Puppy Chow!

There are several things I must say IMMEDIATELY about this recipe.

First of all, it is Puppy Chow for people, not puppies. It is a concoction of Chex cereal that has been coated in chocolate and peanut butter and dusted with powdered sugar, and it is utterly addictive. I actually have no idea why it is called Puppy Chow in the first place, but every recipe I have come across for this stuff calls it Puppy Chow. Maybe because puppies are also addictive? But since it involves chocolate, which is bad for dogs, puppies are not allowed to eat it. Under any circumstances. Even if they look at you with big puppy dog smiles.

Even if they look at you with mournful puppy dog faces.



Even if they are so incredibly adorable you not only want to give them your puppy chow, but also take them home with you and hope your Southern husband doesn't notice.

Even if they look at you with big brown puppy dog eyes.

With pleading puppy dog wrinkled foreheads....

Even if they lie down and beg.

Or stand up and beg. Remain firm.

The next thing I have to say about this recipe is that I washed out that dog dish before I put the puppy chow into it. Or to be totally accurate, the Southern husband washed it for me. And then I proceeded to do one of the most cold-hearted things I have ever done to get a picture.

I took my dog's (clean!) bowl, which she absolutely knows belongs to her, and filled it full of chocolate puppy chow. I took one of my dog's beloved Milkbones and put it next to the bowl. I took my dog's leash, which to her means "hurray, let's go for a walk!" and arranged it next to the bone and the dish. I put it all right next to the back door, where she frequently eats her dinner. She thought it was Christmas and her birthday all rolled into one...and then I said the word she hates above all others.

NO.

She is such a good dog. She knows what "NO" means, and with every ounce of willpower she had in her doggy self, she didn't touch the bowl. But that doesn't mean she was happy about it. Oh no, she wasn't.

But I finally finished shooting the thing - it took about 15 minutes, which is about one thousand years in dog-time, and said ""Dixie! Want that Milkbone?"

Good things come to good dogs who wait. :-)

For the rest of us, here's the recipe for the Puppy Chow.

Puppy Chow!

1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
9 cups Chex cereal (Any variety. I used Wheat Chex)
1-1/2 cups powdered sugar

1. Place peanut butter, butter and chocolate chips in a microwave safe bowl.

2. Microwave for one minute, then stir to blend all ingredients thoroughly. Microwave an additional 30 seconds if not fully melted. Add 1/2 tsp. vanilla and stir well.

3. Put the Chex into a large bowl and pour the chocolate mixture over the cereal. Mix it up throughly, making sure all the cereal gets coated.

5. Divide the cereal mixture into two gallon-sized plastic zip-lock bags. Add one cup of powdered sugar to each bag and shake the bag gently until the cereal is well-dusted with sugar.

6. Spread the cereal on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper and refrigerate for one hour. Store in refrigerator in between servings.

Click here for printable recipe

Ham and Pineapple Quesadillas, and Organizing Your Dinner!

Okay, so I admit it, I am a Type A, compulsive, inflexibly organized person. It's the only way I can keep the various parts of my life all (mostly!) heading in the right direction, and by parts I mean the care and feeding of one Southern husband, one picky but adorable teenager, one constantly hungry dog, one full-time job, and one obsession with photographing my dinner. In terms of the last one, my usual approach is to plan the menu for the week all in one fell swoop on Saturday morning by spreading cookbooks and clippings and scribbled notes all over the kitchen counter, picking out some good-sounding ones, making a giant list and hitting the local farmer's market and supermarket on Sunday morning. That way I know what I am making when I walk in the door each evening, and all the fixings are already there and waiting for me.



Now, I have gotten more than a little bit of teasing for this over the years, so I felt extremely vindicated when I heard about this new website that pretty much does EXACTLY this same thing, without the added complication of having to collect the recipes.

Relish

Relish is a service that collects a great variety of recipes, including lunches, desserts, kid-friendly dishes, vegetarian stuff -- you name it. The recipes change up every week, although the old ones are archived so if there is one you love you can go back to it. You pick out the recipes you want to make for the week, and it organizes them into a grocery list for you -- all the stuff you need to make them. When you print out the list, it prints out all the recipes too, so at the end you have a weekly menu, a grocery list with all the stuff you need to make everything, and all the recipes. It costs $7 per month, and less if you sign up in increments of 6 months or more.

