When I came back from my vacation, my boyfriend greeted me back home with this:

 

Devil's food cake with fondant icing.  It's his FIRST TRY at making a cake AND handling fondant icing.  WHOA.  I was floored.  I couldn't believe it!  I thought --  is he nuts?!?!?!  HAHAHA.  It's a nice surprise, though. 

Just thought I'd share.  I've never been this spoiled.  :-)

I may be chasing after something impossible but I would love to make the Chocolate Guinness cake that dlayiga posted recently (http://community.livejournal.com/food_porn/4320926.html) but one for my guests for the dinner party is allergic to chocolate....  Is there anything people can think of that would be a substitute?  She does love guinness!

Thank you in advance!!!!

( Read more... )

Perhaps not the most photogenic dish but it certainly tastes wonderful!

Here's the recipe:
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Peanut-Sesame-Chicken-with-Mushrooms/Detail.aspx

I have always been perplexed to as why some people absolutely swear off beef, and only eat chicken or do not eat meat at all, or don't eat pork etc.... I am talking science and health here, not for personal opinions or reasons. Is meat scientifically actually bad for you? Is one meat really healthier than the other? Even for me, tonight I was thinking of making a classic German dish using pork cutlets, but then I thought... erm, should I be eating that pork? Maybe I should use healthy chicken instead.

So please, participate in this poll and expand your answers (with sources, if possible) in the comments. Thank you!!

Poll #1123546 Meats
Open to: All, results viewable to: All

Is one meat really healthier than another?

Which is the healthiest meat?

I posted this is cooking as well, since I think both communities would benefit from the many answers that will come forth from this post.

Hi all!

Mum's suddenly decided she wants me to do dessert tonight and has a craving for banana splits. Now, with her, this involves the usual banana and ice cream, with the addition of pineapple (we have a gorgeously ripe pineapple just begging to be used), strawberry syrup (I have some leftover from a cheesecake I made for her birthday the other day and made faaaaar too much) and chocolate syrup.

Sooo, I have bananas, ice cream, strawberry syrup, pineapple, I'm all set right? Wrong! Because I've found that the only chocolate syrup we have is some vile over-sugared, under-chocolatey, artificial tasting gunk that is only still in the cupboard because mum has a policy of never throwing anything out unless it definitely unusable for ANYTHING.

In other words, I need to make chocolate syrup/sauce. However, the old ganache standby just isn't feasible, because we have no cream :(

Does anyone have a quick, foolproof recipe for a chocolate sauce or syrup that uses basic kitchen ingredients? I have all the usual - sugar, cocoa, chocolate, milk, condensed milk, evaporated milk, spices, baking ingredients - basically everything you'd expect to find in the average kitchen (Except cream lol).

It doesn't matter if it's a hot or cold recipe, as hot sauce on ice cream is just as good as cold, and doesn't matter whether it's plain chocolate or a play on it (chocolate fudge, etc).

Thanks all!

This is based very closely on a dish that my German mother and grandmother have been making since I was little. :D I don't know how authentically German it is, but it is delicious for sure.
(Oh, and if there is any odd wording or things that don't make sense in the recipe, just tell me and I can fix whatever seems weird- I just typed it up out of my head right now.)



Pork Cutlets with Apples and Onions

4 pork cutlets, 1/2-3/4 inch thick
1 granny smith apple, sliced thinly in small pieces
1 large onion, sliced into half moons
4 "Bugs Bunny" carrots, chopped in pieces with greens removed (I leave the peel on, if organic)
Zest and juice of half a lemon
1 large (or 2 small) clove of garlic, minced/grated
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
4-5 medium sized Idaho potato (or similar), sliced into fairly thin pieces and steamed until cooked completely
1/4 cup chicken broth
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Milk
Flour
Salt and pepper
Butter
Canola oil

1. Season the pork cutlets with kosher salt and pepper on both sides. Heat butter and oil in a large skillet until very hot and beginning to brown. Place pork in and brown very well on both sides, remove and reserve on a deep plate or in a bowl to catch the juices. (The very middle of the pork will still be slightly underdone, but that is fine.)

2. In the same pan, sauté the onions, apples and carrots until everything is soft and beginning to brown. Add the garlic at this point, cook for a moment and reserve contents of the pan with the pork.

3. Add more butter to the pan and melt completely, sprinkle in enough flour to make a paste that is more on the dry side (a roux, in other words) and cook the flour to get the raw taste out. Add the chicken broth and, using a whisk, incorporate the liquid and scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the pan.

4. Add milk slowly; the amount of milk to add depends on how thick or thin you want the ending sauce to be. At this point you can also add the juices that have accumulated in the dish with the pork. When you have a consistency you like, add the nutmeg, lemon juice and zest and Worcestershire sauce. Taste for seasoning, and add salt and pepper to taste.

5. Place the pork and vegetables back into the sauce and bring to a low boil, then turn down the heat to low and cook for another 10-15 minutes. This ensures the pork is entirely cooked through, as well as the juices that were added back to the sauce.

6. Finally, add the fully cooked potatoes into pot and stir gently to combine. Serves 4 people, piping hot :)

This was very tasty and very healthy. Any innovation that gets my boyfriend eating vegetables HAS to be a good thing!

( What did I do? )

EDIT: Because apparently my sense of humour didn't quite get across, I'm going to be blunt: THIS IS NOT WHAT I WOULD PERSONALLY CONSIDER HEALTHY. I was being very facetious when I said that.

Again, I have a nearly-30 year old boyfriend who will not eat vegetables. He will eat a little, but generally speaking will just stick to meat, cheese and starch. So I was attempting to make something which would be packed with vegetables and tasty enough even he would eat it. Not only did he eat it, HE LOVED IT. So this is a great idea for anyone with stubborn partners or children who just don't want to eat their vegetables.

Also, I knew it was walking a fine line between what may or may not be permitted on this community. However I also knew the community is moderated at this time and figured I'd let the mod make the call whether this post belongs here. The mod hath spoken.

*passes around the relaxing tea*