New Software: Find Out Who Follows Your Tweets on Twitter

Image of Twitter

Photo by PinkMoose @ flickr

From Denny: If you are a blogger and are over at Twitter, try this new fun gadget to help you learn who is following your tweets. Connect with your Peeps! :)

Just plug in your user name @ Twitter:

Twitter Analyzer

Hello to my followers in the following countries and thank you for following, much appreciated!

Here are the countries in order of most followers first - what a surprise to find out Ecuador was right up there with the UK:

America
Ecuador
Great Britain
Germany
Iran
Australia

France
Switzerland
Netherlands
Belgium
India
China

New Zealand
Thailand
Turkey
Poland
Kenya
Bolivia

Japan
Indonesia
Pakistan
Canada
Mexico
Columbia
South Africa

Recipe: Emeril Lagasse’s Beer Battered Fried Trout Tacos With Spicy Horseradish Coleslaw

Chef Emeril Lagasse at a book signing Image via Wikipedia

Emeril Lagasse’s Beer Battered Fried Trout Tacos With Spicy Horseradish Coleslaw

From Denny: Louisiana in the summer is all about quick and easy, usually seafood. Chef Emeril Lagasse came down from New England, was embraced by the New Orleans food establishment when he was a young man and taught how to really cook.

Down South folks are willing to mentor to help someone develop. Nor do they get angry when the student is ready to mentor his own, starting up his own restaurants. Emeril has previous shows and recipes stashed at Food Network and now teaches on the green network. He's one busy guy! Below is one of his recipes he developed where he really captures the essence of Louisiana food.

To make the recipe you require two other recipes first: the Cajun seasoning and the coleslaw recipe so I'll put these up first.

Emeril’s Essence Creole Seasoning

From: “New Orleans Cooking” by Emeril Lagasse and Jessie Tirsch

Makes: 2/3 cup

Ingredients:

2-1/2 tbls. paprika

2 tbls. salt

2 tbls. garlic powder

1 tbl. black pepper

1 tbl. onion powder

1 tbl. cayenne pepper

1 tbl. dried oregano

1 tbl. dried thyme

Directions: Combine all ingredients. Emeril sells this product in your grocery store too if you don't want to mix up your own.


Spicy Horseradish Coleslaw

From: Chef Emeril Lagasse
Serves: 6

2-1/2 cups shredded green cabbage

2-1/2 cups shredded red cabbage

1 cup shredded carrots

2 tbls. finely sliced green onions

1-1/2 cups peeled, seeded and diced cucumber

2 jalapeños, stem and seeds removed, minced

1 tsp. fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup cider vinegar

2 tbls. plus 1-1/2 teaspoons sugar

3/4 tsp. salt, or to taste

1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup mayonnaise

2 tbls. sour cream

3 tbls. freshly grated horseradish or 1-1/2 tbls. prepared horseradish

1-1/2 tsps. Creole or coarse-grain mustard

Directions:

1. Combine cabbages, carrots and green onions in large mixing bowl. In a small bowl toss the cucumbers and jalapeños with the lemon juice and add to the cabbage mixture.

2. In small mixing bowl combine vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper and whisk until the sugar is dissolved. Pour vinegar mixture over cabbage mixture and toss to combine. Cover and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes.

3. In small bowl, blend mayonnaise, sour cream, horseradish and mustard. Add mayonnaise mixture to coleslaw and toss. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to overnight.



Emeril Lagasse’s Beer Battered Fried Trout Tacos With Spicy Horseradish Coleslaw

Serves: 6

Ingredients:

Oil for frying

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided

1 tsp. baking powder

1-1/2 tsps. salt

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

1 tbl. vegetable oil

1 cup beer

1/2 tsp. hot sauce

4 trout fillets, about 6 ozs. each

2 tbls. Emeril’s Essence Creole Seasoning

6 large, soft flour tortillas

Spicy Horseradish Coleslaw

Hot sauce, if desired when serving

Directions:

1. Heat oil in deep fryer or in a large saucepan to 375 degrees.
2. Sift 1 cup flour, the baking powder, salt and cayenne pepper together into a mixing bowl. Make a well in the center and add the oil, beer and hot sauce. Stir until thoroughly incorporated and smooth. Set aside.

