Friendship and Guinness Cake

I've always loved to bake, even when I was a little kid and I didn't quite grasp that if you bake, you must clean up. And I've made a lot of cakes in my life, including a three layer Peanut Butter monstrosity for a friend's Christmas party one year. 

But this cake....this is really the only cake I make anymore. 

This is a Guinness Cake. Do you see the resemblance to a pint of Guinness with the foamy head? (No?) And this cake is really the only cake recipe you ever need. 

I have made this cake for parties, birthdays, dessert after a dinner party--you name it, this cake has been there. It's a cake that men adore, probably because it's not too sweet. This is a damp, rich cake that is also good for breakfast. (No judgment, right?) 

I almost never make it unless it's for a friend get-together, so when I make it, it brings back a lot of good memories. Try it, and make some memories of your own. 

But once you start making it, you'll never be able to stop making it. People will ask for it forever. It's a hard-knock life. But this cake is worth it.

Guinness Cake

from Nigella Lawson's Feast 

Notes: Before you start, make sure the butter, eggs, and cream cheese (for the frosting) are room temperature. You will have a much better cake! * I set the pot over medium heat--the recipe doesn't specify a temperature, but medium's always worked for me. * I usually bake the cake the day before the party, and then frost it the day of. The cake is so damp that it will hold very well. 

Ingredients

1 c. Guinness (I use extra stout) 

1 stick + 2 tbsp. unsalted butter

3/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

2 c. sugar

3/4 c. sour cream 

2 eggs

1 tbsp. pure vanilla extract

2 c. all-purpose flour

2 1/2 tsp. baking soda

For the icing: (optional)

8 oz. cream cheese

1 1/4 c. confectioner's sugar (powdered sugar)

1/2 c. heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 350. Butter and line a 9" springform pan with parchment paper. 

Pour the Guinness into a large wide saucepan (I use my Dutch oven, actually), add the butter in slices, and heat until butter's melted. Whisk in cocoa and sugar. In a separate bowl, beat the sour cream, eggs, and vanilla together and then add them to the beer mixture. Finally, whisk in flour and baking soda. Whisk until well-combined.

Pour the cake batter into the pan and bake for 45 minutes to an hour. Leave to cool completely in the pan on a cooling rack. It's a very damp cake. 

When it's completely cool, make the frosting. Lightly whip the cream cheese until smooth, sift over the confectioner's sugar, and then beat together. Add the cream and beat again until it makes a spreadable consistency. Ice the cake. (This makes a lot of frosting. You want to frost this cake thickly, so try to use all of it, if possible.) 

Food Stories--Grilling in Houston

Two weeks ago, I briefly mentioned my cousin Diane and her take on Mexican food. Since she lives in Houston, she knows of what she speaks. But she's also a good cook in her own right, and I got to experience that when I visited her a few years back. 

She and her husband, Matt, now have three children (and two cats), but at the time, she only had one, her oldest daughter. I spent a week with them in mid-July (July in Houston? Was I crazy? Maybe.), and one night for dinner, Di and Matt served grilled chicken, butter beans, and brownies, which were delicious. It was simple, yes but sitting around the table with some of my favorite people made it more than just the food on the plates. 

Diane and I have always been close--we're only six months apart in age. While we're different personalities, and have different gifts (she can do higher-level math, for one), we always enjoy seeing each other and talking when we get the chance (which is hard to find, because you know, three kids, two cats--she's busy!). But we don't get to see each other as often as we'd like. 

Diane and I with her youngest, Frank. 

That's one of the great things about food. It has a power to bring back memories and people when you can't physically be together. So while we had a lot of good food on my trip there (steak! Real Mexican! Seafood by the Gulf!), this is a meal I can easily recreate when I want to be back in Houston. 

Houston Dinner

These recipes are all from Rachael Ray's 30 Minute Meals 2--which I'd gotten Di as a shower gift before her wedding. 

Honey Mustard Barbecued Chicken

Sauce: 

2 tbsp. vegetable oil

1/2 red onion, chopped

1/4 c. apple cider vinegar

1/4 c. brown sugar 

1 c. chicken stock

1/2 c. prepared honey mustard

1/2 tsp. allspice

1/2 tsp. curry powder

CHICKEN

4 pieces boneless, skinless chicken breasts

4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs

vegetable oil

salt and pepper

Preheat grill pan or griddle over medium-high heat. 

Add vegetable oil to a small saucepan over moderate heat. Add red onion and saute, 3-5 minutes. Add vinegar and reduce by half, one minute or two. Add brown sugar and cook one minute. Whisk in stock and honey mustard, allspice, and curry powder. Bring sauce to bubble and reduce heat to lowest setting. 

