Celebrating With Chocolate Pound Cake

Friday was Mr. Picky's birthday. My Daddy turned 60 years old, and that sounds just crazy to me. Not that 60 is old, but looking back at my grandparents when they were that age, they just seemed so much older than my Daddy does. I come from good genes and a family that ages amazingly well, I can only hope that I age half as well as my Daddy and the rest of my family members have.

I suppose part of what made my grandparents seem so much older at 60 than my Daddy seems is that although graying my dad still has much of his natural hair color. But, beyond that, generation has a lot to do with it. My Daddy comes from the era of the hippie, so naturally his generation, for the most part, is a more relaxed and liberal generation than that of his parents. Maybe I'm way off base, but that's where I feel much of that comes from. Regardless of any of that, my Daddy is an amazing father and mother and truly the one person in my life who has always been there and supported me through the good and bad. He's the one person that without question will always be there and sacrifice for me. Sure, I've got other family that supports me and is there for me, and I've got a few close friends I know have my back and truly care about me, but he's my person, my real, true, always and forever best friend. We're a team. Even when I was a little girl, when it came to big life decisions for our little family of two my thoughts and opinions always mattered.

I know, I know, enough with the sappy stuff right? For the most part Friday was just another day, one Mr. Picky didn't even realize was any different from the last until he went to write the date out, then he realized he was another year older. It was no leisurely day of relaxation or fun filled activities for him. Nope, my poor Daddy was off building stuff, and although that sounds fun to lots of people out there, when it's your living it often feels more like, well, work. So, while he was off swinging a hammer and wielding a nail gun I was home marinating steaks and baking a birthday cake.

Mr. Picky is a man of simple tastes, and as much as it baffles my mind, he doesn't have much of a sweet tooth. I know, crazy right? Me, who can eat frosting by the spoonful, and will pick sweet over savory 99% of the time, I just can't imagine not wanting a cake filled with gobs of frosting for your birthday. I am so my father's child with many, many things, like for instance, I've got my daddy's tongue and temper. The sweet tooth though, I'm not sure where that came from, definitely not him. He would be fine without a birthday cake, but since that's completely unacceptable to me his cake of choice is a chocolate pound cake. I've been making the same cake for his birthday for about 8 years now. Sometimes I top it with chocolate ganache, which is how I love it. Mr. Picky prefers it plain. Not only does he find this cake to be acceptable, if he was going to love a cake, this would be the one. I remember once he tasted someone else's chocolate pound cake and told me it was good, but mine was better. That sounds like a minor thing, but trust me when I say that coming from him that's pretty much the equivalent of "Your pound cake is the best ever."

This isn't one of those super rich and fudgy cakes, but if you like chocolate and are a fan of pound cakes like we are then you should definitely give this cake a try. I've found that every time I bake this cake it spills over the sides of the pan a bit as it's baking, so this time I put a bit of the batter into a 6 inch layer cake pan, and it worked out perfectly. If you don't have a layer pan that small 4-6 standard size cupcakes should work also. My bundt pan is pretty vintage, so it's a standard-ish size, but if yours is a bit larger than normal you might not have any overflow, just keep an eye out while it bakes. And make sure that you grease and flour your pan very well, don't shortcut it and use cooking spray. One thing I always do when baking any kind of chocolate cake is to "flour" my pans with cocoa instead of flour. If you're frosting a cake it's no biggie, but I hate having little spots of flour show up on the outside of my chocolate cake.

The Bag Lady's Favorite Chocolate Pound Cake

3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 tablespoons cocoa
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
3 cups sugar
5 eggs
1 cup buttermilk*
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour a 10-inch Bundt pan.
2. Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cocoa and set aside.
3. Using an electric mixer, cream together butter, shortening, and sugar until fluffy. Add vanilla, then eggs one at a time and mix well after each addition. Add flour and buttermilk alternately to butter mixture, beginning and ending with flour.
4. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake for 1 3/4 hours, or until cake is done. Remove from oven and allow cake to cool in pan for 10 minutes. Invert onto cake plate and serve.

*If you don't have buttermilk you can make your own by adding 1 tablespoon of white vinegar to a measuring cup, fill cup to 1 cup mark with milk (whole, 2% or skim all work fine).

Chocolate Ganache

4 oz bittersweet chocolate
4 oz semisweet chocolate
1 cup heavy cream
2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Break chocolate into small pieces and put in a medium sized bowl, set aside.
2. In small saucepan, heat heavy cream over medium-high heat, bringing just to a boil.
3. Remove cream from heat, and pour over chocolate. Allow to sit until chocolate has melted completely.
4. Add vanilla extract and stir using a whisk until completely combined. Pour over cake.