3. Season each fillet with 1 teaspoon of the Essence. Cut each fillet into diagonal 1-1/2-inch strips. Combine the remaining 1/2 cup flour with the remaining 2 teaspoons of Essence. Dredge the fish strips in the seasoned flour then shake to release any excess flour. Transfer to a plate.

4. Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Wrap the flour tortillas in aluminum foil and place in the oven to warm or warm according to manufacturer’s instructions.

5. Dredge each piece of fish in the beer batter, making sure the fish is completely coated. Allow any excess batter to drip into the bowl, and then slowly lower the fish into the hot oil. Repeat with remaining fish, working in batches if necessary.

6. Fry until fish is puffed, golden brown and crispy (4 to 5 minutes). Remove the fish with slotted spoon or tongs and drain on paper-lined plate. Place in warm oven while cooking remaining fish or until you’re ready to assemble tacos.

7. To serve: Divide the fish among the warmed flour tortillas and top with some of the Spicy Horseradish Coleslaw. Drizzle with hot sauce if desired.

Recipe: Sour Cream Chocolate Spice Cake With Penuche Fudge Frosting

From Denny: Featured recently in our local newspaper, this retro recipe was a big hit. I'd include the link to the newspaper except that it's useless as a link since they started archiving their recipes after a week and then force you to pay for them. For years the recipes were easily available and always free - long before this economic downturn.

This is a cake that would taste better the second day so the cinnamon and chocolate flavors could mellow out some. The flavor notes are brassier the first day, calming down to perfection by the second day. Try making the cake layers first and frosting on the second day (takes up less room in the fridge).

I've always had a soft spot for a chocolate cake made with sour cream as they play well together. Give this version a try! The brown sugar in the icing is a divine pairing with the chocolate cake portion. Maybe it's the molasses spun back into the processed white sugar to make the dark brown version. A small amount of molasses does not over power but rather adds a note of depth to food. (I even use dark brown sugar in my spaghetti and marinara sauces! Oops! The Secret is out...)

Enjoy this yummy cake. If you are a huge frosting fan you might want to double up on the batch for this cake as the news folks complained the frosting recipe was a bit skimpy. I'm not a fan of frosting unless it's a ganache so this recipe of a thin amount of frosting is fine with me. You decide what you like, enjoy!


Sour Cream Chocolate Spice Cake With Penuche Fudge Frosting

From: “The Country Fair Cookbook” by Alison Boteler

Makes: one (8-inch) 2-layer cake

Ingredients:

1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

3/4 cup Dutch-process cocoa

1-1/2 tsps. baking soda

1 tsp. salt

2 tsps. cinnamon

2/3 cup unsalted butter, softened

1-1/2 cups sour cream

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

Penuche Fudge Frosting (recipe follows)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two (8-inch) round pans with baking parchment.

2. Combine flour, sugars, cocoa, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in large mixing bowl.

3. Add butter, sour cream, eggs and vanilla and beat at low speed of electric mixer for 30 seconds. Scrape sides of bowl with rubber spatula and beat at high speed 2 minutes. Scrape bowl with rubber spatula and beat 1 minute longer.

4. Pour batter into prepared pans and bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes.

5. Cool layers completely. Remove from pans and peel off baking parchment. Fill and frost sides and top with frosting.

Testing note: Cake is moister and mellower tasting the second day. It does not need to be stored in the refrigerator, but it does need to be covered with a cake dome or plastic wrap. I found that 35 minutes was an adequate baking time.

Penuche Fudge Frosting

From: “The Country Fair Cookbook” by Alison Boteler

Makes: enough for one (8-inch layer cake)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

1/4 cup milk

2 cups powdered sugar

Directions:

1. Melt butter in large saucepan. Blend in brown sugar and bring to boil, stirring constantly.

2. Simmer over low heat for 2 minutes, stirring.

3. Stir in milk and return to boil. Remove from heat and cool until mixture is lukewarm to touch.

4. Slowly whisk in powdered sugar. Place pan in bowl of ice water and beat until frosting is of spreading consistency.

5. If frosting becomes too stiff to spread, beat in a few drops of milk.

Chocolate - Better than sex

Chocolate - Better than sex

An excerpt:

"It's a fact that women have long craved chocolate. They have made many analogies between sex and chocolate. Doctors have actually found a link between women and chocolate.

There are researchers who claim that women who eat candy chocolate actually have a better sex life than women who do not.

The research shows that chocolate eating females have higher levels of desire, higher levels of arousal and obtain more satisfaction from their sex lives. Thus, chocolate or chocolate bars have a positive physiological effect on women."

