Chocolate Adventure Contest!

So guess what! I found a contest that I really want to enter. It's called the Scharffen Berger Chocolate Adventure Contest. The theme is cupcakes. You have to create a cupcake recipe using Scharffen Berger chocolate and one of fourteen "adventure ingredients." This year's ingredients are:

• Stout beer
  (including oatmeal, chocolate, imperial or any other stout)
• Ricotta
• Buttermilk
• Coconut milk, cream or butter
• Saffron
• Molasses
• Adzuki Bean
  
• Fresh beet
• Sweetened condensed milk
• Chili pepper (fresh or
  whole dried)
• Bee pollen
• Meyer lemon
• Almond flour
• Sumatra coffee beans

Each person is allowed ten entries, and we have until January 2nd. I'm so excited! I think it will be really fun to try to come up with something different. I think for my first entry I'll keep it simple and do a Deep Dark Chocolate Buttermilk Cupcake with Chocolate Mousse Filling and Sour Cream Frosting. I have a cake that I've already made like that, so I think I'll just tweak it a bit and add Buttermilk for the adventure ingredient. Does that sound good? I also think Ricotta sounds like a good ingredient. And sweetened condensed milk. The others are a bit daunting...but who knows, maybe I'll find something fun to try!
I don't know how soon I'll get started on this, but I'll definitely post each entry! And if I don't say anything more about it, be sure to bug me!

Don't Worry, Be Happy!

Don't worry, be happy! Seems kind of secular, but actually, both parts of that phrase are directly commanded by God to His people!
Don't worry- “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on." Matthew 6:25.
Be happy- "Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" Philipians 4:4
Amazing, isn't it, how easy it is to forget those two commands? My husband and I are in uncertain times again. Through various situations, he is again without a job, which puts us in a very precarious position. It is so tempting to think of things in an entirely logical manner, to worry about how we're going to pay our bills, about where we are going to get money, how we are going to eat. It's easy to think that there is no way we are going to make ends meet, to sink into despair and depression. It's been a struggle for us this past week, learning to deal with uncertainty again.
But, yesterday evening at church, one of our dear mentors and church elders said something that really struck me. He said, "Don't worry about it. God knows your needs, and He knows them before you even ask for them. It's easy for Christians to think that worrying is the acceptable sin, that it's ok, but it's not! It's a sin to worry."
His words were wonderfully encouraging and convicting at the same time. What right have we to worry? God knows His children, He loves them, and He cares for them! Why should we ever worry, when He has promised to care for us?

²⁵ “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? ²⁷ Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
²⁸ “So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; ²⁹ and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ³⁰ Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
³¹ “Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. ³³ But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble."
Matthew 6:25-34

The Cheesecake is gone...why is the cheesecake gone??

I have a confession to make. It's something I should really be feeling quite guilty over...

My husband and I ate this entire cheesecake.




The WHOLE thing.




By OURSELVES. In FOUR days. It's horrible. We should be ashamed of ourselves.



But it was sooooo worth it. ; )

This recipe is the one I used for our wedding cake.




It is by far the best classic New York Cheesecake recipe I've ever found. In my opinion, the sign of a good recipe is that it has sour cream in it, and this one has a very unique and wonderfully delicious "sour cream cap" added at the end of the baking time.



Mmmm. It adds a whole new, delicate layer of flavor. You should definitely try it. Just try not to eat the whole thing in four days...it will just leave you craving it for the next week. : )

Classic New York Sour Cream Cheesecake

Ingredients
Crust:
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs,
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• Pinch fine salt
Filling:
• 2 pounds cream cheese , at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 3/4 cups sour cream (possibly a little extra...see note)
• 4 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F.

For the crust: Melt the butter, covered in the microwave, in a medium microwave safe bowl, or a saucepan. Brush a 9-inch springform pan with some of the butter. Stir the remaining butter together with the crumbs, sugar, and salt. Press the crumb mixture over the bottom of the pan, taking care to get the crust evenly into the edges. Bake until golden brown, 15 to 18 minutes. Cool. Wrap the bottom and up the sides of the pan with foil (I suggest using the extra-large, heavy duty foil so that you don't have seams) and put in a roasting pan.

For the filling: Beat the cream cheese on medium speed with a hand-held mixer until smooth. Add 1 1/4 cups sugar and beat just until light and fluffy, scraping the sides of the bowl and beaters as needed. Slowly beat in 3/4 cup sour cream, then eggs, and vanilla; take care not to over whip. Pour into the cooled crust.

Bring a medium saucepan or kettle of water to a boil. Gently place the roasting pan in the oven (don't pull the rack out of the oven). Pour in enough hot water to come about halfway up the side of the springform pan. Bake the cheesecake for 1 hour and 30 minutes, or until the outside of the cake is set but the center is still slightly loose. (Any browning on top is a pretty good indication as well.)
Meanwhile, stir together the remaining 1 cup of sour cream and ¼ cup of sugar. Spread over the top of the cooked cheesecake and return to the oven for 5 minutes. Turn the oven off, cook the cheesecake in the residual heat in the oven for 1 hour. This gentle finish minimizes the risk of the dreaded crack in your cheese cake. (NOTE: I didn't find that only 1 cup of sour cream covered the cake as much as I like, so I did more like 1 1/2 cups, or 1 3/4 and just added enough extra sugar to adjust for that. I loved how it came out with a really great thick, even topping.)

