Chocolate Cherry Cake Squares

The saying goes that everything worthwhile gets better with age: cheese, wine and women (this is coming from someone who turns 30 in about a week.) Epicurious added one more to the list: chocolate cherry cake squares. Day 1? So-so. Day 2? Better. Day 3? Omigosh give me another bite.



Summer is the time for cherries, and no matter where you live you're probably seeing them pop up in grocery stores, spilling over bag tops on displays or their stems tangling in a mess of farm-fresh goodness at farmers markets. And wherever you're seeing them they're calling out to you; that siren song of sweet, summer goodness draws you in, and before you know it there are two pounds of them on your kitchen counter. Now what to do with them? There are always the quintessential summer desserts: cobblers, ice cream and pie, but if you're like me you wanted to do these beauties one better. You want to introduce them to chocolate.

As always I heeded the calls of the recipe reviewers: Use less sugar! Adjust your baking time! Wait a few days to eat them! These calls to action are always warranted, and I followed their advice, which gave way to perfection. We ate these treats with a side of vanilla ice cream. We enjoyed every bite. And we loved being a part of the perfect dance that is chocolate and cherry.



Chocolate Cherry Cake Squares
Adapted from epicurious
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Ingredients
3 cups fresh or frozen (not thawed) pitted sweet cherries
1/4 cup sugar
1 cup water, boiling hot
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup packed, dark brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Confectioners sugar to garnish

Directions
1. Toss fresh or frozen cherries and any juices with granulated sugar and almond extract in a bowl and let stand at least 2 hours. Drain cherries, reserving 1/2 cup cherry juices.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a 9x13 metal baking pan with oil and flour. Whisk water and cocoa in a bowl until smooth, then add reserved juice and vanilla.
3. Sift flour, baking soda, and salt into another bowl.
4. Beat butter and brown sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer at medium speed until pale and fluffy, about 3 minutes, then add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each. Add flour mixture and cocoa mixture alternately in batches, mixing at low speed until blended.
5. Fold in cherries and chocolate chips and pour batter into pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes, or until a tester inserted in center comes out clean (Baked mine about 45 minutes.) Cool cake completely in pan on a rack, then cut into squares. Just before serving, dust with confectioners sugar.

* These are very moist cake squares; it is best to store them in the refrigerator to prevent molding.

Meatloaf Pies

This week's ground-beef meal brought to you by Brad. Of course, all my ground-beef meals are ultimately brought to you by Brad because he has quite the affinity for it. In fact he adores meatloaf so much that he has told me he'd eat it every night if I made it that often. I don't. In fact, we eat it about once every 4 to 6 weeks, which is a bit too often for me because although I like it, I kind of tire of ketchup and such, which you just have to eat with it, right?

I design my menus in advance then shop for everything at once in hopes of staying away from the grocery store as much as possible. I swear to you that grocery stores literally suck the money right out of your wallet all. by. themselves. In other words, I spend too much money there because I'm always trying some new food or dessert! This week I wanted to go with a tried-and-true recipe, Meatloaf Pie, but make it a bit different. I made buttermilk mashed potatoes by America's Test Kitchen. (Oh ATK, how I heart thee!) Much better tasting, if I do say so myself, this meatloaf pie!



If you like or are familiar with shepherd's pie this is pretty much the same thing. Yet I think baking it in a pie crust really gives it that Southern flair. And although many true cooks will tsk, tsk me for using a frozen pie shell, on this day it worked best. I had things to do, and work to go to, and I wanted two pies - one to freeze and one to serve to my beef-loving husband and my grandfather. This recipe calls for making only one pie, but I find it to be too much for one so I always make two and freeze one for later. I also used deep-dish pie shells because they hold lots more potatoes and veggies.



I like to make one with carrots for Brad, and one with corn for me because Brad doesn't really like corn, but he'll pick it out when it's time to eat my frozen pie. You could always mix the veggies, or add in whatever you want, but we like to keep things simple. I rounded out the meal with cold cucumber slices in vinegar and pepper and roasted Brussels sprouts. Total comfort food.

