Molten Chocolate Lava Cake

Ingredients:

8oz Bittersweet chocolate
8 tablespoon butter (1 stick)
plus more for ramekins
3 eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Generously butter four 6 ounce ramekins.

Place the prepared molds on a baking sheet and set aside. Melt the chocolates and butter in a double boiler. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sugar until pale, about two minutes, beat in the vanilla. Stir in the egg mixture into the chocolate and then add the flour, mix well. Divide the batter among the prepared ramekins and bake for 12 to 15 minutes, the edges should be firm and set but the center will still look a little wet. Serve immediately with vanilla bean ice cream. You can serve them in the ramekins or run a knife around the edges to loosen and invert onto dessert plates.

*Recipe and Image courtesy of: Delicious Shots

Pumpkin Dump Cake

Ingredients:
1 15 oz can Pumpkin Puree
1 10 oz can Evaporated Milk
1 cup light brown sugar
3 eggs
3 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 box yellow cake mix
1 cup (2 sticks) butter- melted
1 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup toffee bits (optional)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350
Spray a 9×13 baking pan lightly with cooking/baking spray. In a large bowl combine the pumpkin, evaporated milk, sugar, eggs and pumpkin pie spice. Stir to combine.
Pour into prepared pan. Sprinkle entire box of cake mix on top, followed by nuts and toffee chips. Pour melted butter evenly on top.

Bake for 45-50 minutes until center is set and edges are lightly browned.

NOTES-
Be sure you're using pumpkin puree and NOT pie filling- there is a difference.
I used a Duncan Hines butter yellow cake mix.
For those with nut allergies, try using crushed graham crackers in place of the nuts.
Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

*Recipe and Image courtesy of: Cookies and Cups

Chicken Saltimbocca

I'm not Italian. Not even a teeny bit by marriage of a fourth cousin on my mother's side twice removed... zero, zip, zilch, nada, niente. But, I am a foodie. I love good food, regardless of its origin. The following recipe is my personal variation of Buca DiBeppo's chicken saltimbocca.

Ingredients
4 (5 ounce) chicken breasts
4 thin slices prosciutto ham
2 T. fresh sage- chopped well
3 ounces olive oil
1 ounce all-purpose flour
5 ounces artichoke hearts, quartered & drained
1/2 ounce capers- drained well
4 ounces white wine
2 ounces fresh lemon juice
2 ounces heavy cream
½ stick butter
½ t. lemon zest
1 tablespoon salt

Lightly salt chicken breasts. Sprinkle evenly with chopped sage. Place sliced prosciutto on top the chicken and pound it into the breast until the thickness of the chicken measures 3/8-inch.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a sauté pan. Place chicken in heated oil, prosciutto side down. Brown one side, turn and brown the other side. Move to a tray. Drain excess oil from pan and deglaze with 4 ounces of white wine. Whisk in flour, artichokes, fresh lemon juice, cream and butter to deglazed wine. Cook until sauce is thickened. Add chicken back to the pan, add capers and lemon zest. Serve immediately.

Serves 4.

Notes-
Only use wine you'd drink from a glass.

Crock Pot Potato Soup

Ingredients:
- 5lbs Russet Potatoes, washed but NOT peeled. Diced into 1/2 inch(ish) cubes
- 1 medium to large yellow onion, diced
- 10 cloves of garlic, whole
- 8 cups chicken stock
- 16 oz cream cheese
- 1 TBS seasoned salt or all-purpose seasoning (I used Emeril's Bayou Blast)

Garnishes:
- Crumbled bacon
- Shredded cheddar cheese
- Green onions

Directions:
- Add potatoes, onion, garlic, seasoning and chicken stock to slow cooker.
- Cook on high for 6 hours or low for 10 hours.
- Remove and puree the garlic cloves along with 1/2 to 1/3rd of the soup, and then reintroduce to the remainder in the crock pot.
- Stir in the cream cheese and allow to melt. Stir every 10-15 minutes until soup is well blended.
- Top with your choice of garnishes & serve!

Yields about 10-12 servings.

Recipe and image courtesy of Mama Loves Food!

Blueberry Breakfast Cake

Ingredients
½ cup unsalted butter, room temperature
2 tsp. lemon zest or more — zest from 1 large lemon
7/8 cup + 1 T. sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. kosher salt
2 cups fresh blueberries
½ cup buttermilk

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Cream butter with lemon zest and 7/8 cup of the sugar until light and fluffy.
2. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined. Meanwhile, toss the blueberries with ¼ cup of flour, then whisk together the remaining flour, baking powder and salt.
3. Add the flour mixture to the batter a little at a time, alternating with the buttermilk. Fold in the blueberries.
4. Grease a 9-inch square baking pan (or something similar) with butter or coat with non-stick spray. Spread batter into pan. Sprinkle batter with remaining tablespoon of sugar. Bake for 35 minutes. Check with a toothpick for doneness. If necessary, return pan to oven for a couple of more minutes. (Note: Baking for as long as 10 minutes more might be necessary.) Let cool at least 15 minutes before serving.

