Apple Cheddar Cake

3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. table salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
6 Tbs. milk
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 large tart apple, such as a Granny Smith, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4-inch dice

1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease a 9-inch round cake pan and dust with flour. Combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.
2. Combine the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl and cream with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice as necessary. With the mixer on medium-low speed, add the eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl after each addition.
3. Turn the mixer to low speed and add 1/2 of the flour mixture. Stir in the milk. Stir in the remaining flour mixture until just combined. Stir in the cheddar cheese and apple.
4. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top with a rubber spatula. Bake until the cake is golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, invert it onto a wire rack, and then turn it right side up on a rack to cool completely.
5. Store uneaten cake in a cake keeper or wrap in plastic and store at room temperature for up to 2 days.

my macaroni and cheese

I love to make my homemade macaroni and cheese and I realized today that I hadn't shared that recipe with you, so, here you go! (make about 6 servings)

1 pound macaroni
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
2 cups grated cheddar cheese (I usually use a blend of mild cheddar, sharp cheddar and fontina)
1/2 cup blue cheese dressing
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese

1. preheat the oven to 375 and bring a large pot of salted water to a boil.  add the macaroni to the pot and cook according to package instructions and drain well.
2. in a large saucepan, over medium heat, melt the butter.  add the flour and cook for about 2 minutes stirring with a whisk.
3. add the milk, continuing to whisk, and cook until thickened.  remove from the heat and stir in the 2 cups cheddar cheese, blue cheese dressing, salt, and pepper.  stirring until the ingredients are all incorporated.
4. pour the macaroni into a 3-quart baking dish and stir in the cheese sauce.  top with the shredded sharp cheddar.
5. bake for 30 minutes, until bubbly and golden brown.  serve immediately.

fettuccine alfredo

today is national fettuccine alfredo day, so in honor of it, I am going to share my fettuccine alfredo recipe with you:

24 ounces dry fettuccine pasta
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 ounces cream cheese
salt and pepper to taste (white pepper if you have it)
1 tablespoon garlic salt
1 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

1. bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. add fettuccine and cook as directed on the package;  drain.
2. put the butter back into the pot you cooked the fettuccine in and melt over medium heat.  add the fettuccine back to the pot.
3. reduce the heat to low, add the cream and cream cheese, stirring until the cream cheese is all melted and incorporated.
4. stir in the remaining ingredients and serve with additional parmesan cheese.

a magazine all about cheese

you may not know this, but michael loves cheese.  so today at lunch I was browsing the cooking magazine section at books a million and I saw a magazine all about cheese called, culture, of course I got it for my wonderful husband.  now I am waiting impatiently for him to come home and tell me what a wonderful wife I am for getting it for him.

sopapilla cheesecake, in honor of national cheesecake day

since today is national cheesecake day, I wanted to share with you my sopapilla cheesecake recipe. this recipe is not only wonderful, but it is really easy!!


2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
2 (8 ounce) packages refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 cup (1 stick) margarine, melted
1/2 cup cinnamon sugar
powered sugar for dusting

1. unroll one package of refrigerated crescent rolls and line the bottom of a 9 X 13 pan.
2. mix together the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla extract, and honey.
   
3. spread over the crescent rolls.
   
4. unroll the other can of crescent rolls and place on top of cream cheese mixture.
   
5. pour one stick of melted butter or margarine over the top and sprinkle with about 1/2 cup of the cinnamon sugar mixture.
   
6. bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
   
7. dust with powdered sugar before serving.
   

national cheese doodle day

so today is national cheese doodle day (thanks to @foodimentary for keeping me in the loop on these things).  while I do not have a recipe for cheese doodles, I was thinking about sharing my mom's cheese puffs recipe with you for this occasion, but I realized that I had already shared that recipe with you.  so, in honor of national cheese doodle day, check out my mom's cheese puffs recipe.

by the way, I am the only one who thinks of the pirates who don't do anything whenever I hear cheese doodles?

my corn casserole

since I have talked so much about my mom's corn casserole, I thought it was only fitting to share with you my corn casserole.

my mother is famous for her corn casserole and she has a fool-proof recipe that anyone can make. anyone, but me, that is. I have tried many times to make it and it never comes out right. I am the only one that my mother knows who has not had success with her recipe, even my sister is able to make it. so, out of desperation, I tried more corn recipes than I could count, but I could never find one that came close to her casserole. once michael discovered grilling and started grilling every weekend, I knew that I had to find a recipe that worked (you can’t have bar-b-que in texas without corn casserole). this recipe is very different from my mother’s corn casserole, but I think that I like it even better (don’t tell my mother).

