If you are in Portland

We went to the Grill Cheesed Grill the other day and then the Waffle Window. Both are outstanding and really fun for kids.

The Grilled Cheese Grill in SE Portland has a double decker. The boys loved eating in side the bus.

 

And the sandwiches were very good. Check it out The Grilled Cheese Grill

Love the Waffle Window.  Check it out Waffle Window

Ciao for now

The Best Pita Chip Recipe

I have got to share. I found this recipe in this cookbook my friend gave me. It is the easiest and best recipe for pita chips and it has really helped me with my craving for potato chips. :)

I thought I would share:

Pita Crisps

I package whole wheat pita bread
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
salt
freshly ground pepper

mix together

(i use sea salt and sprinkle some on after I put the chips on the cookie sheet.)


Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Grab a cookie sheet.

1. cut each pita round in half.
2. open each pita round up and separate
3. brush evoo mixture on pita
4. use a pizza cutter to cut pita in wedges
5. place on cookie sheet and pop in oven
6. bake for 20-30 minutes. I usually only do 20 and they come out perfect

You are done. They are crisp and delicious. Try them with hummus. Yum

A Fall Get Together

The other evening we had some friends over for dinner and dessert.

Joe wanted to help me decorate so I got him started on the place mats. They turned out lovely and everybody raved about them which made Joe smile really big.

As I was tossing things together I realized that I never shared my favorite dessert recipe. So here goes.

Guinness Stout Cake:

1 1/4 cups Gunniess Stout -don't include foam.
1/3 cup dark molasses
1 2/3 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened natural cocoa powder not dutch processed (add a little more for sprinkling pan.
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp table salt
1 1/4 cups unsalted butter softened to room temp.
1 1/2 cups light brown sugar
3 large eggs room temp.
6 oz. semi sweet chocolate finely chopped (if not picky about chocolate regular chocolate chips work great).

Chocolate Glaze:
3/4 cup heavy cream
6 oz. semi sweet chocolate finely chopped

Heat oven to 350. Butter bunt pan lightly coat with sifted cocoa- tap out extra cocoa

In a small sauce pan on high heat bring stout and molasses to a simmer
Remove pan from heat and let stand while preparing batter

Sift flour, cocoa, baking powder, soda, and salt.  With a mixer cream butter in large bowl on medium speed until smooth.

Add brown sugar and beat on medium until light and fluffy

Beat in eggs one at a time stopping to scrap bowl after each addition

With a mixer on low alternate adding flour and stout mixture -beginning and ending with flour

Beat at medium speed until batter is smooth then stir in the chopped chocolate

Spoon batter into pan spread evenly. Run knife through batter to eliminate air pockets. Then cook 45-50 min. until wooden stick stuck in middle comes out clean.

Set pan to cool 20 minutes not longer

Invert cake- remove pan, cool until barely warm

Glaze:
          Bring cream to a boil in a sauce pan over high heat. Remove pan from heat add chocolate.

Let stand one min. then whisk until chocolate is melted and smooth.

Let cool for 5 min. before drizzling over the barely warm cake. Let the glaze cool at room temp before serving.

This cake is to die for. I mean it! Last meal type thing. I'm telling ya it's goooooooood!

Cookie Fate

When I was in college I worked at The Clothes Tree, a little shop in the Valley River Mall in Eugene, Oregon. Each night I worked, I would walk down to The Cookie Cottage on my break and buy myself the most wonderful cookie ever invented- a chocolate cookie with marshmallow in the middle and topped with chocolate icing. Over the years I have tried to replicate this recipe. I even tired to look up the company but to no avail. Apparently it went out of business years ago.


It's fate: Several years ago a new friend of mine and I were talking about our days at the U of O and we got to talking about this chocolate marshmallow cookie. To my surprise she knew all about it. Come to find out she loved them too and her entire sorority would make pilgrimages to my cookie mecca.

