GOOEY BUTTER CAKE (oh, my...)

Does a dessert get more decadent than this?  Maybe, but in it’s simplicity this cake is pure and true to it’s name, gooey….  butter….  cake.  My original recipe calls for a boxed cake mix, and there’s nothing wrong with taking a little help from the store.  I have also made this with a from scratch yellow cake mix I pre-made and had on hand in the freezer.  In a pinch, this has got to be one of the fastest, easiest desserts to put together and if you forgot about that potluck no one will be the wiser.

You will need:
1 box yellow cake mix                                              8 oz cream cheese, softened helps
1 stick melted butter                                               1 lb confectioner’s sugar
3 eggs                                                                           a 13×9 pan


I kid you not, that’s all.  You will construct the cake in two layers:

Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Really, turn it on now, the cake will be ready to go in the oven faster than it can heat up.

First layer:  mix the cake mix, melted butter and 1 egg in your mixer, it will come together and have the consistency of soft play-doh.  Press into the bottom of your pan so you create an even layer.  As even as possible, this is EASY – don’t worry about perfect!

Next, using the same bowl (nothing will have stuck to the bowl… that WHOLE STICK of butter will see to that) Beat the cream cheese, sugar and 2 eggs together.  Start SLOWLY or you’ll throw a cloud of sugar all over!  This will be a much more liquid consistency.

 

 

Pour this layer over the first layer.



 

 

Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.



 

Allow to cool and set up before cutting! (Remember all that butter needs time to cool down again).   It doesn’t have to be totally cool before you dust it with a little more powdered sugar…



That’s it.  The only problem with this cake is that it seems to just disappear into thin air.  I made this one afternoon recently and before going to bed I plated the 6 pieces that were left so I could have a picture for this recipe.  For me, literally 2 bites and it’s so rich I need to stop, but as I’ve mentioned, there’s a teenage boy in this house that can put away a lot of groceries.  He has a serious affinity for sweets so this kind of thing doesn’t last long here.  Serving suggestion:  Share with friends…  this one really is A LOT of GOOEY unless you have a big family :)  ENJOY!

A Word About Kitchen Safety

I'm sure most of us think about knives when someone says they want to talk about kitchen safety.  But knives are probably the least dangerous thing in your kitchen because you KNOW they can hurt you.  The only thing dangerous about knives is if they aren't sharp.  I know, that sounds counter-intuitive.  The thing is, when knives are dull we tend to apply more force and the knife is more likely to slip.  Slip and slip hard right into your fingers.  Ouch. 

What I want to talk about today is what we're cooking in.  Hidden danger lurking in our kitchens.  Non-stick and even cookware labeled "green" or "not-nonstick".   There's just not enough data on the green and not-nonstick to consider it safe. Teflon, which is a name brand of nonstick, can start to release toxic particles and gases in as little as 2-5 minutes on the heat.  Don't misunderstand, ALL NON-STICK does this, not just the Teflon.  Here's what really made me think.  In the real world of living on a budget not everyone can just throw out all their pots and pans, right?  The Environmental Working Group says if you are stuck with non-stick to keep pet birds out of the kitchen because birds can DIE from the fumes in a few seconds.  Does anyone remember that they used to have birds in mines because if the bird died, the people knew they had to get out before they would die too? They also suggest using the exhaust fan over the stove anytime you use non-stick.  Never pre-heat a nonstick pan and use it at the lowest possible temperatures. I have been given hand me down cookware, and have some I've acquired over the years.  Today, all the non-stick is leaving my kitchen.  Well, almost all of it.  I never realized that the inside of my oven is coated with non-stick. I loved the self cleaning feature, darn it! Boo hiss. If you want to read the full article, it's enlightening.  I have tried to cover it all here though to save you some time http://www.ewg.org/research/healthy-home-tips/tip-6-skip-non-stick-avoid-dangers-teflon#usingnonstick

So, farewell to all these items:

 

Yup, even the George Foreman®.  Best grilled cheese, but non-stick so SEE YA.  We had grilled cheese tonight, used the cast iron. Perfect and no one is breathing toxic fumes.

