Chocolate Cake with Whipped Peanut Butter Frosting

  Ok, I know I already have several chocolate cake recipes, but can you really have too many?? I think not! So here we go.
 I recently made this for a dinner at the request of my niece, Terri. Actually, when she first showed me this recipe (that she found on a blog called Ready Set Eat) she said "you can use whatever cake recipe you want. I really just want the whipped peanut butter frosting." Ha! Normally, my go to chocolate cake recipe is Hershey's Black Magic Cake, but I compared the two, and they're very similar, so I figured I'd go with it.
  And guess what?!? It's just as good! It's rich and moist and very deep with chocolate flavor. I think the secret is the cup of coffee. It makes any chocolate cake SO much more rich! (It doesn't actually make the cake taste like coffee, it just makes it taste like a deeper chocolate!) Clever, huh?
 For this cake, I did most of the decorating myself, but then I got an assist from Terri's youngest, Grace. I must say I'm kinda sorta proud of the drip design. It can be a little tricky to get just right! And yes, yes, I know it's piled with A LOT of candy, but when you have a 4 year old helping you, you just keep going. I think it makes it all the more fun and everyone loved it!
 Definitely make this the next time you want a showstopper for a special occasion, or you can just make it because your niece wanted an excuse to have whipped peanut butter frosting.

Cake:
Baking Spray
1 cup hot coffee
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 cup whole milk
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1-1/2 cups unsalted butter, softened, divided
2 cups granulated sugar

 Frosting:
1 cup creamy peanut butter
4 tbs heavy cream
2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

 Ganache:
1/4 cup milk chocolate morsels
2 tbs heavy cream

Reese's cups, Hershey's Kisses, and/or Reese's Pieces for decorating, if desired



Preheat oven to 350°F.
  Spray two 9-inch round cake pans with baking spray. Stir together coffee and cocoa powder in medium bowl; set aside to cool. Stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in another medium bowl; set aside. Whisk milk, eggs and vanilla into cooled cocoa mixture until well blended.
   Beat 1/2 cup butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually beat in the egg mixture until well blended, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Gradually beat in flour mixture until just combined. Divide batter evenly between cake pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool on wire racks.
   Meanwhile, place remaining 1 cup butter, peanut butter and 4 tablespoons heavy cream in large bowl. Beat with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and very fluffy, at least 5 minutes. Reduce mixer speed to medium and beat in powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time until well blended.
   Invert one cake layer out onto serving plate and press lightly to secure it in place. Spread about 1 cup of frosting evenly on top of first layer. Invert second layer onto frosting, make sure the layers line up evenly and then lightly press down to secure top layer in place. Frost entire cake with a light layer of frosting; refrigerate 15 minutes.
  Meanwhile, microwave 2 tablespoons heavy cream in small microwave safe bowl 30 seconds, until hot. Stir in chocolate chips until melted. Frost cake with a thick layer of frosting. Drizzle with chocolate sauce and decorate with peanut butter cups or other candy.


Tips:
The key to making the perfect drip design is to make sure the cake is very cold. You should also make sure the ganache is not too hot, but still warm enough to pour. Then when you drizzle it around the perimeter of the cake, the cold cake will chill the ganache and stop it in its tracks, and that's what keeps it from dripping all the way down.

