Recipe: Alberta Fudge Cake

Basically, this cake has a thick layer of real pecan fudge laying on top as the icing. This cake is so very rich you might want to serve only in very small portions or keep it for the holidays.

Note: Be specific about cooking the fudge until it registers 236 degrees on a candy thermometer.

Alberta Fudge Cake

From: Michael Doumit, from Lafayette, Louisiana, originally featured in Travelhost Magazine.

Yield: Makes a 9x13-inch cake.

Ingredients:

2 sticks butter

2 cups sugar

4 eggs

1-1/2 cups flour

6 tbls. cocoa

2 tsps. vanilla

2 cups chopped pecans

Fudge Icing

4 cups sugar

1 stick butter

1 (12-oz.) can evaporated milk

12 ozs. semisweet chocolate chips

1 (7-oz.) jar marshmallow crème

3 cups chopped pecans

1 tsp. vanilla


1. For the cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease or line a (9x13x2-inch) baking pan with parchment paper.

2. In mixer, blend butter and sugar until thoroughly mixed and creamy. Add eggs one at a time and blend.

3. Sift flour and cocoa together and add to above mixture. Add vanilla and chopped pecans.

4. Pour into greased or parchment-lined pan. Bake in preheated 350-degree oven for 30 minutes. Cool, then top with Fudge Icing.

Fudge Icing

1. In heavy saucepan, combine sugar, butter and milk. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture registers 236 degrees on candy thermometer.

2. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips and marshmallow crème. Stir until chocolate is melted. Stir in pecans and vanilla and pour over cake. Cool until fudge sets.

Recipe: Black-Eyed Pea Jambalaya

Image via Wikipedia

Black-Eyed Pea Jambalaya

Here’s a different twist on a yummy Louisiana dish: using black-eyed peas! These peas are very popular here, usually as a side dish.

From: Frances Durham

Yield: Serves about 12


Black-Eyed Pea Jambalaya


Ingredients:


1 (16 ounce) can Trappey’s black-eyed peas with jalapeños, undrained

1 ½ cups Uncle Ben’s uncooked rice

1 medium onion, chopped

1 (14 ounce) can beef broth

1 (4 ounce) can mushrooms, drained

½ cup butter

1 pound smoked sausage, cut into bite-sized pieces

Chopped garlic to taste

Salt and pepper to taste


Directions: Combine the black-eyed peas, rice, onion, beef broth, mushrooms, butter and sausage in an electric rice cooker. Season to taste with garlic, salt and pepper.

Cook according to directions from the rice cooker, gently stirring once when the cooker reaches the warm mode.

How Long Will You Live?

How Long Will You Live?: "There is an old-timey Cajun way of contemplating sunsets, by measuring and knowing the number of sunsets you've been given. It changes the way you'll look at your personal sunsets. If you were to live one hundred years, you'll only have 36,500 sunsets in your personal century. Doesn't sound like a lot of sunsets for one hundred years of wisdom, does it?" 3 videos.

By Jerilee Wei
Photo by William Dalton @ flickr

Recipe: Romantic Chocolate Fondue for Two

Romantic Fondue for Two

From: Chocolate Lover's Cookbook for Dummies
by Carole Bloom (Wiley Publishing, Inc., 2002), spokesperson for NCA's fellow industry group, the Chocolate Manufacturers Association

Ingredients:

7 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, finely chopped

2 tablespoons water

4 tablespoons heavy cream

2 tablespoons orange liqueur or 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1 tablespoon unsweetened Dutch-processed cocoa powder, sifted

¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Cubes of pound cake or angel food cake

Whole fresh strawberries

Thick slices of banana

Dried apricot halves



Directions: In the top of a double boiler, combine the chocolate and water. Stir over warm water until the chocolate melts and is smooth. Add the cream, orange liqueur or vanilla, cocoa powder, and cinnamon. Stir until the mixture is smooth.

Transfer the mixture to a fondue pan and keep it warm over a low flame. Arrange the cake and fruit on a serving platter.

Supply each guest with a fondue fork so they can spear the item of their choice and dip it in the fondue mixture.

Yield: 6 servings

Remember: Your fondue mixture must be kept warm so that it will stay liquid. The best way to do this is to use a fondue pot that has room for a candle or a liquid heat source underneath.

1st Photo by Traveling Fools of America @ flickr
2nd Photo by -Gep- @ flickr

Recipe: Chocolate Banana Coconut Cream Pie

What’s the tantalizing secret to this cream pie? A chocolate layer is spread over the pie shell like a hidden secret under piles of banana slices and fluffy coconut filling. This is a fast filling for the convenience oriented so this pie comes together quickly, chilling for about four hours.

Tomorrow: Romantic Chocolate Fondue for Two


Chocolate Banana Coconut Cream Pie


Yield: 8 servings

From: Kraft Foods


Ingredients:


2 squares semi-sweet baking chocolate

1 Tablespoon milk

1 Tablespoon butter

1 baked pastry shell (9-inch), cooled

2 bananas, sliced

1 ½ cups cold milk

1 package (4-serving size) vanilla instant pudding and pie filling

1 ½ cups coconut

1 ½ cups thawed whipped topping

Coconut, toasted


Directions: Microwave chocolate, milk and butter in medium microwavable bowl on HIGH for 1 to 1 ½ minutes, stirring every 30 seconds. Stir until chocolate is completely melted. Spread evenly in pastry shell. Arrange banana slices over chocolate.

Pour cold milk into large bowl. Add pudding mix. Beat with wire whisk 2 minutes. Stir in 1 ½ cups coconut. Spoon over banana slices. Spread whipped topping over pie. Sprinkle with toasted coconut.

Refrigerate 4 hours or until set. Store leftover pie in refrigerator. Makes 8 servings.

Tomorrow: Romantic Chocolate Fondue for Two