French Fries

I've finally found the recipe for the perfect french fry.

Here ya go.

4 cups warm water
2/3 cup sugar
about 6 medium russet potatoes cut to desired fries
6 cups canola or vegetable oil
salt

In a large bowl dissolve sugar  in warm water. Once it's dissolved, add ice to make water cold. Cut your potatoes and put them in the ice water. Soak at least 15 minutes while you prepare your oil.

Bring oil to 375 degrees. Remove potatoes from water to a clean kitchen towel and pat dry. Add about half or 1/3 of the potatoes to the oil and blanch for about 2 minutes. Remove from oil to paper towels. Let sit until room temperature. When you're about 10 minutes out from dinner, heat up the oil again to 375 and cook and additional 4 minutes (until golden brown).

TIP: Make sure your oil is back up to 375 before doing subsequent batches.
TIP: You can freeze after the blanch stage for future use.

Salt and enjoy!

Texas Sheet Cake

Cake:
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup sour cream
2 eggs
1 cup butter
1 cup water
5 TB unsweetened cocoa powder


Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour jelly roll (10x15") pan.

Combine flour, sugar, soda, and salt. Beat in sour cream and eggs. Set aside. Melt the butter on low in a saucepan, add water and cocoa. Bring mixture to a boil and remove from heat. Allow to cool a little, then stir into egg mixture, mix until blended. Pour batter into pan. Bake for 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Frosting:
6 TB milk
5 TB unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup butter
4 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)


In large saucepan, combine milk, cocoa and butter. Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Stir in powdered sugar and vanilla. Fold in nuts, if using. Mix until well blended.

Frost cake while warm.

Strawberry Chocolate Ganache Cupcakes

Bake 1 Devils Food Cake mix for 24 cupcakes.

Remove middles using an apple corer (optional)

Dip cupcakes in Ganache. (spoon extra into the hole, optional for more chocolatey cupcakes)

Frost with Strawberry Buttercream frosting. WALAAAA! Delish :P

Ganache:

3/4 evaporated milk

1 TB cocoa powder (unsweetened)

1 TB sugar

1 1/4 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips (give or take for desired thickness)

1/2 tsp vanilla

In a double boiler or small saucepan, mix the cocoa, sugar and milk. Stir over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Do NOT let the milk boil. Once you see bubbles forming around the edges of the pan, remove from heat.

Place chocolate chips in a glass bowl. Pour hot milk mixture over chips and whisk to blend. Add vanilla and whisk well. The chips will melt and you'll be ready for dipping once you have a smoothe ganache! Store letfover in the fridge for later reheating/dipping.

Strawberry Buttercream Frosting:

1 cup butter, softened

4-5 TB pureed strawberries (about 1 strawberry per TB)

a dash of salt

2 lbs powdered sugar (about 7-8 cups)

Beat Butter, strawberries and salt together. Add powdered sugar about 2 cups at a time, beating well between each addition. (I used frozen strawberries that I thawed in the microwave so they were VERY watery, if you use fresh, You may need to either use more strawberries or add a tablespoon or so of milk)

Enjoy!

Prime Rib, Done Right!

Ask for a Standing Rib Roast 1/2 lbs. per person from your butcher. Bones cut off, tied back on

Set out meat for about 1 hr before cooking. (not frozen!!)

Heat oven to 325.

Before you put roast in oven Make a rub

Mix 1TBSP of each.
Onion Salt
Garlic Salt
Sea Salt
Thyme
Rosemary

Rub all over Roast

Stick in oven for 1 hr.

Turn off but DO NOT OPEN OVEN!

In about 3-4 hrs or about 1 1/2 hr before you want to eat

Turn oven back on for 1 Hr. Do not open oven.

It will be done. Promise. This will be a rare in center med. rare towards the ends

Roast should be 135-140 in center. temp will come up a little when sits out.

Let stand about 10 min.

cut and enjoy.