Recipe and images courtesy of Alexandra's Kitchen

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

For the filling:
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 cup confectioners' sugar

For the muffins:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. ground cloves
1 tbsp. plus 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
4 large eggs
2 cups sugar
2 cups pumpkin puree
1¼ cups vegetable oil
For the topping:
½ cup sugar
5 tbsp. flour
1½ tsp. ground cinnamon
4 tbsp. cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces

Directions:
To prepare the filling, combine the cream cheese and confectioners' sugar in a medium bowl and mix well until blended and smooth. Transfer the mixture to a piece of plastic wrap and shape into a log about 1½-inches in diameter. Smooth the plastic wrap tightly around the log, and reinforce with a piece of foil. Transfer to the freezer and chill until at least slightly firm, at least 2 hours.

To make the muffins, preheat the oven to 350˚ F. Line muffin pans with paper liners. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, pumpkin pie spice, salt and baking soda; whisk to blend. In the bowl of an electric mixer combine the eggs, sugar, pumpkin puree and oil. Mix on medium-low speed until blended. With the mixer on low speed, add in the dry ingredients, mixing just until incorporated.

To make the topping, combine the sugar, flour and cinnamon in a small bowl; whisk to blend. Add in the butter pieces and cut into the dry ingredients with a pastry blender or two forks until the mixture is coarse and crumbly. Transfer to the refrigerator until ready to use.

To assemble the muffins, fill each muffin well with a small amount of batter, just enough to cover the bottom of the liner (1-2 tablespoons). Slice the log of cream cheese filling into 24 equal pieces. Place a slice of the cream cheese mixture into each muffin well. Divide the remaining batter among the muffin cups, placing on top of the cream cheese to cover completely. Sprinkle a small amount of the topping mixture over each of the muffin wells.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before serving. (It may be hard to resist immediate consumption, but the cream cheese filling gets very hot!)

Recipe courtesy of Annie's Eats Image courtesy AllRecipes.com.

Cream Cheese Pound Cake

While most recipes I have came from one of the fabulous cooks in my family, believe it or not, this one is actually mine.

Ingredients:
3 c. white sugar
3 sticks real butter (no substitutes)
1 8oz. package cream cheese
6 eggs
3-1/2 c. sifted all-purpose flour
1 t. real vanilla

Glaze:
1 c. powdered sugar
1 stick butter (softened)
¼-1/2 t. lemon juice (see notes for alternate recipe)

Cream together softened cream cheese, butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add room-temperature eggs alternately with flour. Add vanilla last. Be careful not to over-stir!
Spoon into prepared tube pan. Place into a cold oven and bake at 350 for 1 hour. Reduce heat to 325 and bake 1 to 1-1/2 additional hours till tester comes out clean.
Remove from oven and cool 10 mins. Invert onto plate and glaze while hot, allowing glaze to drip down sides.

**NOTES**
This is the original recipe, but I have found making the following changes makes mine turn out better:

- Be sure the oven is cold when you put your cake in to bake. No preheating is necessary.
- Don’t be tempted to over-stir the batter. Stir only enough to incorporate all ingredients.
- Over-stirring causes the cake to turn out with a bizarre spongy texture.
- Prepare pans with shortening and flour.
- You can use two loaf pans instead of a tube pan.
- Be sure ALL ingredients are at room temperature when you start- no exceptions.
- Don’t be tempted to soften the butter/cream cheese in the microwave- it will be too warm.
- If you use a glass or non-stick pan, the outside crust will be darker and a bit thicker. Aluminum or enamel-coated pans produce cakes with a light, golden brown crust.
- If you use a dark or glass pan, reduce the heat by 25 degrees and bake for 1 hour. Reduce heat again and bake for 30 mins. Check cake after 30 mins. If it’s not done, bake for 15 more mins and test again. Do this until the tester comes out clean.
- This cake dries out very easily if you over-bake it.

Alternate glaze recipe-
Use ½-1 t. vanilla instead of lemon juice to make a vanilla-flavored glaze. I’ve also tried orange flavoring with great results.

Mama's Divinity

If you've never had Divinity, you're missing a true southern treat. White and creamy when done right, yellowish and hard as a rock when done incorrectly; it's somewhat of a temperamental candy to make. If you've never made candy before, I'd recommend having a helper in the kitchen for your first time.

