THE Dessert: Chocolate Truffle Cake

This Recipe is for the Best Dessert Ever
It is an extra special occasion only recipe
It is so good that when my sister was having her first baby, she said I couldn't come see my new nephew without it.  Yes it is that good.  So good that you will do irrational things like keep your sister away from your baby until a Chocolate Truffle Cake is Delivered.
Without Further Ado, I present 


Tiffany's Truffle Cake
The Deets
2 sticks Butter (1 Cup)
6 oz Unsweetened Chocolate
6 oz Semisweet Chocolate
5 Eggs
1 Cup Sugar
1 1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/2 tsp Almond Extract
1/3 Cup Corn Syrup (I mean liquid Corn Sugar)


Prep
Line the bottom of a 9 inch spring-form pan with parchment paper
Preheat oven to 350 Degrees


The Instructions  
DO NOT DEVIATE! 
Melt Butter & Chocolate together & let cool

Once cool add Eggs, 1/2 Cup Sugar, Vanilla & Almond Extract
Whip to Triple Volume

Separately Mix remaining 1/2 Cup Sugar & Corn Syrup and bring to a Boil
Add boiling mixture to Chocolate Mixture
Mix until Smooth
Pour mixture into a spring-form pan 
Place spring-form into larger pan & fill larger pan with 1 inch of water

Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.

Garnish as Desired (this is supposed to be a maple leaf to celebrate fall)
WARNING! This is a very rich dessert, the cut made in the above photo was 4 servings

I have been making this Truffle Cake for years & I didn't think it could get better, but then my friend Jen brought her butterscotch over to go with another dessert and I accidently got some on my truffle cake - let me just say amazingly good, rich chocolate with slightly savory butterscotch - delish!  But use the butterscotch sparingly to avoid a sugar coma. 

Jen's Butterscotch Recipe

 1/4 cup Butter

1/2 cup packed Brown Sugar

1/2 cup Heavy Cream

1/2 teaspoon Kosher Salt

1 1/2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract

Melt butter in a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Add the sugar, cream and salt and whisk until well blended.  Bring to a very gentle boil and cook for about five minutes, whisking occasionally.

Remove from heat and add one teaspoon of the vanilla extract whisk until combined.

Let cool slightly.

Drizzle over your favorite dessert.

Enjoy these two recipes separately or in collaboration for a dessert you won't soon forget.

Holiday Ideas: Christmas Cards & Hats from Shutterfly & Lemondrop1222

Today is all about shameless advertising.

First up: Shutterfly Photo Cards

I have never actually sent Photo Christmas cards, I've always said I wouldn't do it until I had kids.  But then I got to thinking - why?  My life is interesting right?  I'm sure my friends are just as interested in the happenings in our house as they are in our friends with kids lives.  That being said, I've now officially changed my mind and this year I am sending photo cards.  They may have pictures of food instead of the family, but Photo cards they will be!

Have you looked at shutterfly.com lately? They have some gorgeous Christmas cards that are even reasonably priced. As an added bonus if you are a blogger you can sign up at this link: http://bit.ly/sfly2010 and get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly. The hard part is that there are so many great options, I don't know which one to choose!  Here are a few of my favorites:

Hmmm come to think of it I wonder if I could order these with the stock family...that would really get people talking.  Ok I won't really do that, it will be dog or food. Tough decision.  One thing is sure, I will be ordering my Christmas cards from Shutterfly this year.

As for Christmas Gifts, My friend Kaley has this great etsy store. She makes the cutest hats!  You can custom order any color combo or if you have an idea she will do what she can to make it for you.  I personally have ordered 1/2 a dozen baby hats for gifts this year alone.  Right now she's working on a hot for me, which I'm super excited about.  Here are a few of her creations.

Hopefully this will give you some ideas to get ready for the holidays.
Happy Holidays!

