Lemon Cake with Fluffy White Frosting

"When life gives you lemons, squirt someone in the eye."
- Cathy Guisewite

I only included this quote because a) it is funny, b) it is true, and c) I can't squeeze a lemon without getting it on the person sitting across from me.  This is not my recipe, but I will pass it along anyway.  I had a craving for lemony cake with lemony filling with fluffy frosting.  I scoured my mom's and my cookbook collections until I found a suitable recipe for Lemon Sponge Cake in the mountain cookbook we both adore.  The frosting is from my favorite cake cookbook - Southern Cakes (Nancie McDermott).  Many of our favorite dessert recipes (and Chocolate Gravy) are found between the covers of this book.  My copy is autographed by the person who collected the recipes!  I wrote all of my notes directly in my mom's copy of the book, and I will include a photo of that page, but they are indicted in the recipe by the use of italics.  I do not have step-by-step photos for this recipe, but the next time I make it I will try to remember to add them.

Lemon Sponge Cake

Mrs. Foister Kelly

Cake:

1 3/4 c sifted cake flour (Swans Down)

1 c sugar

1/2 tsp baking powder

3/4 c (about 6) egg whites

1 tsp cream of tartar

1/2 tsp salt

6 egg yolks

1/4 c cold water

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp lemon extract (1 tsp fresh juice + 1 tsp zest)

1. Beat egg whites with cream of tartar and salt until soft mounds form.

2. Beat egg yolks with the cold water and flavorings.  Add to sifted dry ingredients all at once.

3. Beat for 1 minute at medium speed (beat by hand with wire whisk).

5. Fold batter into beaten egg whites.  Blend gently.

6. Pour in ungreased 10 inch tube pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes (45 minutes).  Invert and cool in pan.

7. Cut in three layers.  Fill, and frost with a fluffy white frosting.

Filling: 

would make spectacular pie filling!

1 c sugar

1/4 c cornstarch

1/4 c lemon juice (from 1 1/2 lemons)

1/8 tsp salt

1 1/2 c water

2 Tb butter

2 beaten egg yolks

3 tsp grated lemon rind (from 2 lemons)

1. Combine sugar, cornstarch, and salt in saucepan; add water.

2. Cook over medium heat until clear & thick.

3. Blend in yolks and continue cooking 2 more minutes, stirring constantly.

4. Remove from heat and stir in grated lemon rind, juice and butter.

5. Cool thoroughly before filling cake layers.

Fluffy White Frosting:

1/2 c water

1 c sugar

2 egg whites

1. Boil sugar and water gently 3 minutes without stirring.

2. Boil additional 5-10 minutes until it holds a thread ~2" off the back of a spoon.

3. Beat egg whites til shiny and voluminous.

4. Pour syrup into egg whites while beating on high speed (do NOT pour in all at once, pour in a steady stream; keep the mixer running on its highest setting so the frosting cooks but doesn't turn into an egg white omelet).

5. Continue beating 4-5 minutes.

NOTE:  Awesome!  Good lemon flavor in cake.  Frosting may need either 1 tsp vanilla or lemon extract.

Pineapple Rice

"Rice is great if you're really hungry and want to eat two thousand of something."
- Mitch Hedberg

This recipe was passed down to me by my mamaw (mom's mom).  She and my papaw loved it.  When I announced a pulled pork barbecue with all the fixin's for my wedding reception, Mamaw suggested this recipe.  I was so incredibly nervous the first time I made it.  What if the egg scrambles instead of thickening?  What if it turns out gross instead of delicious?  Eventually I got over it, made the pot of rice, and fell in love.  This is truly more of a rice pudding or dessert rice, but it certainly pairs well with some roasted hog and homemade barbecue sauce.

Pineapple Rice

2 cups white rice (you can use minute rice, I used Great Value long-grain enriched white rice)

4 cups water

2 tbs butter

1 can crushed pineapple

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg, beaten

1/2 cup sugar

1. Add rice, water, and butter to a 4 qt sauce pan.  Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, and cook until the liquid is mostly absorbed.

2. Stir sugar into rice.

3. I beat the egg in a measuring cup so I had a handle that was easy to grip.  Begin to stir the rice:  holding the beaten egg about 6 inches above the sauce pan, dribble the egg into the center of the rice with one hand while you stir continuously with a wooden spoon in the other hand.  Do this slowly!  You do not want scrambled eggs in your pineapple rice.  A few drips at a time or a thin, steady stream are the best way to add the egg.  Sorry there is no photo of me streaming the egg into the rice.  I have but 2 hands, and everyone else was previously engaged and could not assist me in my food-blogging endeavor.  This is a photo of the rice after the egg has been added.  Very creamy texture!

4. Stir in vanilla and pineapple.

5. Bring rice back to a simmer until the texture is like creamy oatmeal.  Basically you need to absorb/evaporate some of the liquid from the pineapple.  Why not drain it?  Because you want the pineapple flavor to be absorbed into the rice.

