So I took a two-month hiatus…mainly because I am not sure what to do about this blog thing; I enjoy doing it, I just don’t enjoy doing it for the sake of very little reward.

ANYway, I have never made a layer cake from scratch. Oh, sure, me and Betty Crocker have totally hung out together in the past but I have always been of the mindset that making a layer cake from scratch was just too torturous. There are entirely too many pitfalls in the world of cake-making. I don’t deal with failure well so having a cake burn, slump or fall apart on me was asking for a meltdown. Nevertheless, I decided yesterday that I wanted cake and by God, I didn’t want to buy box mix nor purchase ready-made. So I set to and made a cake.

I would like to say that Matt’s opinion for deliciousness of cake counts but sadly it doesn’t. My husband is a notorious sweets freak so it could have been frosting covering styrofoam and he’d've gone ape-poopy. It was very delicious from my standpoint, however. I only made a few adjustments to the recipe. I have the worst luck with egg white-whipping so I ended up using three whites instead of two, which meant three yolks in the batter as well. I didn’t have any walnuts or sliced almonds on hand so I dumped some ground almond flour in there instead. Also, the frosting? Not very impressed. It was too runny for my tastes. I would find a better one if I made this again.

And who am I kidding? Despite it being super yummy, I probably won’t make this again. (I am infamous for rarely making things more than once. There are too many recipes out there for me to stick to just one!)

Banana Nut Cake with Fudge Frosting

2 eggs, separated

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 1/2 cups granulated sugar

4 very ripe bananas, mashed

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 3/4 cups AP flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 cup sour cream

1 tsp. baking soda

1 cup chopped walnuts or sliced almonds (pecans would probably work just as well, too)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter the bottom of a two 8-inch or 9-inch cake pans and line with parchment paper; butter the paper.

In a medium bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff but not dry. Set aside. In a separate mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the egg yolks one at a time, then beat in the bananas and vanilla. In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl or cup, stir together the sour cream and baking soda. Add the flour mixture to the banana mixture in two or three parts, alternating with the sour cream mixture. Fold in the nuts, then the egg whites.

Spread the batter in the prepared pans. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, or until a tester is inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes, then remove cakes from pans and cool completely on wire racks. When cool, assemble and frost with Fudge Frosting.

Fudge Frosting

3 tbl. butter

3 (1-ounce) squares unsweetened or bittersweet chocolate

1 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar (or more)

5 tbl. hot milk

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

pinch of salt

In a small saucepan over low or in the microwave, melt the butter with the chocolate, stirring regularly and watching carefully to prevent scorching. Set aside. Place the sugar in a mixing bowl and beat in the hot milk. Beat in the butter and chocolate mixture, then beat in the vanilla and salt. If the frosting is too thin, beat up to 1/2 more cup of sugar to achieve desired thickness.

Welcome to the 200th entry, y’all.

Even though it’s nutritionally useless, I rather like eggplant. Pureed, you have the beginnings of a dip; grilled, it’s very portobello mushroom-like; and here, sauteed with basil, garlic and tomatoes, it makes for a really lovely sort-of pasta sauce. Eggplant is another one of those veggies I am glad to have introduced my husband to. When I use it in a recipe, he likes it and often remarks about how he likes it. That being said, he could do anything he likes to it too and it would be just as tasty. Seriously though, this is very good and fairly easy to make for that vegan/vegetarian in your life.

As you know, I am more a fan of veggies than I am of meat. I love trying out new ones, seeing if I like them or not, or seeing if I may like it better if cooked a different way. Sadly, that is what I am hoping happens with the broccoli rabe (aka rapini). Yes, I am aware that is a fairly bitter vegetable, which why you blanch it or serve with something that compliments the sharp flavor. And I figured you couldn’t go wrong with lots of garlic, crushed red pepper and salt. And sauteed, for God’s sake. Most leafy veggies taste unbelievably good sauteed. Nuh-uh, not broccoli rabe.

Matt and I’s initial impression was that we glad to have tried out a new veggie but right now: NOT FOR US. I will thumb through some treasured cookbooks and see if there’s anything out there that may change my mind. You want an analogy for broccoli rabe? Collards (which I don’t like) and kale (which I do).

