Christopher's Spice Cake

I promised this for Jenn some time ago after mentioning it on my blog; finally, I've gotten my lazy butt up to bring the cookbook to the computer and post the recipe. This is the cake I've made for CJ's past two birthdays, and may make again for Tom for his birthday this weekend. This recipe is from my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook from 2000--Mom gave it to me as a Christmas gift that year. It's my go-to book for ideas; I frequently tweak the recipes to our tastes, but I get the basic structures here. I'll also post the recipe for Cream Cheese Frosting, which is what I use for this cake. I make a basic 13x9 cake and leave it in the pan.

Spice Cake
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1 t ground cinnamon
1/4 t ground nutmeg
1/4 t ground cloves
1/4 t ground ginger
1/4 c butter, softened
1/4 c shortening
1 1/2 c sugar
1/2 t vanilla
2 eggs
1 1/4 c buttermilk*

Grease a 13x9 baking pan and set aside. Preheat oven for 350 degrees.
Stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger; set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, beat butter and shortening on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add sugar and vanilla, beat until well combined (should have a light, creamy, but somewhat crumbly texture). Add eggs one at a time and beat well after each. Add dry mixture and buttermilk alternately to beaten mixture, and beat at low speed after each addition just till combined. Pour into prepared pan.
Bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes till done (or wooden toothpick comes out clean). Cool and frost; makes 12 servings.

*If you don't have buttermilk, pour 1 1/4 T of lemon juice or vinegar in a measuring cup, then enough regular milk (preferably whole, but 2% will work) to make 1 1/4 cups of liquid and stir. Let it sit for 5 minutes to sour, then use. General rule of thumb is 1T of lemon juice or vinegar for each 1c of buttermilk needed. I usually take this approach since I rarely remember to buy buttermilk, and never use a whole quart of it before it expires.

Cream Cheese Frosting*
6 oz. cream cheese, softened.
1/2 c butter
2 t vanilla
2-4 3/4 c powdered sugar, sifted

Beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Gradually add 2 cups of powdered sugar, beating well. Once mixture is combined, gradually beat in another 2 1/2 to 2 3/4 cups of powdered sugar to reach desired spreading consistency. Makes enough for top and sides of two 8 or 9 inch layers.

*Personal note--I rarely use more than 2 1/2 c of powdered sugar total for this recipe, and have plenty to frost the top of a 13x9 cake. Using less sugar makes the frosting more tangy, which we personally like. Another personal note--the cream cheese and butter MUST be softened if you're using a hand mixer, or else it will just cling to the beaters and getting any powdered sugar into will be a challenge. If you're lucky enough to have a stand mixer with some power, you can throw in the butter and cream cheese straight from the fridge and you're good to go.

And for those who may have a problem with butter, you can substitute margarine in the same amounts. There is no substitute for the shortening. Personally, I prefer butter over margarine in general and especially in baking--I can never get a consistent result with margarine in cakes and frostings tend to break and run at room temperature.

Christmas Food

Wow! Has it really been over a month since anyone has posted to the food blog? It's hard to believe time is rushing by this fast.

I don't have any recipes to put on here immediately. As soon as I locate it again, I'll post the recipe for my grandmother's scrumptious homemade jam cake with caramel icing. Yummmm Yummmm yummy! I just haven't had time.

Yesterday, Jamie and I had Christmas dinner with Rachel's family. They are nice people! We had ham, turkey, green bean casserole, homemade stuffing (yum!), homemade dinner rolls (double yum!), five or six different kinds of pie. I think I ate enough for three people just at their house. I was so full, I didn't eat anything else for the rest of the day! But it sure was good.

Hope you all had a wonderful, food-y Christmas full of laughter and love. Hugs to you all!

How Are You Spending Thanksgiving?

Tom and I are cooking a full spread tomorrow--turkey, sweet potatoes, mashed potatoes, green beans, stuffing, and pumpkin pie. We're going to try our hand at a real stuffing, but I have a box of Stove Top standing by, just in case. I'm also going to try a new appetizer recipe I just learned--crostini with a fig-proscuitto tapanade. Our friends Jay and Erik are coming over for dinner, since her mom does Thanksgiving dinner closer to lunchtime, and we have ours ready later in the day. After we roll away from the table, we lie around and watch Survivor. It's like our little tradition. In previous years, our friend Candi came by for dinner, but since she moved to Ohio that won't be happening this year. We'll be sure to call her in between the cooking and the football and the eating.

Last year, CJ was just getting into table food, so I can't wait to watch him dig into everything this year.

So, what are your Thanksgiving traditions, and how are you spending the holiday?

We Eat Ham on Turkey Day

Maybe it's because we usually eat Turkey breast year round, but don't eat much ham, but we don't eat turkey on Turkey Day. So, I swiped this recipe from the official Coca-Cola website, 'cause this is similar to how we always cooked our Thanksgiving ham.

5-6 pound ham
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cups Coca-Cola
1 cup crushed pineapple (optional)

Wash ham thoroughly. Rub fat side with brown sugar. Pour Coke over ham, carefully trying not to dislodge too much of the sugar. Pour crushed pineapple all over ham. Bake at 450 degrees for 3 hours. Makes 6 servings.

(or if you've got cash to spare you can always go to The Honeybaked Ham company and get one of those yummy hams)

For more recipes using Coca-Cola (including one for Cherry Coke ham - not too sure if I'll try that this year) go to the official Coca-Cola recipes web site.

Beans and Rice

This is pretty basic, but I like it.
1 cup rice
1 11 or 15.5 oz. can corn
1 15.5 oz. can chili beans
2 servings pepperoni or beef bites (I used Bridgford this time but like Old Wisconsin better, whatever floats your boat)

Combine 1 cup rice, 2 cups water, 1 tablespoon butter, 1 teaspoon salt, and (optionally) copious amounts of Cayenne pepper and curry powder in a suitably sized sauce pan. Bring to a boil then cover and simmer of low heat for 15 minutes. Let sit for a few minutes after you've turned off the heat

Drain corn, sprinkle with cinnamon, and cook on high in microwave for 3 min..

Combine beans and meat bits in saucepan and cook over low heat until hot.

Once everything's done cooking mix it all together. Probably serves 6 since I usually get three meals out of it.

I also like to add shredded Monterey Jack cheese when I've got it.