Chocolate Bundt Cake

Okay friends, so I need to talk with you for a second. I decided that I would participate in a online bake sale for another food blogger over at Foodness Gracious because his daughter Miranda has type 1 diabetes, and they are raising money to walk for a cure. He asked different food bloggers to participate and donate a baked good to sell. He posted pictures of these items on his website and anyone can get on a place a bid for their favorite food item. The food blogger who donates has to bake the item and send it to the highest bidder. I am happy to say I am donating this cake and will be sending it next day, Fed Ex so it cannot go bad. So, I am asking you, my lovely friends, to visit the Foodness Gracious website and if you'd like, bid on one of the baked goods (mine! mine!) ha ha.

I do have a confession though. This isn't the exact cake I will be donating. See, the cake pictured is a really yummy doctored up devils food cake mix. The best recipe I have tried for such a thing, I might add. Sour cream, pudding mix and chocolate chips make the cake really special. But I just couldn't bring myself to have someone bid on a boxed cake mix recipe, even if it is super good. So, I will be making a version of the same cake that will be exactly like it. It's a homemade high quality chocolate loaf cake made from dark Dutch process cocoa with the same chocolate chips mixed in for good measure. It's delicious served with a dollop of whipped cream. I will share that recipe soon, (after I have a picture of it) just in case anyone wants to make that version, that is, if you don't buy it yourself online!

I originally blogged about this cake last year (and forgot) before I wrote this post- So I am attaching what I wrote the last year about this:

"I hadn't planned on blogging about this cake. You see, I made 3 different bundt cakes the other day with intentions on writing about one of them, just not this one. The others I made were from scratch, but this one starts with a...gulp, boxed cake mix. Don't judge! We all need some help once and a while and I am not above taking it. Especially when cooking three cakes in a row. When it came time to taste the cakes I literally could not stop eating this one. I tried really, really hard to love the Caribbean Christmas Ring that I originally wanted to blog about, but, *sigh* it just wasn't all that great. On the contrary, I tried really, really hard not to love this cake because I am sort of a baking snob and this cake is just a doctored up mix. So, with that being said, snob or not, I am also a lover of good food and dude, this is some GOOD food. So, what the hay? I'm blogging about it. This cake does not taste boxed, but it has the desirable texture you want with a boxed mix, only better because it's denser (thankyouverymuch, 4 eggs) and richer (thankyouverymuch chocolate chips) moister (thankyouverymuch sour cream and pudding) and just a touch more sophisticated. A simple dusting of powdered sugar is all it needs. Nothing more, as anything else would be overboard. What are you waiting for? Go make this to take to your next holiday party!"

Chocolate Bundt Cake

adapted from George Morris

4 eggs

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup oil

1 box chocolate cake mix (I like devils food)

1 small box instant chocolate pudding mix

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Powdered sugar for garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Beat eggs, sour cream, water and oil together in a large bowl until throughly mixed. Add chocolate cake mix and instant chocolate pudding mix. beat until smooth. Stir in semisweet chocolate chips. pour batter into a bundt pan, and bake for one hour. When cool, sift powdered sugar on top.

This recipe actually came from a man who entered it into last year's "Holiday Bake Off" in Steamboat, under the name "death by chocolate". Let's be honest, shall we? This is not a "death by chocolate" cake. It's a good cake, but something called death by chocolate should call for mass amounts of ganache. And devils food cake. And brownie layers. And chocolate mousse. The guy looked like a burned out motorcycle rider though, so I'm wondering what in the world he was doing entering a bake-off in the first place, all the while scrutinizing the name of his dessert. What can I say? It was good. Sixty year old men in leather jackets with long white beards can bake too, I guess.

Roasted Winter Vegetables

We had out first snow of the season yesterday. More expected today and tomorrow and

before all is said and done, 12-18 inches is predicted. It's okay because the first snow is usually followed by a week or two of sunshine and it all melts away...until Halloween anyway. I welcomed the snow yesterday by sitting on the couch in my red sweatpants, sipping hot tea and fighting off the worst headache in the world! I didn't win. I still have the headache. Ouch.

You needn't feel too badly for me. I am bringing it on myself. I am doing a sugar/candida cleanse and the detox from not eating sugar and bread is seriously nasty! My friend joked that it was like a drug addict, who just needs a little fix to get by. One cup of hot chocolate and my headache would go away-only to delay the withdrawal until the following day. Thinking about my body actually being addicted to sugar like a drug is scary to me. So scary that the headache is worth it. Not really, but I'll just pretend to get through it.

