to wipe up all the left-behind, you’ve got my heart.

As a Christmas present from the future in laws, I received a subscription to Eating Well magazine. And I love it. No, really. It’s amazing. This isn’t a “yeah, my in-laws gave it to me and it’s nice” – it’s fantastic! It’s not a magazine over brimming on a tangent of organic-everything, overtly-in-you-face hippie magazine, but one that highlights healthy living in a realistic and everyday way.

My absolute favorite part of the magazines is that it easily decodes the recipes into categories including, high fiber, low weight, healthy heart, gluten free, budget entree and “ready in 45 or less”. The six icons are included at the beginning of each recipe and in the front of each edition in the recipe index. It’s laid out so plainly and simply you can’t help but follow it.

So, go make this immediately and revel in the healthy, high-fiber, healthy-weight glory.

Slow Cooker Chicken Stout Stew

Yield: 8

Prep Time: 45 Minutes

Cook Time: 4-8 Hours

Total Time: 5-9 Hours

Ingredients:

6 tablespoons plus 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, divided
1 teaspoon salt, divided, plus more to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper, plus more to taste
2 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed
6 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
3 pieces bacon, chopped
1 2/3 cups Guinness beer or other stout (14-ounce can)
1 pound whole baby carrots or large carrots cut into 1-inch pieces
1 8-ounce package cremini or button mushrooms, halved if large
2 cups chopped onion
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 (14oz) can reduced-sodium chicken broth

Directions:

In a shallow bowl, whisk together 6 Tbsp flour with 1/2 tsp salt and pepper. Dredge chicken thighs into the flour and set aside.
Heat 4 Tbsp oil into a large non-stick skillet on medium-high heat. Add half of the dredged chicken thighs, cooking until browned, 2-4 minutes on each side. Remove from heat and put into slow cooker. Add in remaining 2 Tbsp olive oil and cook the remaining half of the chicken thighs. Place remaining into slow cooker.
Add chopped bacon to skillet and allow to brown until cooked. With bacon still in the pan, cover with 1/2 cup of flour and stir frequently until all the oil is absorbed. Pour can of Stout beer over the flour/bacon mixture and stir any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Allow to reach a slight boil.
Pour beer/bacon mixture over the chicken thighs in the slow cooker.
Add diced carrots, halved mushrooms, onion, garlic and thyme, distributing evenly over the chicken. Pour broth over the top.
Cover and cook until the chicken falls apart, 4 hours on High or 7 to 8 hours on Low. Season with the remaining salt and pepper.

One full size and two split bottles of almond champagne from Beka’s wedding back in ’10 (yeah, I said ’10) have remained in my fridge waiting for some sort of “special occasion” that I keep letting pass by me. Really, I like the stuff and I’m being stingy with it.

One split was shared by me and Ben the night he proposed. It was a mini-tribute to Beka who was across the country, but who was a big reason as to “how” we got engaged. She was with Ben when he picked out my ring. Bestie helping bestie’s boyfriend, ya see. It’s what good friends do. And after that the other two baby-bottles stayed at home in the back of the fridge nestled up with the beastie bottle waiting to be put to good use.

But now, finally – I have found a really good reason to break out the bubbly. To bake with it! If that’s not a reason to celebrate, I don’t know what is.

Almond and lemon go together like PB& J, Nutella and a spoon, and Sunny and Cher, in the “I got you, babe”-way –  not the weird high waisted 70′s bell bottomed clad and stoned sorta way.

The point is…

The lemon and almond profile go together in an awesome and cosmically aligned way and with almond champagne on hand to liven up the joint, it seemed like the perfect avenue in which to shift this bundt into high gear.

After preheating my oven to 325 degrees. All of the ingredients were whisked into eggy oblivion.

~ 1 cup butter, softened

~ 2 cups sugar

~ 5 whole eggs

~ 1/2 tsp Almond Extract

~ Juice and zest of 1 Lemon

~ 3 cups All- Purpose Flour

~ 1/2 tsp Baking Powder

~ 1/2 tsp Baking Soda

~ 1/4 tsp Salt

~ 1 cup Almond Champagne

Butter and sugar beat together until smooth is one of the best things to come out of a mixing bowl. I can’t help but dip a spoon in every time I make this or cookies. Why lie, I’m a rebel.

With the creaming of butter and sugar complete it was time to add in the rest of the ingredients.

With the last, but most crucial ingredient being the almond champagne.

Into a sprayed bundt pan it went and it was ready for it’s close up with Mr. Deville, ie: my oven.

While the bundt was baking (Hi, I’m Megan and I’m an alliteration-aholic), I began the quick work of prepping the frosting.

Whisk together:

~ 1 cup powdered sugar

~ 4 tsp Champagne

~ 1 tsp Lemon Zest

~ 1/2 tsp Vanilla

Set aside until you’re ready to pour it over your almost-cooled baked bundt.

Then once sufficiently cooled, pour it over, let it drip down the sides and into every little crevice it can. Slice off a piece and devour it like an anaconda feasting on a a deer. Unhinging your jaw is allowed. And not at all un-lady-like under these delicious circumstances.