 

When I say toss them, I mean recycle them.  PLEASE.  Your local curbside recycling may not want them, but you can take them to a scrap metal facility and if you're lucky, they may even give you a few bucks.

Non-anodized aluminum.  New aluminum is considered safe, but if you're cooking with hand me downs like me, just don't.  Toss them.  Non-anodized aluminum can leach aluminum salts.  There are a number of things that have been linked with a toxic level of aluminum.  It's just plain not worth it.  A few of the sites I found recommend not using aluminum foil for packet cooking or storing of warm or acidic foods.  It seems that if your food is going to come into direct contact with aluminum, just say no.  So how do you know if your aluminum is non-anodized?  It will feel heavy and look like it was pressed from a single sheet. 

 

Based on what I have researched, and knowing that these were given to me when my Uncle's mother passed away, these are probably non-anodized.  I'm not willing to take the chance.  I understand that for sentimental reasons, you might not be willing to part with some things.  Try to anyway.  Your mother and grandmother love or loved you.  They would not want you cooking with something we now know is dangerous.

 

 

These might be non-stick.  I'm pretty sure I bought them myself, new, but how many years ago?  The photo is so you can see the difference in construction.  It most definitely was not pressed from a single sheet of aluminum.

 

 

What about copper?  That's a yes and no answer.  Copper bottom cookware that has stainless steel between the copper and the food is considered safe.  Not just safe, but tends to be expensive because the copper is such a perfect conductor of heat so the pan heats evenly.  Excellent for controlling temperatures, perfect for delicate sauces and stove top cooking. I personally have never seen an all copper pot.  If you happen to have one that is not lined with something, shine it and hang it up to be a beautiful decoration.  Copper when in direct contact with your food can cause nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.  I do have a Revere Ware pot, I shined up the bottom just for this photo.  I was stunned to find that Revere Ware did at one time in their history use non-stick coatings.  Thank goodness this one is not from that era.  If you want more information on Revere Ware the history can all be found here: http://www.revereware.org/info/id10.html fascinating. 

 

 



Ok, so let's say you're willing to throw out all that questionable cookware... what is safe?
Safe alternatives... 

Cast iron.  The gold standard in this house.  Also known as "the black pot". I use my cast iron almost daily.  Beside being safe to cook in, if anyone in your house has a low iron level, cooking in cast iron will help.  Not only are there plenty of actually scientific studies to back this up. I personally had low iron at one point, so low that my doctor wanted me to take iron supplements. Iron supplements have side effects, the most common being constipation. Yea, there's got to be a better way. So, I ditched the supplements and cooked in the black pot.  Had my iron tested again about 6 months later - perfectly normal.

Stainless steel.  I have a couple of these that get used from time to time.  Stainless is also considered safe.  Stainless and cast iron below.

 

Glass.  All glass is considered nontoxic and safe.  Pyrex is a favorite here, I have never seen a glass skillet, but certainly have baking dishes in 13x9 and one larger.  The only danger associated with glass is that if you drop it, it probably will break. 

Ceramic.  Also considered safe.  Only word of caution, directly from the National Institute of Health "Some ceramic cookware should not be used to hold food. This includes items bought in another country or considered to be a craft, antique, or collectable. These pieces may not meet FDA specifications. Test kits can detect high levels of lead in ceramic cookware, but lower levels may also be dangerous."

Examples of glass and ceramic that IS safe:

 

 

Stoneware is also considered chemically stable therefore safe.  One word of caution, some stoneware contains LEAD so be sure to check the manufacturer's specifications.  According to Pampered Chef, which is the source of all my stoneware, lead is not used in the manufacture of their stoneware. However, since it's made from natural clay, it MAY contain trace amounts of lead.  They also state that it meets or exceeds all regulations and is food contact safe.  I don't like the "trace amounts" but I'm not ready to part with it yet.

 

 

Seasoned and unseasoned stoneware.