Meatloaf Pies
Adapted from AllRecipes
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Ingredients
1 pound ground beef
1 small onion, chopped
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 (8.75 ounce) can corn (or peas or carrots, or a mixture of your choice)
2 (9 inch) unbaked pie crusts (deep dish is best)
2 cups cooked, mashed potatoes
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Over medium heat cook ground beef and onion until beef is brown. Drain excess oil, and cool slightly.
3. To beef and onion mixture add egg, ketchup and Worcestershire sauce. Mix well.
4. Divide and spread the corn (or vegetable mixture of choice) in the bottom of the two pie crusts. Then put a layer of the beef mixture. Spoon the mashed potatoes evenly over the beef, and sprinkle with cheese.
5. Bake 30 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly and golden.

Roasted Cauliflower

I realize it's summer and most of you don't want to turn on the oven. I can get with that; it's hot outside. I realize it's the season of salads with fresh vegetables and light dressings. I can get with that, too; there are few things better than a fresh-from-the-garden tomato, dripping with sun-ripened goodness. But sometimes I need a bit more sustenance than a salad provides. Sometimes I need something little more filling to follow me to the couch on a Friday night filled with last season's episodes of Friday Night Lights. Most of the time I can fill that need with pasta - but not a wintry, saucy, meaty pasta. I have to lighten it up; it is summer afterall.

Enter cauliflower.



I really like cauliflower, and I always have. It was my childhood veggie-tray treat of choice, dipped in the prerequisite ranch dressing. And you'll always find it on my salads. Until the last few years, however, it was always a cold accompaniment to my plate. Luckily I now know it's lovely roasted, just as so many other vegetables are. Toss it with some olive oil and crank up the oven (only for a short time, I promise), then toss it with some pasta and Parmesan and you're good to go. (But don't forget a splash of olive oil. And lemon juice.)

Roasted cauliflower and pasta, with a side of Tim Riggins. Now that's one Friday night I could get used to.



Roasted Cauliflower by Simply Recipes.

Two years ago: Home-Canned Tomato Sauce

Bonus! Deborah says cauliflower is good for us, too. So glad to hear it. Aren't you?

Old-Fashioned Blackberry Cobbler

No matter what season it is I tend to say it's my favorite. I guess you could call me fickle that way, but you could also say I'm always happy with the weather. I don't hate the coldness of winter, and I don't hate the hotness of summer. I love watching the leaves change color in the fall, and I love watching the flowers bloom in the spring. I don't mind rain or snow (but I do hate ice, which we get a lot of in North Carolina.) And right now I'm in love with summer. I'm in love with its squash and zucchini; its limas and green peppers; its cucumbers and tomatoes; and I'm especially in love with its fruit.

It's blackberry season - my favorite fruit every summer. I love strawberries, and I adore peaches, but when the weather turns warm and beach season rolls around I want blackberries. I want the pop of tiny seeds between my teeth, purple-stained fingertips, and the view of tiny, shiny globes that make up big, fat, summery blackberries on my countertops. Blackberries taste of warm summer mornings. They taste of home cooking. Of course I love them; they taste of summer.

And summer is, afterall, my favorite time of the year.



Old-Fashioned Blackberry Cobbler
By Confabulation in the Kitchen
Serves 6 to 8
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Ingredients
2 cups fresh blackberries
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup salted butter, melted

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, gently combine fruit and half cup sugar.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk remaining half cup sugar, flour, baking powder and milk.
4. Pour melted butter into a 1.5 quart casserole dish. Pour in milk mixture but do not stir. Add fruit, but do not stir. Bake 1 hour. Serve warm or at room temperature, and alone or gild that lily with some vanilla ice cream, you know, "to cut the sweetness." (Name that movie, anyone?)

Sloppy Joes

Several people gave me cookbooks as wedding gifts (along with some cute baskets and kitchen gadgets) and until this week they've sat unused. I've collected several cookbooks on my own, but I really haven't used them all that often. I lived alone for most of my post-college years so I didn't do a lot of cooking. (I also ate healthier and less, but that's a topic for another post.) Now that I have a house and a huge kitchen - very chef-friendly thanks to my fantastic cook of a grandmother - I'm more into cooking than maybe I've ever been.

If I was cooking just for myself I'd eat a lot of salads with fruits and grilled chicken and a steak here or there. Since I'm not and I have a husband who's a picky eater I find myself going to some very classic American dishes. Brad likes ground beef, but he won't touch steak. (He hates the texture, which is what guides a lot of his food pickyness.) I find myself looking for recipes that incorporate ground beef, but not just in sauces, meatloaves and packaged meals. I try not to cook red meat more than once a week, and this week I decided to find a homemade recipe for a traditional dinner: Sloppy Joes.