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Celebrating A Delicious Food - National Peanut Butter Day

Yesterday was National Peanut Butter Day. Yes, I know I'm a day late, but in my defense I didn't discover this wonderful holiday until late in the day and by then I was already baking two kinds of delicious donuts and getting ready for some girl time later in the evening. But, actually, according to punchbowl.com January 24th is, and since I didn't get that memo and some sources say it was yesterday I seem to have missed it all the way around.

In honor, I thought I'd wax poetic about my love for peanut butter. Okay, not really because let's be honest, if I tried that it would just be scary for all of us. But, I do seriously love peanut butter. I'm the girl who will eat it straight from the jar with a spoon. I'll dip pretzels in it, smear it on some saltine crackers, add it to a smoothie. I'll even go healthy and eat it on apples. Crunchy or creamy doesn't matter too much, although if I have a choose I choose creamy every time. And, I'm not a fan of the thinner natural peanut butters, nope give me the thick and smooth stuff with all the added sugar and probably a few ingredients I don't know how to pronounce. A few of my favorite recipes that I have shared in the past can be found here, here, and here. The only way I can think of that I won't eat peanut butter is in savory dishes. I know some people totally disagree with me, and that's okay, I respect that, but for me, peanut butter is not meant to be included in my main course.

If I had to choose my favorite way to get my peanut butter fix it would be paired with chocolate. Whether combined in a cookie, mixed up in a no-bake pie or as part of some kind of candy I don't care, just give me the two together. It's no secret that I have a massive sweet tooth and Reese's Cups are quite possibly my favorite candy. It's also no secret that I like to try to make things from scratch, if for no other reason than to prove that I can. I have made my share of faux Reese's Cups over the years, but my absolute favorite chocolate and peanut butter concoction to make is Real Deal Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars aka Reese's Cup Bars. I don't know the original source, but the recipe was given to me by a friend whose dad makes them. From the first taste I was in love. They are simple if a bit messy to make, but well worth it. The only downside to these amazing bars are that you have to wait atleast an hour after making to cut into them because they have to chill. That hour feels like days to me! Not to mention, once I cut into them it's pretty hard not to eat one every time I enter the kitchen.

Once chilled you can store these little bits of heaven at room temperature or in the fridge. If you store them at room temp they will get pretty soft. I prefer storing them in the fridge, but then again, I just prefer my peanut butter cups crunchy and cold anyway. So, clearly it's just a matter of choice. If you have never eaten them cold give it a try, I swear it's amazing!

As for the photo, can I rant about that for a second please? As I said, I was baking donuts yesterday so this photo is from a little while back, and I don't love it. Do you ever take photos and then you either accidentally delete them or can't remember where the heck you saved them? Yeah, that would be me right about now. If you remember the computer crises a few weeks back you'll understand why I know the photos aren't saved to my hard drive. But, I always back photos up to flashdrives or cd's and I can't find the photos on either. Oh well, atleast I found one photo so that I could share these babies.

Real Deal Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars
aka Reese's Cup Bars
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, melted
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 1/2 cups smooth peanut butter
3 cups confectioner's sugar
12 oz. semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

1. Pour melted butter into a 9x13 inch glass pan, stir in graham cracker crumbs. Add peanut butter and confectioner's sugar, and mix until completely incorporated. Press evenly into the bottom of the pan.
2. In a double boiler, melt chocolate chips and remaining 1/2 cup of peanut butter. Stir occasionally until completely melted and mixture is combined. Pour on top of peanut butter filling mixture, and smooth evenly. Chill in the refrigerator atleast one hour before cutting into squares.
Note: A great trick I use is to place the pan I am making the bars in over the large burner on the stovetop and turn the heat to medium, toss your 2 sticks of butter, cubed into the dish and stir it around til it's melted. When the butter is melted turn the heat off and proceed with the recipe as instructed. This way saves me from dirtying up another dish and the pan is warm so the other ingredients are easier to incorporate. And when cutting these I like using a bench scraper. That's my little trick when cutting any kind of bars. I just mash that baby down into them and get straight cuts and perfectly square bars everytime.

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Make Your Own Take-Out - Sweet & Sour Chicken

I love Chinese food, but wouldn't say that I have varied tastes when it comes time to order take-out. Unless I'm at a Chinese buffet, which is rare, I tend to eat the same few things: Seasame Chicken, Fried Rice, occasionally Lo Mein, and Mr. Picky Eater's favorite Sweet & Sour Chicken. I enjoy an eggroll from time to time too, but typically I can take those of leave them. If I do eat eggrolls, duck sauce is a must for dipping. That little bit of sweetness just does it for me.