Something that I am allowed to have on my detox are these roasted winter vegetables. Nothing fancy here. Carrots, parsnips, butternut squash and sweet potatoes tossed in olive oil, salt and pepper and roasted at a high temperature so the veggies caramelize in spots. It's divine and my preferred go-to cold weather side dish to fish, chicken, pork or to toss in you favorite vegetable pot pie filling-whatever your favorite main is. This has been a staple in my house for a few years now and I don't see it changing any time soon. Make it and see why I love it so! Have a happy weekend, all!

Roasted Winter Vegetables

adapted from Barefoot Contessa, Family Style

Serves 6

3 medium sized carrots, peeled

3 medium sized parsnips, peeled

1 large sweet potato, peeled

1 small butternut squash (about 2 lbs), peeled and seeded

3 tablespoon good olive oil

1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees

Cut the carrots, parsnips, sweet potato, and butternut squash in 1-to 1 1/4-inch cubes. All the vegetables will shrink while baking so don't cut them too small.

Place all the cut vegetables in a single layer on a large sheet pan. If vegetables don't fit in a single layer, use two sheet pans. Drizzle them with olive oil, salt, and pepper. Toss well. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until all the vegetables are tender, turning once with a metal spatula.

Sprinkle with parsley, season to taste, and serve hot.

Pumpkin Roll Cake

This was my first attempt at a roll cake and I have to say it was much easier than I thought it would be. In fact, the whole thing was surprisingly simple and the cake was delicious. The cake is assembled, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and chilled in the refrigerator until it is cut in slices at serving time. By then it is firm and compact and cuts cleanly. Swirls of pumpkin and spice and creamy cream cheese? Yes please.

Thanks to Molly from Stiletto's And Diapers for tipping me off to the recipe. Molly is 30-something weeks pregnant with her second child and knows a little something about a good eat when she comes across it. She encourages everyone to go ahead a cut your guests (and yourself) a couple slices because you are definitely going to want it. And how.

Jelly roll pans vary greatly in size. This recipe will accommodate a 15 x 10.5 or slightly smaller sized pan. If using a large jelly roll pan, double the recipe and watch baking time. You might have to bake a few minutes longer. My cake cracked a tiny bit on the first roll once it was filled. If this happens to you, don't fret. I couldn't tell when I cut slices.

Pumpkin Roll Cake

Serves 6-8

3/4 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1 cup pumpkin

3 eggs

1 teaspoon lemon juice

For the filling:

1 8oz package cream cheese

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix all the cake ingredients and pour into a greased jelly roll pan or cookie sheet with sides. Spread the batter into all the corners (it will be thin). Bake for 15 minutes. While baking, get hand towel, piece of linen or other cloth and dampen it, then sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar. When the cake is finished baking, you are going to let it cool a couple minutes, then flip it onto that towel. Roll up the cake and the towel from the short end and allow to cool for 30 minutes. This will help it keep that rolled shape once you fill it).

While its cooling, beat the cream cheese and butter together, then add in vanilla and powdered sugar. Unroll the cake and towel and spread the filling evenly across the cake. Roll back up, this time without the towel and wrap tightly in saran wrap before refrigerating. Serve chilled, cut into 1/4" slices with more powdered sugar sprinkled on top, if desired.

I coated the outside of my cake with powdered sugar because the outside gets rather moist. Don't worry because it all works together in the end.

Homemade Limoncello- DIY Christmas Gift

Happy Monday to you! I was excited to participate in The Saturday Evening Pot's "Countdown To Christmas" this past week. She asked different bloggers to submit homemade gift ideas or holiday recipes for their event, which runs for 100 days before Christmas. Christmas is not necessarily on my radar yet. I'll take Halloween and Thanksgiving first, thank you. But when thinking about what homemade Christmas presents make my favorite gifts, I thought of homemade Limoncello right away. Limoncello is bright and appropriately citrus-y for Christmas time and makes a popular and handsome homemade present for friends, neighbors and family. Limoncello also takes a cool month and a half to make because it needs to sit and develop. So, best to get started now.

