Chocolate Air Cake

Smitten Kitchen's "Lighter Than Air Chocolate Cake"

Ingredients:

- 12oz semisweet choc chips

- 6 tbsp water

- 12 large eggs, separated, at room temp

- 1 1/3 c sugar

- 1/2 tsp salt

- 2 tbsp cocoa powder

- 2c heavy cream

- 6 tbsp powder sugar, sifted

- 1 tsp vanilla

- Melt choc chips with 6 tbsp water in microwave in 1 minute increments on half power until melted

- Beat yolks, 2/3c sugar, salt in stand mixer 5 minutes

- Fold in melted chocolate

- Clean beaters, beat egg whites in stand mixer until they just hold soft peaks

- Add remaining 2/3c sugar into egg whites, until stiff peaks

- Fold egg whites slowly into choc mixture

- Spread mixture into four baking pans (9", greased/parchment), baking at 350 until puffed/dry (15-18minutes)

- Sift cocoa powder onto cakes, cover with wax paper, invert onto pans and freeze 1 hour

- Filling: beat cream, powder sugar, vanilla with clean beaters until stiff peaks

french toast

Great french toast means finding the best bread.  The semifreddi's cinnamon twist bread is begging to be french toasted, and for good reason - the intense cinnamon flavor really comes through.  You must serve them with fresh berries!

In mixing bowl, combine:

4 eggs
1-2c milk
Dash salt
Dash sugar
Cinnamon (if not using cinnamon bread)
Dash vanilla extract

Dip slices of bread one by one into mixture briefly, and pile up on a plate to await toasting.  Turn on your stove to medium heat, and use a buttered pan that has a cover - this is the trick to getting the toast to cook through without burning on the outside.  A few minutes on each side should do it.

Blueberry Pancakes

Apparently there are some tricks to making award-winning pancakes.  The first is keeping the griddle on medium/medium-low, which is annoying in that it takes longer, but pancakes will be cooked more evenly throughout.  Also, to get a really great fluffier texture, save the whites of the eggs for last - whip them up into peaks and then fold them into the batter at the very end.  And lastly, if adding fruit or blueberries, no need to mix them into the batter - just drop them onto the pancakes as they cook, which will result in more even distribution and less messiness in the finished product.

This recipe makes about a dozen or so pancakes.

SIFT TOGETHER:
- 2 cups flour
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp baking soda
- a little less than 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 tbsp sugar

MIX TOGETHER:
- 2 egg yolks (reserve egg whites to whip and fold in later)
- 3 c. buttermilk (without buttermilk on hand, you can easily "make" buttermilk by filling a measuring cup with 1 tbsp white vinegar and then adding regular milk until it reaches the 1c line.)
- 4 tbsp melted butter

Combine dry ingredients and wet until just lumpy (don't overmix), and fold in egg whites

Drop onto greased griddle (recommend using a small amount of butter as grease), drop blueberries (or strawberries were great too) onto pancakes as they cook, flip after a few minutes once golden on bottom (and bubbles appear).

To keep warm while cooking them, keep finished pancakes on heat-proof plate in oven at 175 degrees.

Macaroni and Cheese

our classic mac and cheese

16 oz. bag of elbow macaroni (or cavatappi) pasta

1 ½ sticks of butter (you can definitely do less!)

~ 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil

6 tbps. flour (.375 cups)

~ 2 cups milk

Cheddar & American cheeses - shredded (approx. ½ lb. each)

Cook pasta according to directions on package, put aside

Melt butter and oil in medium heat in large saucepan or pot

add 6 tablespoons flour gradually (to make roux) or more – make it thick and pasty, avoid lumps as much as possible

Gradually add milk stirring constantly

When sauce gets thicker (after a few minutes), turn up heat a little

After 5 minutes, if sauce is not at your desired consistency, add more milk or flour as needed

Then slowly add and mix in shredded cheese

Add cheese sauce to pasta

If cheese gets oily and separates, call Lauren (add more milk!)

Chocolate Chip Cookies II

Killer Cookies fell flat last time.  Delicious, but oddly flat.  I threw out all of my baking powder and baking soda and bought new, just in case.  This recipe comes from allrecipes with a very high rating, so we're giving these a shot for Christmas Eve.

Ingredients
- 2 sticks butter (1c)
- 1 c white sugar
- 1 c brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp baking soda, dissolved in 2 tsp hot water
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 3 c flour
- 2 c chocolate chips

Cream together butter and sugars until smooth
Beat in eggs one at a time
Add in vanilla
Add in dissolved baking soda, salt
Add in flour, chocolate chips
Drop in spoonfuls onto ungreased pan
(optional: refrigerate for an hour or two)
Bake at 350 for approx 10 minutes, until edges are just browned

Half-recipe:
- 1 stick softened butter
- .5c white sugar
- .5c brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp vanilla
- .5 tsp baking soda, dissolved in 1 tsp hot water
- pinch salt
- 1.5c flour
- 1c chocolate chips

Alfredo Sauce

Easy, delicious, indulgent cream sauce!

1/4 stick butter
1c cream
1 clove garlic, crushed
1.5c finely grated parmesan
Salt, pepper

Melt butter on stovetop over medium heat
Add crushed garlic
Add 1c cream, simmer and stir for about 5+ minutes
Remove from heat, add almost all of parmesan (reserve some as garnish)
Season with salt and pepper

S'mores Cake

S'mores Cake/Cucpakes courtesy of Smitten Kitchen (cookbook)

Ingredients

Cake:
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
- 2c flour
- 2c graham cracker crumbs, finely ground (about 14 sheets)
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 3/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 2/3c sugar
- 1c dark brown sugar
- 4 large eggs room temp
- 2c buttermilk, well-shaken

Filling:
- 1/2 pound milk choc chopped
- 3/4c heavy cream
- 2 pinches salt

Frosting:
- 4 large egg whites
- 1c sugar
- 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
- 1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350, parchment/spray 2 9-inch cake pans
Medium bowl - whisk together flour, graham cracker, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon
Large bowl - cream butter and sugars until fluffy, add eggs 1 at a time
Add a third of dry ingredients, half buttermilk, dry, milk, etc. - scrape down and mix again
Bake 35min, invert on rack (for mini cupcakes bake 15 minutes)

Simmer cream and salt, pour over chocolate, let sit one minute, whisk until smooth, cool in fridge evenly (stirring often)

Egg whites, sugar, tartar into stand mixer bowl over simmering water - whisk until warm (3 min)
Beat in stand mixer w whisk at low speed, increasing to high, until stiff peaks form, add vanilla, mix
Use large frosting tip to pipe dollops, wet finger to press down points, brown with torch