Kitchen Adventures

This weekend I had a lot of fun (and a lot of running around to do) in the kitchen! Since none of us really wanted to eat the corn doggies in the freezer, I decided it was a good time to experiment.

So a weekend home, plus a ton of cans of mushrooms in the cabinet, plus a large thing of heavy cream in the fridge for Sunday, plus a few tired, sore throats: equals cream of mushroom soup! The last time I made it a couple of years ago it was...interesting to say the least. =P But this time it was much better. The only thing I couldn't get was the thickness.

Cream of Mushroom Soup

8 ounces fresh mushrooms or 3 4oz cans

¼  chopped onion

1 garlic clove, minced

2 tablespoons butter

2 -4 tablespoons flour (separated)

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup light cream or evaporated milk or heavy cream

salt

pepper

parsley

Directions:

Melt butter in large frying pan. Add in onions, garlic, and mushrooms. Cook until onions are soft.

Blend in 2 T. flour and stir.

Add in the chicken broth and heat until slightly thickened while stirring frequently.

Stir cream with additional 1 T. flour and seasonings. Add in cream to soup. Heat to thicken while stirring frequently.

Toast some bread and eat warm! =)

Father's day is kind of a holiday we like to make a big deal out of (even if Dad doesn't, haha). But as always, we were instructed to make a special cake for when Dad returned home on Sunday, and so I began plotting...

First, the frosting.

Perfect Cream Frosting

3 T Flour


1/2 C milk (


1/2 C real butter

1/2 C sugar

Whisk together the flour and the milk. Heat in a small sauce pan on medium heat. 
Whisk continuously until it starts to thicken. Let it cook, while stirring with a rubber spatula, until you can start to see the bottom of the pan.   Continue to cook until mixture has the consistency of thick pudding or paste.

Put  mixture in the fridge and let it cool completely, it’s fine if it stays in there long enough to get chilly, you just don’t want it warm at all. As it’s cooling, feel free to stir it occasionally to speed up the process and keep it from forming a crust on top.

It an electric stand mixer, beat the butter and the sugar for a minute or two until well combined and fluffy. You’ll want to use the whisk attachment on a stand mixer if you have one, instead of the flat paddle. Then while beating, add in the thickened milk mixture and the vanilla. Beat to combine and then scrape down the sides. Mixture will separate and look messy, keep beating!  Continue beating until mixture comes together and is light and fluffy, about 7-8 minutes, but time varies.  Take a sample of frosting between your fingers; frosting is done when light and fluffy and sugar granules are dissolved.

It actually didn't quite work, so I tweaked it a little (it's a secret!), but in the end it tasted delicious and we discovered that it went perfectly with the leftover strawberries.

Now, the cake.

German Choco Cake 

3 cups white sugar 

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour 

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder 

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder 

2 1/4 teaspoons baking soda

2 1/4 teaspoons baking powder 
1 teaspoon salt 

1 1/2 cups milk 

3/4 cup vegetable oil 

3 eggs 

1 tablespoon vanilla extract 
1 1/2 cups hot water 

Directions 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Line the bottom and sides of a deep 14x17-inch baking sheet with parchment or waxed paper. Sift sugar, flour, 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl. Transfer to a stand mixer fitted with a whisk attachment; whisk dry ingredients together on low. 

Whisk milk, vegetable oil, eggs, and vanilla extract together in a separate medium bowl. Add to the flour mixture and mix at low speed until well incorporated, about 5 minutes. Gradually add hot water while mixer is on low speed until just combined. 

Pour batter into the prepared baking sheet. Bake in the preheated oven until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cake cool in the pan for about 1 hour. 


For a first try, it turned out wonderfully!

Also made some Alfredo for supper!

Alfredo Sauce 
1/2 cup butter 8 ounces cream cheese (best room temp) 

1 cup heavy cream 
1 clove garlic, crushed 
1/2 onion parsley 
Salt & Pepper 

Directions 
Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium low heat. Add cream and simmer for 5 minutes, Fry up garlic and onion till cooked. Then add garlic and cheese and whisk quickly, heating through. Stir in parsley and serve.

It was a relaxing and yummy weekend. =)

Many, if not all of the recipes are from allrecipes.com