"Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake

Today is Joe's birthday; his grandpa's birthday was last Wednesday. Yesterday, we had a little get-together for both of them at our house, and when I asked Joe what kind of cake he wanted, his answer was definitive: "Chocolate."

I'd heard plenty of good things about Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake, so I couldn't resist trying it. And I'm so glad I chose to go with this recipe. This cake was super-moist and decadent and absolutely delicious. The frosting was outstanding, too, although next time I make this cake (and I'll definitely make it again!) I'll probably make more frosting. I'll also flour my pans a little bit heavier next time, because this cake is so moist that I had some difficulty getting it out. This made the cake a little lopsided, but no one really cared; half of it was gone within five seconds of it hitting the table!

Incidentally, I think the baby liked it too; he was squirming around pretty intensely while I was eating my piece. Sooo...I indulged him and had a second piece. Hey, I'm pregnant -- if I can't get away with it now, when can I?

(By the way, the "100" candles represent Joe's and his grandpa's combined ages. I thought it was pretty clever, although his grandpa did do all the blowing out himself!)

Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake

Source: Hershey's

For the cake:
2 cups sugar
1 3/4 cups flour
3/4 cup Hershey's cocoa
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup boiling water

For the frosting:
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter or margarine
2/3 cup Hershey's cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Heat oven to 350°. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.

2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.

3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost. 10 to 12 servings.

4. For the frosting, melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount of additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. Makes about 2 cups frosting.

Mom's Potato Salad

Some people have a certain dish that they're known for, a dish that they're always asked to bring to family gatherings, church dinners, potlucks and other functions involving food. For my mom, that dish was her potato salad. People raved about it everywhere she took it, and no one could ever get enough. Unfortunately, she never wrote down the recipe before she died, and I only had the opportunity to watch her make it one time. For her, making that potato salad must have just been second nature; for me, though, duplicating it was a much more daunting task.

We're having a gathering at our house tomorrow afternoon for Joe's and his grandpa's birthdays, both of which are this week. I thought this would be a good time to try my hand at Mom's "signature dish," especially considering that Joe's family never had my mom's version and wouldn't be comparing the two in their heads. Some of the pressure relieved, I set out to try to duplicate my mom's potato salad. I sneaked a small helping for myself before storing it in the fridge, and I have to admit: I came pretty close to Mom's recipe. Of course, nothing ever tastes as good as it does when your mom makes it, right? It must just be some magic "mom" thing. I'm guessing this is as close as I'll ever come to her recipe. Hopefully Joe's family will enjoy it!


Mom's Potato Salad
Source: my mom

For the dressing:

2 to 3 cups Miracle Whip (depending on how "saucy" you like it)
2 tablespoons yellow mustard
2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon celery seed
Salt and pepper to taste
Paprika

For the salad:

3 pounds potatoes, peeled and diced
5 medium-sized dill pickles, finely diced
3 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
1/2 of a medium-sized onion, finely diced or grated

1. Cover potatoes with cold water in large pot and bring to a boil. Cook just until fork-tender.

2. While potatoes are cooking, mix dressing ingredients (except paprika). Taste for seasoning. Add the diced pickles, eggs and onion to the dressing.

3. Drain potatoes and let cool. Add dressing to the potatoes and mix. Sprinkle paprika over the top. Refrigerate before serving.

Ultimate Lasagna

To decide what to cook for our first meal in the new kitchen, I turned to my husband. I could already guess what he'd choose for his "First Supper," if you will, and I was right: He chose lasagna, which he thinks is the most perfect food on the planet. In fact, in our house, we call my lasagna recipe a "Homer Simpson recipe," which is basically a dish that makes my husband say, "Mmmmm...[insert name of dish here]," followed by that noise Homer makes and a little bit of drool. Joe said that, during those long months of remodeling, the only thing that got him through was the thought of a steaming pan of lasagna waiting for him at the end.

My recipe for lasagna started years ago with -- I think -- the recipe for Italian Sausage Lasagna in The Betty Crocker Cookbook. However, when I make it now, it's really nothing like that recipe. I've modified it so much over the years that it's really become completely my own. I made it last night for the first time in over a year, and it was just as delicious as I remembered. (Joe enjoyed it, too, of course -- there was definitely some drooling going on while it was in the oven and the smell of it began to permeate throughout the house.) This lasagna is spicy, hearty, saucy and cheesy; in one word, it is perfect.

Ultimate Lasagna
Source: Cassie

12 lasagna noodles, cooked according to package directions
1 pound spicy sausage
1 pound ground chuck
1 package diced pepperoni
2 medium onions (or 1 large onion), chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 to 1 cup red wine
1 jar of your favorite tomato sauce
2 cans diced tomatoes
Your favorite blend of Italian herbs & spices
1 32-ounce carton of ricotta cheese
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons Italian seasoning blend
4 cups Italian shredded cheese blend

1. Brown the sausage in a large pot; when the sausage begins to caramelize, add the ground chuck. When the meat is only slightly pink, add the pepperoni. Add the onions, bell pepper, and garlic. Season the meat and vegetable mixture with salt and pepper. When the vegetables start to become translucent, deglaze the pot with the red wine.

