The Lisa Life

Molten Chocolate Cakes

In my ongoing effort to become a better baker, last night I had my second go at Molten Chocolate Cakes.   I had attempted a different recipe for dessert for Christmas dinner that was an utter flop to the point of being inedible and nearly made me cry. I took my friend Darr's wise advice and followed this recipe precisely and these came out like little chocolate cakes from heaven. These were so wonderfully rich and full of chocolate goodness, they might get me back on religion.  These would be perfect for an impressive end to a dinner party since you can make the batter in advance and put it in the fridge.  They only take about 15 minutes to bake, so you could put them in the oven while you are clearing the table and putting on the coffee.

As a side note, my daughter is amazed that I can crack eggs using only one hand.  She thinks it's the neatest trick ever.  Hey, it's nice to be good at something.

Prosciutto & Pea Casserole

I can remember my Nonna making this when I was a kid.  It's really pretty simple and great to make on a week-night because it only takes about half an hour from oven to table.  Add a nice green salad and some bread and it's a tasty easy meal.  I wish I would have taken a picture of it when I made it this evening, it looks very appetizing.

8 ounces cooked pasta (I like bowtie, because it's cute)

1 cup mascarpone cheese (a spreadable Italian sweet nutty cheese, similar to cream cheese)

10 ounces frozen peas, cooked and drained

2 ounces chopped prosciutto (If you buy it already sliced, it's much easier to use kitchen shears to chop it versus a knife and try not to nibble too much of it.  I have also used diced ham.)

1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella

Butter or margarine

Garlic Powder

Ground pepper

Make the pasta and drain.  Butter a 8x8 casserole pan.  Put half the pasta in the pan.  Spoon half the mascarpone onto the pasta. Sprinkle some garlic powder and ground pepper over.  Sprinkle with half the peas and half the proscuitto and half the mozzarella.  Repeat layers.  Dot with butter or margarine.  Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 20 minutes.

Easy Carrot Cake

I have no idea where I got this recipe.  I have it written on a bedraggled piece of notebook paper stuck into a cookbook.  I love carrot cake but the normal version with the two inches of cream cheese frosting and the raisins is too much.  Not to mention, I hate cooked raisins. 

Surprise Carrot Cake

1 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg, beaten

*****

2 cups flour

1 3/4 cups sugar

2 teaspoons baking soda

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup oil

3 eggs, beaten

2 cups shredded carrots

1/2 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350.  Grease and flour 9 inch Bundt pan.

Combine cream cheese, sugar and beaten egg with mixer.  Set aside.

Combine dry incredients.  Add combined oil and other 3 eggs, mix just until moistened with mixer on low/medium.  Fold in carrots and nuts by hand.  Pour 2/3 of batter into prepared pan.  Pour cream cheese mixture over then add remaining cake batter carefully, spreading to cover.  Bake for 55 minutes or until toothpick inserted near middle comes out clean.  Cool ten minutes, remove from pan.  Sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Chicken Parma Rosa

I used to make this meal all the time and somehow got out of the habit.  Got a wild hair and decided to make it tonight.  Of course, the fact that Meijer's had bagged chicken breasts buy one at $12.98 and get one free (about six months worth of chicken for us) may have had something to do with it.

Also, I was going to photograph the various steps but pictures of raw chicken don't do a thing for me and I don't imagine they will for you, either.

Parma Rosa, by the way, is a creamy Parmesan tomato sauce.

Chicken Parma Rosa

Number of chicken breasts for number of people

Seasoned Bread Crumbs

Eggs, beaten, one per each breast

Pasta, your choice.  I like rigatoni.

Knorr's Parma Rosa Sauce

Preheat oven to 350.  Dip the chicken breasts into the egg, then coat with bread crumbs.  I like to add extra seasoning to the bread crumbs.  Garlic powder, fresh ground pepper, Parmesan, or my latest favorite, Grill Mates seasoning.

Bake the chicken breasts covered for 50 minutes.  Remove the cover and bake ten more.

Prepare the pasta according to package directions.  Make the Parma Rosa Sauce.

Plate the chicken breast and pasta and pour sauce over both.

Nice with a side of green beans or steamed broccoli.

Yes, that is parsley sprinkled decoratively around the plate.   I also add shredded Parmesan and ground pepper. I can be a fancy bitch like that.

A Gift From Our Favorite Soldier

When I got the mail today, there was a rather large box on the porch from Sam, our favorite soldier.  Inside was a set of lovely wineglasses from Germany.  They are crystal and very pretty,  made by Nachtmann.

I'm already breaking one in.

Berry Twisted

Bne & Jerry's Berry Twisted is a little bowl of heaven on earth.  Chunky blueberry and blackberry sorbet swirled in lemon. 

It even looks pretty.