And I thought I was the only one who knew about the special cookie. :(

Well, my friend tells me that her friend called the company before they went out of business but they wouldn't give out the recipe. So she came up with this one. I am passing it along to you.

This recipe is the closest thing to the real thing:


Chocolate Marshmallow Surprise

cookie base
2 cups white sugar
1 cup shortening
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 tsp vanilla
3 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup cocoa

Mix this all together. Drop by spoonful and roll into a ball. Then slightly flatten with palm of your hand.
bake for 6 min. Remove from oven top with as many tiny marshmallows as you can fit on the top of the cookie in a single layer. Put back into the oven and bake one more minute.

Remove from cookie sheet and let cool. Then frost.

Frosting:
3 cups powdered sugar
3/4 cup cocoa
4 tablespoons butter
5-6 tablespoons milk add more if too thick.

The recipe didn't call for it but I added some vanilla to the frosting and I am not sure why other than it was there and it felt like a good idea.

Enjoy!

~Sugar And Spice And Yummy Cookies~

My sons school is having a Renaissance Faire. I don't think anyone is as excited by this, as me.

I tell ya, I am soooo into this. It's what my focus was in art history. I love everything about the Renaissance.

Sidenote: My son will be happy when its over so his wacko mom can calm down.

It's not like I'm going to go crazy and start attending Renaissance Faire's dressed in long gowns, stomachers, a gable on my head, and nether hose on my legs. Geez! Come on. I'm not that into it.

But it has been fun watching Jack learn about this period in more depth than elementary school. His first assignment was to complete a project on a famous person of that time. He chose, Brunelleschi a famous architect (everyone remember that name it's a good one to drop into conversation at a dinner parties).

Brunelleschi invited perspective. He was a genius but not as well know amongst none history buffs, so toss his name into convo and listen to the sighs of wonder and awe at your intelligences. There are so many geniuses at this time. He seems to be over look when you think of how much press Michelangelo and Leonardo get.

Next: for the actual faire Jack had to decide who he wanted to be. He in proud to say he is the wealthiest man in Lisbon. He is a spice merchant with the finest selection of spices this side of Venice.

While he was gathering his spices I pushed my way into his project and started learning about the Spice Islands and what this meant to the people of Europe at this time.

Did you know pepper was traded like gold? And nutmeg was more important than most spices because it was thought to cure the plague.

Well, one thing lead to another which lead to a cookie and I decided to make these cookies with our left over spices. They are my boys favorites.

Molasses Honey Ginger Cookie~ You haven't had a cookie as good as these babies. I even ground my own spices and ohhhhh the smells and the fresh taste of the cookies was doubled.

I thought I would share:

1 cup shortening

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup molasses (dark or light)

1/2 cup honey

2 eggs yolks

4 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tablespoon cinnamon

2 tsp ground cloves

2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp ground nutmeg

Cream together the shortening, sugar, molasses, and honey in an electric mixer. Add egg yolks. Mix well

Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices. Stir into the shortening mixture. Wrap the dough in plastic and chill well.

Once chilled take out of fridge and roll into small balls, then roll into granulated sugar. Place on a slightly greased cookie sheet. Press down with a fork.

Preheat over to 350. Bake cookies for 8-10 min. As usual my advice is to under bake. Only 8 min.

They are brilliant.

Best Cinnamon Biscuits Ever

These are so good and so easy to make.

Here's how:

2 cups sifted flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup buttermilk
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon
(I just eyeball the cinnamon amount. I like a lot of cinnamon. Play around withthe cinnamon to your liking).

Combine flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a medium bowl and mix well. Stir in vegetable oil. Add buttermilk and stir just until blended.

Knead the dough on a lightly floured surface until smooth. Roll dough into a 15x8" rectangle.
Preheat the oven to 400. Grease a 9" round baking pan lightly.

Spread butter over the rolled out dough. Combine granulated sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and mix well. Sprinkle over butter. Roll up rectangle, jelly roll fashion, starting from one long side. Pinch seam to seal.

