Its My Cake & I'll Cry if I Want To...

Some things I learned today...

a)  arthritic hands SUX for decorating a cake with a squeeze type icing bag  

b)  when using gel coloring, start with the smallest dot, not a spoonful or else your sky blue goes neon navy

c)  if you nearly choke to death coughing on dry crumbs, that's not a good sign

d)  if your mouth feels greasy after you eat the icing, its prolly not a keeper recipe (gross)

e)  I really, really need to take a Wilton decorating class in immediate future

and finally...

f)  it sucks to make your own birthday cake but if I left it to my hubby, I'd be eating a Twinkie or Ho Ho with a candle in it.

New Year's Appetizers!

I am so glad Christmas is over.  I just wasn't into it this year, being our first year away from family and friends because hubby got assigned to Ft. Benning in Georgia and everyone we know and love is in Ohio practically.  That and no snow down here kinda killed my holiday mood.  Hard to get in the Christmas mood when it looks like late fall in your front yard and the lawn guy is using a leaf blower instead of a snow blower.  Yeah.  Not we didn't eat it up in full glutton, Christmas fashion - we did but I am just personally glad this part of the year is over and we are nearly back to normal.

Now since everyone is getting prepared for New Year's Eve parties, I'd like to share two FANTASTIC recipes with you.  I am all for finger foods and drinks on New Year's.  Simple, easy, make ahead type of food is right up my alley and that's what I'm sharing with you today.  First up is a family goodie from my step-mom Lou who first introduced me to her ridiculously uber famous Nacho Rolls that everyone demands near every holiday event (these and Buckeye Brownies but that's a whole other post).  Imagine an egg roll meets a taco, falls in love and then this is what their kid would be like.  YUM on every level.  Secondly, I'd like to introduce you to Sally (Evil Caramel Sauce fame) Darling's so simple its mind boggling Holiday Bourbon Whiskey Meatballs, which graced my holiday table yesterday and will furthermore be added to every appetizer tray I ever make henceforth.  LOL

Sinful Saturday Desserts - Day 6 Thanksgiving Spectacular

Its Day 6 of our Thanksgiving Spectacular and today I'm presenting you "Sinful Saturday" because this combo of cheesecake and homemade caramel sauce should just be outlawed.  Since I'm not a pumpkin pie fan, I'm using the caramel sauce next week on my Apple Crumble Bars & Bourbon Ice Cream dessert for Thanksgiving.  (more on that next week)  And this cheesecake?  Get outta town.  I'd been so hungry for a good cheesecake since leaving New York - this was the cure for what ailed me. 


First up is the I've Been Called Evil Caramel Sauce from a super sweet, lovely lady named Sally!  To date, I'd never seen a caramel sauce using honey.  That caught my eye right off if the gorgeous lovely drippy, gooey picture didn't draw me in enough.  I had been always leery to make my own caramel sauce because it seemed so difficult with 500 steps and warning about the whole process.  Was much easier to buy a jar of sauce than make my own...BUT Sally's post changed my opinion and I just had to try.  Nothing could have been easier.  4 ingredients.  Less than 10 minutes.  You HAVE to try it.  Words fail the delicious sweetness that awaits you!  (and stop by her site for more easy to do yummies!)

Sally's drool worthy picture!

I've Been Called Evil Caramel Sauce
by Sally Darling


1 stick butter
1/2 c. mild honey
3/4 c. brown sugar
1 can sweetened condensed milk


Mix together  honey and butter and sugar in saucepan. Turn on med. high heat while stirring constantly.  Bring the mixture to rolling bubbling boil for 2 minutes while continuing to stir constantly.


Add condensed milk and mix well, keeping the stirring and heat constant until completely mixed through. Store in airtight containers in the fridge. To warm up, use microwave on a low setting.




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There is nothing more soothing to me than a good piece of cheesecake.  NY cheesecake, that is.  There is something about the baked texture that lures me in.  You can't get that tang or the soft crumbly feel from a refrigerator cheesecake.  NY cheesecake is just divine...the darker brown top, the way it puffs up when it cooks, then falls....the tell tale crack!....the sweet cookie/cracker crust.  Its just heavenly.  Laurie from SimplyScratch.com posted this recipe and I can tell you, I will never use another recipe EVER.  Please do yourself a favor and try this recipe.  (and top it with the caramel sauce...omg.... *drool*)

Cheesecake + caramel = good!

New York Style Cheesecake
by Laurie@SimplyScratch.com


FOR THE CRUST:
8 whole Graham Crackers
3 Tablespoons Unsalted Butter, melted


FOR THE FILLING:
4 packages (8 Oz. Package) Cream Cheese
1-½ cup Granulated Sugar
¾ cups Whole Milk
4 whole Eggs
1 cup Sour Cream
1 Tablespoon Real Vanilla Extract
¼ cups All-purpose Flour


Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9-inch springform pan. In a medium bowl, mix graham cracker crumbs (I used my food processor to make the crumbs) with melted butter and press onto the bottom of the pan using the bottom of a glass or measuring cup.

Look at that texture!!

In a large bowl, mix cream cheese with sugar until smooth. Blend in milk, and then mix in the eggs one at a time, mixing just enough to incorporate. Mix in the sour cream, vanilla and flour until smooth. Pour filling into prepared crust.


Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour. Turn the oven off and let the cake cool in the oven with the door closed for 5 to 6 hours. Chill in the refrigerator until serving.


 (if you open the oven door to look at it, it WILL be puffed up above the rim, but rest assured, it will deflate in the cool down period to normal size!)

Coming tomorrow on our final day....a holiday drink worth sharing!

