Guilt-Less Lemon Yogurt Cake, Ina Garten - Close my eyes moist

I've been a huge fan of Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa, for quite a while. . What I like about her cooking show (and recipes) is that they are "do-able" for me. She's versatile in that she offers great recipes for breakfast, lunch or dinner-- and she also has some fabulous dessert ideas.

Around Christmas, I bought her recent book "Back to Basics". I've made several of those recipes, that turned out to be delicious. This week, I bought "Barefoot Contessa at Home: Everyday Recipes You'll Make Over and Over Again". COSTCO had the book for $19.00, so how could I resist?

It's a great book. Visual as I am, the photos sucked me right in. I have post-its marking many recipes I want to make.

My husband and I were invited for dinner at some friend's. I know that the wife is trying to be health conscious, for her husband's sake. He's from the South, so I seriously wanted to make a Southern Coconut Cake. Instead, I decided to make the Lemon Yogurt Cake recipe that was in this cookbook, so that I wouldn't sabotage her efforts to trim his waist. I've seen this recipe making it's rounds in Blogosphere, and I bookmarked it several times. This recipe was very simple to make, and I liked that I didn't need to set up my Kitchen Aid, nor to soften butter.

I have to tell you-- this recipe is a winner! Like the book title says, I will make this again and again.

Here's how I made it:

With baking, I definitely want all of my ingredients prepped and ready to go. Here's a tip-- to bring my eggs to room temperature, I soak them in very warm water for a few minutes. You'll need, flour, sugar, eggs, lemon zest, lemon juice, baking powder, kosher salt, pure vanilla, yogurt (I used non-fat Greek Yogurt, because of it's thickness) and vegetable oil.

Be sure to prep your pan with parchment paper. I found a product from Wilton called "Cake Release", at my local "Michael's Store". Ever since my bundt cake disaster, this has not failed to keep my cakes from sticking!

I stopped buying sifters. I prefer to dump all of my dry ingredients and, using a silicone spatula, I stir it around and it's all sifted. Easy! Now, to prep the wet ingredients:

What do you know?! I got two egg yolks in one! Is this counted as one egg or two? I counted it as two..

Whisk all the wet ingredients...

Then, slooooooowly incorporate the dry ingredients...


Last, fold in the oil:


Pour the batter into the prepared pan (you can use a bundt pan, if you prefer):

Bake at 350F for 50 minutes-- I always underbake for about 7 minutes, just to be sure. A toothpick came out clean in 45 minutes.


In the meantime, mix the remaining sugar and lemon juice in a pot and cook until clear-- this takes minutes. Set aside and cool.

Once the cake cooled, I had 15 minutes before we had to leave. I quickly made a glaze of confectioner's sugar and lemon juice and poured this over the loaf. Time was running out, so here's the cake, sliced:


I wish I had a nice plated shot to show you, but I thought our hosts would find it odd that I brought my camera. Just trust me, that this turned out to be a very moist cake, and a big hit. I can easily see this being made with orange or lime, for a variation.

It's all gone. Every slice. Know what else? I think this cake is so moist and flavorful that you really don't have to glaze it. You can trim more calories this way and not feel disappointed.



Today is Mother's Day. My boys are BBQ-ing for me-- salmon, fresh corn and a green salad with strawberries and my balsamic vinaigrette. This is where I spent an hour all to myself-- not a soul in sight. This is our subdivision lap pool, swimming pool and jacuzzi. It's part of our HOA fees. I gambled that moms would be out to brunch. I was right. I'll pass on going out on Mother's Day. It's too busy. Home Sweet Home... feet up, and not lifting a spatula in the kitchen. Works for me!

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!

My herbs, my gadgets, my fast food dinner

Spring is being very good to our garden. I have to give kudos to my husband, who really does have a green thumb. I've got parsley, cilantro, oregano, marjoram, thyme and..

I planted "Chervil" this spring. Why? I have no idea. I can't say I've ever used it, but it's something I thought I'd add to my kitchen herbs. It's thriving and I have a LOT of it! I did a little research on how to use it, so I have plans-- eggs, compound butter and fish. If anyone uses this herb, I'd be so thankful for suggestions. Please!

It's been a rough week, at work. That's when I make fast food. Nope, not processed food...not fast food from the drive-thru. I reach for pork tenderloin, whatever veggies I have and some kind of potatoes.

"The Scoop Away" bucket has tomatoes growing in them. My husband likes to make use of all containers.

My chives are growing like gangbusters! Love it! The large bunch is my perennial that comes back year after year. The smaller ones are garlic chives. Who knew? We shall see how well these do, because we just planted them. Baked potatoes with some butter (not a lot), low-fat sour cream and fresh chives sounded great.

The pork tenderloin was seasoned with Montreal Steak Seasoning (super fast) and seared and roasted in the oven.

Ah, a new gadget-- A "wavy Knife" $2.95 and it's fun. It cuts veggies into "waves". I'd easily amused, you know. I like how "fancy" this makes the veggies look. I had zucchini that I seasoned with a little salt & pepper, and herbs de provence. I was going to cook them on the stove, but I decided to roast them with my pork tenderloin.

Another favorite kitchen gadget-- My thermapen. Cook's Illustrated raves about this, so I thought long and hard about buying one. At first, I winced at the price-- I think I paid $90.00 for this thermometer. I don't regret it. It's super fast, super accurate and it's saved me from overcooking my meats.

Humbly said, I'm pretty fast with making delicious pan sauces. I like to deglaze the pan with white wine, add a little chicken stock and then whatever hits my fancy. Tonight, I used leftover orange marmalade and reduced that while the pork rested. Off heat, a pat of unsalted butter is whisked in...and dinner's ready.


So, there you have it-- a Wednesday night meal in about 40 minutes, from start to finish...all in a day's work.

I'm so looking forward to this weekend. I've got lots of recipes I've made but need to post, and so many other recipes I'm anxious to read from my favorite food bloggers. Hurry up, weekend!

Chicken Tikka Masala - A little spicy but just right

Until a couple of years ago, I had never heard of Chicken Tikka Masala. I had recorded an episode of America's Test Kitchen (Cook's Illustrated) and I watched this dish being made. I was intrigued by the blend of spices-- and no yellow curry! I love anything in a tomato based sauce, so I was hooked.

Chicken Tikka Masala is not an Indian Dish. In fact, it is believed to have been created in the U.K. and is considered one of the most popular restaurant dishes. Essentially, it's chicken that has been coated with yogurt, broiled and then served with a tomato based sauce that is seasoned with exotic spices and some hot peppers.

I had never heard of Garam Marsala, but it's a beautiful blend of spices-- cardamon, cinnamon, cumin and a lot more. I purchased mine at my local grocery store, by McCormick Schilling, because Cook's Illustrated gave it a high recommendation. You can blend your own, but I usually don't use some of the spices very often.

The dish takes a bit of prep work and time-- it took almost an hour, and this is the second time I've made it. Ready? Here we go:

First, you want to season chicken breasts (I don't see why you can't use dark meat) with a blend of cumin, coriander, cayenne pepper and salt. There's something wrong with this picture... I cut-up the chicken, rather than keeping it whole. Why? I spaced. Habit. Auto-Mode. Oh well, I'll have to improvise. If the pieces were whole, it would be easier to pat the spices in, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Next, the yogurt-- you'll need to add some vegetable oil, fresh garlic, and freshly grated ginger:

I used Greek yogurt, because it's thick.


Since I cut up the chicken, I decided to coat it in the yogurt but turning it with tongs. Very sanitary, huh? I do take precautions when working with raw chicken. Then, I turned on the broiler.

You're supposed to place the chicken onto a rack. Pretend these are whole pieces. Thank you.

I have to say, that this looks very promising. Into the broiler this goes. I had to pay close attention, because I figured this chicken would cook very fast-- being all cut up, you know.

Start your rice. I meant to use Basmati, but I cooked Jasmine. I spaced again. I love either one of them.

In the meantime, it's time to start the Tikka Masala sauce:

I prepped these ingredients while my chicken was in the fridge. I didn't have crushed tomatoes, so I had to use a can of whole tomatoes and run them through my OXO food mill (love that gadget). You'll also need minced onion, grated ginger, minced garlic, garam marsala, serrano chilis (I used jalapeno, because it's what I had). You'll definitely want these all assembled, because the sauce comes together pretty fast.

The chicken took about 5 minutes per side-- and it tastes so good, that I could stop right here. Really! I think kids would love it.

