Monday, October 31, 2011

Club Baked~Caramel Apple Cake

It is Club Baked time again!! This time we made the Caramel Apple Cake from the book we have been baking through, Baked Explorations by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito. This cake is beautiful! There is a picture in the book, and it is the ultimate cake. Triple layer, perfectly iced, no wayward crumbs in the icing~perfect! Mine looks nothing like this one.
Take a look.....
This cake is delicious!
It was moist, and easy to make, although time consuming.
 I did make a few changes in the recipe.
Here is what I did :
I made the cake in this pan, so it is a sheet cake.
 I did make the applesauce. Sooo yummy!!
I did make the caramel sauce, but I did not make the frosting.
 
I was going for something a little less sweet, so I 
used the caramel sauce as a topping.
It is wonderful, and you are going to love this recipe!
It reminds me of fall!


 For the recipe please stop by and see Melissa at her blog, Lulu the Baker.
Thanks Melissa for being such a great hostess!


Don't forget to stop by Club Baked to see how fantastic
everyone's cakes are!!
Think about joining us! You will have fun!!

See you next time!

Chocolate Spider Webs

This is so simple, yet so delicate and pretty. It's also a reminder to me that the spider is very artistically talented!  Way more so than me!!
Chocolate Spider Webs!
(to make 1 spider) 
 
12 Thin Pretzel Sticks
1 Gummie Spiders
2 blocks of White Chocolate( or something similar)
Chop some of the white chocolate, and
melt the white chocolate in a double boiler.
To make your own double boiler, place a small saucepan
over a large saucepan. Put a couple inches of water in 
the large pan and bring the water to a low boil.
Make sure the top sauce pan sits on the large pan, 
and does not fall in.
While the chocolate is melting, set your pretzels
on a piece of parchment paper, on a baking 
sheet, to look like a wheel spoke.
Fill a pastry bag with a #3 (Wilton) tip. Pipe a center
that will connect all the pretzel spokes. 
Then starting at the center, make circles around
the pretzels, and continue the circles all the way out.
Place a spider in the center of the web.
Put in the refrigerator(still on the baking sheet)
until it chills and hardens.
Once hard, carefully peel off the parchment paper.
Happy Halloween!!

Sunday, October 30, 2011

BBQ Pork Sandwiches w/ Slaw

BBQ Pork sandwiches is THE Halloween meal to me. When I was a little girl, we would have BBQ sandwiches every Halloween. And so, the tradition lives on.  It just so happens that I love BBQ of any kind, so this is one tradition that I love continuing!!
Spray a baking pan with pan spray.
Place a pork loin in the pan. 
Sprinkle with garlic powder.
Fill the pan with water, to cover 1/4 of the pan.
Cover the pan with plastic wrap.
Then cover the plastic wrap with foil.
Cook at 350 degrees until a thermometer placed in
the pork loin reads 145 degrees.
Take out oven and let pork rest for 30 minutes.
To let the meat rest you are allowing the juices to stop flowing.
Cutting into the pork to soon will make the meat dry.
To make the pork sandwiches,
cut thin slices from the pork loin.
A slicer works great for this, or just cut by hand.
Build your sandwich by toasting the bun, then piling on the 
pork, topped with a taste of BBQ sauce.
Add some cole slaw.
We made some back in May.
Your BBQ sandwich is done!

Happy Halloween!

Garlicky Bonesticks!

These garlic bonesticks are sure to ward off even the nastiest of Halloween villains. They are easy to make, using Rhodes Frozen Bread Loaves, and they are very tasty. Serve them with a side of pizza sauce, and you have a delicious addition to your Halloween feast!
Garlicky Bonesticks!
1 loaf of Rhodes Frozen Bread Loaves
Garlic Powder
Pizza Sauce
Thaw one loaf of Rhodes Bread Loaves by placing it in
the refrigerator for about 1-2 hours. When it is thawed,
place the loaf on a cutting board, and slice into 8 slices.
Roll each loaf into a 9'' roll.
Turn the ends of each bone into a knot, and place on
parchment paper on a baking sheet.
Cover the baking sheet with plastic and let rise for about
2-3 hours or until doubled in size.
Once they are doubled, sprinkle with garlic powder.
Bake in oven at 350 degrees until golden brown, 18-25 minutes.
Serve with warmed pizza sauce.

