Ladybug

Here's the ladybug cake I did for Ella last year.

Cars!

I thought I would post my cakes on here for fun. Here's the Cars cake I did for Carter last year!

Deep Dish Pizza

Through the mouth of a babe, "please never buy a pizza again, only make it from now on!" This is pretty good, I'm not going to lie. I cook this in my 12" cast iron pan, and it usually makes another 8 inch pizza or so as well. It's very good in that pan because of the seasoning, but you could always use another baking dish if need be.

Pizza dough Ingredients:

3 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
2 1/4 yeast
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 1/4 cups room temperature water
3 Tbs melted butter

Sauce (recipe follows)
Cheese (about 2 cups). 2/3 freshly grated mozzarella, 1/3 freshly grated parmesean mixed together.

Mix until dough comes together. About 1 to 2 minutes scraping sides as necessary. Turn to medium until dough completely clears the sides.

Add 1 Tbs olive oil to coat bowl. Put dough in the bowl and turn dough to coat. Cover and let rise for 45 minutes to an hour,or until dough has doubled in size. Roll dough out on flat surface in a rectangle shape. Add  4 Tbs softened butter on top and spread evenly. Leaving about 1/2 inch on the ends to seal. Starting at the short end, roll dough into cylinder. Lightly roll dough out a little flat. Cut dough into the size you would like your pizza. (For 12" and 8" I do about 3/4 of the dough and 1/4 the dough). Fold each dough into thirds and seal edges. Pinch and shape into a ball. Put dough back into bowl and let rise about 40 to 50 minutes.  Prepare pans by adding 2-1/2 Tbsp olive oil in the 12" pan and 1 Tbsp in the 8" pan (more or less depending on your pan sizes). Remove dough from bowl and put on flat surface. Roll dough out until it is the right size for your pan. Press the dough into the pan evenly. Leaving a very small crust area around the edge, top with sauce (recipe follows) and cheese mixture. Add toppings to your desire (sometimes I like to put the pepperoni underneath the cheese and on top as well). Bake at 425 degrees on the lowest position in the oven for 20-30 minutes or until cheese is melted and crust is golden brown.

Sauce Ingredients:

1-2 small cans tomato puree
1 small can tomato sauce
1 teaspoon marjoram
1 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon garlic powder

Add tomato puree in a small pot and heat on medium. Add tomato sauce to desired texture. You want it thick enough, but not too thick! Add spices (you can use 1-1 1/2 Tbsp pizza seasoning in place of the individual spices). Turn heat down to medium-low to simmer, stirring frequently. Heat for about 20-30 minutes with the lid on. You want the sauce to darken up a little bit. Remove from heat when it is your desired texture/flavor.

Carnitas

This is SO yummy! You can eat it on tacos or burritos (or both!). Hope you enjoy as much as I do. I want to eat it right now just thinking about it!

Ingredients:
Pork Shoulder (may be called a Boston butt or Chuck Roast depending on your grocery store)
1 tsp mexican oregano
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 bay leaves
2 tbsp lime juice
small onion halved
1 orange
2 cups water


Directions:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Cut meat into 2" chunks. Trim pockets of fat off, leaving the ribbons on. You need to leave some of the fat for flavor and to keep the meat moist. Place in a pot on the stove and add spices. Juice orange separate to prevent seeds from getting into the mixture (should be around 1/3 cup orange juice). Add juice, orange peel, onion and water. Bring to a simmer and then put into the oven, covered. Simmer in the oven for 2 hours, turning the meat over after 1 hour. Remove from oven and check meat to see if it begins to fall apart. Use a fork to try and pull meat apart. The meat should very easily come apart if it is done. If meat is done, remove from pot and place in a bowl. Remove and discard onion, leaves, and orange.

Preheat oven to broil. Bring pot to a boil and reduce the braising liquid down until thick and syrupy. Toss over meat. Spread meat out on a rack (over a baking pan) and broil until the edges crisp up a bit. Turn meat over about 5 min to crisp the other side. Total broil time should be between 10-15 min. Remove from oven and EAT!!


