What kind of mom am I? I dare to say that I, Kristen…mother of three, am a very selfish mom. My youngest daughter turned one this past Sunday. The weekend before we had a family birthday party for her and my good friend Sara made her a gorgeous individual cake to dig her little hands into for the occasion.

The week between the birthday party and her actual birthday, my Taste of Home magazine arrived. As I was flipping through the magazine a recipe for French Chocolate Cake caught my eye. The description written above the recipe had my mouth watering. Described as "A decadent fudge filling and a rum flavored glaze spread between the layers of this luscious chocolate cake…" I had to make this cake soon and with Ella’s birthday coming up, I had just the occasion.

Rum flavored glaze is probably not the top choice of flavors for a one year old? She would probably appreciate something a bit more simple, you say?  Is this cake really for Ella or for you, you ask? I agree with you 100%. This is not a 1st birthday cake at all. Maybe I should make something else, or maybe I should just ignore you and make it anyway. So…that is what I did. I ignored the little guy on my shoulder trying to talk me out of making this cake for her first birthday and made it despite the ongoing commentary about how inappropriate it was for a one year old.

That makes me pretty selfish, doesn’t it? Well… this is just the beginning. This pushes me over on the selfish scale because Ella didn’t even get to have a piece of the cake.  First of all, we spent the morning of her birthday at the doctor’s office because Ella was running a 103 degree fever. By the time we had everything figured out, med’s prescribed, etc., the little angel was tuckered out and wanted nothing at all to do with any food whatsoever, let alone cake. This cake was prime and ready to be eaten, so we cut into it without the birthday girl present. It was amazing…the cool whipped cream topping was the perfect accompaniment to the rich chocolate cake. The ganache filling provided the cake with a wonderful texture and the rum glaze gave you little unique bursts of flavor with each bite. This was the kind of cake that I knew I could not keep around the house. I knew I would find myself sneaking bites here and there and before I would know it the cake would be gone and my hips would be that much larger. I decided to share some of the cake with my neighbors (as I firmly believe that if I’m going to get fat, everyone else needs to get fat with me!). I took part of the cake to two sets of neighbors and left a good hunk of cake for Ella to have when she woke up.

Well, Ella never had any of the cake. I tried to give her some when she woke up but she did not want anything to do with the cake or any other food all day. Her sippy cup of milk, her pink blanket, and a lap to snuggle on was all she wanted.

I have already started therapy funds for my kids as I know that they will most likely need it by the time I am through raising them. Hopefully the "selfish mommy cake incident" won’t be remembered, but just in case I put an extra $20 in Ella’s fund today. 

French Chocolate Cake (Taste of Home Magazine June/July 2007)

INGREDIENTS 1/2 cup butter, softened 2 cups packed brown sugar 2 egg yolks 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 6 squares (1 ounce each) semisweet chocolate, melted and cooled 1 cup cold strong brewed coffee 3 cups all-purpose flour 1-1/2 teaspoons salt 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda 1 cup buttermilk RUM GLAZE: 2/3 cup sugar 1/2 cup milk 1/4 cup butter, cubed 1 teaspoon rum extract FILLING: 1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips 1/4 cup milk 1 carton (8 ounces) frozen whipped topping, thawed Chocolate curls

SERVINGS 12 CATEGORY Dessert METHOD Baked PREP 35 min. COOK 25 min. TOTAL 60 min.

DIRECTIONS Line two greased 9-in. round baking pans with waxed paper and grease the paper; set aside. In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and brown sugar until crumbly. Beat in egg yolks and vanilla. Stir in chocolate and coffee. Combine flour, salt and baking soda; add to chocolate mixture alternately with buttermilk (batter will be thick).     Pour into prepared pans. Bake at 350° for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, bring sugar, milk and butter to a gentle boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat; stir in extract.     Invert cakes onto wire racks; drizzle with glaze. Cool completely. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt chocolate chips with milk; stir until smooth. Refrigerate until spreadable, stirring occasionally.     Place one cake on a serving plate; spread with filling. Top with remaining cake. Spread whipped topping over top and sides of cake. Store in the refrigerator. Garnish with chocolate curls. Yield: 12 servings.

