Chocolate Amaretto Torta

First of all I'm so sorry I forgot to post yesterday. I'll post twice today to make up for it. Plus I have to in order to get all of the chocolate recipes on here.

This particular recipe is one of the more involved ones. One nice thing is that it calls for a pre-prepared pound cake. Now, it calls for one that has been baked in a 9 inch spring form pan, but I'm sure you could make it with a store-bought cake if you so desired. I'm more of a "make it yourself" person, but I completely understand that sometimes you're in charge of making dessert for a party and you just have no time to bake anything or your oven's not cooperating. The recipe does require you to chill it overnight, but anything that can be done the day before and finished on the day of is good in my book.

I'd put good money that this recipe came from Michelle's catering days. From what I know of catering (admittedly not very much), things that can be partially done a day or two in advance are always good. The less you leave to do right before serving, the better off you are. I, sadly, never got to know Michelle during her catering days, but I did get to see her planning and preparing a few different luncheons or dinners that she and her friend auctioned off to benefit Children's Hospital. It always sounded fantastic, and she always put her heart and soul into it every time.

Chocolate Amaretto Torta

One pound cake, baked in a 9 inch springform pan
1 cup chocolate chips
2 tsp sugar
3 eggs, separated and at room temperature
1/4 cup amaretto
1 cup heavy cream
1 Tb sugar
1 tsp vanilla
12 cup toasted, sliced almonds
Chocolate curls for decoration

Melt chocolate chips, then beat in 2 Tb amaretto. Add 1 tsp sugar to egg yolks and beat until thick and lemon colored. Beat (quickly) into the chocolate mixture.

Beat egg whites just (this is underlined) until stiff peaks form. Stir in 1/4 of the whites into the chocolate mixture. Fold in remaining whites. Whip 1/2 cup cream and fold in.

Cut cake into two layers. Put bottom back into the pan and sprinkle with 1 Tb amaretto and spread with 1/2 of the chocolate filling. Sprinkle with 2 Tb almonds. Cover with other layer, cut side up. Sprinkle with 1 Tb amaretto and spoon on remaining chocolate filling. Chill overnight.

Whip remaining ingredients (1/2 cup cream, 1 Tb sugar, 1 tsp vanilla as far as I can tell). Loosen cake and unmold. Spread cream on sides and pat with almonds. Arrange chocolate curls on top.

Hershey's Deluxe Old-Fashioned Chocolate Cake

Did you know that I used to tell people I didn't like chocolate? In fact, I used to think I didn't like chocolate. To this day I still hate chocolate ice cream and don't necessarily like chocolate cake much, but I have somewhat changed my tune about chocolate on the whole. I don't eat chocolate very often, but when I do it has to be of higher quality (no store brand chocolate bars for me), and I usually like some sort of crunch in it (nuts, crunchy bits, spices, etc.). Right now my favorite chocolate bar is coconut curry chocolate. I know, I know, it sound weird, but it's great. And it's all organic and fair trade and whatnot so it's got that going for it. And it's made by a company in Seattle. That's good too. It's a little pricey, but I think it's worth it to have good chocolate. It's made by Theo chocolate. You should try it.

I know for a fact that Michelle and I were alike in this mentality. One small piece of something truly decadent is always better than an abundance of low-quality food. For her this mentality seeped out of the realm of food into the realm of everything in her life. I've never quite gotten completely on board with this approach to life, but I'm working on it. I have adopted this approach to food though, and, let me tell you, I've never eaten so well in my entire life.

Hershey's Deluxe Old-Fashioned Chocolate Cake

3 oz Hershey's baking chocolate
1/3 cup water
3/4 cup butter
2 1/4 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/4 cups unsifted cake flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup water

Melt chocolate with 1/3 cup of water. Cool.

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and beat well. Blend in chocolate.

Combine dry ingredients and add to batter alternately with 1 cup of water. Beat just until well-blended. Pour into prepared cake pans*. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. Cool in pans for 10 minutes, then turn onto racks.

*There are no sizes or instructions given, but if I were making this I would use two round cake pans that have been greased and floured.

Chocolate Souffle

I have never made souffle. It's just too intimidating. Even though this recipe is deceptively simple, it scares me. I'm sure Michelle made souffle quite a few times. I truly regret not asking her to help me make one so that I wouldn't be so scared. I guess I'll just have to try it on my own. Or maybe not. It's still pretty scary.

