Texas Sheet Cake

Another birthday cake for work. This was the first recipe I ever made on my own. I made it in 8th grade home economics (that's what they called the class in the dark ages -- LOL). I'm not sure how Texas got to be the namesake for this cake, but it's a good one and very easy to make.

TEXAS SHEET CAKE

2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 stick butter
1 cup water
1/2 cup canola or vegetable oil
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Mix together the sugar, flour, baking soda and set aside. In a saucepan melt 1 stick of butter, 1/2 cup oil, 1 cup water, 1/4 cup cocoa powder. Add the melted cocoa mixture to the dry ingredients. Add the buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla, stirring until you have a smooth, rather thin batter. Pour into your prepared pan, and bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. While the cake is baking, prepare the frosting.

Frosting:
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 stick butter
1 pound confectioners sugar, sifted (about 4 cups)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped pecans (toasted)

Mix the milk and cocoa in a saucepan. Add the butter and over medium heat stir until the butter melts. Remove from heat and gradually stir in the sugar and vanilla until smooth. Add the pecans. When the cake is just out of the oven, spread the frosting evenly on the hot cake.

Italian Cream Cake

Before Hurricane Ike made his unwelcome visit we had a couple of birthdays at work. The birthday girl requested this cake, so voila.

ITALIAN CREAM CAKE

2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup (2 sticks butter)
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
5 eggs, separated
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup chopped pecans (toasted)
2 cups coconut

For frosting: 8-ounce package cream cheese softened, 1/2 stick butter, softened 1 teaspoon vanilla, 1-pound box confectioners sugar, 1 cup coconut, 1 cup pecans (toasted)


To make cake layers: Preheat oven to 375°F. and lightly butter and flour three 9 inch round cake pans, knocking out any excess flour.

In a bowl with an electric mixer beat together sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each addition. Into another bowl sift together flour, baking soda, and salt. Beat flour mixture into egg mixture alternating with buttermilk until combined. Add vanilla, coconut, and chopped pecans. Beat egg whites in another bowl until they just hold stiff peaks and fold into batter gently but thoroughly. Divide batter among pans, smoothing tops, and bake about 30 minutes until cake layers test done. Cool cake layers in pans on racks and cool completely.

Make frosting: In a bowl with an electric mixer beat together cream cheese, butter, and vanilla until smooth. Gradually beat in confectioners sugar, beating until creamy, add coconut and nuts.

Recovering From Ike

Thank you to everyone who asked about how I was during and after Hurricane Ike. This picture was taken yesterday on the Causeway to Galveston where many, many boats came up on the highway. Oh my goodness, what a storm that Ike was. I live about 15 miles inland from Galveston and I evacuated into North Houston thinking that would be far enough away. This storm was hard to get away from. I was very fortunate and only lost a big tree in my front yard that thankfully fell the right way and not against my house. I lost most of my fence in the back yard and my pool was very full of debris. I lost power for a week and still do not have Internet access other than dial up (remember how slow that was??) Lots of challenges, but I feel completely blessed in comparison to so many others. Life gets better day by day and improvements are starting to be seen. Still thousands of people without power or water and much rebuilding and cleaning up to do. I haven't had a chance to catch up on everyone's blogs so will have a lot of catching up to do. Take care and hope to have something good to blog about soon.

Swan's Down Whipping Cream Pound Cake

Yesterday was my birthday. My son and daughter-in-law made dinner for me. My daughter-in-law made an amazing chicken parmesan that would rival any Italian restaurant. My son made my birthday cake and it was so good. I've had lots of pound cakes in my life, but I have to say this is the best. It's not overly sweet and the consistency is just awesome. It comes from the Swan's Down Cake flour box. He made it in the Nordic Ware Rose-Shaped bundt pan and it was so pretty. He made the glaze out of whipping cream, lemon zest, butter and powdered sugar. It was great.