They aren't my favorite, and that's mostly because the few times I've eaten them in my life the mixture came from a can, so it was waxy and pasty - to choose a few of my favorite canned-food adjectives. We were given The Great American Cookbook by one of Brad's cousins, and since Sloppy Joes are decidely American I didn't have to go too far for a good recipe.

Brad liked them so much that he ate two for dinner. I ate half of one with a large salad. They're traditionally served with chips, and I think some jalapeno kettle chips would be fantastic with them. Unfortunately, chips don't fit in with my current trying-to-eat-healthy lifestyle, so y'all will just have to tell me how they pair.

Sloppy Joes / The Great American Cookbook / Serves 4
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1 T. sunflower seed or corn oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, cored, seeded and finely chopped
1 pound fresh ground beef
1 T. AP flour
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1 1/4 can condensed cream of tomato soup
1/2 C. water
1/2 T. worcestershire sauce, or to taste
Salt and pepper to taste (I omitted the salt.)
Four buns (I used Sara Lee whole wheat.)

1. Heat oil in large skillet or pan over medium-highheat. Add onion and pepper, stirring frequently, for5 to 8 minutes or until soft but not browned. Add beefand cook, stirring constantly, and breaking up meat witha wooden spoon until no pinkness remains. Sprinkle inthe flour and thyme and cook, stirring constantly, twominutes.

2. Stir in soup, water, worcestershire sauce and saltand pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, then reduce heatand simmer, stirring occasionally or until the mixturethickens and the beef is cooked through.

3. Place bottom half of bun on plate, spoon Sloppy Joe mixture over, and replace top halves. These are messy,and unless you enjoy sticky fingers, try a knife and fork.

* These should be served hot, but can be made ahead and rewarmed.
* This recipe easily doubles and can be frozen for up to three months.

Birthday Brownie Pops (And Candy Favors)

Cash's first birthday party was a great success. It was hot and humid, yes. And we almost died carrying the food and such to the picnic shelter from the car. But it could not have gone smoother. I am so lucky to have a big, helpful family who didn't mind getting a little sweaty before the festivities began. And of course the rain shower halfway through the party helped cool us off. Thank God for small miracles.



And thank God for chocolate. In the form of brownies. In the form of brownie pops! (And a little white chocolate, too.) I was inspired by amazing bloggers who do things like this and this. And by recipes like this. And of course there are shops like this that make it all happen!

I could hardly call myself a Food Blogger if I didn't make something homemade to give away to all the guests. These brownies pops were a hit! I had several people ask me, "Did you make these?" I was so proud to say yes (and secretly so excited that they were pretty easy to make, too.) At the end of the night there were none left, or so I thought. My sister opened her handbag to show me an awesome sight. "Matt wanted to make sure he had some to take home!" she told me. Matt is my brother-in-law. I guess he liked them!



These were such fun favors to make, and I loved finally being The Mom who got to decorate and hand out treats at her son's birthday party. If you're looking for something fun, easy and adorable to give out to the adults at your next party try brownie pops! They're as fun to make as they are to eat. Oh, and that candy above? Easy, peasy, too. It's simply melted white chocolate that I colored with gel food coloring. I put sprinkles on the candy after I dropped it in the molds. I made similar candies for my wedding, and they were a big hit then, too.

Everything was guest- and mom-approved. I'm excited to get to do this all over again in a year. But I'm going to enjoy the months in-between, too. Happy Birthday, Sweet Boy!



Two years ago: Chocolate Cookie Bites, Inside-Out Eggrolls, Maw Maw's Hershey Chocolate Cake

Cherry Chocolate-Chunk Cookies

When I was a kid I wanted everything plain. No ketchup on my fries. No carrots in my salad. No vegetables on my pizza. No nuts in my chocolate-chip cookies. I don't know if I was just stubborn (maybe a little) or if I really didn't like my food any way but plain, but those days are long gone. Now I want ketchup, or maybe even a little garlic aioli, on my fries. I want tons of vegetables on my pizza, and you can even hold the pepperoni. I load my salads with peppers, carrots, egg - you name it. And my cookies? Well throw in the kitchen sink while you're at it. They'll be all the better for it.



