Café Latte's Famous Turtle Cake

When I was in college, Café Latte was a storied magical place we without cars only heard about. Later, when I was halfway across the country, in my search for the best chocolate cake recipe, someone pointed me in the direction of the famous Café Latte Turtle Cake!

I cannot even describe the thrill. It was shocking how easy it was to make. So much so, that the "active" time is really only 15 minutes or so.
People love, love, LOVE this cake. To the point where I am so sick of it. But people love it. People who don't normally eat dessert love this cake. Even men who do not eat dessert love this cake. Some call it THE cake.
The best story about this cake, is when my friends Christa and Jose welcomed their new baby. I first met Christa and Jose when they helped push my car out of a ditch in the middle of the night during a terrible sleetstorm. They drove away with nothing but thanks. Months later, our paths crossed again via our friend Amy, and the rest, they say is history.
When Christa gave birth, I brought them this cake. Her father loved it so much that he told Café Latte about it. Long and short of it is, this cake rocks.

PS If you aren't the greatest cake baker you can use good old cake in a box. Honestly, nobody will be the wiser.

Café Latte’s Famous Turtle Cake
Adapted from Café Latte
1 egg
2/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk (or 1 cup milk and 1 tbsp vinegar)
2 cups flour
1 3/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp baking soda
1 cup hot coffee

Frosting
1/2 cup milk
1 cup sugar
6 tbsp butter
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips or chocolate chunks
3/4 cup caramel (store bought)
1 1/2 cups pecans, toasted


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line three 9" cake pans with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, combine the dry ingredients - flour, sugar, cocoa, salt, baking soda. In a separate bowl, lightly beat together the egg, oil and buttermilk. Slowly beat the dry ingredients. Very carefully add the hot coffee, beating slowly. Distribute batter evenly among the pans. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool the cakes on wire racks.
For the frosting, bring the sugar, milk and butter to boil in a small saucepan. Remove from heat. Add chocolate chips and stir with a whisk until smooth.

Assemble
Put a generous tablespoon of frosting in the middle of the cake plate. Place the thickest (because they probably won't all exactly be the same size) cake upside down on the plate so that the flat bottom faces up. Spread a third of the frosting on top, drizzle a third of the caramel, add a fourth of the pecans. Repeat with the next two layers of cake, putting the extra pecans on top, and making the top much prettier. If the frosting and caramel start to drip down the sides, that's ok.

For a crowd: If you are even thinking of transporting this cake, make sure you chill it for at least an hour or so. Make sure that the frosting is nice and solid looking or the top layers of the cake might end up on your car seat. I know this from experience. Enjoy!

Guinness Mac and Cheese

As a life-long carnivore from an extremely carnivorous culture and family – think My Big Fat Greek Wedding when the aunt says, “You no eat meat…I make you lamb” – one of the biggest culinary challenges is feeding vegetarians dinner. An even bigger challenge can be feeding a crowd with various levels of carnivorous inclinations. SOooooooooooo, I created Guinness macaroni and cheese, a lovely update on the American classic. It’s meatless but hearty enough for even the greatest of meat lovers. Of all the things I make, this is a recipe that people ask for again and again. It is perfect served with roasted grape tomatoes… as well as a side of Italian sausage or chicken. But start things off with a small arugula simple salad.

Guinness Macaroni and Cheese
Serves 8 to 10
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 c Guinness extra stout
1 ½ c whole milk or half-and-half
1 ½ lbs sharp cheddar cheese, cubed, preferably two different kinds
3 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp cayenne pepper
Pinch of nutmeg
½ tsp ground pepper
1 tsp kosher salt
2/3 cup panko (or regular) breadcrumbs
1 pound elbow macaroni
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cook the macaroni according to package directions until al dente. Drain and set aside. In a large saucepan, cook the butter and flour over medium heat until the flour is cooked, about two minutes. Whisk in milk in four additions, then stir in the Guinness. Keep stirring until mixture is thick. Turn the heat down to low, add the cheese in two batches, stirring constantly until the cheese is nearly melted, but a few blocks still remain. Add the mustard, cayenne, pepper, nutmeg, salt, and macaroni, stirring well after each addition. Give it a taste. If it doesn’t sing, add a large pinch of kosher salt.
Pour into a baking dish and spread breadcrumbs over the top.
Bake for 45 minutes.


Roasted Tomatoes
1 lb grape tomatoes (really any small tomato will do)
1 - 2 tbsp olive oil
Kosher salt
Pepper
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with foil – you don’t have to, but it makes life easier. Place tomatoes on the sheet. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle 2 large pinches each of kosher salt and pepper. Carefully roll the tomatoes around so they are coated with all that olive oil, salt, pepper yumminess. Bake for 15 minutes, or until they begin to pop and start smelling delicious.

For a crowd: You can make the mac and cheese ahead of time but wait to add breadcrumbs and bake until you want to eat it. Loosely cover the mac and cheese with aluminum foil until ready to serve. Either roast the tomatoes in the morning and serve them at room temperature, or pop them in when the mac and cheese is done. They should be ready just in time for dinner.

