Thin and Rich Chocolate Frosting

I must have cut the one out of the paper at least 20 years ago. To ice a 2-layer cake:

• In a saucepan (or glass bowl if you're going to microwave), melt 3 oz. chopt unsweetened chocolate, then stir in 6 T. roasted almond oil,
  
• Blend 1/2 cup sugar with 1 T. cornstarch, then add this to the pan
• Whisk in 1/2 c. milk
• Bring this to a boil over moderate heat, whisking. (Or microwave it for about 30 seconds to boil it)
  
• Remove pan from heat and stir in 1 t. vanilla
• Let mixture cool, stirring the frosting "every so often"
• Frost the cake when the icing is lukewarm and still spreads easily
  

Mexican Chocolate Cake

I went over to my friend Madeleine's house last night and she made the most delicious chocolate cake. It had cayenne and cinnamon to make it spicy and, I suppose, more like Mexican chocolate. I loved it! The recipe is below:

* 1 1/2 cups flour, sifted
* 1 cup sugar
* 4 Tbsp. cocoa powder
* 1 tsp. baking soda
* 1 tsp. cinnamon
* 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
* 1 tsp. vanilla extract
* 1 Tbsp. distilled white or white wine vinegar
* 5 Tbsp. vegetable oil
* 1 cup cold water

• Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9-inch cake pan.
• In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, and baking soda. Stir in the cinnamon, cayenne, vanilla, vinegar, oil, and water. Mix until just combined.
• Pour into the prepared cake pan and cook for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool.

Makes 8 to 10 servings


Chocolate sauce

3/4 cup heavy cream

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Combine ingredients in a saucepan over LOW heat, stirring constantly.

Food model

I haven't been cooking anything interesting (or successful) lately, so I'm posting a photo of one of Mom's and one of Jody's dishes--stuffed acorn squash and sweet potato fries. They were delicious--thanks for the recipes, ladies!

Robin's new blog . . .

http://theoldpianostudent.blogspot.com/

Are we cool or what?

Look to your left - an even 100 for 2009!

Adventures in squash

I have been on a bit of a winter squash kick of late. Branching out from the traditional butternut and acorn squash, I have tried delicata, kombucha and buttercup squashes. This week I add two more to the list: red kuri and sweet dumpling. I tried the red kuri last night. Its more like a traditional pumpkin then kombucha, but still quite different. It isn't as sweet as an acorn squash and it has a nice nuttiness to it. Kind of hard to describe. The flesh was a vibrant orange-red and it was totally roasted after an hour. I just ate it plain this time but next time I'm going to try making a soup! It would also probably make great pie. I will let you know how the sweet dumpling compares. So far, my favorite new squash is the buttercup. I think it is the cupcake of the squash world.
Next on the list: spaghetti squash.

Sweet Potato Sticks

Peel and cut 2 sweet potatoes into fat french fry shapes. Put them on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Cover with about 1/4 c. olive oil and sprinkle on 1 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. pepper, 2 or 3 minced garlic cloves, and 1/2 tsp paprika. Roast in a 450 oven for about 25 minutes or until the edges start to crisp and blacken, turning once with a spatula halfway through.

2009 Christmas Cookie Extravaganza

The first post of 2010 concerns food made in 2009. Happy New Year!
As per usual, this Christmas, I made several different cookie recipes to give to family and friends, drawing mostly from the Washington Post's Christmas cookie-themed food section and with lots of help from a very patient husband. Unlike previous years, I made sure 3/4 recipes were cholesterol/sat. fat free (for dad) and gluten free for Jo. Surprisingly, WaPo had a bunch of recipes that fit the bill!
I started with the favorite from last year, White Chocolate Apricot Almond Balls. Also tried out Chocolate Meringues. I couldn't find coconut extract (even at whole foods), so I just used extra almond extract. Macadamia Ginger Crunch Drops were quite well-received and were surprisingly good for "vegan" cookies. I used skim milk rather than non-dairy milk and they worked out fine. My personal favorite were the Pistachio Cookies. Substituting eggbeaters for eggs worked fine. Also, you can make your own almond flour by finely grinding blanched almonds in a food processor (much cheaper than buying already ground almond flour).

Happy baking!