Blake Makes

Hello there (this is Blake). Allow me to introduce Lara. She’s one of 19 new “Blake Bakers” we’ve invited to contribute to Blake Makes. Every Wednesday, Blake Makes will feature posts from the Blake Bakers about, you guessed it, baking, baked goods, baking techniques, etc. We think eventually the Blake Bakers will get their own blog (BlakeBakes.com), but for now, we’re happy to feature them right here. There’s what you need to know, so let me get out of the way and let Lara do her thing. Take it away, Lara!

I have a love-hate relationship with cake. Good cake – moist, without gobs of icing, and not too sweet – is great. Most cake, however, is not good cake. Unless they’re flourless, chocolate cakes often turn out too dry. I still remember one my sister made for my birthday years ago (she’s since made much more successful cakes). It was only edible soaked in milk or covered in whipped cream.

I’ve also had my cake failures. That’s why I was ecstatic the first time I made this recipe. It’s moist, it has dark chocolate icing, which is not too sweet, but the cake itself is a nutty flavor. And with three layers (or as many as you want) you get that perfect blend of icing and cake: just enough creamy chocolate with just enough nutty goodness.

I don’t even remember where I found this recipe anymore, but I love it. The only time consuming part (and this is only because I don’t have a food processor) is making the graham cracker crumbs. But I think you can also buy bags of graham cracker crumbs, which is probably the smarter approach.

What you’ll need to make the cake:

• 1 cup shortening
• 1 cup sugar
• 4 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cups fine graham cracker crumbs
• 1 cup finely chopped nuts
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350

Blend the shortening, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Combine the crumbs, nuts, and baking powder and add to the shortening mixture alternately with the milk. Pour into three greased eight-inch layer cake pans one and one-fourth inches deep, bake thirty to thirty five minutes. Put together with chocolate cream frosting.

What you’ll need to make the chocolate cream frosting:

• 1 cup (6oz package) semisweet chocolate pieces
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 teaspoon instant coffee
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 4 egg yolks
• 1/2 cup butter

In the top of a double boiler heat the chocolate, water, coffee, and sugar. Stir occasionally until the mixture is smooth beat in the egg yolks one at a time and cook over boiling water three minutes, stirring constantly. Cool to lukewarm and beat in the butter bit by bit.

Lara grew up in northern California where the words “hella” and “tight” were avid members of her vocabulary. That quickly changed, however, as after starting at UCLA she was duly educated in proper SoCal etiquette. Being a dork, she majored in math, but being indecisive she also took a lot of writing classes, wrote for her school newspaper The Daily Bruin, and after graduating decided writing was what she wanted to pursue. She currently works as an editorial assistant at The Robb Report, where she writes about furniture, and hosts a blog, The Ladybug and the Lion, where she writes about whatever she wants. She also loves food. Her current favorites include beer, oysters, and authentic mexican.

UPDATE: This giveaway is officially closed. We only had 16 jars to give away, and got 60 comments today. Thanks for your interest. We’ll announce the winners at the end of the week. Stay tuned!

Why do we love fried foods so much? Once fried, the food almost never tastes like itself any more, so what do we do? We get some yummy sauce to re-flavor the food. Frying is bad for us, but most of the time, the sauces we use for dipping only make matters worse. That’s what Chef Bradley hopes to change.

Chef Bradley has developed a line of healthful, better-for-you sauces that, I must say, are quite tasty. They sent me four jars, one of each of their flavors.

Remember the shrimp (left) we blogged about a few weeks ago? Well, I dipped my shrimp in the Lean Mean Ketchup and the Sweet Zing BBQ Sauce.

I had the sauces in two, little bowls, both of which were licked clean by the end of the meal. I will admit that they lack the depth that you’ll get from more conventional (sugar-filled) options, but for me, the good-for-me component outweighs any flavor loss.

The BBQ Sauce is zingy and sweet (just like the name says), and the ketchup is rich and tomatoey. I know I have a lot of moms who read this blog, so I’m always happy when I find food that’s good and good for us. I bet kids will never tell the difference.

Surprise! Another giveaway!

Chef Bradley would like to share a few of its jars with our readers. Here’s what we’ve got to giveaway:

1. Lo Carb Lean Mean BBQ Sauce: 4 jars
2. Lean Mean BBQ Sauce: 4 jars
3. Sweet Zing BBQ Sauce: 4 jars
4. Lean Mean Ketchup: 4 jars

This is a first come, first served giveaway (that starts now!). Comment on this post to claim a jar (make sure to include which sauce you’d like to try in your comment). Limit one (1) jar per Sooper Hero. There’s a limited supply, so these jars will go fast.

