Mom's Chocolate Birthday Cake

2- 8 inch round Chocolate cakes
Stabilized whipping cream
1 pkg. Knox gelatin dissolved in 1/4 cup hot water, allow to coll to room temp
2 cups whipping cream
1 tsp. vanilla or scrape out 1 vanilla bean
1/4 + of sugar
Beat cream until soft peaks, then add sugar and vanilla, continue beating and pour in gelatin, mix until stiff peaks

Ganache
12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup heavy cream
Melt together in a heavy saucepan on low

To assemble, cut cake into four layers, fill with cream, then top entire cake with ganache and let ir drip down the sides. Refrigerate. You can decorate the sides wit mini chips

Grandma Morgan's Granola

8 cups Oats
6 cups rolled wheat
2 cups Wheat Germ
2 cups coconut
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
2 tsp. salt
1 cup water
1 cup canola oil
3 tsp. vanilla

Mix all together. Spread onto 2 cookie sheets and bake at 225 degrees for 2 hours stirring occasionally.

I always add slivered almonds and craisins.

Oh, my, YUMMY!

Ok, so remember the post I did on a "Yummyu Twist on Lemon Poppyseed Cake"? Well, it was sounding good, but this time I didn't have any white chocolate pudding. But I did have Banana Cream pudding. Oh, my, YUMMY! To die for. This recipe is fun for me, I like to change things up a bit. Enjoy!

Gougeres: A fun hors d'ouevres

1/2 recipe Pate a Choux, recipe follows
1/2 cup grated Gruyere
Freshly cracked black pepper
1 egg, beaten

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

In a small mixing bowl, add the grated cheese and plenty of freshly cracked black pepper to the half-recipe of pate a choux. With a rubber spatula, scoop the pate a choux into the pastry bag and pipe out approximately 25 (1-inch) rounds, spaced 1 to 2 inches apart on the parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Brush lightly with the beaten egg and place in the oven. Cook until golden and puffed, about 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool briefly on a baking rack. Serve hot or at room temperature.


Pate a Choux:
1 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons sugar
6 tablespoons butter, cut in pieces
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour, sifted
4 eggs, beaten

In a small saucepan over high heat, bring the water, salt, sugar, and butter to a boil, making sure the butter is completely melted. Off the heat, add the flour all at once and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon. Return to the heat and continue beating until the dough forms a solid, smooth mass and pulls away from the sides of the saucepan. Take off the heat and empty the dough into a clean mixing bowl. Little by little add the beaten eggs, beating vigorously in between each addition, until the dough forms a smooth, supple mass. Divide the dough into 2 even quantities, 1 part to be used for the gougeres, the other for profiteroles.

Alicia's Variation
Instead of Gruyere I used Swiss cheese
or
Chop up 1/3 of a cup of pepperoni and 1/3 cup of Parmesan with about 1/2 tsp Italian seasoning, and add that to the pate choux

Parmesan Crusted Pork Chops

I just made this for dinner tonight and wow, it was so good I had to blog it. Give it a try and if you think about leaving out the lemon wedge, don't, it makes the dish. (I actually used a lime wedge since I didn't have a lemon, but the citrus flavor added the last touch, so don't omit it!) It was so easy and took about 20 minutes prep and cook time. It is from Giada de Laurentis. Sorry I don't have a picture.

2 large eggs
1 cup dried Italian-style bread crumbs
3/4 cups freshly grated Parmesan
4 (1/2 to 3/4-inch thick) center-cut pork loin chops (each about 10 to 12 ounces)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
6 tablespoons olive oil
Lemon wedges, for serving

Whisk the eggs in a pie plate to blend. Place the bread crumbs in another pie plate. Place the cheese in a third pie plate. Sprinkle the pork chops generously with salt and pepper. Coat the chops completely with the cheese, patting to adhere. Dip the chops into the eggs, then coat completely with the bread crumbs, patting to adhere.

Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a very large skillet over medium heat. Add pork chops, in batches if necessary, and cook until golden brown and the center reaches 150 degrees, about 6 minutes per side. Transfer the chops to plates and serve with lemon wedges.

Top 10 Power Foods

I found this on the Food Network and thought it would be a good thing to share, since it is the new year and holiday treats are over. Check out the link.

Biscotti

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup fine yellow cornmeal
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon orange zest
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 3/4 cups semisweet chocolate chips
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powderPreheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Stir the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sugar in another large bowl until pale yellow and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add the orange and lemon zests to the dry ingredients. Add the flour mixture to the eggs and sugar and beat just until blended (the dough will be soft and sticky). Let stand for 5 minutes.

Using a rubber spatula, transfer the dough to the prepared baking sheet, forming two mounds spaced evenly apart. Moisten your hands with water and shape the dough into two 11 by 4-inch logs. Bake until lightly brown, about 35 minutes. Cool the logs for 5 minutes. Using a serrated knife, cut the logs crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick diagonal slices. Arrange the biscotti cut side down on the same baking sheet. Bake until the biscotti are pale and golden, about 25 minutes. Cool the biscotti on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Using a metal spatula, transfer the biscotti to a rack and cool completely.

Melt the chocolate chips in the microwave, stirring every 20 seconds, about 1 1/2 minutes total. Dip 1 cut side of each biscotti into the melted chocolate. Gently shake off the excess chocolate. Place the biscotti, chocolate side up, on the baking sheet. Refrigerate until the chocolate is firm, about 35 minutes. Dip a pastry brush in the cocoa, then lightly brush the cocoa over the chocolate on each biscotti.

The biscotti can be made ahead. Store them in an airtight container up to 4 days, or wrap them in foil and freeze in resealable plastic bags up to 3 weeks.

Alicia's Note: I added chopped dried cranberries and did not add the lemon zest, so yummy!!!