Homemade Yellow Birthday Cake

Jack’s yellow birthday cake with cream cheese frosting (shared by Zoe)

Cake:

This was a thin sponge cake. Easy to make in just one bowl when you’re pressed for time, but don’t over bake it as it’s quite a thin layer cake. I used two 8” round pans to make two layers to the cake, or you could just use one 8” round pan.

Have all ingredients at room temperature

Preheat the oven to 375

Grease the bottom of your pan and line with wax or parchment paper (I skipped the parchment paper and it was difficult to get the cakes out of the pan)

Whisk together in a large bowl:

1 ½ cups all purpose flour

1 cup sugar

1 ½ teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

Add and mix for 2 minutes at medium speed:

2 large eggs

½ cup milk

1 teaspoon vanilla

Beat in:

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

Beat for 1 minute at low speed. Scrape the bowl. Beat for 1 ½ minutes at medium-high speed. Scrape the bowl again and beat for 30 seconds on low speed.

Scrape the batter into the pan(s). Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 16 – 18 minutes. Cool before you loosen cake and remove it from the pan.

Cream cheese frosting:

Makes about 2 cups. You might want to double the recipe if you plan on putting frosting in the middle of the cake to make layers.

The Joy of Cooking cook book shares two secrets to making perfectly smooth cream cheese frosting: do not overbeat, and use cold, not softened, cream cheese.

Beat in a medium bowl at low speed just until blended:

8 ounces cold cream cheese

5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (this is optional)

2 teaspoons vanilla

Add one-third at a time and beat until just smooth and the desired consistency:

1 pound (4 cups) confectioners’ sugar

If the frosting is too stiff, beat for a few seconds longer; do not overbeat. Feel free to vary the amount of sugar to suit your taste. If desired, stir in additional flavoring to taste, such as grated lemon or orange zest, ground cinnamon, liqueur.

Enjoy!

Pesto Avocado Pizza

Zoe's Pizza You Can’t Live Without (shared by Zoe)

Start with pizza crust dough from Trader Joe’s

Use a pesto sauce (I used Trader Joe’s Genova Pesto)

Top with:

Mozzarella Cheese

Feta Cheese

Thinly sliced red onions

Sliced avocados

Bake according to directions for the crust

Easy and tasty!

Cheesy Garlic Bread

CHEESY GARLIC BREAD (shared by Courtney) French loaf butter garlic pepper quattro formaggio cheese from Trader Joes ( or you could use any other cheese you like) Cut french loaf in half. Butter both sides of bread completely. Sprinkle cheese of bread (as much as you like) Sprinkle garlic pepper over cheese (As much as you like) I like it to be extra cheesy and lots of garlic. Bake at 350 for 6-8 minutes. That's how I cooked it at Zoe's, other ovens may vary. Enjoy!!!

Food We Can't Live Without

"Food We Can't Live Without" was the theme of our last book club meeting and I wanted to recap all the foods that we just can't live without :)

Shannon: hummus, pita chips, veggies

Courtney: Cheesy Garlic Bread (recipe posted)

Megan: cookies and milk

Lauren & Stacey: Sprinkles Cupcakes (http://www.sprinkles.com/)

Malain- chips, salsa, quacamole

Lara- Hot Tamales & Cinnamon Bear candy, Rosemary bread and Brie cheese

Michelle- peanut butter pretzels, sweet potato fries

Zoe- homemade pizza, homemade (from scratch) cake (recipes posted)

Ethiopian Night at the Red Sea

Thanks to Susan Reid for organizing our book club adventure at the Red Sea to discuss "Cutting for Stone" by Abraham Verghese. Susan also provided a list of what she ordered for us that night.

The plates ordered at the Red Sea included:
Green salad

tibs

sawaze tibs

zil zil tibs
vegetarian combo

This will be a great resource for those of us who will venture back to the Red Sea for dinner!

Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Chicken Lettuce Wraps Recipe (shared by Susan)
Super easy, quick, and, I think, fairly healthy.

The key to this dish is finding the packet of sauce! I first discovered it in Anacortes, Washington. Not so easy in San Diego. After a lengthy search, I stumbled upon it at Cost Plus World Market, of all places! Many grocery stores have several varieties of Panda Brand sauces but not for lettuce wraps.

Lee Kum Kee
Panda Brand
Sauce for Lettuce Wraps

Recipe is on the back of the packet.
I usually use ground turkey. Easier to find. After that, it's carrots, green onions, water chestnuts and peanuts. I use heaping portions of all. Brown the meat in a little oil (don't really need the full amount, add the vegies, simmer and you are done!

Enjoy!

Asian Chicken Noodle Salad

Asian Chicken Noodle Salad (shared by Stacey)

Serves 4-6

INGREDIENTS:

½ cup sliced almonds

8 tbsp. sesame seeds

7 tbsp. rice vinegar

4 tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. pepper

½ cup canola oil (I didn’t use all of the oil)

1 16-oz. bag coleslaw mix (I used a broccoli slaw mix so that it had less cabbage)

2 packages Ramen noodles, broken up (throw seasoning away)

2 cooked chicken breasts chopped or shredded

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a skillet over medium low to medium heat, toast almonds and sesame seeds until light brown.

2. In a small bowl, combine vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper. Whisk in oil.

3. In a large bowl, combine coleslaw mix, chicken, and Ramen noodles. Add contents of small bowl and mix well. Toss in the almonds and seeds just before serving.

Enjoy!