TWD: Fresh Ginger and Chocolate Gingerbread

This week's recipe had me skeptical. I am not usually a big fan of ginger. It is a strong, spicy flavor. However, I learned this week that when it is used in the right combination of ingredients, ginger can be fabulous.

Now I have to admit because I was previously not a fan of ginger, I skipped the optional ginger. I didn't use the crystallized fresh ginger or the stem ginger in syrup so my bread just had ground ginger in it. I used chocolate chips and just added them instead of melting part of them. I also used dark karo syrup instead of molasses and added a bit of vanilla for flavor. And if you couldn't tell by the picture, I skipped making the chocolate ganache topping as well.

I have to admit that I loved this bread! All my chocolate chips sunk to the bottom and the middle of my cake also sunk. My husband loves the cake including the chocolate layer on the bottom. I preferred the cake by itself. I liked it without the extra ginger but maybe next time I'll double the ground ginger and leave out the chocolate chips altogether.

Our host for this week was, Heather of Sherry Trifle.

Happy Baking!!

PS. TWD authorities, I'm sorry for posting this late, I really did make it on time! :)

TWD: Berry Surprise Cake

I really wanted to bail on this week's recipe. Several TWD bakers had tried their hand at whipping up this cake before I got to it and some were not very successful. I was not excited about failing. Particularly because I planned to serve this cake as dessert at my first party this past weekend. Not exactly the first party I've ever planned or hosted but the first in my own home in NYC with new friends. I wanted everything to be perfect. So a tricky cake recipe was calling me chicken.

As you can see from the pictures I baked the cake! Thanks to my husband for pushing me out of my comfort zone (he's good like that!). He reminded me that one of the reasons I joined TWD was to learn to bake out of my comfort zone. Cakes are just not my thing.

So, I rolled up my sleeves and got to work and a lot of work it was. There was several time consuming steps for this recipe. Many TWD bakers complained about the cake sinking in the middle, though it is normal for it to sink slightly, many were disasters. I carefully followed the instructions (I love Dorie's descriptions!). My cake sunk slightly but I considered it normal. Once I had the cake fully assembled, you couldn't even tell it sunk. The filling does a good job of make up for lost cake!

I altered the filling a bit and added more sugar and more vanilla based on a few complaints that it was bland. I loved my end results and have been eating my leftover filling but the fingerful straight out of the fridge! I also had to give in and use frozen berries. I couldn't bear the thought of buying berries out of season; they are too expensive and don't look good! I thawed them before putting them in the middle of my cake.


In the end, I was very pleased with my cake. I was glad I made it and I loved the filling. However, I didn't love the cake. It was bad but just not was I was expecting. A slight disappointment for me in the end BUT my husband LOVED it! And by love I mean, I think he ate half! I was surprised because neither of us really love cake. But, my party was a big success so all is well in the end! :)

Thank you to Mary Anne of Meet me in the Kitchen for challanging me to step out of my comfort zone. You can find the recipe here. Check out the other TWD bakers to see how their cakes turned out!

CEiMB: Beef Tenderloin with Rosemary and Chocolate

Well, if you follow my blog regularly you know that I have been absent from Craving Ellie in My Belly. But I'm back! I have to confess that my husband actually made this week's recipe but he gave me the approval to claim it for myself. I have such an amazing husband. Work has been physically stressful this week and he knew how much it meant to me to participate in this week's recipe so he offered to make it. I sat at the counter and kept him company.

Ellie mentions in her notes that this really works for any cut of beef. Since it is just the 2 of us, I decided to just pick up 2 steaks. The sauce takes quite a while to reduce down but it was worth the wait. I was very hesitant. If fact the picture above is my husband's plate, my sauce was in a dish on the side in case I didn't like it! I was pleasantly surprised.

The aroma of the sauce with the spices was quite overwhelming and I thought for sure I wouldn't like it but Ellie proved me wrong and I will definitely make this again in the future.

Other than substituting the cut of meat, the only other change we made was using a cooking sherry instead of red wine. I was not interested in making an extra stop to the liquor store this week. I'm not a wine drinker so I can't tell you if it made a huge difference but if it did than I like it better my way!

Thank you to Amanda of Beckett Bakes It for this week's selection. You can find the recipe on her blog. Don't forget to visit CEiMB too!

TWD: Savory Corn and Pepper Muffins

I'm sure you all thought I abandoned my blog but that is just not true. I am back on board with TWD! I have missed a lot and I hope to catch up on a few of the ones I missed.

This week's recipe was a great one to jump back in with. It was super quick and easy to mix together. I am do not love things too spicy and I have a hate relationship with cilantro so I left out the bell peppers and the jalapeno peppers and the cilantro. My husband likes corn muffins but does not like corn. So, I scooped out 6 muffins for him before stirring in the corn. Since, it was only 1/4 of a cup, I didn't cut it in half for the last 6 muffins and in the end I wished I had doubled the corn for just my 6 muffins. I really liked the sweetness of the corn with the spiciness of the chili powder and wished I had added more of that too.