Almond Champagne and Lemon Bundt

Yield: 12

Prep Time: 15 Minutes

Cook Time: 1 Hour

Total Time: 1 Hour and 15 Minues

Ingredients:

For Bundt Cake:
~ 1 cup butter, softened
~ 2 cups sugar
~ 5 whole eggs
~ 1/2 tsp Almond Extract
~ Juice and zest of 1 Lemon
~ 3 cups All- Purpose Flour
~ 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
~ 1/2 tsp Baking Soda
~ 1/4 tsp Salt
~ 1 cup Almond Champagne

For Frosting:
~ 1 cup powdered sugar
~ 4 tsp Champagne
~ 1 tsp Lemon Zest
~ 1/2 tsp Vanilla

Directions:

For Cake:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
In stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar. Beat in eggs, almond extract, lemon juice and zest, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add in almond champagne and lastly, flour.
Pour into a greased budnt pan and bake for 1 hour, or until tooth pick comes out clean. Allow to cool 10 minutes in pan, and then turn out onto a cooking rack.
Slice when cooled and covered in frosting. Devour.

For Frosting:
In small bowl, whisk together powdered sugar, champagne, lemon zest and vanilla. Pour over cooled bundt cake before serving.

Find this recipe at 4 Little Ferguson’s.

Jenny – contact me at wannabeacountrycleaver@yahoo.com with your information and we’ll get this shipped to you ASAP! Congrats again, and thank you everyone for your entries!

In this installment of the ongoing saga of “Carbs and the Czech Girl” (this would be an Oscar nominated movie, I’m sure!) I wanted to share the joys of sourdough with you.

Sourdough, the one true bread.

Clam chowder just wouldn’t be the same in any other bread bowl, wouldn’t you say?

With the carb kick ongoing, I wanted to share the eternal joy of sourdough with you and with a little help from the fine people of King Arthur Flour, one lucky reader will be able to share in the exhilaration of bread baking on their very own! But more details on that later, promise.

King Arthur Flour was kind enough to send me the set up required to put together the perfect sourdough at home, including a starter with origins dating back to colonial America! 250 years! I’m sorry but if that isn’t the very definition of romance in baking, I don’t know what is!

So with my starter, I began – as you do at 5am. No, beginning at 5am is not a requirement. I just get up for work at an ungodly hour and this was my first chance to put my starter to work.  To prep my little starter, “he” was given the necessary flour and de-chlorinated water to begin his yeasty journey.

Yeast + flour =  bread destiny.

It’s an undisputed fact.

With a dough whisk in hand, the starter was combined, covered, and set aside to meld.

After a full day of brewing and bubbling he came out positively gassy, as he should have been. Perfection, indeed.

Regulating the pH of the starter was the next necessary step and then I began the work of preparing the dough.

With flour here, yeast there, and a glob of stater I was off to the races. Using the dough whisk I kneaded and beat the dough into delicious submission. It was quite the workout. I can only contend that anyone making a a few dozen loaves of bread a week in this fashion would soon end up with the forearms of Angelina Jolie. It’s intense stuff! And it made me value my Kitchen Aid all the more. But dang is it empowering when you realize you can do this on your very own and have a product that is absolutely divine.

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a hundred time – this is an empowering process.

With a whisking and a kneading done, it was time for a rest. For me and the bread.

After and couple hour rise, the dough was ready to be split into two loaves, risen again and finally – baked.

With a razor sharp knife and the courage of my convictions, two cross slices were placed in the top of each loaf and they were ready to go. Into the oven and onto a baking stone they went. And 25 minutes later they came out golden brown, sour to the smell and crusty as only a good loaf of artisan bread can be.

And even if it’s not holed out and filled with chowder – a slice toasted and slathered with butter is just fine by me.

Now – for the extra fun bit! The fine people of King Arthur Flour, the beacons of bread baking, have decided to provide a set up for sourdough to one lucky reader! The winner will receive a fresh sourdough starter, a dough whisk, a coupon for a free 5-lb bag of their All Purpose Flour and of course the recipes and how-to’s so you can recreate loaves of sourdough in your very own home for months, nay – YEARS to come!

Share the joy of crusty carbs and bread baking empowerment with your friends from the company that knows bread best!

To Enter: (mandatory entry)

Tell me and King Arthur Flour – What is your favorite type of bread?

For additional entries:

Like King Arthur Flour on Facebook.

Follow King Arthur Flour on Twitter.

Like Wanna Be A Country Cleaver on Facebook.

Follow Wanna Be A Country Cleaver on Twitter.

Follow Wanna Be A Country Cleaver on Pinterest.

Pin this giveaway to Pinterest with the handy “Pin” button at the top of the post!

Tweet about the giveaway with, “Win a Sourdough making kit from @KingArthurFlour and @Countrycleaver! http://www.countrycleaver.com/?p=708”

That’s 8 entries total. Mighty fine odds there folks!

*Now for the fine print* - Leave a comment for each of these entries and you’ll be registered to win. The giveaway will end on Monday, February 6th with the winner being contacted by me via e-mail, announced on the Wanna Be A Country Cleaver Facebook page and tweeted to on Twitter. The winner will have 48 hours to contact me with their information, or a new winner will be chosen. All products were donated by the wonderful people of King Arthur Flour, the leaders in everything carby and delicious. Be sure to show them some much deserved love. 

Over and out! Good luck!