March Link Round-Up

Flourless Chocolate Cake from King Arthur

For additional Passover Recipes - Sweet and Savory and Comfy Cook....

In the spirit of our ingredient of the month, chocolate and in the spirit of Passover, I want to share a new recipe, I made. This is not the first flourless chocolate cake, I have made, and I am sure, I will try new recipes that come my way. Up until now, I have had only good luck with King Arthur recipes and when I frost this, I hope I will say the same about this one.

I have found flourless recipes to be the best in terms of richness of taste. I guess the lack of flour lends more power to the strength of the chocolate.

Flourless Chocolate Cake from King Arthur's Flour

oil does not belong in photo

Cake
1 cup (6 ounces) chopped semisweet chocolate or chocolate chips
1/2 cup (1 stick, 4 ounces) unsalted butter
3/4 cup (5 1/4 ounces) granulated sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 to 2 teaspoons instant coffee
3 large eggs

1/2 cup (1 1/2 ounces) unsweetened cocoa powder

Glaze

1 cup (6 ounces) chopped semisweet chocolate or chocolate chips
1/2 cup (4 ounces) heavy cream (non dairy whipped topping, unwhipped)

Topping
1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted in a 350°F oven till golden brown, about 10 minutes

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease an 8" round cake pan; cut a piece of parchment or waxed paper to fit, grease it, and lay it in the bottom of the pan.

To make the cake: Put the chocolate and butter in a microwave-safe bowl, and heat till the butter is melted and the chips are soft. Stir until the chips melt, reheating briefly if necessary. You can also do this over a burner set at very low heat. Transfer the melted chocolate/butter to a mixing bowl.

Add the sugar, salt, and espresso powder. Espresso enhances chocolate’s flavor much as vanilla does; using 1 teaspoon will simply enhance the flavor, while 2 teaspoons will lend a hint of mocha to the cake.

Add the eggs, beating briefly until smooth. Add the cocoa powder, and mix just to combine.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the cake for 25 minutes; the top will have formed a thin crust. Remove it from the oven, and cool it in the pan for 5 minutes. Loosen the edges of the pan with a table knife or nylon spreader, and turn it out onto a serving plate. The top will now be on the bottom; that’s fine. Also, the edges will crumble a bit, which is also fine. Allow the cake to cool completely before glazing.

To prepare the glaze: Combine the chocolate and cream in a microwave-safe bowl, and heat till the cream is very hot, but not simmering. Remove from the microwave, and stir till the chocolate melts and the mixture is completely smooth.

Spoon the glaze over the cake, spreading it to drip over the sides a bit. Allow the glaze to set for several hours before serving the cake.

Yield: one 8" cake, 12 rich servings.

For more flourless recipes and more Passover Recipes, drop by at My Sweet and Savory and Comfy Cook.

Try a New Recipe: Min's Irish Lamb Stew

Don't forget to visit me at The Bad Girl's Kitchen for more fabulous recipes!

Just for the record, virtually all of my ancestors are Irish. So I believe that gives me the right to call whatever I create "Irish." You know, because I'm Irish, and I created it, therefore, it's Irish. Incidentally, two different friends who have been to Ireland have told me that I look like the majority of Irish people. Marlow even told me she swore she saw me over there! But alas, I was here. She must have seen my evil Irish twin or something...

So, after searching in vain for a recipe for Irish Lamb Stew for Easter for which we had every ingredient or that wasn't something like "boil lamb with potatoes and carrots," I decided to create my own. This recipe is fabulous and you will love it. I make it a day in advance to allow the flavors to develop. Keep it in mind for Easter dinner. You could also use beef.

Irish Lamb Stew

Olive oil
1/4 to 1/3 package bacon (just cut about three or four 1/2-inch slices from the short side of a package of sliced bacon, and it will be the right size and amount)
1 pound lamb (stew meat or bite-sized chunks)--feel free to substitute beef
1/4 cup flour
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 carrots, peeled and diced
4 potatoes, peeled and diced
2/3 cup white wine
1 cup frozen peas
4 cups beef broth (or equivalent water + beef bouillon cubes)
1 teaspoon thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon marjoram leaves
Kosher salt & freshly ground pepper to taste

Heat about 1 to 2 Tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat in a Dutch oven pan. Add bacon, and cook and stir until starting to brown, add onions, stirring. Add lamb and flour to a resealable plastic bag, shake to coat, and add lamb to pan with bacon and onions. Stir to brown lamb, then add garlic and stir.

Add carrots and potatoes, and stir. Add white wine, stir to combine. Add peas, broth, thyme and marjoram. You can add some salt and pepper at this point, but don't overdo it.

Heat to boiling, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until potatoes and carrots are tender. (add more broth if necessary) Cool and refrigerate overnight in Dutch oven pan. Heat through before serving, add salt and pepper to taste, and serve with crusty bread.

Happy Easter!

I was Featured at our KRaZy Kitchen #4

You guys are making this tougher and tougher each month to pick a winner so now we're picking several and are still having a tough time narrowing it down because you are all winners. That said we have some awesome recipes to award the March I WAS FEATURED AT OUR KRAZY KITCHEN to.

Allie's PB & Coconut eggs

Charlene's White Chicken Pizza

Sugar Plum Fairy's Aubergine Towers&Chicken MOLE

Pamm's Tip for Leftover bread sticks

Go check them out and congratulate them for a great job.

