Posts tagged ‘carrot cake’
To Foodie or Not to Foodie – A Rant and a Recipe
We are always torn when writing on this blog and more importantly when adding recipes to our website at emealsforyou.com how far down the Foodie Road we go. It has been our intention from the start to provide you with recipes and meal plans that are easy to make, use common ingredients and most important, interesting. With this in mind I sometimes think you might take a look at the title and decide the recipe is not for you.
I enjoy cooking, and thinking about cooking. We do have a rule around here that you can’t talk about the next meal while eating the current meal. Cooking is all about confidence. Confidence is about trying new recipes and having them turn out great; or sometimes making them a few times to get it right. The important thought here is to try. Don’t be put off by something new or a “fancy” name. Our readership is composed of all levels of cooks; from chefs to the newly wed preparing her or his first meal for the in-laws.
So here we go! This sounds crazy but it will take a store-bought carrot cake to a new level of dessert. Give it a try and let us know what you think.
Goat Cheese Ice Cream
Goat Cheese Ice Cream
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 12 |
| Category: | Dessert |
| Meal: | N/A |
| 2 | cups | cream, heavy |
| 0.5 | cup | milk, whole |
| 4 | large | egg, yolks |
| 0.25 | cup | sugar, granulated |
| 3 | Tb | corn syrup, light |
| 4 | oz | cheese, goat |
Bring the cream and the milk to a boil. Whisk egg yolks and sugar together and slowly add some of the hot cream into the yolks, stirring constantly. Add the yolk mixture to the cream and cook for 2-3 minutes, whisking constantly. Whisk the corn syrup and the goat cheese together and add to the cream mixture. Remove from heat and whisk until fully blended. Cool in a water bath and then process in an ice cream maker. Freeze until needed.
Note: This is very rich and should be used in conjunction with other desserts.
Shown over carrot cake.
From the Dessert Collection at emealsforyou.com.
Recipe of the Week – Sticking with an Old Favorite – Carrot Cake
(From the Dessert Collection at emealsforyou.com)
Carrot Cake
We are off again this weekend for our quarterly trip to New Jersey so this week I will be making the desserts that we will freeze and take with us. I try to mix it up and make different desserts each time but somehow I always get a request for carrot cake. So along with a chocolate cake and probably some tart shells to fill with peaches cooked in brown sugar and bourbon; I was in the kitchen this morning putting together this never-fail, always appreciated cake. Just 15 minutes shredding carrots and mixing the batter in the food processor and into the oven and I have a classic dessert that freezes and travels well. I make the cream cheese icing once I get there and I am then prepared to present a great finish to the meal even after our 9 hour drive.
They say carrots are good for the eyes but I think this one is great for your stomach.
Carrot Cake
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 12 |
| Category: | Dessert |
| Meal: | You’re Something Special (Celebration Meal Plans) |
| 1.5 | cup | oil, vegetable |
| 2 | cup | sugar, white |
| 4 | large | egg |
| 2 | cup | flour, all-purpose |
| 1.5 | tsp | baking soda |
| 1.5 | tsp | baking powder |
| 2 | tsp | cinnamon. ground |
| 1 | tsp | salt, kosher |
| 3 | whole | carrots, fresh, whole |
| 1 | cup | walnuts, chopped |
| 0.5 | cup | raisins, golden |
Cream sugar, eggs and oil.
Mix in flour, baking soda and powder, cinnamon and salt. Add grated carrots, nuts and raisins.
Bake in greased tube pan or (2) 9 inch cake pans for 40- 50 minutes at 350 degrees.
Cover with cream cheese icing. *
Cream Cheese Icing
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 12 |
| Category: | Dessert |
| Meal: | Other (General) |
| 8 | Tb | butter, unsalted |
| 1 | lb | sugar, powdered |
| 1 | Tb | vanilla |
| 8 | oz | cream cheese |
Blend together in food processor until smooth.
Find the tart recipe and more at emealsforyou.com
Recipe of the Week – Stuffed Pork Roast
(From The Other Meat Entrée Collection at emealsforyou.com)
Stuffed Pork Roast
We were planning a Sunday night dinner party for a friend and his family, as his parents were visiting, but the weather required a change to Saturday instead. As we arrived at the grocery a cloudburst was taking place. We ran into the store only to remember the shopping list for the party was still on the printer at home. Under the heading, practice what you preach, I was able to use my BlackBerry Curve to access my meal plan and the shopping list while in the grocery.
I made a minor change to the menu as I planned Artisan bread and due to moving the dinner up a day settled on French bread, which could be made in hours with no over-night rising process. The sign of a good meal plan is one that you can adapt quickly; ‘course it does make it easier if you are nimble on your feet and able to juggle all the tasks required. I think my best helper in the kitchen was the ability to prioritize what to prepare in what order; finishing everything just in time to sit down and converse with our guests over appetizers.