SWAN'S DOWN WHIPPING CREAM POUND CAKE

3 cups granulated sugar.
3 sticks butter, at room temperature
6 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups cake flour
1 cup heavy whipping cream

Cream butter and sugar with mixer until creamy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and add the vanilla. On low speed, alternate adding the flour and whipping cream, ending with flour. Do not over mix. Pour into a greased bundt pan, and bake at 300 degrees for 1 1/2 hours. Allow to cool completely. Glaze or just dust powdered sugar over the cake.

Peach Quick Bread

I froze those wonderful peaches I bought on my trip to the hill country a few weeks ago. When I thawed them out, I didn't realize how 'mushy' they would be. They still tasted wonderful and are just great to eat plain but I don't think they would have worked as well in a cobbler or a pie. So I just made some quick bread.

PEACH QUICK BREAD

1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 stick butter, softened
2 eggs
2 cups fresh peaches pureed
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup chopped pecans

In a bowl mix sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Add eggs, vanilla, and peaches. Mix well. Add together the dry ingredients and mix in with the wet mixture. Pour into a greased 9 inch loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour. Check the middle to make sure it is done.

Spinach Pie

This not quite a quiche because it has no eggs in it, but it's a quick little main dish pie to throw together.

SPINACH PIE

1 box Stouffer's Spinach Souffle (thawed)
1/4 stick butter
1/2 large onion chopped
2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
Salt, pepper, garlic powder to taste
6-8 slices Swiss cheese
1 9 inch pie crust (your favorite recipe, a frozen one, or already made)

Saute the onions and mushrooms in butter until soft. Add seasonings. Put about 3-4 slices Swiss cheese to cover the bottom of the pie crust. Add mushroom and onion mixture. Top with 3-4 more slices of Swiss cheese. Spread thawed spinach souffle over top. Bake at 400 degrees until crust is light brown (about 20-25 minutes).

Something New

It's amazing what you find out in the blog world. I had been seeing several blogs that had cute little signatures on their posts. So off I went to Google about it. So I came across this beautiful blog One Child at a Time and I thought what better way than to get a signature and do a good deed?

And then quick as a bunny, my new signature was done by Diana at Custom Blog Designs. Diana donates a portion of all her earnings to Starfish Foster Home for special need orphans in China. I just love the blog world -- it opens so many doors and puts you in touch of some amazing people.

Texas Hill Country Trip

I made a whirlwind trip to Austin, TX this weekend and thought I'd post a few pictures and comments on my trip.

I flew into Austin Friday and arrived around 11:15. My friend was already there that week for conference for her job and picked me up. We drove around a little bit and decided to check into our hotel. We stayed at the Holiday Inn Town Lake (Town Lake has been renamed Lady Bird Lake after the late first Lady Bird Johnson). We went up and got settled in our rooms. I had a beautiful room -- with the worst view I think I've ever seen being level with the roof and looking out at the satellite dishes and electrical and air conditioning stuff. I got a great rate and wasn't going to be in the room all that much, so no big deal.

After freshening up and getting settled, we decided to meet downstairs and have some lunch. There was a nice buffet in the hotel so we just decided to eat there.

So we headed out to the surrounding area. We started driving through the hills and came across this cute little bakery which had the most clever name, I thought. It wasn't open, but I grabbed a quick picture of the sign.




The next stop was the Salt Lick -- a barbecue place. We got a few ribs and some coleslaw and potato salad and sat outside and had a little picnic. I took this picture to prove that this restaurant was 'Food Network' approved, as they had a picture of Bobby Flay in the case. The barbecue was not too bad. The sauce was a mustard-based sauce which I do not care for. Also their coleslaw and potato salad are more German and use a lot of vinegar -- a taste I would have to get used to.



Next, we were heading to a little town named Wimberly. We stopped at the Wimberly Pie Company and bought a slice of pie. They had some beautiful pies there. It was a small little place, but I'll just bet they do a great business.


We found ourselves along the Blanco River on a road aptly named River Road. This was such a beautiful road. The river was so low that people were out in the middle having a picnic right in the water! One guy even had his whole tent set up out there. I could have spent a long time here as it was so beautiful and peaceful.