I made these at the last minute so we just ate them by themselves but they would be a great addition to many meals. Therefore, I will be making these again!

Thanks to Rebecca of Ezra Pound Cake for this week's selection! Please visit her blog for the recipe! And if you'd like to see the muffins with peppers, check out the TWD blogroll.

TWD: Grandma's All-Occasion Sugar Cookies

Ulrike from Kuchenlatein was our host this week and she picked a fabulous sugar cookie, very festive! I thought these were super easy to make. I did both the slice and bake and rolled the dough in colored sugar before slicing. I also did the traditional cutouts. I loved these!


Check out the TWD website to see many other fabulous versions of these sugar cookies!

TWD: Thanksgiving Twofer Pie

I made the pie. It was quite the event. Then I got very sick. Then I went out of town for Thanksgiving. So, more details of my pie making to come later today, I hope.

CEiMB: Four Cheese Macaroni and Cheese

I made it. It was fabulous. More details and recipe to come later :)

CEiMB: Oven Fried Chicken

I have been finding it really hard to cook or bake lately. Work is kicking my butt! If that weren't enough, Jake has been super busy. He is gone pretty much every night. So with my work schedule craziness and his work schedule craziness, we have been doing very little cooking. It has been all about convenience these days.

All that to say I had to drag myself into the kitchen last night to make this week's recipe. And so glad I did!!! This week's selection was chosen by MacDuff. He chose this recipe out of a love for fried chicken. I loved this recipe just for the addition of a new chicken recipe.

I made a few alterations. I used white saltines because that is what I buy. I left of the sesame seeds and cayenne pepper because I didn't have any. I subbed in ground pepper and onion powder. I wanted to leave out the Dijon mustard because I really don't like mustard but in the end I found some honey mustard in the fridge and threw it in. I used boneless skinless chicken breasts and made chicken tenders.

I will definitely be making these again. I even cut up the leftovers onto a salad tonight so I had another convenient dinner.

Check out MacDuff's blog for the recipe and the new Craving Ellie in My Belly blog.

TWD

Not this week folks. I just couldn't make it happen. Please visit Isbelle or TWD to see rice pudding.

I promise to return next week with a special Thanksgiving treat-Dorie style!

CEiMB

I have to apologize for missing another week. My husband has been in the middle of rehearsals for an upcoming show that opens tonight! So, meals have been low key and quick.

Please head over to the new Craving Ellie in My Belly website to see Portobello Lasagna Rollups with Easy Tomato Sauce that everyone else cooked up this week! Our selection this week was chosen by Marthe.

Please head over to What's for Supper? by Natalie, new leader of CEiMB!

Tragedy

I am out of sugar!

Don't you hate when you think you have more of something on your pantry shelf and when you need it, its not there! TWD is not going to happen for me this week. I would make it late but I am leaving in the morning for a business trip to Boston!

Check out TWD website for everyone's Kugelhopf and thank you to The All-Purpose Girl for this week's pick!

Viagra Commercial

Sometimes I just can't help myself!

Giveaway!

Who loves to win things??

Who loves new things for you kitchen??

I do, I do!!!

Check out Whitney's blog for a fabulous Thanksgiving giveaway!

CEiMB: Sweet and Sour Brisket

In case you missed it a couple weeks ago, I've joined a new cooking group, Craving Ellie in My Belly. We are cooking from The Food You Crave by Ellie Krieger.

This week's selection was chose by Natalie from What's For Supper? It was a perfect pick for a comfort food night. I have been craving pot roast and this definitely hit the spot!


I cut the recipe in half and put the other half of the brisket in the freezer for a future meal. I only made a few minor ingredient changes. I left out the allspice berry of which I didn't have and added a pinch of both cinnamon and nutmeg. I also added a bag of carrots and cut up a few potatoes as a side.

I don't own a Dutch oven (yet, its on the Christmas list!) so I used my slower cooker. I put the carrots and potatoes right on the bottom and brisket on top with all the sauce. It could have used just a bit more sauce since the carrots and potatoes soaked some of that up.

I was pleasantly surprised by the ingredients and the flavor outcome. I never would have thought that beef, tomato sauce, raisins, chicken stock, cinnamon and nutmeg would all got together. But, I really loved it and my husband requested it to be a a regular meal this winter.

TWD: Chocolate Chocolate Cupcakes

This week's recipe was chosen by my very good friend Clara!! I was not surprised when I learned that Clara's selection was a cupcake. She has a LOVE of cupcakes! I was also not surprised to learn that Nikki twisted her arm to get the cupcake and that Clara really wanted to chose the White Chocolate Brownies! LOL You both never cease to make me laugh!!


Clara suggested that we decorate the cupcakes for Halloween. I'm not really a fan of the holiday, never really was but I do LOVE fall! In an effort to be festive, I purchased mini-cupcake liners decorated for Halloween which sadly you can't really see with a chocolate cupcake. I also purchased black and orange sprinkles. Then I added the fall pumpkin sprinkles that I received in a care package from my mother-in-law!