Cut roll into 1 1/2" slices. Arrange the slices, cut side up, in prepared baking pan. Bake until lightly browned, about 15 to 20 min. Remove from oven. Voila.

SOOOOO GOOD!

My "Go To" Cake ~ Black Russian

Last night we had an impromptu get together with friends. I personally love these. A quick text, "Hey, baseball is cancelled. Yippee! Want to come over?"

We open a bottle or two or three of wine, throw some brie and bread on a plate, and make a quick dessert.

One of my favorite desserts for this type of situation is my recipe for Black Russian Cake. It looks impressive and tastes divine and doesn't take all day to make. In fact, I get it in the oven lickity split and then get myself and the house ready for our friends.

I thought I would share the recipe. This is the easiest and best cake every. If you need to wow the crowd. Make this.

Ingredients:

18.5 oz. package of yellow cake mix WITHOUT pudding

6 oz. package if instant chocolate pudding

1/2 cup white sugar

1 cup vegetable oil (3/4 cup is okay to make the cake less fattening but why would you want to do that?)

4 eggs

1/4 cup vodka

4 Tablespoons Kahlua

3/4 cup cold water

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350

2. Grease and flour a bundt pan

3. In a large mixer bowl combine the following:

cake mix

pudding mix

sugar

oil

eggs

4. Blend well

5. Add the below ingredients to the same mixing bowl

vodka

kahlua

water

6. Beat for 4 min. on medium speed

7. Pour into prepared pan

8. Bake for 55-60 min. Test done-ness by sticking a toothpick into the cake. If it comes out dry, the cake is done. DO NOT OVER BAKE ~UNDER BAKE IF ANYTHING. It will be dry if you over bake.

9. Cool in pan for 10 min.

10. Meanwhile, in small bowl, combine the glaze ingredients below:

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/2 cup kahlua

11. Mix until smooth. Add more powdered sugar if glaze is too runny

12. When cake is done, invert onto plate and poke holes in cake with a fork

13. Pour glaze over warm cake

14. Cool

15. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Add a fruit as a garnish strawberries or raspberries are great.

Love this cake. Love it!

Best Lemon Cookies EVER!

These little beauties are sooooo good. My boys love them and so do I, which is kinda scary.

Lemon Meltaways

1 1/4 cups flour

3/4 cup butter softened

1/2 cup cornstarch

1/3 cup powered sugar

1 tablespoon lemon juice (I like to add a bit more. I like the cookies tart)

1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

In a large mixing bowl combine all cookie ingrediants. Beat at low speed, scraping bowl often until well mixed.

Divide dough in half. Shape each half into a 8x1" roll. Wrap in plastic refrigerate until firm 1 hour.

Heat oven to 350 cut each roll into 1/4" slices place 2" apart of a cookie sheet. Bake for 8-12 min. Cookies will not brown.

Lemon Frosting

3/4 cup powered sugar

1/4 cup butter softened

1 tsp fresh lemon juice

1 tsp lemon juice

Mix at medium speed.

I usually double the frosting because I like alot of frosting on my cookies.

Enjoy.

The Best Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies EVER! And I mean it.

This post has two points. One to say that I looooovvvveee my Silpat Demarle cookie/jelly roll sheet. I love it. If you ever want to get a really swell cookie sheet get this. I put the link to Demarle over there under Swell Stuff.

Since I received my Silpat yesterday I had to make cookies (good excuse I know). I thought I would share this chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookie recipe with you all. It's the best.

1 cup Crisco (white) but if I don't have it I use the yellow butter not a big deal

1 1/4 cups brown sugar packed

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla

Beat it like mad not really just mix together.

2 cups flour

1 tsp soda

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups old fashion oats

1 bag of semi sweet chocolate chips.

Now toss together and drop a spoon full on a sheet and jam it into the oven which is set at 350 for 8-10 min.

NOW HERE IS THE KEY. Don't leave them in longer than 8 minutes. They will look uncooked but they will congeal and harden. No worries.

Now enjoy your cookies.