Flourless Chocolate Cake With Chambord Glaze

My beautiful and wonderful Mommy asked me to bake her a flourless chocolate cake for her birthday.  I had never made a flourless chocolate cake and for the first time I chose a recipe based only on the appearance of the finished product.  Once I started baking, I became immediately intimidated and worried I had made a huge mistake.  I am happy to report that the cake turned out beautifully, it was edible and my mom was impressed! 

Cake Ingredients: 
8 eggs chilled
16 ounces of semisweet chocolate
1 cup of unsalted butter, cut into small cubes
1/4 cup brewed coffee at room temp

Glaze Ingredients:
 4 TBS of Chambord
 2 ounces of semisweet chocolate
1 1/2 TBS of unsalted butter
 1 1/2 tsp of milk

Finishing Touches:
Powdered sugar
raspberries

First things first: preheat your oven to 325 degrees.
Next, line the outside of a cake pan with a double layer of aluminum foil.
 Line the inside of the cake pan with parchment paper.
Grease the parchment paper. 

Place your prepped cake pan a nine x thirteen inch pan.
 Put a small pot of water on the stove and bring to a  boil.

Using two pans to create a double boiler, add your butter, coffee and chocolate....

....heat on low until the mixture is smooth and creamy.
Remove from heat. 

Mix your eggs in a stand mixer using the whisk attachment on medium speed until your eggs have doubled in volume.  About 5 minutes.   

Slowly pour 1/3 of the eggs into your pan of chocolate, butter and coffee mixture.
 Fold in the eggs until they are almost mixed.
Repeat this two more times until the eggs and chocolate mixture are just combined.  

Finally, pour your cake batter into your prepped cake pan.
 Pour the boiling water that has been on the stove in the baking dish creating a water bath around your cake pan.
Pour enough so that it is about halfway up the cake pan.
Place the baking pan into the oven and cook on 325 for 25 minutes.  

When your cake is firm and a toothpick comes out clean when stuck in the center,  remove the cake pan from the water bath and place it on a wire rack to cool.
While you are waiting for the cake to cool, prepare your glaze.

In a small saucepan combine:
 4 TBS of Chambord
2 ounces of semisweet chocolate
1 1/2 TBS of unsalted butter
1 1/2 tsp of milk

Heat on low until the chocolate has melted and all ingredients are combined and smooth.  Remove from heat and allow to cool, but not enough to harden, 

When your cake has cooled, remove it from the cake pan and place it on a plate or cake stand. 

Pour the Chambord glaze in the center of the cake and spread evenly with a spatula.  

Lightly dust the top of your cake with powdered sugar and top with fresh raspberries. 

Enjoy!! 

Happy Birthday Mammy!! 

Baked Balsamic Chicken With Asparagus, Tomatoes and Mozzarella Cheese

Baked balsamic chicken with asparagus, tomato and mozzarella cheese

CHICKEN

Ingredients:

• 1 lb chicken breasts split in half or 1 lb chicken tenders
• 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar 
• 2 teaspoons oregano 
• 1 tablespoon olive oil 
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground pepper 
• 1 teaspoon salt 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
2. Place chicken in a 9 x 13 baking dish 
3. Pour Balsamic vinegar over chicken 
4. Season with oregano, pepper and salt
5. Bake chicken for 20 minutes, baste with juices from the bottom of the baking dish, bake for 20 minutes longer for a total of 40 minutes. 

ASPARAGUS & TOMATOES

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch of asparagus 
• 1 pint of grape or cherry tomatoes 
• 8oz fresh mozzarella cheese, cubed 
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 
• 1 teaspoon olive oil 
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. When your chicken is about 15 minutes from being done, place your asparagus on a baking sheet lined with foil, drizzle olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper
2. Place asparagus in the oven and cook for 10 minutes or until tender.  
3. In a medium pan, place tomatoes, olive oil and balsamic vinegar and cook on medium heat until the tomatoes become soft.  

SERVE

Place chicken and asparagus on plate, top asparagus with tomatoes and mozzarella cheese and drizzle extra balsamic over top and enjoy! 

Eggnog Pancakes

This morning when the kids woke up and begged me for pancakes I sleepily agreed, got out of bed and went to the fridge only to realize we were out of milk. Thankfully my husband loves eggnog and bought an abundance for Christmas. Who wants some eggnog pancakes?!