As for the cupcakes, I chose to make mini cupcakes in order to send them to Jake's rehearsal and feed the starving actors and actresses! I realized about half way into the baking process that the bittersweet chocolate I thought I had in the freezer I had already used. No problem, I have lots of chocolate stock piled! I pulled out some milk chocolate chips! They worked great.

Unlike many of my fellow TWD bakers, my cupcakes were not dry. Knowing that some were having trouble, I was careful not to over mix them and since they were mini I only baked for 10 minutes and pulled them out a tiny bit gooey so they didn't dry out.

These were very good, not mind blowing in flavor but still delicious!

Jake participated in decorating the cupcakes. He was Sprinkle Boy!

CEiMB: Banana Cream Pie

Sorry folks. I know its only week 2 and I'm already having to bail. Wednesday afternoon bossman called and said I need you in Philly for the next 2 days. Its both a pro and con for my job. As much as I enjoy the traveling, it is not always convenient. Hopefully, I'll get a chance to make this as a re-wind. I was really looking forward to a healthy version of Banana Cream Pie.

Please visit Craving Ellie in My Belly to see what everyone else came up with. Thank you to Heather from Randomosity and the Girl for selecting this week's recipe.

TWD: Pumpkin Muffins

Yum, yum, yum!!! These were amazing, easy to make, delicious, flavorful, sweet and spicy! A new favorite in my book. I don't think I need any more words except, GO MAKE THEM!!

Thank you to Kelly for this week's selection. A fabulous fall recipe.

Ok, for the details of the recipe. I left out the nuts because all I had were peanuts and I just didn't feel like they were going to do justice. I also didn't have sunflower seeds for the top and didn't feel the need to spend the extra money.

I bought a fresh pumpkin and pureed my own instead of canned pumpkin. It was super easy, more to follow on that in another post.

Lesson learned this week: Don't crack the egg on the side of the bowl, while the mixer is running. For example, the beater might bump your hand, causing you to drop the entire egg into the batter. Luckily, my quite reflexes stopped the mixer so the shell was still in large enough pieces so I could pick them out easily. So far no one has complained of a crunchy muffin!

CEiMB: Steak Tacos with Cucumber Avocado Salsa

Are you tired of cookies, chocolate, and only seeing baked goods on my blog? Then you've come to the right place because......I've joined a new event!! This time its a cooking and eating healthy event! Craving Ellie in my Belly or CEiMB is cooking out of Ellie Krieger's book The Food You Crave.

I must be a glutton for punishment as my blog has been severely lacking this past month. But, I'm thinking this might be just what I need to get my game back and better for the waistlines in this house.

My husband is excited about this one as well because he prefers cooking over baking so this is an event we can do together. We are always looking for healthier recipes. He also said this is something we can actually eat rather than taste and give away to someone! (Side note: Don't for a second think I'm leaving TWD though!)

So, thank you to Leigh for starting this new event! And thank to my good friend Clara for a hosting a great pick this week!

Now about this week's recipe...it was a great one for us to start with. We LOVE tacos and the like. I really loved the flavor of the steak. I omitted the cayenne pepper because we didn't have any but probably could have used that kick.

The salsa I was a little nervous about and therefore I ended up changing quite a bit. Basically I diced the cucumber and avocado and added the lime juice and salt to taste. My husband added red onion to his tacos and I diced up some tomato for mine. I had a bad experience with cilantro one time making my own salsa and hated it. I love things with flavor but not super spicy so I left out the jalapenos.

In the end I wanted to add sour cream and cheese for more flavor since I left most of it out but I resisted the urge to add fatty calories to my healthy dinner. I will be making this again, especially since I have a lot of red cabbage left even after buying the smallest one! Any good cabbage recipes out there?

For more information about this new event or to join us go to Craving Ellie in My Belly!

(I'm working on my photography skills. What do you think?!)

TWD: Caramel Peanut Topped Brownie Cake

To my fellow bakers at TWD I am sorry for my slacking recently! My kitchen has not been dark; I just fell into a funk about posting to my blog. I really envy some of you!

I was really excited to make this recipe. If you look at the picture in the book, it makes you want to salivate all over the picture. Unfortunately I was disappointed with the end result. The recipe calls for an 8" springform pan, my is a 9" so I cut my baking time and my brownie came out dry. I also had more than a slight crater in the middle which is supposed to be normal, mine looked like a cave in.

As disappointed with the cake as I was I LOVED the caramel. I have never made it homemade before and I was really impressed. I was very careful to watch for fear it would burn but I had great success. I love this recipe just for learning how to make caramel.

Thank you Tammy for this weeks selection!

TWD: Chocolate Chunkers

I am not going to make this long an drawn out since this is so late and everyone has moved on from these but better late than never right! I can promise you these cookies were made on time and they were fabulous! Thanks to Claudia for hosting.