6. Serve as a side or as a dessert.

Chicken with Olives, Mushrooms, and Rice

“I want there to be no peasant in my kingdom so poor that he cannot have a chicken in his pot every Sunday.” 
- Henry IV

This is another recipe I came up with when I was cooking dinner for my grandparents one night a week.  Chicken is so versatile, so I tend to use it as my go-to meat when I'm trying a new recipe.  My friend Ashley has said that she could live without beef and pork as long as she could still have chicken.  This meal is pretty darn easy.  The hardest part is the rice, so if you can cook rice, you got this!  Basically you just throw it all in a skillet and let it cook.  Can't get much easier!

Chicken with Olives, Mushrooms, and Rice

5 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves

2 15oz cans Hunts tomato sauce

1-2 6oz cans whole, pitted black olives, drained

1-2 4oz cans mushroom stems and pieces, drained

2-4 tbs Balsamic Vinegar or Red Wine Vinegar

2 cups white rice (Great Value long-grain enriched)

4 cups water

2 tbs butter

1. Place chicken in large skillet.

2. Add sauce, olives, and mushrooms.

3. Add vinegar (less if you aren't a fan of vinegar based sauce).

4.1 This is a 2-part step.  Please read both parts (4.1 & 4.2) before beginning!  Turn heat on medium, cover and simmer until chicken is no longer pink on bottom.  Turn chicken breasts and cook bottom-side up until no longer pink.  Remove to cutting board and halve each piece horizontally.  You will end up with 10 breast pieces.  Return chicken to pan and continue to simmer.

4.2 While the chicken is coming to a simmer, place rice, water, and butter in a 3 qt saucepan.  Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer.  Stir occasionally so it doesn't stick.

5. When water has been absorbed into rice and it is tender, check internal temperature of breast pieces.  Be sure they register 165º!  If the chicken isn't done, cover rice with a lid until chicken reaches the FDA recommended safe temperature.

6. Plate the rice first, top with a chicken piece, then spoon/ladle the sauce over it and serve with a slice of crusty bread (shown: homemade Batard).

Chili Pot Pie

"Chili is much improved by having had a day to contemplate its fate." 

- John Steele Gordon


My mom created this recipe when I was a kid.  It was an instant hit and has survived for 18 years in her handwritten collection of "My Favorite Recipes."  It is basically chili with a Mexican-style cornbread on top.  You can use canned chili (as the recipe is written), but if you have homemade chili and want to use that you certainly can.  It can't get much simpler than this, and I had dinner on the table in about 40 minutes last night including prep time.  My daughter loves it, but my son doesn't tolerate beans (texture issue).  It is fabulous served up with salsa and sour cream and a side of rice.

Chili Pot Pie

1 can Brooks Chili Beans

1 can Hormel Chili without Beans

1 can Rotel tomatoes with green chilies

1 egg

1/4 cup oil

1 1/2 cup cornmeal mix

shredded cheese

NOTE:  If you do not have chili beans and chili without beans, you can use 2 cans of chili with beans (which is what I did)

1.  If you are using a can of chili beans and a can of chili without beans, stir them together in a bowl before spreading them in a 9x13" oven-proof casserole dish.  If you are using 2 cans of chili with beans, spread them in the bottom of the dish - no need to mix them beforehand.

2.  In a medium mixing bowl, stir together the egg, oil, and Rotel until mixed.

3.  Add the cornmeal mix to the Rotel mixture and stir until combined.  It will be somewhere between the consistency of White Lily Cornbread batter and pancake batter.

4.  Pour the cornbread mixture evenly over the chili in the casserole dish.  Use a spoon or spatula to gently spread the mixture to the edges.  Be sure to cover any bare spots and all the way around the edge of the dish so the chili doesn't bubble up through it.

5.  Bake in a 400º oven for 30-35 minutes or until the cornbread is done in the middle (don't mistake moisture from the chili as raw cornbread batter when you check it) and golden brown.

6.  Top with shredded cheese of your choice and return to the oven for approximately 5 minutes, until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

Chicken & Broccoli Bake

"Show me another pleasure like dinner which comes every day and lasts an hour."
- Charles Maurice de Talleyrand

I created this dish when I was a senior in high school.  My best friend and I visited my grandparents once a week and prepared dinner for them.  This was one of those things that just popped into my head, and when I made it everyone loved it.  It is still a favorite, though I rarely make it.  Fairly quick and simple, you can make it from a few pantry staples.  If you don't have everything on hand, a trip to Save-a-Lot or a local grocery store should give you what you need.  It is a casserole a-la Chicken Divan, only a whole heckuvalot simpler.  I know...I've made it before.