Ingredients:

Whisk together in a large bowl:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 3/4 tablespoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

In another bowl combine:
1 1/2 cup of eggnog
3 tablespoons butter melted
2 eggs

Mix the wet ingredients with the dry and cook!

Recipe: Ice Cubes

I was forwarded this recipe by a friend this morning and had to share.  This is a "joke" but the best part is in reading the reviews!  Happy Tuesday.

(Recipe and photo credit: Food.com)

    <<<<< Click Here To Read>>>>>

Cheers ~ Kevin

Crock Pot Loaded Potato Soup

Ingredients:

• 5 lbs potatoes cut into 1 inch cubes 
• 1 large onion chopped
• 5 garlic cloves minced
• 32 oz chicken broth
• 1 bay leaf
• Salt 
• Pepper
• 1 cup cream
• 16 oz cream cheese 

Toppings:

• Shredded cheddar cheese
• Sour cream 
• Bacon
• Chives

Directions: 

1. Put first 7 ingredients into crock pot and cook on low for 10 hours, high for 6.
2. Stir in cream and cream cheese until it is well mixed. 
3. Slowly and carefully ladle your soup into a food processor, blender, or better yet use a submersible blender and blend your soup to the consistency of your liking. I like to blend half.
4. Serve with toppings of your choice.
5. Enjoy!! 

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Borscht - Poor Mans Beet Soup

From the posts I read on our Facebook page, not many folks care for beets.  They probably just haven't had them served the right way!

Today I pulled from the garden the pitiful "sampling" of beets which had grown, a couple of onions, and an itsy-bitsy garlic. Exactly what I needed to make one of my favorite all time soups. Borscht.  I come from a Slovakian heritage and many of the foods we grew up with seem to be not very appealing to most folks. But thats ok.  As a kid, beets were one of those foods that had found its way into our home time and time again.  Like an echo in my head, I can remember my grandmother would always tell us "how beets were good for your blood and overall health".  Today, my only guess would be she was referring to the high iron and mineral content which would mainly be attributed to the fact that it is a root which we consume.

"These are the beets which I pulled from our garden less the beet greens."

Beets are the main ingredient in this recipe.  These are the beets which I pulled from our garden less the beet greens.  I am not particular of the greens mainly due to their bitter tasting flavor, but the chickens thoroughly enjoy them. Some folks like to boil the greens and eat as a side to main course.

"I am not particular of the greens mainly due to their bitter tasting flavor, but the chickens thoroughly enjoy them."

There are not many ingredients needed for this recipe other than the beets and all can be sewed in your urban garden.  The other ingredients are as follows:

Beets

(2) Small Onions cut into small chunks

(2) Cloves of garlic sliced into little pieces

(2) cups of beef broth (I used 2 bouillon cubes and dissolved in 2 cups of boiling water)

Salt and Pepper to flavor

Not many ingredient needed for this soup

Warm beets, onion, garlic and salt and pepper in a sauce pan without browning.

There is no right or wrong way to prepare this soup.  How I make it is as follows:

1. Combine all ingredients in a deep sauce pan less the beef broth and warm for 5 minutes.  Do not brown.

2.  Add the 2 cups of beef broth and let simmer for approximately 20-30 minutes stirring occasionally.

3. Turn off heat and carefully pour into a blender.  Puree the mixture to a broth-like consistancy.

5. Garnish with fresh cut chives and add a hard boiled egg.

Enjoy and Na zdravi ~ Kevin

Crock Pot Apple Butter Pork Loin

SERVES: 5-6

INGREDIENTS:

3-4 pound pork loin roast
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic minced
4 apples peeled, cored, and sliced
8 ounces of Baby Carrots
1/4 cup apple cider
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon thyme
1/8 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup apple butter

DIRECTIONS:

1. Remove excess fat from pork loin.
2. In a large pan, heat olive oil. Season both sides of roast with salt and pepper and place in the heated pan. Cook until both sides are nice and brown.
3. Add garlic, carrots, apples and apple cider in the bottom of the crock pot
4. Place pork in crock pot and cover with the brown sugar, thyme, dry mustard, cinnamon and apple butter.
5. Set your Crock Pot on low and cook for 8 hours.
6. To serve, slice thin and plate. Scoop juices, apples and carrots from the crock pot and spread over the top of meat. Suggested sides: Sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, rice.
6. Enjoy!