Queen of Sheba Cake (Gâteau Reine de Saba) (with video link)

Happy Valentine's day! (a day early :)) I wanted to share this recipe early so that you could have the chance to make it for the holiday if you want, or for whatever reason you might have...it's wonderfully delicious! It is, however, a bit of work--totally worth it, I assure you.

Link to my YouTube "making of the recipe" video: https://youtu.be/zz51_k4-9LM

Original recipe is from the book French: delicious cuisine made easy by Clements & Wolf-Cohen.

Recipe below contains my modifications.

Ingredients:

for the cake batter--

2/3 c. blanched almonds, lightly toasted (original recipe calls for whole; I used slivered and feel they worked fine)

2/3 c. superfine sugar, divided

30g (1/4 c.) all-purpose flour

1/2 c. unsalted butter, softened

5 oz. semisweet chocolate, melted

3 eggs, separated

optional: 2 T. Amaretto (or other almond liqueur)

for the chocolate glaze/topping--

3/4 c. heavy cream

8 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped

2 T. unsalted butter, softened

optional: toasted chopped blanched almonds, to decorate sides

Directions:

1. Prep the baking pan: Lightly butter an 8-9" springform pan. Line the bottom only with parchment. Lightly butter the parchment circle, then lightly dust the buttered pan and parchment with flour.

2. Add the almonds to the bowl of a food processor. From the 2/3 c. of superfine sugar, take out 2 T. of it and add to the almonds in the processor. Process together until very fine (be sure not to go too long, as it may start to get paste-like).

3. Add the flour to a medium bowl. Sift the processed almond mixture into the bowl with the flour, then stir to combine. (Note: this takes a bit of time--be patient :))

4. Heat oven to 350°F.

5. In a medium bowl, beat the butter with an electric mixer until creamy/fluffy. Add half of the remaining superfine sugar (I measured by weight; it was 55g), then beat for 1-2 min.

6. Beat in the melted chocolate, followed by the egg yolks, one at a time. Beat in the Amaretto, if using.

7. In a separate medium bowl, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Add the remaining superfine sugar, then beat until stiff and glossy, but not dry.

8. Fold a quarter of the beaten egg whites into the chocolate mixture. Then, fold in a third of the almond mixture, followed by another quarter of the whites, and repeat this pattern until everything is used up.

9. Gently pour or spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Tap the pan gently to release any big air bubbles.

10. Bake for 30-35 min, until a toothpick inserted 2" from outer edge comes out clean (center will still be a bit soft and wobbly, do NOT test center!). Transfer cake to cooling rack and leave in pan for 15 min.

11. Release the springform to remove it and let the cake finish cooling completely.

12. Place a second cooling rack, face down, atop the cooled cake and invert onto a lined baking/cookie sheet. Remove the springform bottom and parchment.

13. Make the chocolate glaze/topping: Place the cream in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Once it reaches boiling, remove it from the heat. Stir in the chopped chocolate until completely combined, followed by the butter.

14. Let chocolate mixture cool 20-30 min (I had to go 30), until it has thickened slightly/starting to set a bit. Pour the chocolate over the top of the cake, then spread and let flow over the edges.

15. If using the toasted almonds for the edge: wait 5 min after pouring and spreading the chocolate, then carefully and gently press almonds all around edge/side of cake. Let set for a few minutes, then enjoy!!

Snickerdoodle Cake with Chocolate Chips (with video link)

Happy Super Bowl day, everyone! If you need an idea for a great treat today (or any day, for that matter), look no further than this easy recipe that is sure to please. If you want to make it more-football themed, I suggest making a simple vanilla frosting (or using some pre-made), thinned to pipe-able consistency, and draw a football atop the delicious top crust after the cake has cooled. The cooked cinnamon top is already the color of a football, so it would be perfect, really :)

Link to my YouTube "making of the recipe" video: https://youtu.be/-gWYrx1u5pk

Original recipe credit: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/chocolate-chip-snickerdoodle-cake-recipe

Recipe below contains my modifications.

Ingredients:

for the coating/topping--

2 T. sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

for the cake batter--

3/4 c. sugar

2 large eggs

3/4 c. sour cream

1/2 c. canola oil

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 T. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

225g (1 3/4 c. + 2T.) unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 c. semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Prepare your pan: grease an 8" x 8" meta baking pan. Cut a piece parchment large enough to extend past the edges after it will be tucked in to line the pan. Cut out the corners to make it easy to line the pan with it and to make it to where you can easily lift the cake out at the end (see my video above for a visual of this). Press the parchment into the pan (the grease should help it stay in place). Spray the parchment with non-stick cooking spray (or grease it).

