Looking for Caramel Cake Recipe

I have been looking for a good caramel icing recipe for some time.  I purchased a cookbook about Southern cakes, I think caramel cake is the ultimate South Louisiana cake.  Well, I made the cake and it was an utter disaster, turns out the Southern book warns the cake should not be made on a humid day?? Umm... Southern Cakes? Southern weather- did they forget?  Clearly.  Quite a sticky mess, the recipe did not work- go figure in 90% humidity almost year-round.  I continued my search as this particular was cake to be made only in the dessert. I gave up for a while until recently when someone brought it up over morning coffee and oh no,  the obsession begun all over again.

 I ran across a woman who had the recipe of the specific cake I used buy and LOVE- she had  received it as a wedding gift.  I asked for it, I am pretty generous with my recipes so I was hopeful. She could not share she explained since the lady that gave it to her asked her not to. OK- understood, I get it- she received it as a gift and was told not to share it,  I completely respect that. So the search continues...I am a bit more obsessed with it at this point, but I think my OCD has long since been established so I'm not making excuses.

 This time around, instead of posting a recipe I am actually asking for one. Specifically what I am looking for is a nice caramel icing made with brown sugar, cream, and butter.  I think it usually is brought to soft ball stage then stirred until somewhat set in order to ice the cake.  I have a great yellow cake recipe- just need the icing.  So if anyone has the recipe proportions I would be elated to have them. Oh, almost forgot- the cake I'm looking for is a two layer cake, not like the caramel cake I have in the index.   Possibly found in an old Southern cookbook or in grandmas recipe box.  Also, don't waste time on google- done that to no avail already. There is a link to my email in my profile, or maybe someone will be gracious enough to leave it in the comments.

Recipe: Steamed Mussels with Herbs in a White Wine Broth

I have been craving mussels for the longest time.  I actually had them twice in the last several weeks but neither meal satisfied me.  The first time was at a very popular restaurant in New Orleans, they were not properly prepared with a rather bland broth- I had high expectations so very very disappointing.  The second time was  better, but still seriously lacking in flavor.  So a couple of weeks ago, having not much on my agenda I set out to make them for myself.  Which in the end isn't really so surprising- sometimes with my tendencies towards perfection I have to do things for myself in order to achieve my desired result. 

Since my recent change in occupational status,  I have been taking lessons on relaxing and being idle- two new teachers, both very amusing and quite entertaining.  This is all taking place about five minutes from home in a coffee shop- the one I used to go to before work every morning and on my way home from work in the afternoon. Rather ironic- now I go there for internet access since on day 20 after the hurricane I still did not have cable or internet! (thankfully I do now).  But that's only my excuse for being there half the day, not that anyone has asked.  It's hard for me to believe that I do this, (just sit around and chat) much less admit it publicly, but it's humorous nonetheless.  I will say though, that I have in two week's time changed my attitude and am actually embracing doing nothing much at all, (I have excellent teachers).  Relaxing is an art form for these two.  It's a good thing that neither knows much about my blog or most importantly how to get here.  (they would not think this was too idle!)  In reality though, I have worked for the last 24 years, for the last 15 at the restaurant so this last month has given me the opportunity to regroup and figure things out.  The interesting thing is, I already had it figured out.  Working with food isn't out of my system just yet, all I have to do now is wait until I can make it happen.  Slowly and surely.

Being in the midst of starting a new venture after not having had a job for the last 4 weeks has been a month of many many firsts.  Some good- some not so good, some professional some personal, but as my friend O says - I'm like a cat... always landing on my feet.  It's going to take much more than the hell storm I've been through to put me in a negative place. (If ever!) Life anew- I will forever be an optimist.  Which is why I knew that eventually I would get the mussels and they would taste exactly as I was craving them.  

So the mussels... 

I love the little black ones and have done a little research.  A friend asked me the other day which type I liked best and it occurred to me I really didn't know.  But of course there is an answer for that, being as particular as I am, I may not know the name, but I do know what I like.  Turns out they are called Blue mussels- not black.  They are found on the Northern Atlantic coast of North America and in Europe and I find I like them better than the California mussels, they are a little smaller and all around tastier.  Blue mussels are most commonly used in French and Italian cuisines.