Gee, what a great, organized IDEA!

The folks at Relish were nice enough to give me a gift voucher to road test this service, and so I took it out for a spin. It worked exactly as described, and the recipes were right at my level -- creative but not too fussy or elaborate for weeknight cooking. For example, the dinner pictured above, which is a ham and pineapple quesadilla with a lovely little side salad of sugar snap peas, mango, avocado, coconut and other nice things. (This was one of the things I liked best about Relish -- they don't give you the main course and then leave you to your own devices on the side dish. Each meal comes with both.) The recipe was quick and pretty easy, and delish.

So for those of you who don't get your kicks out of figuring out the weekly menu, you might want to give Relish a try. And in the meantime, try out their ham and pineapple quesadillas. I'm going to clean up my kitchen counter now.

Ham and Pineapple Quesadillas, adapted from Relish

• 1/4 cup apricot preserves
• 2 8 inch whole wheat tortillas
• 4 slices ham
• 1 8 ounce can pineapple tidbits, drained
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/4 red onion, thinly sliced

1. Spray frying pan with olive oil cooking spray and heat over high heat.

2. Divide apricot preserves over half of each tortilla. Top evenly with ham, cheese and onions. Fold tortillas in half.

3. Place tortillas in heated frying pan and reduce heat to meidum high. Cook for 2-3 minutes on each side until cheese is melted and tortilla is golden.

4. Cut tortilla into wedges and serve.

Click here for printable recipe

Shrimp Rolls

Okay, so if a shrimp cocktail and a lobster roll fell in love and got married and had a baby, it would look a little like this:

Wait, wrong adorable baby picture! Although he is pretty delicious-looking too...

Anyway, it would look like that first picture up at the top, which is basically the world's fastest and most satisfying supper on a warm Friday night. First of all, you need to get New England style hot dog rolls, which are those kind that are split down the top instead of split down the side. I have no idea why this makes them New England style -- somebody out there please tell me? - but they work the best for these shrimp rolls. If you can't find them, go ahead and use the side-split kind, they will still taste just as good.

Next you boil up some nice peeled shrimp. Here is my usual pitch for buying your shrimp in bulk at Costco -- they have the best shrimp anywhere, their prices are amazing, and once you have your Southern husband separate them into freezer bags full of normal-sized portions, you will have a freezer full of wonderful shrimp just ready for whatever shrimp recipe you want to make next, and you will sleep easier at night.

Anyway, boil the shrimp up until they are just cooked through -- I usually throw them into a pot with enough water to cover, toss in a couple of spoonfuls of Old Bay seasoning, bring the whole thing to a boil and then turn it off as soon as it boils and let the shrimp sit in the hot water for about 5 minutes. Drain them and put them in a bowl of ice water to cool down.

Then mix up a batch of cocktail sauce - ketchup plus horseradish plus chopped celery. At this point you can decide if you want your shrimp whole, or if you would like to cut them up -- either is fine. Now the assembly: open up your hot dog roll. Line with one leaf of Bibb lettuce. Fill with shrimp. Spoon cocktail sauce over. Serve with salt and pepper potato chips. Be this happy.

Here's the recipe.

Shrimp Rolls, adapted from Everyday Food

• 1/3 to 1/2 pounds shrimp, peeled, cooked and chilled.
• Bibb lettuce leaves
• Hot dog rolls, lightly toasted and buttered
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1/8 cup horseradish (or more to taste)
• 1 stalk chopped celery

1. Mix together ketchup, horseradish and celery
2. Line rolls with one lettuce leaf each
3. Place shrimp on lettuce
4. Spoon cocktail sauce over top.

Click here for printable recipe

Lemon Ricotta Potatoes

Okay, so I don't usually get too worked up about side dishes. I tend towards those dishes that pretty much feature all the food groups and courses in one handy pan. That's why I love Shepherd's Pie, and Chili Dog Casserole, and pretty much anything with pasta in it. But every once in a while a side dish comes along and steals my heart. That's what happened with these gorgeous little potatoes.