Brunch and a Baby (Leek and Camembert, and Spinach, Feta and Sun Dried Tomato Quiches)

Few things are better than cuddling with a baby, especially one as cute as nine week old Nico the Nugget. Sadly, I forgot to take a picture of Nugget, but trust me on this one. Anyhoo, some girlfriends and I invited ourselves over for brunch and get our baby fix, oh also to visit with Nugget’s parents. Yeah. But we brought food! My friend Mairead, a very sage mother of two boys, recently said to me that a meal is the best gift to new mothers. So I brought I a hunk o’pork for their dinner (recipe to come – I know, it’s the one you are all waiting for with bated breath) and quiche for us all to share.

Quiche sometimes gets a bad rap – it’s old fashioned, it has cream, you have to make a pie crust. But on the upside, it’s a great way to use little bobs of cheese, veg and leftover breakfast meat. It’s easy enough to make two on the weekend, serve one and eat leftovers for – ta da – lunch during the week. Add a simple salad and you are golden.


So I’ve given the quiche a couple of modern turns. There’s a more traditional version as well as a lighter one that uses up all those egg whites from baking other goodies. The filling options are endless – crab, asparagus and brie, mushroom and sausage, tomato and shallot – but I’ve included a few popular ones. My secret is using store bought pie crust. Specifically, the kind in a red box that comes rolled up. In this case, I recommend using the brand name because the others seem, well, store bought. Of course, homemade crust is the best (smiley face). I also prefer a springform pan because it can accommodate any overflowing filling and makes for prettier slices than a pie plate.


Traditional Quiche
For a 10” tart or a generous 8” tart
5 eggs
2 cups whole milk or fat free half-and-half (substitute cream for ¼ c or more of either if you wish)
1 tbsp butter (don’t ask why, just know Julia Child does this)
Kosher salt
Pepper

Egg White Quiche (aka quiche I actually eat)
For an 8” tart
1 whole egg
4 egg whites (more or less)
1 2/3 cups 2% milk or fat free half-and-half
1 tsp butter
Kosher salt
Pepper
Beat the eggs well. Beat in the milk or half-and- half. Season with a pinch each of kosher salt and pepper.


Leek and Camembert (or goat cheese) Filling
2 leeks
2 tbsp unsalted butter
4 oz Camembert or goat cheese
Wash leeks by trimming the root end and slicing the body in half, going from the white part to the green part. Set on a colander and rinse each half well, making sure that there is no sand hiding between the layers. Slice the white and light green parts into ¼” half moons; store the green parts for stock.
Melt the butter on low heat. Sautee the leeks until wilted and sweet, almost translucent. Set aside



Spinach, Feta and Sun Dried Tomato Filling
1 cup spinach, wilted
1/8 cup sun dried tomatoes, rehydrated and sliced
4 oz feta


Ham, Cheddar and Pepper Filling
4 oz sharp cheddar cheese, grated
½ cup ham
1 serrano pepper or 1/3 cup chopped green bell pepper, sauteed

Assemble
1 Pie crust
Filling
Quiche base
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Unfurl pie crust. With a rolling pin (or wine bottle), roll the crust out a little more until it’s about an inch wider around. Place in the springform pan. Pierce all over with a fork. This improves your chances of getting a nice, flaky crust. Put the whole thing in the freezer.

Make your quiche base, fillings and mix them together. Take your frozen pie crust, weigh it down, and bake for 10 minutes. Remove from the over, pour the mixed filling and base. Bake 40 minutes to an hour, until the center is puffed up and not jiggly.
For a crowd: Transport the quiche in the springform pan. Place in 275 degree oven to heat. Delicious with simple salad… or sticky buns!

Lunch: Snazzy Grilled Cheeses and Arugula Salad with Faaaaaaabulous Dressing

When I considered resuscitating this blog – out loud in the public forum that is Facebook – my friend Claudia requested an entry on lunch… the bane of my culinary existence.
In the midst of my shoe-finding, deodorant applying, e-mail checking, news watching all while coffee drinking morning routine, lunch often gets short shrift. On good days, it’s leftovers from the weekend, on not so great days it’s leftovers from the weekend (and it’s, say, Friday). I’ve also be known to bring the raw ingredients – the entire head of lettuce, jar of dressing, chunk of cheese, loaf of bread…logistically cumbersome.

But I found that stocking up on a few items makes things a little easier. Good bread and cheese are lifesavers. Freeze sliced bread in ziploc, toast lightly to defrost, top with cheddar cheese, toast again to melt. You can add a bit of ham and Dijon, tomato slices or slivers of apple to get a something akin to the overpriced sandwich sold down the street. But what about greens? To this quandary I offer the simple arugula salad with what my friend Erin refers to as the faaaaaaaaahbulous dressing (aka my house dressing).

Simple Arugula Salad
Arugula
House dressing
Good parmesan cheese
Take a large handful of arugula. Dress with a dash of house dressing. Add generous sliver of parmesan on top.


House Dressing
1-2 tbsp Dijon mustard

1 tbsp chopped garlic

Juice of 1 lemon

1 tbsp mayo (optional)

Large pinch kosher salt (yes, kosher)

Black pepper

3/4 cup olive oil

In a mason jar or glass measuring cup, mix the lemon juice, mayo, garlic and Dijon. Slowly whisk in the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Store leftover dressing in the refrigerator and give it a good shake before each use.

To pack: Place arugula and parmesan in a Tupperware. Put a little dressing in a small plastic container (I like to recycle condiment tubs that come with take-out from my favorite Korean place).

For a crowd: Allow guests to dress their individual arugula salads. Serve slivers of parmesan. This way, you aren't left with a bowl of dressed greens and you can store the rest of the ingredients for - ta da- lunch!