Cold Oven Pound Cake

Any recipe that starts with 2 1/2 cups of butter and 2 1/2 cups of sugar has to be a winner.  

 Also, this starts in a cold oven, that's right you don't preheat the oven. To most bakers I know this seems sacrilegious.. but here's why

A cold oven accomplishes two things. First, ovens are preheated in order to give cakes a burst of hot air in order to allow them to rise. With pound cakes the batter is so dense that a lot of rising does not occur so that initial burst of hot air is not necessary and may even unnecessarily lighten the batter. Second, when you put your cake into a cold oven and allow the temperature to rise with the oven temperature you will also get a nice crust on your pound cake which is arguably the best part of the cake. Lastly, and perhaps most obviously, pound cake recipes call for a lot of batter to be put into a pan that may seem too small if the cake rises much. A cold oven allows the cake to cook completely without burning the outside of it in the name of getting the inside done.

Man am I smart or what!!! ok, ok I found that information on the internets   

Why start with a cold oven.

Cold Oven Pound Cake 
2 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
2 1/2 cups sugar 

3 cups cake flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

6 large eggs


Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position. Grease and flour 16-cup tube pan. 

Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in bowl. Whisk milk and vanilla in measuring cup.

With electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter and sugar until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until combined. Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with 2 additions of milk mixture. Mix on low until smooth, about 30 seconds. Use rubber spatula to give batter final stir.

Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth top. Place cake in cold oven. Adjust oven temperature to 325 degrees and bake, without opening oven door, until cake is golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 65 to 80 minutes.

Cool cake in pan for 15 minutes, then turn out onto rack. Cool completely, about 2 hours. Serve. (Cooled cake can be stored in airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.)Yield: 12 servings.

 I served it smothered in sliced strawberries, blueberries, and whipped cream... I love summer!!!

 If you look closely you will see I also served it on my Arkansas Razorbacks plate.. WOOOO PIG SOOIE!!! I love the Razorbacks....

 I also stored it in this cake taker I found at the thrift store .. it has a slide that locks and makes it airtight... I LOVE IT!!!

 I am very lovey today... even my strawberries are lovely!!! :)

Confession Update

The house is getting back on track...

Dining room table cleaned, tablecloth washed , starched and ironed. :)

 Cleaned and rearranged the cabinet behind the table.

The buffet scrubbed and re-arranged.

Kitchen clean.

Kitchen  windows cleaned. 

Sheets washed and beds made. 

Rocking chair in den back to being a rocking chair.  Still working on the mini office in the corner.

Still have some rooms to go, but feeling better, I have this week off, so more should get done, and possibly get to dive into the craft room. :)  between cooking...

PS... I need to apologize to my Friend Lynette for calling her OCD....Lynette I am TRULY sorry... I know I should have said CDO because you like all the letters in alphabetical order.  :-P

Cranberry Chicken Thighs

I bought a package of chicken thighs and had no idea what to do with them...  I searched  the internets and finally combined a few recipes (to match the ingredients I had)  and this turned out

 

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 small  red onion, chopped
• 3 pounds chicken thighs
• 2/3 cup ketchup
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon dry mustard powder
• 1 (8 ounce) can cranberry sauce.  ( I had jellied but I think whole would be much better.
• 
  
• Preheat an oven to 400 degrees F.
• 
  
• Place the chicken thighs in a baking dish in a single layer and bake for about 25 minutes.
• 
  
• Saute the onion and butter in skillet on medium heat, until the onion is translucent, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat, stir in the ketchup, brown sugar, vinegar, mustard powder, and cranberry sauce, and heat.

 

Remove and discard fat from the  baking dish.  Spoon the cranberry mixture over the chicken thighs, and return to the oven. Bake until the cranberry mixture is slightly caramelized and the chicken is done, about 20 more minutes.

 

I served with Pioneer Woman's Corn Casserole from her latest cookbook.  The basic recipe is found on her website here, but the one in the cookbook is kicked up a notch.   Yummy in my tummy!!!

• 
  
• 
  
•  
•   

Confessions

 I love reading cooking, decorating, and craft blogs.   But the thing that gets me down about them is all the beautiful/well organized homes I see.  During the school year I am barely home long enough to stuff food in my mouth and fall asleep, up the next day at 4:30 am...So things don't get accomplished. Maybe why it had been almost a year since I posted on this here blog.  Yesterday I had a day at home and time to get things accomplished, but I found my self just walking in circles in my house. You can walk in a completely circle inside my house from the living room through the dining room down the hallway and end up back in the living room.  I had no idea WHERE to start... Let me show you a bit of the mess I encountered.   

WARNING:: to my friend Lynette...(and anyone else with OCD)  don't continue to look.... you can't take it!!!

My Dining room table.  Why is there a random keyboard on the table? ::shrug::

The chair in the corner of the dining room with all the stuff I bought to redecorate the bathroom, oh and a purse and some knitting.  why is knitting with the bathroom stuff??? ::shrug::

The other side of the dining room, the built in buffet..