For the rest of the short article just click on the title link!

By trimar7 @ HubPages

From Denny: My kind of article, enjoy! :)

Recipe: Savory Meat Roll

Similar idea of a meat roll, our meat roll has a biscuit crust rather than a meat crust, no photo for our recipe up on Food Network - Image by Gio JL via Flickr

From Denny: I just got through watching this Food Network show called Guy's Big Bite and he is quite the entertainer. He also loves calorie monster food! He loves comfort food of all kinds. Though I'm not the heavy meat eater and high calorie consumer he is, I liked this recipe for a few reasons.

One, it's something simple you can easily cook up for a family or a large crowd. Two, you can break down the steps and do them over a few days if you like. It's that kind of recipe that can be interrupted and resumed and still tastes just fine. Three, this recipe is one of those you can change the ingredients from meat savory to vegetarian friendly if you desire.

In the summer heat we don't eat a lot of meat. Why? Meat is harder to digest which means your body heats up hotter and for a longer period of time than if you are eating plant proteins and cheeses. Today I'm going to work on developing a Mexican refried bean version, using the same principles in this recipe, and will get back to you as to how it went! (Sorry, no photo up on their site yet and no video up. Will check back and embed if they do put it up.) Enjoy this killer recipe!

Savory Meat Roll

From: Sarah Simington, Blue Moon Cafe, Baltimore, Maryland

Prep Time: 20 min
Inactive Prep Time: 15 min
Cook Time: 1 hr 0 min
Level: Intermediate
Serves: 7 to 8 rolls plus ends

Ingredients

For the pesto:

1 small bunch fresh basil (about 2 cups packed)

1/2 cup cashews

4 garlic cloves

1/2 cup grated Asiago

Fresh lemon juice, to taste

Salt

1/2 cup olive oil

For the filling:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

3 pounds country sausage

2 cups shredded mozzarella

2 cups grated Asiago

For the topping:

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 red pepper, diced

1 green pepper, diced

1/2 onion, diced

2 teaspoons granulated garlic

2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

6 Roma tomatoes, diced

10 button mushrooms, sliced

1 cup shredded mozzarella

1 cup grated Asiago

For the biscuit:

5 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for surface and kneading

3 tablespoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 stick cold butter, cubed

2 cups milk

To slather on the biscuit dough when assembling the roll:

1 stick butter, softened

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

To make the pesto: Place all the ingredients in a food processor and process until mixture turns into a smooth paste. Set aside.

To make the filling: In a saute pan over medium heat, add oil and then the sausage. Saute the sausage, breaking it up with a spoon, until it cooks through and it turns golden brown. Cool slightly and drain the fat. Set sausage aside in a bowl. Keep mozzarella and Asiago cheese on standby.

To make the topping: Heat a large saute pan with oil, add the peppers, onion, granulated garlic and Italian seasoning. Cook until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and mushrooms and cook another 5 minutes. Don't overcook the tomatoes. They should retain their shape. Set aside.

To make the biscuit dough: In a large bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add the butter and with your fingertips or with a pastry blender blend together until the mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in milk, using a fork, until the dough comes together. Sprinkle flour on a clean work surface, remove the dough from the bowl and knead several times on the floured surface. Add small amounts of flour, as needed, so that dough will be easy to roll out. Roll the dough out to roughly 15-inches in diameter.

To assemble: (Good thing I proof read these recipes as they forgot to include the obvious for you! Make sure you slather the biscuit dough with the softened butter stick before assembly! The butter will act as a barrier to keep the biscuit dough coating from becoming gooey and help hold the filling properly.)

Sprinkle the top of the dough evenly with the sausage and top with the mozzarella and Asiago. Roll the dough into a log. Cut the ends off to create even edges then cut the log into 7 or 8 pieces, depending on the length of the roll. Place slices (on their side so the spiral design shows facing up) on a baking sheet and press the tops down. Put the ends on the baking sheet and press those tops down. Bake 20 to 30 minutes until biscuits turn golden. Transfer the rolls to a serving platter. Serve topped with the sauteed vegetables and sprinkled with remaining cheese.

This recipe was provided by professional chefs and has been scaled down from a bulk recipe provided by a restaurant. The FN chefs have not tested this recipe, in the proportions indicated, and therefore, we cannot make any representation as to the results.