Slow Cooker Kimchi Stew with Beef

 If you know me, you know that I'm not a sports fan. Baseball, Soccer, Basketball, Football, I don't discriminate, I don't watch or follow any of it. I recently showed up at my brother's Superbowl party, and I may or may not have been greeted with a "wow, what are you doing here?" kind of a vibe. LOL (tbh, I think that was the first time I watched any football game since I was in high school. Not even kidding) But I figured since everyone was so hyped about the Eagles playing, I might as well join in the excitement.
 There is, however, one exception to my non-interest in sports, and that is The Olympics. The ceremonies, the personal stories, the lifelong dreams, the culture of the host country, I love ALL of it and I'm absolutely glued to the TV for the 2 1/2 weeks that they're on. I even record several channels that air the different events so I won't miss anything. 100% true story!
 So, now, I know I've talked about this before, but one thing my family always does every Olympics, is we have a hang at my sister Jeanie's house, and everyone brings a kind of food from a different country. Polish sausages, Mexican dips, Italian desserts, Asian appetizers, it turns out to be quite a spread! (Special USA shout out to David for bringing wings and to Gregger who brought a tray of McDonalds cheeseburgers! LOL)
 I always make something in honor of the host nation, so I decided to try my hand at Korean food, since this year's Olympics are being held in PyeongChang. And, of course, this means it should probably involve their national dish, Kimchi, which traditionally is a spicy and sour fermented cabbage dish that is served with nearly every meal. From what I've been told, Kimchi is kind of sacred and most Koreans feel like if they haven't eaten Kimchi, then they haven't eaten yet that day. To be quite honest, I had never even tasted Kimchi let alone cooked with it, so I did a lot of googling.
 I happened to find this recipe on a blog called My Korean Kitchen. The blogger mentioned that she had been wanting to try using a slow cooker for some of her Korean recipes, and I figured this one seemed to be perfect for our Olympics night. I made my list of ingredients, and off to the Asian market I went. Perfect!
 The recipe is absurdly easy to make because you literally just throw everything into a slow cooker, turn it to low, and leave it there for about 8 hours. And OMG it is SO flavorful! It has just a little spicy poke, but you can adjust that to your liking. (tbh, I don't like something that will burn my face off, but I do like a little afterburn.) Anyway, overall, I think my first attempt at Korean food was a HUGE success. I'm definitely awarding myself a gold medal for this one! If you want something warm and comforting with a little spicy hit, you should definitely consider trying this one. It's absolutely delicious!

4 cups Kimchi cut into bite sized pieces

2 lbs chuck steak

2 cups water 

1 Tbsp minced garlic  

1/4 tsp ground black pepper 

2 tbs rice wine

2 tbs sesame oil

1 tbs soy sauce

1 tbs gochugaru (Korean chili flakes) - can reduce this to make it less spicy 

1 tbs gochujang (Korean chili paste)

Rinse the steak in cold running water to get rid of the blood. Pat it dry with some kitchen paper. Cut them into small chunk pieces. Add all ingredients in a slow cooker. Set the slow cooker on low heat and cook it for 8 hours. Stir it a bit occasionally. (The food is ready to eat from the 5th hour. However, an additional three-hour simmering makes the Kimchi and the meat even more tender.) Serve the stew with rice once it is cooked.

 Tips:

You can use any kind of meant instead of (or in addition to) the beef, but just be sure to choose something that is not so lean (as suggested on the original recipe). I used beef, but I also added some pork belly. The meat becomes much more tender and the fat melts into the stew and makes it rich and SO flavorful!

I didn't have rice wine, so I used dry sherry. I believe you can also use sake or mirin. And instead of using the gochujang, I used sambal oelek, which is another kind of chili paste. Absolutely delish!

Nutella Swirled Cheesecake Bars

 If you love Nutella (chocolate hazelnut spread) as much as I do, then you simply MUST try this recipe. It's from Pillsbury, so you already know that it's gonna be amazing, and OMG wait'll you taste it! I was looking for a picky-uppy dessert something, and as soon as I saw it, I couldn't wait to try it. Actually, I'm not even kidding when I say that. I stopped what I was doing, went to the store to buy the ingredients, and made them as soon as I got home. And of course they were as decadent as I thought they'd be!
 I've literally made them twice in as many weeks. The first time I made them was just as a little thank you to my friend Anthony, who said that "they might be his favorite thing ever." Then I made them for a my friend Marie's dinner party where they got RAVE reviews from everyone! I PROMISE you'll get the same reviews when you make them too!
 The only challenge is to not run out of Nutella before you go to make them! Does anyone else find it difficult to not eat it with a spoon right out of the jar? Uh.. I mean... I'm asking for a friend...

