Amalgamation Cake

Some of you are saying, "What?"  That is what I said too!  Last month I was fortunate to be able to spend some time with my colleague and friend, Becky Voyles.  Becky and I drove down to Florida.  We spent a lot of time in the car and I enjoyed listening to her stories, wisdom and love of her family.

I consider my life blessed to know and love Becky.  She is the most giving person I have every met-always thinking of others and trying to live her life the way God intended for her to.  She is a kind spirit and I appreciate her thoughts, opinions and I love the way she always tells me the truth.

Becky told me about a cake that her grandmother would make every Christmas-Amalgamation Cake.  Here are the ingredients:

For the cake-
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups butter
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup raisins
2 cups blackberry jam
2 cups coconut
4 cups flour
3 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon allspice
1 teaspoon baking soda
6 eggs, separated

For the filling-
10 egg yolks
2 cups sugar
1 cup raisins, chopped
1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups milk
2 cups chopped nuts

Cake-Cream the butter and sugar together.  Beat in the egg yolks.  Add the jam, milk, raisins and coconut.  Mix.  Sift the flour, baking soda and spices.

Add that into the batter.  Whip the egg whites until they start to stiffen.  Fold that into the cake batter.

Put the batter into 5-6 cake pans, thin layers.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for 13-15 minutes or until the cake comes back clean when sticking a toothpick in the center.

 While the cake is cooking start making the filling.  Pour all the ingredients in a saucepan and cook until it starts to thicken up.  It should cook up and be the consistency of jam.

Put this in between each layer.

Pour the remaining filling on the top.

OK, I know that I need to take photography classes.  This picture does not do the cake justice.  It was moist and full of flavor!

Thanks Becky for sharing this with me!

Enjoy!

Oatmeal Molasses Bread

Oatmeal+Molasses=Great Bread!  (That is the teacher in me!)  I am always on the look out for a great recipe.  The problem with me is, I can't follow a recipe (most of the time).  I always tweak, add and just plain do my own thing.  That is how this recipe came about, but I must say, the results were worth it!

I had some left over whey in my refrigerator from when I made mozzarella cheese-check it out:

http://rediscovermom.blogspot.com/2013/02/mozzarella-cheese.html

I've read about what to do with whey.  Everything I've read says use it in your bread recipes, so I did!

Ingredients:

1 cup lukewarm water
2 1/4 teaspoons yeast
1 cup oatmeal, plus 2 tablespoons to put on before baking
1 cup whey
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup molasses
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
6 cups flour
2 tablespoons melted butter

To begin, soak the oatmeal in the whey.  Let that sit for an hour or so.  When the oats are soft, you are ready to begin making the bread.

Put the water in your mixing bowl.  Combine the yeast and let that proof for 5 minutes.  This means you are activating the yeast.  You will know if your yeast is good if the water forms a little foam or bubbles. 

Put in the sugar, salt, oatmeal, whey, molasses, oil and about 3 cups of flour.  Make sure you have a dough hook on your mixer.  Start the mixer on speed 2.  Let the ingredients combine.  Add the remaining flour, a little at a time, until the dough forms into a ball on the dough hook.

Take the dough and put it in a lightly oiled bowl.  I set mine on the stove top, letting it warm.  Be sure to cover it with a towel.  That will help the dough remain fresh and not form a crust.

Let that rise for 1 1/2 hours - 2 hours.  It should double in size.  Punch the dough down and let it rise again, about 1 hour.  Punch it down again.

At this point you need to decide if you want one large loaf or two smaller loaves.  Prepare your loaf pan by spraying with PAM.  Put the dough in the pan and let it rise again - about 30 minutes.

Take a sharp knife and cut some slits into the top of the dough.  Brush some melted butter on the top of the loaves.  Sprinkle with oatmeal.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes or so, or until the loaf is golden brown.

Enjoy!