What do you think the APRIL secret ingredient is?

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Have you figured out what the secret ingredient is?

CHOCOLATE OF COURSE!

Now, please add a picture of something you made, to our side bar links using this secret ingredient.

Don't forget to check out Chocolate Obsession at My Sweet and Savory.
We are going to have fun, this week.

SLUMBERING VOLCANOES

Recently I was reading a novel and it mentioned some interesting recipe titles. I decided to see if they were real recipes or contrived and was pleasantly surprised to find they were real. So over the next few Sundays we can experiment together. My additions to each recipe are in green and the deletions in red.

4 large tomatoes
4 artichoke hearts
2 large button mushrooms, chopped small
4 eggs
4 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
4 slices Gruyere' cheese (tonight I used a jack cheddar combo)
4 tablespoons fresh breadcrumbs seasoned with:
1 teaspoon dill

1 clove minced garlic
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

2 green onions, minced

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Carefully scoop out insides of tomatoes and drain juices from the shells.
• Place tomatoes, hole side up, in baking dish and put in oven for 8 to 10 minutes.
• In a small bowl mix together Parmesan, breadcrumbs, dill, garlic, and onion.
• Remove tomato shells from oven.
• Into the center of each put one whole or 1/2 artichoke heart.
• Break one large egg over each artichoke heart and then sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of Parmesan and seasoned breadcrumb mix.
• Place "volcanoes" back into oven and bake for approximately 20 minutes. (Time depends on how you prefer eggs cooked... if you want hard yolks, bake for 1/2 hour.)
  
• Top with cheese and cook 5 minutes more.
  
• Serve hot with side condiments of sour cream, chopped chives, green chili salsa, or others of your imagination!

Next time I'm going to add some crab to the mix!

And have you heard about CSN stores?

I was recently made aware that there is a wonderful online shopping experience available right from your desk top.

Remember all these wish list posts I did about all the wonderful quality kitchen dreams and wishes I have? Well, all the items I'm dreaming about to complete my dream kitchen are available from these sites.

Seriously, you really need to go check out these sites
www.allmodern.com
www.diningroomsdirect.com
www.cookware.com
www.moremailboxes.com

Look for my review of this beautiful multi-purpose LeCruset casserole in the very near future. I truly wonder how I ever got along without it!

I'm envisioning an awesome POT ROAST & ROASTED VEGGIES in the very near future as well as TROPICAL GLAZED PORK TENDERLOIN and OATNUT SOURDOUGH HERB DRESSING and TURKEY TETTRAZINI and RITZY CARROT & BROCCOLI CASSEROLE and...

The uses are going to be endless. The durable finish resists chipping, scratching and staining. It has sure grip handles for easy handling from the oven onto the table to create a beautiful table presentation.

Simple Saturday - Pomegranate Keylime Pie

Welcome to Simple Saturday!

I'm not much of a dessert maker or dessert eater for that matter, but I do like to whip up something quick and easy now and then for hubby and the kids or for special occasions. Desserts have got to be simple or it's usually a no go for me! This one is a no bake dream cream pie.

Pomegranate Keylime Cream Pie

Ingredients

• 1 graham cracker pie crust
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 4 oz pomegranate juice
  
• 4 keylimes (juiced)
• 1 3/4 cups whipped cream
• A couple drops of red food coloring
  

Whisk condensed milk, keylime juice, Pomegranate juice until well blended, add whipped cream and blend carefully. Pour into pie crust and refrigerate for several hours to set. Garnish with whipped cream. Fresh pomegranate seeds would be a great additional garnish to really make this a beautiful pie as well as adding wonderful additional texture and flavor.

It can also be made without the pomegranate juice - just double the keylimes and omit the red food coloring, add a couple drops of green instead if desired. Another version is a Keylime Cheesecake pie.

Visit me over at Seaside Simplicity for more simple delicious recipes.

Have a great weekend!

Super Simple Strawberry Shortcake: Lovin' From the Oven

Min posted a wonderful Strawberry Shortcake recipe just last week, but my schedule this week demanded a quicker version. I saw this idea on someone's blog earlier this week. I am embarrassed to say that I cannot remember whose. If you recognize this, please let me know in the comments so I can give full credit.

This week, I am hosting a Betty Crocker/Safeway giveaway over at my blog. In conjunction with that giveaway, there is a cake mix sale at Safeway. $.69!!! When is the last time you saw named brand cake mix that cheap? There was also a BOGO sale on strawberries. And I had a $25 gift card. You can see where I am heading with this, right? I haven't described myself as Frugal and Harried for nothing.

Super Simple Strawberry Shortcake:

1 yellow cake mix (or homemade yellow cake)

1 pint whipping cream

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 1/2 - 2 pounds strawberries, sliced

Make cake as directed in a 9X13 pan. Be sure to greased the pan well. When the cake is cool, remove it from the pan and slice it through the middle so you have two layers. Whip the cream, adding the vanilla and sugar near the end (Note: does anyone else have a fear of turning their whipped cream into butter accidentally?) Put the bottom layer of cake back into the pan. Spread it with half of the now whipped cream and then top that with half of the strawberries. Place the top layer back into the pan and repeat.

Here is the neat part. The mess is now all in the pan and it slices fairly easily. The longer you wait before serving it, the more trifle like it will become as the cream and strawberries soak into the cake.

I am also hosting a yogurt maker giveaway this week, so feel free to visit and enter both giveaways!