The den.. why does the rocking chair have a rug on the back of it and three purses in the seat?

A bag of clothes I got ready to donate a few weeks ago... and the bathroom scale.

Ok, now prepare yourself it gets worse.... let's move on to the craft room...

My sewing table... ::sigh::

Under the ironing board...

beside the ironing board, 

and the very worst of all,

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

the table in the craft room!!!

I apologize in advance..... and I am off to tackle one room at a time...  just keeping it real...

PS.. I am not starting in the craft room, I would never make it to the other rooms...

Hello Old Friend!!

Well, hello how have you been...Me, I have been fine just incredibly busy, and distracted.  I realized it has been almost a year since I have posted, but I have thought bout it and actually have some drafts of recipes and a camera full of photos I have taken for this here blog.  But here it is summer and I am back, with a resolve to be better.  This morning I checked Facebook and Missie Swayze posted that she had restarted posting on her blog There's 104 Days of Summer Vacation after a long time away and I thought why not, today is a good day to start, also happens to be a rare day I am actually home all day long, with no intention of leaving the house.  

So let's catch up.... and get some pictures off my camera card :)

This is last summer, surprise flowers blooming at the side of my house.

This is a  the top of a squash that I thought was just the cutest little thing :-P

This was when I played JUICY for 105 points in  Words with Friends and I was so happy I took a picture of it.. :D

This is my Mother with my great nephew Luke, who is also my grandpa..
I  grew up in Arkansas.
I will tell Grandpa Luke story someday

This is chocolate pie,  again it makes me happy!!!

This was crazy hair day at school.. I think I succeeded. :)

This was me trying to prove to people you can find GOOD clothes for cheap at Thrift Stores.

This is a quilt block I made for my son's STILL unfinished denim quilt... the story continues

This was Texas/OU game night.. Texas lost... and Luke lost the bet :(

This is a piece of vintage Friendship pyrex my friend Lynette got me for my b'day ... I was VERY HAPPY!!!

This is when Qman grew out his whiskers to play Santa Claus ... When he shaved it made me HAPPY!!!

This is my friend Lynette when we took her granddaughter's ice skating at Christmas and we got kicked out of the mall..

This is two bottle of Rodeo Red wine from Los Pinos Vineyards that my friend Jim Bob got me for Christmas.

This is where Thelma, Louis and Ethyl (also known as Lynette, Nan and Bobbie) went for New Year's Eve.

This is what Ethyl, Thelma, and Louise looked like outside of the Hotel. 

Spring day in Texas!!

The burger I had on 6th Street last week in Austin.  It was yummy.

There now you are all caught up on my year.  Actually, looking back on it, it was sort of an exciting year.. :)  

Unstuffed Bell Pepper Casserole

This is one of the easiest, tastiest casseroles I make, I have submitted it to  two of those cookbooks for fundraisers, but it has never been published. So here it is.  When I had kids at home I doubled this, and if making for a family you can double and make in a pot and transfer to a baking dish, no problem.


Unstuffed Bell Pepper Casserole

1 pound Ground Beef

⅓ cups Diced Onion

1 cup Crushed Tomato (undrained)

⅓ cups White Rice, Uncooked

1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce

½ teaspoons Basil

½ cups Water
1 cup diced green pepper
2 c. shredded Cheddar Cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Brown ground beef, onion in  an oven safe skillet ( I use my biggest cast iron one).  Drain grease.

Stir in tomatoes, rice, worcestershire sauce, basil, water, salt and pepper.  Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, cover and let cook about 20 minutes until rice is tender.

Stir in peppers and half of the the cheese.   Top with remaining cheese and pop in  the oven for about 15 minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbly.

                              

 

Afternoon Delight Mango Salsa

Dear Mango Salsa,

If loving you is wrong, I don't wanna be right.  Want to meet me at lunch for  some afternoon delight?

Bobbie Lynn

I pinned this recipe  at http://pinterest.com/pin/52598144/, are you on Pinterest.. don't go, it  is addicting and I am an addict.

When I saw this recipe on http://www.ourbestbites.com/2010/04/mango-pico-de-gallo/  I knew I had to make it immediately, well, as soon as I got mangos, and limes.  Yesterday I got mangos, I forgot the limes.  This morning I got the limes.. and  I will admit I already ate the entire thing, with a spoon, no chips required.  I have plans to make more  go with my leftover chicken fajitas, (fajitas, is why I had no limes for my salsa ) for lunch.


Afternoon Delight Mango Salsa

Based on Recipe by Our Best Bites
1 c. small cubes of mango (about  large mango)
1/2-1 large jalapeno pepper (1/2 without seeds is a nice, mild-medium heat; go from there)
1/4 c. chopped cilantro
1/4 of a medium sweet onion, finely chopped
1 lime, juiced
2 minced garlic cloves
 Sea salt to taste

Chill and eat.. preferrably with chips, but a spoon is acceptable in my house also :)

Mango + halapenos+garlic+onion+lime juice+ salt = YUMMINESS!!
Even I can do that math :)