The menu was assorted crustini and dipping sauces, stuffed pork roast (recipe below) with gingered carrots and mashed potatoes, the above mentioned bread and carrot cake and a corn meal cake for dessert. I substituted oven roasted tomatoes for the sun-dried tomatoes in the recipe. Throw a little currant jam into the gravy to give it an interesting taste.
Stuffed Pork Roast
| Complexity: | Medium |
| Serves: | 6 |
| Category: | The Other Meat Entrée |
| Meal: | other (General) |
| 3 | lb | pork, boneless roast |
| 1 | tsp | salt, kosher |
| 2 | Tb | pepper, fresh cracked |
| 1 | lb | spinach, fresh |
| 0.25 | cup | sun dried tomato |
| 1 | small | onions, diced |
| 8 | cloves | garlic, minced |
| 1 | pinch | salt and pepper to taste |
| 2.5 | oz | hazelnuts, toasted |
| 1 | package | cotton cooking string |
| 2 | oz | mushrooms, sliced |
| 1 | 10.5 oz can | beef consommé |
| 10 | oz | wine, dry red |
| 2 | oz | butter, salted |
Butterfly the pork roast. This is easier than you think. Start at the top make a cut down one side about 1/3 of the thickness of the roast. Cut down stopping the same thickness from the bottom; repeat on the other side. (think of an envelope with two flaps) Cover with plastic wrap and pound with a rolling pin to flatten the roast. Salt and pepper both the inside and outside of the roast.
Sauté spinach, onions, sun-dried tomatoes (chopped) and garlic in a pan until spinach is wilted. Salt and pepper to taste. Add hazelnuts and cool.
Spread the cooled spinach mixture on the pork roast. Roll the roast back to its original shape. Tie with cotton string in several places to hold it together. (see picture)
Brown in an oven-proof pan. Place pan in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 45 minutes or until a thermometer registers 160 degrees. Remove from oven, remove meat to a platter to “rest”. Place mushrooms in the pork pan on medium, cook for 2 minutes. Add consommé and red wine. Cook for 3 minutes. Shirl in butter and pour over pork.
Recipe of the Week – Carrot Cake
(From The Dessert Collection at emealsforyou.com)
It’s been one of those weeks around here. Our son, the Broadway sound designer, called and asked if I could send some sticky buns and carrot cake for an Easter dinner he was having with friends in New York. This meant not only baking the stuff but figuring out how to get it to New York and have it still eatable. While this seems to be a no-brainer the logistics proved to be a bit difficult.
First there is getting the right size box, not too big, not too small, just right. Then I had to line the box in foam to keep some of the cold in. I thought I did a pretty good job of this but maybe I didn’t count on the US Postal Service giving the box the toss test. So here I am unfrosted carrot cake (three layers), two tins of sticky buns ready for the oven, cream cheese icing and of course a few small Cadbury eggs all packaged nicely. I threw in a couple of frozen shipping bags, sealed it up and off to the post office.
$70 later; the box is on its way, next day delivery. Fine, mission accomplished right? Almost! The first problem was that the frozen bags broke. The Postal authorities called to say that the package was leaking and what was in it. Then an hour later a Postal Inspector called to say they would need to open the package, for safety sake. I have to say they were very professional and I had no problem with them opening the box. Finally at around noon the box made it to Lower Manhattan and was delivered.
My son said that despite the sticky buns needing a little rearranging and one of the cake layers being crushed it all worked out fine… extra icing on the cake and the sticky buns disappeared so fast no one noticed any problem. Oh yeah! the Cadbury eggs were pretty good too.
Carrot Cake
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 12 |
| Category: | Dessert |
| Meal: | You’re Something Special (Celebration Meal Plans) |
| 1.5 | cup | oil, vegetable |
| 2 | cup | sugar, white |
| 4 | large | egg |
| 2 | cup | flour, all-purpose |
| 1.5 | tsp | baking soda |
| 1.5 | tsp | baking powder |
| 2 | tsp | cinnamon. ground |
| 1 | tsp | salt, kosher |
| 3 | whole | carrots, fresh, whole |
| 1 | cup | walnuts, chopped |
| 0.5 | cup | raisins, golden |
Cream sugar, eggs and oil.
Mix in flour, baking soda and powder, cinnamon and salt. Add grated carrots, nuts and raisins.
Bake in greased tube pan or (2) 9 cake pans for 40- 50 minutes at 350 degrees.
Cover with cream cheese icing. *
* The icing recipe can be found at emealsforyou.com)
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