I usually make it with corn tortillas and a mixture of white onion diced and cilantro. Top with some tapatio and enjoy! I usually pair this with rice and beans and make enough for leftovers of each. This way the next night I can make some home made tortillas and do carnitas burritos!

German Brigadeiro Cake

This recipe is a favorite around these parts. It's perfect for someone that likes things a little less sweet. Enjoy!

Cake Ingredients:
1 pkg Baker's German's sweet chocolate
1/2 cup water
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs, separated
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup buttermilk

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350. Cover bottoms of 2 (9-inch) round cake pans with wax paper; grease sides of pans. Microwave chocolate and water in large microwavable bowl on high 1-1/2 to 2 min. Or until chocolate is melted, stirring after 1 min. Stir until chocolate is completely melted.

Mix flour, baking soda and salt; set aside. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add egg yolks, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Blend in melted chocolate and the vanilla. Add flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk, beating until well blended after each addition.

Beat egg whites in small bowl with electric mixer on high speed until stiff peaks form. Gently stir into batter. Pour evenly into prepared pans.

Bake 30 min, or until toothpick inserted in centers comes out clean. Immediately run small spatula around cake layers. Cool in pans 15 min.; removed layers from pans to wire racks. Discard wax paper. Cool cake layers completely. Spread brigadeiro between cake layers and on top of cake.


Brigadeiro Ingredients:
4 Tbsp butter (1/2 stick)
1 1/2 -2 cans(14 ounce) sweetened condensed milk
3 Tbsp chocolate powder (Nestle or something of the sort)

Directions:
Melt butter on stovetop over medium heat. Add sweetened condensed milk and chocolate powder and stir  continuously. Stir until it thickens (it should begin to stick to the bottom a bit). Once it has thickened, removed from heat and pour onto cake immediately. Don't wait too long as the topping will solidify.

Cajun Tri Tip

Ingredients:
1 untrimmed tri tip
Extra Virgin Olive oil
Tony Chachere's Creole seasoning


Directions:
Trim excess fat while leaving at least 1/4 inch fat cap on one side. Rub tri tip generously with extra virgin olive oil. Sprinkle Tony Chachere's Creole seasoning, covering trip tip on both sides. Let rest for 30 minutes at room temperature. With grill on high heat, place trip on grill and sear on one side for 3 minutes. Flip the trip tip over and sear for 3 additional minutes. Using indirect heat, continue to cook at 350-375 degrees. Pull tri tip at 145 degrees for rare, 155 degrees for medium, 165 degrees for medium well and 175 degrees for well done. Tent and let meat rest for 10 minutes. Cut the triangle portion off, as the grain runs in different directions and these pieces will need to be cut seperately. Slice thin against the grain and serve. This step is important, as the meat will be tough if you cut with the grain.

Asparagus

This recipe is easy and tastes really good. I use a cast iron skillet.

Add olive oil and heat skillet on medium. Cut the bottom inch or so of the asparagus off and throw them in the pan with salt (I like kosher) and ground pepper. Let them cook until they start to brown (stirring frequently). Cover and let them for cook for 5-7 additional minutes. I usually check the consistency at this point. You want them to be a bit firm but not crunchy. If they are not to this consistency yet, leave them in the pan with the lid off until they reach that consistency. Remove from pan immediately as they will continue to cook. 

Brown Butter Cookies

Ingredients:
2 cups butter
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup chopped pecans
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 cup hot water


Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Heat butter over medium heat for 5 minutes or so, until it turns nut brown in color. The foaming and bubbling is part of the browning process, but watch it carefully so that you don't burn the butter. Remove from heat, and cool slightly. Reserve 1/2 cup of the butter for the frosting.
Pour remaining browned butter into a large mixing bowl. Beat browned butter with brown sugar until the butter is no longer hot. Mix in eggs, 2 teaspoons vanilla, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Beat thoroughly. Mix in flour and chopped pecans. Drop tablespoons of dough onto ungreased baking sheets.
Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until light brown around the edges. Cool.
In a medium bowl, mix the reserved 1/2 cup browned butter with 2 teaspoons vanilla, confectioners' sugar, and hot water. Beat until smooth, and use to frost cooled cookies.