The Great Pimento Cheese Experiments Begin!

[Another work in progress- I'm getting it down before I forget what I did! ]

Today I finally got around to the first attempt at making Pimento Cheese. I loathed the stuff until about a year and a half ago I tried some AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS stuff at one of my fave pubs. While I won't go near super mayonnaise-y stuff, I love the chunky, a little on the dry side, very cheese-y Pimento Cheese. A lot. 

Mother's Everyday Pimento Cheese recipe at epicurious sounded quite yum and was declared the winner for the first go.  Of course, I made a few changes:

ingredients:

• 1/2 lb extra-sharp Wisconsin white Cheddar
• 1/2 lb extra-sharp Wisconsin (orange) Cheddar
• 1 (7-oz) jar whole pimiento, drained 
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1/8 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1/3 cup Duke's mayonnaise

prep:

Grate cheeses in food processor. Once complete dump it in a bowl, allowing yourself to toy with the idea you're gonna mix it by hand.

Change food processor blades from grating to chopping blade, then add mayo, black pepper, paprika, and garlic salt. Let the processor take those guys for a spin 'til well blended.

Then add the cheese back to processor bowl, chopping and blending a bit, and finally add pimiento for one last dance.

Once everything is well mixed, spoon into a covered container and chill for at least 2 hours to allow flavors to develop. 

yield: about 3 cups

note: Pimento cheese keeps, tightly covered and chilled, 4 days.

Note: this was ridiculously good, which has prevented me from tweaking it any further!

The Best Carrot Cake You Ever Put In Your Mouth, via Kimberley

Note: the BFF and I routinely use this blog as our shopping list on the go, and we've finally gotten 'round to parking her AMAZING freaking carrot cake recipe here. The following is simply a testament to my copy & paste skills.

I love Margaret and she asked me to make her a carrot cake for her birthday.  Because I wanted to make sure it was good (cuz I luff her like that, and I'd never hear the end of it if I served a crap cake), I made and trashed 3 cakes until I came up with this combination. This recipe is the end result of a reading a few recipes on line and experimenting a bit until I was satisfied.  I have easy access to a farmer's market and I try to buy organic whenever possible.  It really does make a difference in the flavor of the end product.  

The Carrot Cake of Awesomeosity

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon freshly ground cinnamon (yes, I grate fresh cinnamon sticks)
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg (ayup, I grate this fresh, too)
1 tablespoon-ish freshly grated ginger root (I've never measured this, I typically choose a piece roughly the size of my thumb)
1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt
4 extra large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 cup organic, raw, turbinado sugar
1 cup canola oil
1/2 cup buttermilk
2/3 cups firmly packed organic brown sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract ( I make my own )
1 pound finely grated organic carrots
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (+ another 1/2 cup for garnish if you want)
1 cup golden raisins

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Prepare 3 9-inch cake pans, lightly coating with oil and lining with parchment paper.  Seriously, this is important, and makes un-panning your cakes super easy.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt together.  Set aside.

Mix the eggs, sugar, oil, buttermilk, brown sugar, and vanilla in a large bowl.  Slowly add the dry ingredients and mix until Incorporated.  Let the batter sit for about 10 minutes. Stir in carrots, ginger, nuts and raisins just until evenly distributed through the batter.

Divide the batter into the three pans and bake on the center rack for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick or cake tester comes out clean.  You can bake in 2 pan for deeper layers, adjust baking time to 35-40 minutes.

Cool cakes in their pans for at least 30 minutes before attempting to remove them.  Then peel off the parchment paper and continue to cool the cakes completely before frosting.

Speaking of frosting...

Best f*cking cream cheese frosting. EVAR.

This is my take on the cream cheese frosting typically used on THE Italian Cream Cake.  It's an especially nice twist to the typical cream cheese frosting and not what folks will expect when they take that first bite. 