4 servings

½ stick unsalted butter, plus more for buttering the pan
2 ½ cups fresh or frozen corn
½ cup chopped yellow onion
2 extra large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
¼ cup yellow cornmeal
½ cup ricotta cheese
1 ½ tablespoons cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon sugar
½ tablespoon salt
½ teaspoon ground pepper
½ cup shredded cheddar or colby jack cheese
¼ cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1. preheat oven to 375. grease the inside of a 6 cup baking dish.
2. melt the butter in large sauté pan and sauté the corn and onion over medium-high heat for 4 minutes. set aside to cool.
3. whisk together the eggs and buttermilk in a large bowl. slowly whisk in the cornmeal. add the ricotta and stir to combine. stir in the cayenne, sugar, salt, and pepper. add the cooked corn mixture and the ½ cup shredded cheese and stir to combine.
4. pour into prepared baking dish and top with the ¼ cup shredded cheese.
5. bake the dish in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until the top begins to brown and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. serve warm.

our new year's eve dinner

for those of you who know mike and I, you know that we never pass up a chance to cook a wonderful meal and last night was no exception. here is what we had:

cheese and crackers plate
mike has become a big cheese fan lately. so, when he stopped at heb on his way home to get a few things, he got some delicious cheeses for us to try. my favorite was the white stilton with apricots

blackberry bellini

frozen blackberries, champagne, vodka, and blue curacao, with a splash of roses lime juice. delicious!!

zuchini chips with horseradish dip
mike cooked up our zuchini fries sliced as chips, and I made my horseradish dip to go with them.

blue cheese vinegrette salad
this was my attempt to recreate the salad that we like so much at 135 prime. I used field greens with sliced apples, blue cheese, and candied pecans. I used the blush vinegreitte for the dressing. although it was not quite the same, it was a really good salad.

beer battered shimp with red pepper bowtie alfredo

several years ago, at a restaurant called Fish Camp near Gulf Shores, Alabama, we had fettucini alfredo with fried shrimp. ever since then, it's been one of our favorite combinations.

molten chocolate cakes with a shot of bailey's irish cream
since they didn't have mike's favorite dessert the other night at 135 Prime, I decided to try this tonight to see if it would work as a replacement. I made my standard molten chocolate cakes and added a shot of bailey's on the top!

artichoke casserole

this did not go over really good with my family.  don't get me wrong, they liked it, they just didn't lick the bowls clean.  I think I might try adding some cream cheese next time.

1 ½ cup breadcrumbs
¼ cup finely chopped parsley
4 ounces parmesan cheese, grated
4 ounces romano, grated
6 ounces blue cheese
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
2 garlic cloves, minced (2 teaspoons)
1 teaspoon coarse salt
freshly ground pepper
3 packages (9 ounces each) frozen artichoke hearts, thawed and drained

1. preheat oven to 325.  combine breadcrumbs, parsley, cheeses, Italian seasoning, garlic cloves and salt in a medium bowl and season with pepper.
2. brush oil inside two 4-cup, 9 ½ inch ceramic baking dishes.  divide artichicke hearts between dishes, and spread into a single layer. sprinkle breadcrumb mixture over artichokes, pushing it into cracks between hearts. tap bottom of dishes on counter to settle breadcrumb mixture.
3. cover dishes with parchment, then foil, and bake for 30 minutes. increase temperature to 375 degrees. uncover, and bake until breadcrumbs are golden brown, 20 to 25 minutes. serve immediately.

cheese puffs

growing up, my mom always had these in the freezer for unexpected guests. we now keep them in our freezer for unexpected guests and cravings.

