It’s time for dessert.  Let’s indulge in some chocolate.  It was a rainy day here in Philadelphia, Pa and I felt like baking.  I was craving something chocolate yet different.  I went  with a chocolate cake.  I was thinking of what filling I could make for it, and came up with a Meringue filling.  The frosting was a delicious chocolate ganache. This is such a moist cake and that bit of meringue gives it that little crunch.  I hope you enjoy this with a nice cold glass of milk, tea, a cup of coffee or even a nice glass of red wine.

Ingredients:

3/4 Cups of Butter (room temp)

3 Eggs (room temp)

2 Cups of All Purpose Flour

3/4 Cups of unsweetened coca powder

1 teaspoon of baking soda

3/4 teaspoon of baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 cups of Sugar

2 teaspoons of vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups of milk

Preparation:

Grease the bottom of round cake pan. Lightly dust the pan with flour. Set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl stir together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder and salt;  Set aside.

In a large bowl beat the butter for about 30 seconds. Gradually add the sugar until well combined. Scrape the sides of the bowl; beat for another minute. Add an egg at a time. Beat in Vanilla. Slowly start to add the flour mix and some of the milk. Beat until everything is well combined. Spread into pan and bake for 35 to 40 minutes.

When done place on cooling rack for about 30 minutes.  Cut in half horizontallyand add the meringue then place the other half back on. 

Afterwards begin to frost your cake.

Meringue and Hazelnuts:

Ingredients:

3 large egg whites, at room temperature

1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

2/3 cup superfine granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup of Hazelnuts (or your choice of nuts)

Preparation:

In the bowl beat egg whites until foamy. Add the cream of tartar and beat until fluffy (Be careful not to over beat.) Add the sugar slowly,When 1/2 of the sugar has been added, add the vanilla extract. Continue beating and adding remaining sugar, until all of the sugar is dissolved and the meringue is very shiny and has formed peaks. On a baking sheet gently make a circle like form on parchment paper, until it is round like your cake. Place hazelnuts on top of meringue or you can fold them in slowly. Preheat oven to 300 degrees for about 1 hour. When done turn off the oven and let it sit in there for another 30 minutes.

Chocolate Ganache:

1 Cup of whipping cream

12 Ounces of Semi Sweet or Milk Chocolate, chopped

In a medium saucepan bring whipping cream to just about a boil over medium heat. Remove from heat and add the chocolate do not stir let sit for about 5 minutes. Stir until nice and smooth. Cool for about 15 minutes before placing it on cake.

Top with some confectioners sugar, if desired.

Where do I even begin with such an amazing event?  I will keep this short and sweet and to what was most important.  I’m truly honored to have been a part of this event. The Great Chefs event is to help stop childhood cancer; hosted by Alex’s Lemonade and Vetri Foundation.  I think the highlight of this event wasn’t the amazing food or cocktails.  It was hearing Alex’s parents speak.  Being a mother of 2 small kids, I found that it really was heartfelt and touching.  Liz Scott gave the most beautiful speech.  I don’t think there was a dry eye in the room. I had the pleasure of meeting and speaking with Liz.  She is a down to earth woman, who is very inspirational.  The event raised 1+ Million.  It was great to see everyone come together for such a great cause. 

The food and cocktails of course were fantastic.  The chefs that attended this year were truly Great Chefs, from Chef Marc Murphy to Chef Michael Symon.  I hope that you have the chance to attend this event next year. Also to find out more information on these 2 organizations please visit. http://www.alexslemonade.org/ and http://www.vetrifoundation.org/.

Lets all stand together and stop childhood cancer.

Like I mentioned the previous post, summer time is the time to grill.  So have fun with your burger making.  I love having a pineapple and ham pizza and thats where my idea came from.  I took some cooked ham and pineapple and stuffed it into a burger topped with an extra sharp cheddar cheese. To top this little beauty I made a Ginger, BBQ and Pineapple juice sauce.  All I can say is WOW and give this a try and let me know what you think.