The Best of the Mex - Mexican Throwdown

One of the Great things about OKC is the great variety of good Mexican Food

Here is the rundown on 4 local Mexican Restaurants

The Contestants

*Los Arcos Mexican Restaurant

*Ted's Cafe Escondido

*Mamasita's

*Pepe's

The Rules

Restaurants will be judged on the following:

1. Chips & Salsa (Queso if applicable)

2. Enchiladas (contents & sauce)

3. Beans & Rice

First Up

Los Arcos Mexican Restaurant 

1718 East 2nd St. Edmond, OK

The Lowdown:

1. Chips & Salsa: The Chips are Fresh, Thin & Lightly Salted (not enough salt for me)

The Salsa - My Favorite of the Bunch, the perfect blend of tomatoes, garlic, peppers & spices; It's on the Mild side which I love.  They also have a hotter salsa upon request - it's a little too hot for me but has a great smokey chili flavor

Queso - Creamy, Mild & perfect with salsa on top (I'm not a huge Queso fan, but Husband ranks it as #2)

2. Enchilada: Chicken Enchilada with Tomatillo Sauce - Best Enchilada Sauce Ever! It's tangy, savory, fresh, flavorful - perfect! The chicken is perfectly seasoned & shredded.

3. Rice & Beans: Spanish Rice and Refried Beans I love the rice; It's always cooked to perfection & perfectly seasoned. As far as refried beans go these are as good as they get.(I'm not a big refried beans fan, but I always eat a few bites) 

4. Bonus: Sopapilla with your meal  (I always pass but take 1 bite of husbands) Light & fluffy with cinnamon sugar & honey - the perfect last bite

The Los Arcos Score: 

Chips 4/5

Salsa 5/5

Queso 4/5

Enchilada 5/5

Rice & Beans 4.5/5

Ted's Cafe Escondido 

Multiple Locations in Oklahoma City Metro 

The Lowdown:

1. Chips & Salsa: The Chips are Fresh, of medium thickness & perfectly salted

The Salsa -  Good Stuff, a fresh blend of tomatoes, peppers, spices with a bit too much onion.

Queso - Creamy & perfectly seasoned. This Queso is lo mejor! Delicioso! Ted's Queso is Husband's #1 Pick

2. Enchilada: Chicken Enchilada with Tomatillo Sauce - The Sauce is good, but very commercial and a little over processed and the chicken is nicely shredded.

3. Rice & Beans: Spanish Rice and Refried Beans The rice is really good, well seasoned and just the right texture. The Beans are not nearly as good, the flavor is flat and the consistency is too muddy.

4. Bonus: Sopapilla with your meal  Light & fluffy but a little heavy on the cinnamon sugar 

5. Double Bonus: Perfect homemade flour tortillas - these are probably the best tortillas I've ever had & the only place I'll calorie splurge on tortilla & queso!

Ted's Score: 

Chips 3/5

Salsa 4.5/5

Queso 5/5

Enchilada 3/5

Rice & Beans 3/5

Mamasita's

1121 Northwest 63rd Street

Nichols Hills, OK

The Lowdown:

1. Chips & Salsa: The Chips are Fresh, Thin & Absolute Perfection - This may be the perfect chip

The Salsa - Over processed, too much dried spice flavor, but still ok.  It has a little more kick than the other competitors. 

2. Enchilada: I had the Chicken Enchilada with Salsa Verde Sauce & the Seafood Enchilada with Cream Cheese Sauce.  The Chicken Enchilada was fantastic, very flavorful, the sauce was good too - but there wasn't enough of it, so the enchilada was a little dry.  

The Seafood Enchilada, was well, not good. I ate 2 bites & that was all I could handle...not good. It was all mooshy yet dry at the same time & way too garlicky.

3. Rice & Beans: Spanish Rice and  the option of Black or Refried Beans. The Rice was overcooked and dry, the flavors were not there - again stale dried spices. Not so good. The black beans were also over cooked, but were ok. I'll take black beans over refried any day.

