Okay. So technically this isn't a Tyler Recipe but since he's from the south, I'm almost certain he's made it before. I'm gonna email him and tell him he needs to publish his version in his next cookbook. 90% sure he'll listen to his favorite fan.
RED VELVET CAKE
1/2 c shortening
1 1/2 c sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 c sifted cake flour
1 c buttermilk
3 tbsp red food coloring
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp vinegar
Preheat oven to 350*F. Lightly grease and flour two 9" round cake pans. Set aside.
In large mixing bowl, cream shortening and sugar together well. Beat in eggs until light and fluffy. Add salt. Beat in cake flour alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour. Make a paste of red food coloring and cocoa. Add to batter and beat well. Mix vanilla, baking soda, and vinegar in a small bowl. Sprinkle over batter, then stir in. Pour into pans and bake for 30-35 min until toothpick comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 min, then put on racks. Frost. Eat.
I'm not giving you the frosting recipe I used because I hated it. And it didn't turn out. I think I jinxed it though because I was skeptical when I was reading the ingredients. Another reason I don't think it really worked out is because I love to cook by hand. I like to use a whisk and my own man-power over an electric mixer. When you're whipping things into fluffy goodness this isn't always the best policy to use. I still prefer hand mixing.
This is the first time I made this cake and I wasn't too disappointed with the turn out. I know what I'll do differently next time but all in all it wasn't bad. The hint o'chocolate flavor was what I loved about it. I'm not a fan of chocolate cake ( I know, surprise, surprise) but this was a happy medium. I can have my cake and eat it too. Thanks. I'll be here all week. Don't forget to tip your waitress.
I'm going to keep making and tweaking this recipe until it's reached perfection. I already have some ideas about what to do to help on the dryness factor. It was one of those cakes you need a big glass of milk with. Anyway. I'll keep you posted on how this goes.
Moving on.
RJ's Amazing Birthday Dinner was neither amazing nor dinner for that matter. K's soccer coach called and said they had team pictures at 5:50 and then their game was to be at 6:30. That extra 40 minutes was the time I allotted for actually eating the dinner. RJ tried to talk (guilt) K into skipping soccer all together but she would have none of it. We had 5 minutes to pack the Bacon Wrapped Roast and Velvety Mashed Potatoes up and pop them in the fridge and get to town. We ended up getting an extra special cheeseburger meal from the one and only Raunchy Ronnie's. This is one of those times when it's the thought that really does count. Yay for leftovers tonight though!
That brings me to a couple of pictures found on the lost but now found camera. I have a good excuse for not cooking/blogging so much. Soccer. Soccer is way funner this year because the kids are actuallly playing the game of soccer. I really do enjoy going (most days). But that's where the excuse part comes in. I'm going most days....4 days a week this year. On one of the sacred days off I made this:
Mmmmmmm.
The Ultimate Spaghetti Carbonara
pg 160 of Tyler's Ultimate
When we first got married, RJ introduced me to the joy of carbonara sauce. When he lived in England for two years he learned a different method of cooking this dish that we have since grown out of. He's not a real pasta guy so it's always an extra challenge to make pasta dishes he'll eat. I think (?) he liked this. When I'm not feeling super great the comfort food I reach for is creamy pastas. Carbonara is the granddaddy of all comfy pastas in my book. Something about the onion-mushroom-bacony goodness combination gets me every time. I agree that this is the Ultimate Carbonara. Yummmmmmy! The kids liked it too. He uses an egg in his sauce that was unexpected and yummy. Ty describes it as being a silky egg sauce and I concur. I think I might even make some more tonight because now its on my mind.
You know what else is good? Ricardo's. The owner/chef makes all his pasta fresh by hand every day. He also makes all the sauces and the bread...everything. It just screams home-cooked. This is my new favorite lunch spot with RJ. The only downfall is he likes to sit down and visit with you while you're eating. Now if you know me, you know I'm not a fan of space-invaders. The chef likes to plop down real close. Come on man, I'm just trying to eat my food! I took Em there for her birthday because she's a pasta freak like me and he sat down next to her to talk about stuff. She would have none of it. Why do kids get to be honest and just ignore people when they don't feel like talking to them? I wish.
Speaking of comfort food, here's what else I made.
Fried Chicken with Buttermilk Cherry Tomatoes
pg 128 of Stirring the Pot
Nothing beats fried chicken. PS I thought Tyler's version was better than the Colonels. KFC isn't my fave anyway so that wasn't that big of a deal but still. I left out the Buttermilk Cherry Tomatoes part because I didn't have any buttermilk left after marinating the chicken in it. It was still super good without. This chicken had a bit of hot sauce in the marinade too which was a nice little kick. I love dished with surprise ingredients that you have to think real hard about. It's like your mouth says, "I think that's hot sauce but.....I'm not sure.....". That's my kind of cooking. Good food makes people happy. I was watching Tyler's cooking show and he is a genius. The key to good cooking is to know what ingredients can compliment each other. And you have to experiment. He seriously just was throwing things together that I wouldn't have thought to put together but that actually made a lot of sense that they were together. I like experimenting with my steak marinades. I don't think I've ever made the same marinade twice. There have been some real hits and some real stinkers. The moral of this story is: Play with your food people!
MASTERPIECE #2872
2 years ago