Ingredients:

1lb of ground meat

1/4 cup of Orange Zest

Salt and Pepper to taste

2 Slices of Cooked Ham, diced

2 pineapple rings, diced

Whole Wheat Kaiser Rolls

Sauce:

1 cup of BBQ Sauce

1 teaspoon of Ginger paste

1/4 cup of Pineapple Juice

1/2 teaspoon of cayenne, optional if you want some spice

Preparation:

Place ground meat in a large bowl.  Add orange zest, salt, pepper and mix everything together.  Try not to work the meat too much.  Using your hands cut down the ground meat making it into 4 parts.  Take 1 part at a time and make a hole in the meat and stuff it with the ham and pineapple and close.  Repeat until you have 4 burgers. Top with a little more pepper if you would like.

Make sure your grill is nice and hot.  Your charcoal should be grayish white.  If you are using a gas grill just make sure its hot and ready to go.  When cooking a burger on the grill you don’t want to keep flipping it.  One turn should be enough.  This should take about 4 to 5 minutes on each side depending on how you like your meat done. You can tell the burger is done on the first side when the fat slows in its dripping and the sides begin to brown. Place the slices of cheese on top and let them melt.  Let meat rest before serving. 

While meat is resting place the rolls on the grill to get it toasted (About ten seconds per side).  When done place burger in roll and drizzle the BBQ sauce on top.  Enjoy!!!

I really feel that summer is made for burgers.  Everyone loves a traditional burger, but why not spice it up and have some fun?  Your family and friends will be intrigued in what you can come up with.  I made 2 different burgers tonight for dinner on the grill.  I will post them individually.  I hope you enjoy them.  I personally think they would go great with a nice cold beer or cold sangria.

Ingredients:

1lb of ground meat 

1/2 cup of basil, chopped

Salt and Pepper to taste

Steak or heirloom tomatoes, sliced (if you would like you can grill the tomato for a 1 minute or so)

Fresh mozzarella, sliced and diced

Balsamic Glaze

Whole Wheat Kaiser Rolls

Preparation:

Place ground meat in a large bowl.  Add basil, salt, pepper and mix everything together.  Try not to work the meat too much.  Using your hands cut down the ground meat making it into 4 parts.  Take 1 part at a time and make a hole in the meat and stuff it with the mozzarella and close it up.  Repeat until you have 4 burgers. Top with a little more pepper if you would like.

Make sure your grill is nice and hot.  Your charcoal should be grayish white.  If you are using a gas grill just make sure its hot and ready to go.  When cooking a burger on the grill you don’t want to keep flipping it.  One turn should be enough.  This should take about 4 to 5 minutes on each side depending on how you like your meat done. You can tell the burger is done on the first side when the fat slows in its dripping and the sides begin to brown.  Let meat rest before serving. 

While meat is resting place the rolls on the grill to get it toasted (About ten seconds per side).  When done place burger in roll top it with glaze and a slice of tomato.  Enjoy!!!

I hope everyone is having a fantastic weekend.  If you live or will be in the Philadelphia, PA area tomorrow 6/10 from 5pm to 7pm, I will be whipping up a Strawberry Salad at Whole Foods Market on Callowhill 2001 Pennsylvania Ave  Philadelphia, PA 19130.  Stop by and say hello and sample some yummy food.  See you there.

Strawberries are all over the place right now and so is Rhubarb.  I picked both up this past weekend and finally decided to make some crisp pie out of it.  My husband is a big fan of Rhubarb; so he was excited about me making this.  I love the tartness of the rhubarb, it just works so well with strawberries.  The crispy brown sugar top makes it that much better.  If you want as soon as it comes out of the oven put 2 scoops of ice cream in a bowl and share with your loved one (or just by yourself).  I hope you Enjoy!

