FYI….for those of you who are like me and like to send food instead of flowers, I have found the perfect cake that is delicious and so easy to order and always gets rave reviews from the recipients. Janies Cakes out of Tyler Texas. I found them in the back of a Southern Living Magazine years ago and ordered one when for a friend who lived out of town and had had surgery. Since I couldn’t be there to bake for her, I ordered one of these cakes. She was just so excited to receive one of these wonderful pound cakes that she wrote me and told me that she had much rather receive one of these than flowers any time. So began my relationship with Janes Cakes. Throughout the years I have ordered them for “thank you gifts”, just having surgery gifts, or birthday gifts. You will never go wrong in sending these delicioius cakes which have a most awesome filling in the hole of the bundt cake….just go to http://www.janescakes.com and check out the different types of cakes. You might even order yourself one when you are not in the mood to bake. Am having my daughter and son-in-law one delivered today. Can’t wait to hear from them how great it will be tonight to sit down after they get the kids to bed and just enjoy the wonderful chocolate flavor of their Janes Cake. Wish I had a piece right now.
Month: April 2011
Eat The Bowl
This is just so cool, it is a Parmesan basket, which you can fill with any type of salad and serve guests. It is so impressive, yet so easy and they will think you have been studying the Julia Child cookbook all week.
Each basket takes about 4 oz of shredded parmesan cheese.
Spread shredded parmesan evenly in heated crepe pan (or small skillet); add chopped nuts, if desired to melted cheese.
Cook over medium-highheat 1-2 min until edges are lightly brown; lift out of pan with spatula.
Invert hot cheese disk over bottom of an inverted custard cup; allow to cool. Fill with salad and serve on salad plate with fancy crackers.
You can make ahead and store between layers of waxed paper in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. Also you can add your favorite spice or fresh herbs while melting in skillet. Makes a pretty salad bowl to hold your green salads at Easter lunch.
Saturday Night in California
It has been a week today that I got back from Texas. It is beginning to feel like home. We got up this morning and went for a walk, which is all uphill on the way back, I might add, so it got our hearts pumping pretty good. Randy is outside washing his car, and I am inside having just made cream puffs for our company tomorrow night. We will be going today to buy a lemon tree for the patio. Everyone here has lemon or lime trees planted in yards and they just look so Californie (yes that is a word, in my world, anyway). So we will be off to explore the nurseries and buy a few plants for the patio today. We started to wonder what we should serve tomorrow night and Randy wants an “all junk food weekend” so we are having sloppy joes,salad (yes, the people out here always have a salad, no matter what they serve, fruit (we had to have fruit instead of chips because everyone out here does that) and cream puffs. That is our way of “meeting them in the middle, fruit instead of chips). Our new friends don’t know that we have a stash of chips in the den, so will be making several trips to “check out the game scores” in the den. I will just have to remember to take a napkin in the den to wipe the chip off our faces before coming back into the kitchen. Tonight instead of partying down with the stars down in the Grove, Randy and I will be looking for great hiding places to stash our chips, french onion dip and Dr. Peppers. No one out here drinks anything but bottled water or Chrystal Light. We will let you know if we get caught, sneaking our Texas trash food. If we do, we will just pretend that we are “under the influence” of Dr Pepper and we couldn’t help ourselves.
Quick Pork Medallions with Mustard Cream Sauce
I’m getting some flack from friends that tell me I have to get out of my chocolate mode and back to posting more than chocolate cobbler, chocolate cookies, chocolate candy, etc….so am sharing a most wonderful dish. Yes, I got it from Paula Deen (hum…that makes it sound like she gave it to me personally, ha). Although it is a dream of mine to actually sit and just talk food with her one day, I got this out of one of her magazines and it is really great. If you are not a pork eater, use chicken or beef, but we love the pork and that is what I am going with today.
2 (1 pound) pork tenderloins, trimmed and cut into 1 in slices
2 teas salt
2 teas ground black pepper
1/4 cup butter, divided
1 shallot, or onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 teas dried rubbed sage
1 1/2 cups heavy whipping cream
1 tables coarse grained mustard
Pound pork slices to 1/4 in thickness. Sprinkle evenly with salt and pepper.
In a large skillet, melt 2 tables butter over medium high heat. Add pork in batches if necessary and cook for 3-4 min per side or until browned. Remove from skillet, and keep warm.
Melt remaining butter in skillet. Add shallot or onion and cook stirring constantly, for 2 min. Slowly add wine and sage and cook, stirring to loosen browned bits from bottom of skillet with a wooden spoon, until wine is reduced by half. Add cream and simmer for 4-5 min or until suace is thickened. Stir in mustard. Serve immediately over pork medallions which you could serve with wild rice and oven roasted asaparagus. Makes a beautifiul presentation.
Also, if you are in more of a hurry, use thin sliced pork chops and then no need to pound the pork.
Chocolate Castles 