Challenge Day #3!

Today was a big task. I originally was not going to make a dinner since it is Wed night and we eat at the church. The idea came to me last minute and when I had company for lunch, I decided to go for it. Lunch AND Two desserts!


Lunch has not a "name" but it was OH so good!

First I started off with French rolls from a bakery close by. They are so perfect. Just a bit crisp on the outside and doughy and soft on the inside. I lighty buttered them and placed on a low heat grill along with fresh sliced eggplant and two large portobello caps. I drizzled the veggies with olive oil and grilled till tender. About 5 mins. I put a light mayo on the bottom piece of bread, Layered the eggplant, portobello cap, fresh dill, tarragon, salt, pepper, basil, Fresh spinach, sliced roma tomatoes and a nice large slice of fresh mozzerella! It was to die for! Great for vegitarians and easily fixed for vegans if needed!


Now on to the dessert Portion.


An amazing Tres Leches Cake with Strawberries!

Ingredients
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
5 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract, divided
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup milk
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar

Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour a 13x9-inch baking dish.

2. Beat butter and sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until fluffy; mix in eggs and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Combine flour and baking powder; add gradually to butter mixture, stirring to blend. Pour batter into prepared dish, and bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Pierce cake with a fork all over.

3. Combine the 3 milks, and pour on top of cake and cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate until well chilled, at least 4 hours or overnight.

4. Beat whipping cream, powdered sugar, and remaining vanilla at medium-high speed with an electric mixer until thick; spread over cake top with sliced strawberries and serve.



Last is My twist on Death by chocolate.

Start off by making devils Food cake

2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for the pans
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 cup nonalkalized cocoa powder (not Dutch-processed)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups water
1/4 cup milk

Set a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter two 9-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with a circle of parchment or wax paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter at medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Increase the speed to medium-high and slowly add the sugar. Continue beating until light and smooth, about 4 minutes. Turn the mixer off and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the cocoa powder and vanilla and beat at medium speed for 1 minute more. (Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl again, if needed.) With the mixer running at medium-low speed, add the eggs, one at a time, beating for 1 minute between each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Combine the water and milk in a saucepan and bring just to a boil. Remove from the heat.
With the mixer at low speed, add the flour mixture, about a 1/4 cup at a time. Carefully pour the hot liquid into the batter. Remove the bowl from the mixer and, using a large rubber spatula, finish combining the batter until smooth. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans. Lightly drop each pan onto the counter to settle the batter.
Set the pans on the middle rack in the oven. Bake until the cakes begin to pull away from the sides of the pans and the center springs back when touched lightly, about 30 to 35 minutes.
Cool the cakes, in the pans, on a rack for 10 minutes. Turn the cake layers out of the pans and cool on the rack.


Now take the cake and break into med sized pieces. Layer bottom of a large bowl. Cover with a layer of Fresh whipped Cream, a Layer of Chocolate sauce (Or you can use a mousse), a Layer of fresh Raspberries and then top with crushed chocolated covered toffee!

For the chocolate sauce
Ingredients:
•1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
•3/4 cup whipping cream
•1 teaspoon vanilla
Preparation:
In a small saucepan over low heat, heat chocolate chips and whipping cream, stirring constantly. Continue to cook, stirring constantly, until chocolate is melted and sauce is smooth. Stir in vanilla.
Serve over dessert or ice cream.
Makes about 1 1/4 cups.

Challenge Day #2 Part 2!

Now don't think I stopped at the cobbler.. I also made homemade pizza!!! First I started off with Homemade pizza dough and cut it into 3 individual sized pizzas, All with different toppings.

First I made a Tomato, Basil and Parmesan Pizza


For the dough:
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and brown sugar in the water, and let sit for 10 minutes.
Stir the salt and oil into the yeast solution. Mix in 2 1/2 cups of the flour.
Turn dough out onto a clean, well floured surface, and knead in more flour until the dough is no longer sticky. Place the dough into a well oiled bowl, and cover with a cloth. Let the dough rise until double; this should take about 1 hour. Punch down the dough, and form a tight ball. Allow the dough to relax for a minute before rolling out. Use for your favorite pizza recipe.
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). If you are baking the dough on a pizza stone, you may place your toppings on the dough, and bake immediately. If you are baking your pizza in a pan, lightly oil the pan, and let the dough rise for 15 or 20 minutes before topping and baking it.
Bake pizza in preheated oven, until the cheese and crust are golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes.

(Recipe from http://allrecipes.com/recipe/jays-signature-pizza-crust/detail.aspx)

Then I topped with Fresh Roma Tomatoes Off MY vines. Fresh Cilantro, Basil,and Rosemary. Along with Fresh grated Parmesan Cheese



For the second Pizza I topped it with Fresh Grated Parm, Sliced roma tomatoes, Fresh Tarragon, Goat cheese, chopped Marinated Artichokes, sliced black olives, fresh spinach and red onions. drizzled with olive oil.