1 loaf unsliced bread with crusts removed
6 oz cream cheese
8 oz sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1 cup margarine
4 eggs whites, stiffly beaten

1. Cut bread into 1” cubes.
2. Combine cheeses and margarine in a bowl. Cook in microwave, stirring every minute, until cheese is melted and mixture is becoming smooth (it takes about 12 minutes in my microwave).
3. With a hand mixer, beat until mixture is smooth (if mixture does not become smooth quickly, put back in microwave for a few minutes).
4. Fold a small amount of hot cheese mixture into egg whites. Fold egg whites into remaining cheese mixture.
5. Dip bread into mixture.
6. Place dipped cubes on lightly greased cookie sheet and freeze overnight.
7. Remove cubes from baking sheets and store in Ziploc bags in freezer.
8. Bake frozen cheese puffs @ 400° for 12-15 minutes or until lightly golden

blender mac and cheese

I love macaroni and cheese and until recently, it wasn't something that I tried to make myself. I have perfected a wonderful mac and cheese recipe (it has blue cheese in it, doesn't that just make your mouth water) and I will share that recipe with you later. but when I am feeling lazy, I make my version of nigella lawson's mac and cheese recipe from her nigella express cookbook. this recipe is really good and really easy!

blender mac and cheese

8 oz macaroni (cooked and strained or uncooked if fresh pasta)
lard or butter for greasing pan
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup whipping cream
8 oz ricotta cheese
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
pinch or couple of grates of nutmeg
2 cups coarsely chopped and 1/2 cup grated cheese (I use sharp cheddar and colby-jack, but you can use whatever your favorite cheese is)

1. pre-heat ther oven to 425 and grease with lard or butter a 10-inch baking dish (wide and shallow is best for lots of crispy edges)
2. in a blender, put the milk, whipping cream, ricotta cheese, eggs, salt, nutmeg, and chopped cheese and pulse until blended
3. pour a thin layer of the blender mixture into the bottom of the prepared dish
4. pour all the macaroni over the blender mixture in the dish
5. pour the remainder of the blender mixture over the macaroni
6. top evenly with the grated cheese
7. bake for about 10 to 15 minutes until it is bubbling and beginning to brown

serves about 4, enjoy!!

chicken tortilla soup

I have my friend julie to thank for introducing my to chicken tortilla soup. you see, I am a very picky eater (that's why I cook so much) and I would have never tried chicken tortilla soup, but we were at julie's house for dinner one night and she made chicken tortilla soup and I didn't want to be rude so I tried it and it was love at first bite. since then, I have been perfecting my chicken tortilla soup recipe.

when I make chicken and matzo ball soup, which is quite often, I always have a lot of the chicken broth and cooked chicken leftover and this is my favorite thing to make with the leftovers. if you live in waco, jessies tortilla factory on 13th and webster is the best place to get fresh tortillas

chicken tortilla soup

1 ½ cups cooked chicken
3 tablespoons olive oil
½ cup diced onion
¼ cup seeded and diced red bell pepper
¼ cup diced celery
¼ cup peeled and diced carrot
½ tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon dried oregano
½ teaspoon cayenne
1 (14 oz) can diced tomatoes (I like Hunt’s fire-roasted)
1 quart chicken stock or broth
1 cup frozen corn kernels
10 corn tortillas, torn into ½ inch pieces
¼ cup cheese whiz or velveta
½ cup heavy cream
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
tortilla chips
sour cream

1. pour the olive oil into a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan and set over medium heat. add the onion, bell pepper, celery, and carrots and sauté for about 4 minutes, stirring often until the vegetables are soft and the onion is translucent.

2. add the garlic, cumin, coriander, paprika, chili powder, oregano, and cayenne and sauté, while stirring, for about 2 minutes. add the tomatoes, chicken stock, and 1 cup of water and bring to a boil.

3. turn down the heat to low and add the frozen corn kernels and 5 of the torn tortillas. let the soup simmer for 1 hour, stirring occasionally, until; the tortillas have disintegrated and the soup has thickened.

4. add the chicken, cheese, cream, and the remaining 5 torn tortillas. season with salt and pepper. simmer for 15 to 30 minutes longer until ready to serve.

5. to serve, ladle the soup into soup bowls. top with tortilla chips and sour cream if desired.