Chocolate Souffle

3 Tb melted butter
3 Tb flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup boiling milk
2 squares unsweetened chocolate
4 beaten egg yolks
5-7 stiffly beaten egg whites

Blend butter, flour, sugar, and salt in a pan over low heat. Stir in milk and chocolate. When chocolate is melted remove from heat and slowly add egg yolks. Cool.

Fold in egg whites. Pour into buttered souffle mold. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes, put mold in pan of hot water*.

Serve with a sauce of whipped cream beaten with a little sugar and rum.

*This is copied directly from the recipe card. As far as I know, souffle's are often cooked in a water bath, so I think this means to put the souffles into a baking dish with warm water then bake them in that. It wouldn't make any sense to take them out of the oven and then put them in a warm water bath would it? Would it? If anyone knows for sure please let us all know, otherwise we'll just have to go with trial and error.

Oatmeal Chocolate Bars

I am a huge fan of oatmeal chocolate cookies. Bar cookies or drop cookies; it makes no difference to me. I love them. I love the chewy texture that oatmeal adds to regular chocolate chip cookies. This recipe in particular looks fantastic. First off, you start with brown sugar as the main sweetener. I love the molasses-y taste of brown sugar, and how it mixes so well with oatmeal. Then the rest of the ingredient list is incredibly short. No flour, no milk or water, no eggs even. It's perfectly simple, and isn't all mucked up with unnecessary flavors. Just sugar, butter, and vanilla. Simple. Then it has a ton of oats. Perfect. Then, as if this wasn't enough, you melt peanut butter with chocolate and spread it on top like frosting. I think this is my new favorite cookie recipe.

This one is also a true Michelle recipe. It's written more as a train of thought than most recipes. Rather than a list of ingredients right at the start, they're listed as you add them. There isn't even an exact amount of butter listed, you just have to determine for yourself what the right amount is. It's simple, to the point, and fantastic. And it has chocolate. The quintessential Michelle recipe.

Oatmeal Chocolate Bars

1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
little less than 2 sticks margarine or butter
1/2 tsp vanilla

Mix well and add 4 cups of oatmeal.

Press on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 17 minutes (this might also say 11, but the handwriting is a little sloppy; if I were you I would check it after 11 minutes and see how things are coming along).

Remove from oven and spread with a mixture of 1 cup peanut butter and 16 ounces of chocolate chips.

Chill in fridge and cut into bars when cold.

Mexican Brownies

Everybody loves brownies. It's just a fact of life. Of course, everyone has their preferences (fudgy vs. cakey; frosted vs. non-frosted; nuts vs. no nuts; brownies vs. blondies) but everybody still loves brownies. I personally am more of a fudgy, non-frosted, no nuts, brownie kind of girl, but I can appreciate virtually any type of brownie. This recipes looks like a rather run of the mill brownie recipe, except for the addition of the spices. I can't wait to give these a try. They sound fantastic.

A few notes about the recipe though. There is no oven temp given, and the cook time is only 5-6 minutes, so that leads me to believe that this is a microwave recipe. I have no problems with microwaves (most of the time) so I'm fine with that. Plus it's fast and easy, which makes it a great way to follow yesterday's complicated post.

Mexican Brownies

1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
2 squares of unsweetened chocolate
1 cup chopped nuts
1/2 tsp vanilla
powdered sugar

Melt butter in mixing bowl. Add eggs and sugar, and beat well. Add flour, salt, cinnamon, and cloves. Stir well. Melt chocolate and add to batter. Add nuts and vanilla, and mix well. Spread into a 1 1/2 quart dish (8x8 pan) and cook 5-6 minutes. Cut while warm and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Indianers

First off, I love this name. I'm not sure why, but I think it's fun to say. Say it out loud. You'll think it's funny too.

Back to reality, I had my first request for a recipe yesterday. My mom specifically asked for a recipe with chocolate and orange in it. I, personally, love any fruit with chocolate, so was happy to oblige. Just a warning, this is a long recipe. There are lots of steps involved, and it is far from easy. On a personal note, I love long complicated recipes. It always gives me a sense of accomplishment when I'm finished. I should also tell you that every single time I made something complicated and commiserated to Michelle about how difficult it was, she would always have some tip or trick that would have made things so much easier. Why she never had those tips for me before I embarked on a complicated recipe is beyond me. At least I have those tips for next time I suppose.

If anyone has any requests or suggestions, please pass them along. I'm perfectly happy to seek out specific recipes for you or just find something using a specific ingredient you happen to love. Just ask and I will do my best to deliver.

