Lemon, Sour Cream Pound Cake

I have to admit there are times when I like the sweet,
tangy flavor of lemon as much as I like taste of chocolate.

So tonight I made a Lemon, Sour Cream Pound Cake.




Lemon, Sour Cream Pound Cake
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened at room temperature
1/3 cup sour cream
1 cup sugar
4 eggs
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. lemon extract
1/4 cup lemon juice
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter a loaf pan.
In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.

Using a hand-mixer cream the butter. Add 1 cup of the sugar and mix. With the mixer running at low speed, add the eggs one at a time. Add the vanilla extract and lemon extract.

Working in alternating batches, and mixing after each addition, add the dry ingredients and 1/4 cup of the lemon juice to the butter mixture. Mix until just smooth.

Fold in the sour cream.

Pour into the prepared pan and bake for about an hour. Check with a toothpick to be sure the center is cooked.

Glaze for the top of the cake: In a small bowl, stir together 1/2 tsp lemon extract,1/3 cup sugar and 1/3 cup lemon juice. Stir until completely combined.

When the cake is done, let cool in the pan 5-7 minutes. If it won't come out of your pan easily you can use a knife around the sides of the pan. Set on a wire rack with reynolds wrap underneath the rack. Pour the glaze over the top of the cake.

Serve warm or wrap tightly and serve later.




YUMMY!

Basil Pesto

I am so excited about growing basil again this year.
I just planted a few plants about 3 weeks ago and they
are really producing some amazing basil.

Since they are growing so quickly I decided to cut some of
the leaves and make some pesto to freeze and use a little later.

Here are my lovely, little basil plants.


I cut a few bunches off the plants and cleaned off the leaves.




I put the basil leaves in the food processor with some sauted garlic, parmesan cheese, olive oil and pinch of salt and pepper. Pulse in the food processor until
you get a creamy texture.



I was able to make three wonderful containers of pesto that I will freeze for future recipes.



Yeah! Basil Pesto!

Grilled Pork Kebabs

I made this fun, little recipe the other night
and I was delighted by the way it turned out.
It was very good.
The only thing I would change is that I would
add more oranges because they added a nice, natural sweetness.

Pan - Grilled Pork Kebabs
From Everyday Food
3/4 cup long-grain white rice
1 package (10 ounces) frozen peas, thawed
1 pork tenderloin (about 1 pound), cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
1 navel orange, cut into chunks
Coarse salt and ground pepper
4 teaspoons vegetable oil
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup spicy brown mustard





Directions
Preheat oven to 200 degrees; place a baking sheet in oven. Prepare rice according to package instructions. Stir in peas, and heat briefly to warm through.
Alternately thread pork and orange chunks onto eight 6-inch skewers; season with salt and pepper. Heat grill pan to medium; brush with 2 teaspoons oil. Cook half the skewers until pork is opaque throughout, 4 to 6 minutes per side; transfer to oven to keep warm. Brush grill pan with 2 teaspoons oil; cook remaining skewers.
In a small bowl, whisk together honey and mustard; season with salt and pepper. Reserve half of sauce for dipping.
Working in two batches, return skewers to grill pan, and heat over high, brushing with sauce, until glazed, about 2 minutes. Serve with rice and reserved sauce.



Perfect for summer ~ so get ready for some Grilled Pork Kebabs.

Pizza and Pot Clips

We made a super, delicious pizza last night.
Roasted some cherry tomatoes in the oven with olive oil and garlic.
Then rolled out pizza dough. Added a little pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese,
fresh basil, artichokes, and the roasted cherry tomatoes.
Wow, it was good!




How many of you have these neat, little pot clips?
So easy to use and they save you from having a mess
on your counter top. Just clip them on the side of your
pot and place your spoon or stiring utensil into the clip.

Check it out:


AWESOME!!

The Metropolitan Cooking and Entertainment Show

I went to the Metropolitan Cooking and Entertainment Show
this weekend in Atlanta at the Cobb Gallaria.

Paula Deen, Bobby Flay and Mario Batali were all guests
at the show but I did not purchase tickets to their events
due to the cost and the fact that by the time I ordered my
tickets there weren't many seats left. I am sure they put on
a fabulous show!

I purchased general admission tickets which allowed me into
the Gallaria Expo Floor to access to 150 exhibitors,
cooking demos by Atlanta's best chefs, tastings and entertaining workshops.
We did see a few cooking demonstrations but mostly walked around looking
at the different products the vendors were advertising. It was nice to
learn about a few local places that sell specialty itmes that could make
nice gifts.

We purchased a few small treats at the Cooking Expo that we thought
were unique and fun!

Chicken Stir-Fry with a Little Kick

Mondays call for "quick and easy " recipes.

I don't know why ~ but ~ Mondays are exhausting!
Do you agree or are you a Monday person?

Chicken Stir-Fry with a Little Kick
2 teaspoon peanut oil
2 tablespoons of peanut butter ( crunchy)
1 boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into bite size pieces
1-2 garlic cloves, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, diced
2 green onions, sliced
3-4 ounces of snow peas, washed and ends trimmed
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
pinch of red pepper flakes
1/4 cup chopped roasted peanuts
pinch of salt and pepper

In a skillet, heat oil. Add chicken and cook on medium high until browned
( 2-3 minutes). Then take out of pan and set aside. Add garlic, pepper and snow peas. Cook the vegetables for about 2 -3 minutes then add the chicken back into the pan. Stir in the lime juice, red pepper flakes and peanut butter. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook on high heat for another 2 or 3 minutes depending on the thickness of your chicken. Stir in the green onion.

Now that is quick, easy and good!
Serve over rice and top with peanuts.

Strawberry Custard Ice Cream

There has been no lack of desserts here at our house this past week.
It all started with the Rocky Road Fudge.

A few days after making the fudge, I baked cookies because
we were having friends over for dinner.
They were Peanut Butter, Chocolate Chip, Toasted Coconut Cookies
and they looked like this:




After the cookies came something even better -
Strawberry Custard Ice Cream made by my husband.

Strawberry Custard Ice Cream
by Dorothy Hagerman

6 tablespoons flour
3 cups sugar divided
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups milk
6 eggs
1 1/ pints fresh strawberries
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
4 cups heavy cream or half & half cream
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract
Dash red food coloring (optional)


In a heavy 3-quart saucepan, combine flour, 2 cups sugar, and salt until well blended (a wire whisk works great). Blend in milk and eggs until well blended. Over medium-low heat, cook, stirring constantly, until the mixture (custard) thickens and will coat the back of a metal spoon with a thin film, approximately 7 to 10 minutes. On your instant-read cooking thermometer, the temperature should reach between 165 and 180 degrees F. NOTE: Do not let the mixture boil or it will curdle. If, of course by accident, your custard base does curdle, immediately remove from heat and place in a blender; process until smooth.

Remove from heat and let custard cool. Cover and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, at least 2 hours but ideally for 24 hours. NOTE: Cool quickly by setting pan in ice or cold water and stirring for a few minutes. This aging process will give the mixture better whipping qualities and produce ice cream with more body and a smoother texture.

In a large bowl using a potato masher, crush strawberries with lemon juice and the remaining 1 cup sugar. Let stand for 1 hour.

After custard mixture has aged and is well chilled, remove from refrigerator and add and stir together half & half cream, vanilla extract, food coloring (optional), and strawberry mixture. The ice cream mixture is now ready for the freezing process.

Transfer the mixture into your ice cream maker can and freeze according to the manufacturer's instructions.












This is the BEST homemade ice cream!!