I am really glad to have made it to 200 entries. I hope that if you’re out there reading, I’d appreciate if you could leave comments from time to time. So far it feels like speaking to an empty room. In any case, I am glad to have my awesome husband by my side. He’s my guinea pig and my honey bunny.

Eggplant, La Tavernetta Style

2 lb. eggplant of any variety, the smallest you can find

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 cloves garlic, slivered

12 good cherry tomatoes, halved, or a couple of plum tomatoes or medium-size regular tomatoes, cored and chopped

1 cup roughly chopped basil leaves

Cut eggplant into pieces about an inch or two long and no more than half-an-inch wide; each piece should have a bit of skin and a bit of flesh. (If eggplant are small, cut them first into long strips, then cut them crosswise. If large, you may end up discarding or reserving the fleshy, seedy center.)

Put 1/3 cup oil in a skillet over medium heat; a minute later add eggplant. Cook; stirring occasionally, and seasoning with salt and pepper until very soft, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, put remaining oil in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Add garlic and cook until it colors slightly. Add tomatoes and about 2/3 of the basil, raise heat to medium, and cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture is saucy, about 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

When both sauce and eggplant are done, combine them. Serve hot, warm or at room temperature, or over pasta, garnished with remaining basil.

Broccoli Rabe (Friarielli)

4 tbl. extra virgin olive oil

2 or 3 garlic cloves, peeled and slivered

3 or 4 dried chilies (if you don’t have that, use as much crushed red pepper as you like)

2 lb. broccoli rabe, trimmed of stalks over 1/8 -inch thick, washed and left wet

salt and pepper

Put oil in skillet over medium-low heat and add garlic and chilies. When they sizzle and garlic begins to color, add broccoli rabe all at once.

Cook, stirring occasionally, until broccoli rabe is very tender, 10 to 15 minutes; if stalks are thick, you may have to add a few tablespoons of water to let them cook all the way through but keep this to a minimum. Remove chilies before serving, if you like.

Actually, make that three great tastes. And give it up for my crappy picture-taking because I know we all hold the hope that one day I will get better at it but honestly, let’s not fool ourselves.

This odd li’l soup could easily become a favorite with me; it’s savory yet sweet; rich yet light. I paired it with plain old cheese toast because on an overcast day, that’s how I roll. What about you: will you give this delicious odd soup a try?

Curried Apple Soup

1 (10 3/4 oz.) can reduced-fat cream of chicken soup

1 (14 to 16 oz.) can reduced-sodium chicken broth

1 1/2 cups applesauce (about 15 oz.)

1 tbl. curry powder (or more or less to taste)

1 Granny Smith apple, cored and cut into small cubes

In a saucepan, combine the cream of chicken soup, chicken broth and applesauce. Heat, stirring, until well-combined. Stir in curry powder. Spoon into serving bowls and garnish with apple.

There should totally be more pictures of these black beans cakes; you see, I meant to but I got distracted when I originally made them. They made a fine burger and this morning they made a fine vehicle for fried eggs, salsa and cheese.

My friend Leah quite liked them but since she’s a better cook than I am, I daresay she will perfect this recipe better than I ever could. Regardless, one recipe, many uses.

Black Bean Veggie Burgers

from “Living Gluten-Free for Dummies” by Danna Korn (Wiley)

3 lbs. canned black beans, rinsed and drained (or use cooked dried beans)

1/4 cup diced onion

1/2 cup diced red bell pepper

1 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 tsp. cumin

1/4 cup egg substitute

1 cup cooked quinoa (which should be thoroughly rinsed before you do anything to it)

2 tbl. chopped cilantro

2 tbl. olive oil, divided

8 crisp cold lettuce leaves, washed and patted dry (optional)

salsa, also optional

In a food processor or blender, add the beans, onion, bell pepper, cayenne, cumin, egg substitute, quinoa and cilantro. Process the mixture until it has a consistency that you can mold into patties. Shape the mixture into 8 patties.

In a large skillet over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Add as many patties as will fit in the skillet and fry for 2 minutes per side, turning once. Add the remaining tablespoon of oil and cook the remaining patties.