It might have been because they feature ricotta cheese. I have recently learned how to make my own ricotta cheese, and so my ricotta cheese radar is on high alert. You can feel free to be a normal person and buy your own ricotta cheese (Whole Foods has great fresh ricotta), or you can join me in home-made ricotta cheese paradise by clicking here. In any case, you need some ricotta cheese...

And a couple of these...

And the best olive oil you can find. I get mine at the wonderful Palisades Indoor Farmer's Market, and if you live in the northern New Jersey/Southern New York area, you must check this out. Olive oil, fresh veggies, cheese, fish, jam, glorious baked goods....yes, yes, yes.

Anyway, you cook up a bunch of baby red potatoes by drizzling them with olive oil, salt and pepper and wrapping them up in a foil packet. Bake the packet until the potatoes are tender. Let them cool just until you are able to press them open, and then you top them with a mixture made of the ricotta, some grated parmesan cheese and some lemon peel. Drizzle a little more olive oil on top, grind some fresh pepper, and you almost don't need a main course.

However, I live with the Southern husband, and so we had some beer and brown sugar-marinated rib-eye steak on the side of the lemon ricotta potatoes.

Life is good.

Lemon Ricotta Potatoes, adapted from Everyday Food

• 1 1/2 pounds small red potatoes
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• Coarse salt and fresh ground pepper
• 1/2 cup ricotta cheese
• 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
• Zest from 1/2 lemon
• Salt and pepper
• Olive oil for drizzling

1. Preheat oven to 450. Place the potatoes on a 3 foot long piece of foil and drizzle with olive oil, coarse salt and ground pepper. Bring edges of foil together to make a sealed packet, place on baking pan and bake for 40 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, combine both cheeses, lemon zest and salt to taste. When potatoes are done, cool just until you can handle them, then cut a small X on each one and squeeze open.

3. Place a spoonful of the ricotta mixture on each potato, grind some pepper on top and drizzle a little more olive oil on top. Serve immediately.

Click here for printable recipe

Banana Bites!

Oh, I love these little guys. Not only are they DELICIOUS, and not only do they feature fruit, so you can tell yourself they are just a little bit healthy, but they are also awesome for using up those bits and pieces that accumulate in your cupboard (if you are me, anyway.) You know what I mean - the last quarter cup of shredded coconut in the bag, the end of that package of mini-chocolate chips, etc etc.

Anyway, start with a bunch of bananas. I love bananas.




And melt up your favorite kind of chocolate. Milk, dark, bittersweet, your call. You could even use white chocolate if you are a white chocolate kind of person.

Then lay out little separate dishes of whatever sweet crunchy odds and ends you have on hand. You cut up the bananas into bite size chunks, dip them in the melted chocolate and then roll them in the coatings. In my case I used coconut (which I toasted for a few minutes first...)



And chopped peanuts (sweet and salty, whoo-hoo!)



And the end of that bag of toffee bits that I was beginning to think I would have in my cupboard forever (can't even remember what I bought them for in the first place!)...



And my personal favorite, crushed Oreo cookies. This little banana bite isn't as handsome as the others, but man, did he taste good!



Pop them in the freezer for a few hours and that's it. Chocolate, bananas, and you cleaned up your cupboard. What could be better??

Banana Bites!, adapted from Bon Appetit

• 2 cups chocolate chips
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• Assorted toppings for coating bananas (such as crushed oreos, toffee bits, chopped Butterfinger candy bars, chopped salted peanuts, or toasted shredded coconut)
• 3 bananas, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices

1. Stir chocolate and oil in heavy small saucepan over low heat just until smooth. Let stand 15 minutes to cool.
2. Place each topping in separate shallow dish. Line baking sheet with foil. Arrange banana slices on foil. Using fingers, dip 1 banana slice in chocolate, coating completely. Shake off excess chocolate. Drop dipped banana in 1 topping. Using clean hand, sprinkle more topping over banana to coat; transfer to foil-lined sheet. Repeat with remaining bananas, chocolate, and toppings. Freeze until firm, about 3 hours, then serve.

Click here for printable recipe

Grilled Pizza with Bacon and Rosemary

Okay, so this whole thing started with two things. First, my wonderful friend J gave me her copy of Taste of the South magazine. I had never heard of this one before, but it took about 30 seconds of paging through it before I was filling out my own subscription card. Among other things, it included a article full of ideas for grilled pizzas. (Those of you who have been reading this blog awhile know I am a sucker for grilled pizza -- those of you who haven't, please click here.)

