It's a cake! No, it's a Cheeseburger! No, it's a Cakeburger!

True story.  A cake that looks like a cheeseburger.  It's for real.

Today is my Grammy's 84th birthday and her all time favorite food is the good ol' fashioned cheeseburger.  She always said she was a cheap date because a drive through Wendy's was all it took to make her happy.  I may or may not get that from her and if I could justify it, I may or may not eat a Cheeseburger every other day of my life.

Along with my love for cheeseburgers, we all know I have a soft spot for sweets.  Combine the 2 and it makes me weak in the knees.  SO, for Grammy's birthday celebration, we had Cheeseburgers for dinner and Cakeburger for desert.  Check it out. 

Grammy LOVED this cake.  It was a lot of work, but so worth it to see how thrilled she was.  Food is love in our family, and she could see just a glimpse of how much I love her when I walked in with this cake.

In order to make this beast of a cake, I combined about a bajillion recipes.  I used this recipe for the cake and buttercream icing.  For the icing, I omitted the cocoa powder and ovaltine and substituted with powdered sugar to thicken it to the consistency I wanted so it would be white instead of brown, which meant I could color it.  I made the brownie from this recipe to act as the "burger."   As you may have already noticed, all of the recipes I chose were by Joy the Baker because if you want something to be tasty, you use her recipes.  It's a fact.

Once I had my baked goods made and cooled, I frosted the bottom bun on the cake stand and topped it with the brownie.  I then colored some fondant orange and cut out a large square to act as the melted cheese.  I rolled and cut it on parchment paper so it was really easy to apply to the brownie.  I just carefully placed it "cheese" side down on the brownie and slowly peeled the parchment away.  Easy peasy lemon squeezy. 

The next layer was the lettuce.  I pressed coconut, which I had dyed green and then toasted, into the cheese, making sure some of it would peek out the sides.  It got a little messy, but sloppy burgers tend to be the best kind, so I went with it.  I then piped on the icing I had colored yellow and red to act as "mustard and ketchup" using good ol' fasioned plastic baggies with a hole cut in the bottom.  Finally, I placed the top bun on, frosted it with my tan icing and sprinkled rice krispies on the top in place of "sesame seeds."

During my assembly, I had some major icing melting problems because my kitchen was super hot since spring decided to be summer in Ohio and I had the oven on all. day. long.   I reluctantly went with the flow and accepted its imperfections since I ran out of time and could do nothing about the weather.

On a side note, this weather phenomenon also made for an adventurous ride to my parents since we thought it would be a good idea to drive directly into the hail and tornado producing storm that proved to be the scariest experience of my life. 

Good news.  Guy, girl, dog, and cake all survived.

Malted Chocolate Cake

I have a sweet tooth.  BIG time.  I got it from my Dad.  He's a sneaky sweet eater.  It was his Birthday though.  There's no need to be sneaky on your Birthday.  Birthday rules clearly state that your sweet tooth can be abundantly satisfied, and this cake was dang good for that.

When I was little, we would walk to the ice cream shop on the corner and my Dad would always get a Chocolate Malt.  Nowadays, Whoppers are one of his favorite candies and are usually the sweet of choice to be stuffed in his stocking.  One can only conclude that Chocolate Malt Cake just fit for his Birthday Cake this year.

This cake is not a mistake despite the impact it may have on your waistline.  I recommend sharing it with friends to avoid un-zippable pant syndrome.

What you have hiding under candles, candy, and frosting, is a cake best defined as a deliciously rich, 3 layered wonder of moist chocolate decadence and a hint of malt.  I would have preferred a stronger malt flavor, but being the last minute kind of gal that I am, I didn't have time to go to 5 grocery stores trying to find powdered malted milk.  I used chocolate malt Ovaltine instead and it worked fine, but if you have the patience, or can make a place like Whole Foods your first stop, I would recommend going for the good stuff.

{Start with mixing your dry ingredients in one bowl and your wet ingredients in another, then swirl them together for malted chocolate wonder.}

{Frost and add halved Whoppers as decoration however you please, then take better pictures than I did!}

Malted Chocolate Cake

Recipe from Baker Girl

For the Cake2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 cup malted milk powder
1 cup vegetable oil
3 large eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Chocolate Malt Frosting
1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup malted milk powder
5 cups confectioners' sugar

Garnish: malted milk balls

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour 3 (9-inch) cake pans.

In the bowl of an electric mixture, combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

In a small bowl, combine milk and malted milk powder, stirring to dissolve. Add milk mixture, oil, and eggs to flour mixture, beating at medium speed until smooth. Add sour cream and vanilla, beating just until combined. Pour batter evenly into prepared pans, and bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool in pans for 10 minutes. Remove cakes from pans and let cool completely on wire racks.