This was one of the prettiest parts of the trip. I could have stayed right there, but we had to make our way back to Austin and to the hotel as we have a concert to attend this evening.

After getting cleaned up we headed out to One World Theater to attend a performance by Ottmar Liebert. This theater was absolutely beautiful. It was up on a hill and was very Spanish looking with lots of wrought iron and stone. There was a 'piazza' where you could sit and have wine or something to eat before climbing the stairs to get into the theater. Just gorgeous. Ottmar Liebert is a German-born Flamenco/Spanish guitar player -- some call his music New Age also. His music is just beautiful and it was my first time to see him perform live, although I've listened to his music for a long time. The performance was just wonderful.

By this time it was almost midnight and we decided to go to Katz Deli as we knew it was open 24 hours. So we we headed downtown. Although it was almost midnight, there were so many people and we couldn't even find a parking spot. It was nice to see the Capital Building all lit up though (thank you to the Austin City website for the photograph), so the trip downtown wasn't a total waste. (I think we have a beautiful Capital Building). We settled on I-Hop for a bite to eat before we headed back to the hotel (not a great experience).

Saturday morning we checked out of the hotel. We did not want breakfast, so we hit the road and headed to Fredericksburg. Fredericksburg is well known for its peaches. We saw many peach stands along the way and stopped at one and bought some things. I had some peach cider which was cold and so refreshing. I had only had apple cider before -- this was so good. I bought some peach butter and some pecans and we headed out once again.

This isn't a peach tree, but it was a nice copse of post oak trees that I thought was so pretty. The post oaks are such pretty trees and there are lots of them along the way.

Back in the car and on to Fredericksburg. Along the way we came upon Wildseed Farms. This is a place that grows wildflowers for seeds that they sell. There are acres and acres of fields. I can only imagine when they are in bloom that it is beautiful. I'll have to go back to see that. There is a market to shop where they sell the seeds and all kinds of food items. It's really a beautiful place. There was a Salsa Festival going on, but we decided to carry on and besides, it was so darn hot, I don't think we could have managed walking around in the sun -- near 100 degrees -- UGH.




Next stop was into Fredericksburg and we stopped for lunch at the Peach Tree Tea Room. This is a beautiful, quaint little tea room that has a beautiful gift shop in it. The owner has several cookbooks she has published. While waiting for our table we shopped and I got a set of heart-shaped measuring spoons (I love hearts). For lunch I ordered a sandwich that was made on home made bread that was full of sunflower seeds and grains. The sandwich was made with herbed mayonnaise, Gruyere cheese, avocado, purple onion, and spinach. It was served with a beautiful house salad. My friend had a spinach quiche with Italian sausage in it and a cup Calabacita soup (which is a cheese soup with green chiles and summer squash). I got a taste and it was very good -- kind of spicy. For dessert we shared a peach crepe. Oh my goodness, this was the best thing we ate on the trip. I tell you, Georgia has nothing on Texas peaches. This crepe was filled with sweetened cream cheese and covered with peaches that had been sugared and a hint of almond extract. Those peaches were the freshest I had ever eaten. A definite five star dessert.

After eating those peaches we definitely had to stop at a peach stand and buy some. I hope I can make something good with them.

Now it was time to begin heading home, but we still had a few stops along the way to make. First up, the ever famous Luckenbach, Texas. Waylon, Willie, and the boys were not there, but I did take an opportunity to take a picture of 'Uptown Luckenbach'. We tried to go to 'Downtown' but it was too crowded and we just drove by.....

Next stop -- San Antonio, Texas. I wanted to go into the Mercado and buy some Mexican vanilla. My friend is the absolute Queen of shopping in the market and knew exactly where I could find it, so she dropped me off while she parked the car. I went right to it and bought it and by the time she came in we made quick go around to a few shops but decided to head home. The market would take several hours, even for the veteran shopper.