16 oz of cream cheese, softened (room temperature)
4 oz (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened (room temperature)
2 teaspoons pure almond extract
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3-4 cups confectioner's (powdered) sugar

Beat cream cheese and butter together until smooth, add extracts and beat until incorporated.  slowly beat in sugar, 1 cup at a time until frosting has the flavor and consistency you want.

To assemble the cake, place the bottom layer on a cardboard round or other flat cake plate.  Scoop out about 1 cup of frosting and spread evenly.  Add the next layer and repeat. Third layer put the rest of the frosting on top and carefully ease it down the sides. I am not so great at the fancy frosting thing so I use the extra 1/2 cup of nuts to hide that.  Be sure the cake is well chilled before cutting.

Note: This is a really rich cake, it easily serves 10-12 people.

Israeli Couscous with Cilantro-Lime Vinaigrette

This is gonna be a work in progress for a while, but in the meantime, it's already some ridiculous mouth happiness.

the first attempt, which was OMGah delicious!

I borrowed heavily from this couscous recipe and this vinaigrette recipe.

Note: I left the peppers out of the couscous as I was dining with a friend who hates bell peppers, and with whom I share food a lot. I've not seen a bell pepper up-close-&-personal like in YEARS, but have decided I don't miss them at all. 

• 2 cups Israeli couscous, toasted
• 2 cucumbers, peeled, seeded and diced small
• 1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• 1/2 cup red onion, diced small
• 1/2 cup cilantro lime dressing

Prepare couscous

1 1/4 c water to 1 c couscous
Bring water to a boil
Add couscous and stir
Bring back to boil
Stir, cover and reduce heat to medium low
Cook for 8 minutes - couscous should have absorbed all water yet remain "al dente"

Transfer to large bowl and set aside until cool

Toss with cilantro lime dressing.

Add diced veggies and tomatoes to the couscous and stir.

Refrigerate until ready to serve.

May be garnished with fresh cilantro.

I took a lot of liberties with the vinaigrette recipe linked above, and will probably continue to do so until it's time to stop.  I'll probably tweak the things added to the couscous along the way, but right now I'm absolutely obsessed by that vinaigrette...

Cilantro Lime Vinaigrette, a work in progress

1 jalapeño pepper, seeded
1-2 clove(s) garlic
1/4 c freshly squeezed lime juice (can use key lime)
1 t lime zest
1 teaspoon fresh ginger root (peeled and grated, for easier measuring)
1/4 c ginger honey
3 t balsamic vinegar (can sub red wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar)
1/4 t salt, or to taste
one bunch cilantro, leaves only
1/2 c extra virgin olive oil

Place jalapeño, garlic, ginger and lime zest in food processor and pulse until finely chopped.

Pour in lime juice, honey, balsamic vinegar, then add cilantro leaves and pulse to blend.

Drizzle in olive oil while processor runs until oil is fully incorporated into the mixture.

Salt to taste.

Set aside for a minimum of 30 minutes to allow the flavors to come together before serving. (I typically let it chill in the fridge while assembling the couscous salad type things.)

Other recipes of note:

• Nordstrom's Lime & Cilantro salad dressing
• Tex-Mex Cilantro-Lime Vinaigrette

September 2014 Note: updated to strike through "in progress"ness, as (other than not being terribly precise with vinaigrette measurements) I've not changed a thing. 

FruitHoneyWalnut Chix Salad of Deliciousness

Since I'm the most unoriginal preparer of food EVER, this one's my interpretation of that amazing stuff I used to acquire at my beloved Publix deli.  (But as a loyal Publix customer, I typically buy a rotisserie chicken to execute this recipe.)

This is also the only thing I occasionally make without checking the recipe first. I edit to suit whatever I have available, in quantities that just seem right at the moment.

Parts
1 cooked (to your preference) chicken, cooled & dissembled 
1 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup diced dried apricots
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup currants
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup honey 
1/4 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1/4 teaspoon pepper (or to taste)
Optional garnish: more chopped walnuts

Assembly

1. Dissemble the chicken, remove bones and shred (or cube) into bits of appropriate size
2. In a large bowl, combine chicken, fruit and nuts
3. In a small bowl, whisk together mayonnaise, honey, salt and pepper
4. Add honey-mayo mix to chicken and fruit mixture, stirring gently but thoroughly until combined
5. Garnish, if desired

My favoritest cake in the whole wide world: Italian Cream Cake

... AKA The Cake of Awesomeosity.