Limoncello is a lemon liquor and when you make it from scratch you can control the sweetness. A bottle of this liquid gold will not go bad anytime soon. It can sit in your freezer ready to be sipped from a shot glass or a fancy limoncello glass, like this set that I'm in love with from Napa Style-

It's best sipped after dinner or with dessert but also can be drizzled straight from the bottle on sponge cakes or angel food cakes. Add some whipped cream and fresh strawberries and you have dessert.

Consider yourself warned though-If you make this once, you might find yourself needing to make it every year.

Follow the link to Saturday Evening Pot for the recipe and to read my post!

Chicken with Tabbouleh and Fresh Herbs

Hands down, this is one of my favorite lunches. Bulgur wheat (which you can pick up in almost any good grocery store) is a grain that is mild and slightly nutty. It cooks in lemon juice, water, olive oil, salt and pepper so it is already infused with flavor before you toss in the cucumbers, cherry tomatoes, parsley, mint, scallions and, if you are not a vegetarian, shredded chicken.

I make huge bowls of this around my house and its always gone lickity split. As I mentioned, it's usually a lunch dish but on warmer nights I serve it for dinner along with some grilled or warmed whole wheat pita.

Store bought rotisserie chicken, shredded or chopped works fine here, but roasting whole bone in chicken breasts is easy, quick, always comes out moist and obviously tastes a touch better.

Chicken with Tabbouleh

adapted from Barefoot Contessa, Family Style

serves 6

1 1/2 cups boiling water

1 cup bulgur wheat

1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)

Olive oil

Kosher Salt

1 whole (2 split) chicken breasts, bone in, skin on (or 1/2 a chopped rotisserie chicken)

Freshly ground black pepper

1 cup minced scallions, white and green parts (1 bunch)

1 cup chopped fresh mint leaves (2 bunches)

1 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley (1 bunch)

1 hothouse (or English) cucumber, unpeeled, halved lengthwise, seeded, and medium-diced

2 cups halved cherry tomatoes

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

In a heat-proof bowl, pour boiling water over the bulgur wheat. Add the lemon juice, 1/4 cup olive oil, and 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt. Stir. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and allow the bulgur to stand at room temperature for an hour.

Place the chicken breast on a baking sheet and rub it with olive oil. Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until just cooked. Set aside until cool enough to handle.

Remove the chicken meat from the bones and discard the skin. Cut the chicken into medium dice and add to the tabbouleh. Add the scallions, mint, parsley, cucumber, tomatoes, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Season to taste and serve immediately or cover and refrigerate. The flavors will improve as it sits.

Only roast chicken breasts if you can find them bone in, skin on. The skin protects the chicken and keeps it moist. Ina cautions to remind you that there is no substitute for fresh lemon juice.

Manchengo and Prociutto Wrapped Pears - An Appetizer

Written last Saturday: I am sitting in my house alone waiting to be picked up for a girls night. Kids are with dad at Blockbuster picking out the movies for the weekend. There was talk of Diary Of A Wimpy Kid, but who know what they will come home with. As for me, I am sitting at the computer (hello, dr. obvious) with the hum of the dishwasher running in the background listening to some Diana Krall, live. That woman knows how to soothe a soul. The song? A Case Of You. AKA- The Best One.

I have just finished wrapping up 16 pears with cheese and prociutto. Everyone is bringing an appetizer or something to share at Becca's house where we will eat, drink skinny girl margaritas and presumably play a game (since the invite stated "goofy girls game night"). I know Danielle is bringing figs with goat cheese and truffle honey. Our food will go together. On the other hand, I heard Kel, who is also going with us is bringing some salty carmel bars with sea salt. Fancy, until I heard she is putting some store bought carmel up on top of them things. Imma get crazy on up in her bidness, axing if she trying to poison us all...oh, law!

I forgot to tell you- our host Becca sprung on us that we have to talk that way tonight after we had rsvp yes. Becca is from somewhere deep in Louisiana and is one of the most well-read, smartest women I know. She also whips this sort of talk out regularly. Don't get her going, else ever body gone get doin' it too. Mmm-hmmm.

Machengo and Prociutto Wrapped Pears

there is no formal recipe for this since it is just assembled

Top a piece of pear about 1/2" thick (or peach) with a thin piece of manchengo or parmesan cheese and wrap with prociutto. I cut the fat off of mine so no one is chewing on it forever.

Its a great appetizer to bring to someones house because there is no cooking required and can be served cold or at room temperature.

