Beyond Carrot Cake

I went to a friend's birthday dinner and this cake was served at his request for his birthday dessert. It was fabulous. I haven't re-created it yet, but am planning to try soon.

Beyond Carrot Cake:

2 cups flour

2 tsp baking soda

2 tsp cinnamon

3 eggs

2 cups sugar

3/4 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup buttermilk

2 tsp vanilla extract

2 cups carrots (grated)

1 - 8 oz. can crushed pineapple (drained)

1 bag (3 1/2 cup) flaked coconut

1 cup chopped pecans

Some additions that were in the cake we ate:

fig

walnut

bourbon soaked raisins (soaked overnight)

Bake at 350 for 25 - 30 minutes. Grease / flour cake pans

The following mixture gets combined and poured over cake after it is baked:

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup butter

1 tablespoon light corn syrup

Boil the above ingredients for approximately 4 minutes - stir constantly

Add 1 tsp vanilla extract at end of the boil to above ingredients.

Icing:

3/4 cup butter

1 - 8 oz container of Neufchatel cream cheese (packaging has a lavendar cover, can be found at Whole Foods)

3 cups 10x powdered sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

*it was noted that sometimes the chef would add some buttermilk to the icing

I don't have the details about ingredients to mix together, etc.; however, if you go to any carrot cake recipe on the web, it will give you step by step that should work for the above.

Sour Cream Bundt Cake

A family favorite dating back to the 1970's.

Cinnamon nut layer: 
1 cup chopped pecans
4 tablespoons sugar 
1 teaspoon cinnamon


Cake mixture:
2 eggs 
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks) softened
2 cups sugar 
2 cups flour 
1/4 teaspoon salt 
1 teaspoon baking powder 
1 cup sour cream 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract 


Directions

Steak au Poivre

This meal is a winner and brings back fond memories of the rehearsal dinner for Mark and Lisa in the mountains of Tennessee.

The recipe is a variation of Tyler Florence's version.

 

 

 

 

Ingredients

• 8 lb. beef tenderloin
• Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
• 5 tablespoons of Olive Oil
• 1 handful fresh thyme sprigs
• 1 handful fresh rosemary sprigs
• 4 shallots, finely chopped
• 1/3 cup Cognac (you can use more if the crowd likes the taste)
• 2 cups of Ronnie's strong beef stock made from five tablespoons of beef base and 2 cups of dry red wine such as Cabernet or Merlot.
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 4 tablespoons of Dijon Mustard 
• 5 tablespoons jarred green peppercorns, drained
• 1 cup chopped fresh flat leaf parsley 

 

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Pat the tenderloin dry with paper towels and sprinkle all sides with a generous amount of salt and pepper – you should see the seasoning on the meat. Place a large skillet or roasting pan over medium-high flame, drizzle with the oil, and just when it begins to smoke lay the tenderloin in the hot pan. Brown on all sides until a crust forms and the meat is well-seared, about 10 minutes total. Toss the fresh thyme and rosemary on top of the tenderloin and transfer the whole thing to the oven until the internal temperature reaches 120 degrees.


Remove the tenderloin to a cutting board to rest for 10 minutes before carving. The internal temperature will continue to rise to 130 degrees.  Pour off the excess fat from the pan and put it back on the stove over medium-high heat. Add the shallots to the pan drippings, saute, stirring with a spoon to scrape up the flavors in the bottom. Take the pan off the heat and pour in the cognac (pre-measure - never pour directly from the bottle!) Put the pan back on the heat and tilt it slightly over the burner to ignite the alcohol, or light with a kitchen lighter. The cognac will flame for a few seconds then go out as the alcohol burns off. Stir in the stock and cream, simmer for about 1 minute to thicken the sauce so it coats a spoon. Finish the sauce by stirring in the mustard and peppercorns until incorporated. Taste and season with salt, if necessary.


To serve: cut the tenderloin into 1/2-inch thick slices. Drizzle the sauce over the beef and garnish with chopped parsley. 

heath bar cookies

Henry and Jon are requesting heath bar cookies - again. My all time most requested recipe. 


2 cups plus 6 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 generous pinches of kosher salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
12 tablespoons granulated sugar
12 tablespoons (packed) light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 bag mini heath bars broken into pieces


Preheat oven to 350.


Stir the flour, baking soda, and salt together in a bowl.


Combine the butter, both sugars, and vanilla in mixing bowl and beat until light (use electric mixer). Beat in the egg. Slowly add the flour mixture, beating until smooth. Then stir in the chocolate chips and heath bar pieces.


I like to make the cookies large - about 6 per baking sheet evenly spaced.  Bake for about 10 minutes, remove tray from the oven, tap on counter (flattens cookie) and bake for a couple more minutes until done. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Recipe makes about 2 dozen large cookies.


This recipe also works well for a 'cookie cake'.  Bake the entire mixture in a disposable half sheet cake pan, cool and decorate with frosting.