Food and Kitchen

Italian Creme Coconut Cake

**Ingredients**
1 cup buttermilk
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup shortening
2 cups white sugar|
5 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup flaked coconut
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups all-purpose flour
FROSTING
8 ounces cream cheese
1/2 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons light cream
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup sweetened flaked coconut
**Instructions**
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease three 9-inch round
cake pans. In a small bowl, dissolve the baking soda in the buttermilk; set
aside.In a large bowl, cream together 1/2 cup butter, shortening and white
sugar until light and fluffy. Mix in the eggs, buttermilk mixture, 1 teaspoon
vanilla, 1 cup coconut, baking powder and flour. Stir until just combined.
Pour batter into the prepared pans.Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35
minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out
clean. Allow to cool.To Make Frosting: in a medium bowl, combine cream
cheese, 1/2 cup butter, 1 teaspoon vanilla and confectioners' sugar. Beat
until light and fluffy. Mix in a small amount of cream to attain the desired
consistency. Stir in chopped nuts and remaining flaked coconut. Spread
between layers and on top and sides of cooled cake

**Strawberry Custard Pie**

**This the recipe used when the Waffle House was famous for pies in thd 1950s and 1960s. Can substitute blueberries for another great pie.**
**Ingredients**
3 eggs, slightly beaten Unbaked 9-inch pie shell
6 tablespoons sugar one quart strawberries
1/4 teaspoon salt 1 cup sugar
3 cups milk 1⅓ cups water
1 teaspoon vanilla 3 tablespoons cornstarch
**Instructions**
Set oven for hot, 425°F. Combine eggs, sugar, and salt. Add milk
slowly; stir in vanilla. Pour into pie shell. Bake 40 minutes, or till knife
inserted near rim comes out clean. Chill.
Wash strawberries; hull. Simmer 1 cup of the berries, sugar, and
1 cup of the water 15 minutes. Mix remaining water with cornstarch;
add to cooked berries. Cook until thick, stirring constantly; cool. Add
uncooked berries. Spoon over pie. Chill. Makes 1 pie.
CHERRY PIE (inside front cover): Set oven for hot, 400°F. Prepare
1 recipe for pastry. Roll out half the pastry 1/8 inch thick. Line 9-inch
pie pan; trim 1/4 inch from edge. Combine 3½ cups pitted, fresh
sour red cherries, 1¼ cups sugar, and 1/4 cup flour. Pour into pie
shell. Dot with 1 tablespoon butter or margarine. Roll out remaining
pastry; cut in 1/2-inch strips. Arrange, lattice-fashion, over fruit. Seal
edges: trim and flute.

Bake 40 to 45 minutes. Makes 1 pie.

Tortilla Lasagne

This is a lasagne-type pile-up and in place of pasta layers, there are soft tortillas and in between them a riotous assembly of tomato, red pepper, onion, chilli, corn and cheese. I advise you to put a baking sheet in the oven as you preheat to catch any drips that might fall later. And talking of later, one of the joys of this is that it reheats, by the slice, so wonderfully on the days that follow. So do think about cooking this even when you don't have so many to feed first time around.
INGREDIENTS Serves: 8
**FOR THE SAUCE**
1 tablespoon garlic flavored oil (or regular olive oil)
1 onion (peeled and chopped)
1 red bell pepper (deseeded and chopped)
2 green chiles (chopped with seeds)
1 teaspoon kosher salt (or 1/2 teaspoon pouring salt)
2 tablespoons cilantro stalks (finely chopped)
28 ounces diced tomatoes (2 cans)
1 tablespoon tomato ketchup
**FOR THE FILLING**
30 ounces black beans (2 cans) drained and rinsed
3¼ cups canned sweetcorn kernels (2 cans) drained
2½ cups grated mature goat's cheddar (or cheese of your choice)
8 soft flour tortilla wraps
**Instructions**
You will need a round ovenproof dish, approx. 10 inches diameter x 2¼ inches deep.
Preheat the oven to 400º, slipping in a baking tray at the same time.
To make the sauce, heat the oil in a pan on the stove and fry the onion, pepper and chilli. add the salt and cook gently for 15 minutes and, once soft, add the chopped coriander stalks.
Add the canned tomatoes, then swill the cans out with 400ml/1⅔ cups water and add this too. Spoon in the ketchup and let things come to a simmer, leaving the sauce (or salsa, in keeping with the Mexican mojo) to cook while you get on with preparing the filling — about 10 minutes.
To make the filling, mix the drained beans and sweetcorn in a bowl. Add most of the grated cheese, reserving some to sprinkle on the top at the end, and mix together.
Start to assemble the lasagne by spooning about a third of the salsa into the bottom of your ovenproof dish and smearing it about, then layer on 2 tortillas so that they cover the sauce overlapping slightly, like a Venn diagram.
Add a third of the beans and cheese mixture, covering the tortillas, and then about a quarter of the remaining salsa and another 2 tortillas.
Repeat with another third of beans and cheese, and some more salsa before layering on another 2 tortillas.
Finally, add the last layer of beans and cheese, nearly all of the remaining salsa and cover with the last 2 tortillas. Spread the very last bit of salsa over the tortillas and sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, and let it rest for a good 10–15 minutes before slicing like a pizza.

