THE WORLD’S EASIEST CHOCOLATE DESSERT

This recipe is incredibly easy – you barely even need to stir it before putting in the oven! It doesn’t look very attractive (it’s nickname is the cowpat dessert), but it’s very rich and gooey. Mmmmmmm…..


Butter for greasing
150g plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 teaspoon ground cinammon
¼ teaspoon chili powder
200g caster sugar
50g good quality cocoa powder
125ml milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
60ml corn or vegetable oil
100g soft brown sugar
175ml boiling water
60ml rum or whisky

Preheat oven to 375F. Butter a 2 litre capacity round pudding bowl. In pudding bowl, combine flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, pinch of salt, cinammon, chili, caster sugar and half the cocoa. Beat milk, vanilla and oil together and pour into dry ingredients. Mix to make thick, smooth batter.
Sprinkle remaining 25g cocoa and brown sugar over the batter in the pudding bowl. Measure out 175ml freshly boiled water and pour into the pudding bowl. Pour over rum or whisky and put pudding in the oven. Cook for 30 minutes, by which time the top of the pudding should have set to a bubbly chocolatey sponge but the underneath will be wobbly and liquid.

Dave's Jambalaya

I loooooove making this, but it's like an all day project. Fun though. Makes a big amount (I can't remember if I double it when I make it, actually), enough for like a week. I really need to make it again soon, its good.

• 1 lb. boneless chicken, cubed; AND/OR
  • 1 lb. shrimp, boiled in Zatarain's and peeled; OR
  • 1 lb. leftover holiday turkey, cubed; OR
  • 1 lb. of any kind of poultry or fish, cubed; OR
  • Any combination of the above
• 1 lb. (hot) smoked sausage, andouille or chaurice, sliced on the bias; OR
  • 1 lb. diced smoked ham
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 bell pepper, chopped
• 3 - 6 cloves garlic, minced (amount to taste; I like lots)
• 4 ribs celery, chopped
• 3 small cans tomato paste
• 4 large Creole tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced; OR
  • 1 28-oz. can tomatoes
• 8 cups good dark homemade chicken stock
• Creole seasoning blend to taste (or 2 - 3 tablespoons); OR
  • 2 teaspoons cayenne, 2 teaspoons black pepper, 1 teaspoon white pepper, 1 teaspoon oregano, 1/2 teapsoon thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• Salt to taste
• 4 cups long-grain white rice, uncooked (Some people like converted rice, others prefer good old Mahatma. I use Uncle Ben's converted, as the rice doesn't get sticky or lumpy that way.)
  
  

In a sauté or frying pan, brown the chicken, sprinkling with Tony Chachere's seasoning if you've got it; a bit of salt, black pepper and red pepper otherwise. Don't brown if using leftover cooked bird, but you still might want to season the meat. Tear or cut the meat into bite-size pieces.

Brown the sliced smoked sausage or andouille and pour off fat. In the pot, sauté the onions, garlic, peppers and celery in oil until onions begin to turn transparent.

In the same pot, while you're sautéing the "trinity", add the tomato paste and let it pincé, meaning to let it brown a little. What we're going for here is an additional depth of flavor by browning the tomato paste a little; the sugar in the tomato paste begins to caramelize, deepening the flavor and color. Keep it moving so that it browns but doesn't burn. Some friends of mine hate this step, so you can skip it if you want, but then it won't be Chuck's jambalaya. :^)

Once the vegetables are translucent and the tomato paste achives sort of a red mahogany color, deglaze the pan with the about 2 cups of the stock, scraping the bottom of the pan to mix up any browned bits, and stir until smooth, making sure the sautéed vegetables, paste and stock are combined thoroughly. It should be fairly thick.

Add the Creole seasoning, tomatoes and salt to taste. Cook over low-medium heat for about 10 minutes. Add the meat and/or seafood and cook another 10 minutes; if you're using seafood, be careful not to overcook it.

Add the rest of the stock, check seasonings, and stir in the rice, combining thoroughly. Cook for about 20-25 minutes, or until the rice has absorbed all the liquid and is cooked through. If you haven't checked your seasonings before adding the rice, it's too late! It's much better for the rice to absorb the seasonings while it's cooking. Check seasoning anyway, then turn the heat down to low-medium and let the sauce thicken up a bit, with the pot uncovered, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes. Stir thoroughly to combine all ingredients. When the jambalaya has thickened up a bit and has reached the "right" consistency (you'll know), it's done.

Serve with salad and French bread.

Dave's Avocado Stuffed Chicken

Made this recently and it was a hit. And you'll have a good amount of the avocado mix left over, which is great in sandwiches. I'm actually going to make some of the mix just to have on hand. Take a turkey burger, cook it up, take a good quality pita pocket (wegmans has great ones), cut it and the burger in half, put the burgers in the pitas with avocado mix and some sprouts. MMMMMM. I love it.

1¼ hours | 20 min prep

SERVES 4

• 4 chicken breasts, pounded flat
• 2 avocados, peeled, pitted & sliced
• 3 tablespoons lime juice
• 1 teaspoon lemon pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 cup fresh minced basil leaves
• 1 large tomato, seeded & diced
• 1/2 cup sweet onion, chopped
• 2 tablespoons cracked peppercorns

1. Place the chicken breasts on a flat, working surface.
2. Mix all the remaining ingredients together, except for the peppercorns.
3. Reserve half of the mixture.
4. Divide the remaining half onto the chicken breasts.
5. Roll up the breasts, tucking in ends.
6. Place in a lightly oiled baking dish.
7. Sprinkle with the peppercorns.
8. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 45 minutes, or until chicken is fork tender.
9. Remove from oven.
10. Cut each breast in half.
11. Place on a platter with the reserved Avocado mixture.
12. You may garnish the platter with fresh basil, lime slices, small tomatoes & avocado slices (or any of these in different combinations).

Amanda's Old-Fashioned Jewish Brisket

Courtesy of my mom.

Less time is needed for less meat, but still about two hours.

6 pound brisket
2 onions, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup vinegar
1 cup ketchup
1 cup water
1 tablespoon salt

Place brisket in heavy, heated Dutch oven. Sear (brown) on all sides on medium flame. Add onions, garlic, and brown again, approximately 10-15 minutes. Add remaining ingredients. Cover pot and simmer until meat is tender, about 2 1/2-3 hours. Serves 10.

Amanda's Peanut Butter Drinking Cookies

These are so simple I can make them when I'm drunk.

Ingredients:

Preheat oven to 325*F
1 cup smooth / creamy peanut butter.
1 egg
1 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
~1 teaspoon flour

If you refrigerate your PB (I don't) it's a *really* good idea to bring it up to room temp before starting so that you can work with it.

Mix together the peanut butter, egg, sugar and vanilla. Stir together until well mixed and creamy. *SLOWLY* add flour until the mixture just begins to tack up enough to form into drop cookies. Depending on relative humidity you may need to add more or less flour, it's really only a binder.

Drop by rounded tablespoons onto nonstick or greased cookie sheet. Bake @ 325*F for ~20 minutes or until the edges just begin to brown a bit.

These taste even better after they've cooled.