Potato Cheddar Chowder

One of my favorite local restaurants, T. W. & Friends, makes a wonderful potato cheddar chowder as one of their house soups.  I liked it so much, I searched the internet for a recipe for cheddar potato soup with bacon and found one on epicurious.com.  The first time I made it, I was not impressed.  It was a bit bland and very soup-like, not chowder consistency at all.  Not that it was billed at chowder, but I thought it would be richer and thicker.  Being the Lazy Italian American Girl Who Sometimes Cooks that I am, I bastardized the recipe til it's actually quite good.

Potato Cheddar Chowder

Half package of bacon, turkey or hi-octane

1 large onion, chopped small

2 pounds potatoes, cut inot 1/2 inch cubes.  Store in cold water to keep from discoloring.

1/2 cup flour

2-1/2 cups water

3 cups chicken broth or stock

1/2 cup dry white wine (or 1/2 cup more of chicken broth or stock)

4 cups grated sharp Cheddar cheese

Fresh chopped chives

Couple large garlic cloves, chopped

Fresh ground pepper

Seasoning salt

Chop bacon into small pieces and in large heavy soup pan, cook over moderately high heat until crisp.  Tranfer bacon onto paper towel to drain, reserving pan juices. Cook onion and garlic in pan juices until tender.  In measuring cup, mix water and flour.  Add to onion and garlic with potatoes and broth/stock and wine.   Add pepper, seasoning salt, garlic powder if you like, or fresh sea salt.

Cook on a bubbling low simmer, stirring every five or so minutes, until cooked down.  Usually about 45 minutes to an hour. I generally use a potato masher to make it really thick and usually put in a couple chunks of butter and stir them through.  Stir in cheddar but don't let it boil.

Stir in bacon before serving.  Sprinkle a little cheddar and some chives on top, a couple pieces of bacon as well if you have saved some and haven't munched it.

This makes about eight servings.  It's great to freeze half to have later.

Tea

I am not a coffee drinker.  I have never drunk coffee.  My mom, on the other hand, drank coffee 24/7 so I think she drank my fill, as well.

The mere smell of coffee makes me quiver.  But I do make it for my husband, with eggshells if I can. 

Me, I drink tea. 

I am something of a tea connoisseur. 

My all time favorite tea is Bigelow's Lemon Lift.  I also enjoy Constant Comment.  I am not so thrilled with the Celestial Seasonings herbal offerings.  Their Morning Thunder is eh, not so great.

Lately, I've seen Chinese White Tea.  I would very much like to try it, but it's very expensive ($11.95 for a tin of 10) and I would be very disappointed if I got it and hated it.  After all, if I spent that much on a bottle of wine, I'd at least get a buzz.

TOTS!

I love the movie Napolean Dynamite.  It's a brilliant movie and I can watch it over and over again and still crack up.  I also love Tater Tots and got the idea of grilling them from Amanda.  In fact, I got a bit obsessed about having grilled Tots while camping and when Martin decided to do the cooking one night, I insisted he get some Tots.

Damn, are they good, grilled.  Throw a little Lawrey's seasoning salt and garlic on them and it's a little Tot of Heaven you can pop into your mouth.

Although I was sorely tempted, I resisted the urge to hide some in the pocket of my cargo shorts.  It was difficult, but I succeeded.

Cooking over an open fire is such a manly type thing, isn't it?  Chip made the best pork chops I've ever had one night.  They were marinated in Jack Daniels and sprinkled with the ever present Lawry's and some pepper and Wow!  Excellent.

In Which The Author Starts A Small Kitchen Fire, Easily Contained

I am not a morning person.  I never have been.  All during my middle school and high school years, the constant refrain to my mom every morning was, "Just five more minutes."

I'm still the same.  I just plain hate hauling my ass out of bed.

Until I have my first cup of tea, I am pretty much a zombie.  Being a creature of habit, I always put a cup of water in a small saucepan and heat it on the stove to expedite that first cup.  The kettle takes a good ten minutes to heat up.

Last night, I had cleaned my kitchen to Martha's standards.  Since my teapot doesn't rest comfortably in the dish drainer, I parked in on a towel on the counter next to the stove.

Apparently a little too close to my gas stove.

You see where this is going you, don't you dear and gentle readers?

I can't see my stove from the dining room table and was sitting yawning at the table when the smoke alarms started going off.  What the hell?  I thought.  Why are the smoke alarms going off?  I stared at the smoke alarm for a minute then smelled something well, burning.  I finally got up and went over to the stove and HOLY SHIT!  The dish towel was on fire.

I used the tongs to throw it in the sink and put out the fire.

This is not to be compared to the time I hid the empty pizza box in the oven then preheated the oven the next day without taking the pizza box out first and had to run in my sock feet out into the snow covered back yard with a flaming pizza box yelling OH SHITTTTTT!