Indianers*
Makes 2 dozen

2 navel oranges
1 package (18.75 ounces) pudding-included yellow cake mix
3 eggs
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup heavy cream
2 Tb confectioners' sugar (powdered sugar)
1 tsp vanilla
1 can (16.5 ounces) double Dutch frosting mix (apparently they don't make this anymore, but you can use chocolate fudge frosting from a can or make your own)
2 Tb granulated sugar
1 tsp water
1/2 cup heavy cream, whipped

Grease and flour 24 large muffin pan cups.

Zest one orange to get 1 Tb of zest. Remove thin orange skin (no white) from second orange with vegetable peeler. Cut into thin strips, about 1/2 inch long (you should have 1/4 cup of strips). Squeeze 1/2 cup orange juice from oranges.

Combine cake mix, eggs, water, 1/2 cup orange juice, oil, and grated zest into large bowl. Beat with electric mixer at low until ingredients are moistened; increase speed to high and beat for two minutes. Divide mixture evenly among prepared muffin cups.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until centers spring back when lightly touched with fingertips. Remove to wire racks and let cool for 10 minutes. Remove cakes from pans and cool.

Trip top of cupcakes evenly with scissors or a knife, if necessary. Cut off a 1/4 inch slice with a sharp knife from top of the cupcakes and reserve slices. Scoop out centers 1/4 inch from the sides and about 1/2 inch deep, almost to the bottom (save the crumbs to layer with chocolate pudding in parfait glasses for a quick dessert; really, it tells you to do this so you must)

Beat heavy cream with powdered sugar and vanilla in a small bowl with an electric mixer until soft peaks form. Fill centers of cakes with mixture, spreading lightly to the edges. Press reserved slices back on top of cakes. Place cakes top down on a wire rack set over wax paper.

Place frosting in top of a double boiler (or metal bowl over pan) set over simmering water to melt. Hold cakes on a pancake turner (offset spatula would work great) one at a time over the frosting. Spoon frosting over the cake to cover completely, letting the excess drip back into the pan. Use a small metal spatula to slide each cake onto a wire rack set over wax paper. Let set for one hour or until firm.

Combine granulated sugar, water, and the 1/4 cup of orange rind strips in a small skillet. Cook for one minutes or until sugar glaze coats orange strips. Remove with a fork to wax paper, separate slightly, and cool.

Garnish each cake with whipped cream and candied orange peel. Chill until serving time.

*this recipe is from a magazine, but since Michelle cut it out and glued it to a 3x5 card I have no idea which one; I felt obligated to let you know though

Our theme for this week is...

I know I've been markedly absent lately, but we had a whirlwind vacation time and now I'm back.

Our theme this week (well, maybe actually for two weeks since we have so many recipes) is chocolate. Everyone likes chocolate, right? Some people even go so far as to love it. I suppose some people take this too far and become obsessed. Michelle was somewhere right between love and obsessed. Every single time I mentioned any dessert not containing chocolate in her presence, she remarked that it's not really dessert unless it has chocolate in it. Back when she and I would watch a movie every Sunday after family dinner, about halfway through she would run upstairs and return with Lindt truffles for each of us. The super dark, super rich ones, which are, of course, the best ones. When I started looking through the recipe box for chocolate recipes I was a little bit overwhelmed. There are literally dozens of recipes in there, all of which sound delicious. I decided to extend our theme over the next two weeks so that I can use all of my favorites.

This particular recipe appears in at least four separate cards, and in one of the Children's Hospital guild cookbooks (which are fantastic collections of the members' favorite recipes, including some of Michelle's best). I thought it would be the perfect (no pun intended) way to start out our chocolate half-month.

The Perfect Chocolate Cake

9 oz dark chocolate (Linzer or Hershey's Special Dark)
1 stick butter, soft
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup chopped nuts
1/2-2/3 cups chocolate chips
1 Tb Crisco
Nut halves (12-24)

Melt chocolate over very low heat, and set aside.

Beat butter until creamy. Beat in sugars, eggs (one at a time), vanilla and melted chocolate. Beat well. Stir in flour and salt. Stir in chopped nuts.

Butter and flour a 9 inch cake pan. Line with paper. Butter and flour paper. Pour batter into pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until tester comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan, remove from pan and continue cooling on rack.

Melt chocolate chips with crisco (either in microwave or double boiler). Dip nut halves half-way into chocolate and let dry on greased foil. Spread remaining chocolate on top and sides of warm (not hot) cake. Arrange nuts decoratively. Cool completely and cut into 12 wedges.

