German Chocolate Cupcakes

I was going to make a German Chocolate Cake, but then I decided to make cupcakes instead, and top them with toasted coconut.  This was the first time I made German chocolate frosting, and it is delicious homemade - more like a thick caramel than a frosting, and much tastier than the store-bought kind.

Cake:
1 (4 oz.) pkg. German sweet chocolate
1/2 cup water

2 cups cake flour
1 cup butter
2 cups white sugar
4 egg yolks
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup buttermilk
4 egg whites, stiffly beaten

Frosting:
4 room temperature egg yolks
12 ounces evaporated milk
1 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup butter
1 8 ounce package flaked coconut
1 1/2 cups chopped pecans
1 1/2 tsps vanilla

1/2 cup toasted coconut, for garnish

Directions:

Melt chocolate in boiling water, then cool.  Cream butter and sugar until fluffy.  Add yolks, beating well after each.  Blend in vanilla and chocolate.

Sift flour with soda and salt.  Add dry mixture alternately with buttermilk, mixing well after each addition.  Fold in beaten egg whites.  Pour into cupcake pans and bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

To make frosting, beat eggs, milk, sugar, and butter.  Cook over medium heat for about 12 minutes, stirring constantly until mixture thickens.  Remove from heat, then add coconut, pecans, and vanilla.  Beat to spreading consistency, then cool before frosting cupcakes.

Finally, using a foil wrapped baking sheet, toast coconut at 350 degrees for about 5-10 minutes, until golden brown.  Sprinkle over frosted cupcakes and serve.

Tips:  Make the icing first, as it takes a while to cool.  Stir constantly while cooking it, otherwise you may end up with more cooked egg than you would like in your frosting.  The frosting should be creamy and coat a spoon completely if you dip it in and take it out.  Enjoy!

No Knead Bread

 

This is a great bread recipe - you don't need a bread machine, there is no need to knead, and it comes out of the oven crispy and delicious.  In other words, it's the perfect bread recipe for someone who is lazy.  Well, I like to call it "busy".  Either way, make this bread and people will be very impressed and never suspect that you mostly just let it rise, then threw it in the oven.

Ingredients:

3 cups bread flour

1 tablespoon brown sugar 

1/4 teaspoon instant yeast 

1 teaspoon table salt 

1 1/2 cups warm water

An oven safe pot with a five-quart or larger capacity
 

Directions:
The night before, mix the ingredients with a wooden spoon until the dough just comes together.  It will be a shaggy, sticky mess.  Cover with plastic wrap and let sit for 12-20 hours.

When ready to get started, dump the dough on a floured surface.  It will be sticky and bubbly.  With a wet spatula, fold the ends of dough over a few times.  Use wet hands to nudge it into a ball shape.  Dust a towel with flour.  Set the dough down on top of the towel and fold the towel over the dough.  Let the dough sit like that for about 2 hours.  Once it has been sitting there for about an hour and 1/2, place the pot you plan to cook it in into the oven and preheat to 450 degrees.  I used a large ceramic serving dish that is oven safe.

Next, it's time to bake the dough!  The dough should have doubled in size.  Remove the hot pot from the oven.  Carefully dump the wobbly dough into the pot and shake to even dough out.  Bake for 30 minutes, then brush with butter and bake for another 15-20 minutes or until the crust is golden and the middle of loaf is 210 degrees.

Once the bread is fully cooked, remove from the oven and let it cool before serving.  If desired, you can brush a bit more melted butter over the top.

Tips:  If you won't be eating this right away, you can reheat it and keep it crisp by placing it back in the oven for about 10 minutes.  Also, you could easily make alterations to this by adding additional seasonings (garlic and cheddar cheese come to mind! or maybe a sweet version with cinnamon...).  Enjoy!

Here is a picture of Kyle, looking rather surly and stuffing himself with an enormous piece of this bread.  This outfit will make more sense later, when I post pictures from the Oktoberfest party I had.  All you need to know now is that Kyle really, really enjoyed the bread.

BBQ Chicken & Gouda Pizza

This pizza is delicious and really easy to make.  This will make two pizzas, so modify to your own needs.

Ingredients:

2 pizza crusts (any type you prefer, or see my suggestion below)

1 lb grilled chicken breast, cubed

2 cups gouda cheese, shredded

1 cup mozarella cheese, shredded

1 cup BBQ sauce

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp oregano

Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Drizzle chicken with olive oil and then season with the garlic, onion powder, oregano, and salt and pepper.  Grill at medium high heat for about 8 minutes per side, until fully cooked but still tender.

While the chicken is cooking, roll out the pizza dough.  I have done this every which way; made my own dough from scratch, bought it in a package like this one where you still have to roll it out, and gone the really easy way and bought it completely pre-made and pre-packaged.  Currently, this is my fave option:

All you have to do is add water and roll it out, and it makes a nice, crispy crust that is easy to work with.  Once the pizza crusts are prepared, place them in the oven according to the package directions, for just long enough to brown them.

Remove the chicken from the grill and let it rest for 5 minutes.  Turn the grill down to medium.  Prepare your BBQ sauce.  Here is a recipe for a homemade sauce: 

Homemade Barbecue Sauce

Or you can use a bottled sauce.  Either way, place the cubed chicken breast into a bowl with the BBQ sauce and mix.  Make sure the chicken is really slathered in the sauce - the BBQ sauce is taking the place of tomato sauce in this recipe, so make sure there is plenty of it.

