You need a good chocolate cake recipe....

Here is what the hand written recipe looks like when I pull it from my antiquated recipe box...

The box belonged to my husband's grandmother.  We called her Mor Mor.  She loved me.  I loved her.  She was just what I needed in my life.  She taught me to cook in her antiquated Pyrex....

She taught me how to bake this cake.  It has no eggs , milk or butter.  It is divine.  I promise.

Now I need to tell you something and I do not want you to freak out...especially if you are a baker.  You are going to mix everything in the same bowl...all at once.  Breathe deep.

3 cups of all purpose flour
2 cups of sugar
6 Tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons of fresh baking soda
1 teaspoon of salt
2 teaspoons of this lovely concoction...

Ground espresso is a baking savior.

Then come the wet ingredients, but I should tell you they are a little different.  They include...

distilled white vinegar.  

Mor Mor said she could find it through the war.  Not eggs or butter, but vinegar.

1/2 cup safflower oil
2 teaspoons of vanilla extract
2 cups of filtered water
2 Tablespoons of distilled white vinegar

Look at the bubble once you add the vinegar....

Now I stir this by hand with a wire whisk...

Why do I do that?  Because Mor Mor did it.  Please feel free to use your stand mixer and beat until the mixture is smooth.

Now onto another confession.  I am baking the cake in this....

It is a 9" x 13" baking pan that I am taking in to work.  I would normally use a pyrex pan, but I also need to take it and leave it. Spray the pan evenly with a non-stick baking spray and then pour the batter evenly into the pan.

Many of you may think this is a baking no-no, but to make up for the lack of heat distribution I do this....

While the oven is preheating to 350 degrees, I add a baking stone to the oven and bake the cake on top of it.  Bake for 30 - 35 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean.  Let it cool before you pour over the ganache.

Now onto the ganache....

I am not Ina Garten or Martha Stewart.  I am a full time teacher and have some short cuts.  So to get this ganache, I start by heating 1 cup of half and half in the microwave for 1 minute and 30 seconds.  My microwave is pretty strong.  So make sure your half and half is nice and warm.  Then I pour a bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips in and begin to whisk.

Once the mixture is smooth and makes ribbons when you lift the whisk, you can pour it over your cooled cake.

Spread the ganache evenly using on off-set spatula.  Then let the ganache set for a few hours before you slice into the cake.

I smell it and I think of her kitchen, her way of teaching, and I think of how I wish she was here.  For now we have cake and that will have to be enough.

I hope you enjoy this cake that we call Pantry Cake or Emergency Chocolate cake!

Post a comment below once you have tried it to tell me how it turned out!

From the teacher, 

Athena

It's the most wonderful time of the year.....

That's right.  I know you sang that line in your head.  Do not deny it!  Well, we are heading into the holiday season and for my family this means a party at my brother's house.  This is my brother.....

Next to him is his lovely wife.  Once, my brother put on a Snow White wig to entertain my niece and I swear it was me with a goatee!

Now my brother loves many of the holiday dishes I make every year.  The first is my stuffing recipe...

I think it's a beauty.

Today I am going to focus on this stuffing recipe (technically this is dressing).  This one is simple and everyone needs a good, basic stuffing recipe for their holiday table.

Begin with a loaf of good french bread.

Cube it, place it on a baking sheet, and then place into a 300 degree oven until completely dried out.  This should take about an hour.

Then we start on the mix-ins  Start by chopping an onion into a small dice....

Then chop two carrots and three ribs of celery into a small dice...

Then chop one Granny Smith apple and one Braeburn apple into a small dice....

As you chop just place it all into a bowl.....

I know some people cook it all separate and one at a time, but who the heck has time for that?!!!!!!  Now preheat a skillet on medium high heat and melt about 3 tablespoons of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil....

We always use cast iron and the results are beautiful.  This one is even large enough for you to bake the dressing (aka stuffing) right in it.  However, we are heading to a dinner party so corningware it is!!

Butter it!!!  You do not want the stuffing to stick!

Now back to this....

Season with salt and pepper.  Cook until the carrots have softened a bit.  They are chopped into a small size so it should only take about 10 minutes total.

As you can see, it reduces in volume....

Then pour it over your bread cubes that should be in a VERY large bowl....

RESIST THE URGE TO STIR IT!!! (Kevin!  STOP TRYING TO STIR IT!!!)