I missed the deadline, darnit! Paul’s Big Burger Ballyhoo is an event I wanted to enter and I just noticed that the deadline was midnight last night. I’m going to try to sneak this in… maybe he’ll let me squeak by!

I just wanted to write a quick post about our favorite way to make a burger. These are so moist and delicious…full of flavor and really simple to put together. We switch these up sometimes by adding red pepper or garlic salt in place of salt. They are always fantastic!

The photo is an old one… not one of my best, but despite their looks, these are so good! 

Cheddar Bacon Wrapped Hamburgers

Picture this… dinner was nearing an end. The kids are complaining, fighting, crying, screeching, etc. The entire table was in an uproar. All this comotion was music to my ears. Yes… I was thrilled that all of this craziness was going on. You want to know why, don’t you? How could a reasonably sane mom enjoy hearing such disorder at dinner time? What could be causing such a hubbub around our dinner table? The culprit was the asparagus. All of the asparagus was gone and my family was not happy about it. Everyone, including my green veggie shy hubby, was upset because there was no more asapargus. Every last little morsel had been gobbled up and all that was left was the empty serving dish (and the lasting odd asparagus smell when they all went potty!).

What was so special about the asparagus to cause the entire family to revolt against me? Really, nothing at all. This is the easiest way ever to cook asparagus and it is one of the tastiest ways as well. Apparently I have learned my lesson about this recipe… I need to double or triple it to please my family.

Roasted Asparagus

1 lb fresh asparagus

1 1/2 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
2. Cut off the woody part of the asparagus and discard.
3. With a veggie peeler, peel off the bottom 2" of the asparagus skin. This will help you to avoid having those stringy pieces.
4. Place the asparagus, olive oil and kosher salt together in a large ziploc bag. Shake until each piece of asparagus has a light coating of oil and salt.
5. Place the asparagus on a foil lined baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes. The spears should be tender when pierced with a fork or knife. 

You know…sometimes life gets in the way. We have had a very busy, hectic, crazy couple of weeks. It has honestly been a whirlwind of activity and I have barely had a moment alone in the kitchen. If you are curious to see what has been going on in our life (and if you want to see some photos of some adorable kids) head over to my family blog - Dishing it up Family Style.

Life has been in the way, but it has been a good thing. Our life is good and school is out for the summer. We are ready to make memories and lots of great food!

Thank you to everyone who has continued to visit my little home on the web while I have been MIA the past couple of weeks. As a treat to you, I am going to share my all time favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. If your idea of a great chocolate chip cookie is one that is chewy with a slightly crispy outer edge, than you will love this chocolate chip cookie recipe. If you love your chocolate chip cookies to be thick and cakey, then go elsewhere for a great chocolate chip cookie recipe because this one is nothing of the sort. After many, many, many years of trying various recipes and never quite finding the perfect one, my friend DeLynn and her friend Lisa came up with this recipe. It makes a lot of cookies so either be prepared to be very hungry or be open to sharing! The dough and the cookies freeze well. I always have this dough on hand in frozen little balls ready to be popped into the oven at a moments notice.

Now, without further ado, here is the recipe:

Lisa’s Swirled Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 1/2 cups butter or margarine

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

1 1/4 cups brown sugar , firmly packed

2 teaspoons vanilla

2 large eggs

4 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

4 cups Nestle semi-sweet and white chocolate swirled chocolate morsels , divided (You can also use semi-sweet or milk chocolate chips)

I just thought I would warn you all now. By the end of the summer those of you who read my blog will probably be so sick of seeing and hearing about strawberries. The annual strawberry kick I get on every year has made an early appearance and I have a feeling it is going to last a very, very long time. I see in our future…strawberry milkshakes, strawberry muffins, strawberry ice cream, strawberry cake, strawberry salad, salmon with strawberry sauce, strawberry kebabs, etc. You get the picture… we love strawberries at our house and it shows all summer long.