It's not a frequent meal at our house, but I love doing what I call "MYOT" (Make Your Own Take-Out) Chinese for dinner from time to time. Occasionally I'll do Teriyaki Chicken or Beef, but usually I go with Sweet & Sour Chicken. I've tried a number or variations on the sauce, everything from the stuff in a bottle to the packet of powdered stuff you mix with vinegar and soy sauce. I've seen quite a few different ways to do baked Sweet & Sour chicken, with plenty of rave reviews, so I decided to give it a try, with my own spin, of course. Based on the recipes I've found, the chicken is typically breaded and fried before being covered in sauce and baked. And, although I know when I order it in any Chinese restaurant it's always breaded and fried, which is decadent and fantastic, I decided to skip the mess of frying and make it healthier in the process. My way has no fat, other than what is in the boneless skinless chicken, which we all know is minimal.

Of course, I'm sure the fried and then baked versions are amazing, but my version is pretty darn great too, if I do say so myself. I can't decide if the best part is the awesome flavor or knowing that I can eat a plate full and not feel guilty that I've just consumed way more fat grams in one sitting than I should in an entire day. When comparing sauce recipes I saw everything from 3/4 to 1 1/2 cups of sugar. I decided to go with 1 cup, and that was a tad sweet, but I love adding soy sauce to mine after the fact so the added sweetness worked out fine for me. If you don't typically add soy sauce to your meal after it's plated up or you aren't a big fan of sweet I would cut the sugar back to 3/4 cup.

This would be great served with fried rice, but since I didn't plan ahead or have any leftover steamed rice in the fridge I served it with plain ol' white rice. When I make Sweet & Sour Chicken in the skillet I always stir-fry some veggies and add those in, but since this version is baked in the oven I added some carrots, green peas and broccoli to the rice cooker while I was steaming my rice. If you don't have a rice cooker or opt to steam your rice on the stove it should work just as well to add the veggies that way too. I added the carrots when I started the rice, then added the peas and broccoli in the last 5 minutes of cooking so they would remain a bit crunchy.

Sweet & Sour Chicken

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 50-60 minutes

Total time: 60-70 minutes

Yield: 5-6 servings

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 3/4 to 1 cup (depending on desired sweetness granulated sugar
• 4 tablespoons ketchup
• 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. To make the sauce add all ingredients except chicken to a medium mixing bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside.
3. Rinse and pat chicken breasts dry. Cut into approximately 1 1/2 inch cubes and add to 8 inch square baking dish.
4. Pour sauce mixture over chicken cubes, stir so that all chicken is completely coated with sauce.
5. Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour. Stir every 15-20 minutes while baking.
6. Serve over steamed white rice or fried rice.

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Channeling Nana - Perfect Southern Cornbread

I'm a southern girl through and through, from my overall style to my taste in music, and I am most definitely a totally southern girl when it comes to the foods I love. One of those southern foods I love so much is cornbread. When I was little it was a food I liked, but given a choice I would pick a biscuit over cornbread. It seems that the older I get the more I love cornbread though. I remember my Nana baking a big ol' loaf in her cast iron skillet. My Daddy aka Mr. Picky Eater? He bakes corn muffins. I don't care what form it's in, just give me cornbread.

My Nana, never used a mix when she made hers, and my Daddy has always used a mix. He is of the opinion that if you can shortcut it and it's still good then why go to the trouble of making it from scratch. I agree with that about somethings and I won't knock cornbread mix because some brands are good, and sometimes I want it fast and easy so I'll reach for a mix too. But, I'm one of those people who feels like if I love something I want to learn to make it from scratch, whether it is a chocolate cake, biscuits, scallop potatoes or cornbread. I mastered the chocolate cake long ago, and yes I'll admit that sometimes I still go with cake mix, it all depends on my mood and the amount of time I have to spare. I won't lie I haven't mastered biscuits yet, although there have been no failures to date, I have yet to turn out a biscuit that's tall and super soft in the middle like I want. Mine usually turn out a little crumbly and a bit on the flatter side. Cornbread was a similar story for me.

I tried a recipe for "southern" cornbread a few weeks back that seemed promising, but didn't hit the mark for me. The taste was decent and thanks to a pretty large amount of oil in the batter as well as the skillet I didn't have a problem with it being too dry, but my cornbread came out super flat, nothing at all like the recipe assured it would be. Oh, well, I figured it was time to try again. After some searching, and arguing...umm debating with Mr. Picky Eater I was determined to try again. After all the searching I went back to a recipe I tried long ago and remembered as pretty good. So, I pulled out my bag of House Autry corn meal, and started tweaking because I can rarely leave well enough alone. The recipe said to bake in an 8" square baking pan, but I felt it was a must to use Nana's cast iron skillet, so I upped the measurements, and substituted buttermilk for plain milk and hoped for the best. Mr. Picky Eater's only complaint was that it needed salt, which as you will see the recipe calls for (and I did not forget to add), so perhaps I would go with 2 teaspoons of salt next time. I, however, did not notice a need for more salt, so who knows.

