My favorite thing to order at Chik-fil-a?

Carrot-Raisin Salad.

I don’t know what it is about this simple combination of ingredients, but I could eat an entire quart-full in one sitting.

But 79-cents per quarter cup is kind of steep. So I make my own.

Just some shredded carrots with some crushed pineapple, raisins, a teaspoon or two of sugar, and a couple tablespoons of mayo.

Delicious.

The problem is the sheer amount of equipment and preparation involved. I grate the carrots with the fine grater holes to make it just like the original. I’m left with aching tricep muscles for days. Is it really, really worth it?

Not quite sure.

I’ve tried the standard flat grater. And even the Pampered Chef rotary grater (which really doesn’t work well at all for this). The food processor shreds the carrots too coarsely.

Any other ideas?

She calls it “Billie’s Chocolate Pound Cake.”

We call it “Mama G’s Pound Cake.”

Whatever the name, the taste is the same: D.E.L.I.C.I.O.U.S

Mama G’s Pound Cake

1-1/2 c. butter (3 sticks)
3 c. granulated sugar
5 eggs
3 c. all-purpose flour
4 T. cocoa powder
1/2 t. salt
1 c. milk
1/2 t. vanilla

Cream butter and sugar; add eggs, one at a time, and beat well. Sift dry ingredients together three times. Add alternately to the batter with milk. Blend in vanilla.

Pour into greased and floured tube pan. Bake at 325° for 1 hour 5 minutes, or until cake tests done. Cool 15 minutes before removing from pan to a cooling rack.

It’s very moist, very dense….with just a tiny hint of chocolate. Dress it up with whipped cream and strawberries or just eat it plain. It’s heavenly any way you slice it.

Enjoy!

Just a handful of simple ingredients combine, sit all day in the fridge, and exit it chilled and marinated to perfection. It’s our favorite go-to salad for picnics and potlucks.

Three-Bean Salad

1 red onion, finely chopped
1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 can cut green beans, drained
1 can wax beans, drained
1 handful fresh (or 1 Tbsp. dried) parsley, chopped (optional)
1/4 cup red wine OR apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. white sugar
1/4 c. extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine vinegar, sugar, oil, salt and pepper in a small covered bowl or jar; shake to mix.

Toss together onions, canned beans, and parsley. Pour dressing over and toss to coat. Chill at least 4 hours before serving.
Serves 4.

Happy Memorial Day!

Our first stop while on our honeymoon eleven years ago was the Martin Hill Inn in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

While there, we ate some of the most decadent and delicious breakfasts we’ve ever eaten in our lifetimes. One of the “sides” was a simple dish of sliced bananas with fresh whipped cream on top, sprinkled with a bit of ground nutmeg.

The memory of that simple yet special treat has stuck with me until now, and I frequently “dress up” our snacks (or breakfasts) with this mini recipe.

Yum!

Oreo-Stuffed Chocolate Cookies.

As if chocolate chip cookies couldn’t be more delicious (and unhealthy) than they already are, enshroud an Oreo cookie with the cookie dough and take it ten steps further.

I first heard of these a few weeks ago after some workmates of my husband’s encountered them as refreshments served at a conference. A few brief searches and I saw that this recipe was really circling the web. I just had to try it.

They are big — very big. They don’t deflate while baking. They almost require you to unhinge your jaw to bite them, but they are soooo worth the trouble.

They remind me of carnival food. In a good way.

Go ahead. You know you want to try them!

OREO-STUFFED CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
(Makes about 2 dozen)

2 sticks (1 cup) softened butter
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon pure vanilla
3 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
10 oz bag chocolate chips
1 pkg. Oreo cookies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and sugars together with a mixer until well combined. Beat in eggs and vanilla.

In a separate bowl mix the flour, salt and baking soda. Slowly add to wet ingredients along with chocolate chips until just combined. Using a cookie scoop take one scoop of cookie dough and place on top of an Oreo Cookie. Take another scoop of dough and place on bottom of Oreo cookie. Seal edges together by pressing and cupping in hand until Oreo cookie is enclosed with dough.