The Strawberry Cupcakes and the Strawberry Margarita dessert from the weekend got my taste buds going and ready to be in full strawberry mode. Then, the June 2007 issue of Food and Wine magazine arrived in the mail. The final page, which is always F&W’s Last Bite section, had the most glorious looking photo of a strawberry shortcake concoction. My mouth was watering. My husband’s mouth was watering. We were ready to give in to our strawberry obsession even if it was a tad bit early for us to start.

If you get strawberry obsessed like we do this time of year,  Dine and Dish is a good place to be. We can be strawberry glutton’s together. If you are not a fan of strawberries, I don’t know what to tell you except that I hope you will stick with us for the in between the strawberry obsession posts. I cannot understand the craziness of not liking strawberries, but I promise that I will try to keep you in mind and bring something to the table that you can enjoy as well.

For those of you on board with the whole strawberry thing, here is the recipe from Food and Wine magazine for Strawberry Shortcake with Meyer Lemon Cream. If you use anything other than Meyer Lemons, I would suggest adding some additional sugar to the lemon curd to help offset some of the tartness.  Enjoy!

Strawberry Shortcake with Meyer Lemon Cream 

I love to try new recipes. I love finding things that I have not tried before and branching out to taste new flavors. I would say that on an average week, I make a given 5 new recipes…sometimes more, rarely less. The internet recipe sites, all of the published cookbooks and magazines out there and all of the amazing food blogs tempt me on a daily basis to try something new.

With that being said, I also have my good old standbys. The recipes that are tried and true and that I keep in rotation on a monthly basis. These are the recipes that I grew up on or that I have made so often I can practically create it in my sleep.  One of my favorite things is when I find a recipe that is new and it is so good it creeps into the monthly rotation. Without any history with me at all, it is a recipe that I know instantly I will be making again, and again, and again.

As luck would have it, I found a new keeper yesterday.  The recipe is as simple as they come, but the variations are endless. The recipe? A very basic foccacia bread recipe that I found on Recipezaar. I make bread all the time but for some reason I have always stayed clear of foccacia. It is not because I don’t like it. It is simply because I thought I could buy a better version at a bakery than I could make at home. I found out yesterday that my thoughts were wrong. The bread I made was simple, yet as delicious, than the versions I could find at a bakery around here. In fact, I am going to venture to say it was actually better than the bread we can find around here, mostly because it was fresh from the oven.

What is it about this bread recipe that makes it worthy enough to be a standby in my house? Well…for starters it is simple and quick to make. Next, it is extremely versatile. I was inspired by the clover rolls I made last week and just used Kosher salt and cracked pepper as my topping, but the possibilities are endless. Try adding some olives, sundried tomatoes, mozzarella cheese, parmesan, rosemary, caramelized onions… you get the point. Make a thicker loaf and you can slice it down the middle to make a delicious Italian sandwich.  

For a basic Italian bread recipe…one that would be a great addition to almost any meal, welcome this delicious recipe into your rotation.

Adapted from Recipezaar:

 Foccacia Bread

Toppings of your choice

Spring is in full force here in the Midwest. I love the thunderstorms that come with the spring weather but I hate the tornados that this part of the country is known for. I have lived in Kansas all but one year of my life and would you believe I can count on only one hand the number of times I have actually had to take shelter from a tornado? Take that handful of times and subtract the times I have actually been in a place where a tornado has hit and you will get zero. I have never been in or near an actual tornado. That all being said, tornados still scare the heck out of me, which is one reason I always look forward to spring bidding farewell and summer coming into my life.

I tend to get myself in summer mode way before summer comes around. One of my favorite ways to pretend like it is summer when it is actually really still spring is to have lots and lots of strawberries around. Fresh strawberries are not in season here until June or July, but the stores start stocking their shelves with tons of strawberries at fairly decent prices during the spring. The store bought strawberries are not even close to the fresh from the vine goodness we get in the summer, but it is a good substitute. Good enough for me anyway and a good enough way to get me ready for those warmer, non-tornadic months.