These cookies are fantastic. I know I say that a lot, but seriously. Look at them! Look what goes in them! Oats. Cherries. Chocolate. Toffee. The recipe doesn't call for it, but I think pecans would be great in them. Or even walnuts. Or almonds. Or all three. A cookie is only as good as two things: its butter and its special somethings. This cookie has a great base, and chocolate and cherry is a classic combination. But don't stop there. Make them your own. Add some coconut. Or some white chocolate chunks. Just don't stop 'til you get enough. (Someone had to say it. Why not me?)



Cherry Chocolate-Chunk Cookies
Adapted from Martha Stewart
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Ingredients
1.5 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
1.5 cups oats
1 cup dried cherries
4.5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped
1 cup toffee pieces

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or foil.
2. In a large bowl, sift flour and baking soda. Set aside.
3. In a separate large bowl, cream butter and sugars until fluffy, about a minute. Add egg and vanilla and mix well. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture, beating until just combined. Stir in oats, cherries, chocolate and toffee.
4. Drop tablespoons of dough onto cookie sheets, two inches apart. Bake 14 to 16 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely on wire racks. Store in an airtight container.

Tar Heel Cupcakes

These are my babies. My babycakes. My sweet treats. My mini cupcakes, which I've been dying to make. I've seen Megan and Deb go on and on about their obsession with little food, and I drooled when they did so. I clipped Megan's recipe for tiny pies forever ago, but I haven't gotten around to making them. Yet after Deb's tarts, I knew it was time to use the adorable mini cupcake pan I bought at Michael's. And I knew what I wanted: Devil's Food cupcakes with seven-minute frosting, just like my grandmother always made. (But mine is Carolina Blue, of course!)

I've been obsessively using my All New-All Purpose Joy of Cooking, which I've had for a few years and never cracked open. I just haven't done much cooking in the last few years, but since I've been married it's a whole new ballgame. I did a bit of research beyond what JOC says about baking cupcakes, and I just did what seemed right, based on the baking time the recipe called for. They turned out great! They also turned out super-numerous, but that was okay because Brad (who ate FIVE AT A TIME) had enough to get his fill, and I had plenty to take to work to share, too. I highly recommend this recipe, and try them bite-size. They're MUCH more fun than regular cupcakes!

Devil's Food Cake
Adapted from The All New-All Purpose Joy of Cooking
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Ingredients
2 cups sugar, divided
1/2 cup cocoa
1/2 cup buttermilk, room temperature
2 cups cake flour, sifted
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare two 9x2-inch round pans with nonstick spray and parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, whisk one cup sugar and cocoa, and set aside.
3. In a separate bowl, whisk cake flour, baking soda and salt, and set aside.
4. In another bowl beat butter until creamy. Gradually add other one cup sugar and beat until light and creamy, about three minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
5. On low speed add cocoa mixture in three parts, alternating with the buttermilk, and beat until smooth.
6. Pour batter into pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until cake tester inserted in center comes out clean. Cool slightly, then run a knife around the edge of cake to release it from pan. Invert cake to remove it, and peel off paper. Let cool completely, right side up, on wire racks.

Seven-Minute Frosting
Adapted from The All New-All Purpose Joy of Cooking

JOC recommends using a stainless-steel bowl because crockery and glass are so slow to heat that the top of the meringue cools down before it is adequately heated. Also, be sure to rinse the stem of the thermometer in the simmering skillet water between readings to avoid contaminating the egg whites. Have the egg whites at room temperature.

Ingredients
5 tablespoons water
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 1/3 cups sugar
2 large egg whites, room temperature
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1 teaspoon of vanilla

Directions
1. Whisk all ingredients together in large stainless-steel bowl.
2. Set the bowl in a skillet filled with about 1 inch of simmering water. The water level should be at least as high as the egg whites in the bowl. On low speed, constantly beat the eggs until they reach 140 degrees. JOC says that if you can't keep the thermometer stem in the mixture while you mix it, remove the bowl from the skillet just to read the thermometer, then return it.
3. Once the mixture reaches 140 degrees, beat on high speed for exactly 5 minutes.
4. Remove the bowl from the skillet and add one teaspoon of vanilla. Beat on high for 2 to 3 more minutes to cool. Use immediately.