**Cornbread-Topped Chili Perfect Dish for Cool Weather**

Few things are as comforting as a hot batch of chili on a cool day. The cornbread topping is a perfect golden touch that everyone can crumble into the spiced meat as they eat, for ballast and crunchy contrast.
*Courtesy of Nigella Lawson’s* *FEAST*

Ingredients

For the chili con carne

4 onions

2 cloves garlic

4 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons dried chiles (or to taste)

2 teaspoons ground coriander

2 teaspoons ground cumin

5 cardamom pods (bruised)

2 red bell peppers

3 ¼ lb ground beef

7 cups canned diced tomatoes

8 tablespoons tomato ketchup

8 tablespoons tomato puree

1 cup water

2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa

3 ½ cups kidney beans

for the cornbread

1 ½ teaspoons salt

4 cups cornmeal

4 tablespoons all-purpose flour

6 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

3 cups buttermilk

4 large eggs

2 teaspoons honey

4 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 cups coarsely grated cheddar cheese

to serve

4 ripe avocados

4 scallions

juice of 2 limes

4 tablespoons chopped cilantro

2 cups sour cream

paprika to dust over

3 ¾ cups grated cheddar cheese

Instructions

Peel and finely chop the onions; you might want to use the processor here, and if so, add the peeled garlic or mince it by hand. Heat the oil in a very large pan - it has to take everything later - and fry the onion and garlic until they begin to soften. Add the chilli, coriander, cumin and crushed cardamom pods and stir well.

Deseed and finely dice the red bell peppers, and tip into the spicy onion. Break up the ground beef into the pan and, using a fork, keep turning it to separate it as the meat browns. It's hard to brown quite so much meat, so just do the best you can.

Add the diced tomatoes, kidney beans, ketchup, puree and water, stirring to make a rich red sauce. When the chili starts to boil, sprinkle over the cocoa and stir it in. Simmer partially covered for 1½ hours. At this point you can cool and freeze the chili, or just keep it in the fridge - or a cool place - overnight.

Preheat the oven to gas mark 7425ºF. Tip the chili into a large, wide dish or keep in the pan that is ovenproof.

Combine the salt, cornmeal, flour, baking powder and cinnamon in a bowl.

Whisk together the buttermilk, eggs, honey and oil in a jug, and then stir into the dry ingredients, mixing to make a vivid yellow batter.

Pour the cornmeal topping over the chilli con carne, or blob it over to cover the top as evenly as possible. Don't worry if some of the chilli seeps through as this won't matter one tiny bit.

Sprinkle the cheese over the top of the cornbread and then bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until the cornbread topping is risen and golden and the chilli underneath is bubbling. How long this precisely takes depends on how cold or hot the chilli was when it went into the oven. Since it's such a huge vat, you may find it simpler to reheat it on the stove in its pan, before it gets its topping, to start with.

Let the chili stand for about 5 minutes once out of the oven before cutting the top into squares or slices to serve with a helping of chili underneath.

And alongside this chili, as with the vegetarian chili overleaf, you should dollop out an un-chilled guacamole, some cool sour cream and a mounded pile of strong grated Cheddar. So, mash the ripe avocados with the finely chopped scallions and add the lime juice and some salt to taste. Stir in most of the chopped coriander and turn into two bowls, sprinkling each with the remaining coriander.