At any rate, the recipe that caught my eye was for a bacon rosemary topped pizza that called for making a homemade heirloom tomato sauce. Since is is barely summertime, I filed that idea away for when I ran into some good-looking heirloom tomatoes.

Then about 2 days later, I met this handsome guy, and about 10 of his friends.

Was this a sign? Just to be sure, I asked the Southern husband to look around the farmer's market to see if by chance they had any cans of crushed tomatoes, and he came back 5 minutes later with this:

He said he liked the look of the can. (So did I, as a matter of fact!) So I figured this was as sure a sign as any that I was supposed to be firing up the grill to make bacon rosemary pizza. The sauce came together quickly and easily and made my kitchen smell like heaven. Next I cooked up some bacon...

...and some pizza dough. I have to admit, I used my old faithful Cooks Illustrated pizza dough recipe, because it has never ever let me down, and I also used their grilling method, which calls for rolling out the dough into individual rounds and grilling them on one side until they are crispy and have those great char marks. Take them off the grill and spoon the following on the grilled side: tomato sauce, grated fontina cheese and chopped shallot. Return the pizzas to the grill and cook them with the lid down until the cheese is melted and the bottom of the pizza is nice and browned.

Then take them off and sprinkle them with fresh chopped rosemary. Let's take a look..

Let's take a closer look....

Let's eat!!

Grilled Pizza with Bacon and Rosemary, adapted from Taste of the South and Cooks Illustrated.

Sauce

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 2 large shallots, minced
• 1 tablespoon oregano
• 1/2 table dried basil
• 6 heirloom tomatoes, seeded and diced
• 1 28 ounce can crushed tomatoes
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 3 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper

1. Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Add garlic and shallots and cook until soft, about 3-5 minutes.

2. Stir in oregano and basil, stir, and add diced tomatoes, crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, sugar, salt and pepper.

3. Simmer 20 minutes. Makes about 5 cups.


Dough

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup water at room temperature
• 2 cups bread flour
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon instant yeast

1. Mix water and oil.

2. Add bread flour, sugar, salt and yeast to food processor. Pulse once or twice to mix.

3. While running, add water mixture through tube. Process until dough forms a ball that clears the sides of the bowl. If dough doesn't form a ball, add more flour one tablespoon at a time until it does.

4. Transfer dough to mixing bowl sprayed with olive oil. Cover and let rise for 2 hours.


Pizza assembly

• Heirloom Tomato Sauce
• One batch pizza dough
• 1 12 ounce package bacon, cooked and chopped
• 1 shallot, chopped
• 8 ounces shredded fontina cheese
• Fresh rosemary for garnish

1. Divide dough into 4 sections. Roll into balls, dust with flour, and roll each one out to about a 6-8 inch size crust. Don't worry if the shape isn't perfect, grilled pizza is supposed to look rustic! Layer crusts in between wax paper.

2. Heat grill to medium high and lay crusts on grill. Grill for about 5 minutes, lifting up to check every minute to make sure the crusts aren't cooking too fast. Pop any big dough bubbles with a knife.

3. Remove crusts and turn over so grilled side is UP. Spread about 1/4 to 1/3 cup sauce on each crust, sprinkle with fontina cheese, and then shallots, and then bacon. Return to grill, put cover down, and grill until cheese is melted and bottom of crust is browned.

4. Remove from grill, sprinkle with rosemary and cut into sections. Makes 4 personal sized pizzas.

Click here for printable recipe

Black Bottom Coconut Bars and a Thinly Veiled Excuse

So, at some point years into this post I am going to give you the recipe for those sinful-looking black-bottom coconut bars that I found on the awesome Bake or Break blog. But for now, they are simply an excuse for me to go on for ages about the event that happened on the same day that I made these scrumptious cookies. And that would be the Junior Prom, wherein my little girl transformed before my very eyes into this:



I took one look at her when she came downstairs in her dress and melted into a puddle of pride and denial that she was all of the sudden old enough to actually look this beautiful and sophisticated. Even though in this picture I can still see bits and pieces of the sweet toddler she used to be, um, yesterday...