My friend does what she has labeled the 'South Texas Barbecue Tour' so along the way we had stop and get barbecue at one more place (this was better than the one at Salt Lick). Luling, Texas. This place -- Central Market -- is a no frills place. You walk in and go to the back and walk in a screen door where the actual pit is -- talk about SMOKE. You order there and they place your meat on freezer paper -- slap a few pieces of white bread on there -- your choice of pickles, jalapenos, and onions and out the door you go to a table to dine. These ribs were amazing. The best I've had.

One final stop across the street from here was a vegetable stand to buy home grown tomatoes, canteloupe, and purple hull peas.

Straight to Houston then to stop and get my car at the airport, unloaded all my treasures, and headed home.

This was a quick trip, but I don't think I could have seen or done more in such a short time. It helps to have a friend who is in the 'transportation business' who is a Road Warrior and has no boundaries when it comes to taking the 'path not taken' and going down any little road you can just to see where it takes you.

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

Another birthday at the office, so I made this cake. I haven't made one of these in a long while.

PINEAPPLE UPSIDE-DOWN CAKE

Topping:

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1 cup brown sugar
1 large can pineapple rings, drained
Marischino cherries
1 small can crushed pineapple, drained

Basic 1-2-3-4 Cake:

1 cup unsalted butter
2 cups granulated sugar
3 cups flour
4 eggs
1-1/2 tablespoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup milk (I always use buttermilk)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a 9 x 13 pan melt a stick of butter and sprinkle brown sugar over. Place pineapple rings and put a cherry in the middle of each. Can use some crushed pineapple to fill in the spots if you like.

For the cake: In a bowl mix the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cream the butter and eggs together until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time. Add dry ingredients, alternating with milk. Add vanilla and any remaining crushed pineapple left from the topping. Pour batter over topping. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes until center of cake is done. Place a tray over the cake pan and invert.

Potato Salad

After a rainy start to the 4th it cleared off and we were able to celebrate. A good time to make some potato salad to go along with some grilled burgers. Strawberry shortcake and watermelon for later and then some fireworks -- a great 4th of July.

POTATO SALAD

4 very large Idaho baking potatoes
4 green onions
4 boiled eggs
1/2 cup chopped Spanish olives with pimento
Salt, pepper, garlic powder
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup spicy brown mustard

Boil potatoes in skins until a knife goes through them. Set aside and cool. Boil eggs according to your own method. Set aside. In a large bowl, when cooled, peel potatoes and cut into chunks. Season liberally with salt, pepper, and garlic powder and stir. Add chopped eggs. Add green onions and olives. Mix mustard and mayonnaise together and add just a little olive juice to thin it out. Pour over potato mixture and mix well. Refrigerate.

Cranberry Cheesecake Bars

I haven't taken a treat in to work in a long time. I brought home an empty plate, so I think these went over pretty well.

CRANBERRY CHEESECAKE BARS

1-1/2 cups oatmeal (quick cooking or old-fashioned)
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon brown sugar, divided
1 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 8 oz. package cream cheese, softened
1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 16 oz. can whole berry cranberry sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 13 x 9 baking pan (I lined it with foil to make it easier to remove after baking).

To make crust:
In a bowl, combine flour, uncooked oats, 3/4 cup brown sugar and butter. Mix until crumbly. Reserve 1-1/2 cup crumbs for topping. Press remaining crumbs into prepared pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Cool completely.

To make filling:
In a bowl, beat cream cheese until light and fluffy. Gradually mix in condensed milk, lemon juice, and vanilla until smooth. Pour over crust.

To make topping:
In a bowl, combine remaining 1 tablespoon brown sugar, 2 tablespoons cornstarch, and cranberry sauce. Spoon over cream cheese mixture. Sprinkle reserved crumbs over top. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Cool at room temperature. Refrigerate before cutting into squares.

Jello Poke Cake

This is an easy cake to make on a hot summer day. No matter how many times I make this cake, it never tastes as good as a friend of mine (who will know who she is when she reads this). Guess something always tastes better when someone else makes it.