Divide the sour cream into another two bowls, and dust with a little paprika and, into yet another pair of bowls, grate the Cheddar so that people can take clumps and add the tangy cheese to their plates of guacamole and sour-cream splodged chili.

Summer Peach Cobbler

**Ingredients**
4 cups peeled, sliced peaches
2 cups sugar, divided
1/2 cup water
8 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1 1/2 cups milk
Ground cinnamon, optional
**Instructions**
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Combine the peaches, 1 cup sugar, and water in a saucepan and mix well. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove from the heat.
Put the butter in a 3-quart baking dish and place in oven to melt.
Mix remaining 1 cup sugar, flour, and milk slowly to prevent clumping. Pour mixture over melted butter. Do not stir. Spoon fruit on top, gently pouring in syrup. Sprinkle top with ground cinnamon, if using. Batter will rise to top during baking. Bake for 30 to 45 minutes.

Looking for the perfect dish for Easter? How about a glazed ginger-ale ham? It is perfect for a big meal and great for ham biscuits and sandwiches to snack on during games. And it is so easy to prepare.

Ingredients

1 (10-12-pound) ham
4 liters ginger ale
1 jar of Boar's Head Ham Glaze (available in grocer deli)

Directions

Place the ham in a large pan over the burner, or a crock pot, and add 2 liters of ginger ale. Bring the pan to the boil then lower the heat slightly so that it keeps bubbling steadily for 4 1/2 hours.

Towards the end of the 4 1/2 hours, preheat the oven to 425 degrees and open the Boar's Head Ham Glaze.

After 4 1/2 hours, gently lift the ham out of the pan and place on a foil-lined baking tray or a disposable baking tin. Carefully cut away the skin, leaving a thin layer of fat. There is no need to score the surface, simply slap on the glaze and place the tray with the ham into the oven for 20 minutes.

Serve hot or cold.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

It seems strange that I’ve managed to write seven books without one plain chocolate chip cookie (by which I mean a plain cookie with chocolate chips in it). It’s true that the Totally Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookie made an appearance once, and it’s only buoyed up by its success that I’ve felt confident enough to create this one. For here’s the thing: you’d think a plain cookie with a few chocolate chips folded into the mixture would be a simple matter. It’s not. It’s never difficult to make, just difficult to get right. I may be picky, but to my mind, or my mouth, a cookie that’s too crisp feels dry and disappointing and a cookie that’s too chewy tastes like dough. I want a bit of tender, fudgy chewiness but an edge of crisp bite, too.

INGREDIENTS

Makes: approx. 14 cookies

1¼ sticks soft unsalted butter
⅔ cup soft light brown sugar
½ cup superfine sugar
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 egg (fridge-cold)
1 egg yolk (fridge-cold)
2 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
11½ ounces packet milk chocolate morsels or chips

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 170°C/150°C Fan/325°F. Line a baking sheet with baking parchment.
Melt the butter and let it cool a bit. Put the brown and white sugars into a bowl, pour the slightly cooled, melted butter over them and beat together.
Beat in the vanilla, the cold egg and cold egg yolk until your mixture is light and creamy.
Slowly mix in the flour and bicarb until just blended, then fold in the chocolate chips.
Scoop the cookie dough into an American quarter-cup measure or a 60ml/quarter cup round icecream scoop and drop onto the prepared baking sheet, plopping the cookies down about 8cm/3 inches apart. You will need to make these in 2 batches, keeping the bowl of cookie dough in the fridge between batches.
Bake for 15–17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to wire racks.

Dolly Parton's Sausage Milk Gravy

Every now and then I'll make my husband, Carl, an extra special breakfast. One our favorites is sausage patties and flaky biscuits, and this creamy milk gravy is the perfect topping.

Ingredients

1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2½ cups whole milk
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
biscuits and sausage patties, for serving

Method

In a small bowl, whisk the the flour, salt, thyme and pepper. Gradually whisk in milk and cream until smooth.

Pour the mixture into skillet or saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 2 minutes, or until thickened.

Serve over biscuits and sausage patties.