1 package (16 oz) Pillsbury™ Ready to Bake!™ refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough

3 packages (8 oz each) cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup sugar

1 tbs vanilla bean paste (or extract)

3 eggs

1/2 cup Nutella™ hazelnut spread

 Heat oven to 350°F. 

Place cookies in ungreased 13x9-inch pan. Press dough evenly into pan. Bake 9 to 13 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in large bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and eggs with electric mixer on medium speed until smooth. Spread evenly over baked crust. In small microwavable bowl, microwave hazelnut spread uncovered on High 10 to 20 seconds to soften. Drop teaspoonfuls of spread on cream cheese mixture. With knife, carefully swirl spread into top of cream cheese mixture. Bake 25 to 30 minutes longer or until filling is set. Cool 30 minutes. Refrigerate about 2 hours or until chilled.

 

 

Tips:

 If you'd like to make the crust from scratch, just use your favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe, but it seems to me that this is one instance where store bought is just as good!

This recipe has been slightly tweaked from the original Pillsbury recipe. The first time I made them, I felt that the bars were too thin (as you can see in the picture), and I wanted them to be a little thicker. So I increased the filling ingredients by half, but still followed the rest of the baking directions. I also used vanilla bean paste instead regular vanilla extract. They turned out MUCH better! Well, in my humble opinion, anyway.

 More is more, right? 

 

Joey's Baked Reuben Dip

 Many people ask me where I get my recipes. Well, sometimes I'll see something on a cooking show that will spark an idea. Sometimes it'll be whatever looks freshest at the supermarket. Sometimes it'll be what I'm craving (which usually means some sort of fresh produce). And sometimes it'll depend on whatever ingredients I happen to have on hand, which was exactly the case with this recipe.
 I wanted to make something that would be great to serve at a party, whether it's a holiday, or a celebration, or for whatever big game you happen to be cheering. (Frankly, I've never been one to scream at the television, but hey, you do you.) Anyway, I quickly surveyed the ingredients that were in the fridge and figured this recipe would be an easy something to throw together before your guests arrive. My brother, Chris, happens to make the BEST homemade sauerkraut, check. All of the condiments and a jar of my homemade pickles, check. Cream cheese and Swiss cheese, check. The only thing I was missing was the corned beef! Awesome. I really wasn't following any recipe, just adding Reuben ingredients and some cream cheese to make it a dip! Simple, right? It only took a few minutes to mix everything together and into the oven it went. SO EASY! And seriously just as delicious! If you like a Reuben sandwich, then OF COURSE you'll love this dip because it's basically the same thing!
 And everyone will be so impressed! But you don't have to tell them how easy it was.
 So make this for your next party or game day. Hope your team wins!
Betcha everyone will cheer for YOU too!



1 lb sauerkraut
1 lb corned beef or pastrami
1 lb Swiss cheese
1/4 cup sweet pickles
8 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup ketchup
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2 tbs mustard
Salt and pepper to taste


Heat oven to 350ºF.
Drain sauerkraut very well. Chop the corned beef and shred the Swiss cheese. Chop the sweet pickles. Add all to mixing bowl with remaining ingredients. Mix until well combined. Place in a 9x13 casserole dish. Bake for about 30-40 minutes or until melted and bubbly and a little browned on top. Remove from oven and let it sit for a good 10 minutes. Serve with your favorite crackers.



Tips:
Instead of adding the ketchup/pickles/mayonnaise, just add a cup of thousand island dressing. It's the same thing!
If you want to add a little spice, add a little cayenne pepper.
To make it a little extra creamy, add a tbs or two of sour cream.
If you're only feeding a small group, cut the whole recipe in half!
I used Triscuits because I like how sturdy they are with a dip. But you could also try rye crackers to echo having a Reuben sandwich on rye bread. You could also add a tsp of caraway seeds to the dip to echo that again! Come to think of it, you could even serve it with those little party rye breads. Maybe cut them diagonally and toast them first, just for presentation and proportion. Perfect!