Her Southern daddy was beaming with pride, after he too recovered from the shock of seeing his baby in a red sequined strapless number.



Even the dog was overcome.



But definitely the most enchanted person on the premises was her adorable date.

Adding to my general weepiness was the fact that her best friend had also morphed into an adult overnight and was also going to the prom - take a look at the debonair guy on the far right.

His mama, who is one of my nearest and dearest friends, may be laughing on the outside....

But on the inside I know she was thinking the same thing I was thinking as they drove off into the evening leaving us standing on the driveway...

...and that was, wasn't it just yesterday that they all looked something like this???

And now they look like this???

And so we ran inside and drowned our sorrows in the Pioneer Woman's pasta carbonara and many, many black bottom coconut bars. So if you need some cheering up because your babies are all of the sudden holding somebody's hand other than yours, here's the recipe.

Black Bottom Coconut Bars, from Bake or Break

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, plus more more pan
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 7 ounces sweetened, shredded coconut – reserve 1/2 cup for sprinkling on top

Preheat oven to 375°. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with aluminum foil, leaving an overhang. Butter bottom and sides of foil.

Using a microwave-safe bowl, melt butter in microwave. Whisk in sugar and salt. Whisk in egg, then sugar and flour. Mix until smooth. Spread evenly in prepared pan.

Bake for 10-15 minutes. The sides should be beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan. Set aside to cool.

Whisk eggs with sugar and vanilla. Mix in flour and coconut.

Drop mounds of topping onto chocolate base. Spread and press into base with moistened fingers. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup coconut.

Bake 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs attached. Cool completely in pan. Then, remove from pan using aluminum foil overhang. Peel off foil and cut into bars. Store in an airtight container for 3-4 days.

Makes 24 bars.

Click here for printable recipe

Shrimp and Grits with Artichoke Hearts

Shrimp and grits, I love you way more than a Northern girl should. Maybe it is the Southern husband's influence, but I have never met a shrimp and grits recipe I didn't like, and this one is no exception. The shrimp and artichokes are cooked in a delectable lemon garlic butter sauce, and then you spoon the whole thing over some grits that have been kicked up with a little butter and parmesan cheese.

The fact that I made this recipe did not, however, stop me from making another shrimp and grits recipe with andouille sausage and roasted tomatoes several days later. I can't help myself. Stay tuned to this channel for that one, but in the meantime....

Shrimp and Grits with Artichoke Hearts

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 package artichoke hearts, thawed
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 8 ounces large shrimp, peeled
• 2 garlic cloves minced
• 1 1/2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/2 stick butter
• 2 cups cooked grits
• 1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. Heat oil in a large non stick skillet over medium high heat. Add artichokes and saute 5 minutes. Add chicken broth, shrimp and garlic and saute 6 minutes. Add lemon juice, 1/8 stick butter, salt and pepper. Remove from heat, cover and keep warm.

2. Cook grits according to package directions and reduce heat to low. Cook 7 minutes or until thick Stir in cheese and remaining butter and stir until melted.

3. Ladle grits onto plates and top with shrimp and artichokes. Grind fresh pepper over all.

Click here for printable recipe

Shepherd's Pie

Shepherd's Pie...it might be my all-time favorite comfort food, and I never get tired of making it. I am very particular about the kind of shepherd's pie that I like, though, and that all dates back to my days right out of college, living with my dear friend C in the world's smallest studio apartment on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Ah, that apartment -- it had exposed brick walls that got red-hot in the winter (why? we didn't know and were afraid to ask), the world's dinkiest, oldest refrigerator, and a reclusive next door neighbor named Bruce who was straight out of a Seinfeld episode. We made a combined salary of about $25,000 per year, and probably spent $20,000 of it on rent for this glorious pad, and so our nights out on the town were few and far between, and divided between what is STILL the best pizza place I have ever been to and this Irish joint called Finnegan's Wake.

Finnegan's was loud and dark and the floor was sticky and they served the best, cheapest, most delicious shepherd's pie I've ever had. It was made with beef, not lamb, and featured peas and carrots in a thick tomato-ish sauce, all topped with mashed potatoes. (The picture above is before the addition of the potatoes, in case you are wondering. Because once you put the potatoes on top it would look like a picture of, well, potatoes.)