Chicken & Broccoli Bake

Original Recipe

3 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (defrosted if frozen) ~1.5lb

12 oz frozen broccoli florets (set out to thaw while you wait to add it)

1 10oz can condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup

1 10oz can condensed Cream of Chicken Soup

1/2 cup milk or cream

~1/2 batch Blue Ribbon Buttermilk Biscuit dough

1. Preheat oven to 450.  Empty cans of soup into large nonstick skillet.  Stir in milk.

2. If chicken is frozen, defrost in microwave.  Dice chicken breasts into 1/4 - 1/2" cubes.  Add to soup mixture.  Turn heat on medium high.  It will bubble, but you don't want to boil it.  Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.

3. While chicken is cooking, prepare Biscuit dough.  I only made enough for 6 thick or 10 thin biscuits.  You want them thin (~1/4" thick patted out).

4. After chicken has turned white, add broccoli and stir to combine.  If broccoli florets are large, use a pair of kitchen scissors to cut it up.  You want everything to be roughly the same size so it cooks evenly.

5. Once the broccoli has defrosted and warmed slightly, remove skillet from heat.  Pat out Biscuit dough, and cut biscuits.  Leave them on the counter for now!

6.  Pour chicken and broccoli mixture into a 9x13" oven-proof casserole dish.

7. Top casserole mixture with biscuits.  Lay them evenly across the top.  I did 3 down each long side, 2 down the middle.  With the extra dough I cut 3 more biscuits (11 total) and used the cutter to halve 2 of them (1 crescent moon, 1 football shape) and cut the last one into thirds (2 crescent moons, 1 football shape).  The biscuit pieces are used to fill in the spaces on the top.

8. Place casserole in preheated oven and bake for 12 minutes or until the biscuits are evenly browned.

05-04-16 Revision

Tonight I made this for supper. I suppose the last time I made it my daughter still wouldn't eat broccoli. She tried it, and she loved it! It makes my heart happy when I can feed my family a meal they like. She just kept going on about how good it was and even said, "You know how hot cocoa is good on a cold day? Well this would be good on a cold day, too!" This may be my big hint to make it more than once a year.

1. Preheat oven to 450º, make full batch of Blue Ribbon Buttermilk Biscuits dough, let sit in bowl while you make the filling.

2. Cook frozen chicken over medium heat until starting to turn white on bottom, remove to cutting board and cube, return to pan. Cook until almost done (only a little pink should be visible).

3. Add 2 cans each condensed cream of chicken and condensed cream of mushroom soup and ~1/3 - 1/2 c milk. Stir well to combine. Bring to a bubble. 

4. Add partially defrosted, chopped broccoli florets to pan, turn heat to medium low, have someone else stir while you make the biscuits.

5. Make biscuit topping - knead dough quickly on lightly floured surface, pat out to ~1/4" thickness, cut with 3" biscuit cutter. Pour chicken filling into buttered casserole dish (11"x15"), top with 12 biscuits spaced evenly, bake for 15 minutes or until biscuits are an even golden brown (start with 10 minutes, and add time in 3 minute increments, it took about 15-18 minutes for mine) and filling is bubbling (put biscuit trimming pieces on a small pan and bake alongside the casserole).

6. Let cool 5-10 minutes before serving.

Black Forest Cookies

"Baking cookies is comforting, and cookies are the sweetest little bit of comfort food.  They are very bite-sized and personal."
- Sandra Lee

I came up with this recipe going on 10 years ago now to take to an EKU Honor's Program picnic.  The cookies did not last long!  They quickly became the favorite cookie of my husband (who was then my boyfriend).  Since you use a boxed cake mix, they take very little time to prepare.  The only problem I see is that you can't eat just one...oh, and beware of cherry pits!

Black Forest Cookies

1 Duncan Hines Classic Dark Chocolate Fudge cake mix

2 large eggs

1/2 cup butter/margarine, melted

1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1 can cherry pie filling

The basic recipe can be found on the side of SOME of the DH cake mix boxes.  Step 3 is where my recipe is different

1. Place cake mix, eggs, butter, brown sugar, and vanilla extract in large bowl.  Stir with spoon until thoroughly blended.  Stir in chocolate chips.

2. Drop by level tablespoonfuls (I used medium sized Pampered Chef scoop) onto greased baking sheets.

3. Using your thumb (spray thumb with cooking spray first), gently press into the top of each cookie.  Be careful not to press too hard, you just want a slight indention.  Spoon one cherry and a bit of "goop" into each indention.

4. Bake at 350 for 12 minutes for chewy cookies or 14 minutes for crisp cookies.  Cool 2 minutes on baking sheets.  Remove carefully to cooling racks.  Cool completely.

NOTE: These cookies soften after they are cooled and stored.  Do not store them in an air-tight container!  I would recommend storing them in a single layer and loosely covering them with plastic wrap.  Otherwise the cherries fall out the bottom of the cookie.  They still taste fabulous, but it is a bit disappointing to have to eat the cookie with a fork when it falls apart.