Remove cheesecake from the roasting pan to a rack. Run a knife around the edges and cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours or overnight.
Bring cheesecake to room temperature 30 minutes before serving. Remove the springform ring. Dip a knife in warm water, wipe dry before slicing each piece.

Fun fun fun!

It's been a tradition of my family's for years to get together after church on Sunday evenings and have pancakes. Not that it always has to be pancakes. Sometimes we had waffles, or of course, our family recipe, scouse (see the recipe here.) We always had sausage or bacon and eggs. Sometimes we would make yummy homemade fruit sauces, or throw chocolate chips into the pancakes. We even had a Mexican night a time or two. No matter what we eat, there's always lots of chatter and laughter and kids running around. Half of us are always in the kitchen making the food, the other half hanging out in the dining room, talking about mundane things. While my husband took up the mantle of Master Pancake Flipper, and my dad usually makes the eggs, my mom and I were usually making the bacon and concocting some kind of homemade syrups. I think it's the thing I have missed most about moving away from home.

When my dad was here visiting a few weeks ago, we invited our dear (and new, since our move!) friends over for a Sunday night dinner.


We had scouse and bacon and sausage and eggs.




It was their first introduction to scouse, and of course they loved it! Everybody does. ; )
It was lovely, and homey, and fun. It was a night full of stories and laughter, a mix of family, and new friends.


And it felt wonderful. A little taste of home. : )

Love.

One year, three months, and nine days later...and I still love to look at my wedding ring. : )

Sweet Peaches!

Sweet Cream Scones. Fresh Colorado Peaches. Creme Anglaise Sauce. Need I really say more??
Ok, fine. I will.


These scones are the tastiest scones I have ever tasted. I could eat them plain. I could eat them with jam. I could eat them with straight cream. Pretty much anyway you eat them, they will be good. They are sweet, creamy, vanilla-y, light and airy. Mmmmmm.


Fresh Colorado Peaches...I blogged about these last year, when I bought some at the local Kansas farmer's market. Now that we've moved to Colorado, I have even better access to them. And they are divine. They are firm yet juicy, sweet and flavorful, perfect in every way. Mmmmmm.


Creme Anglaise sauce. It's a rich egg and cream based custard sauce. It too is sweet, creamy, vanilla-y and delicious.


Pair them all together...oh my.


This may be the best dessert I've ever had. Hm, ok, so Creme Brulee still wins that category, but this is a close second. And, the best part is, it doubles as breakfast! Yeaaaa...

Sweet Cream Scones (adapted from this Peach Scone Recipe)

• 1 whole Large Eggs
  
• ½ cups Heavy Cream
  
• 1 teaspoon Vanilla
• 2 cups Flour
• ½ cups Sugar
• 2 teaspoons Baking Powder
• 6 Tablespoons Cold Salted Butter, Diced

Preheat the oven to 375° F. In a medium bowl, combine 1 egg, cream, and vanilla; set aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, and baking powder. Add the cold butter to the flour mixture and mix on medium speed until well blended. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix on low speed until combined. Dust the counter with a bit of flour. Dump the batter on the floured counter. Knead about 7 or 8 times into a ball. Add a bit of flour if it’s too sticky. Flatten into a 7-inch circle. Cut into 8 wedges. Place the wedges on the baking sheet 2-inches apart. Brush tops with cream, and sprinkle with sugar. Bake about 15 minutes or until an inserted tooth pick comes out clean or with a few crumbs attached.

Makes 8 scones.

*Hint* I used the leftover cream/egg mixture from the bowl and added a bit more cream to brush the tops of the scones.

Creme Anglaise Sauce (from Emeril's recipe)

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup milk

1 tbs Vanilla

6 large egg yolks

1/2 cup sugar

Heat the heavy cream, milk and vanilla bean in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Place the egg yolks and sugar in a heatproof mixing bowl and beat until pale yellow in color and all of the sugar has dissolved. Ladle about 1/2 cup of the hot cream mixture into the egg mixture and whisk vigorously to combine. Add the egg mixture to the hot cream mixture in the saucepan and cook, stirring constantly with a whisk or wooden spoon. Be sure to stir in the corners of the pot and lower the heat slightly. Stir the mixture until the custard has thickened enough to coat the back of a spoon, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and strain the custard through a fine mesh sieve into a clean bowl. Place the bowl in another bowl half-filled with ice and water and stir occasionally until chilled.

Sigh...

I'm afraid yet another computer cord bit the dust a few weeks ago. Therefore, I haven't been able to blog lately at all. But as soon as I get my new cord, expect a plethora of new posts! Just a teaser of some recipes I have to post...

Honey Rosemary Balsamic Chicken
Sweet Cream Scones with Creme Anglaise and Fresh Colorado Peaches
Scouse Night!

...and who knows what else! : )