Wrap each patty in a lettuce leaf, topping with salsa, if desired.

I’ve been going a lot for comfort this week. Utilizing simple ingredients to make something yummy and not too taxing. Mostly the recipes I’ve been giving you are, oddly, more Southern summer picnic food. That may not be a coincidence.

I am wishing for warmth with all my heart. I live in the Canadian cold now, where the winters are too long and the sun is too brief, but in my soul, I dream of spring and summer. Of thunderstorms, of lazy days on a patio with sunshine and a book, of ice cream and green grass. Georgia cracker salad is something my grandma made, only hers had larger chunks of garden-ripe tomato and was a bit drier. Regardless, this version was pretty good.

Last night my husband made a wonderful simple chicken curry that lifted my spirits.

Served over basmati rice, it tasted of spice and exotica. It reminded me how much I miss having Indian food; Sherbrooke has a pretty decent Indian restaurant but nothing compares to Zyka in Atlanta. Making saag paneer at home is one of my future cooking goals but I’d rather make Zkya’s saag paneer.

Have I mentioned Matt bought me a super shiny new waffle iron for no reason at all? It’s the flippy kind that you usually see at hotels and restaurants. We inaugurated it this morning by whipping up a batch of pumpkin waffles.

Again, I am sure pumpkin is out of season, but as long as there’s snow on the ground I will feel perfectly justified in using it in baked goods for the time being. So I made the batter and Matt manned the waffle iron. The batter is considerably lightened by the inclusion of whipped egg whites. I would recommend to get the batter started first—it takes a hot minute—before preheating the waffle iron.

Ohhhhh, me. Sincere and utter bliss. Deep divots in a cinnamony, pumpkiny waffles, perfect for holding small bits of butter and rich maple syrup. Tell me that isn’t worth eating just a little out of season.

Georgia Cracker Salad

adapted from “The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cookbook,” by Paula H. Deen (Random House, 1998)

4 oz. saltine crackers

1 large tomato or 2 plum tomatoes, seeded and finely chopped

3 scallions, finely chopped

1 cup mayonnaise

1 hard-cooked egg, finely chopped

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Just before serving, place saltines in a medium-size bowl. Use your hands to crush crackers into big pieces. Add remaining ingredients, mix gently but thoroughly, and season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately as a side dish or top with shrimp to serve as an entree.

Chicken Curry in A Hurry

from “Mark Bittman’s Kitchen Express,” Mark Bittman (Simon & Schuster, 2009)

In about a tablespoon of oil, cook a sliced onion, teaspoon of curry powder and some salt and pepper for about three minutes. Season chicken tenders with salt, pepper and more curry powder. Nestle the chicken between the onions, and cook for about two minutes on each side; remove the chicken and set aside. Add a cup of plain yogurt (or sour cream if you want it a bit richer) to the pan and stir; cooking for another minute or so (do not boil). Return the chicken to the pan and cook another few minutes, turning once, until everything is cooked and warmed through. Adjust the seasonings and serve over couscous or jasmine rice.

Pumpkin Waffles
Adapted from several sources

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
4 large eggs, separated
2 cups well-shaken buttermilk
1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted
Vegetable oil for brushing waffle iron or cooking spray

Preheat oven to 250°F and preheat waffle iron. Sift together flour, brown sugar, baking powder and soda, salt, and spices. Whisk egg yolks in a large bowl with buttermilk, pumpkin, and butter until smooth. Whisk in dry ingredients just until combined.

In a mixing bowl with a whisk attachment, whisk the egg whites until they hold soft peaks (as in, far softer than the over-beaten whites you’ll see in my picture above). Folk them gently into the waffle batter, until just combined.

Brush waffle iron lightly with oil and spoon batter (about 2 cups for four 4-inch Belgian waffles) into waffle iron, spreading quickly. Cook according to manufacturer’s instructions.

Transfer waffles to rack in oven to keep warm and crisp. Make more waffles in same manner.

First, you make homemade pimento cheese for a little taste of home.

Then you decide the next day to make some mini pumpkin muffins because you have to test different recipes for your potential fledgling business this year. Yes, I bought a mini muffin pan because I figured it would be easier to for guinea-pig purposes and sampling. Also? I have always kind of wanted a mini muffin pan. What? They’re cute.