The Finnegan's version spoiled me forever in terms of shepherd's pie, and ever since I have been in search of a recipe that stood up to Finnegan's. (Of course, it might have tasted so good because the rest of the time we were eating cold cereal, ramen noodles and macaroni and cheese out the box, but whatever.)

So this recipe has all those elements, and whenever I have leftover mashed potatoes I make it. By the way, I'm not sure exactly why it is called shepherd's pie -- maybe shepherds eat it? Maybe because - eek - it is usually made with lamb? At any rate, it's also a good excuse for me to show you the one and only picture I have ever taken of a sheep.



And now that you have all this useful information, here's the best part, which is the actual recipe.

Shepherd's Pie, adapted from Everyday Food

2 pounds freshly ground beef

1 large onion, finely chopped

4 carrots, coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 tablespoons flour

1 to 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Coarse salt and ground pepper

10 ounces frozen peas, thawed

Potato Topping:

2-½ pounds russet potatoes, peeled and quartered

Coarse salt and ground pepper

1 cup milk

6 tablespoons butter

1. Preheat oven to 425°. Heat a large skillet over high heat. In two batches, cook beef until no longer pink, about 5 minutes per batch. Transfer beef to a colander set in a bowl; let fat drain off and discard.
2. Add ¼ cup water to the skillet, scraping up browned bits with a wooden spoon. Reduce heat to medium; add onion and carrots. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomato paste. Add flour; cook, stirring, 2 minutes.
3. Add Worcestershire sauce, 2 cups water, and beef. Season with 2 teaspoons salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Simmer until thickened, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Stir in peas; cook 1 minute. Divide among eight 8-ounce ramekins or two 9-inch glass pie dishes.
4. Meanwhile, make potato topping. Spread over pies; use a fork to make peaks. Bake on a baking sheet until tops are browned, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool slightly; serve.

Potato Topping:

1. In a medium saucepan, cover potatoes with salted water by 1 inch; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer until fork-tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain.
2. In pan, bring milk and butter to a simmer; remove from heat. Return potatoes; mash. Season with 2 teaspoons salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Click here for printable recipe

Chocolate Believe Cake

My blog is almost one year old now, and one of the absolute best things is all the people I have “met” by way of the emails and comments they send me here. They make me laugh and give me ideas and keep me humble, and every once in a while they completely touch my heart and remind me that behind all these computers are some amazing, amazing people.

For example, this is JoAnna and her mom Diane.



A couple of weeks ago JoAnna emailed me to ask if I had a recipe for a chocolate cake. Her mom used to make this specific cake for JoAnna’s birthday every year, and it was really special to her. The recipe had gotten lost, and all JoAnna could remember was that it involved Karo syrup, Baker’s chocolate and walnuts – and how it looked and tasted, like a rich brownie with a chocolate glaze. She had been trying to find it for ages, even calling the Karo Syrup folks to see if they had it, with no luck. Did I have this recipe, she asked?

I did.

And so I emailed it back off to her, and she kindly told me I could share the email she sent me in reply:

Dear Kate,

I just wanted to tell you that you were an answer to a prayer. That is exactly the recipe I was looking for.

My Mother had a recipe that she got either off of a Karo bottle or out of a Karo coupon ad. She made this cake for me every year for my birthday until she was diagnosed with cancer. Right after she was diagnosed my parents finished remodeling their home and the recipe was lost. She could not ever remember the recipe. She died May 27, 2007.

I have been searching the internet and calling the Karo Syrup company often trying to find my birthday cake recipe with no luck what so ever.Today has been a really rough day as it would have been her 58th birthday.

I read your recipe and could not control my tears. I began to shake when I realized that this is the recipe that I have been searching for. I found my birthday cake recipe on my mother's birthday and it is all because of you. Thank you so much- you have no idea what it means to me.

I cried a little myself when I read this message from JoAnna…and then I made this cake for my own mom and daughter for Mother’s Day.

JoAnna told me that when her strong, amazing mom was diagnosed with lung cancer she was given five and a half months to live. She looked her doctor in the eye and said, NO. From that moment on BELIEVE became her motto. She wore jewelry with the word believe on it and bought anything she found with the word on it…and she stayed with her family for three and a half more years.

