Quick Easiest Yellow Cake

Guest Perfect

Easiest Yellow Cake

A quick uncomplicated dessert that’s ready in no time. Nothing like something fresh from the oven! Versions of this yellow cake have been circulating for years and you still can’t beat it for ease and taste results. Thank you Betty or Good Housekeeping or whoever you are.

This simple yellow cake, actually one layer, with your favorite filling is perfect for last minute guests. Fill it with jam or jelly, lemon curd, whipped cream and fruit or as I’ve done here, date-nut filling. Top with buttercream or cream cheese frosting. Easily serves 8 generously.

Continue reading


Crostini Dinner

Endless Choices

Crostini

You might think of Crostini as an appetizer but it hasn’t always been. And just as with pasta, crostini toppings are endless. In fact, these sauces and toppings are pretty much interchangeable. If you enjoyed my post Linguini with Puttanesca but have run out of linguini try Puttanesca as a Crostino topping.

Toast thin slices of a French baguette, yep in the toaster, or impress your guy or gal by toasting these little bites of bread in a skillet coated with a bit of garlic infused olive oil. Top. Pair with your favorite wine and you have dinner. Chianti for me. And BTW if you are allergic to garlic (often protested by friends or family who can’t do garlic but aren’t allergic) this post is all about this favorite Allium, garlic.

Enjoy!

Continue reading


Another Version of Grandmother Rose’s Peas

Peas Linguica and Eggs, a Portuguese Breakfast or Dinner

Peas Linguica Eggs

Loved my Grandmother’s peas. Always served as a side dish. I don’t remember anyone else eating them … Maybe because I kept the bowl close and ignored the nonverbal cues, frequently used at our table, to pass the dish. My bad!

I’ve taken her recipe a bit further and added a few different ingredients. I think you’ll like this Portuguese Breakfast Style that can second as a dinner meal. I probably don’t need to tell you but this is not a light dish. Sometimes you just gotta have linguica!

Continue reading


Linguini (Linguine) Alla Puttanesca

Linguini with Puttanesca

This remains my favorite light pasta meal for so many reasons. Puttanesca is interesting in flavor and in story. It’s been near decades since I first heard the story and tried this amazingly simple but delicious sauce. Some may shy away because of the anchovies or cayenne pepper. This sauce is very forgiving not unlike a great lover. Add anchovy paste instead of anchovies and cayenne to your taste. For a vegan diet let the capers do the trick. The result is always amazing.

Versions of Puttanesca are as many as the verses of Lou Monte’s Lazy Mary. Hope you enjoy this one!

Continue reading


Slice N Bake Oatmeal Cookies

Slice N Bake Oatmeal Cookies

The 2015 resolution is still on! But you know as I … Complete deprivation often leads to resolution failure … with respect to dietary changes.

Here is a cookie with, in my opinion, the nutritional value outweighing the calories. My secret to not overindulging … Bake only the amount that will be eaten and shared. The remainder of dough, wrap tightly in parchment paper then foil, label and freeze. Need more for unexpected guests? Just remove from the freezer, slice and bake what you need. Easily keeps in the freezer for several months.

Continue reading


Estrada’s Kitchen Tostada Compuesta

Look Alike Taste Alike

Whether you have a history with Estrada’s Spanish Kitchen or not you’ll love this Tostada Compuesta! Always served sizzling hot on a plate too hot to touch. If you were a fan of Estrada’s you’ll remember this!

Continue reading


Thumbprint Cookies In A Hurry

Thumbprint Cookies

Inspired by Bothof’s Bakery and Betty Crocker! Chocolate or Jelly Thumbprint Cookies from Bothof’s were a childhood favorite. The convenience of the bakery vanished with our move to the country. The option became, bake them! Betty Crocker lived in our house in those days. With Betty Crocker’s help a simple recipe was created.

This is a quick recipe with few ingredients. Top it with a candy kiss or peanut butter cup or Rolo. My favorite is still a small dollop of chocolate or raspberry jam or jelly. This cookie is so basic in flavor any number of toppings can be used. Love it!

