Watergate Cake

Yes! Watergate inspired a cake. Actually, I think it was thus named because this recipe uses pistachio pudding and pistachio pudding became uber popular about the same time as the Watergate scandal.

Anyway, I absolutely love this cake. And I'm not a huge cake fan. There's something about pistachio pudding in a cake that makes me giggle.

So, without further ado -

Watergate Cake*

1 white cake mix

3 eggs

1 pkg. instant pistachio pudding (dry)

1 cup oil (or do 1/2 oil, 1/2 applesauce for less fat)

1 cup 7-Up

1/2 cup pecans, chopped

1/2 cup flaked coconut

Preheat oven to 350º F.

Prepare a 9x13-inch pan according to instructions on the cake mix box. Mix ingredients in order given, making sure to combine everything well. Pour the batter into the pan. Bake for 30-40 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

Frosting:

1 small container whipped topping

1/2 cup pecans, chopped

1 pkg. (3 oz.) instant pistachio pudding (dry)

In a medium bowl, dump in the whipped topping and fold in the chopped nuts and dry pudding mix until well combined. Use to frost the cooled cake. Keep frosted cake in the refrigerator.

*Adapted from a southernfood.about.com recipe

Homemade Marshmallows

You can make homemade marshmallows?????? Why has this never occurred to me? I came across a cool blog post from Smitten Kitchen that talked about making homemade marshmallows. Check the recipe out through the link! It has awesome pictures. And I am going to make some today. YES!

Victorious Bread!

Isn't it beautiful?

I was so put out by the miserable brick of whole wheat bread that I made a completely different bread - using bread flour for the first time. I don't know if the bread flour made a difference, but the bread turned out awesome! I even had a slice of it for toast this morning (and I've never had bread good enough for toast before.) And I just can't get over how beautiful and golden it turned out. *rapturous sigh*

So, I had to share the recipe. I know there are thousands of bread recipes out there, but the one thing that stood out to me in this recipe is that it tells you to test the temperature of the inside of the loaf to determine if it's done. THANK YOU! I was always so frustrated with the "tap the loaf to see if it sounds hollow". What the heck is that supposed to sound like?? The bread-tapping method is like testing a watermelon. You knock it and listen and you think it sounds hollow, but you don't really know if it's good until you open it and when you do, it's too late! Darn tapping. Forget you! And it's a good thing I took the bread's temperature. I would have taken it out 10 minutes too early!

(I got this recipe from the bag of King Arthur flour.)

Oatmeal Bread

Makes good sandwiches and toast!

3 cups bread flour (I used King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour)

1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

2 Tbsp. butter or margarine

1 1/2 tsp. salt

3 Tbsp. brown sugar or honey

2 tsp. instant yeast or 1 packet active dry yeast*

1 1/4 cups lukewarm milk

3/4 cup raisins or currants (optional)

1 Tbsp. melted butter

*If you use active dry yeast, dissolve it in the warm milk before combining with the remaining ingredients.

In a large mixing bowl, combine all the ingredients with an electric hand mixer, mixing to form a shaggy dough. (I started with 1 cup of the flour, mixed everything and then mixed in the rest of the flour.) Knead dough, by hand (10 minutes) or by machine (5 minutes) till it's smooth. Place dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover and allow it to rest for 1 hour; it'll become quite puffy, though it may not double in bulk. 

Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled surface, shape it into a log. Place the log in a lightly greased 9 x 5-inch loaf pan, cover the pan (with lightly greased plastic wrap), and allow the dough to rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, till it's crested 1 to 2 inches over the rim of the pan. 

Gently brush the  melted butter on the top of the loaf. Bake the bread in a preheated 350ºF oven for 35 to 40 minutes, until an instant-read themometer inserted into the center registers 190ºF. If the bread appears to be browning too quickly, tent it with aluminum foil for the final 10 minutes of baking. 

Yield: 1 loaf

Strawberry, Rhubarb, & Raspberry Crisp

Since strawberries and rhubarb are in season right now, I thought I'd post this recipe that I found at real-restaurant-recipes.com which I also tweaked a bit. I have never eaten or baked with rhubarb before. It's one of those intimidating plants that I've never ventured to experiment with. BUT a woman I bought eggs from at the farmers' market was selling some rhubarb, so I thought I'd give it a whirl! I just barely made this crisp. As it is still cooling I only took a little taste of the syrupy goodness and it tasted amazing! 

***Health Note: This is low in fat, but it has 1 1/2 cups of sugar total. I guess you can't always have everything! 

***For other non-dessert ideas using rhubarb check out this article from Mother Earth News!

Strawberry, Rhubarb & Raspberry Crisp

2 1/2 cups rhubarb, chopped in pieces

1/2 cup strawberries, sliced or chopped

1/2 cup raspberries, frozen or fresh

3/4 cups sugar

1 Tbsp. cornstarch

2 Tbsp. orange juice 

Topping:

2/3 cups old-fashioned oats

1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

5 Tbsp. flour

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. salt

5 Tbsp. butter, margarine or butter/margarine blend

5 Tbsp. pecans or walnuts, chopped (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF. 

2. Butter or spray with cooking spray a 8 x 8 inch baking pan.

3. In a mixing bowl, combine and toss the rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, cornstarch, and orange juice. Transfer the mixture to the buttered baking dish.

4. Mix the oats, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt in a bowl. Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or use your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. 

5. Mix in chopped nuts and sprinkle over the fruit mixture.

6. Bake until the topping is golden brown and the fruit is bubbling, 30 - 35 minutes. 

7. Let cool and serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, if desired.

YUM!

Making Mistakes

So, I've had 3 baking mistakes or failed experiments in the past 2 weeks. Quite a trial to be sure. If anyone knows me, they've known I've been cooking for a long time and I can come out with some pretty tasty stuff. But not always. Here are the unluckies:

1. Mozzarella cheese - the recipe turned out some pretty tasty ricotta cheese, but not mozzarella. I'm pretty positive it was the milk, so I'm not to blame. ;-)

2. Applets & Cotlets - That's right, Aurora, my first attempt was a total screw-up! Okay, so it did set and they were tasty, but the blackberry flavor was a little strong. I should have added some applesauce to lighten it up a bit. Good thing blackberries were on sale...

3. 100% Whole Wheat Bread - This one escapes me every time!!! My bread was a solid, dense brick. Edible, but not that enjoyable. I don't get it. Is it the altitude? Do I not let it rise long enough? I made some white bread a week ago that was so delicious that I rapturously cherish the wonderful little recipe it came from. But wheat bread? Why, oh why must you be so elusive? Does anyone out there know how to make good whole wheat sandwich bread? I'm determined to not buy any more bread!

So, this just goes to show you that it doesn't matter how long you've been cooking or baking. Learning comes from mistakes. If you do make a mistake, or you use a dud recipe, just move on and hope the dog will eat the failed attempt. (Or that the husband and kids won't notice...)