I had all kinds of ideas about how I was going to celebrate when my blog was a year old, and now I realize that I just did – with JoAnna and Diane’s Chocolate Believe Cake. Here is that very special recipe, and thank you so much to JoAnna, to Diane, and to all of you who have touched my heart so much over the past year.

Chocolate Believe Cake

* 1/2 cup Karo Light or Dark Corn Syrup
* 1/2 cup (one stick) margarine or butter
* 5 squares (1 oz each) Baker's Semisweet Baking Chocolate
* 3/4 cup sugar
* 3 eggs
* 1 teaspoon vanilla
* 1 cup flour
* 1 cup walnuts (chopped)

Grease and flour one 9-inch layer cake pan.In a large saucepan, over medium heat, bring corn syrup and margarine to boil. Stir occasionally and remove from heat after boil is achieved.Add chocolate, stir until melted. Add sugar. Stir in eggs, one at a time, then vanilla, flour and nuts. Pour into prepared pan.Bake in 350° oven for 30 minutes or until cake tester inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Remove from pan, allow to cool completely.

Chocolate Glaze

In a small saucepan, over low heat, melt three squares (1 oz each) Baker's Semisweet Baking Chocolate and 1 tablespoon margarine or butter, stir often. Remove from heat.Stir in two tablespoons Karo Corn Syrup and one teaspoon milk until smooth. Pour over top of brownie cake and spread over sides. Let stand one hour before serving.

Click here for printable recipe

Coconut Fusilli with Pineapple, Cranberries and Shredded Chicken

The Southern husband and I have this thing going on called "The Restaurant Project." At least I call it that -- I think he calls it going out to dinner to a new place that involves the GPS every Saturday night. Actually, he doesn't call it anything at all, but he is a great sport about letting me call the shots on the Saturday night restaurant every week, and at some point I decided that we needed to start experimenting with someplace other than our beloved barbecue joint...and thus The Restaurant Project was born, and it goes like this.

I started looking through local blogs and websites for restaurant ratings, and handily enough I was doing this at the exact right time of the year, because I started this little project in January when lots of place were doing their yearly round-ups and top ten ratings and so on. (For those of you in the northern New Jersey area, there are some links at very end of this post.)

Anyway, as part of the project we have been to a different place almost every Saturday night, and so this past Saturday we went to RoCCA in Glen Rock, New Jersey. Where they had this amazing dish on the menu that was, yep, Coconut Fusilli with Pineapple, Cranberries and Shredded Chicken. And so I went home with a mission: Recreate That Recipe!

So I took some grilled chicken...

Sprinkled on some dried cranberries...



And some chopped fresh pineapple.



At this point I realized that I had forgotten to get red onion, which made me hop up and down in frustration for a minute or two, but then I pulled myself together. (If I had a red onion, I would have sliced it and sauteed it really slowly in olive oil until it was soft, so let's just pretend I did.) Then I put some coconut milk and cream of coconut into the skillet where the imaginary red onion was and heated it to simmering.

Next I added a slurry of one tablespoon of cornstarch dissolved in 2 tablespoons of cold water to the simmering coconut sauce and simmered it until it was thick and creamy. I added the chicken mixture to the coconut sauce, added some flaked coconut, gave the whole thing a stir and voila! Pretty much good as the original -- although I may have to go back a few times and test it. So with thanks to RoCCA, here's my version.

Coconut Fusilli with Pineapple, Cranberries and Shredded Chicken

1 1/2 cups cooked shredded chicken
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 cup chopped pineapple
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 red onion, sliced thin
1 cup coconut milk
1/2 cup cream of coconut
1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in 2 tablespoons cold water
8 ounces cooked fusilli
1/2 cup flaked coconut

Fresh ground pepper

1. Combine chicken, cranberries and pineapple in bowl, set aside.

2. Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat, add onion and cook until soft. Add coconut milk and cream of coconut and heat until simmering.

3. Add dissolved cornstarch and stir until slightly thickened.

4. Add pasta and chicken mixture to skillet and heat through

5. Stir in flaked coconut and fresh ground pepper.

6. Divide among plates and serve.

Click here for printable recipe

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