Taco Salad and Burritos

Our go-to meal (well, second to Papa Murphy's pizza) for family dinner at Michelle's was always burritos. We never did anything fancy with them, but they were always fantastic. We would simply brown a pound of beef with seasonings or even a can of green chile; heat up a can of refried beans; chop up lettuce, tomato, and onion; shred some cheese; and set out a jar of salsa and a tub of sour cream. Someone would put some beans and meat on each tortilla (which were usually heated in the cast iron skillet) and take two to each diner. Then it was just fill it with what you want and eat. Sometimes we would chop up an avocado if there was a ripe one at the store. Sometimes we even used shredded chicken instead of beef. It's so incredibly easy, but also amazingly delicious. There's nothing pretentious about it, which is perfect for family dinner.

If I was feeling healthy at the time, I would often tear up some extra lettuce and turn my burrito into a taco salad. I love taco salad, and could probably eat it every day and be perfectly happy. I know that everyone has their own way to make taco salad, and this recipe is really quite basic, but I wanted to put it in here anyhow.

Taco Salad
Serves 4-6

1 onion
4 tomatoes
1 head lettuce
1 avocado
1 15 oz. can red kidney beans
4 oz grated cheese
8 oz 1000 Island dressing
hot sauce
1 bag Fritos or Doritos
1 lb. ground beef
1/4 tsp. salt

Chop onions, tomatoes, and lettuce. Toss with cheese, dressing and hot sauce (to taste). Crunch and add corn ships. Slice and add avocado. Brown ground beef and beans and salt. Simmer for 10 minutes and mix with cold salad. Garnish with corn chips, avocado, and tomato slices. Serve immediately.

Mexican Wontons

Today, Kyle, Athena and I went out to lunch with some women from Michelle's book club. It was a lovely day, and we sat next to the sandbox (can you say built-in babysitter) and there was even another toddler, Jackson, for Athena to play with. All in all it was a lovely lunch. Kyle and I had stopped by Michelle's house on the way down there to grab some of her mini-collection of little heart shaped jewelry boxes. We wanted to give them out so that everyone could have a little something to remember Michelle by. They are just so Michelle. They're heart shaped, and designed to hold tiny things that you hold dear. When we emptied them out we found one full of matches, one full of tiny soaps long past their prime, one full of hat pins from various places, and even one full of single earrings who had lost their mate. Just like Michelle for every little thing to have it's place.

That story has absolutely nothing to do with the recipe I'm posting today, except for perhaps the fact that my salad for lunch had wonton wrappers on it. I just wanted to share our lovely day with everyone.

Mexican Wontons

Salsa:
1 large tomato, chopped
1/2 can chopped green chiles, drained
2 Tb minced red onion
1 Tb minced cilantro
1 tsp lime juice
1/8 tsp salt

Combine all ingredients and chill.

Wontons:
1 lb. ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 can chopped green chiles, drained
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 Tb chopped cilantro
1/8 tsp cayenne
16 egg roll wrappers

Brown beef in skillet and remove when cooked through. Add onion and garlic and cook until tender. Add chili powder and cook for 1 minute. Return meet, add remaining ingredients (except wrappers) and 1/2 cup of water. Cook for 5 minutes.

Layer two wrappers together and spoon 1/4 cup of the beef mixture into the center. Brush the edges with water, gather edges together, and pinch to seal. Repeat for remaining wrappers.

Deep fry at 375 degrees in 3 inches of oil for 3 minutes. Drain. Serve with salsa.

Mexican Avocado Cheese Pie

It has been a long week and I, quite frankly, have no energy to write anything interesting, funny and/or exciting here. Fill it in for yourself. I do, however, wish I had purchased the ingredients to make this tonight, but, alas, I have not and I am too lazy go to the store. Next week perhaps?

Mexican Avocado Cheese Pie

Butter
6 6 inch tortillas
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
1 large tomato, chopped
1 can (4 oz) diced green chiles
3 eggs
2 Tb flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
2/3 cup milk
1 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 ripe avocado, sliced
taco sauces

Butter a round baking dish (8 inch) or 9 inch pie plate. Line with tortillas, overlapping on the bottom and overhanging 1/2 inch at the top.

Place onions on tortillas, then tomatoes, and then chiles. Beat eggs and mix with flour, salt, baking powder, and milk. Stir in cheese. Pour into baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

Place avocado slices in spoke fashion on top of pie and bake for 5 minutes more. Let stand for 5 minutes and cut into wedges. Serve with taco sauces.