Happy Halloween!

Come back soon for more 
Halloween Goodies!


Saturday, October 29, 2011

Cheesy Pumpkin Appetizer!

These cheese pumpkins are so cute, and they are not just for Halloween. They would be a perfect starter for Thanksgiving also! I paired them with Ritz Buttery Thin Munchables. I have never had these crackers before, but they are light and bite size, making them perfect for the strong cheddar taste of the pumpkins!
Cheesy Pumpkin Appetizer
(Makes 10 Pumpkins)
10 tablespoons Cheddar cold pack Cheese
2 teaspoons finely chopped Nuts
5 butter flavored Pretzel Sticks
10 pieces tiny fresh Parsley leaves

Chop up the nuts until very fine.
Scoop each tablespoon of cheese into a ball. 
I wore gloves, and rolled the balls between my 
hands to get the correct look.
Place the balls of cheese on a piece of wax paper
or parchment paper. Place in freezer for about 5 minutes,
so they can become firm.
Start scoring lines on the cheese balls, 
so that they resemble pumpkins. Start
in the center, and draw a line from the top
to the bottom center. Do this about 7- 8 times
around each cheese ball.
Here is the completely scored cheese ball.
Snap each of the pretzel sticks in half. On each cheese ball,
place a parsley leaf at the top of the cheese. Take the
pretzel stick and insert it in the top of the cheese to
resemble the pumpkin stem. As you insert the pretzel,
grab a piece of the parsley to secure it as the pretzel goes in.
Tap the bottom of the cheese ball on the chopped
nuts. They should cover the bottom.
All done. Do this to each cheese ball.
If at any time the cheese becomes too soft to
work with, pop it in the freezer for about 5 minutes.
You can serve them all together on one plate,
or go for the homespun look, and serve on a 
cutting board. You could put several on a cutting board.
That would look great! or,
a cheesy pumpkin on an fall inspired appetizer plate.
There is no wrong way!

You could also use cheese that is flavored, such as a
smoked cheddar or a port wine cheese. Of course, your favorite
crackers always fit this recipe!

Happy Halloween!!

Stop by later for more Halloween Happenings!




Friday, October 28, 2011

Old Pumpkin Bread!

This pumpkin bread isn't really old, but the recipe has been in my family for many years. And with good reason. It's delicious!! Serve this pumpkin bread with a light swipe of whipped cream cheese. In our family, it isn't fall until we have eaten a slice of this bread!

 Old Family Recipe 
Pumpkin Bread

3 1/2 cups Flour
2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1 1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1 teaspoon Nutmeg
3 cups Sugar
1 cup Corn Oil
4 Eggs
2/3 cup Water
2 cup Pumpkin
Measure the flour into a bowl.
 Add baking soda,
and salt.
Add cinnamon, nutmeg and sugar.
Whisk everything together.
Form a well in the bowl of ingredients.
Add the eggs,
the corn oil, the water, and the pumpkin.
Mix everything together,
until every ingredient is incorporated.
Spray a loaf pan. 
Cook for 1 hour at 350 degrees. The loaf pans that 
I use are rather large. If you used the ones in the picture,
on the left, this recipe would make 3. Because I used my large pan, 
I only had enough for one other pan. Make sure to check
the bread with a toothpick. The top cooks last, so make 
sure it is done before you remove it from the oven.
Cool the bread in the pan for 15 minutes, then take
a knife or spatula around the edge, and let it sit in the 
pan until completely cool. 
It's a piece of heaven!
Enjoy!

Thanks for joining The Freshman Cook today!

Stop by later for more Halloween treats!

This post linked to:

http://www.bigbearswife.com/p/this-weeks-cravings.html