Baking & Cooking – Page 10

My friends Justin and Jessie recently bought their first home. On Sunday, they had an open house for their family and a few of their friends, around 20 people. I was kinda stoked that they included us. Justin, who happens to be a co-worker also, had told me that Jessie planned to have a chocolate fountain. I offered to bring a dessert that would be tasty to dip in the fountain. Right away, I thought of shortbread cookies. So I browsed my cookbook collection and came up with Chocolaty Shortbread Cookies from Pillsbury The Complete Book of Baking; however, since they were to be dipped in the chocolate fountain, I omitted the cocoa and added some flour. They turned out quite tasty. Next time, I’ll have to try the chocolaty version.

Shortbread Cookies

Ingredients:

3/4 cup sugar, plus some
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup shortening
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
2 3/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325°F.

In a large bowl, beat 3/4 cup sugar, butter and shortening until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and egg; blend well. Stir in flour, and baking powder; mix well. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. Place two inches apart on ungreased cookie sheets. Flatten slightly with bottom of glass dipped in sugar. Bake at 325°F for 8 to 13 minutes or until set. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheets.

Yield: 4 dozen

One of my co-workers and his wife are expecting a baby girl in mid-May, so last week we threw them a baby shower at lunch. It was a potluck Mexican-food themed lunch with everyone pitching in some money for a gift basket that I put together. As this is their third child, the gift basket contained primarily consumables such items as diapers, baby shampoo and Boudreaux’s Butt Paste^®, which I’ve been told is really good stuff. Everyone seemed to have a really good time.

White Cake with Creamy Vanilla Frosting

I baked the White Cake and Creamy Vanilla Frosting from Betty Crocker’s New Cake Decorating. Overall, the cake was good and the icing was tasty, but I had to add additional milk to make it more spreadable. I also need to practice my cake decorating skills.

For the lunch, I made a Chile Relleno Bake, a recipe my mother sent me.

Chile Relleno Bake

Ingredients:

1 pound ground chuck
1 pound ground sausage
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup salsa
5 4-oz. cans whole chilies, drained (I only used 3 cans)
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese with peppers
2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese
⅓ cup yellow cornmeal
4 large eggs
¼ cup all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups milk
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon hot sauce
sour cream, optional
chopped fresh cilantro, optional

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 13×9-inch baking dish.

In a large skillet, combine ground chuck, ground sausage, onion and garlic. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until meat is browned and crumbly. Drain well. Stir in salsa.

Cut chilies in half lengthwise; remove seeds. Place half of chilies evenly over bottom of baking dish. Spoon half of meat mixture over chilies. Sprinkle evenly with half of cheese. Place remaining chilies in an even layer over cheese. Spoon remaining meat mixture over chilies. Top with remaining cheese. Sprinkle cornmeal evenly over cheese.

In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs and flour until smooth. Whisk in milk, salt, and hot sauce. Pour over cornmeal. Bake 35 to 45 minutes or until set. Let cool 10 minutes. Cut into squares to serve. Garnish with sour cream and chopped fresh cilantro, if desired.

Servings: 8-10

JAMSquared

Category Archives: Baking & Cooking

Shortbread Cookies

Mexican Food and Baby Cakes