This recipe is shared with:

Fabulous Fridays

Lemon Shrimp Pasta

Tonight I was fortunate to have dinner with my niece Sierra and my mother.  Going to mom's is always a food adventure.  Mom is a great cook and I always learn so much from her.  Tonight she made this great shrimp pasta.  It was light and lemony!

Mom, Sierra, Karrie and Julia-Summer, 2012

Mom cooking away.........she said I had to get a side view because she didn't have on make-up!

Here are the ingredients:  

1/3 cup olive oil

2 garlic cloves, crushed and put into the olive oil

3 tablespoons minced onions

1 tablespoon sugar

Salt

Pepper

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

10-12 shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 pound cooked pasta

1/4 cup chopped parsley (fresh)

Put the crushed garlic cloves into the olive oil.  Let that infuse a few hours.  Saute the onion with a little of the olive oil.  Add the rest of the oil, sugar, salt and pepper to taste, lemon juice and shrimp.  Let that simmer 5-7 minutes or until the shrimp turns slightly pink.  

Add the parsley and cooked pasta.  Serve.

Note:  Mom says she enjoys this pasta with a jar of marinated artichoke hearts and some feta cheese.

Sierra enjoying her pasta!

Mangia!

This recipe is listed on Fabulous Fridays

Linguini Con Pesce - Seafood Pasta

The family gathered at Cunetto's after my father passed away.  One last tribute to a great man!

 

Laura, Tonette, Me and Karrie giving a toast to Daddio

 Italians love their pasta.  One of my all time favorites is con pesce or seafood pasta.  When I was growing up, my family would go to Cunetto's House of Pasta (St. Louis, Mo) on special occasions.  I love their linguine con pesce.


My Nonna's maiden name was Cunetto.  She came over from Sicily, in the early 1900's.  Her nephews, Vince and Jake, started this iconic restaurant on "The Hill."  The Hill is the place where Italians live in St. Louis, it's own Little Italy, full of history and Italian culture.  It is still one of my favorite places to visit.

I wanted to make a great seafood pasta in a cream sauce.  Here are the ingredients:

1 pound linguine
3 cups heavy cream
4 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups Parmesan cheese
1 small can of chopped clams
1 pound of crab meat (not canned)
8-10 shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound mushrooms, sliced
1 small onion, diced
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
Salt
Pepper

Fill a large pot with water and put 2-3 teaspoons salt.  Boil and cook pasta, al dente.  This means that the pasta is not yet soft-still has a little bite to it.  It will finish cooking in the sauce.

In a large saute pan, heat the butter and olive oil.  Saute the onions until translucent.  Add the mushrooms and garlic.  Let that saute for 3-5 minutes.  Add 1 teaspoon salt and pepper.

Add the heavy cream.  Let that heat up until just near the boiling point.  Add the clams, crab and shrimp.  Stir, and add the Parmesan cheese and parsley.  The sauce will thicken as it cooks-about 5 minutes.

Add the al dente pasta - stir for 3-5 minutes.  Serve.

Mangia!

Tried and True Recipes Party #2

Thanks to all of you that participated in my first ever linky party!  I wasn't sure what to expect-I was pleasantly surprised at all of the support you offered me and the great recipes you all posted!  Here are a few of my favorites:

German Walnut Braid by Hungry Little Girl

I love learning about food from other cultures.  This walnut braid looks delicious and I love the twist!

Shoo-Fly Cake by Yesterfood

This recipe helps me continue my fascination with my cast iron skillet!  Love the thought of making a dessert with it!

Finally, I want to feature Grammy's Creamy Cheesecake by Cooking To Perfection.

I love all things cheesecake.  Plus, Elaine shared some great memories of her Grammy.  Thanks Elaine!

