[Mermaid]

The Best Ever Chocolate Cake.

Preparation time 25 minutes
   Cooking time 1 hour
250g plain dark chocolate
175g soft butter
175g sugar
5 eggs
125g self-raising flour
1.   Set the oven to 180°c/ 160°C fan/Gas 4. Grease and line a 20cm (8in) square cake tin.
2.   Break the plain chocolate into a large bowl. Melt in the microwave for 2 minutes on high, stir, then heat for a further 30 seconds until melted.
3.   Add the butter, sugar, eggs and flour and beat well with a wooden spoon until smooth.
4.   Spread in the tins and bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour until firm to touch.
5.   Leave to cool for 10 minutes, then turn out and allow to cool upside down so that you get a flatter top.

For the icing
175g plain chocolate
75g butter
75ml double cream
1.   Melt chocolate in the microwave for 45 seconds. Stir and microwave again for 30 seconds or so until melted.
2.   With a wooden spoon, beat in butter and cream. Pour about a third into a bowl and chill until firm, leave the remainder at room temperature.
3.   Cut the cake in half, sandwich with cooled icing and spread the remaining icing over the top and sides of the cake.

[Still]

Hmmmmm, looks like I need to get our my metrics conversion chart. Should have paid more attention in elementary school.

[Mermaid]

To convert metric to imperial, go to:
http://www.onlineconversion.com/weight_common.htm

100g = 3½ ounces

[ForeverHopefulOne]

Here it is LGO! 

Apple Butter

Ingredients
•4 lbs of good cooking apples (we use Granny Smith or Gravenstein)
•1 cup apple cider vinegar
•2 cups water
•Sugar (about 4 cups, see cooking instructions)
•Salt
•2 teaspoons cinnamon
•1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
•1/2 teaspoon allspice
•Grated rind and juice of 1 lemon
Equipment Needed
•1 wide 8-quart pan (Stainless steel or copper with stainless steel lining)
•A food mill or a chinois sieve
•A large (8 cup) measuring cup pourer
•6-8 8-ounce canning jars
Method
Preparing the Fruit
1 Cut the apples into quarters, without peeling or coring them (much of the pectin is in the cores and flavor in the peels), cut out damaged parts.

First Stage of Cooking
2 Put them into large pot, add the vinegar and water, cover, bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, cook until apples are soft, about 20 minutes. Remove from heat.


Measure out the purée and add the sugar and spices
3 Ladle apple mixture into a chinois sieve (or foodmill) and using a pestle force pulp from the chinois into a large bowl below. Measure resulting puree. Add 1/2 cup of sugar for each cup of apple pulp. Stir to dissolve sugar. Add a dash of salt, and the cinnamon, ground cloves, allspice, lemon rind and juice. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.

Second Stage of Cooking
4 Cook uncovered in a large, wide, thick-bottomed pot on medium low heat, stirring constantly to prevent burning. Scrape the bottom of the pot while you stir to make sure a crust is not forming at the bottom. Cook until thick and smooth (about 1 to 2 hours). A small bit spooned onto a chilled (in the freezer) plate will be thick, not runny. You can also cook the purée on low heat, stirring only occasionally, but this will take much longer as stirring encourages evaporation. (Note the wider the pan the better, as there is more surface for evaporation.)

Canning
5 There are several ways to sterilize your jars for canning. You can run them through a short cycle on your dishwasher. You can place them in a large pot (12 quart) of water on top of a steaming rack (so they don't touch the bottom of the pan), and bring the water to a boil for 10 minutes. Or you can rinse out the jars, dry them, and place them, without lids, in a 200°F oven for 10 minutes.

6 Pour into hot, sterilized jars and seal. If you plan to store the apple butter un-refrigerated, make sure to follow proper canning procedures. Before applying the lids, sterilize the lids by placing them in a bowl and pouring boiling water over them. Wipe the rims of the jars clean before applying the lids. I use a hot water bath for 10 minutes to ensure a good seal.

As an alternative to stove cooking the puree you can cook uncovered in a microwave, on medium heat to simmer, for around 30 minutes.

Makes a little more than 3 pint jars.

[Still]

Wow, FHO!

I am truly impressed with your culinary skills. All that work for three pints..

I just buy mine at Bob Evans. 

[StillStanding]

This is one of my favorite go-to recipes. It's great for potlucks and the like...

Lasagne-Style Penne

• 1 TB olive oil 1 lb italian sausage med onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 cup hearty red wine**
• 1 28 oz can crushed tomatoes, in puree
• 1 6 oz can tomato paste
• 2 tsp dried basil
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp crushed hot red pepper
• 1 lb penne
• 2 cups (8 ozs) shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 15 oz container ricotta cheese

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Lightly oil 15×10 baking dish.
In dutch oven or flameproof casserole, heat oil over med heat. Add sausage, onion, and garlic. Cook, breaking sausage w/spoon, until sausage is seared (about 5 minutes). Drain any fat.
Add red wine, bring to boil. Stir in tomatoes w/puree, tomato paste, basil, oregano, and red pepper flakes. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to med-low. Simmer, stirring often, until slightly thickened (about 20 minutes).
Meanwhile, cook penne. Drain, be sure to shake colander to remove excess water. Stir penne into tomato sauce. Stir in cheeses.
Transfer to baking dish. Bake until cheese melts and ends of penne are crusty brown, about 10 minutes. Serve!

** Be sure to use solid, full-bodied wine such as zinfindel or cabernet sauvignon. Other reds are too light-bodied to stand up to the tomatoes & herbs.

[ForeverHopefulOne]

I am truly impressed with your culinary skills. All that work for three pints..
I just buy mine at Bob Evans. 

Honestly, I have never attempted to make apple butter.  I just buy mine as well!  I would do it if I went apple picking and had a lot of apples; but, I wouldn't go to the store and buy apples to make apple butter.  I do love it, though!

[LIVINSTRONG]

yummy yummy shrimp corn chowder

1 8oz can tomato sauce
2 8oz can creamed corn
2c frozen corn
few chopped green oinion
1 8oz can diced tomato with chilis (fresh from garden good also)
mix together in pan cook about 5 min until hot
2lbs shrimp tails removed
add shrimp to soup and cook another 5 min until shrimp is done

[Still]

Bumping this up.

Holidays are just around the corner.

[rediscover]

Holiday Mashers


3 pounds yukon gold potatoes, scrubbed, skin on, cut into 1-inch chunks
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
24 fresh sage leaves
1 cup whole milk
3/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. Put the potatoes in a large pot or Dutch oven and cover with cold water by at least half an inch. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Lower the heat and simmer until tender, about 15 minutes.

2. While the potatoes are cooking, heat the butter over medium-high heat in a medium skillet. When it begins to foam, add the sage leaves and gently fry until crisp, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon, place on a paper towel and reserve. Continue to cook the butter until it's golden brown and nutty, watching so that it doesn't burn, an additional 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from heat and reserve.

3. In a small saucepan, heat the milk over medium-high heat just until hot, careful that the milk does not boil. Remove from heat and reserve in a warm place.

4. Drain the potatoes and place them into a large bowl. Using a masher, mash the potatoes to the desired consistency. Stir in the hot milk, yogurt, salt and pepper and browned butter, making sure to get all the dark butter solids. (Recipe can be prepared to this point a day in advance; refrigerate the potatoes tightly sealed and keep the sage in a tightly sealed container at room temperature.)

5. Garnish with the fried sage and serve.

I'm trying to find my favorite holiday drink recipe, but I've seemed to misplace it.  Maybe I'll have to make up another one!