This weekend we had an impromptu Cinco de Mayo party. We had had a day that was jam packed full of craziness and we needed something to help us all unwind and celebrate. Our friends and neighbors came over and I made my sister-in-law’s delicious enchiladas. Everyone was asked to bring a side dish or appetizer and we provided the main dish and the dessert.  The main dish was taken care of, but I had no idea what to make for dessert. Margarita cupcakes were what my mind originally went to, but when I opened the fridge and saw the enormous tub of strawberries I had bought at Costco that morning, I knew I needed to use them up. Since I was short on time, I took the easy way out and opened up Google and typed in "Strawberry Margarita Dessert". Several options caught my eye, but the one that I kept coming back to was a Frozen Strawberry Margarita Dessert from Recipe Source. I also wanted something a little more kid friendly, so I decided I would make Strawberry Cupcakes with Whipped Strawberry Frosting for the kids.

Both of these desserts were delicious. The Frozen Strawberry Margarita Dessert was a big hit among the adults. It really tasted like a frozen strawberry margarita. It was cool and refreshing and was a perfect Cinco de Mayo treat. The cupcakes were also delicious. I had some issues with my whipped frosting due to the heat and humidity that day, but the kids didn’t notice at all.

For now, I will enjoy the spring weather and thunderstorms. I will continue to hope that I can keep from personally meeting a tornado face to face.  While I am doing that, I will still anticipate the tastes of summer, all the while munching on my tub of strawberries.

Frozen Strawberry Margarita Dessert

CRUST:

1 1/4 cups finely crushed pretzels

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup butter or margarine — melted

FILLING
1 can sweetened condensed milk — 14 oz.

1/4 cup lime juice

2 tablespoons tequila

2 tablespoons orange liqueur (I used Grand Mariner)

1 package strawberries in syrup — 10 oz. thawed

1 cup whipping cream

To make crust: Combine pretzels, sugar and melted butter. Press firmly into bottom of 8" spring form pan. Chill.

For filling, combine condensed milk, lime juice, tequila and orange liquor.
Beat until smooth. Add strawberries, beat at low speed until well-blended. Fold in whipping cream. Pour over crust, freeze 4 - 6 hours or until firm. Let stand at room temperature 15 minutes before serving.

A couple of posts ago, I wrote about my introduction to a tasty and addicting product from a company by the name of Nando’s. This stuff is amazing!

When Nando’s sent me some of their products to try, I dove right in anxious to taste what they had to offer. When I took a look at their Chickenland Peri-Peri Marinade I admit that I was a little nervous. You see… I love spicy food but I love spicy food that you can taste. Not spicy food that makes your eyes and nose water and forces you to down an enormous glass of the nearest beverage. I do not get a lot of pleasure our of making myself sweat while I eat. The Chickenland Peri-Peri Marinade was rated "Hot" on Nando’s scale which I had convinced myself meant 10 alarm fire hot. I wanted to try it, but I kept putting it off and putting it off.

Last week I was browsing Nando’s onlne store trying to narrow my order of wants down to something a little more realistic than one case of everything. While I was there, I took a quick trip over to their blog and noticed a review of the Chickenland Peri-Peri Marinade written by the folks at The Hot Zone blog. You can read their review by going here, but basically reading it convinced me that I think I could handle the "hot" factor.

Well, Nando’s has done it again. This "hot" marinade is hot, but it is not "call 911" hot. It has the perfect blend of spices and herbs and the heat is just right. My husband and I both raved about the chicken and my kids loved it too.

I know I do not have to convince those of you who have tried the products by Nando’s to go out and grab some. For those of you who were in the dark about this great stuff like me, get over to their online store today and order yourself up some delicious marinade, hot sauce, grinders and rub. From those of us who like it hot to those of you who like to sweat and cry when you eat. Nando’s has something for everyone.

My good friend Kathy and I, along with our husbands, went to a Giada De Laurentiis book signing a couple of weeks ago. We were 4 of about 1,000 eager fans who were lucky enough to get tickets to the sold out event. We were all anxious to find out if Giada is the "real deal". Could she possibly be as genuine and adorable in real life as she comes across on TV? The answer? Simply, yes. Giada de Laurentiis seems to be the real deal. Genuine, full of life, friendly and beautiful (how else do you think we got our hubby’s to go along with us?)

Giada arrived at the book signing/speaking engagement after several weeks on the road promoting her newest cookbook Everyday Pasta. Kansas City was near the end of the tour for her. She was about 15 minutes late, but when she walked into the room you felt like she had all the time in the world and that you were her one and only focus.

Some of the questions and answers that I found interesting are below. Please note, these are not exact quotes but mere summaries of the dialog.

Do you plan on ever opening a restaurant? Opening a restaurant is on the back burner right now because she is just too busy with her shows (Everyday Italian & Giada’s Weekend Getaways) and creating recipes for her cookbooks. It is a dream of hers that she hopes to someday make a reality.

How many hours does it take to make one episode of Everyday Italian? Giada spends 3 months creating and testing recipes. The actual taping of one 22 minute show takes 15 hours. Each complete show is taped twice…once in wide shot and once close up. 

How do you stay so skinny? Giada said that this is the number one question she gets asked by fans. She credits her slim figure to three things…1) Portion control 2) Working out 3 times each week 3) Good genes

What is your favorite American food? French fries and chocolate gelato 

When you make dinner at home, what do you cook? Since her husband Todd is a meat and pasta kind of guy, she likes to make Short Rib Ragu. The recipe is somewhat time consuming, but she swears it is well worth it. Another favorite is Penne pasta with beef and arugula. 

How do you do it and where do you find the time to fit so much into your life? Family is extremely important to Giada.I imagine that when most of us are out of town for a long period of time, when we come home we want some down time to ourselves. Giada makes it a point to be home at least once a week. On that one day, she surrounds herself with immediate and extended family and tends to make big meals at home for them. She finds cooking to be very therapeutic and when she is on the road it drives her crazy not to be able to cook for herself and others.  She loves to be surrounded by family and good food.

Giada’s tip for making ravioli using wonton wrappers - Work your way from the inside out. A lot of people try to seal the outside edges first and then work their way in. If you do it this way, you will end up with tons of air bubbles. If you start on the inside and work your way out, you will avoid that problem all together.

If you missed the tour and want to find more about Giada, head on over to her website. You can also catch her on segments of the Today show, as well as her two shows on the Food Network: Everyday Italian and Giada’s Weekend Getaways.

If you do not have her newest cookbook, Everyday Pasta, I highly recommend getting yourself a copy.  It is full of incredible recipes and beautiful photographs. I have several pages bookmarked already. Here is a glimpse inside, with the first recipe I tested, Rigatoni with Sausage, Peppers, and Onions.

Rigatoni with Sausage, Peppers, and Onions

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 pound sweet Italian turkey sausages
2 red bell peppers, cored, seeded, and sliced
2 yellow onions, sliced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 cup Marsala wine
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, with juice
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
1 pound rigatoni pasta
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for garnish

Heat the oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the sausages and cook until brown on all sides, 7 to 10 minutes. Remove the sausages from the pan.

Keeping the pan over medium heat, add the bell peppers, onions, salt, and pepper and cook until golden, 5 minutes. Add the garlic, oregano, and basil and cook for 2 minutes. Add the tomato paste and stir until incorporated, then add the Marsala, tomatoes with their juice, and red pepper flakes, if using. Stir to combine, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to release all the brown bits. Bring to a simmer.

Cut the sausages into 4 to 6 pieces each. Return the sausages to the pan. Simmer uncovered until the sauce has thickened, about 20 minutes.

While the sauce simmers, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, 8 to 10 minutes. Drain the pasta and add to the thickened sauce; toss to combine. Spoon into individual bowls and sprinkle each serving with Parmesan cheese.

For another account of meeting Giada and another delicious recipe from this cookbook, head on over one of my favorite blogs, Kirsten’s Home Cooking Adventures.