Like with all of our giveaways, you have to:

• Be a registered Sooper Hero
• Be interested in the product (and not just want something free)
• Be willing to blog about what you get (and link back here and to Chef Bradley)

Good Luck and GO!

Sandwiches are one of the greatest inventions ever- a whole yummy meal you can hold right in your hands.  I’m always on the lookout for new sandwich recipes because we eat them so much at our house, and as I was browsing through the May issue of Bon Appetit, I thought the Chicken Breast Sandwich with Caramelized Onions, Watercress, and Paprika Aioli sounded so delicious I should make it the next day.

I made this sandwich for a lovely picnic we had in our backyard (okay, that’s not quite true– Blake was dirty from doing yardwork so I made us eat on a blanket outside so as not to track his dirt into the house), and we both raved over it.  The paprika aioli was especially good- it had a wonderful tangy spiciness that went really well with the sweetness of the onions.  I used the leftover aioli on turkey sandwiches later in the week and it was still just as tasty.  This sandwich will probably become one of our weekend lunch faves, and I know Blake can’t wait for me to make it again.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1 teaspoon hot smoked Spanish paprika* (note- I couldn’t find Spanish paprika, so I used hot Hungarian paprika)
• 1 garlic clove, pressed
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil plus more for brushing on rolls
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 pounds onions, halved lengthwise, thinly sliced crosswise (about 7 cups)
• 3 8-ounce skinless boneless chicken breast halves, cut crosswise in half
• 6 sourdough sandwich rolls or twelve 1/2-inch-thick slices sourdough bread
• 3 cups (lightly packed) watercress or arugula

Directions:

• Whisk first 4 ingredients in small bowl. Gradually whisk in 2 tablespoons olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Cover prepared aioli and chill.
• Heat vegetable oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions, sprinkle with salt, and cook until beginning to brown, stirring often, about 10 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and continue to cook until onions are soft and deep golden brown, stirring often, about 20 minutes longer. Season with salt and pepper. DO AHEAD: Caramelized onions can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.
• Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Place chicken breasts between 2 sheets of plastic wrap. Pound with mallet to 1/3-inch thickness. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Grill chicken until cooked through, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to work surface. Brush cut side of rolls with extra-virgin olive oil. Grill rolls, cut side down, until grill marks appear, about 1 minute. Spread rolls with some of aioli. Assemble sandwiches, dividing chicken, caramelized onions, and watercress among rolls. Serve warm.

I’ve made my mama’s meatloaf forever. The meatloaf’s pretty simple (the loaf itself), but the sauce we put on top makes this (and has always made this) dish special. In other words, it’s not your basic Brady Bunch fare. When I was a kid, meatloaf was always my favorite, and I loved to swirl the sauce into mashed potatoes. OMG, I feel dirty knees and a milk mustache coming on.

When we made this recently, I had put the meatloaf in the oven, and then realized that I had no brown sugar for the sauce (glaze). I immediately jumped into the pantry. I needed something sweet. Should I use honey? No. Jelly? Heck no! Then, there it was. Staring me right in the face: balsamic vinegar.

Let me first tell you about this sauce. It’s a lot like sweet, tangy barbecue sauce. I add about a cup to a cup-and-a-half of ketchup to a sauce pan. Next, 1 tblsp. of yellow mustard, plus another tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce. Finally, 2 to 3 tblsps. of brown sugar (and some nice cracks of black pepper).

Heat until bubbling (careful not to burn), and set it aside.

Okay, so this time I didn’t have the sugar, so I reduced some balsamic vinegar and added it in. I guess I had about 1/2 to 3/4 cups, and I just let it simmer slightly for about 10 minutes until thick and syrupy. Do it low and slow.

It was sooooo good. It added the sweetness I like, plus it turned the normally ruby-red sauce a deep almost purple color. I may do this from now on.

For the meatloaf

The recipe is hard because I don’t measure anything any more, but here goes.

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I heart Mexican food more than any other cuisine, so Cinco de Mayo is naturally one of my favorite holidays because it gives me a chance to indulge in some Tex-Mex treats.  I was in the mood for something light, and I didn’t have a ton of time, so I decided to make fish tacos.  These are very simple, but very tasty– clean and fresh.