I think I was channeling my beautiful Nana and she was smiling down on me as I baked this cornbread, because it came out nice and tall, with just the right texture, perfectly moist, and a beautiful golden brown. Yes, I'm pretty much in love with this cornbread. That's not weird to admit is it? It is? Oh well, I'm a food loving girl, it just can't be helped.

If you don't have a cast iron skillet or want a slightly smaller batch scroll down past the first recipe and you'll find the original measurements for baking in an 8" square baking pan. Muffin tins would work well too, (the original recipe states 10 servings). Also, I haven't tried this recipe with regular milk yet, but I would probably add a little less milk if using regular since it is thinner than buttermilk. Once I try it with regular milk I'll give an update on whether the measurement needs to be adjusted. The batter should be pourable, but not runny.

Southern Cornbread

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups plain cornmeal
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons baking powder
• 3 eggs
• 3 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
• 1 3/4 cups buttermilk
• additional oil to coat skillet

Cooking Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Add just enough oil to 10-inch cast iron skillet to lightly coat the bottom. Add to preheating oven.
3. Mix together dry ingredients, and set aside.
4. Whisk together eggs, then along with oil and milk, add to the dry ingredients.
5. Gently stir until all ingredients are combined (I find a whisk works best for this.)
6. A few lumps will remain in the batter, make sure not to overmix.
7. Add a tiny amount of batter to preheated skillet, and if the oil sizzles you are ready to add the batter. Pour batter into the skillet and bake for 30-35 minutes, until the top is golden brown. When a knife inserted in the center of the loaf comes out clean it is done.
8. If you are using an 8-inch square baking pan, muffin tins, an 8-inch cast iron skillet or just prefer a slightly thinner cornbread, use the measurements listed below. If using an 8-inch square baking pan or muffin tins omit adding oil to pan, instead spray with non-stick cooking spray, and skip preheating the pan.

Smaller Batch Ingredients

• 1 cup plain cornmeal
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
• 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
• non-stick cooking spray

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A Family Tradition: No-Bake Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies

Growing up I could always tell when it was getting close to Christmas because my Nana would whip up a batch or two of her famous No-Bake Oatmeal Cookies. They are outta this world and not like anything else I've ever tasted. I would venture to say that many people reading this probably have never had a cookie quite like this. They're BOILED not baked. Yup, you read that right, they're boiled! They are totally simple, with just a handful of everyday ingredients, things that you probably already have in your kitchen. This is a very unassuming, unsophisticated cookie, but gosh I could eat myself sick with these babies. And yanno what?? Tummy ache and all I would still be the happiest girl you've ever seen, they are that delicious!

The cookies contain no flour, the base is peanut butter and oatmeal, and seems extremely simple, but I won't lie, you either have the knack for making these or you don't. If you do count yourself blessed and know that it really is simple.

I've always been the baker in my family and I tried for years and years to make these cookies, usually failing miserably. They would always taste wonderful, but the consistency was wrong, they just wouldn't set up and you'd end up eating them with a spoon. It's totally unexplainable, the same ingredients, the same cooking time, except it seemed like the magic was missing. A few years ago though, I finally beat my struggles & knock on wood I got the hang of it. I've had a batch or two since then that stayed more soft, eat em with a spoon than should be, but usually they harden into those delicious little cookies I remember from my childhood.

So I challenge you, no better yet I encourage you to try these cookies out & let me know how you do. I would love to know if you enjoy these cookies as much as my family does. Around here we're split down the middle in regards to the addition of cocoa powder. They're great either way and no changes are needed if you want them sans chocolate.

Boiled Cookies

2 c sugar

1 stick butter/margarine

1/4 c cocoa powder(optional)

1/2 c milk

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 c peanut butter, chunky or smooth

2 1/2 c oatmeal

Mix and boil sugar, butter/margarine, cocoa & milk for 1 minute. Remove from heat, add vanilla, peanut butter, oatmeal & nuts. Mix well. Spoon by spoonfuls onto wax paper.

*Work quickly as mixture will start to thicken in a hurry.

I've tried both quick-cook and old fashioned oatmeal with these cookies and been sucessful & unsucessful with both. So I guess it's a toss up. I used old fashioned this year.

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