Place onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake cookies 10-14 minutes or until golden brown. Let cool for 5 minutes before transferring to cooling rack.

THE PLAIN OLD CAKE DOUGHNUT.

If you’re also a fan of these cakey doughnuts with a hint of nutmeg and uncomplicated deliciousness, you’ll love these Doughnut Muffins.

It’s almost like the real thing.

Doughnut Muffins {recipe from King Arthur Flour}

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 to 1 1/4 teaspoons ground nutmeg, to taste
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-2/3 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
1 cup milk

Topping:
3 tablespoons melted butter
3 tablespoons cinnamon sugar

1) Preheat the oven to 425°F. Lightly grease a standard muffin tin. Or line with 12 paper or silicone muffin cups, and grease the cups with non-stick vegetable oil spray; this will ensure that they peel off the muffins nicely.

2) In a medium-sized mixing bowl, cream together the butter, vegetable oil, and sugars till smooth.

3) Add the eggs, beating to combine.

4) Stir in the baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, salt, and vanilla.

5) Stir the flour into the butter mixture alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour and making sure everything is thoroughly combined.

6) Spoon the batter evenly into the prepared pan, filling the cups nearly full.

7) Bake the muffins for 15 to 17 minutes, or until they’re a pale golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the middle of one of the center muffins comes out clean.

8) Remove them from the oven, and let them cool for a couple of minutes, or until you can handle them. While they’re cooling, melt the butter for the topping (this is easily done in the microwave).

9) Use a pastry brush to paint the top of each muffin with the butter, then sprinkle with the cinnamon-sugar. Or simply dip the tops of muffins into the melted butter, then roll in the cinnamon-sugar.

10) Serve warm, or cool on a rack and wrap airtight. Store for a day or so at room temperature.

Yield: 12 muffins.

What is this food, you ask?

Well, I’ll tell you.

Spinach.

Not cooked spinach. Raw spinach. More specifically, spinach salads.

It’s better than lettuce. It’s heartier. It’s earthier. It’s edgier. It has flavor. Weight. Roughage. And it’s healthier.

I’ve had spinach on my plate for the last nine days for either lunch or supper (or both). My current life goal is to see how many interesting, tasty, healthful salad topping combinations I can come up with so that I can have a new flavored salad every day.

Now, in a perfect world, I would be able to eat fresh spinach harvested from my raised bed garden outdoors, which I sowed last fall. But due to the fact that my cat decided that the raised bed was nothing more than a giant litter box some unfortunate garden misfortunes, that was not meant to be. That’s okay. The store-bought bagged fresh spinach is really good.

My favorite toppings?

~ Egg fried in olive oil and garlic
~ Balsamic-olive oil vinaigrette with sliced raw veggies
~ Leftover grilled meat (pork tenderloin was awesome)
~ Hard-boiled, sliced egg and a small bit of Italian dressing
~ Strawberries and feta cheese
~ Pasta salads (any pasta salad I have in the fridge + spinach leaves = 100% pure awesomeness)

My brain is brimming with new toppings to try: Pancetta. Sliced turkey. Black olives and Parmesan cheese. Pears and Roquefort. Oranges, candied pecans and poppyseed dressing.

Mmmm.

Yes, I know I’m still talking about spinach, but….

Hungry yet?

Having spent part of my childhood in Louisiana, I not only appreciate, but love and crave Cajun/Creole cuisine. It’s a mainstay at our house.

We celebrated the commencement of Mardi Gras this year just for fun…but didn’t get to until Wednesday night. After a delicious bowl of shrimp and grits, it was on to the main event: The King Cake!

It began looking like a weird, fanned out cinnamon roll….but turned out beautifully after baking! (And so festive! Mixing the icing colors was “trés fun.”)

Following tradition, I hid a plastic baby in the cake, then cut R’s piece just so….just cause we wanted to see her reaction when she found it.

YUM!