You'll want to cook the onion for about 6 minutes, until just golden, and then add the rest of the ingredients. Cook for about 3 minutes. The garam marsala smells out of this world. Trust me.

With a lid on, simmer the sauce for about 15 minutes. You'll add heavy cream to the sauce. I was out of heavy cream, so I used half and half. It was good, but I sure wish I had heavy cream. **SIGH**


I ate a few pieces of chicken and moaned. This is good! The cooked chicken is now added to the finished sauce. You don't want to cook the chicken-- just coat it with the sauce.

Serve this dish with rice and fresh cilantro. I love cilantro. Basmatic rice would have photographed better on a white plate. This is Jasmine rice.

This is good. Yes, indeed. You could leave out the peppers if you have kids...or if you're afraid of heat. Personally, I'm a whimp about heat-- but this isn't super hot. I always clean out the seeds and the membranes in jalapenos. I actually love jalapeno, and I'm not afraid of it.

This is not a worknight meal. Neither are meatballs (as I learned last week). This is, however, my lunch for tomorrow. I made extra, because I'm learning to freeze extra food for nights when I don't have the energy to cook. That seems to be happening a lot more, lately!

I hope you give this a try. It's different, and it's delicious.

Skillet Cornbread, Yankee Style (reposted) & Rain Roses

I re-made this recipe with new pictures. When I first posted this, in January, I was just getting the knack for photographing what I make. My family was very new to having to wait, while salivating, while I tried to figure out how to find the macro button. (Can many of you relate?) So, I only had one picture-- a cast iron skillet with two pieces of bread. Boring.

Friday night, I had a craving for Beef Vegetable & Barley Soup (will post this tomorrow). On the way home, I was seriously going to make the Golden Corral Rolls (which are fantastic, by the way) to go with this. I tend to get a little over-ambitious on my 40 minute drive home. By the time I started to chop and prep for my soup, I realized that baking homemade rolls at 5:30pm wasn't realistic.

Cornbread is so easy to make, that I can't fathom buying cornbread mix. My Southern friend says that putting sugar in cornbread is blasphemy. I'm a Yankee. Sue Me. I like my cornbread sweet, with butter and honey. If that's how you like it, this is the recipe for you.

But, first, can we talk? I have an internet buddy "Wyn" who has poo-pooed cast iron skillets. I once felt that way, because I had no idea how to take care of one. I used to wash mine with soap & water and scrub it with a brillo pad and moan about what a pain they are to clean. That was many years ago...

Since then, I've learned that cast iron skillets need some simple TLC. Recently, I recently recorded an episode of Cook's Country TV and learned how to bring a cast iron skillet back to life. I had just made a breakfast skillet of eggs and hash browns. I simply added about 1 Tablespoon of kosher salt and scrubbed the skillet with a paper towel. The skillet was clean and seasoned with a non-stock finish of vegetable oil, and ready for the next use-- which happened to be this skillet cornbread.

I also learned that if you have a cast iron skillet with a lot of caked on food, or it looks old and useless-- you can heat some vegetable oil and add a generous amount of kosher salt. Using thongs and some paper towels, scrub the skillet and it should look as good as new. Wyn, are you with me?

Your ingredients are: (No photo, you know what they look like...)Flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, sugar, vanilla, milk (I use 1%), and eggs.

Prepare your skillet (or, you can use muffin tins or a baking pan) with a light coating of butter, set into the oven and preheat it to 400F.

In the meantime, prepare your wet ingredients:

Add to your dry ingredients. (NOTE: The recipe says to alternate wet ingredients and dry ingredients into the melted butter and sugar. I spaced, and added all wet into the dry. It worked out just fine for me. Your choice.

Remove the skillet from the oven (very carefully, it's hot). TIP: I place an oven mitt on the handle so I don't accidentally grab the handle. I did that years ago and my eyes still water at the pain of it. Pour the batter in... you might hear a nice sizzle sound. Perfect.

Bake for about 22 minutes. NOTE: When I tested the bread, my toothpick came out clean. When I cut into the bread, it was still gooey in the very middle. I simply put it back in the oven and the bread baked just fine. I'd go by a nice golden color.

Cornbread goes perfectly with chili and hearty soups. I love it with honey butter. Yum! Who needs Jiffy Mix?


