Oysters Rockefeller

Talk about a real treat!  This past weekend we made Oysters Rockefeller.  And OMG.  They were amazing.  And let me tell you, oysters are far easier to open/shuck than clams.  If you love seafood, this is a very easy one to prepare at home.  Fresh, succulent oysters topped with a warm, garlicky, gooey yet slightly crunchy topping.  Oh my gosh . . . now I want them right now!  The original recipe I used is here.  However, I just had to make it my own . .. and here it is:

Oysters Rockefeller

Creates 12 Oysters 

1 dozen oysters, shucked

2 TB Butter

1 Large Teaspoon of Chopped Garlic

1/3 Cup Breadcrumbs

1/4  Cup Spinach (frozen, crumbled - not the kind frozen in a block)

2-3 Green Onions, sliced

1-2 Dashes of Tabasco

2 Tablespoons Parsley, chopped

1/4 Teaspoon Tarragon

1/3 Cup Parmesan Cheese

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Step 1:  Shuck the oysters keep the oyster on the half shell. You can discard the other half of the shell.  Place shells with oysters on them on a large baking sheet.

Step 2:  In a saucepan, melt the butter over low.  Add in the garlic, spinach, green onion and tarragon.  Saute until the spinach is hot.

Step 3:  Next, add the parsley, Parmesan cheese and breadcrumbs to the spinach mixture.  Stir to combine and remove from heat.

Step 4:  Top each oyster with a heaping spoonful of the mixture.  Be sure to use up all the mixture.

Step 5:  Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake until golden brown, about 10-15 minutes.  Serve immediately.

Grandma's Chocolate Chip Cookies

Made these recently as I was craving chocolate chip cookies.   Every time we went to Grandma and Grandpa's house, you could count on there being chocolate chip cookies to be eaten.  

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Yield:  6-7 dozen cookies

1 Cup Shortening

2/3 Cup Cup White Granulated Sugar

1 Cup Brown Sugar, Firmly Packed

2 Eggs

1 Teaspoon Vanilla

1 Teaspoon Salt

1 Teaspoon Baking Soda

2 and 1/3 Cup Flour

1 Cup Chocolate Chips

1 Cup Chopped Nuts (optional)

Step 1:  Cream together the sugars, shortening, eggs and vanilla thoroughly.

Step 2:  Spoon flour into dry measuring cup.  Level off and pour measured flour onto waxed paper.  

Step 3:  To the flour, add the baking soda and salt.  Stir thoroughly.

Step 4:  Add the dry ingredients mixture to the creamed mixture and mix well.

Step 5:  Stir in chocolate chips and nuts.

Step 6:  Drop by teaspoon fulls onto greased baking sheet.

Step 7:  Bake at 350 for 15 minutes.

Please note, adjust the bake time as necessary for your oven.  15 minutes was a little long for me.  I ended up baking them for about 10 minutes per sheet.

SOS: Cheeseburger Edition

Desperation meals . . .fueling creativity since the beginning of time.  I especially love SOS.  Not familiar?  Let's just say I'm not going to define the acronym here . . but you can look it up sometime.  Comfort food at it's finest!

SOS:  Cheeseburger Edition

Serves 6-8

1 lb Ground Beef (cooked and drained)

6-8 Slices of Bread

6-8 Slices of Cheese

Pickles

Chopped Onions

Ketchup

Mustard

Step 1:  Toast your bread.

Step 2:  Preheat your broiler.

Step 3:  Place toast in a single layer on a baking sheet.

Step 4:  Divide the cooked (and still warm) ground beef evenly among the slices of toast.

Step 5:  Drizzle each SOS with ketchup and mustard.

Step 6:  Top them with some chopped onion.

Step 7:  Finally, lay a slice of cheese on top of each SOS.

Step 8:  Put into oven and broil until cheese is melted and bubbly.  Serve immediately with a side of pickles.

Note:  I often brown/cook large amounts of ground beef at one time.  Once cooled, I split into 1 pound portions, place in a freezer bag, and then freeze for later.  It can be used for spaghetti sauce, sloppy joes, SOS etc.  For this recipe, I just pulled out a frozen bag and defrosted the contents in a fry pan and reheated.  Super simple time saving tip.

White Russian Cake

Check out this yummy recipe . . which packs a small punch.  It's made with Kahula, but please note - it's kid friendly.  The booze will actually bake out of it.  This is a sweet, moist cake with a coffee flavor that will knock your socks off.  Top with a nice vanilla glaze and viola!  Gives new meaning to coffeecake.

Originally, I googled 'white russian cake'.  Google came back to me with all these chocolate cake recipes with Kahlua in them.  I thought to myself, "Self, White Russian's do not have chocolate in them."

Then I googled 'black russian cake'.  Silly me, I forgot that White Russian's contain cream and Black Russian's do not.  Still, neither contain chocolate.  True story.  Check out the links below in case you don't believe me.

White Russian cocktail = Kahlua, Vodka and Cream 

Black Russian cocktail = Kahlua and Vodka

Now, granted, all those recipes I googled did look delicious . . .but not kid friendly.  I'm all about drenching cakes with booze - but I wanted a simple family-friendly cake.  So here it is, my version of a White Russian Cake.

White Russian Cake

Ingredients:

1 Box White Cake Mix + Ingredients to Prepare It

1 Cup Kahlua

Vanilla Glaze (1.5 Cups Powdered Sugar, 1/4 Cup Half and Half, 1 Teaspoon Vanilla)

To prepare the cake, follow the box instructions except omit the water and substitute Kahlua.  Bake as directed.  Let cool completely.

Once the cake has cooled, prepare the glaze by combining all the ingredients for the glaze in a small bowl.  Mix together thoroughly and then pour over the cake.  Enjoy!