 

Silicone... is considered to be chemically inert and stable so safe.  I have a couple of silicone things that per the manufacturer is safe up to 450 degrees Fahrenheit.  BUT I read in Scientific American that it's really only considered safe up to 428 degrees.  So there's a bit of a contradiction.  I figure as long as I cook at 425 or less it'll be ok.  Remember the manufacturer is trying to sell you a product.  Silicone is actually pretty floppy too, so I recommend putting something like a muffin pan on another pan with more stability, because if you dump stuff hot from the oven on you - it's still dangerous. 



So here's a little tip I use to keep my oven from being a terrible mess. Remember, we are not supposed to use the self clean feature anymore because of the nonstick. I line the bottom of the oven with a sheet of aluminum foil.  This won't help if you cook something that explodes all over your oven, but I haven't managed to do that yet.  It WILL catch anything that cooks over. 

 

 

This oven happens to have the heating element in the top, but I have done this by sliding the foil UNDER an element that is in the bottom.  If you just can't resist the self clean feature, then by all means turn on the exhaust fan.

You'll still have to clean up the racks, but I know a trick for that too.  Slide the racks out. Wrap them in old newspaper.  Place into a plastic bag.  Take this outside.  Pour and soak the newspaper with ammonia. Close up the bag and leave overnight. When you open the bag do it carefully with at least your head turned, maybe holding your breath. Honestly, if you have a respirator mask, use it. Ammonia is awful, but it works.  I open the bag and pull the racks out directly over my trash bin - the outdoor trash bin. Pull the racks, dump the mess in the bin. Rinse off the racks, let them dry and slide back into the oven.  It's literally that easy. No scrubbing necessary.

Until next time be safe and happy cooking!

Cashew Chicken and Rice Pilaf

This is the first of a bunch of experiments with chicken for my dear friend Lauren.  We eat a lot of chicken in this house, but it's the only meat she can get her "would rather be a vegetarian" daughter to eat.  This one came out really well Lauren... give it a try!  I was most impressed with the chicken breast that often comes out dry no matter how hard I try.  It was tender and juicy without frying!  This was quick and easy to make too. Bonus.  The recipe as is makes 4 servings.  Needless to say, I increased all the proportions.  Don't be startled by how big the bag of chicken looks in the photos... remember I'm feeding that teenage boy here.  I also normally pack the leftovers for husband and son for lunches the next day.  I used 4 pots to make this meal, which kills me, because I hate clean up.  I gave myself a hand by using the zipper bag for the chicken mixture. 

Start your pilaf first, while it's taking 20 minutes to cook, you can make the main dish, yay! 

Pilaf

2 tablespoons butter                            
1/2 cup pasta (broken bits)                           
3 green onions                            
2 cloves garlic, minced (or grab your garlic press)
1/2 cup uncooked white rice
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted

Melt the butter in a lidded pot over medium-low heat. In a small skillet, toast your almonds, when you can smell them they're done.  LOW HEAT!  If you burn them they're awful.  Toast the pasta and rice in the butter until golden brown.   Add broth, onions and garlic.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to simmer, put lid on pot and ignore for 20 minutes.  Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes, then fluff with a fork.  Mix in the almonds.

I don't know why I had this leftover bit of pasta, but it's perfect for pilaf.  I just took my rolling pin and smashed it until the pieces were just a little bigger than the grains of rice.  You can also use Orzo which is pasta that's almost exactly the size of rice.

 

 

I'm sorry I didn't get more pictures of the process.  Joe walked in the door unexpectedly and I was a little distracted.  That mom job is just never predictable is it?

 
Main dish

3 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce, divided
2 tablespoons dry sherry
4 teaspoons cornstarch, divided
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
1/2 cup fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
1 tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons sesame oil, divided
3/4 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 tablespoon grated peeled fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 cup chopped green onions (about 3 green onions)
1/4 cup chopped unsalted dry-roasted cashews

Combine 1 tablespoon soy sauce, sherry, 2 teaspoons cornstarch, and chicken in a plastic zipper bag; toss well to coat. Combine remaining 2 tablespoons soy sauce, remaining 2 teaspoons cornstarch, broth, oyster sauce, and honey in a small bowl and set aside.