To make the frosting, in a large bowl, beat butter and cocoa powder at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy.

In a small bowl, combine cream and malted milk powder, stirring to dissolve. Add cream mixture to butter mixture, beating at low speed to combine. Gradually beat in confectioners' sugar until smooth.

Spread frosting between layers and on top and sides of cake. Garnish with malted milk balls, if desired.

Arroz con Pollo

I'll be honest.  I didn't decide on what to make for Valentines Day dinner until about 2:00 the day of.  I was about to give up and make peanut butter and jelly, when I stumbled upon this recipe at my all time favorite cooking blog, Joy the Baker.  She is amazing and you should always always read her posts.

Joy described this as a romantic meal for two, and I'm not going to lie, I kind of doubted the romance of what is essentially chicken and rice, but it sounded good, so I went for it.

I will never subtly doubt Joy again!  She was right.  Arroz con Pollo is sexy food. 

It's not sequins and red lips sexy.  It's tight jeans, heels and a tank sexy.  It's casual tousled hair and lipgloss sexy. 

I'm pretty sure Ben fell in love with me all over again once he took his first bite.  Want someone to fall in love with you?  Make them Arroz con Pollo, then send them along with the leftovers.  It will work. 

As many good things do, start with wine and add a pinch of Saffron.

Use cheap wine because Saffron?  Not so cheap.  Joy's blog noted this as the case, however, being a first time Saffron buyer, I was shocked at this expensive little spice.  It took me a moment to wrap my head around the cost of Saffron until I though of the cost to eat this meal at a restaurant.  My panic attack subsoded when I came to the conclusion that I was still getting the better deal.  Phew!

Next, prep the chicken.

Saute the chopped onion and minced garlic together in the same pot as you fried your chicken until the onions are soft.

Add the tomatoes, bay leaf, salt, pepper and saffron wine.  Simmer for about 10 minutes or until the mixture is reduced by half.  Then add the rice, chicken stock and chicken pieces.  Simmer covered for 30-40 minutes.

Serve and enjoy!  I'm telling you, when you're done with your first plate, you'll be looking forward to your leftovers!

Arroz con Pollo
Dinner for Two, Leftovers for Two
From Joy the Baker, adapted from Martha Stewart
makes 4 pieces of chicken



Ingredients:

3/4 cup dry white wine
pinch of saffron threads (just a few strands is plenty)
4 chicken thighs (skin on)
salt and pepper for seasoning chicken
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1- 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes (mostly drained)
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 teaspoons salt (or to taste)
1 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
2 1/4 cups chicken broth (you may need a bit more)
1 1/2 cups white rice
scant 1 cup large green pimento olives ( I left these out since olives repulse me)

Combine wine and saffron in a small bowl.  The saffron will begin to breed yellow.  Great!  Set aside.
In a large, heavy-bottom saucepan or dutch oven, heat olive oil over medium heat.  Season both sides of the chicken generously with salt and pepper.

Place chicken pieces, skin side down, in the hot oil.  Allow to crisp and fry for 4 to 5 minutes.  Flip over and cook for another 2 minutes.  Remove the chicken pieces from the hot pan and place on a clean plate.

Add onions and garlic to the pan.  Cook, stirring, until soft and tender, about 10 minutes. Add the partially drained can of tomatoes, bay leaf,  salt and pepper, and saffron wine.  Allow to simmer, uncovered, until the mixture has reduced by half, about 10-15 minutes.

Add the rice to the pot.  Add the chicken broth and chicken pieces.  Top with olives (if you're using them).  Reduce the heat to low, place the lid on the pot, and allow to simmer until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed, about 30-40 minutes.

* Joy notes that there are a few tricks.  If you’re using a large pot, make sure that you move it around on the burner so that the simmer hits every part of the pan.  Fifteen minutes in the center of the pot.  Ten minutes on one side of the pot.  Ten minutes on the other side of the pot.  Sometimes pockets of rice can remain uncooked if the pan is too large.  Also, don’t be afraid to add a touch more broth if your rice isn’t cooking up.  No worries.  Keep it easy.

Check the rice after 30 minutes to make sure that it is cooking evenly.  Add more broth, a cup at a time, if necessary.

Once cooked, allow to rest for 10 minutes with the lid on.

Serve warm.

Dish will last, in a container in the fridge, for up to 3 or 4 days.

Cauliflower Crust Pizza

I'm going to share a secret with you. 

Come in a little closer.

Are you ready?

Cauliflower Pizza Crust is da bidness. 

