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Best Ever Chocolate Cake

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This is the beginning of birthday and holiday season in our family. On Saturday night, we celebrated my mother’s birthday and our daughter’s upcoming birthday. What a blessing that the entire family spent the evening together sharing a meal and catching up. No birthday party in our family would be complete without our traditional birthday cake.

This recipe was given to me about 30 years ago from Kathy. I have made it hundreds of times over the years and it never fails. I cherish this recipe because it is moist and very easy to put together. [Read more…]

Applejack Brined Pork Chops with Caramelized Onion Maple Marmalade

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Grilling great pork chops is so much easier than you might have ever thought possible. Flavorful, tender, juicy!

I grew up with those dry ones we used to call pork chops. Overcooked until not a drop of juice remained. Fried and flavorless! Not that Mom wasn’t a great cook—she was, but the standard was to make sure they were well done. No wonder no one I knew enjoyed pork chops.

I love them. Use a meat thermometer and cook them perfectly. Now, they are safe, according to the USDA, even when cooked until just 145° F. While I often cook them a little more done than 145° F, you don’t have to worry about pork being under done when the meat is still a little pink. I also brine them. I know that sounds fancy, but really it is just marinating them in a seasoned liquid for a few hours. My favorite recipe this fall is to add a splash of applejack to the brining liquid and get ready for really great eating. I also buy real pork –not the common ones that are injected with saline, but real pork like the ones I get from Steve’s. While I like to add chips to the grill to add a smoky flavor, believe me when I say they are good enough to grill without the chips and smoke. Just grill and serve with plenty of napkins. They are that good.

I also have a new love affair with maple syrup. The real stuff, straight from Vermont. I made a caramelized onion-maple syrup marmalade topping and this pork chop recipe quickly becomes something you would order at a fancy restaurant.

Give it a try. Serve it soon to your family or invite some good friends over for a relaxing dinner. I know you will love it.

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Chimichurri Steak Taco Recipe

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"unforked" chimichurri steak taco

 

We have discovered a “new” spot for healthy, fast, and tasty lunches. We have also included this restaurant as a destination for dinners on those jam packed nights when we refuse to succumb to a burger joint as a mealtime option. The restaurant is Unforked. Our family enjoys the diverse menu and we especially enjoy all of the tacos folded up in a flour tortilla.

Since our food consulting business is based on dinner around the table, it was just a matter of time until I developed a recipe to try and mimic one of my all time menu favorites at Unforked.

The secret for these Chimichurri Steak Tacos lies in the meat and how it is prepared before you begin. I purchase top sirloin from Steve’s. The butchers at Steve’s are so helpful. When I explained to the butcher what I was trying to accomplish, he suggested that he slice the sirloin into very a very thin piece, horizontally. Wow! Great idea and it works so slick for this recipe. The meat is sliced so thin that it is actually easier to prepare in a grill skillet rather than heating up the outdoor grill. Of course, once again when I serve this for dinner, our 13-year old requests only meat and cheese in her taco. Just another reason I adore this recipe–it is suited for everyone’s taste.

I hope you and yours will enjoy this recipe around your dinner table very soon. [Read more…]

Grilled Chicken and Vegetable Pizza

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Do you have a recipe that is just plain fun to make? Sure it tastes good, but the “doing” is a special part? For me, it is grilled pizza. It takes a little time, but it really is fun to make—and the eating is sublime. My husband, David and I share the task, share some conversation time, and then share a great meal. What else could you ask for?

Last weekend we made a grilled chicken and vegetable pizza. I made the pizza sauce and pizza crust while the chicken and vegetables grilled. Then, since the stone can’t go on a hot grill, you are forced to step away, relax, talk to each other, talk to the neighbors and finish your glass of wine.

When grilling pizza there isn’t an exact cooking time, so you experiment a little—and that to me is part of the fun. I use a gas grill with three burners. Put the pizza stone on a cold grill and allow them to preheat together. For the most even heat, I put the crust on the hot stone, cover the grill, and turn off the middle burner. This maintains a temperature in the grill of about 375° to 400°F. I flip the crust after 2 to 3 minutes—when the bottom crust is golden and crispy. Then, add the sauce, toppings and cheese quickly and cover the grill. Allow it to bake for 7 to 9 minutes or until the cheese is melted and the bottom crust is golden brown and baked. Thin and crispy crust, rustic in shape, and pure perfection to eat!

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Italian Cream Cake Bites

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God, family, friends and food……pretty well sums up happiness in my book. High on the list would be friends. Of course, Kathy has been my business partner and best friend for more than 30 years! Hard to believe isn’t it? Each and every day I am so thankful for her presence in my life. Another group of great friends have been my Culinary Cookbook Club.

My Culinary Cookbook Club has been meeting once a month for at least 16 years. We have experienced weddings, adoptions, divorce, cancer and sadly, death of a spouse. We have also laughed, cried, giggled, gossiped and even traveled to a chateau in France for a week. Those memories are priceless and will be ones I cherish always. It is a tremendous group of “Mid-western” women, originating from strong roots and Midwestern values.

This month we got together and had one of those, “never to be forgotten” experiences. Usually we select a book that is either a cookbook with a story or a novel with recipes. The theme for September was any Italian recipe from an Italian book. We changed it up a bit and decided to watch a movie. It seems the group couldn’t believe I hadn’t seen the movie, Moonstruck. I am so happy they decided to watch this movie and we even enjoyed the experience outside by the pool. If you haven’t seen this move, please try and rent it. The food and fun the movie provides promises to be one you will enjoy.

Our hostess was my dear friend, Elizabeth Benson. You haven’t lived until you’ve been invited to Elizabeth’s house for dinner. Elizabeth is one of those friends that you love dearly, for you will never meet a kinder spirit. When it comes to talent, she knocks the ball out of the park. She always has the perfect music, dishes, food, ambiance and setting for an unforgettable evening. It is like watching Next Food Network Star and HGTV’s Design Star all rolled into one.

The ladies have been more than supportive of our new cookbook, 175 Best Babycakes Cupcake Recipes and have tasted, tested and sampled their fair share of these two-bite morsels. My contribution to the evening was Italian Cream Cake Bites. These are moist, filled with coconut and pecan crunch and, thanks to their small size, you don’t need to feel that guilty for just eating one.

I hope you will try this recipe and let me know what you think.

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