Sometimes, I turn leftover cornbread into homemade stuffing. Who needs Stuffing Mix? Yuk! I just add cooked vegetables, seasoning and chicken stock.

My husband is suffering from a severe migraine. Poor baby. I'll use this time to enjoy "Me Time" to catch up on reading cookbooks and to figure out my meal plan for the week. I'm not sure if he's going to feel up to eating much. I think I should roast a chicken and make Matzo Ball soup. Love it! That should be good penicillin for him.

Yesterday, as I was headed to my hair appointment, I could not resist photographing the roses at my front door. Wow! It had just rained, and my roses are opening up like crazy!

Grilled Chicken Teriyaki Burgers with Pineapple Rings

I am so happy that it's Saturday! Sleeping in and a leisurely cup of hot coffee is my way to start a weekend. I feel so much better.

I've been cooking all week, but nothing I could really post about. I re-invented my version of my Mexican Rice Casserole on Wednesday night. I had leftover ground beef and rice from two previous meals, so I just started tossing things in. I liked a comment that UNCONFIDENTIAL COOK left-- that this recipe reminds her of the inside of a burrito. She is so right! I added corn to the recipe and it was a great addition.

I did make my corn and black bean salad for an office potluck-- something that's always a hit at potlucks. It's a simple recipe of corn, black beans, red onion, red pepper, cilantro, fresh lime juice, olive oil and salt pepper. I even photographed how I made it...and then, the next night I attended my digital photography class. I went to delete a lot of practice shots and deleted my food photos. D'oh! So much for posting that recipe!

I made these chicken burgers about two weeks ago, and never got around to posting them. It's raining today-- after a week of searing hot weather-- so let's pretend that I made these last night.

I was inspired to make these chicken burgers because I had a delicious pineapple that I had just sliced with my pineapple slicer gadget.

I also try to limit how often we eat red meat. Don't get me wrong-- I'm a carnivore. I've made a version of Rachael Ray's Chicken Fajita burgers over the years-- but I've noticed that chicken burgers are hard to grill. They are much softer (and leaner) that ground beef, so I decided to add bread crumbs to hold these together. It worked!

I was cooking by instinct, so I will do my best to give approximate measurements. What I wanted to achieve was the flavor of teriyaki. I decided to flavor the chicken, itself, rather than relying on basting a thick teriyaki sauce. Besides, I didn't have teriyaki sauce, so I improvised.

For my sauce I used:

Low-Sodium Tamari sauce (1/4) cup, 2 Tbsp. Brown sugar, 2 Tbsp. Rice vinegar, 2 tsp. freshly grated ginger, and 1 garlic clove, finely minced.

For the burgers:
2 packages of ground chicken (almost 2 pounds)
1/2 red onion, finely minced
1 cup bread crumbs (I used stale bread in my food processor)
Tamari-Teriyaki Sauce, Reserving about 1/2 of the sauce for basting

OPTIONAL: 1/2 cup freshly chopped cilantro (that I grow in my herb garden)

This made 6 chicken burgers. These were grilled until thoroughly cooked (who wants raw chicken), and at the end pineapple rings were grilled. I considered basting the pineapple with a little melted butter and brown sugar, but I changed my mind.



These were delicious! The teriyaki flavor was very subtle, but gave a sweet-savory flavor to the ground chicken. We found that we didn't need any kind of traditional condiments-- like mayonnaise.

I was very happy with my quick invention of teriyaki sauce. I think that the next time I make this, I will quadruple the sauce and heat this with a little cornstarch. I'd like to see how this thickens as a BBQ sauce. Stay tuned....

I served broccoli salad as a side dish, but coleslaw would also have been a great side, too.



Today is "Pamper Me" Day. I am long overdue for a haircut and hair color and that's where I'm headed late this morning.

For Date Night, I have two DVD's to choose from. I'm making dinner, but hubby cleans up. It's cuddle night. I hope it rains, so that we can start a fire. My son is here, so wine and ... well, romance is kinda limited. My guess is that "Date Night" will morph into "Family Night". Who says that kids leave home at 18? At least my son works and is taking college classes. For the most part, it's not a bad arrangement.

I have the urge to bake a cake... big time! I don't possess the gift of cake artistry that I see on so many blogs. I've been eyeballing "Hummingbird Cake" on about a dozen blogs. Key ingredients are bananas and pineapple. Will this be my next posting?