The following recipe is courtesy of my Mama.

3 c white sugar
½ c water
½ c light corn syrup

Place all ingredients into a heavy-bottomed pot with a handle. Stir all ingredients together initially, just to combine. Cook over medium heat until the syrup comes to 248 or hard-ball stage on a candy thermometer. Do not stir syrup while it’s cooking.

Additional ingredients:
2 egg whites
1 c chopped pecans

While the syrup cooks, beat two egg whites till stiff peaks form. Set aside until syrup reaches the correct temperature. Once the syrup is ready, turn on your mixer and begin pouring the syrup into the egg whites in a thin trickle. Be careful because the syrup will be extremely hot. Do not be tempted to pour it all at once because the mix will clump together. Once all the syrup is incorporated into the whites, continue to mix until candy starts to cool. Turn off the mixer and beat the candy by hand with a wooden spoon. Add nuts. Stir until the candy starts to hold shape and loses some of its gloss. Using two teaspoons quickly drop spoonfuls of candy onto a piece of parchment paper.

**Notes**
-A candy thermometer works best, but if you do not have one you can tell the candy is done by holding a teaspoonful of the syrup over the pot and watching to see if thin threads begin to “spin” off of the spoon.
-Also, you can check to see if the syrup is done by pouring a small amount into a cup of cold water. If it crackles and turns hard like a lollipop, it’s done.
-Stirring the syrup while it’s cooking will cause the candy to be hard and brittle.
-Using a stand-mixer is best, but you can also use a hand mixer if you’re very careful.
-Can use additional pecans if desired.
-It won't turn out if you make it on a rainy day.

One more note...
Making candy is becoming a lost art, unfortunately; and while I think you should try to make your own Divinity, I understand that life is busy. Seems like there are never enough hours in the day. Here is a link to the Savannah Candy Kitchen located in Savannah, Georgia. They sell Divinity, along with some of the best old-fashioned candy this side of the Mason-Dixon line. The Chocolate Gophers are to die for- trust me!

They also do mail order, just so ya know. ;)

Pumpkin Spice Latte Cupcakes

Ingredients:

2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
3 tbsp. espresso powder
2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. grated nutmeg
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1 tsp. salt
1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin puree
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup canola or vegetable oil
4 large eggs
½ cup coffee or espresso, for brushing

For the whipped cream:

2¼ cups heavy cream, chilled
¼ cup confectioners' sugar

For garnish:

Ground cinnamon
Caramel sauce

Directions:

To make the cupcakes, preheat the oven to 350°F. Line cupcake pans with paper liners. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, espresso powder, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt. Stir together and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, blend together the pumpkin, granulated sugar, brown sugar and oil. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. With the mixture on low speed, add the flour mixture in two additions, mixing just until incorporated.

Fill the cupcake liners about three-quarters full. Bake until the cupcakes are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 18-20 minutes. Transfer the pans to a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes, then remove the cupcakes from the pans. While the cupcakes are still warm, brush them two or three times with the coffee or espresso, allowing the first coat to soak in before repeating. Let cool completely.

To make the frosting, place the heavy cream in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whip on medium-low speed at first, gradually increasing to high speed. Blend in the confectioners' sugar gradually. Whip until stiff peaks form, being careful not to over-beat. Use a pastry bag fitted with a decorative tip to frost the cooled cupcakes. Sprinkle with ground cinnamon and drizzle with caramel sauce. Store in an airtight container and refrigerate.

*Image and recipe courtesy of Annie's Eats.

Chicken and Sticky Rice

1 whole chicken with enough water to cover it
½ - 1 c. chopped onion
1-2 t. celery seed
1-2 t. garlic powder (or several cloves fresh minced)
Salt & pepper- to taste
Rice (up to several cups)

Boil chicken until it’s beginning to fall from the bones. Remove from water and set aside to cool. Skim the water/broth to remove any bones, fat or foam- leave the garlic and onions in.
Set aside ¼ - ½ cup of broth (optional.)
Add enough rice to equal slightly less than half of the liquid. Remove the chicken from the bones and add it back to the rice. Bring to a boil, watching carefully so that it doesn’t stick. Stir, cover and turn down to low. When the rice is done, add the reserved broth and stir. Serve.


Notes-

You can use chicken breasts instead of a whole chicken, but the rice won’t have the same “sticky” quality.
Sticky (but not mushy) rice is what you’re going for. (So said my great-great grandmother!)
Control the portion you make by reducing the amount of broth before you add rice.
Use slightly less than half as much rice as you have water. (ex: 2 cups broth = 1 cup (-1T) rice.
I add the extra broth after it’s done to help with the consistency but it’s optional if you don’t want your rice as sticky.