low fat texas sheet cake -- in honor of national chocolate cake day

this is also called mexican chocolate cake or just chocolate sheet cake.  once again, caryn loves this cake but this is the only recipe that michael likes.  it’s a cooking light recipe, so it’s not as heavy as most.

cake:
cooking spray
2 teaspoons all-purpose flour
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup water
½ cup butter or stick margarine
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa
½ cup low-fat buttermilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs

icing:
6 tablespoons butter or stick margarine
⅓ cup fat-free milk
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
¼ cup chopped pecans
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. preheat oven to 375°.
2. to prepare cake, coat a 15 x 10-inch jelly-roll pan with cooking spray, and dust with 2 teaspoons flour.  set prepared pan aside.
3. lightly spoon 2 cups flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife.  combine 2 cups flour and next 4 ingredients in a large bowl; stir well with a whisk.  combine water, ½ cup butter, and ¼ cup cocoa in a small saucepan; bring to a boil, stirring frequently.  remove from heat; pour into flour mixture.  beat a medium speed of a mixer until well-blended.  add buttermilk, 1 teaspoon vanilla, and eggs; beat well.  pour batter into prepared pan; bake at 375° for 17 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean.  place on wire rack.
4. to prepare icing, combine 6 tablespoons butter, milk and ¼ cup cocoa in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil, stirring constantly.  remove from heat, and gradually stir in powdered sugar, pecans, and 2 teaspoons vanilla.  spread over hot cake.  cool completely on wire rack. 

note: you can also make this recipe in a 13 x 9-inch baking pan.  bake at 375° for 22 minutes.

my mom's homemade marshmallow recipe -- in honor of her birthday

since today is my mom's birthday, I wanted to share with you, one of her favorite recipes. she loves to make homemade marshmallows and the boys love to make and eat them with her. they are a little difficult, but well worth it. one word of warning though, once you try homemade marshmallows, those from the store just will not cut it anymore!

homemade marshmallows

makes about 24 two-inch squares that can be layered between sheets of parchment and stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to two weeks.

nonstick vegetable oil spray

1 cup cold water, divided

3 1/4-ounce envelopes unflavored gelatin

2 cups sugar

2/3 cup light corn syrup

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup potato starch*

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1. line 13x9x2-inch metal baking pan with foil. coat foil lightly with nonstick spray.
2. pour 1/2 cup cold water into bowl of heavy-duty mixer fitted with whisk attachment. Sprinkle gelatin over water. let stand until gelatin softens and absorbs water, at least 15 minutes.
3. combine 2 cups sugar, corn syrup, salt, and remaining 1/2 cup cold water in heavy medium saucepan. stir over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves, brushing down sides of pan with wet pastry brush. attach candy thermometer to side of pan.
4. increase heat and bring syrup to boil. boil, without stirring, until syrup reaches 240F, about 8 minutes.
5. with mixer running at low speed, slowly pour hot syrup into gelatin mixture in thin stream down side of bowl (avoid pouring syrup onto whisk, as it may splash). gradually increase speed to high and beat until mixture is very thick and stiff, about 15 minutes. add vanilla and beat to blend, about 30 seconds longer.
6. scrape marshmallow mixture into prepared pan. smooth top with wet spatula. let stand uncovered at room temperature until firm, about 4 hours.
7. stir potato starch and powdered sugar in small bowl to blend. sift generous dusting of starch-sugar mixture onto work surface, forming rectangle slightly larger than 13x9 inches. turn marshmallow slab out onto starch-sugar mixture; peel off foil. sift more starch-sugar mixture over marshmallow slab. Coat large sharp knife (or cookie cutters) with nonstick spray. Cut marshmallows into squares or other shapes. Toss each in remaining starch-sugar mixture to coat. Transfer marshmallows to rack, shaking off excess mixture.

* a food thickener made from cooked, dried, ground potatoes, this gluten-free flour is also known as potato flour; available at most supermarkets.

cocoamoda again, I feel an addiction coming on!

on our way back to waco today, mike and I decided to stop once again in calvert at cocoamoda (the wonderful chocolate shop that I blogged about earlier this month). we went in there just thinking that we would each just get one truffle, but once we got in there and I saw all the truffles behind the case, I knew that one simply would not be enough. I had decided on 3 truffles (key lime, passionfruit, and hazlenut) when the owner, Chef Ken Wilkinson, came out. I re-introduced myself and told him that he may not remember me but that I had been in right after new year's and was so impressed with his chocolates that I blogged about them and that blog post has become my 2nd top post. the owner's eyes lit up and he was so grateful he said that he had gotten lots of traffic from my blog post and the other guy working there said that my blog post is one of the first things that comes up when you search for cocoamoda on google. (I checked it and he was right, my blog post is 4th). the owner was so appreciative that he insisted we take a dozen truffles on the house (and really, who am I to turn down an offer like that!) while we were talking, he insisted that I try one of his newest creations, chocolate covered mango pieces. I am not usually a mango fan, but these were divine, the fruit was chewy sweet and the chocolate was the right counterbalance for it. I couldn't wait to try my hazelnut truffle (you know I love hazelnut and chocolate) and it was everything I could have dreamed of and more. the creamy interior of like hazelnut jelly was surrouded by the best chocolate with a hazelnut piece on top for just a little bit of crunch. I would love to take credit for this great picture of the exterior of cocoamoda, but I found it on flickr on justlooking's photostream. but I can take credit for the picture below of all the wonderful truffles we got!
if you are looking for some great pictures of cocoamoda's chocolates, check out rebecca sherman's blog

my mom's corn casserole recipe -- in honor of my sister

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. my sister does not bake much, so the fact that she can make this and I can't really gets under my skin. one time, she even forgot to put the sour cream in and when she remembered, she took the casserole out of the oven and mixed the sour cream in and then put it back in to finish baking. and it still turned out good. so, in honor of my sister's birthday today, I am sharing my mom's corn casserole recipe with you.  if you try it, let me know how it turns out for you.

my mom's corn casserole

1 (15 1/4-ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 (14 3/4-ounce) can cream-style corn
1 (8-ounce) package corn muffin mix (my mom uses jiffy)
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, stir together the 2 cans of corn, corn muffin mix, sour cream, and melted butter.
3. Pour into a greased 9 by 13-inch casserole dish.
4. Bake for 45 minutes, or until golden brown.
5. Let stand for at least 5 minutes and then serve warm.

thinking about making some changes

I've been thinking today about making some changes to this blog and I would like some feedback from you, my faithful readers.

the first thing that I have been thinking about is changing the name of this blog (not the url, just the name).  cooking and eating in Texas just doesn't seem to be as catchy as some of the other food blogs out there.  any thoughts on what a good name would be?  I was thinking maybe "a wooden spoon and a fork" just something catchy.

the other thing that I have been thinking about is doing questions on one day of the week, kind of like thursday's thunks, but all about food.  maybe post 10 questions each week and any other foodies can answer them on their blog and I will answer them on here.  I think it would be a fun way to get to know the other foodie bloggers better.  what do you think?

please leave me a comment and let me know what you think of the ideas, be honest, you won't hurt my feelings.  looking forward to getting some great feedback!