Cranberry Mandarin Sauce - Day #5 Thanksgiving Spectacular

Welcome to Day #5...today features a guest recipe from the one and only Siggy Spice.  If you haven't already, stop by her site as well for her holiday special as well featuring LOTS of recipes from cooks all over the web.  Lots going on over there!  


Here is my morphed, tweaked hybrid of a sauce that I serve every Thanksgiving. The Mandarin Oranges really give it a pop of flavor that is perfect with turkey, rolls, or on a sandwich!
 

 Cranberry Mandarin Sauce

• ¾ cup Orange Juice
• 2 TBSP Grand Marnier
• 2 TBSP water
• 1 cup sugar
• ½ tsp cornstarch
• 1 bag fresh cranberries, 10-14 ounces
• 1 can Mandarin Oranges, 11 ounces, drained

Combine sugar and cornstarch in a bowl, mixing with a fork to ensure no clumping of the cornstarch. In a medium saucepan, combine orange juice, Grand Marnier, and water. Whisk in sugar/cornstarch mixture. Bring to boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat and allow to simmer for 10 minutes. Add cranberries, return to boil. Reduce heat and boil gently for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally…careful of the popping cranberries! Add drained Mandarin Oranges and stir to break up oranges slightly. Cover and cool completely at room temperature. It will thicken as it cools. Refrigerate until serving time or overnight.

 Join me tomorrow for a truly Sinful Saturday featuring a NY Cheesecake to die for with the easiest homemade caramel sauce EVER.

Turkey Tuesday - Day #2 Thanksgiving Spectacular

Thank you for joining me on Day #2 of my Thanksgiving Spectacular!  Its Turkey Tuesday here and this recipe and many more can be found on my kitchen sister Siggy Spice's holiday blog as well!  Please visit her site and check out her multitudes of yummy holiday dishes.  And join us both AND Thecountrycook on our Facebook pages as well to keep up to date on all the noms for this and upcoming holidays!

I love the turkey scene in National Lampoon's Family Christmas where she cuts into the turkey and it "puffs" powdery smoke because its so dry and then nobody can cut it, let alone chew it.  It was so over the top silly but was really reminiscent of several turkeys loving made by my grandmother.  I remember drowning my turkey slices in gravy just to get them down lest they stick on the way down.  A few years ago, I saw my first turkey being brined on television and I bawked.  I thought that was ridiculous soaking a piece of meat in water with salt.  All I could imagine was taking a bite out of my turkey and juices squiring everyone sideways since it would be so water logged from its overnight soak but it seemed to be the "it" thing to do according to Food Network.  I mean, if frozen turkey producers can inject your meat with a brine before freezing to make it self basting, why couldn't I try brining it myself with flavorings and herbs too?  So one year, I tried it and once I cut into the moistest turkey of my life, I was a sworn briner.  I will never make a turkey without it ever again. (or roaster chicken for that matter!)

Brining is very easy to do.  I know it sounds scary to do but once you get the principle down, it is the easiest process to do.  Brining, simply put, is a water/sugar/salt combo in which you soak your turkey for several hours to overnight before cooking as you normally would.  What this does is allows your turkey meat to "soak in the flavor" and lock them in place.  (and it makes the pan drippings used for gravy SUPER flavorful!)  By adding things like citrus or fruit slices, fresh herbs, wine....you can change the flavor of your meat.  There are a bajillion recipes for brines out there to choose from.  This one I'm sharing uses really subtle flavors of cinnamon, clove, lemon and bay leaf.  These flavors are mimicked in my other dishes so it pairs really well.  You could very well (as I have done before) add a few peppercorns, some quartered onions and garlic.  Its very flexible and totally controllable.

The key is making sure your turkey is COVERED with the brine.  Use a big stock pot or even a picnic cooler.  Just something big enough to contain turkey and the gallons of brine.  Since I use a relatively small turkey breast for Thanksgiving, as there is only a handful of us, I can set mine in the fridge.  If your turkey is large, say in the 12-15 pound range, you're safer adding ice to your cooler or pot and sitting your turkey in a cool place until you're ready to bake it.  (its safe to do...I just re-watched Alton Brown do this last night on Food Network)  As long as your container is sealed and keeping the coolness in, you're good for the few hours you'll be soaking the turkey. 

I hope you try this sometime soon, even practicing on a turkey breast or roaster chicken.  It produces the juiciest, most moist meat that just stands out from every other turkey you've ever had.  Golden brown outside and crispy skin with delectable tender meat....its gorgeous AND tasty!  Imagine that from a turkey! 

Bay and Lemon Turkey

Whole turkey or breast (up to 15 pounds)
2 gallons water
1 c sugar
1 c kosher salt
2 lemons, sliced in ½
4 bay leaves
3 cinnamon sticks
Small handful cloves

Additionally:  Olive oil, poultry seasoning


Combine all brine ingredients in a container or pot large enough to hold the turkey. Make sure all the sugar and salt have been fully dissolved. Add the turkey and refrigerate about 6 hours or overnight. (the longer the better for flavor)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
 
Remove turkey from brine and transfer to a roasting pan with a rack. Stuff turkey with the lemon halves, bay leaves, and cinnamon sticks used in the brine. Rub turkey skin thoroughly with olive oil and sprinkle with poultry seasoning and salt/pepper. Cook turkey for about 3½ hours, basting every 40 minutes or so. If any part of the turkey gets too brown towards the end of cooking, shield with pieces of tin foil. When the turkey is done, juices should run clear from the breast and the legs should pull away from the bird easily. Remove from the heat and let rest for 15 to 20 minutes before carving.

 Coming tomorrow for my Thanksgiving Spectacular - a guest post by Thecountrycook featuring a beloved holiday dish!