What do you feed 60 wrestlers who have been depriving themselves of sweets and fatty foods for months, when the season is finally over? Cake ... and lots of it. I made this cake for the end of season wrestling banquet last month. Fondant stars with names of all of the middle and high school wrestlers, managers and coaches covered the sides and back of the entire three tiers of cake. It's hard to see from the picture but the cake was over three feet tall and the base was 14 inches in diameter. I never imagined that they would eat the whole thing. Chocolate Chip Cake 2 cups flour 1 Tablespoon baking powder ½ teaspoon salt ¾ cup butter 2 teaspoons vanilla 1 teaspoon almond extract 1 ½ cups sugar 1 cup milk 5 egg whites 1 cup mini chocolate chips
This particular chocolate chip cake was the middle layer of a three tiered celebration cake for the wrestling banquet. Much to my surprise, the wrestlers and their families ate every single piece of this giant cake. They certainly deserved it after such a great season. Ciao!
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Making the transition from middle school to high school can be a pretty monumental step in the life of an adolescent. To be perfectly honest, I don't remember much about my eighth grade graduation. (I would like to think my lack of memory is a sign that it was a relatively smooth transition for me. I have a feeling that my mom would have a different opinion of that season in my life, however.) The good news is that I somehow managed to survive middle school and move onto to high school without incident. It certainly doesn't seem like it was that long ago that I was a middle schooler but the fact that my youngest child is about to start high school reminds me that - it really was a long time ago. The eight graders at my daughter's school commemorated their last days in the middle school with a formal dance last a couple of weeks ago. I catered the event - mostly to give me an excuse to hang out at the dance as a chaperone. If you call me on in though - I'm sticking to my story that I had to stay to cut and serve the cake. The kids chose "Club Neon" as the theme for the dance. (Think black lights and neon paint splatters.) I have to admit that it was a bit of a challenge to come up with foods that I could serve that somehow tied into the theme of "Club Neon." After consulting with my daughter and as many of her friends as I could get a hold of, I finally settled on a menu that seemed suitable for the dance... Three tier cake covered in black fondant and spattered with neon icing Sugar cookies on lollipop sticks and iced with glow in the dark neon icing Popcorn drizzled in neon chocolate and served in neon paper cones Milk and dark chocolate covered strawberries Puppy chow trail mix with neon m&m's Glow in the dark jello squares Mini melon fruit skewers Whenever I make a cake for an event with kids, I usually stick to basic flavors - chocolate, vanilla, marble, etc.) I made the top 2 layers of this three tiered cake vanilla and the bottom tier was a chocolate cake. I used my Hershey's Chocolate Cake recipe for the cake because it's one of my favorites. I think I pulled it off of a can of Hershey's cocoa powder a long time ago but it is a great cake recipe. The bottom tier of the cake was made from 2 fourteen inch cakes that were stacked together with a filling in between. In order to fill my 14 inch cake pan twice, I had to make 4 times the amount of batter that this recipe calls for. If my portions look a little inconsistent with the quantities listed, you'll know why. Hershey's Chocolate Cake 2 cups sugar 2 eggs 1 3/4 cups flour 1 cup milk 3/4 cup cocoa 1/2 cup oil 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 2 teaspoons vanilla 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 1 cup boiling water 1 teaspoon salt
Stir in boiling water.
Frost and decorate. Once the cake was covered in black fondant, it was time to start splattering it with neon icing. This is early on in the splattering process - before we covered the entire kitchen (and ourselves) in royal icing splatters. The reality of the fact that my youngest child will be entering high school in just a few short months is really starting to set in. Not sure I like this.