Banana Cake with Peanut Butter Glaze

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons lemon juice 2/3 cup milk 2 large very ripe bananas, mashed 1 (18.25 ounce) package butter cake mix

1 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 cup butter, softened 3 eggs 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1.	Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a desired pan (9x13, bundt, 24 cupcakes). Put 1 tablespoon lemon juice in a measuring cup with 2/3 cup milk. Set aside. Mash bananas with a fork, adding the remaining 1 tablespoon lemon juice to them as you mash. Set aside.
2.	In a large bowl, combine cake mix and baking soda. Stir to combine. Add bananas, softened butter, milk mixture, eggs and vanilla. Beat at low speed until moistened (about 30 seconds). Beat at medium speed for 4 minutes. Pour into prepared pan.
3.	Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until center of cake springs back when lightly tapped. A toothpick stuck in the center may leave a slight crumb. Allow to cool on a wire rack

Glaze:

1/4 cup softened butter
1/2 cup peanut butter
1-2 TB milk
1 tsp vanilla
2-3 cups powdered sugar

Blend peanut butter and butter until smooth. Add 1 TB milk and vanilla. Add powdered sugar a little at a time until desired consistency is reached. I like it so it's thin enough to drip but thick enough to not soak into the cake.

*cake recipe if from allrecipes.com

Chocolate Peppermint Ganache Cupcakes

Meet the lone survivor. The last cupcake of the batch..... Oh so yummy :) It's not the best photo, but you all get that the taste is what's important, right?

The cupcakes:

3 eggs
½ C water
¼ C milk
½ C oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 box devil’s food cake mix
1 C sour cream

Peppermint Ganache:

1/2 C butter
5 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa
6 Tbsp buttermilk (or 5 ½ T milk, ½ T lemon juice)
3 C powdered sugar
½ tsp peppermint extract

Peppermint Buttercream:
8 oz cream cheese
½ C butter, softened
2 C powdered sugar
½- 1 tsp peppermint extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix the eggs, water, milk, oil and vanilla together. Add in cake cake mix and sour cream until well blended.

Fill cupcake liner ¾ full and bake for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

While cupcakes are baking, make the peppermint ganache.

In a bowl, sift 3 cups powdered sugar. In a small pan, melt butter and add cocoa and buttermilk and bring to a boil. Pour mixture over powdered sugar and, add peppermint extract and stir until smooth.

Dip the tops of the warm cupcakes into the warm ganache and let cool before frosting. You can also poke a hole in the middle of the cupcake with a wooden spoon and fill the whole with ganache. So good!! Extra ganache will keep fine in the refrigerator. (I found it was easier to poke the hole and lightly spoon the ganache in while spreading a thin layer over the top. Then it wont drip as bad. Dipping was an epic fail for me)

Frosting: Beat cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add powdered sugar. Add extra sugar if needed for right consistency. Add peppermint extract and beat again.

Pipe frosting onto cupcake (I used my 1M frosting tip) and then top with candy cane kisses, crushed candy cane or even mint M & M’s.

adapted from home based mom (she has way more cool pictures than me and helpful tips)

Egg Nog Cookies

Oh my egg nog! Gotta love Mrs. Fields and her creative genius on this one. I'm a huge egg nog fan and these just hit the spot this time of year. Luckily there was lots of leftover delicious icing! Any ideas what I can do with egg nog icing? Otherwise I'll probably just eat it straight. Yes, it's that good.

2 1/4 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1 1/4 cups sugar
3/4 cup SALTED butter, room temp (Mrs. Fields calls for this)
1/2 cup eggnog
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 egg yolks
1 tablespoon nutmeg (optional)

Preheat oven to 300F.

In a medium bowl combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg; mix well with a wire whisk and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream sugar and butter with an electric mixer. Add eggnog, vanilla and egg yolks and beat at medium speed until smooth. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed just until combined.

Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased baking sheets, 1″ apart. Sprinkle lightly with nutmeg or skip this step and sprinkle on the nutmeg after you ice the cookies. Bake for 23-25 minutes or until bottoms turn light brown.

Transfer to cool, flat surface immediately with spatula.

Eggnog Icing

3 C. confectioners’ sugar
1/4 C. softened butter or margarine
1/3 C. commercial eggnog (use as much as you need)

In small mixer bowl, beat confectioners’ sugar and butter or margarine until well blended. Gradually beat in eggnog until icing is smooth. Makes about 1 1/2 cups. (I waited until cookies were cool and used my cupcake star tip #1M because I'm a sucker for a pretty cookie)