Glazed Pork Tenderloin

There is so much to be said for a meal that is versatile (you can serve the leftovers multiple ways and still make everybody happy); simple (it takes hardly any preparation and cooks with almost no oversight); and tasty (it satisfied the sweet tooth and the salty tooth in our household). Yes - lots to be said about it - as I've just proven to you! It's no secret that we're a pork-loving household; this isn't the first tenderloin recipe I've shared, and I doubt it will be the last. But this one? It's going into my cooking repertoire. I've told you about that file before; it's called the If I Ever Own a Bed and Breakfast file. This recipe? It's already in it.

Glazed Pork Tenderloin
Adapted from AllRecipes
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Ingredients
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 1-pound pork tenderloin
2 sprigs rosemary
1/2 cup pineapple preserves
1 tablespoon prepared horseradish

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Spray 9x130inch baking pan with spray.
2. In a small bowl, combine salt and pepper. Rub all over tenderloin, then place meat in pan.
3. Put one sprig of rosemary on top of meat, and one below. Bake, uncovered, for 10 minutes.
4. While pork bakes, in a medium saucepan over medium heat combine preserves and horseradish. Stir until preserves are melted.
5. Pull pork from oven. Remove top rosemary sprig, and brush pork with sauce. Return to oven and bake 10 to 20 minutes longer, or until meat reaches 160 degrees. Let stand five minutes before slicing. Serve with remaining sauce on side for dipping.

One year ago: I had a baby! And today he is a year old. Happy Birthday, Cash!

Broccoli with Lemon Butter Sauce

We eat a lot of broccoli in this house. Steamed with butter and salt (or maybe dipped in mayo - ever tried it that way?) Roasted in olive oil and kosher salt. Sauteed with cabbage and pork. Raw in salads. Marinated with cheese and bacon. You name it. We eat it. It's one of the only green vegetables I can get Brad to eat (and of course he only wants the florets.) But since I love it, too, that's no problem. But sometimes you get tired of the same old, same old so it's nice to switch it up now and again.

Enter this new recipe. The kick from the cayenne is a great aftertaste, and if you cook it just long enough (not too long as my picture above shows) it's even better. The lemon flavor makes it taste so bright, and it's a great cold dish for summer, too. It's not too hot here yet, but I know steamy days are right around the corner. Grilled chicken and steamed broccoli on the side? Yes, please. A few minutes on the stove. A quick stay in the fridge. And dinner on the patio.

It doesn't get much better than that!

Broccoli with Lemon Butter Sauce / AllRecipes
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This dish can also be made with fresh broccoli, and it can be served hot or cold.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup butter or margarine
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 (16 ounce) package frozen broccoli florets

Directions:

In a large skillet, combine the butter, water, lemon juice, cayenne pepper, salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Add the broccoli to the pan, stir to coat, and cover with a lid. Cook for 10 to 15 minutes over medium-low heat, stirring once, until broccoli is tender but still bright green. Serve warm, or refrigerate and serve cold.

Butterscotch Thins

First I have to say that the flavor of these cookies is phenomenal. I have been a butterscotch lover since I was a kid. (A Butterscotch Sundae was always my choice at Mickey D's.) I love butterscotch chips in my chocolate-chip cookies, and you know those old-fashioned butterscotch cakes? The kind with the cooked frosting? Omigod. Love. My grandmother made the best one ever. (Note to self: Try to find Maw Maw's butterscotch-cake recipe!)



That being said the question becomes: What did I do wrong? If you go to Nicole's site you'll see how perfectly her cookies baked. Lightly colored, obviously sugary and good, and easy to stack. Mine? Well, they didn't turn out like hers at all. That's not say that we didn't eat them. Of course we did! But they never completely firmed up, and I had a really hard time with the dough. It never got hard enough for me to slice so I'm thinking that's where I did something wrong. (I see that another commenter had the same problem. But others didn't. Weird.)



So can anybody help me out? Do you see a step that maybe I forgot that made all the difference? Why did my cookies spread so much? Why wouldn't they firm up? I know that we've all made mistakes in the kitchen and that one of you fine bakers can point me in the right direction. Like I said before: I loved the flavor of these cookies. I want to make them again. But I want to do it right this time!

Butterscotch Thins by Baking Bites