Strawberry Shortcake

My intended dessert for my girls dinner party was a big ole strawberry cheesecake. I whipped it up, baked it, set it out to cool and went to bed. I woke up at 6 am with the sad reliazation that the cheesecake had never been put in the refrigerator. Whoops! These shortcakes are easy to make ahead, just whip the cream when you are ready to serve. Everything else can be done in advance. Or just make a cheesecake and abide by proper food safety rules.

Strawberry Shortcake
makes one dozen

6 cups sliced strawberries
¼ cup sugar
4 cups flour
2 tablespoons baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons salt
2/3 cup sugar
½ cup butter
1 ½ cup half and half
Melted butter to brush shortcakes
whipped cream

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a medium bowl, stir together the berries and sugar. Set berries aside to macerate while you prepare the shortcakes. In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Cut in butter and shortening. Mix in half-and-half. Drop by large spoonfuls onto a baking sheet. Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar. Bake for 15 minutes or until brown.

To serve, split the biscuit in two, spoon the berry mixture over the bottom half top with whipped cream and the other half of the biscuit.

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Black Midnight Cake

This is another of my grandmother's amazing cake recipes. The other I have blogged is the yellow cake, the Lazy Daisy cake. This chocolate cake is exceptional. It even trumps Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate cake, which is my usual go to for chocolate cakes. There are some odd measurements (1/3 of a teaspoon?), but my guesstimations worked just fine. I frosted it with a white buttercream, but you could get as creative as you like.

Black Midnight Cake

⅔ cup butter
1⅔ cup sugar
3 eggs
⅔ cup cocoa
1⅓ cup cold water
2 cups flour
⅓ teaspoon baking powder
1¼ teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in the eggs. In a separate bowl, blend together the cocoa and water. Mix in the cocoa mixture to the batter. Sift the flour, baking powder and baking soda into the batter. Add the vanilla. Pour into two 8” or 9” floured and greased cake pans. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes

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Cajun Chicken Pasta

This meal was fantastic, very flavorful, but not very waistline friendly. You can adjust the spices to suit your taste, even add extra cayenne pepper if you prefer it. I will probably try this recipe without the Cajun spices, I really enjoyed the depth of flavor that the wine added to the alfredo sauce.  I can also see the addition of sliced bell peppers being a nice crunch to the pasta.  C thought this was so-so and Miss F only enjoyed the pasta plain, no sauce for her.

Cajun Chicken Pasta
Serves 2 to 3

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 tablespoons Tony Chachere’s Spice
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 tomatoes, diced
¼ cup white wine
¾ cup heavy cream
¾ cup whole milk
1/3 cup grated Parmesan
¾ pound cooked penne pasta

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Dredge the chicken breasts in one tablespoon of the Tony Chachere’s. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil over high heat. Saute the chicken until brown and place in the oven for 20 minutes. Slice in strips on the bias and set aside.

In a saute pan over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil. Add onion and garlic and lightly caramelize. Then add the tomato paste, tomatoes and remaining Tony Chachere’s. Deglaze the pan with the white wine. Add the heavy cream and increase the heat to a simmer to reduce the cream sauce by half. When the cream sauce is to desired consistency, stir in Parmesan and pasta.

Place the pasta on large rimmed plates, with chicken on top.

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