I prepared them in a light wine broth, with chopped Italian parsley and fresh Thyme.  I reduced the broth after they steamed, added a little butter and extra herbs.  They were perfect- at least for me, I enjoyed them immensely.

Ok, one last thing- when I say white wine, I mean good white wine.  If you won't drink it, please don't cook with it.  The end product is only a sum of it's parts, and as I found out today mussels are rather inexpensive (under $5 lb.).  So splurge on good wine and just drink the rest, that should not be a difficult task. 

2 lb.'s of mussels will serve four people as a starter or two as an entree. 

Steamed Mussels in White Wine

2 lb.s Blue Mussels
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups dry white wine
1 cup low sodium chicken broth
2 garlic cloves
2 small shallots, minced
a few sprigs fresh Thyme
about 1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian Parsley
4 or 5 large fresh basil leaves
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Smash the garlic with the side of a large knife and cut it into a paste. Over medium heat, heat olive oil in a large pot with a lid, (I used a paella pan ).  Saute shallots until almost translucent, then add garlic and continue to cook for a couple of minutes.  Add chicken broth, wine and fresh thyme sprigs and bring to a boil.

2. Add washed mussels, cover and steam for 6 minutes or until mussels have opened.  Remove mussels from pan and set aside.  Bring broth back to a boil and reduce for 3 to 5 minutes.  Add parsley, basil, tomatoes and butter and cook until butter melts. 

3. Return mussels to the pan, stir and serve with hot French bread.

Recipe: Healthy Banana Bran Muffins

I live in Louisiana and while there are many reasons to make this a great place to live, the climate is not one of them. Specially on this day as we all await the arrival of hurricane Gustav. Yesterday I had lunch with friends- ok...drinks with friends while all the men where at the football game- yes on the eve of this category 5 storm LSU is still playing football at 10 am in the morning (insane!). That's the south for you- sort of the the last hurrah before the storm. We were all talking about what provisions we needed to compile for the weeks ahead since it is pretty much unknown what the effect of the storm will be. The funny thing was that every single one of our provision lists began with wine or beer...I guess we all know we will soon be stranded and having house parties will be our only source of entertainment.

So this morning I set out to get gas, wine, bread and water. The only bread available at the store was raisin bread, water was a plenty and wine was not sold until after 11 am!!! I still don't understand the reasoning behind that law. After spending half the day in a frenzy doing all this- gas was available but gas cans were not...not so good for my generator situation- maybe this is why I should have done all this on Thursday. Anyhow, now I'm home baking...the stress reliever, it's not actually the storm I'm stressed about though. Yesterday I had an abrupt career change- yup am sort of jobless and amazingly enough not too worried about it. I tend to land on my feet and do have the comfort of knowing that things in my life do tend to work themselves out for the best.

Now to the point of the post- the banana muffins. After all this is a food blog. They are the healthy version, quite moist due to the ratio of bananas and full of whole grains and bran. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do!

Banana Bran Muffins

1 cup unprocessed wheat bran
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1- 3/4 cups mashed banana (about 4-5 small bananas)
1-1/2 cup buttermilk
1 large egg
3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Mix bran, flours, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl and stir with a whisk to combine.

2. In a medium bowl combine buttermilk, sugar, egg, canola oil, mashed bananas and vanilla. Whisk well until thoroughly combined.

3. Pour buttermilk mixture into bowl with flour and stir with a spoon gently- only to barely combine. Do not over mix- that is what makes muffins tough!

Spoon into muffin tins filling to the top. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.

Recipe: Seared Tuna Steak with Fresh Basil Pesto

Grilled tuna is one of my favorite staples- both for a dinner party and a quick weekday meal. I purchase sushi grade tuna frozen in individual vacumm sealed bags, I keep them in the freezer and defrost as I need them.

When tuna gets overcooked, it becomes very dry and flavorless, to make sure that doesn't happen I cook it either in a very hot sautee pan, and indor flat grill or grill it over very hot coals. I cook the tuna until the outside is seared and the inside is still raw, like sushi. The fresh pesto sauce is the perfect accompaniment.