Ciao! My family doesn't always agree on how they feel about the dinner that I set in front of them. (Let's face it, we're almost never unanimous in our evaluation of a meal.) When I entered the world of food service, one of the first lessons that I learned is that I was never going to please everyone. A dish that one person perceives as too salty, another person will comment that it didn't have enough salt. It's hard enough to come up with meals that the majority of my family will enjoy, and even harder to try and figure out what someone elses family might like. Whenever I take a meal to someone, I like to try and make something that is liked by MOST everyone. Turkey is one of those foods that almost everyone can appreciate. I made a couple of turkey breasts last month - one for my family and one to take to another family. Roasted Turkey Breast 3 onions, chopped 3 celery ribs, chopped 2 carrots, peeled and chopped 5 sprigs fresh thyme 5 cloves garlic, halved 1 cup chicken broth 5 -7 pound turkey breast 4 pounds turkey drumsticks 3 tablespoons butter 1 Tablespoon salt 2 teaspoons pepper Arrange onions, celery, carrots, thyme and garlic in an even layer on the bottom of a foil lined baking sheet. Pour broth over vegetables. Place wire rack over vegetables.
Remove from oven and tent turkey breasts with foil. Bake turkey legs in a separate until 165 degrees. Heat oven to 500 and place turkey on a baking sheet. Roast until skin is golden brown and crisp. Let rest for 20 minutes and then carve. These turkey breasts came out super moist and delicious. Most of the time, when I make a meal for someone else, I don't get to taste it. In this case, I'm going to assume that the turkey that I delivered was just as juicy as the one that we had for ourselves. We had lots of leftover turkey too, which meant that lunches were covered for the week.
Ciao! Blueberry muffins might just be the most universally loved food that I know of. I don't know that I've ever run across anyone who has claimed to NOT like blueberry muffins. They have a universal appeal. Adults, kids, teens - everyone likes blueberry muffins. I have a great blueberry muffin recipe but I thought I would try a new one out on some teenagers recently. I sent several dozen to school for a mid morning snack during the week of standardized testing at my daughter's middle school last month. I was happy to see an empty container return home. My daughter reported that everyone "loved" the muffins and they were gone in an instant. (Ok, so maybe starving teenagers aren't really the best judge of a great muffin.) These are really great muffins and it's definitely worth giving this recipe a try. Lemon Sugar Topped Blueberry Muffins Lemon Sugar Topping 1/2 cup sugar 1 1/2 cups grated lemon zest Muffins 2 cups blueberries 1 1/8 cups + 1 teaspoon sugar 2 1/2 cups flour 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 2 eggs 4 Tablespoons butter 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1 cup buttermilk 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla Bring 1 cup blueberries and 1 teaspoon sugar to a simmer in a saucepan. Cook, mashing berries with a spoon until broken down and reduced to 1/4 cup. Cool to room temperature.
Slowly whisk in melted butter and oil.
I made about 6 dozen of these muffins. I sent 5 dozen to school and the remaining dozen didn't even make it to morning. My family scarfed them up as a bedtime snack instead.
Ciao! Why is it that our taste in food changes as we get older? When I was a kid, I did NOT like sweet potatoes. Even though the name alone suggests that these orange hued vegetables are packed with "sweet" goodness, I found them utterly repulsive as a child. Both of my kids were equally opposed to sweet potatoes until fairly recently. My seventeen year old son is just starting to come around on his opinion of them and I've even caught him choosing a sweet potato over a white potato recently. (Proof that he is growing up way too fast.) I love roasted sweet potatoes and this sweet potato salad is a one of my favorite ways to eat them. Roasted Sweet Potato Salad 4 large sweet potatoes 2 Tablespoons rosemary 2 Tablespoons oil ½ teaspoon salt ¼ cup honey ½ teaspoon pepper 3 Tablespoons white wine vinegar 2 cloves garlic Coat a roasting pan with pam. Cube potatoes and toss with 1 T. oil.
Transfer warm potatoes to a serving bowl and add dressing. Toss gently. I used to make this sweet potato salad every year for Thanksgiving. One day it occurred to me that it was way to good to eat only once a year so I started to make it more often. I like to eat this warm but it's equally good cold out of the frig and even at room temperature.
Ciao! |
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