Old-fashioned Apple Cake

Not only does this cake turn out super pretty, it is a lot of fun to make. The entire thing is actually made in a skillet. You cook it up, then flip it over. I don't know about you, but if the directions call to flip something over, I pretty much have to make it. I think it's because I always wanted to learn how to do a backflip on my own. That will never happen, so I'll stick to this I think. On to the recipe!

Ingredients:

Apples--

5 Granny Smith Apples peeled, cored, and cut into wedges

1 1/2 sticks butter

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup brown sugar

Cake:

1 stick butter

2/3 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

2 eggs

1/2 cup sour cream

1 1/2 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. plus a couple shakes cinnamon

1 more Granny Smith Apple

Preheat oven to 375.

In a medium oven proof skillet, melt stick and a half of butter for the apples. Swirl around both sugars in the melted butter until they are a bit dissolved. Place the apple wedges in the pan with the fat side down and the skinny side up. Cook all of this over low to low/medium heat so the butter and sugar simmers its magic all over the apples. While it's simmering, bake the cake.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon together in a bowl. In a separate bowl, beat the 1 stick of (softened) butter and 2/3 cup sugar with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Mix in the vanilla and eggs and then add the sour cream and milk. Add the flour mixture and stir until just combined. Gently fold in the remaining Granny Smith apple (which has since been peeled, cored, and chopped into cubes).

Remove the skillet from the heat and spoon the cake mixture gently over the top of the now caramelized apples. Spread it evenly and try not to leave any holes in the top. Set skillet on a tinfoil covered baking sheet to catch any drips. Put the skillet and the baking sheet into the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the cake is nice and brown on top.

When finished, remove from the oven and let sit for five minutes. Then FLIP onto a pretty plate! Then do a real backflip yourself. If you can...I dare you...

Chicken Tikka Masala

And now, from the land of Bollywood and bindis, I present for your consideration a recipe for Chicken Tikka Masala. I didn't get a chance to take pictures of the actual food, but it turned out so well I had to post it anyway.

Ingredients:

1 large diced onion

2 Tbs. finely chopped ginger (fresh not dried)

3 cloves garlic

1 diced jalapeno

1 Tbs. olive oil

2 tsp. garam masala

1 1/4 tsp. chili powder

1 tsp. cardamom

1/2 tsp. coriander

1 can (6 oz.) tomato paste

2 1/2 cups chicken broth

1/2 cup half and half or plain yogurt

2 bay leaves

1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, chunked

salt and pepper

2 Tbs. butter

Basmati rice (I used quinoa cause I had it)

Combine onion, ginger, jalapeno, and a little olive oil in a large saute pan. Heat over medium-high until the onion is lightly browned. Stir in garlic, garam masala, chili powder, cardamom, and coriander and saute about a minute until the spices become aromatic.

Pour this mixture into a blender and add the tomato paste and chicken broth. Blend it up until smooth. Pour this back in to the saute pan and add the half and half or yogurt and bay leaves and bring to a gentle boil. If you have a spatter shield put it on top of the pan or it could get a little messy. Simmer and stir often until the mixture is reduced to a thickness of your liking. Pour the sauce into a bowl.

With the same pan (rinse it out), add olive oil and heat. Salt and pepper the chicken and saute until the chicken is no longer pink. Add the sauce back to the pan with the chicken, and simmer until the chicken is done. Cut the butter into chunks and melt it into the sauce.

Serve over basmati rice or quinoa and watch a Bollywood movie while eating. I loved this dish!

Chocolate "Devil" Cake

So I rode a mechanical bull last night. Not a big deal. I'm pretty much a rodeo star. To commemorate the occasion I decided to post the recipe for Texas Sheet Cake, or as my mom calls it the "devil cake" because it's the devil and she literally can't stop eating it. It's also the devil cake because of the amount of sugar and butter in it, but I hear the calories don't count on Wednesdays and on the weekend.

Ingredients:

Cake:
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
5-6 Tbs. powdered cocoa (depending on how chocolatey you want it)
2 sticks butter
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla

Frosting: 3/4 cup finely chopped pecans
1 3/4 stick butter
5-6 Tbs cocoa
6 Tbs. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 pound (less 1/2 cup) of sugar.

Cake:
Preheat the oven to 350 then combine flour, sugar, and salt.

Melt the butter at medium high heat in a saucepan on the stove. Add the cocoa and stir it together. Add the boiling water and boil for about 30 seconds. Pour this chocolate mixture over the flour mixture and slightly stir to cool.

In another bowl, pour in the buttermilk, eggs, baking, soda, and vanilla. Mix it all together for a minute with a whisk then pour into the flour/chocolate mixture and stir to combine. Pour the batter into a sheet cake (jelly roll) pan and bake at 350 for 20 minutes.

Frosting: Chop the pecans finely. Melt the butter in a saucepan on the stove over medium-high heat. Add the cocoa (just like in the cake making step), stir, and turn off the heat. Add the rest of the frosting ingredients and stir it all together. Lastly, stir in the pecans and pour over the warm cooked cake.

Let it cool for just a few minutes, then dig in. This cake is best eaten warm, and just try to stop eating it, I dare you.

Many thanks to the Pioneer Woman for the recipe.

Gram's Deviled Eggs

In honor of my Papa, today I'm posting my Gram's deviled eggs. They are a favorite of our family and quite addictive.

Ingredients:

Eggs

Sweet Pickle Relish

Mayo

Paprika

Place the eggs (however many you want) and 2 tsp. salt into a large pan with hot water. Bring the water to a rolling boil. After the water is boiling, take the pan off the heat and cover the pot for exactly 10 minutes. After the 10 minutes are up, place the hot eggs in a bowl of ice water. Hard boiling eggs this way will give you pretty yellow yolks without turning the outside of the yolk that sickly gray.

Peel the eggs carefully and cut them in half. Scoop out the yolks with a spoon and put the yolks into a bowl. Scoop into the bowl sweet pickle relish and mayo to taste. Mash it all up and put the mixture into the hollow of each cut in half egg white. Sprinkle the tops of the eggs with a little paprika and eat them up.