Prepare the pesto first, you can find the recipe either below this post, or here. The tuna can be served warm or at room temperature.

2-3 pounds center cut tuna steaks
extra virgin olive oil
freshly ground black pepper
coarse sea salt

1. heat a sautee pan or grill until very hot over medium-high heat, 2-3 minutes. Rub olive oil over tuna and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Cook tuna for a ccouple of minutes on each side until seared, the middle should remain pink. Serve with pesto.

Recipe: Making Fresh Basil Pesto

If you have ever had freshly made pesto, you already know there is no going back to the store bought variety. I am a purist when it comes to pesto- I like to make it by hand, the way my grandmother did. Part of that for me is the fact that I enjoy spending time in the kitchen whisking, chopping, kneading and the like. I get more satisfaction out of cooking if I take the time to prepare things by hand. Granted, sometimes time does not allow such leisure, but whenever possible I take advantage of it.

As with any food, the quality of your ingredients will define your results. Make sure to use freshly grated parmesan cheese and the best extra virgin olive oil you can find. The pesto keeps covered in the refrigerator for a couple of days, but it's best the day it is prepared. Use a mezzaluna or the largest knife you have to do the chopping. I like adding everything in stages which yields little bits and pieces of everything in different sizes, more rustic- instead of a homogenized paste like you would get by using a food processor.

Fresh Basil Pesto

1 bunch basil leaves, approximately 2 cups loosely packed
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 cup pine nuts
2-3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, peeled

1. Stack half of the basil leaves together and begin to chop, add some garlic, pine nuts and parmessan, continue chopping while adding a bit more garlic, basil, pine nuts and parmesan. Adding the ingedients in stages will keep the pesto a bit more rustic and chunky.

Chop until a thick chunky paste is formed.

2. Press pesto into a small bowl and cover with a couple of tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil. Stir before serving.

Recipe: Corn and Potato Chowder with Gorgonzola Dolce

I'm back. I took a little hiatus- life was overwhelming me. I'll leave it at that. Amazingly enough though, readership has gone up while I've been gone. I wont read too much into that.

My absence makes me a little sad- I've missed most summer foods, which are actually my favorite. Nothing is as good as cooking with freshly picked ruby red tomatoes, but corn will have to do for today. This is one of my favorite soups, specially in the summer when corn is sweet and not so starchy, frozen corn is not a good choice here- it's just never the same. The soup comes together quickly and is composed of pretty basic ingredients I am likely to have in the pantry at any given time. I like Gorgonzola Dolce crumbles as a topping, it melts beautifully and takes the flavor of the soup to a whole other level- if you are not a fan of blue cheeses, substitute a sharp white cheddar.

Corn Chowder with Gorgonzola Dolce

4 strips bacon, chopped
1 cup chopped yellow onion
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/3 cup flour
1-2 teaspoons coarse sea salt (depending on the saltiness of your chicken stock)
1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
6 cups chicken stock
2 yukon gold potatoes, cubed- unpeeled
4 ears fresh corn
2 cups milk, cream, or half and half (I use whatever I have- obviously cream is best!)
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1/4 pound Gorgonzola Dolce

1. In a large heavy stock pot over medium heat, cook bacon with olive oil until crispy- about 5 minutes. Remove bacon with a slotted spoon and set aside for topping.

2. Add onions and butter and cook until translucent, they should just be beginning to brown around the edges- about 10-15 minutes. Add flour, salt, pepper, turmeric and cayenne pepper. Stir to combine and cook an additional 5 minutes, stiring to make sure mixture does not stick to the sides of the pot.

3. Add chicken stock a little at a time while whisking flour and onion mixture into stock. Add potatoes, bring to a boil over medium heat and cook until potaoes are almost all the way cooked- about 10 minutes. Add corn and fresh thyme and cook 5 minutes, add cream, half and half or milk- whichever you are using and bring back to a boil. Simmer for about 5 minutes, check seasonings then serve hot with gorgonzola dolce and bacon crumbles.