Sweet Potato Mac & Cheese

From Nigella Lawson's "Simply Nigella"
I’m just going to say it: this is the best macaroni cheese I’ve ever eaten – better than the macaroni cheese I ate as a child; better than the macaroni cheese I brought my own children up on when they were little (they don’t agree); better than any fancy restaurant macaroni cheese with white truffle or lobster; better than any macaroni cheese I have loved in my life thus far, and there have been many.
I don’t feel it’s boastful to say as much, as the greatness lies not in any brilliance on my part, but in the simple tastes of the ingredients as they fuse in the heat. That’s home cooking for you.
Serves 4
**sweet potatoes** 2.5 pounds
**pennette** 1 1/3 cups pasta
**soft unsalted butter** 4 tbsp
**plain flour** 3 tbsp
**full-fat milk** 2.1 cups
**English mustard** 1 tsp
**paprika** ¼ tsp , plus ¼ tsp to sprinkle on top
**feta cheese/or other sharp cheese** 1 cup
**mature cheddar** 1 cup, grated, plus 1.2 cup to sprinkle on top
**fresh sage leaves** 4
**salt and pepper** to taste
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Put on a large-ish pan of water to boil, with the lid on to make it come to the boil faster.
Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them roughly into cubed pieces. When the water’s boiling, add salt to taste, and then the sweet potato pieces, and cook them for about 10 minutes or until they are soft. Scoop them out of the water into a bowl – using a “spider” or slotted spoon – and lightly mash with a fork, without turning them into a purée. Don’t get rid of this water, as you will need it to cook your pasta in later.
In another saucepan, gently melt the butter and add the flour, whisking to form a roux, then take the pan off the heat, slowly whisk in the milk and, when it’s all combined and smooth, put back on the heat. Exchange your whisk for a wooden spoon, and continue to stir until your gently bubbling sauce has lost any floury taste and has thickened. Add the mustard and the ¼ teaspoon of paprika. Season to taste, but do remember that you will be adding cheddar and salty feta later, so underdo it for now.
Cook the pennette in the sweet-potato water, starting to check 2 minutes earlier than packet instructions dictate, as you want to make sure it doesn’t lose its bite entirely. Drain (reserving some of the pasta cooking water first) and then add the pennette to the mashed sweet potato, and fold in to combine; the heat of the pasta will make the mash easier to mix in.
Add the feta cheese to the sweet potato and pasta mixture, crumbling it in so that it is easier to disperse evenly, then fold in the white sauce, adding the 1.5 cups grated cheddar as you go. Add some of the pasta cooking water, should you feel it needs loosening up at all.
Check for seasoning again, then, when you’re happy, spoon the brightly sauced macaroni cheese into 4 small ovenproof dishes (or 1 large rectangular 2quart dish). Sprinkle the remaining cheddar over each one, dust with the remaining ¼ teaspoon of paprika, then shred the sage leaves and scatter the skinny green ribbons over the top, too.
Put the pots on a baking tray, pop into the oven and bake for 20 minutes (or, if you’re making this in a larger dish, bake for 30-35 minutes), by which time they will be piping hot and bubbling, and begging you to eat them.

Best Fast Food Chicken Sandwich Special Order from Familiar Place

Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer

Popeye’s Spicy Chicken Sandwich vs. Chick-fil-A’s Chicken Sandwich (special order, see below)

It’s finally time for me to make a local, almost parallel comparison between the nation’s two most popular fast food chicken sandwiches.

The Chick-fil-A double-battered sandwich

I am going to break it down in several categories, weighing in on my experience from the time I walked into the restaurant and follow through with a detailed review of each sandwich.

Both were ordered very recently in Anderson, with the Chick-fil-A location being on Greenville Street.

THE CHALLENGE: This is a comparison of the regular Popeye’s Spicy Chicken Sandwich vs. the Chick-fil-A regular sandwich special ordered as double battered (which is as simple as asking for it when you order. Do not order at drive through, where this special order is not available for obvious reasons.)

Popye's Spicy Chicken Sandwich

TIME WAITING TO ORDER: First, I was a little surprised at the average speed of service both places. When I visited Popeye’s at 6:30 p.m. on a Monday night, a was behind a line of eight other customers, with one register open. Time waiting in line to order was just under 10 minutes. At Chick-fil-A, I arrived on a Tuesday at 4:50 p.m., and got in a line with four customers in front of me, including one at each of the two open registers. It’s possible they were training new employees, but for whatever reason I waited in line for eight minutes to order my sandwich. That said, the service was much friendlier at Chick-fil-A, especially given my order (see below). But based on my visits, Time to Order Winner: Tie