2. Once the alcohol has cooked out, add the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, and your blend of Italian herbs and spices. If the sauce needs more sweetness, add a bit of sugar. Bring to a simmer.

3. While the sauce is simmering, cook the lasagna noodles according to the package directions. Mix the ricotta cheese, parsley, Parmesan cheese and Italian seasoning in a bowl. If the mixture is a bit thick, add a small amount of milk to thin it out.

4. In a large casserole dish or lasagna pan, ladle enough of the sauce to cover the bottom. Top with four lasagna noodles, 1/3 of the ricotta cheese mixture, and 1/3 of the shredded cheese (about 1 1/3 cups). Repeat layers, ending with the ricotta cheese mixture and the remaining shredded cheese.

5. Cover with foil and bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake 15 to 20 more minutes or until cheese on top is bubbly and the edges are brown.

This recipe makes a very large lasagna, so be prepared to have leftovers (unless you live in my house, that is). You could probably make two small lasagnas using this recipe and freeze one for later. It tastes even better the next day, so it's perfect for lunches the rest of the week. Enjoy!

Joining the food bloggers of the world...

So, I've decided to start my own cooking blog. I was inspired by the multitudes of other food bloggers out there -- it's a community I didn't even know existed until very recently, and I'm so glad I found it! You "fellow foodies" have made me realize, with much relief, that I'm not the only person obsessed with cookbooks; that I'm not the only one who devours anything and everything on the Food Network; that I'm not the only one who looks at food not just as necessary sustenance...but also as therapy, as an insatiable passion, as a voracious way to enrich my life (and my stomach). I am so excited to join this community!

I think it's only appropriate to start by telling you a little bit about myself. My name is Cassie, and I live with my husband Joe and our dog, Daisy, in Central Ohio. I graduated from The Ohio State University in June of 2005 with a B.A. in English. Now, I work for an investment bank in Columbus, where I actually get to use my degree. I love to read, and I'm pretty much always reading something. I'm also slightly (okay...totally) obsessed with Judge Judy, Target, candles and body lotion.

If I were a Food Network chef, I'd probably be a cross between Rachael Ray and Giada de Laurentiis, but without Rachael's annoying catch phrases and Giada's amazing rack. I would like to think I have Rachael's creativity, though, and Giada's philosophy on food. I wish I were more like Paula Deen, but I don't say "ya'll" nearly enough, or pronounce "olive oil" as "olive all," although I suppose I could start doing both of those things. I love Italian food and I love comfort food. I also like canned cream of mushroom soup and Velveeta cheese, and I use both of those ingredients in many of my recipes, so clearly I'm far from a chef. I'm just a Midwestern girl who loves to cook.

Joe and I bought our first home in March of 2007, and since then we've been working on some serious remodeling. It's been a long, stressful, money-guzzling process, but one good thing has come out of it: I now have a beautiful kitchen to cook in that my husband and I designed and built ourselves! There are some last minute touch-ups to do and, because I am a perfectionist, I won't post pictures until it's entirely done.

The kitchen was the last room we remodeled -- it took the longest and it was the most expensive. But we were so glad to finally have it finished! Until the kitchen was completed, we basically lived on restaurant food, which was bad for the body and the soul. This lack of a kitchen was especially torturous for me, as someone who pretty much would rather be cooking or baking than doing anything else. I spent months and months looking at my cookbooks with longing, bookmarking recipes to try when I was finally able to cook again. I suppose it was also pretty torturous for Joe, who has always enjoyed the finished products of my cooking escapades.

In the midst of this remodel, we got a little surprise -- two pink lines on a pregnancy test (okay...on FOUR pregnancy tests, so I guess that's technically eight pink lines, right?). We are expecting a little boy at the end of the May and we're very excited (and a little terrified, too, I won't lie) to become parents!

My culinary inspiration, hands down, was my mom, who I lost after a long battle with brain cancer in January of 2007. Losing her was a huge blow to me...but I find that she comes alive again in the recipes she left me as a legacy. You'll probably see a lot of her recipes on this blog, and it's so rewarding to be able to share them with all of you.

I hope this blog can serve a few purposes in my life. I hope it'll encourage me to break out of my normal ruts in the kitchen and embark on new and different culinary adventures. I hope it'll lead me to eat a more healthful diet, especially after months of fast food consumption in the absence of a working kitchen. I am also on a mission to change Joe's mind about four ingredients he can't stand, which happen to be four of my favorites: mustard, olives, cottage cheese and shredded coconut ("It's a texture thing," he says). I also hope to change my own mind about a couple of ingredients I've never liked: basically all types of fish (shrimp excluded) and bleu cheese.

So, that's me. If you want to know more about me, you can visit my regular blog here.

So here we go, then. I'm so excited to get cooking!