Coat chicken with a drizzle of oil and salt and pepper, to taste. Place chicken on hot grill and cook 4-5 minutes, then turn. Baste chicken liberally with sauce and grill another 5 minutes. Turn once again and baste. Cook 2-3 minutes more, than transfer chicken to a platter and serve.

Butter Bean Salad

2 15 oz. cans butter beans, rinsed and drained 

1/2 red bell pepper, diced

1/2 green bell pepper, diced

1/4 red onion, chopped (use the rest of the red onion from the chicken!)

2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

1 tsp. ground cumin

2 tbsp. EVOO

the juice of one large lemon

coarse salt and pepper, to taste

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Toss to coat beans and vegetables evenly in dressing. 

Corn on the Cob with Chili and Lime

4 ears sweet corn, shucked and cleaned

1 lime, cut into wedges

1/3 stick butter, cut into pats

chili powder, for sprikling

salt, to taste

In a medium pot, bring water to a boil and simmer corn, 3-5 minutes. Drain and arrange the ears on a shallow plat in a single row. Squeeze lime juice liberally over all the corn. Nest pats of butter into paper towels, and rub lime doused hot corn with butter. Season with sprinkle of chili powder and salt and serve immediately. 

Fluffernutter Brownies

1 package chocolate brownie mix, prepared to package directions

1 c. peanut butter chops

softened butter, to grease baking dish

2 oz. chopped nuts

1 c. mini-marshmallows

Preheat over to 425 degrees. 

To mixed brownie batter, stir in peanut butter chips. Grease an 8x8 baking dish with softened butter and spread the brownie mixture into an even layer in the dish. Sprinkle with chopped nuts and bake 20-22 minutes total, removing to scatter marshmallows on top for the last 3-5 minutes of baking time. Remove from oven and cut into pieces. 

Food Stories--South of the Border

Living in Ohio, the closest foreign country is Canada--where I've never been. But my parents both like Mexican food (and no, I've never been to Mexico, either), even though in the beginning of our lives here in Ohio, Taco Bell was the only "Mexican" food around.

As my cousin, Diane, says, "There's Mexican food, and then there's Taco Bell." (She lives in Houston, so she should know about legit Mexican food. You'll spend more time with Diane in a future Food Stories installment.) 

For most of my childhood, Dad and I would share tacos and burritos from Taco Bell. When I was in college, I was introduced to the wonder that is Chipotle. I was one of the news editor for the student paper, The Chimes, and Wednesday night was Chimes night, when we edited and laid out the paper for printing that night, so it could be distributed on Thursday morning. Chimes nights were long, and required more sustenance than we'd get out of the Lohman Complex vending machines. So usually a few people would make a run to the Chipotle on Main Street, and bring back bags overflowing with burritos, bols, and chips and guac. Chipotle was editing fuel. 

My brother loves Mexican food. Many times when we get together for dinner, it's at a Mexican place by his apartment. WE solve problems and talk about sports over never-ending bowls of chips and salsa and our chosen entrees, which, for me, is usually a fajita or a cheese enchilada. 

Mexican food brings memories of family, long nights at the ancient Mac consoles, and my one trip to Texas. It's much more than the chain restaurants we know. 

 I've tried my hand at a few actual Mexican recipes, and they turn out really well--and they're simple. Here's one of my favorites, from Marcella Valladolid's book Mexican Made Easy. 

Garlicky Buttered Baja Shrimp

From Marcella Valladolid

Serves four

I lb. medium shrimp (15-20 count) in the shell, deveined (You can also make this with peeled shrimp--just omit the step regarding cooking with the shells)

2 tbsp. unsalted butter

1 tbsp. olive oil

salt and black pepper

1/4 c. minced white onion

8 garlic cloves, minced

3 tbsp. dry white wine

1 tbsp. fresh lime juice

2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley, or 1 tbsp. dried. (You can also substitute cilantro, if you don't have parsley on hand.) 

 Peel the shrimp and reserve shells. 

 Heat the butter and olive oil in a heavy medium skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle the shrimp with salt and paper. Saute the shrimp until almost fully cooked, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the shrimp to a plate and tent with foil to keep warm. 

Add the shrimp shells to the skillet and sauté until they turn pink, about 3 minutes. Discard the shells. Add the onion and garlic and sauté until the onion is translucent and the garlic is golden brown, about 6 minutes. Add the wine and bring to a boil, scrapping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Boil for one minute. 

Stir in the lime juice and parsley, return the shrimp to the pan, and toss to coat with the sauce. Season with salt and pepper, if necessary. 

You can serve these in a tortilla, or just on their own, but they are delicious in a tortilla. Marcella says you can also make a burrito out of them by adding refried beans to a warm flour tortilla and filling with shrimp. You can also use them in a pasta dish--cook some thin pasta and add the shrimp once the pasta is cooked and drained. Top with fresh cilantro and some olive oil.