2. Prepare the coating/topping: stir together the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Sprinkle about HALF of this on the bottom and sides of the prepared baking pan. Set remainder aside.

3. Heat oven to 350°F.

4. Prepare the cake batter: In a medium-large bowl, whisk together the sugar and eggs until pale and foamy (around 1 min).

5. Add the sour cream, canola oil, and salt. Whisk again until smooth and emulsified.

6. Whisk in the baking powder and baking soda.

7. Add the flour and chocolate chips. Use a flexible scraper/spatula to fold in these ingredients, until completely combined.

8. Pour mixture into the prepared baking pan and smooth top to even out. Sprinkle remaining cinnamon mixture atop, as evenly as possible all over.

9. Bake for 30-35 min, or until toothpick inserted at center comes out clean (hitting chocolate chip does not count).

10. Let rest on counter to cool in pan for 15 min, then use the parchment to lift out cake and transfer to cooling rack to cool completely. Enjoy!!

Pepperjack Chili Chicken Tostadas (with video link)

These are so yummy and easy! 

Link to my YouTube short "making of the recipe" : https://youtube.com/shorts/WnbihMx6gJQ 

Link to original recipe: https://www.sargento.com/recipes/meals/lunch/tacos/chili-chicken-tostadas/

Ingredients:

1 T. chili powder

1 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. paprika

1/2 tsp. Kosher salt

1 T. fresh lime juice

1 tsp. canola oil

1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in small chunks/bites

1 T. butter

corn tostadas

Fiesta pepperjack cheese, shredded (alternatively, you can use regular pepperjack--sliced or shredded)

1 small red onion, sliced in thin half-rounds

cilantro, chopped

Directions

1. In a small bowl, combine chili powder, cumin, paprika, Kosher salt, lime juice, and canola oil.

2. Add chicken and stir until well coated in spice mixture. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hr (can go up to 8 hrs).

3. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Add butter to pan and swirl to melt. Once melted, add the chicken. Cook for 10-12 min, or until chicken is cooked through.

4. Heat oven to 250°F. Place tostadas on a baking sheet. Spoon some chicken onto each tostada. Top each with some of the cheese.

5. Bake for 10 min or until cheese has melted. After removing from oven, immediately top with red onion and cilantro. Enjoy!

Muddy Buddies 1

 a.k.a. Puppy chow, a.k.a. crack. Seriously, this stuff is ridiculously addictive! I have to control myself not to just mow through a ton of it once I start on it lol. I made two versions; this is the first, which is closest to what most people would call the original kind. 10/10.

Link to original recipe: https://www.chelseasmessyapron.com/3-recipes-muddy-buddies/

Amounts below what I made, which is half of the original recipe version.

Ingredients:

4 1/2 c. rice Chex cereal

1/4 c. creamy peanut butter

1/2 c. semisweet chocolate chips

2 T. unsalted butter

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

1/4 tsp. fine sea salt

3/4 c. powdered sugar

6 oz. regular M&M's (at the time I made these, had some holiday ones on hand)

Directions:

1. Place the cereal in a large bowl and set aside.

2. To a medium microwave-safe bowl, add the peanut butter, chocolate chips, and butter. Microwave in 15 second increments, stirring in-between each, until mixture is melted and smooth.

3. Stir in the vanilla and salt. Pour mixture over the cereal and stir until evenly coated.

4. Pour/scoop mixture into a gallon-sized ziplock bag. Add the powdered sugar and M&M's (save a few aside if you want to make it look "pretty" at the end). Close bag (make sure it's completely closed!!) and shake gently until powdered sugar has coated evenly.

5. Pour into a bowl, add the reserved M&M's (if trying to make "pretty") and enjoy!

DON'T MAKE - Braised Duck Legs with Sauce

Hubby and I both agreed that, while this recipe is good, it's nothing special, and I definitely have better duck leg recipes, so we won't be doing this again. Still, I wanted to record it here so that I would know that I tried it, and in case anyone else wants to...and maybe improve upon it (as I often do with recipes that I find!) Part of why we might not have liked it as much as the author intended is that I did alter it at the end, in the attempt to make the sauce thicker (as he described it becoming gravy-like; this never happened). 7/10. (Only posting the pic for the record, it did look nice!)