JELLO POKE CAKE

1 box yellow or white cake mix
1 small box strawberry Jello (can use any flavor you like)
1 small tub Cool Whip
1 small box vanilla instant pudding mix

Bake cake according to package directions in a 9 x 13 pan. Poke holes in the cake with a fork or with the end of a wooden spoon to make holes. Boil 2 cups of water and dissolve Jello. Pour over cake. Refrigerate 30 minutes or so. Mix dry pudding mix with Cool Whip to make frosting. Frost cake. Refrigerate. You can make the frosting with a large Cool Whip and it will be a bit fluffier -- the smaller one makes more of a dense frosting.

Family Reunion Cakes

We recently had a family reunion and I took a couple of bundt cakes as I had to travel a ways and these would hold up well. This picture is of a coconut pound cake and I also made a hummingbird cake (not pictured).

BUTTERMILK COCONUT BUNDT CAKE

3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla (or can use coconut flavoring)
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
1 cup finely chopped pecans (toasted)

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour a 10-inch bundt or tube pan. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs at medium speed until well blended. Add the sugar, oil, vanilla (or coconut flavoring), beating well until well combined. Add the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk. Gently stir in the coconut and pecans and blend well.

Pour batter into prepared baking pan and bake 60-65 minutes or until tested done.

You can glaze this cake with a glaze made of 1 cup granulated sugar, 1/2 cup water, 2 tablespoons butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla or coconut flavoring. To make the glaze bring the ingredients to a rolling boil and cook for 1 minute. Pour glaze over cake while it is still warm and in the pan until the syrup has been absorbed before removing from pan.


HUMMINGBIRD CAKE

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
3 large eggs, beaten
1 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 (8-ounce) can crushed pineapple, undrained
1 cup chopped pecans
2 cups chopped bananas

Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; add eggs and oil, stirring until dry ingredients are moistened. (Do not beat.) Stir in vanilla, pineapple, 1 cup pecans, and bananas.
Pour batter into a 10-cup bundt pan that has been greased and floured. (Can use 3 layer pans or 9 x 13 pan. Bake at 350° for 55-60 minutes (25 to 30 minutes for 9 x 13 or layer pans). Cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes; remove from pans, and cool completely on wire racks.

This can be frosted with a basic cream cheese frosting if you like.

Cooking Magazines

Carla at Chocolate Moosey wrote about receiving a copy of Taste of Home Magazine from me. It seems the only magazines I subscribe to lately are cooking magazines. I think all of Reiman Publications are exceptional - no advertising. I also subscribe to Paula Deen's magazine which I think is one of the most beautiful cooking magazines around and the recipes are very good. I also subscribe to Rachael Ray's magazine which is pretty good and Bon Appetit (which was a free subscription and nice to look at, although I doubt I'd make too many of the recipes. )

Recently I got a postcard for a trial issue of Taste of the South. I'm definitely going to subscribe to this one. I think I'm starting to look at magazines more than cookbooks because of the pictures.

Layered Mocha Brownie Dessert

LAYERED MOCHA BROWNIE DESSERT

1 (19.8 ounce) package brownie mix (or recipe of home made brownies)
1 3/4 cups cold milk
2 (3.3 ounce) packages instant white chocolate pudding mix (I only had chocolate on hand)
4 teaspoons instant coffee granules
2 tablespoons warm water
2 cups frozen whipped topping, thawed
3 (1.4 ounce) bars chocolate covered toffee bars, chopped

Either make a pan of home made brownies or prepare brownies according to package directions. Bake and cool completely. Cut into 1 inch cubes.

In a medium bowl, whisk together milk and pudding mix until mixture begins to thicken. Dissolve coffee granules in water and stir into pudding mixture. Fold in whipped topping.
(This mixture is thick since you don't use all the milk called for -- kind of like a mousse).

In a glass serving bowl, layer one-third of brownie cubes, one-third of pudding mixture and one-third of candy. Repeat layering until all ingredients are used. Chill 30 minutes in refrigerator before serving.