Now onto the sausage...

Remove it from the casing and crumble it slightly.

Place it in a pan and brown it.

Pour the sausage into the same bowl as the vegetable and bread cubes.

Now pour over 1/3 of a 32 ounce box of chicken or vegetable stock or turkey stock...

Add 1/3 of a cup of dried cranberries that have been reconstituted in hot water.

Stir it up and pour another 1/3 cup of stock...

Now place it into your buttered baking dish.....

Spread it into an even layer and add thin pats of butter over the top to brown the top of the stuffing.

Put it in a 350 degree oven for one hour...

Once an hour has passed you will have a delicious stuffing to enjoy!

Now, you can change this stuffing in SO MANY ways.  You can add nuts or dried fruit (make sure you reconstitute is in hot water).  You could add a layer of parmesan cheese on the top.  Happy Cooking!!!

A warming trend....

You need a good vegetable stock recipe.

See that?  Yumminess.  Trust me on this.

This is made in a crock pot and is simple.  There is no micro-dicing.  There are no fancy ingredients and the result is delectable.

I promise it is simple.  

3 - 4 carrots, washed and cut in large chunks
4 - 5 celery stalks, washed  and cut in large chunks.

The number will depend on the size of each of these.  What I had on hand was fairly large. Be sure to chop them. I suppose you could do this with them whole, but unless you have a long strainer the steps ahead may be difficult or cumbersome.

 1- 2 turnips, washed and chopped in large segments
1-2 rutabaga, washed and chopped in large segments
Again, if you have small turnips and rutabagas then get 2.
No turnips or rutabagas in the market?  Grab 4 parsnips and 1 medium sized head of fennel instead.

1 large yellow onion, peeled and chopped in large segments

1 head of garlic, cut in half so that all of the cloves are exposed
1 bunch of parsley, rinsed
Now do not scoff at that picture.  I had neither of these ingredients available to me, but what I did do was use what was on hand. Many home cooks do this. The old adage "Waste no, want not" is common in our home.  What you see here are frozen garlic cloves and frozen parsley oil.
We freeze garlic when it is about to go bad and the parsley oil is made in the food processor.  It changes nothing, but the flavor of the olive oil is infused in the stock.
YUMMY!!

1 Tbsp of kosher salt

8 whole black peppercorns

Place all of this in your crockpot.

Cover the entire thing with purified water.  

Then place the cover of the crock pot, set the cook setting to low, and let it cook overnight.  

The next morning, you will find this and, along with it, your home will smell glorious.  My husband loves stock night because he wakes to what he refers to as, "the smell of fall." Do not be afraid of this photo.  If you do not use parsley cubes you will not have this but a light, amber liquid.

You will need to strain the stock into a large bowl.  Place all of those veggies into your compost pile.

Transfer the stock into a seal container or cover the bowl with plastic wrap.  You choose!  Let the stock cool for 2 hours on the countertop or in the fridge if you have places to be.  

When you get home place cheese cloth over a fine mesh strainer and strain once more into another, clean container with an air tight lid.

You can skip this step if you did not use parsley oil cubes or do this if you want a more clear color for your stock

I recommend it no matter what.

Now we use all of this in a week, but when we do not we do the following...

Place it in quart freezer bags, lay them flat on a sheet tray, place in the freezer and them it freeze for 4 hours.  Then remove the sheet tray from the freezer and stack your stock!

If you want chicken stock instead, remove the rutabaga and turnip and add a few chicken wings.  or you can add a chicken carcass from the last time you roasted a chicken. Follow the same method.

When it is done you will have a rich and deeply colored stock.  Taste it and make sure to salt it some more if you need to.  I am not big on salt when it comes to stock because we use it in so many ways and salt the other ingredients.  However, you may want it to have a little more salt in this.


Some ideas for using your stock:
1. Use it to make Spanish rice instead of water.  Do this and then send me a thank you note.

2. Use anywhere you would use chicken stock. We are all trying to eat a little more healthy.  Even in chicken noodle soup this stock offers a wonderful flavor.  We like it better this way.

3. Replace part of the cream in your mashed potatoes with this stock.  I do this all the time.  DO NOT tell my husband!

4. When you make beans in the crockpot mix this with the water.  Use a 50-50 ratio and let it simmer away all day.  Add one chopped onion, garlic powder, salt and pepper to taste.

Now go make some of your own and let me know how it goes!