Rhubarb is usually considered to be a vegetable, But in the United States, a New York court decided in 1947 that since it was used in the United States as a fruit, it was to be counted as a fruit for the purposes of regulations and duties. A side effect was a reduction on imported rhubarb tariffs, as tariffs were higher for vegetables than fruits (source: Wikipedia)

Ingredients:

3 cups fresh rhubarb, diced (2 to 3 stalks)

4 cups fresh strawberries, cleaned and chopped

1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

1 teaspoon of orange zest

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1/2 cup juice of an orange

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup brown sugar, lightly packed

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup rolled or quick oatmeal

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, diced

Vanilla ice cream or Whip Cream, optional

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Start with the fruit.  Toss the rhubarb, strawberries, 3/4 cup of the sugar and the orange zest together in a large bowl.  In a measuring cup, dissolve the cornstarch in the orange juice and then mix it into the fruit. Pour the mixture into a pie dish.

For the topping, in a food processor, combine the flour, the remaining 1/2 cup sugar, the brown sugar, salt and oatmeal. Pulse to combine.  Add the diced butter and mix until the dry ingredients are moist and the mixture is in crumbles (if the mixture is too dry add a tablespoon of water).  Sprinkle the topping over the fruit, covering it completely, and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until it is bubbling and the topping is golden brown. Enjoy with some ice cream or Whip Cream.

Start up the grill, because it’s time to have some fun.  Grilling doesn’t have to just be all about burgers and hotdogs.  I am a big fan of corn and having it on the grill just makes it that much better.  I have been to a variety of Mexican restaurants and they always have this delicious grilled corn topped with a sauce and cheese.  Well I went ahead and decided to make my own for the grill.  I hope you enjoy it as much as my little family did. 

ingredients:

4 ears corn

1/2 cup mayonnaise

 1 cup of  sour cream

1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped

1/4 cup of fresh chives, chopped

1 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Zest of 1 Lime

2 Tablespoons of Lime Juice

Cayenne or Chile powder, to taste

 Preparation:

Remove the husk of the corn leaving the core so you have something to hold on to, if you want you can even leave the husk on for decor when setting up the table. Grill the corn on a hot grill or if you have a grill pan you can use that as well. Turn every couple of minutes so corn gets cooked evenly all around. Mix the mayo, sour cream, cayenne and cilantro together. Pour Parmesan in another bowl.  While the corn is still, hot spread the mayonnaise mix all around. Squeeze lime juice over the corn and top with Parm. Serve with extra lime wedges.

Thanks to everyone that has entered and I hope you keeping coming back for different giveaways.  Congrats to Emily at HerPhilly.com you have won a White Wine Aerator.  I will email you. You have 24 hours to responed or a new winner will be chosen.  Thanks Again for entering and enjoy.

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A lot of us are watching our calorie and carb intake now that summer has arrived.  Or maybe you just want something refreshing and fast to snack on or have on hand for a BBQ.  Well this little idea just came to me while I was preparing lunch.  I was making tuna salad but decided not to put mayo in it, all I added to the tuna was, balsamic vinagrete, extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper to taste, some garlic powder and 1/2 of a small onion chopped.  I was going to chop up the sweet peppers but instead I stuffed them making it a fun finger food.  Also if you would like you can add some feta to the mix.  I hope you enjoy this little healthy snack.

This past weekend we went over our friends’ house, and we brought some appetizers.  I made some delicious little stuffed sausage bella mushrooms.  These little guys are a crowd pleaser.  The problem you will have is keeping them on the table, so make sure you prepare extras.  There are so many different types of stuffed mushrooms, the stuffing possiblites are endless.  So have fun and get creative.  I hope you enjoy.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

28 -30 bella mushrooms, stems removed and cleaned with a damp paper towel

Stuffing Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

16 oz of Jimmy Dean’s Sausage Regular or Hot

4 cloves garlic, chopped

15 stems mushrooms, chopped

1 Red or Yellow Bell Pepper, seeded and chopped

1 small onion, chopped

8 Large Basil Leaves, chopped

1/2 Cup of bread crumbs

1/2 cup grated Parmigiano or Romano

Preparation: