Lasagna for sharing

Albion is not only the home of the Old Rugged Cross and Albion College.  It is also home to some nice old Victorian houses,

 some sad urban decay,

and some great food.

Last Friday, we decided to go for a nice quiet dinner with just the two of us. We've been to Cascarelli's in Homer a couple of times, but never to Cascarelli's in Albion. Cascarelli's in Albion is over 100 years old. We really enjoy Cascarelli's in Homer and were hoping it would be as good or better in Albion.

The menu was pretty standard fare and pretty reasonably priced.  In Homer, they have this Annie's bread that is a buttery mess and tasty.  So we tried the bread sticks.  Unlike the Homer version, they were fried.  They were lightly sweetened and garlicly.  They have us a butter sauce and some Ranch.  I often measure a restaurant by their Ranch.  Cascarelli's of Albion knows their ranch.  It was a sign of good things to come. While we were enjoying our salad and bread and waiting for our food, we also enjoyed some live music.

The music was a man playing his acoustic guitar and singing. We were treated to some Bob Dillan, Gordan Lightfoot -- naturally, there was some Edmund Fitzgerald -- Johnny Cash, and some other good classic songs.

We shared the lasagna plate in part because we always fill up on bread and in part because I was feeling cheap. There was definitely enough for both us. I know it doesn't look like much but there two good sized portions in there.  There were also 5 or so meatballs.  The meatballs were great! The lasagna was okay.  I prefer less ricotta and more mozzarella. But there was plenty of sauce so that more than made up for the cheese issues.

We didn't leave room for dessert. Hopefully next time we will remember to leave room for dessert.  I think we will try to head over to Albion for dinner again sometime soon.  The service was great, the food was good, and the atmosphere was terrific.  Worth the drive!

Did someone clean the shower?

This morning, I asked the family if someone had cleaned the shower. I had been doing an experiment with my new Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner and was worried someone had ruined it! I set up my Scrubbing Bubbles Automatic Shower Cleaner when it came from bzzagent.com on Tuesday. (I love free stuff!)



No one had cleaned the shower! My shower is so clean! I'm not just saying that because it was free.  I've been sent other free stuff that I didn't like and didn't blog about. So, (1) go get your self one of these and you can thank me later and (2) go to bzzagent.com to become a bzzagent and get your own free stuff.  In addition to the automatic shower cleaner, I also have $3 coupons to pass on to friends.  I have already given out 2.

Sour Cream Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting & Chocolate Glaze

Sour Cream Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting & Chocolate Glaze
(Printable Version)

I have been eying this recipe on Smitten Kitchen for a while now. I have been needing a reason to make this cake (I know, you never really need a reason.) Easter was a co-worker's birthday and her favorite sweet treats are chocolate and peanut butter. What better reason to make such a delicious cake!

Smitten Kitchen's directions were great.  You should definitely freeze the layers before frosting.  Not only will they frost better, but they will be easier to handle for the stacking. It was definitely worth the time spent baking and frosting! Enjoy!


Sour Cream-Chocolate Cake with Peanut Butter Frosting and Chocolate-Peanut Butter Glaze

Adapted, only barely, from Sky High: Irresistable Triple-Layer Cakes - with thanks for Smitten Kitchen!



Makes an 8-inch triple-layer cake; serves 12 to 16 (SK and I agree, it will serve quite a bit more. At work, we got 9 pieces out of half.)

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Dutch process
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup neutral vegetable oil, such as canola, soybean or vegetable blend
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1/2 cup coarsely chopped peanut brittle (I skipped this)

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter the bottoms and sides of three 8-inch round cakepans. Line the bottom of each pan with a round of parchment or waxed paper and butter the paper.

2. Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Whisk to combine them well. Add the oil and sour cream and whisk to blend. Gradually beat in the water. Blend in the vinegar and vanilla. Whisk in the eggs and beat until well blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and be sure the batter is well mixed. Divide among the 3 prepared cake pans. (AG Note: I measured it out, I put about 2 1/4 cups of batter in cake pan - I only have 2 round pans so I had to be careful to make sure that all three were the same amount of batter.)

3. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until a cake tester or wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out almost clean. Let cool in the pans for about 20 minutes. Invert onto wire racks, carefully peel off the paper liners, and let cool completely. (Deb @ Smitten Kitchen note: These cakes are very, very soft. I found them a lot easier to work with after firming them up in the freezer for 30 minutes. They’ll defrost quickly once assembled. You’ll be glad you did this, trust me.)

4. To frost the cake, place one layer, flat side up, on a cake stand or large serving plate. Spread 2/3 cup cup of the Peanut Butter Frosting evenly over the top. Repeat with the next layer. Place the last layer on top and frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting. (Deb note 1: Making a crumb coat of frosting–a thin layer that binds the dark crumbs to the cake so they don’t show up in the final outer frosting layer–is a great idea for this cake, or any with a dark cake and lighter-colored frosting. Once you “mask” your cake, let it chill for 15 to 30 minutes until firm, then use the remainder of the frosting to create a smooth final coating. Deb note 2: Once the cake is fully frosting, it helps to chill it again and let it firm up. The cooler and more set the peanut butter frosting is, the better drip effect you’ll get from the Chocolate-Peanut Butter Glaze.)

5. To decorate with the Chocolate–Peanut Butter Glaze, put the cake plate on a large baking sheet to catch any drips. Simply pour the glaze over the top of the cake, and using an offset spatula, spread it evenly over the top just to the edges so that it runs down the sides of the cake in long drips. Refrigerate, uncovered, for at least 30 minutes to allow the glaze and frosting to set completely. Remove about 1 hour before serving. Decorate the top with chopped peanut brittle.

Peanut Butter Frosting
Makes about 5 cups
10 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 stick (4 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
5 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
2/3 cup smooth peanut butter, preferably a commercial brand (because oil doesn’t separate out)

1. In a large bowl with an electric mixer, beat the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add the confectioners’ sugar 1 cup at a time, mixing thoroughly after each addition and scraping down the sides of the bowl often. Continue to beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes.
2. Add the peanut butter and beat until thoroughly blended.

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Glaze
Makes about 1 1/2 cups
8 ounces seimsweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
3 tablespoons smooth peanut butter
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 cup half-and-half

1. In the top of d double boiler or in a bowl set over simmering water, combine the chocolate, peanut butter, and corn syrup. Cook, whisking often, until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth.
2. Remove from the heat and whisk in the half-and-half, beating until smooth. Use while still warm.

Love, Brotherhood, and Slow Motion

I suppose a more accurate title to this post would have been Sherlock Holmes and Man Vintets Sauvignon Blanc. I strongly recommend both the latest Sherlock Holmes starring the delectable Robert Downing, Jr. and the 2008 Man Vintets Sauvignon Blanc.

First the movie. I love a mystery, love it! In this movie, we know the villain the entire time. But that isn't the point of the movie, here we get to know Sherlock in a new way. He isn't some genius who smugly lives among us. He is a troubled man who cannot help but be flooded by every sight, sound, smell, and sensation in his proximity.  He doesn't enjoy it, he doesn't seek it out.  In fact, he would prefer to dull it. 

The other thing I loved about the movie were the unexpectedly deep emotional moments, like the moment when we believed Watson to be dead, or the moment when Watson's beloved confronts Holmes. I loved Holmes' love as well.  She was great.  It was another example of his imperfection. In some ways, it reminded me of Iron Man, not just because they shared a a leading man (and isn't he something), but also because the lead character is flawed.  In some ways, deeply flawed and yet, his flaws are a part of his charm, his power, and his strength.  In many ways, we are like Stark and Sherlock, our flaws are also are our strengths.  Sherlock's strengths are his need for a challenge and his inability to turn off his powers of observation and his need to share his observations.

I also loved the soundtrack and will be checking it out very soon.

Now for the part of my post you have been waiting for, Man Vintets Sauvignon Blanc 2008.  Excellent wine, it was part of a Christmas gift so I can't speak to price but I can't imagine it was much. Not much of an after-taste, nice and smooth.

I loved the way they left it open for a sequel. I am really looking forward to seeing the sequel.

By the way, if you haven't discovered Roger Ebert on Twitter, you really should follow him at @ebertchicago.  Brilliant and funny.

Baby Bzzzz

I've mentioned before that I am a bzzagent. I get great stuff free from http://www.bzzagent.com and all I have to do is tell you about it - so far, I've liked everything I've been sent. Right now, I am participating in a promotion for the movie Babies. I am under no delusions that I will win the traffic contest. (although, maybe with all the foodies from my listing on the Foodies Blogroll can help . . .).

Everybody loves... BABIES. Coming to theatres this Mother's Day Weekend (May 7th), this visually stunning new movie simultaneously follows four babies around the world - from first breath to first steps. From Mongolia to Namibia to San Francisco to Tokyo, BABIES joyfully captures on film the earliest stages of the journey of humanity that are at once unique and universal to us all. Check out the trailer!

Disaster!

Goal 100. I will participate in the Daring Baker eight months for every twelve months of the 101 goals, not missing two consecutive months. {2/12}~{0/12}~{0/12}


That word describes both the state of my kitchen and this month's Daring Baker results.

The 2010 March Daring Baker’s challenge was hosted by Jennifer of Chocolate Shavings. She chose Orange Tian as the challenge for this month, a dessert based on a recipe from Alain Ducasse’s Cooking School in Paris.

Things seemed to go wrong from the beginning.  I bought the wrong kind of oranges and had to do another run, I forgot to add the marmalade in the second to last step.  I waited too long to mix the gelatin in with the whipped cream.  I decided to go family style with my springform pan because I didn't have enough little cookie cutters.  Sigh.  And I don't really care for citrus desserts.  I was hoping I would like it as it was quite a bit of work.  But I don't really.  On the upside, I know how to make marmalade and how to segment an orange.  I didn't even know I didn't know how to segment an orange before.  I was going to deviate and go with a chocolate and strawberries yumminess. But I went with the original. In the end, I am still glad I did it!  It was fun making such a mess of my kitchen!  

Chocolate Chunk Banana Bread - Yums!

I had some time on my hands and some bananas on the counter. This meant it was time to test another recipe from the Joy of Cooking. This time it was Banana Bread Cockaigne, page 628. I usually make banana bread from my Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook.

According to wikipedia, "Cockaigne or Cockayne (pronounced /kɒˈkeɪn/) is a medieval mythical land of plenty, an imaginary place of extreme luxury and ease where physical comforts and pleasures are always immediately at hand and where the harshness of medieval peasant life does not exist." What a delicious concept!

As always with baking, it is best to start with all ingredients at room temperature.  I don't usually plan enough ahead to achieve this.  Someday, I will.

 

I really need to work on taking pictures of food.  I am not that good at it. This does not look as delicious as it was!

It wasn't as banana'y as I would have liked.  Maybe next time, I'll add a fourth banana.  I also left out the lemon zest and added a teaspoon of vanilla.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup vegetable shortening or butter (I used butter)
1 to 2 large eggs (I used 2)
3/4 teaspoon lemon zest (no lemons on hand so I skipped this part)
1 to 1 1/4 cups mashed ripe bananas (2 to 3)
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional and I don't add nuts)
1/4 finely chopped dried apricots (also optional and not found in my banana bread, maybe someday)
8 ounces of chopped semi sweet chocolate

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, grease bread pan.
2. Whisk together all dry ingredients in a small-ish mixing bowl.
3. In a large bowl, beat together the sugar, butter, and vanilla until creamy.  Then beat in 2 large beaten eggs.
4. Add the dry ingredients in 3 parts, beating until smooth with each addition.  Fold in the nuts, apricots or chocolate, if desired. 
5.  Pour into greased bread pan and bake for about 60 minutes or until a knife comes out mostly clean.  The melted chocolate will give you trouble with the clean knife, but you should be able to tell if the banana bread is done with the knife.
6. Cool slightly before unmolding (otherwise it doesn't come out of the pan quite right). 

The book says to cool completely before serving, but that is nonsense.  I love warm, fresh banana bread, especially with a little bit of butter!  Yums!

Sloppy Joes!

The last Blog Improvement Project assignment was to work on creative post titles. Clearly, I am not implementing that particular advice yet.

Last night, I cooked for the first time in a long time. I was not feeling that creative and really wanted some comfort food. What I wanted was Manwich, I love Manwich. But we are trying to have more home cooked food. So I quickly googled martha stewart sloppy joes. Loaded the recipe on my iphone (I don't have the Martha app yet, I was just browsing in Safari).  It turned out pretty good with minor changes to the recipe.

6:33 pm We started with 1onion, 1/2 green pepper, 1 celery stalk and 2 cloves of garlic, all finely chopped. Okay, it wasn't really that finely chopped.

6:50 pm Add of this to heated pan with a tablespoon of olive oil.

 

 I added some McCormick's Hamburger Seasoning to the onion mix.

 

6:55 pm Put the frozen broccoli in the microwave.

7:02 pm Add meat to pan, brown until no longer pink. Sadly, for the next few steps, my phone was in use so I don't have pictures of the adding and browning of 1 pound of beef.

7:13 pm Add 15 oz of tomato sauce, 1/4 cup of ketchup, and 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce.

7:15 pm Set the table.

 

Next time I make this instead of ketchup I might use tomato paste.  My goal is to make it more Manwich like.  Manwich seems to have less vegs and more tomato taste and feel.   

~ 1 tablespoon olive oil
~ 1 medium onion, finely chopped
~ 1/2 green bell pepper, finely chopped
~ 1 celery stalk, finely chopped
~ 2 cloves garlic, minced
~ Coarse salt and ground pepper
~ 1 pound ground beef
~ 1 can (15 ounces) tomato sauce
~ 1/4 cup ketchup
~ 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
~ 4 hamburger buns, split and toasted


1. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell pepper, celery, and garlic; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables are softened, 5 to 7 minutes.

2. Add ground beef to skillet. Cook, breaking up meat with a wooden spoon, until it is no longer pink, 6 to 8 minutes.

3. Stir tomato sauce, ketchup, and Worcestershire sauce into beef mixture in skillet. Simmer until thickened, stirring occasionally, 6 to 8 minutes.

4. Season the mixture with more salt and pepper, as desired. Spoon onto buns, and serve immediately.

Captivated

"This place where you are right now, God circled on a map for you."
~Hafez 14th Century Persian Poet

I found this quote while reading Lucy March's blog. It is really resonating with me today as I am constantly looking for and applying for new jobs, trying to work out a more permanent future for my career. Although this position is not permanent, right now, it is where I need to be.  I just wish I could see the map God was looking at.

International Badge Day!

Today is International Badge Day! So I am wearing my badge on my blog and my suit jacket.

I am aware of image of greek orgs and sororities in popular culture and media.  That image is nothing like the reality I experienced as a member of Alpha Sigma Tau.  I attended a predominately male university.  I think the male to female ratio was 3:1, but it could have been 4:1.  I started out thinking I was going to be a chemistry teacher.  Turned out, I don't actually care for chemistry or science or math.  I appreciate them, I just don't want to study these things.   It took me a while to figure out what I wanted to do with my career (okay, I'm still not quite sure). I know what I want to do with my life, I'm not sure how my career fits into that.  So I waffled around a while in college, didn't study like I should have, was not a great student.  However, I kept my grade point respectable so that I could stay in the sorority.  I stayed in college so I could stay in the sorority.  I learned a lot about myself and other people while living in a house with 4 phone lines, 3 1/2 bathrooms, 2 televisions, and 20 women.  I learned quite a bit about politics without ever talking about politics or government.  I learned about leadership by living without any, attempting to be a leader and by watching leaders in action.  I learned the most from leaders who weren't trying to be leaders, just trying to do the right thing.  My membership in Alpha Sigma Tau helped me become the woman I am today.