herbiehancock

Whenever I need a cheesecake, I rely on this one that I found  in 2001. It's rich, cheesy and creamy... perfect if you want a plain cheesecake that can be topped with fruit.   Apparently, this recipe was served at the Old Original Bookbinder's Restaurant in Philadelphia, which was the oldest seafood restaurant in the city. The restaurant began as an oyster saloon in 1865 by Dutch immigrant, Samuel Bookbinder. The restaurant filed Chapter 11 in 2006 and has since closed, but another restaurant continues operation today in Richmond, VA . I adapted this recipe slightly in the amount of graham cracker crumbs I use. The original recipe calls for 2 tablespoons to be sprinkled over the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. That amount doesn't begin to cover the bottom of the pan, so I use the crumbs of five whole graham crackers.   If you've never made a cheesecake, don't be intimidated. I think it's easier to make than a cake. Try this recipe and your family and friends...

Maybe it's this long, cold and snowy winter that has me craving something summery and bright. Maybe I'm Vitamin C deficient. I have no other explanation for what made me pick up an 8 pound bag of oranges the other day. We ate some oranges and squeezed some fresh juice for breakfast, but I had to find another way to use them up! So, this orange, citrusy, summery, light and lovely cake was born.  I used a citrus reamer  (one of my favorite gadgets) to get the fresh juice that goes into this cake and a lot of the pulp ended up in the juice, which I included in the cake. Along with the zest, it left tiny bits of bright orange in the baked cake. Without using an electric juicer, I think a citrus reamer does the best  job of juicing fruit. If you don't have one, you might consider getting one... it's inexpensive and it does a great job! This is a really nice cake with lots of orange flavor and a nice light orange aroma. It'd be a good choice to take to a potluck, or to gi...

I 'liked' King Arthur Flour on Facebook  and this lovely coffeecake showed up yesterday on their page.  It begins with a starter (flour, water and yeast) that must rest at room temperature overnight. In the morning, you add other ingredients to make the dough, then knead in toasted walnuts, chopped dates, and golden raisins. I used golden raisins and dried cranberries and soaked them overnight in brandy. You can substitute with whatever fruit you like and make it your own! If you soak the fruit in brandy, be sure to drain it well before you knead it into the dough. Kneading the fruit into the dough is a sticky situation at best. I put a small bowl of water close by and dipped my fingers in it occasionally which helped tame the dough! The fruit and nut studded dough is placed into a 9" cake pan and left to rise slightly for 30 minutes. Just before it goes into the oven, a light mixture of sugar, vanilla and water is drizzled over the top. Because this isn't a really swe...

Boston Cream Pie was invented in 1856 by French Chef Sanzian, who was hired at the opening of the Parker House Hotel (now Omni Parker House ) in Boston. 154 years ago, The Parker House was the first hotel in Boston to have hot and cold running water and an elevator! Today, they still serve this signature dish, as well as their   Parker House Rolls . As you know, this isn't a pie as we know it, but a tender sponge cake split horizontally, filled with vanilla custard and topped with chocolate ganache.   To me, this is comfort food. I was born near Boston and lived there until I was a young teen. My Mom made Boston Cream Pies often, using a yellow cake mix, vanilla pudding for the filling and chocolate frosting for the topping and it was still  delicious! I made this from scratch a few weeks back (my birthday cake!) It's just a little bit of work because you have to make the cake, the custard and the ganache, but it's so  worth it! Boston Cream Pie - from The Food Net...

Twice this week I found my younger son in the kitchen cooking. This may not sound like anything unusual to you, but it is a bit out of character for him. I'm not complaining, mind you. I am delighted that he is venturing into the kitchen on his own. Over the years, I have taught him and his brother the basics of cooking and how to follow a recipe, but neither one has taken much of an interest in it. Some of you may remember the grape salad that he experimented with a while back. That was unusual for him. Most of the time he doesn't cook much of anything except very simple foods like eggs or hot dogs or a grilled cheese sandwich at most. So what was the occasion this time? He is a member of the wrestling team which is taking a trip to Florida this December. They have been working on numerous fundraisers to make money to pay for this trip. This week the wrestlers were asked to bring in something for a bake sale to be held during a chili supper before the Friday night fo...

It's been a fairly quiet and typical Sunday here. I went to church this morning. Then visited my Mom for a while. I baked a cinnamon applesauce cake with coconut pecan icing this afternoon. SOMEONE had a piece before I could take a picture. Hmm...I'll have to investigate and see who THAT was. The weather was absolutely gorgeous again--sunny and in the mid 70's. Our summer this year has been mild and wonderful so far. I have enjoyed it immensely. It has been grand for taking walks, so I go whenever I can. While walking, I saw this pretty bed of flowers planted around a large rock in the park. I love these giant red flowers. Because of their large size and their loud "you can't miss it" color, they seem like something that ought to be from a Dr. Seuss story or some similar whimsical, imaginative land. That's about it for here today. Nothing much else exciting to report. Oh yeah, except just one thing. I almost forgot to tell you. I saw Superman fly...