Cheese Chalupas

When I first read through this recipe I thought to myself, "Wait a gosh darn minute here. This is a tostada, not a chalupa. When I post it I should make sure to point that out. Wait another gosh darn minute. I should probably look up the difference between a chalupa and a tostada before I go making wild claims that Michelle had something wrong on one of her recipes." So I looked it up on Wikipedia. Turns out I was wrong, and Michelle was right. Well, actually we were both right. Apparently a chalupa is a tostada platter. I had no idea. I guess I never really knew what a chalupa is (thanks, Taco Bell for confusing me with your deep fried concoction). Now I know.

Semantics aside, I think this recipe looks fantastic. It has all of my favorite things about Mexican food, and it's meat free. Now, our little family is far from vegetarian, but it is nice to find some meat-free recipes to use now and then.

This recipe brings up a point I want to share with everyone though. As we get further and further into the recipe box we're coming across quite a few recipes that neither Kyle nor I have any stories to associate with them. They simply look delicious. When this is the case I'll just put in some of my own humor and flavor (see, I'm good a puns) into the post. The whole point of the blog is the recipes anyhow, so I figured no one would mind.

Cheese Chalupas
Serves 4

1 16 ounce can red beans, drained
1 cup cubed cheddar cheese (4 ounces)
1 4 ounce can green chiles, rinsed, seeded and halved
1 slice onion
1 tsp ground cumin
8 corn tortillas
2 cups shredded lettuce
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 medium avocado, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (2 ounces)

In blender, combine beans, cubed cheese, chiles, onion, cumin, and 1/4 tsp salt. Cover and blend until combined (should be a bit lumpy). Spread 1/4 cup of the bean mixture over each tortilla. Place on a baking sheet and broil 4-5 inches from heat for 4-5 minutes or until cheese bubbles. Remove from oven. Stack two tortillas, bean side up, on each plate. Top with lettuce, tomato, avocado, and cheese.

This week's theme is...

Kyle really wants me to put Michelle's Stacked Enchiladas recipe on here, so the theme this whole week is Mexican food. I know that we just did enchiladas last week, but stacked enchiladas are different. Quite different. The ingredients are the same, but the method is completely different. The resulting flavor and texture is quite different from normal enchiladas. Plus it's easier. This is definitely Kyle's favorite recipe his mom ever made, and is usually what he asks for on his birthday. As far as I know it is a Michelle original, but it has never been written down (to my knowledge) so please bear with me as I try to write it from memory.

You will need to find a round casserole pan that is the same-ish diameter as your tortillas, otherwise it's kinda hard to get it together nicely. Feel free to use any size of tortilla you can find, just as long as it fits your pan.

Stacked Enchiladas
Serves 6-ish

1 lb. of ground beef
Taco seasoning, or your own seasoning concoction
1 14.5-ish ounce can enchilada sauce
1 28-ish ounce can refried beans
1 bunch scallions, chopped
Shredded cheddar cheese (I never measure this, sorry)
Sour cream
Salsa

Brown your ground beef in a skillet with the taco seasoning. When cooked through, drain as much of the fat off as you can.

Liberally spray your Stacked Enchilada Pan with Pam. Pour a small amount (maybe 2 TB) of enchilada sauce into the bottom, then top with one tortilla. Pour more sauce (same small amount) on top of the tortilla. Then add maybe 1/2 cup of refried beans on top of the sauce. Add about 1/2 cup of the beef, then a handful of the chopped scallions, and some cheese (I don't measure, but I add enough that the vast majority of the surface is covered with cheese). Repeat these layers until either the pan is full or you run out of ingredients. The amounts you put in each layer may have to be altered to make sure it all fits, but it's not a problem if some layers are bigger than others. Make sure that you end with a good layer of cheese to make the crunchy top.

Put the pan in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes, or until it is heated through and all the cheese on the top has created a nice crunchy crust. If it starts to get too brown, you can cover it with foil to prevent further cheese browning.

You can make the enchiladas ahead of time, refrigerate them, and cook them right before serving, but make sure to let it come to room temperature before cooking or it will take forever to heat through.

Serve topped with salsa, sour cream, and some remaining chopped scallions.

*There are endless variations of this recipe. Michelle often used shredded chicken instead of the beef. I have toyed with the idea of layering it in a 9x13 pan and cutting the tortillas into strips so I can make it to serve more people (adjusting all ingredients accordingly, of course). You can use jack cheese, or even pepper jack if you're feeling spicy. You can add a jalapeno to your ground beef as you cook, or some onions. See? Endless variations.