July 2012 – Recipes that Fit

Birthday cakes are a pretty big deal in my family, and my sister’s request this year was a carrot cake with thick cream cheese frosting. We made this Alton Brown Carrot Cake back in 2010, which was pretty good, but there’s always room for improvement, right?

I found this Spiced Carrot Layer Cake recipe from Saveur and then my family pretty much did the rest. My Mom managed the cake baking process and once again, my Dad was in charge of grating the carrots. The frosting in the original recipe uses mascarpone cheese and probably tastes amazing, but we went with a more traditional cream cheese and powdered sugar frosting. I did actually help with this part, and finally we were ready to sing. Someone was pretty excited to help blow out the candles!

This carrot cake was really unique with fragrant spices, coconut, and orange juice and zest. The orange flavor in particular really stood out and made the cake taste very fresh. There are a lot of ingredients, but even my Mom agreed that this cake was worth the effort. Be sure to note that the recipe makes an exceptionally large cake. We actually ending up freezing the 3rd layer to use another time. Then again, perhaps we should have had a larger party. 🙂

I can’t believe it’s been a month since I’ve blogged! It wasn’t that I was in a blogging rut, I was truly in a cooking rut. For the first time in years, cooking felt like a chore. It happens to the best of us I guess. But I am happy to be back, so thanks for waiting.

These Spicy Chicken Nuggets were slightly adapted from a Giada recipe. I know, chicken nuggets are often associated with a popular fast food chain, but these nuggets are homemade with real ingredients. First, you dredge the chicken pieces in flour. Then you dip them in a mixture of whisked egg and tabasco sauce, although I skipped the hot sauce. Finally, you toss the chicken pieces in a mixture of cornmeal, chili powder, and cayenne pepper. The chicken is baked at a high temperature in the oven so that the meat cooks quickly and stays moist.

This method really works. The chicken was crispy with just the right amount of spice. You could dip them in honey mustard sauce as suggested, or you could place these on a big green salad. These nuggets would also be good for little people who like to ‘dip’ their food, if they can handle some cayenne. If you’re bored of all the usual chicken recipes, give this one a try!