I came across this recipe at bleeding espresso which is a fun and interesting blog. Here's the "About" for you of bleeding espresso: Michelle Fabio, an American writer and attorney leaves the Anthracite Coal Region of Pennsylvania for her family's ancestral village in Calabria, Italy, falls in love, adopts two dogs and two kids (baby goats), tends to chicken, rabbits, ducks, and a growing garden, writes to her heart's content, and begins bleeding espresso. No, really. This pound cake took forever to bake. It rose up in the pan and somebody (I'm claiming the 5th) opened the oven door and the cake went pffffffft! I was able to cut two very nice slices from each end of the cake but the middle sunk and ended up being only a couple inches high, very dense and not pretty at all. I hate it when that happens. This cake tasted absolutely wonderful, but I wasn't pleased with the texture. I'm thinking I might take what is left and try making a bread puddi...

This is a photo from a few years ago of my Mom holding a birthday cake so that one of my nephews could blow out the candles. This is my brother's oldest child. With both my Mom and nephew dressed in yellow and the yellow walls of my kitchen, I thought it seemed like an appropriate choice for Mellow Yellow Monday. To visit other bloggers posting for Mellow Yellow Mondays, click on the butterfly badge below.

When my daughter was six years old I asked her to write down the ingredients she would use to make a chocolate cake. You can see her simple recipe. All she needed were six strawberries and a pound of sugar. I'm sure I helped her with the spelling on this card... ... and not on this one. She was seven years old when she wrote this recipe card. The spelling was definitely her own. She still had the strobarereas in the recipe, but also had the addition of some jelli bins. Apparently this was going to be her birthday cake. I know that because she wanted sevin candols on the cake. This card was written in 1993 when she was 11 years old. Ah, she was getting better at this! No strawberries this time, though and it seems like the most important instruction was to EAT!!! the cake. Finally, in 1997 I asked her to do this again. She didn't want to. She was 15 years old and I suppose it seemed kind of a silly thing to do. But I told her she had to, because I am the mother after all.

All of the recipes for carrot cake that I've seen call for grated carrots. This recipe is a little different in that it calls for cooked and mashed carrots. Let's make it! Sift the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, powder, salt, soda, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. Eggs, mashed carrots, oil and crushed pineapple go into another bowl. No need for the Kitchen Aid for this recipe... everything mixes up easily by hand! Add raisins and chopped walnuts. Pour into a 9-inch cake pan and bake for 45 minutes at 350F. This made a very moist and delicious cake. Now I know that to some people carrot cake just isn't complete until you add cream cheese frosting, so I've included that in the recipe which you can find by clicking right here . If you're up for making your favorite carrot cake, you might win this fabulous cookbook ! Check out the details by clicking on the carrot cake button on my left sidebar!

Wilben has kindly nominated this blog for the "Marie Antoinette A Real Person, A Real Award" blog award. Thank you, Wilben! For a unique blog of clever quotes and sayings, visit his site at Sayings, Quotes, and Adages . Suzanne has also nominated this blog for this honor. Thank you, Suzanne! Visit Suzanne's blog, Liquid Illuzion for beautiful photos, amazing poetry, music, humor, and more. When I think of Marie Antoinette, my first thought is the quote, "Let them eat cake," which is attributed to her. I'm all for that, because I LIKE cake! To celebrate the fact that I like cake, here is a very random, bizarre video. "Cake, cake, cake, cake, cake, cake, yeah!" If you end up with that song in your head all day, don't blame me for it. Blame Marie Antoinette! Now, according to the rules of accepting this award, I am to pass it on to seven more bloggers. I would like to nominate the following blogs: Thistledew Farm Bun Mountain Cottage Bir...

I was out blog-walking one morning and stopped by Alexandra's Kitchen where I tasted this recipe with my eyes and just knew I had to try it! It was a bit chilly here in HAVRE, MONTANA today, so I thought it'd be a good idea to bake something in my new oven. My gardener bought it for me, and he is gonna get double smooches tonight for that, let me tell you! The stove has five burners... one for simmer , one for big time pans and three for regular cookin', doncha know. (Have you ever watched the movie, Fargo ... it's hilarious!) Alexandra also has an Orange and Olive Oil Cake that I'm freakin' dyin' to make, but first I have to place an order with Temecula Olive Oil Company for a bottle of their Citrus Reserve Olive Oil-Late Harvest (and a few other items... you'll know what I mean when you visit their site). But for now... back to the Bolzano Apple Cake . From what I gather, this recipe was published in the New York Times and when The Chefs of America...