Ok.  I know.  Pizza with a cauliflower crust.  It sounds gross, but I'm telling you, this is a Pizza Revolution.

Delicious.  Low-Carb.  Gluten-free.

Do you need more convincing?  Check out how delicious (and normal) it looks!

I hope that helped.  They do say that a picture is worth a thousand words ya know.

Whenever I come across a gluten-free recipe that doesn't have a bajillion different kinds of intimidating gluten-free flour that takes over my pantry space and my budget, I get really excited.  I also feel the immediate need to inform my gf bestie of any such discoveries.  Megan, are you reading this?!

Don't be deceived by the main ingredient.  Ben doesn't even like cauliflower and had a minor panic attack when he saw what I was doing with it.  I'm pretty sure he was about .2 seconds away from putting on his shoes and heading to Wendy's for sustenance.  Much to his surprise, he couldn't get enough of this pizza.

Now, I'm not going to lie to you and tell you Cauliflower Crust Pizza is exactly like its Pizza Dough Sister.  It's not really a pick up and eat kind of deal.  You could certainly eat it that way, but I would not advise it lest you end your meal with a tomato sauce bib.  However, it is incredibly delicious. 

My words of advice to you?  Just try it.  I hope you enjoy this new discovery as much as I do!

Recipe from Eat. Drink. Smile.

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked, riced cauliflower
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp crushed garlic
1/2 tsp garlic salt
olive oil (optional)
pizza sauce, shredded cheese and your choice of toppings*

To "Rice" the Cauliflower:

Take 1 large head of fresh cauliflower, remove stems and leaves, and chop the florets into chunks. Add to food processor and pulse until it looks like grain. Do not over-do pulse or you will puree it. (If you don't have a food processor, you can grate the whole head with a cheese grater). Place the riced cauliflower into a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 8 minutes. There is no need to add water, as the natural moisture in the cauliflower is enough to cook itself.

One large head should produce approximately 3 cups of riced cauliflower. The remainder can be used to make additional pizza crusts immediately, or can be stored in the refrigerator for up to one week.

To Make the Pizza Crust:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup cauliflower, egg and mozzarella. Add oregano, crushed garlic and garlic salt, stir. Transfer to the cookie sheet, and using your hands, pat out into a 9" round. Optional: Brush olive oil over top of mixture to help with browning.

Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes.  If your pizza pan has holes in it like mine, make sure you put a pan on the rack underneath to catch the drips.

Remove from oven.  Add sauce, toppings and cheese to the crust. Place under a broiler at high heat just until cheese is melted (approximately 3-4 minutes).

Enjoy!
*Note that toppings need to be precooked since you are only broiling for a few minutes.

*Note that I doubled the recipe to make one big pizza.

Winter Caprese Salad

My in-laws were in town this weekend looking for houses because they will be moving out to good ol' Ohio soon!  Hooray!  One big happy family! 

Until then, we are limited to short visits packed to the brim with fun convesation and good food.  I have mentioned the Winter Caprese Salad before here, and decided to make it again since it was such a hit. 

This salad has some of my favorite flavor combinations, and even better, it's pretty.  You know I like things to be pretty.  The base starts with beautifully slow roasted tomatoes surrounding a block of fresh mozzarella cheese and topped with a delightful basil pesto and pine nuts.  Is your  mouth watering yet?

Even better, it's easy to make.  It takes a bit of time to roast the tomatoes, but it is beautfiul and yummy and so worth it.

{Tomatoes are halved and doused in olive oil, salt, and pepper before being slow roasted to magnificence}

{Since the tomatoes take so long to roast, I needed Ben to put them in the oven before I got home}

Once the tomatoes are roasted, make the pesto, toast the pine nuts, and cut the mozzarella (if you bought the big roll like I did) while they cool.  Once cooled, assemble your salad.  Start by placing the round of mozzarella in the center of your salad plate.  Add your tomatoes by pointing the ends toward the center on top of the cheese as shown below.  Spoon the pesto in the middle allowing it to drizzle down onto the plate.  Finally, sprinkle with the toasted pine nuts.

Beautiful and delicious.

Winter Caprese Salad

Adapted From Mario Batali's Molto Italiano

Serves 4

Ingredients:

For the Tomatoes

• 6 plum tomatoes, cut in half lengthwise
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• Freshly ground salt and pepper

For the Pesto

• 1 clove of garlic
• 3 TBL grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
• 3 cups fresh basil leaves, plus a few leaves for garnish if you wish
• 3/4 cups exptra-virgin olive oil

You'll also need

• 4 large bocconcini (from buffalo mozzarella) or 1 lb buffalo mozzarelly, cut into quarters
• 2 TBL pine nuts

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees fahrenheit.