Slow Cooker Bolognese Sauce

Whenever the cold weather kicks into high gear, my first thought is to put a big pot of something on the stove and let it cook all day. I’m guessing you’d get the same response from many of my family members as well.  It’s just how we were raised! If my Mom didnt have a pot of beef stew, then she’d have a pot of meatballs or chicken stew. There’s just nothing more warming and comforting if you’ve been out in the cold.
 During our recent cold snap of subzero temperatures, I immediately started my search for whatever I’d decide to cook all day. While I was browsing the interwebs, I happened to be watching The Pioneer Woman. She was making this Bolognese sauce, and I thought “well, THERE’s the recipe I’m looking for!” It was an easy throw together recipe, and I already had most of the ingredients on hand.
Easy! So it cooked and cooked and cooked all day, OMG it’s amazing. And the longer it cooks, the better it is. I had some for dinner, saved some for leftovers, and froze the rest. Perfect, huh?
 So the next time you want a cook-all-day kinda recipe, you should give this one a try. It’s my new fave! And it might become yours too!






4 celery stalks, chopped 
2 carrots
2 onions, chopped  
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
cloves garlic, chopped 
One 6-ounce can tomato paste
1 cup dry red wine
4 pounds ground beef
2 cups whole milk
Two 28-ounce cans crushed tomatoes
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried basil
2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 Parmesan rind, optional, plus grated Parmesan, for serving
Cooked spaghetti, for serving
Chopped fresh basil, for serving
Chopped fresh parsley, for serving

Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the celery, carrots and onions, season with salt and pepper and cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Add the tomato paste and cook for a minute. Pour in the red wine and cook until it is mostly evaporated, about 3 minutes. Pour this mixture into a slow cooker.
Pour the remaining 2 tablespoons oil into the skillet, add the beef and season with salt and pepper. Cook, breaking up any lumps, until it is nicely browned, about 15 minutes. Drain off any excess fat. Stir in the milk and cook until it is mostly absorbed by the meat, about 5 minutes. Add this to the slow cooker along with the tomatoes, oregano, basil, thyme, red pepper flakes, nutmeg and Parmesan rind if using. Add some salt. Give it a good stir, cover and cook on low for 6 hours.
Skim off any fat on top and check the consistency. If it is too thick, add a bit of water. If it is too thin, cook for another 30 minutes with the cover off.
Remove the rind and serve over spaghetti with lots of grated Parmesan and topped with fresh basil and parsley. Extra sauce can be frozen for later use.

Tips:
I added quite a lot more red wine, and I also used fresh herbs instead of dried. I think the fresh thyme was a game changer! Just sayin!

Crock Pot Smothered Pork Chops and Potatoes

  I'm sure I'm not alone when I say this, but whenever it's super cold outside, I immediately want to cook something delicious and warm and comforting. You know, something that will cook all day and make the whole house smell like home. Do you do that too? Especially when we get a lot of snow, you see people posting photos of everything they've cooked while being snowed in. I do it all the time!
 So, since our recent cold snap of subzero temperatures, I've lately been turning to my slow cooker for a few new all day recipes. As soon as I saw this recipe from The Country Cook, I knew I had a winner. There was just a whole lot of "how can this not be good?" about this recipe! Serve it up with some steamed greens and there's dinner! Prep it the night before to save time! So add this one to your repertoire and keep it in mind the next time there's snow in the forecast.
It just may become your new favorite!