BTW low sugar.

Continue reading


Manhattan Clam Chowder

Grandmother Rose’s Favorite Chowder

While my Grandmother enjoyed clams prepared in a variety of ways including raw I prefer just a hint of sea breeze wafting up from my clams especially chowder. I’ve had to take baby steps to develop a palate for seafoods graduating from fish that tastes like chicken, e.g. halibut, to fish stew with aroma, well, like a fishing pier.

 

Manhattan Clam Chowder is tomato base and this particular variation is not thick nor creamy. It’s light but filling with a mixture of simple vegetables. The clams aren’t overpowering. Whether you enjoy raw clams or shy away from any dish with clams I believe you will be pleased with this Manhattan Clam Chowder. A healthy high protein economical dish.

Continue reading


My New Year’s Resolution

My New Year's ResolutionDo you have a New Year’s Resolution? Some years I do. This year I feel a need. I’m in the last quarter as Bruce Jenner had said. Episode? (Yep, I’ve been known to watch the Kardashians. Don’t tell.) In my own little observation study a jock grows older with some advantages. I just attended my high school class reunion … Graduation was decades ago … Nope, not telling. Everyone in this high school swim team, seniors only, picture remains fit. (Roger died in the Vietnam War.) Don’t get me wrong. There’ve been some physical challenges but we are holding up well.

So what’s this have to do with my resolution? I’ve been taking advantage, for granted actually, of my genetics and physical resilience! I inherited a musculature similar to my brother’s … remember he played college football. I had these very broad shoulders and tight large muscles I hated but later began to appreciate as my body softened with age. The inset, I’m in my mid-thirties after my children with this biological softening process in full swing. But now I want it to stop! It’s swinging too far in the opposite direction. My first step, I’ve let the gardener go. So far, lots of raking. My fescue is now reaching full length but my compulsiveness hasn’t overridden the chilling 30 degrees.

Next Post
For the month of January I’m focusing on a lighter menu. First up is my Grandmother Rose’s favorite chowder, Manhattan Clam Chowder. I’m not a clam connoisseur as she, taking clams right off the beach and eating them raw. I’ll be using the very best canned clams. Use fresh if you like. Such an easy recipe!

Continue reading


Mexican Macaroni and Cheese

Each year around this time I complete an on-line search for Estrada’s Spanish Kitchen recipes … Always hopeful but never successful. (Estrada’s taste alike, here) For forty years our family frequented this restaurant on Christmas Eve. With the passing of three members of our immediate family we held ourselves together and continued this tradition until the restaurant closed in our city, Visalia … the original location of the restaurant which later became a small chain. It was, is, a significant part of our lives.

This year I sorta hit the jackpot. Chowhound Chow message board had multiple entries about this restaurant and the secret recipes. I quickly zeroed in on the Macaroni and Cheese, one of my favorites. The recipe is simple. I had been advised by an Estrada’s family member most of their recipes are surprising simple. There was that Velveeta Cheese! Yikes! Well, it kinda makes sense. Velveeta and Estrada’s made their debut about the same time. And who knew … Velveeta is one of those secret ingredients chefs use for the meltability but maybe like to keep quiet.

About the recipe here, this is very good and oh so easy but sorry for Estrada’s fans … It isn’t even close to the Estrada’s Macaroni and Cheese I remember. But it does provide a starting point. How does this one miss the mark? Not as sweet, sauce is orange not red, spices are too prominent (not a bad thing but not Estrada’s), the right size of bucatini is hard to come by, and well, just maybe Velveeta wasn’t used.

If I was to do this again, and I will, I’d use their authentic enchilada sauce. I have what is supposed to be the Daly City Estrada’s, the last of the chain, recipe. Yet, I am not truly convinced the sauce used for their macaroni and cheese is a modification of enchilada sauce. (I was notified by an Estrada’s family member it’s not a modification of the enchilada sauce.)

Continue reading