Cut the tomatoes in half lengthwise.  In a large bowl, toss the tomatoes with olive oil, salt and pepper.  Arrange cut side down on a baking sheet and pour remaining olive oil over tomatoes.  Cook for about 2 hours.

Remove the tomatoes from the oven and allow to cool.  Once cooled, transfer to a colander and allow to drain.  I skipped this step because I wanted the olive oily juices to overfloweth on my plate later.  Do what you would like.

While your tomatoes are cooling, make the pesto.  Combine your garlic and parmigian in a food processor and pulse until the garlic is roughly chopped.  Add the basil and pulse about 7-8 times until the basil leaves are shredded.  With the food processor running, add the olive oil slowly and blend until smooth.

Toast the pine nuts in a pan over medium heat, tossing frequently, until golden brown.  This will take about 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a plate to cool.  Don't be like me and pick them out of the pan with your fingers to sprinkle on your salad.  Impatience is unwise.

To serve, place the round of mozzarella in the center of your salad plate.  Add your tomatoes by pointing the ends toward the center, cut side down, on top of the cheese.  Spoon the pesto in the middle allowing it to drizzle down onto the plate.  Sprinkle with the toasted pine nuts and garnish with basil leaves (which I would have done if I had enough basil).

Enjoy!

Things that make me smile.

Introducing a new segment.  Things that make me smile.  This will potentially, and hopefully be a weekly post complete with pictures and commentary of things none other than, you guessed it, things that make me smile during my week.

Smile #1

Let's start with the fabulous surprise I came home to last night.  Tomorrow, my husband and I will have been married for 6 months.  Wow, crazy, gasp!  It's hard to believe that much time has passed already!  We have spent many nights snuggled up in blankets on the couch trying to keep warm during the frigid winter nights, fantasizing about our definition of the perfect warm summer evenings so seemingly distant.  Now that spring has sprung (at least temporarily, it is Ohio, I'm being realistic) perfect nights are on the horizon.  In my mind, that consists of sitting on our porch sipping wine and engaging in conversation, maybe while playing a vigorous round of scrabble while Gus chews on his bone by our feet.  Soaking in the night air, the sounds of crickets and the flickering of lightning bugs in the tree span behind us.  However, until last night, we would have been sitting on the ground.

Ben surprised me with my dream outdoor café table!  I have the best husband in the world!  It's a vintage piece found at our favorite antique mall made of black rod iron intricately woven into delicate swirls reminiscent of one you may see outside a café in Rome.

{Gorgeous right?!  I can taste warm night air now}

{Can't forget the antique watering can for the garden we're working on!}

BIG SMILE!

Smile #2

I am a firm advocate in promoting the maxi style for women of lesser stature.  For those who may not know, the maxi is a garment that reaches the ankles.  Depending on the formality, it may touch your feet or skim the floor.  Many shorter women think it will be too long and therefore accentuate their smaller build.  On the contrary, it actually elongates the body and gives the illusion of height - flats or heels depending on the appropriate selection for the particular skirt or dress.  All it may need is a quick hem.  If you can't sew, go here for a shortcut.  

A few days ago, I found a maxi skirt that I fell in lust with at American Apparel.  It's gloriously swirly and nude in color and I can't wait to debut it this Sunday for Easter.  Pictures are promised.

{you can find this skirt in a variety of colors at your nearest American Apparel or click here}

Pearly whites are gleaming.

Smile #3

Comfort food.  When I don't know what to make for dinner, sloppy joes are usually my fall back plan.  My mom makes the best sloppies and they make me smile because not only are they delicious, but they remind me of being a kid again.  Of course the leftover red mustache and sticky hands aid in that trip down memory lane.

{I made it extra shhhhlllllloppy for ya!  Name that movie}

{We ran out of bread, so I had mine Megan style.  Gluten Free with a cheeeeesy topping}

Closed mouth smile going on here due to the engorging of my delicious meal.

Don't worry.  I will share the smiles.  Follow the recipe below to find yours!

For the sauce:

- Small onion, chopped

- 1-2 TBS oil

- 2 TBS cider vinegar

- 2 TBS brown sugar

- 1/2 tsp mustard

- 1 cup ketchup

- 1/2 cup water

For the meat:

- 1 - 1/2 lbs ground beef

- Onion, chopped

Brown small chopped onion in oil.  Add cider vinegar, brown sugar, mustard, ketchup and water.  Simmer over low heat for 30 minutes.

In the mean time, brown your ground beef with your chopped onion.  Drain well and add the sauce.

Enjoy!