I realize that with Valentine’s Day coming on—and with it, the nearing arrival of spring—pumpkin is probably out of fashion. Well, I have a backlog of all kinds of recipes and dammit, I just now got around to doing pumpkin. In fact, expect a pumpkin waffle surprise later this week when I inaugurate my fancy-pants waffle maker. Anyway, giving credit where credit is due, I found the recipe for the muffins on Smitten Kitchen. Honestly, Deb, if you ever read this, I should probably be paying you royalties by now, I invoke your name so much. No foolin’. These did out lovely, by the way. Now I’d like to figure out how to put a cream cheese swirl in them.

Pimento Cheese

adapted from “The Lady & Sons Savannah Country Cookbook”, by Paula H. Deen (Random House, 1998)

3 oz. cream cheese, at room temperature

1 cup packed, coarsely grated extra-sharp cheddar cheese

1 cup packed, coarsely grated Monterey Jack cheese

1/2 cup mayonnaise, or more to taste

1/8 tsp. garlic powder

3 tbl. minced pimentos (sweet pickled red or cherry peppers)

1 tsp. grated onion

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Using an electric mixer, beat cream cheese until smooth and fluffy. Add remaining ingredients and beat until well-blended. Add more mayonnaise as needed to make mixture hold together. Add salt and pepper to taste (it should be quite peppery) and use a sandwich spread or a filling for celery sticks. Can be refrigerated up to 3 days.

Pumpkin Muffins
Adapted from the American club, in Kohler, Wisconsin via Gourmet Magazine

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup canned solid-pack pumpkin (from a 15 ounce can)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pumpkin-pie spice
1 1/4 cups plus 1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Put oven in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. Put liners in muffin cups.

Whisk together pumpkin, oil, eggs, pumpkin pie spice, 1 1/4 cups sugar, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl until smooth, then whisk in flour mixture until just combined.

Stir together cinnamon and remaining 1 tablespoon sugar in another bowl.

Divide batter among muffin cups (each should be about three-fourths full), then sprinkle tops with cinnamon-sugar mixture. Bake until puffed and golden brown and wooden pick or skewer inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes.

Cool in pan on a rack five minutes, then transfer muffins from pan to rack and cool to warm or room temperature.

Matt and I have returned from New York City. Did anyone—besides that kitty overhead—miss me?

Honestly, I still don’t feel like cooking anything overly elaborate (personal reasons which I will not discuss here) but after a week of rich foods and awesome restaurants, I have to make something. Thankfully, the Southern Queen of Gluttony, Paula Deen, is here to help out.

I suppose you could call this a sandwich spread only. But you could also serve it on crackers; Saltines, preferably. Either way: it was easy , tasty and good enough for a lazy sad girl like me.

Spicy-Sweet Ham Salad

adapted from “Paula Deen: It Ain’t All About the Cookin’,” by Paula Deen (Simon & Schuster, 2007)

about 8 oz. cooked cured ham (leftovers from a whole ham are fine), fat trimmed off

1 cup minced celery

1/4 cup minced sweet onion, such as Vidalia

1 tsp. yellow mustard, more to taste

2 hard-cooked eggs, finely chopped

1/4 cup drained hot pickle relish or finely chopped hot pickles

1/2 cup mayonnaise, or more to taste

salt and black pepper to taste

In a food processor, pulse ham just until finely chopped but not pasty. Transfer to a bowl and stir in remaining ingredients. Add more mayonnaise as needed to make mixture hold together. Add mustard and salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately or refrigerate up to 3 days.

Listen, I know you’re exhausted from entertaining all those relatives at Christmas, probably even before that. But now that the fuss has died down, maybe you want to have some friends whom you didn’t get to see over for dinner, dessert and a nice glass of wine. And do I have a good recipe for you to do so. This one’s made for simple dinner parties, folks.

After you do all the prep work, the dish bakes for an hour in the oven, giving you plenty of time to hang out with said friends, and all you have to do is unveil it at the end. Dinner party dishes should always be so easy, eh?