2-3 tbsp. olive oil
4 thick cut, bone-in pork chops
salt & pepper, to taste
1 (10.5 oz.) can condensed cream of chicken with herbs soup
1/4 cup heavy whipping cream
1 cup milk
2 garlic cloves, minced
3-4 large russet potatoes, sliced into ½” thickness
1 onion, diced
2 cups shredded colby & monterey jack cheese, divided use1/2 cup sliced green onion, for topping


  Heat olive oil in a large skillet over high heat. Season pork chops with salt and pepper. Brown both sides of the pork chops (don’t fully cook the pork chops - just a minute on both sides to get them brown.) Set aside pork chops. In a medium bowl, whisk together the cream of chicken soup with the heavy cream, milk, and minced garlic. Set aside. Slice potatoes and chop onions. Spread the sliced potatoes and the onions into the bottom of a 5 quart or larger oval slow cooker. Season with salt & pepper. Spread half the soup mixture on top of the potatoes. Sprinkle one cup of shredded cheddar cheese on top. Place pork chops in a single layer on top of cheese. Spread the rest of the sauce mixture on top of the pork chops. Cover with remaining cheese. Cover slow cooker and cook on low for 4-6 hours. When done, sprinkle the top with sliced green onion.

Tip:
I think the next time I make this, I may add some fresh thyme leaves to the soup mixture. Just a thought!
Not a fan of cheese? Just leave it out! I've never tried it, but it seems to me that the soup/sauce mixture would be just as delicious without it. But maybe add a tsp of mustard to the sauce, just to add a little sharp bite that you would normally get from the cheese!
When I made it, I had enough ingredients to double everything, so I did! I still did the potatoes and onions on the bottom, and the chops on top. I just piled the chops on top of each other and then poured the soup mixture over all. I also let it cook for a good long time so that the meat was falling off the bone by the time I served it up!

Albin's Apricot Chicken with Wild Rice and Pistachios

 During this time a very short year ago, I was just about to open in a production of La Cage aux Folles. (For those of you who are unfamiliar, this is the show on which the movie The Birdcage is based.) I had the incredible privilege and honor of playing the role of Albin also known as Zaza (which is the Nathan Lane role). Throughout my many years of performing in theater, out of all the roles I've ever played, I think Albin may be my very favorite. It was definitely the most challenging, and it took me MONTHS to learn, but it was definitely the most rewarding!
 Anyway, in my very first scene, this was one of my lines: "I deboned a chicken, stuffed her with wild rice and pistachios, anointed her with apricot glaze, and topped her off in truffles.."
 Well, of course, ever since then, you KNOW I've been wanted to make this dish!
 So here we go.. Since there was no actual recipe, this is basically how it went down:
Instead of de-boning an entire chicken, I just used boneless breasts. For the wild rice and pistachio stuffing, I just looked for different wild rice recipes and then did some tweaking until it was right. (Side note, if I'm being quite honest, wild rice is usually not my go-to. But OMG wait until you try it in this stuffing!) And then I just did an easy apricot glaze. Simple! Oh, and since truffles are insanely expensive, I decided to just do a tiny drizzle of truffle oil over the top (but that's just optional!)
 The result was absolutely delicious! And it was pretty easy too!
 So, thank you, Zaza, for coming into my life. I will cherish you forever. And to my fabulous extended La Cage family, this one's for you. I hope you'll continue to live life "on an angle!"

4 boneless breasts of chicken
salt and pepper
Wild rice and pistachio stuffing
1 cup apricot preserves
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tbs honey
truffle oil, (optional)



Heat oven to 350ºF.
With a very sharp knife, place your whole hand on top of a chicken breast, and then slice horizontally, giving you two pieces that are twice as thin. Do this with remaining chicken. Season both sides with salt and pepper. Prepare the wild rice stuffing as directed.
 For each piece of chicken, place a heaping mound of stuffing in the center of each breast. Pull the ends up to meet. Secure with a tooth pick. Place each piece of stuffed chicken in a baking dish.
 IN a small bowl, combine preserves, soy sauce, mustard, and honey. Brush glaze generously over the chicken. Cover with foil. Bake for about 30 minutes or until cooked through. Don't over bake!
 After it is finished baking, remove cover and give it another generous glaze. Drizzle with a tiny bit of truffle oil, if desired.


Tips:
Not a fan of apricots? Just use another kind of preserves! How about peach or pineapple? You just want something sweet and sticky for your glaze.
Not a fan of wild rice? Just use whatever kind you like!