Since I'm a total poseur in the kitchen, I can't make anything without a recipe.

Since I'm fussy, I can rarely settle on just ONE recipe. Instead, I usually smoosh at least two together and add my own adjustments over time via good old fashioned trial and error.

Italian cream cake is THE cake I always request Mom bake for my birthday. It's a family tradition I've since forced on all my friends! (Not that anyone is complainin'- even my foodiest friends proclaim "this is the best cake I've ever put in my mouth!")

Here's the current state of the  recipe I bake for people I adore, which borrows heavily from both "Aunt Tom" and Paula Deen. 

Italian Cream Cake

Ingredients
cake:                                             
2 cups granulated sugar (I typically use turbinado, which slows down the creaming process)
2 sticks butter, softened
5 large eggs, separated
2 cups all-purpose flour (I typically use an organic, unbleached variety via a nearby farmers market)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups flaked coconut (sweetened or non-, either is fine)
1 cup walnuts, finely chopped

cream cheese frosting:
2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened (I typically use 1 package of regular cream cheese and 1 package of neufchâtel, which has less fat but more moisture... so heads up!)

1 stick butter, softened
2 teaspoons almond extract 

2 pounds confectioners' sugar

Preparation

cake:
Preheat oven to 350°F
Lightly butter three 9" x 2" round cake pans, line with parchment paper, then butter and flour parchment paper-lined pans. Knock out any excess flour and set prepared pans aside.

In a bowl, with an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. (Bungly not a "real" baker moment: I learned the hard way that doing this properly is key to making a "fluffy" cake, as opposed to a dense cake; the process incorporates air bubbles into the fat. It can take 5-8 minutes, which is almost forever to someone as impatient as I am. Begin beating room temperature butter on slow for about a minute to soften then increase speed to medium and beat until butter is a similar consistency to thick frosting. If butter has crept up the sides of the bowl, scrape it down with a spatula then gradually add sugar until fully combined and continue to mix until a fluffy consistency is achieved.) 

Add egg yolks one at a time, beating well after each.
Into another bowl sift together flour, baking soda, and salt.

Beat flour mixture into egg mixture in 2 batches alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture, until combined.

Stir in vanilla, coconut, and chopped walnuts.

Beat room-temperature egg whites in another bowl until they just hold stiff peaks, then fold into batter gently but thoroughly.

Divide batter equally among prepared pans, smooth tops, and bake in upper third of oven for about 30 minutes, or until tester comes out clean.

Cool cake layers in pans on racks 10 minutes before inverting onto wire racks and allow to cool completely before frosting.

frosting: 

In a bowl, with an electric mixer, beat together cream cheese, butter, and almond extract until smooth.

Gradually add confectioners' sugar, and beat until creamy.

Stack cake layers on a cake plate, spreading frosting between each layer, then spread remaining frosting on top and side of cake.

Tada! It's a bit spendy and a little labor intensive, but so, SO worth it. Everyone who's tried it loves it (even my fellow coconut haters)... if you don't love this cake too, something is very, very wrong with you!  

Post-Thanksgiving update: I peeked at the recipe Mom's used for... well, always. That's one well used (and loved) book, I tell ya. (This book is also the source for those crack-laden Congo Bars of deliciousosity.)

We never knew the name of the cookbook, because the cover and a few pages have been missing as long as any one can remember.  After thumbing through it, I deducted it's Favorite Recipes of Alabama Vocational Home Economics Teachers (possibly the Second Edition) by Vocational Home Economics Office. After a quick Google search, I found a few different editions for sale at Amazon and ebay. 

While I always enjoy research detours, I didn't discover anything that made me want to tweak the recipe further. And that's okay!