Link to original recipe: https://andrewzimmern.com/recipes/braised-duck-with-marsala/

(not re-typing since it's unlikely I'll make again)

• 2 duck legs
• Salt
• Pepper
• 2 onions, chopped
• 6 carrots, chopped
• 4 celery ribs, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, smashed
• 3 teaspoons of Herbs de Provence
• 1 cup marsala
• 3 cups chicken broth
• Splash of aged sherry vinegar

Season two duck legs with salt and pepper. Place in a pan over medium-high heat and brown on both sides.

Add onions, carrots, celery, smashed garlic cloves, and a few teaspoons of herbes de Provence or chopped tarragon. Cook for 5 minutes.

Add the marsala, bring to a simmer and cook until it’s reduce by half.

Add the chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Cover, lower the heat to maintain a simmer and cook for 90 minutes.

Remove the lid, season with a splash of really good aged sherry vinegar. Simmer uncovered to reduce, about 5 minutes. The sauce should have a gravy consistency.

Remove legs and adjust seasoning as needed. Serve!

Simple Roasted Yukon Gold Potatoes

This is something I threw together, just wanting a simple side to go with the duck dish I was making. The duck dish turned out good enough; these turned out great! I don't have any production pix, as I wasn't sure how they'd turn out. No measures on the spices, as I don't know how much I used.

Ingredients:

~1.25 lb Yukon Gold potatoes, cut in large chunks (around 1/2" thick)

olive oil

kosher salt

coarse ground black pepper

garlic salt

paprika

dried parsley

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 400°F (note to self: I used upper/convection oven bake setting for this).

2. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil.

3. In a large bowl, drizzle olive oil over potatoes and toss to coat. Add remaining spices and toss again to coat.

4. Pour potatoes onto prepared baking sheet. Bake for ~17 min, then stir/turn the potatoes and return to oven to bake for ~17 min more (I went just slightly longer than 15 each time). Serve up and enjoy!

Pressure Cooker Creamy Kielbasa & Potatoes (with video link)

This is very delicious, hubby declared it's his new favorite Kielbasa dish (among the ones I've ever made him)! And I have to agree, could have eaten wayyy more than just a serving. It's great leftover, too. I made the YouTube short below during the first trial run of this recipe. And while it turned out super yummy, the cheese sort of falls apart in the sauce. Next time (and there will one soon!), I will try adding just 1/2 c. of the cheese for the pressure time, then transferring it to a dish to top with the remaining 2 c. cheese to pop under the broiler. Will post when I try that to share the results!

Link to my YouTube short "making of the recipe": https://youtube.com/shorts/VVIQAOA1_QU

Recipe inspired by this one: https://www.eatwell101.com/instant-pot-sausage-potato-recipe

Recipe below contains my modifications.

Ingredients:

14 oz. (1 pkg) Kielbasa sausage, sliced in rounds

1 small red onion, halved then sliced (makes half circle slices)

1 tsp. oil (I used olive oil, think canola might actually be better)

2-3 garlic cloves, minced (I used 2 large ones)

1 1/2 c. chicken broth

1/2 c. whole milk

1/4 c. heavy cream

1 T. Italian seasoning

1/2 tsp. Cajun seasoning

salt and pepper, to taste

1/2 T. butter

1 1/2 lbs. Yukon gold potatoes, cut in small cubes/chunks (mine were probably around 1/2"-3/4")

2 1/2 c. mild cheddar cheese, shredded (I shredded an 8 oz. block, which was about a half cup more than needed)

Directions:

1. In a 6 qt. pressure cooker, use the sauté setting to cook the Kielbasa rounds until they just start to brown. Transfer to a plate.

2. Add the onion and oil to the pot. Cook until onion has softened. Transfer to a plate. Turn off the cooker.

3. In a separate bowl. stir together the garlic, chicken broth, whole milk, heavy cream, Italian seasoning, Cajun seasoning, salt, and pepper.

4. Place the butter and potatoes in the cooker, then return the Kielbasa and onion to the cooker (atop the potatoes). Pour in the cream mixture. Top with the cheese (**see my note at beginning; you may wish to try my idea).

5. Close the cooker, making sure valve is set correctly for pressurizing. Select the "stew" setting (mine says 'meat/stew') and set for 9 min of pressure.

10. Immediately after the pressure cooking time has run out, press cancel and/or unplug. Do a quick release of pressure.

11. Once the pressure has been fully released, carefully open the lid. Dip up a bowl and enjoy!