Next, sprinkle about half of the cheese on each pizza, add the chicken, and then sprinkle the rest of the cheese over it.  Take each pizza and carefully place on the grill.  Grill for just about 5-10 minutes, until the cheese is melted.

Tips:

You can also finish this pizza in the oven - it really just depends on your own comfort with grilling.  The grilling does impart a smoky flavor, if you are able to do it.  Just make sure your grill is sprayed with grilling oil, and the pizza crust shouldn't stick.  Enjoy!

Homemade Barbecue Sauce

This is a pretty simple recipe for a sweet & smoky BBQ sauce.  If you want to use this as a starting point, you can add additional seasonings, pureed fruit, a few tablespoons of honey, change up the spices, etc.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar, packed
1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup white vinegar

3 tbsp liquid smoke
1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground mustard

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon paprika

1/8 teaspoon cayenne powder
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Add ingredients to a bowl and whisk until the sugar has dissolved and the spices are distributed.  Use this to marinate chicken, shrimp, or serve as a dipping sauce.  Store in the fridge or freeze for later use.

Pumpkin Walnut Fudge

I really liked this fudge.  It isn't like traditional chocolate fudge, which is so sweet and rich that it can be a bit overpowering.  This is a bit drier, and less sweet, but very tasty.

Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter
2 1/2 cups white sugar
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1 bag (12 oz) white chocolate chips
7 ounces marshmallow creme
3/4 cup canned pumpkin

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Line a 9x9 inch pan with aluminum foil, and set aside.  In a 3 quart saucepan, heat the milk and sugar over medium heat.  Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon.  Mix in pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon; bring back to a boil.  Stir in marshmallow creme and butter.  Bring to a rolling boil.  Cook, stirring occasionally, for 18 minutes.

Remove from heat, and add white chocolate chips and vanilla. Stir until creamy and all of the chips are melted.  Pour into prepared pan.

 

Once the fudge has cooled, remove from the pan, and cut into squares.  Take a little more time cutting these - since this fudge is drier than you may be used to, it tends to break.

Tips:

Make sure to bring this to a boil 3 separate times, as the recipe directs.  I had no trouble at all with it, but I got the original recipe from All Recipes, and some of the reviewers complained that the fudge didn't turn out right.  After reading a number of them, it seemed that the problem always lay in the boiling.  So follow the directions exactly and it should turn out fine!  Enjoy!

Bacon Wrapped Scallops with Maple Cream Sauce

This is either the third or fourth version of bacon wrapped scallops I've made.  As you may have noticed, I enjoy wrapping things in bacon.  According to a few friends who sampled this version, this is the best bacon wrapped scallops recipe I've made, but it's hard to know who to trust.  People tend to get very effusive when you feed them pork!

Ingredients:

10 bacon strips
10 large sea scallops
1 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/8 teaspoon salt 

Directions:
Place bacon in an ungreased baking pan. Bake at 350 for 7-10 minutes or until partially cooked and lightly browned.  Drain on paper towels.  Wrap each strip of bacon around a scallop and secure with toothpicks.  In a saucepan, bring cream to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for about 8 minutes.  Stir in the mustard, syrup and salt.  Bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes.  Meanwhile, place the scallops on a greased baking sheet.  Bake at 400 degrees for 8-12 minutes or until firm and opaque.  Drizzle with the maple cream sauce and serve.

I think this sauce would also pair well with chicken.  Enjoy!

Kalua Pork

I first made this for a luau, and have made it many times since.  This is a great recipe for a party or to bring to an event, and since it's cooked in a crockpot, it requires very little active work.

Don't confuse this with the coffee liqueur - kālua is a Hawaiian cooking method that utilizes an underground oven.  Kālua Pig is a popular dish served at luaus, where the entire pig is wrapped in banana leaves and roasted in a hole in the ground.  This version is simpler to make, and easier on your back - no shovel required!

Ingredients:

1 6 lb pork butt roast (can also use shoulder or picnic)
1 tablespoon Hawaiian sea salt
3 tablespoons liquid smoke flavoring
1 cup pineapple juice

Directions:
Pierce pork all over with a fork.  Rub salt, then liquid smoke over meat.  Place roast in a crock pot.  Cover and cook on low for as little as 6, or as many as 20 hours, turning once during cooking time.  During the last hour, add the pineapple juice.  When ready, remove meat from slow cooker, and place on a cutting board. 

If you want to let the roast cool off before shredding, this is also a good time to remove some of the fat.  Pour the crock pot juices into a bowl and place in the refrigerator.  When the pork is cool enough, shred it.  The easiest way to do this is with your hands!  Put it back in the crock pot.  Then remove the bowl from the refrigerator - the fat should have risen to the top by now, and you can remove it, then pour in the juices back into the crock pot, over the pork.  Taste and season with salt and pepper, if necessary.  Add more liquid smoke if it doesn't seem smoky enough.

The best way to serve this is on toasted Hawaiian sweet rolls.  Enjoy!

Emerald Bay Cocktail

I wanted to make a bright blue drink for a Cruise Ship Party I was having.  I tried a few things and came up with this recipe.  It's fruity but not too sweet, and refreshing.... also, a beautiful shade of blue!

Ingredients: 

1 oz Alizé Bleu Passion

1/2 oz Blue Curacao

1/2 oz Malibu Rum

1 oz 7-Up or Sprite

Maraschino Cherries (if desired)

Directions:

Mix together in a martini shaker or glass over ice and serve.  Garnish with a maraschino cherry, if desired.  Enjoy!