Put chicken mixture into large pan; cover and cook over low heat for about 15 mins. Raw chicken needs to be cooked to an internal temp of 160. Grab another pan, drizzle with a bit of the sesame oil.  Add onion, bell pepper, ginger and garlic. Sauté until veggies are as tender as you like, we like them a bit crunchy.  Dump veggies into chicken pan, stir in broth mixture. Heat through, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Sprinkle with green onions and cashews.

The chicken is boneless and "skinless" but I always find that I still have to trim some fat.

 

 

I just put my fingers in there so you had a size comparison for the chicken chunks.

 

This is one of my go to favorites, especially with chicken.  Super easy clean up.  Toss in recycle bin.  YES!  They make zipper bags that can be recycled now. 

That's it!  Simple, quick, delicious.  I hope Carly likes it.  I hope other people like it too.  We enjoyed it here.  Who doesn't need more quick, easy chicken dinner meals?

 

 

Crab Stuffed Beef Tenderloin with Rosemary Potatoes and Bernaise

I saw this on Worst Cooks in America.  The original recipe is Tyler Florence's.  Of course I didn't leave it alone.  First of all, his recipe serves 2.  2!  There are 3 humans in this house and one is a growing teenager.  He can eat what's considered 2 servings by himself easily and usually does.  I have to admit, I was a little intimidated by this one.  Beef tenderloin is what they cut into small pieces and call filet mignon.  Not an inexpensive dinner and the technique needed to cut the "log" of beef so that you can get it to lay flat... yea, wasn't too sure about that either, but - as you can see, it turned out ok.  Fortunately for me, I didn't have the chef that came up with the recipe judging my plating!  He might have been annoyed that I changed the recipe too.  This is also what I consider a weekend meal.  It's not exactly quick and easy which is what I require for a weeknight meal.  Cooking WITH my dear husband, not just for him - bonus!  Make sure you have butcher's twine (100% cotton string - NO NYLON! It will melt into your food and who wants to eat that?)

Beef:

1 ½ pounds imitation crab

½  cup mayonnaise & ½ cup light of fat free mayo  (total of 1 cup)

1 bunch chives, finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic crushed with garlic press

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 lemon, juiced

 3 lbs beef tenderloin, trimmed of silver skin

6 to 8 thin asparagus, ends trimmed

Olive oil, for searing

 

Rosemary Potatoes:

Kosher salt

16 new or baby potatoes (or how many will fit on your cookie sheet)

Olive oil

1/2 bunch rosemary

Parmesan cheese

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Bearnaise:

1/4 cup champagne vinegar

1/4 cup white wine

2 medium shallots, minced

1 bay leaf

1 bunch tarragon

3 egg yolks

1 stick butter, melted

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.  Put the potatoes in a pot with salted water, bring up to a boil and cook until fork tender, about 10 minutes.

While they're cooking, chop the crabmeat and place in a bowl. Add the mayonnaise, chives, garlic, salt, pepper and lemon. Mix and refrigerate until ready to use.

Drain and cool the potatoes so you can handle them. Drizzle the cookie sheet with olive oil.  Using your potato masher or a fork, smash the potatoes until they break apart slightly. Drizzle with olive oil.  Sprinkle with salt, pepper, parmesan cheese and rosemary.  Pop into oven on bottom shelf they’ll be ready in about 45 minutes.

Make a shallow cut lengthwise into the beef and then continue cutting along the curve, until the beef is a flat sheet. Sprinkle the beef with salt and pepper. Spread the crab mixture in an even layer on the beef, then place the asparagus lengthwise over the crab with the tips poking out. Roll up the beef to make a pinwheel, then use butchers twine to tie it together in 1-inch increments. Heat an ovenproof saute pan over high heat and add some oil. Sear the beef on all sides, then transfer the pan to the oven (with the potatoes) and cook until the internal temperature hits 130 degrees F, 30 minutes. Remove the meat from the pan and rest on a cutting board before slicing.

In a small saucepan set over medium-high heat, combine the vinegar, wine, shallots, bay leaf and half of the tarragon. Bring to a simmer and cook until reduced by half. Remove from the heat and pour through a fine mesh sieve into a small bowl to strain out the solids.  Set the bowl aside for now.