TIME WAITING FOR SANDWICH: Next was the wait time for the sandwich. The Popeye’s was a standard order sandwich, and it took just over 10 minutes to get my order. Not fast, but acceptable. Chick-fil-A’s special-order double-battered sandwich also took just over 10 minutes, which is fast considering it takes the kitchen more time to prepare and cook. I will note that waiting at Chick-fil-A was more pleasant due to not only there being more space, but the level of cleanliness. The tables at Popeye’s were not clean, the place was very busy, but I didn’t notice anyone checking tables while I was there. Chick-fil-A was not as busy, but one of their trademarks is somebody constantly wandering the dining area cleaning tables, and it was evident. All of the empty tables were clean. Wait for Sandwich

Popeye's bun is very good.

Winner: Chick-fil-A, with bonus points for cleanliness.

The BATTLE OF TWO SANDWICHES: Now for the main event.

Here’s what’s good about each sandwich, and what could be better, beginning with the Popeye’s Spicy Chicken Sandwich. Right away it’s hard to miss the superior brioche bun at Popeye’s. It’s slightly sweet and fresh, almost out-of-the-oven flavor is the best I’ve had on any fast food sandwich, including burgers. The chicken was a generous portion, and thick but not dry. It tasted like a piece of fried chicken as opposed to a boneless chicken patty.

The crust is tasty, with a satisfying crunch in every bit. The spicy sauce is not really very hot, but full of rich flavors. Mine was skimpy on the sauce and that gave me a chance to taste the edge bites which were without sauce, and they were good as well. Skip the pickles. The ones on my sandwich were bland and soggy, actually detracting from the flavor of a good sandwich.

The double-battered Chick-fil-A starts from behind in the battle with a mushy bun that is mushier from even a brief minute inside the foil-lined bags. I remember the first time I ate a Chick-fil-A sandwich in 1966 at an Atlanta Braves game, and the sandwiches were in plain white foil-lined pouches and the buns soggy. The flavor of the buns is not bad, just ordinary. If you can get one extra toasted and not bagged in the foil pouch, it would be better. I will ask next time for that as my special order. As you can see in the photo, a double-battered Chick-fil-A sandwich is a thing to behold. Like the competitor, it also boasts a large, generous portion of thick and juicy chicken.

But unlike ordering a regular Chick-fil-A sandwich is hit or miss when it comes to crust and crunch, a double-battered Chick-fil-A sandwich is what God intended Truett Cathy to pioneer. It is, I dare say, downright beautiful. Sticking out of the pedestrian bun is a crusty sandwich which needs no extra sauce. Satisfying flavor and crunch, enhanced by great pickles, this sandwich is the one to rule them all (This review is only a comparison of the two best, though I have tried the other fast food chicken sandwiches and they don’t begin to compare, and thus are not a part of this conversation.) You can add any of the pretty good sauces Chick-fil-A offers if you want, but there is not a need on this sandwich. Something about the extra level of crust give so much extra flavor to the double battered sandwich that you have to experience it to fully understand. TASTE TEST AND OVERALL WINNER: Chick-fil-A double-battered sandwich.

It's worth going inside and waiting on this amazing sandwich.

Final Thoughts: Keep in mind I intentionally not to compare the regular Chick-fil-A sandwich to the Popeye’s Spicy sandwich.

Popeye’s might have edged out as the winner in that side-by-side taste test, but the double-battered Chick-fil-A sandwich is superior and king of the fast food chicken sandwiches. I also chose not I did not get into side dishes in this review. Popeye’s has a much broader variety of sides, including cole slaw, something Chick-fil-A sadly discontinued along with their amazing carrot and raisin salad.

The iced teas at both were so close it’s hard to choose a winner. My biggest fear in crowning a special-order sandwich chicken king is that they might get so overwhelmed with requests, they stop offering it (my son who lives in Reston, Va., has already been told there is no such sandwich). And as I said, you cannot order it via drive through. If you want the extra breading and crunch in the car, hit Popeye’s. But if you are craving the best fast food chicken sandwich, something that is quite filling with no sides, visit Chick-fil-A and ask for a double-battered chicken sandwich. You can thank me later.

Food and Kitchen

Ingredients

Instructions

Ingredients

Directions

Chocolate Chip Cookies

INGREDIENTS

METHOD

Dolly Parton's Sausage Milk Gravy

Best Fast Food Chicken Sandwich Special Order from Familiar Place

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