Baked Chicken with Yukon Gold Potatoes

2 lbs. bone-in skinless chicken breasts

1 1/2 lbs. bone-in skinless chicken thighs (note: I reduced the amount of meat because I made this just for the LSC and I)

3 tbl. canola oil, divided

1 tsp. coarse salt

1/2 tsp. pepper

2 lbs. peeled and quartered Yukon Gold potatoes

1 (14.5 oz.) can undrained regular (or no-salt-added) diced tomatoes

2 tbl. chopped fresh Italian parsley

1 tbl. fresh chopped (or 1 tsp. dried) basil

2 cloves minced garlic

1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Pat chicken dry. Cover bottom of a large roasting pan with 1 tablespoon oil. Heat on medium-high. Season chicken with salt and pepper. When oil is hot, place chicken in pan. Sear chicken 6 minutes on all sides until golden. Place potatoes around chicken pieces. Add tomatoes, parsley, basil and garlic. Sprinkle with cheese and drizzle remaining oil over chicken. Cover and bake 1 hour or until chicken thighs are 170 degrees.

To serve: Spoon vegetables on a serving platter with chicken on top.

You know, I am not the biggest fan of pears. It’s odd because really a pear tastes so very much like an apple and I like apples. Still, never one to be daunted by my weird food dislikes, I found a recipe for a lovely pear bread on Smitten Kitchen.

The batter took a bit long to come together but I realized afterwards I could’ve used my new Kitchenaid stand mixer to make it smoother. Ah, lesson learned. Anyway, this bread baked in a bundt pan? Get ready for your house to smell wicked awesome.

Pear Bread
Adapted from Nancy McDermott’s Southern Cakes, which attributes it to one Cornelia Walker

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
3/4 cup butter, softened, or 3/4 cup vegetable oil
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups sugar
2 to 4 pears firm, ripe pears, depending on size (you’ll need 2 grated cups total, but I don’t recommend you grate them until you are about to use them, so they don’t brown)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Heat your oven to 350°F (175°C) and lightly grease and flour a 10-inch tube pan or two 9-by-5-inch loaf pans.

Combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in a large mixing bowl, and stir with a fork to mix everything well. If you’re using nuts, scoop out about 1/4 cup of the flour mixture and combine it in a small bowl with the chopped walnuts, stirring and tossing to coat the nuts with the flour.

Peel and core pears, then grate them. You’ll want two grated cups total; set them briefly aside. In a medium bowl, combine the butter or oil, eggs, sugar, grated pear, nuts (if using), and vanilla, and stir to mix everything well. Scrape the pear mixture into the flour mixture and stir just until the flour disappears and the batter is evenly moistened.

Quickly scrape the batter into the prepared pans and bake at 350°F (175°C) for 60 to 70 minutes, or until the bread is handsomely browned and firm on top and a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean.

Cool the bread in the pan on a wire rack or folded kitchen towel for about 10 minutes. Then turn it out onto a plate or a wire rack to cool completely, top side up. Serve it as is, sprinkle it with confectioners sugar or drizzle it with a simple glaze made from whisking 3 tablespoons buttermilk, a dash of vanilla and 2 cups of confectioners’ sugar together.

Oh, the resolutions I’ve made. Oh, the hand-wringing and self-loathing. Well, at least this dish is a step in the right direction.

Picadillo Stuffed Peppers

1 (26 oz.) jar no-salt-added or regular marinara sauce

1 tbl. red wine vinegar

1/2 tsp. cumin

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

4 medium green bell peppers

8 oz. ground chicken

1 small diced zucchini

1/2 cup quick-cooking barley

1/3 cup finely chopped onion

1/4 cup raisins (which I omitted because I do not like them)

In a large bowl, combine marinara sauce, vinegar, cumin and cinnamon; mix well. Spoon 1 1/2 cups into a 4-quart or larger slow cooker. Slice off top 1/2 inch of peppers; seed peppers and reserve tops. Add chicken, zucchini, barley, onion and raisins to remaining sauce; mix well. Evenly spoon mixture into peppers (pack filling if necessary); replace tops. Stand upright in cooker. Cover and cook on low 5 to 6 hours or until tender and when internal temperature of filling is 165 degrees. Serve with sauce.