In your hot pot, melt the stick of butter – the pot will be hot enough make sure the burner is turned off!  When butter is melted add the yolks and the vinegar reduction.  Use a whisk until you get the sauce to emulsify then season with salt and pepper.  Set aside in a warm spot to hold the sauce.

Ready?  Here we go!

 

Here I am again with the imitation crab meat.  Please, if you live in a coastal area and you can get fresh crab, by all means do!  I felt that the tenderloin was a splurge, so I went with this, plus, honestly the crab I could find was pre-cooked and frozen.  We just won't go into how sad that is.

 

Have you realized yet that these photos seem like they were taken on different days?  They were!  This was the first night, too much lemon and no garlic, not as good, sorry Tyler.  We were so excited to try this we got started and then realized that the only string we had was nylon.  BOO.  Hence my note to be sure you have cotton string on hand before you get started.  So, the men in the house were super happy, beef two nights in a row.  Oh, my! 

Now, into the fridge... and onto the beef.  Your potatoes are probably done, go ahead smash, season and pop them into the oven (that you have pre-heated to 425)

These are oh, so yummy!  And not at all what Tyler's recipe called for.  I have to give The Pioneer Woman (Ree) credit for these.  This is not exactly her recipe, but it's very close.  She calls them crash hot potatoes.  I call them delicious. 

 

I tried to get a good picture of "silver skin" There's fat that will get trimmed also.

 

This is really pretty easy, you may need a knife to start and it will help trim the fat as well.

He's using paper towel because the meat is wet and slippery, removing the silver skin this way makes a tearing sound.

In case you're wondering these gloves are cut resistant gloves, but nothing is fool proof, so be careful with those knives!

 

Almost flat! 



 

 

OK - here's what happens when you accidentally cut too deep.  Do not panic, no one's perfect, right? It get's rolled and tied up.... it'll be alright.

 

Salt and fresh ground pepper.  If you don't have a pepper grinder, invest in one if you're able.  The taste difference between freshly ground and the stuff that's been sitting around is night and day!

 

 

This is what I've learned... you grab the asparagus on each end and bend until it snaps, that's your natural cut line.  Now you can just use a knife and dispatch the rest at once.  Don't throw away the parts you trimmed!  Toss into a plastic bag and into the freezer.  You'll be glad when you make a "use up" veggie soup.  Guess I'll have to write down that recipe now.

Spread the crab mix on the beef, then lay your asparagus so it sticks out one end.  Now we roll.

Start slow, be patient.  It's not as hard as you might think.

Ok, I'm fairly sure that by laying the roll seam side down I could have tied this off myself, but as I said I was lucky enough to be cooking with hubby, I held it and he tied it.  *careful not to tie too tightly, if you pull it tight, it will cause all that lovely stuffing to squish out the end.

See the stuffing falling out the side there?  That's the accidental too deep cut, but it's ok, it held together enough and doesn't effect the taste. 

 

Ok, so I'm only being semi ironic with the wine glass.  The recipe called for dry white wine, but I don't like dry white wine.  I like sweet white wines.  Cooking RULE NUMBER ONE (there really aren't too many rules but...)  Only cook with wine you like the taste of.  When you use wine in cooking you generally only concentrate the flavor so if you don't like it out of the bottle, you won't like your food!

 

Ok, Lara what are you doing?  Saving my egg whites.  When you have to use only the yolks in something don't toss those whites!  They're all ready for an egg white omelette in the morning which will make me feel less guilty about the rich sauce that goes with this dinner.

So this is the wine, vinegar, shallot, tarragon and bay leaf.  It didn't take long to reduce by half, just a couple of minutes.  The straining out the solids and tossing them bummed me out but I suppose you could save them (except for the bay leaf) and use them in that omelette too.

See how the sauce is clinging to the side of the pot?  That's what it looks like when it has "come together" the way you need it to.  That's it!

Dinner is ready!  And....

Lunches are packed.  No complaints about these "leftovers"!