Red Velvet Cake with Chocolate Chips & Cream Cheese Icing

Several times now, one of my coworkers, Way-Jen, has brought in a cake from Nothing Bundt Cakes which is located near her home in Mira Mesa. While all of the cakes that I've had the fortune to sample have been excellent, I was blown away by their Red Velvet Cake (with chocolate chips and cream cheese icing). It's not often when you are lucky enough to stumble upon a cake as moist and rich as their red velvet. I've been on the hunt for a recipe which will deliver the same degree of moistness and great flavor. Two years ago while home in the Midwest at Christmas, I tore out a red velvet recipe from one of Mary Jo's home magazines (with her blessing of course). I finally recently tried it. While I'm told it had great flavor and others seemed to enjoy it, I was disappointed that the moistness I was hoping to replicate from Nothing Bundt Cakes was not delivered by this recipe (even though it included buttermilk as is traditional in a Southern red velvet cake). If you know of a great red velvet cake recipe, please send it my way as the hunt is still on...

Salad with Herbed Baked Goat Cheese

A salad consisting of good ingredients like fresh greens and a nice, light vinaigrette can be so simple, yet very refreshing. Add some excitement like baked goat cheese, then you really have an enjoyable meal! Since I am usually pleased with all of her recipes, I first tried the Barefoot Contessa's recipe for Salad with Warm Goat Cheese. While I heartily enjoyed the combination of flavors, I found the method of frying the bread crumb-crusted goat cheese a bit more difficult than I preferred (although her recommendation of using dental floss to slice the goat cheese worked superbly). In my search to find a better method, I discovered the Herbed Baked Goat Cheese Salad recipe with vinaigrette by Cook's Illustrated. It easily produced an even greater level of flavor and texture since the goat cheese was encrusted in chopped pecans (and I added the optional dried cranberries since I had them on hand). Plus, the method of freezing then baking the goat cheese proved much more effortless. If you're in the mood for something a bit lighter, plan ahead and give it a try (you'll need a couple hours of freezing time, but you can save a few minutes by buying herbed goat cheese instead of using plain then adding your own fresh herbs)!

Asparagus Flan with Chive Oil

To be honest, I was never a fan of Emeril Lagasse's show on FoodNetwork. I guess it was a bit too over the top for me (bam!). But I quickly became a fan of his show, Emeril Green, on the Planet Green network. I like the concept of his educating people on how to cook with foods they aren't used to using, plus the emphasis on organics via their set in a Whole Foods (or is it "whole paycheck"?) store. While I had only previously had flan as the familiar sweet dessert, I decided to give his Asparagus Flan with Chive Oil a try. I enjoy asparagus (especially roasted), and found this savory version of a flan to be rather enjoyable. While it may look intimidating, it really wasn't difficult. Please give it a try and let me know what you think!

Chicken Corn Chowder...Perfect for a cold/damp evening!

I appreciate receiving recipe suggestions from trusted sources. When my sisters Brenda and Debra told me they had made a yummy Chicken Corn Chowder over the holidays, I immediately wanted to give it a try. It was hard to pass up such rave reviews, especially when I've always been a fan of Corn Chowder. Since it's from Cooking Light, the typical cream or whole milk is replaced by pureeing half of the corn which provides the same texture. It's the perfect dish for a cool damp evening. I hope you'll enjoy this recipe too!

Lemon and Basil Eggs over Foccacia

We found ourselves looking for a creative way to use up the leftover ham from New Year's Day. Wow, what a delightful way to do it! I was intrigued by Giada De Laurentiis' Lemon and Basil Eggs over Foccacia, and decided to slightly alter it to incorporate cubed ham. While the dish almost became a disaster when the foccacia was slightly burned during the first stage of baking (but it was easily salvaged), and while it may not have looked quite like Giada's, it was packed with flavor and will sure to be one of our favorite comfort foods. This recipe is a keeper!

Cowboy Cookies

Most people kick-start fitness and weight loss resolutions for the new year. Since we didn't make the trek to the Midwest this year for the holidays--thus missing out on all of Mary Jo's sweat morsels--I wasn't quite ready to end the holiday vacation without an excellent cookie. On January 1st I found myself making an old favorite cookie which I discovered a few years ago printed in the Riverside Press Enterprise. It's an outstanding cookie packed with lots of goodness such as coconut, nuts, cinnamon, and of course chocoloate chips! After a bit of indulging and feeling satisfied, the majority of the cookies went to my office with me on January 4th to wreck havoc on new year's resolutions newly set by my co-workers.

Cowboy Cookies

3 c. all-purpose flour

1 T. baking powder

1 T. baking soda

1 T. cinnamon

1 t. salt

1 1/2 c. butter, at room temp.

1 1/2 c. sugar

1 1/2 c. packed light-brown sugar

3 eggs

1 T. vanilla

3 c. semisweet chocolate chips

3 c. old-fashioned rolled oats

2 c. sweetened flaked coconut

2 c. chopped pecans

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all dry ingredients (excluding oats) in a medium bowl.

In a large bowl, beat the butter until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute. Gradually beat in the sugars; beat to combine about 2 minutes. Add eggs one a time. Beat in vanila. Stir in flour mixture until just combined. Add chocolate chips, oats, coconut, and pecans.

Drop 1/4 cup of the dough onto ungreased baking sheets, spacing 3 inches apart. Bake for 17-20 minutes, until edges are lightly browned. Makes about 3 dozen.

The Feasting Fork blog now launched!

Our home, circa 1980, came complete with a dated kitchen. Its features included ugly chipped cream tile countertops with dark brown grout (which looked anything but sanitary even after hours of cleaning), a refrigerator placement which didn't permit the door to fully open, cabinets which were difficult to completely utilize, ineffective lighting, and unncessary walls which didn't allow for today's more desired open floor plan. After hours of toiling over a couple of months (the true meaning of "sweat equity"), 2009 brought a new kitchen ready to be christened. The new kitchen complete with warm cherry cabinets, expansive quartz countertops, and a much more user friendly floor plan, furthered my desire to cook. A bit of post-Christmas holiday boredom then led to the idea of a food blog for 2010. The goal is to share my passion for preparing good food, while having the opportunity to road test new creations to share with others.