Time for the party!  Remember the rules: 

1. Link up a family recipe or craft
2. Please follow my blog - I'll follow you back
 3. Please link to this post in your blogs
4. No spam, contests or giveaways please
5. Please note that by linking up your posts and projects you are giving me permission to use your photos in the featured posts and possibly on my social media outlets. All photos will be linked back to your sites and your posts
6. Visit at least two of the links and comment on the page so the blogger knows you visited

At the end of the week, I will pick out a few of my favorites! Spread the word - there are so many great blogs out there. Let's learn from each other!

Bracciole

Bracciole is an Italian dish, featuring a stuffed meat.  My Nonna made bracciole and my mother learned to make it.  It was one of my dad's favorite dishes.

Nonna, Dad, Nonnu and Aunt Lily

September 10th, 1944

Dad's two older brothers - Matt and Vince were serving in WWII

Nonna and my dad

The key to making a good bracciole is a good sauce.  Here are the recipes for my meat sauce and marinara sauce.

The ingredients for my bracciole:

Flank steak- pounded thin

Parmesan cheese - 1/2 cup

Bread crumbs- 1/2 cup

Fresh parsley - 3 tablespoons

Boiled egg (I know, just go with it)

My grandmother put spinach in hers. Tonight, I'm going to stuff mine with zucchini and a little crushed pine nuts.  Unusual ingredients, but I am entering this into a Fabio Kitchen Challenge!

Pound the flank steak thin.  When I pound meat, I put the meat in a Ziploc bag so as not to tear the meat up.

Assemble the stuffing.  In my case I used the bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, parsley, boiled eggs, crushed pine nuts and zucchini.  The beauty of bracciole is that you can stuff it with whatever you like.

Roll the steak and tie it off.

Sear the bracciole in a dutch oven or large pot.

Cover with sauce and let it simmer for 2-3 hours.

When you are ready to serve, remove the string and slice.  Serve over sauce.

Mangia!

Lemon Ricotta Cheesecake

The best cheesecake I ever had was from Tony's restaurant, here in St. Louis, MO.  It was a light, fluffy ricotta cheesecake, with a hint of lemon.  Cheesecake is my downfall..............ok, one of many!

Here are the ingredients:

Crust:

1/2 cup macadamia nuts
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, cold
1 1/4 cup flour
Pinch of salt
2-4 tablespoons of ice cold water

In your food processor, chop the nuts.  Add the flour, sugar and salt.  Cut the butter up into cubes and add.  Pulse until the mixture is crumb-like.  Add the water (make sure it is cold) 1 tablespoon at a time.  Add enough until a dough forms.

Press into the bottom of a cheesecake pan.  Cook for 8-10 minutes in a 350 degree oven until golden brown.

For the filling:

2 packages cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/4 cups sugar
15 oz. ricotta cheese
3 tablespoons lemon curd or lemon zest
2 teaspoons vanilla
3 eggs
1/2 cup heavy cream

In your mixer, cream together cream cheese and sugar.  Add the ricotta cheese and eggs, one of a time.  Add lemon curd, vanilla and heavy cream.

Add the cheesecake filling to the cheesecake pan.

If your cheesecake pan is small enough to put inside another pan,  wrap the outside in foil so water can't get in.  Put the pan inside the larger one and fill it with water, creating a water bath.  This will help the cheesecake cook with steam so that cracks will not be created.

My cheesecake pan was too large to fit inside another pan.  Instead, I filled another bowl full of water and put it below the cheesecake pan in the oven.

Cook at 325 for 1 hour-1 hour and 20 minutes.  Take out of the oven when the middle of the cheesecake is set and the sides begin to brown.

Let the cheesecake cool completely.

Ingredients for the lemon curd:

4 eggs
1 1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup flour
Pinch salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons lemon zest

Make sure you get fresh lemon juice!

Mix all ingredients together and cook until slightly boiling.  Whisk constantly.  Remove from heat and let it cool.

Cook the curd until slightly boiling.  Remove from heat and let cool.

Top the cheesecake with a layer of lemon curd and whipped cream.

Don't forget to save your extra lemon curd!  It freezes well!

Enjoy!  This recipe is listed on Chic and Crafty Party