(The King Cake recipe I used is here. And if you want to try your hand at a pot of Louisiana gumbo, here’s a good recipe. My childhood friend Keri’s Cajun dad used to do pour in a can of beer, and I always wondered if this added to the flavor. He also put in diced green cabbage, now a mainstay in my version.)

I don’t know why. Perhaps it’s because of its lightness. Or its pure white fluffiness. Or the fact that it’s best topped with fresh fruit, which is fast becoming more available.

Either way, angel food cake has long since been a staple special treat of ours in the springtime, and ever since I began making them from scratch, I’ll never go back to the bakery for one again.

They are best fresh, the day of, and that doesn’t always happen with a bakery cake. They are also surprisingly easy to make, compared to what I thought before trying. They are also economical.

The main ingredient is egg whites. Most recipes call for at least twelve….and it’s certain that yolk will slip in and ruin the bowlful unless you do this: Crack each egg and separate the whites individually into a small bowl. Each time, dump the whites into the larger mixing bowl. No yolks (and no shells) will make their way into the final mixture this way!

Cake flour is a must to make this cake. It’s lighter and finer. Sifting increases the ‘fluffy factor.’ The flour mixture must be folded in by hand so as not to crush the whipped egg whites:

A quality tube pan with a removable bottom is also, in my opinion, a must, if you want the cake to come out cleanly (and without frustration). You’ll still have to run a dinner knife around the sides, but it will be a lot easier, I promise. This particular pan also has “tripod legs” so that you can cool the cake upside down (as the recipe instructs) without having to balance it on a glass soda bottle (which is as difficult as it sounds).

The cake rises so high and so beautifully! The top crust is my husband’s and the kids’ favorite part….its meringue-like crunch like nothing wrapped in plastic wrap can imitate.

Angel Food Cake

12 room temperature egg whites
1-1/2 c. powdered sugar
1-1/2 t. cream of tartar (for stabilizing the egg whites)
1/8 t. salt
1 c. cake flour
1 c. granulated sugar
1-1/2 t. vanilla

Sift together the cake flour and powdered sugar. Set aside.

Beat egg whites with a mixture until frothy. Add cream of tartar, salt, and vanilla and beat until begins to thicken. Gradually add in granulated sugar, 1/4 c. at a time, and beat until stiff peaks form. (Will happen quickly; don’t leave unattended.)

Remove from mixer and fold in (with a spatula) the flour and powdered sugar mixture just until incorporated. Spoon into an ungreased tube pan and spread top evenly. Tap on the countertop a few times to rid any air bubbles.

Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes, until light golden brown on top and cake tester inserted near the center comes out clean. Take out and immediately turn upside down to cool. Remove carefully and invert onto a plate.

Not just for Valentine’s Day…that’s a given.

But George Washington’s cherry tree story lends permission to make and eat cherry pies and cherry tarts.

And the number one birds we see in our backyard every morning? The cardinal, bright and vibrant red.

I also find myself wearing more pink and red, shedding the dull and earthy colors that I tend to hover around in the autumn.

(Who says redheads can’t wear pink?)

So why not eat these colors, too?

Here’s one of our favorite desserts, shortbread, made all February-ish with bits of cherries. The familiar buttery melt of shortbread paired with the sweetness of these ruby red fruits = perfection!

Perfect for Valentine’s day, for President’s Day, for any day.

Cherry-Bits Shortbread

1 c. butter (no substitutes)
1/2 c. granulated sugar
2-1/2 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 c. finely chopped (and drained) jarred maraschino cherries
Optional: Melted chocolate to drizzle over tops

Cream butter and sugar with mixer until fluffy. Add flour and mix until thoroughly combined. Add cherry bits all at once. (Add in a drop or two of pink or red food coloring if you desire a richer color.)

Divide dough in half. Roll each half into a round log, about 1-1/2″ in diameter. Roll in waxed paper and chill for 4 or more hours (or freeze for 30 minutes).

Cut log into 1/3″ rounds; place 1″ apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake at 300 degrees for 20-25 minutes. Let cool on sheets 3 minutes, then remove and cool completely on racks. Drizzle with melted chocolate and serve.

Makes about 2-1/2 dozen.