Ingredients:

• 4 Tilapia fillets
• Corn tortillas
• 2 Limes
• Shredded cabbage
• Shredded carrots (I use a bagged coleslaw mix for the carrots and cabbage)
• 2 cans refried black beans
• 1yellow onion
• Handful jarred jalapenos
• Cheese (I used a chipotle cheddar, but you could use Monterey jack, queso blanco, colby, etc.)
• Salsa

Directions:

• Wrap tortillas in aluminum foil and warm in oven.
• Saute onions until golden. Add beans and jalapenos to onions and heat through.
• Salt and pepper tilapia fillets and grill or sear until cooked through.  Squeeze lime juice onto each fillet.
• Spoon a small amount of the beans onto tortilla (can also serve beans on the side, but the consensus here was to put on taco) and add tilapia, cabbage, carrots and cheese. Serve with salsa.

We’re always on the lookout for meals that are [a] healthy, and [b] easy. This dish easily falls into both categories. Bridget found this recipe for Fish Fillets in Parchment with Asparagus and Orange while flipping through bonappetit’s latest edition (April 2008).

I think she thought it would be something I would love (and love to cook). She was right. The snob in me loves how elegant this dish feels. The workaholic (who has no time) loves its speed.

Simply cut four large squares (mine were 12×12) of parchment, and place them on the counter. Rub the parchment with a little butter.

Place a 5 to 6 oz. fillet of halibut or cod (we used halibut) on top of each square. S&P on top.

Cut some asparagus, and arrange the pieces around the fish (we used about 3 stalks per parcel). Lay 3 tarragon leaves on top (as beautifully as you can), and spoon over 1 tblsp. of orange juice.

Add 1/2 tblsp. butter (not melted) on the tip-top, and seal this baby up. I guess I should have mentioned this earlier, but position the fish on one half of the parchment square. That way, when you’re ready to seal it, just fold the other half on top (like closing a book).

Start on one side, and roll (crinkle) the package closed. You don’t need an airtight seal, but get it as contained as you can because you want the fish to steam inside.

Then it’s just 400 degrees for 17 minutes. Done and yum! Mashed sweet potatoes were our side.

Something about brown paper just makes me swoon. These packages weren’t tied-up with string, but this is one of my new favorite things (I couldn’t resist). Try it, blog about it and let us know what you think!

Here’s the complete recipe.

Here’s the news I’ve been waiting to share. Amano’s decided to give chocolate to everyone that commented on the (day of the) Amano giveaway post. There were a few late commenters, but by my count, I have 98 qualified comments. If you were one of them, CONGRATS!

In addition to Amano’s already generous offering, they created a discount code for all of my readers to receive 15% off. To use it, go to their online shop. Enter:14A01068A28

We love you guys! Comment or email with questions!

I am so pleased to announce that Blake Makes has been included on Alltop’s list of top food blogs on the planet!

I told you we were getting some attention (and we’re just getting started).

Apart from all of my Sooper Heroes’ blogs, the food blogs featured on Alltop Food are some of my favorites.

I’m honored to be in such esteemed (and popular) company.

We’re getting there, Blake Makers. This blog isn’t even a year old, and look at what we’ve been able to accomplish.

I can’t wait to see where we’ll be even six more months from now, not to mention this time next year.

Go see us on Alltop. There are a lot of blogs, but we’re there. Look in the middle column, 11 down from the top. Ta dah!

Hello, Sooper Heroes. Sorry it’s taken me a little longer to get the winners up. I thought I’ve would have gotten some news today, but it looks like it’s going to be a little longer (and I can’t wait any more).

The 50 winners have been selected, but we may have another Amano announcement to make either later today, or tomorrow.

Congratulations to the winners, and if you didn’t win…stay tuned.

To see if you won, click the following link to view the full list of winners.

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This giveaway is over, and all of the chocolate has been claimed. If you missed out, check back soon as we do free food giveaways almost every week. If you’d like to participate, remember you have to be Sooper - join our SOOPZ network.

UPDATE: Hello, Soopers. It’s going to take a little longer to announce the winners. Amano’s shared with us a bit of last-minute good news, so we’ve got a little more work to do behind the scenes before we’re ready to announce. We’ll announce tomorrow, but believe me, it will be worth the wait!

Ok, Sooper Heroes. Here’s your post. If you’d like a chance to win three (3) bars of amazing Amano Artisan Chocolate, comment on this post. We’ll announce the 50 lucky winners tomorrow. You’ve got all day, so GO!

Qualifications:

1. Must be a registered Sooper Hero
2. Must like (love) dark chocolate
3. Must have a (food) blog
4. Must be interested in blogging about it and linking to Amano (and us)

Read our Amano review for more information.

Comment and tell us how much you love dark chocolate. You can write a haiku, compose a song or just say, “hey.” We don’t require anything specific, but we do value enthusiasm and creativity (so keep that in mind… wink, wink).

Good luck!