Vanilla Grapefruit Granita Cocktail

I get really excited about recipes. That is no secret around here. So when I choose recipes for this blog I try to not talk them up too much and let the picture and recipe speak for itself. Sometimes a recipe comes along that I am particularly excited about and I can't help but to throw in a couple of you need to make this, stat!'s. My excitement and glee takes over and all I want to do is translate all of it to you, dear reader. I wouldn't want anyone to miss out or pass on a recipe that is a life changer. Yes, life changer. So I shout and use bold print and far too many exclamation points to get the message across. This is one such recipe. But I am going to pass on really hitting it home because I think this drink really does speak for itself. It's different, beautiful, easy, delicious, fresh and fun. It is also officially the best thing since sliced bread and has the capacity to elicit world peace. Point made. No exclamation points necessary.

They serve this cocktail at Rioja, one of my favorite restaurants in Denver. Rioja is hip and fun and the food is exceptional. I actually cried the first time I ate their artichoke truffle tortolloni. I was with my sister, Kaylee, who I had just picked up at the airport and friend Danielle. Kaylee spied my tear and yelled over her halibut "Omigosh, are you...crying?!?" She might as well have said "Get a hold of yourself, girl! You are an embarrassment to society". Danielle on the other hand was sympathetic and thought my tear was sweet. I suppose I was embarrassed because I made them swear to never say a word to anyone about it. I suppose I have come to terms since I can share it here now.

My husband and I went to Rioja again a couple weeks back before seeing Les Miserables. We sat outside and ordered preserved lemons with dipping sauce and a flatbread pizza with oven roasted tomatoes and homemade mozzarella to snack on. It was also the first time I ever looked at their cocktail list since I usually default to wine. I can't handle hard alcohol, even one, unless I can sleep in the next day or I'm feeling frisky and throw caution to the wind, or I'm at The Rio for a margarita. Either/or and all. However, this night I saw the grapefruit granita on the cocktail list. It was a mound of grapefruit granita flavored with vanilla bean speckles in a martini glass topped with crisp champagne. Granita is just frozen, fresh squeezed grapefruit juice mixed with a bit of sugar, water and in this case, vanilla bean and frozen in a tray. After a hour or so, you break up the mixture with a fork, then freeze again. Another hour later you break it up again. You do this another two times or so and are left with a slushy mixture that resembles snow cone shavings.

I made this cocktail the other night when friends came over for dinner. It tastes exactly like the one at Rioja. There was no shortage of oooh's and awww's over this thing. It's crisp and cool and so refreshing. When you pour the champagne over the grapefruit ice, it bubbles and fizzes gloriously, then finally settles in the glass dispersing the shavings. The shavings stay frozen in the glass a long while creating a icy cold slushy drink, slightly pink, with tiny vanilla flecks throughout. It a glorified mimosa only fifty times better, much more sophisticated and dressed for night time.

Vanilla Grapefruit Granita Cocktail

adapted from Rioja in Denver, Chef Jennifer Jasinski

makes enough for 8 drinks

2 cups fresh squeezed grapefruit juice or pink grapefruit juice

3/4 cup water

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 vanilla bean, scraped

Chilled crisp champagne for serving (figure 5-6 cocktails per bottle, so buy accordingly)

Combine the juice and sugar and stir until mostly dissolved. Add water and seeds from vanilla bean. It's okay if the vanilla beans particles stay a bit clumpy and don't break up all the way. It makes for a pretty drink later. Whisk to combine. Pour liquid into a 8x8 pyrex dish or loaf pan and freeze for 1 hour. After an hour, use a fork to fluff up and break the ice that has formed on top. Freeze again. After another hour. Break the ice up with a fork again (it will be less liquid this time) Freeze again, for another 30 minutes to 1 hour and break up one final time. Place the dish back in the freezer until serving time.

To serve: Break up the ice chunks with a fork just before serving and put a heaping amount in a cold martini glass (about 1/2 cup each) and top with good quality cold champagne.

You can make the granita a day or two in advance. Once it has reached the ice shavings stage, it can sit in the freezer and be broken up again before serving the next day. The vanilla bean is pretty essential to the recipe. It rounds out the sourness of the grapefruit beautifully. And to those of you who swear you can't drink champagne because it gives you a headache, I say this: Cheap champagne causes headaches. It all has to do with the sugar content. Buy a bottle that's not sweet (stay away from rose champagne and prosecco unless you love it) $12 dollars or more a bottle and you should be home free. I'm sure there are more accurate rules to follow but I stick by these and have never gotten in trouble.