Finally, My Son wanted to help out with his own pizza. So I made some homemade italian sausage, topped with shredded cheddar, tomatoes, parm, and just a few black olive on my section :)

For the Sausage

2 1/2 pounds lean ground pork butt or leaner cuts if desired
3 large cloves garlic, crushed
1/8 teaspoon dry basil
1/8 teaspoon dry oregano
1/8 teaspoon cracked rosemary
1 1/4 teaspoons fennel seed
1/4 cup beef or chicken broth or dry white wine
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons Italian (flat leaf) parsley, chopped, (stems removed)

Hand-trim all visible fat from the outside of pork, then cube the meat, removing interior fat as you find it.
Coarsely grind the pork and glean then ground meat, picking out gristle, cartilage and veins of fat. Grind one more time.
After second grinding, place meat in a large bowl, add dry seasonings and blend by hand to mix thoroughly to ensure it is spread throughout the meat.
Add broth or wine and mix again by hand

Challenge Day #2!

After yesterdays Defeat, I decided to cook my tale off all day today. I SHALL NOT LOOSE!!!


To start with, we have A homemade apple cobbler!

First off. The apples were hand-picked from Mercier Orchards in Blue Ridge GA (http://www.mercier-orchards.com/). I used to live almost in the back of their orchard and absolutely love their apples! I decided on the Hyena Theme as a Tribute to the mamas at Hyena Cart, where we are having the judging done. (http://www.hyenacart.com/)


For the dough:

3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
3 tablespoons milk

In a bowl, combine flour, 1/4 cup sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut in butter until crumbly. In another bowl, lightly beat eggs and vanilla; add to crumb mixture. With a fork, gently mix in milk to moisten. Stir until dough forms a ball. Press half of the dough into the bottom of a greased 13-in. x 9-in. x 2-in. baking pan. Use remainder for the top of cobbler

For the Spiced Apples

1/2 cup of butter
8 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat; add apples and remaining ingredients. Sauté 15 to 20 minutes or until apples are tender

Steak StirFry

Steak Stirfry.. This was so delish. I added Red pepper, green bell, baby corn, broccoli and green onions.

Now my secret to great rice.. Never cook in water! Cook in what ever will work well with what you are serving. For this dish I steamed 2 cups of rice in 3 cups of Beef broth!

My First Loss.. a Sad sad day..

Yesterday was a sad day for me. My First Loss. I slightly expected it since I was still feeling poorly and a long day of cooking just wasnt in the cards for me. I was, however, struck with a moment of genius. As if Flourless Peanut Butter cookies could taste any better.. I made them do just that! Instead of doing the traditional cross cuts with the fork. I decided to fill the centers with cream cheese! OMGoodness.. I may never be the same!

I also made a Yummy Steak StirFry for dinner. My eldest son sure did love it.. I couldnt keep him hands out of it while I was trying to take pictures!

Showdown day 1!!

Its mid morning of Showdown day #1! I am excited to say the least. Right now I have some steak marinating for this evenings dinner. Something simple yet oh so delish! I am getting ready to make some flourless peanut butter cookies for myself. Hey, A girl has to eat doesnt she?? Ill post pics and a recipe when they are done.

Im still recovering a bit from this weekend but I am ready to get cooking!

Sickness may strike, but it wont bring me down!

Yesterday I felt it coming. That feeling where you just KNOW you are about to get really sick. For me, I have the tale tale sign when touch to my skin feel like someone is scraping you with needles. Sure enough my temp shot up and before I knew it, I was in bed switching between piles of covers and ripping everything off. Finally around 9 this morning I managed to break my temp. At about 2pm, 3 of my friends showed up at my door to take me out for my birthday lunch. I managed through it and luckily it didn't last but about 3 hours.. that was almost more than I could handle. After getting home I crashed. My fever had spiked again! So after more sleep and cool rags.. I feel wiped out.. but fever is gone. At 9pm I FINALLY make it to Fresh Market to finish up shopping for some goods.

Oh and I MUST not forget! My prize Birthday gift was purchased yesterday! Hubby bought me a pink Kitchen aid mixer AND the accessory kit! I am in heaven.

Challenger #1 Courtney VS Shanna the She Devil

Its official. I am taking on the Devil! Shanna the She Devil that is. Shanna is a long time online friend whom I have never met. She is a master at baking and I am looking forward to taking on the challenge of laying her down in her jalepeno dough grave. Taunting me with savory baked goods for what has seemed like a decade, today I took on the task of of beating her until she looks like the sauce on the enchiladas she made for dinner tonight!


In the words of Shanna.. "It is ON like Donkey kong!"

The Journey Begins

In a "heated" yet fun taunting of each others baked/ savory goods, an online friend and I decided to start a battle of sorts. An online, week long, battle of cooking and baking. We will post photos of our creations on Facebook and Hyenacart for our peers to gaze at, drool over and hopefully vote for. The final victory? Just good 'ol bragging rights!

I have decided that I am going to try and take on a challenger once a month. Sort of my own "Iron Chef" if you will. Again, there will be no prizes at this time.. nothing more than just good 'ol bragging rights.

Now some might ask why we would do such a thing. The love of Cooking and baking of course! Could there be any other reason? I claim to be the worlds best chef when joking around with the family.. so here is my chance to show my skills!

I hope you enjoy this journey with me!