4. Bonus: Sopapilla for 50 cents  Light & thin with cinnamon sugar & honey - good, but a little too much cinnamon sugar 

The Mamasita's Score: 

Chips 5/5

Salsa 3/5

Enchilada (Chicken) 4/5 (Seafood) 1/5

Rice & Beans 1/5

Pepe's Mexican Restaurant 

1701 S. Broadway. Edmond, OK

The Lowdown:

1. Chips & Salsa: The Chips are ok, just normal chips. 

The Salsa - Is good; a nice blend of tomatoes, peppers, onions, & spices; It's a little spicy but in a good way.

2. Enchilada: Chicken Enchilada with Sour Cream Sauce - The sauce was good, a little heavy for my taste, but the chicken is perfectly shredded & well seasoned. The big downside for me is that Pepe's doesn't have tomatillo sauce - which is my favorite, but as far as cream sauce goes, Pepe's is pretty darn good.

3. Rice & Beans: Spanish Rice and Refried Beans. The rice is good, good texture, good flavor.  The beans are pretty good too.  Pepe's gets the #2 slot for beans & rice.

PePe's Score: 

Chips 2/5

Salsa 3.5/5

Enchilada 4/5

Rice & Beans 4/5

The Undisputed Winner: Los Arcos

Los Arcos wins on Salsa, Enchilada & Beans & Rice + they have the best service.

Ted's Cafe Escondido wins on Tortillas & Queso - but they have the worst service.

Sugar, Sugar... Cookies that is

The Perfect Sugar Cookie is Hard to Come by

I just so happen to have the Recipe...

But I'm not quite sure I'm ready to share it...

I am however willing to share this

Frosting, Icing, Sugary Goodness

The Best Frosting Recipe Ever!

1 Cup Butter

1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

4 Cups Sifted Confectioner's Sugar (Must be Sifted!)

2 TBS Milk

COLOR!

Enjoy your Perfect Frosting! 

Maybe Someday I'll share the cookie recipe.  

Someday, not today & tomorrow's not lookin' good either...but someday

Chocolate = Love Godiva Bakery Truffles

There is no question that I am a chocoholic. I love trying new chocolate combinations, exploring different cocoa percentages and the overall satisfaction of a good creamy chocolate.

Over the last few weeks I explored Godiva's new  Bakery Dessert Truffles.

The collection includes: Chocolate Lava Cake, Carrot Cake, Red Velvet, Cheesecake, Tiramisu and Strawberry Tarte.  For the benefit of all chocolate lovers, I sacrificed my calorie count and tried all of them!

Chocolate Lava Cake Truffle

I love Chocolate Lava Cake, so there was no way I was going to pass up this truffle. The Chocolate Lave Cake Truffle is a  powder sugar dusted dark chocolate truffle, with a milk chocolate inner shell  and a split center - one side is a dark chcolate ganache while the other is a gooey chocolate lava liquid. This truffle takes the cake! Add this one to your must try list if you're a chocoholic it's worth every calorie.

Carrot Cake Truffle

I have to admit it was actually pretty good.  Carrot Cake is not my favorite of the Cake Kingdom. But the Truffle is a definite improvement.  It is a milk chocolate truffle with pecans on the outside and a split center - one side is a coconutty creamcheese icing & the other a spicy carrot cake.  Now I have to say the carrot cake part was a little to spiced for me - it had an after taste of old powdered spices.  But when eaten together, it was pretty good. I propably wouln't pick this one again, but if someone gave it to me, I'd eat it.

Red Velvet Truffle

The Red Velvet Cake Truffle is a White Chocolate Truffle with a dark chocolate inner shell and delicious red velvet chocolate ganach. This Truffle is better than any red velvet cake I've ever had! It's creamey, chocolatey, creamcheesey all without an after taste of red dye. The Red Velvet Truffle is a must try!

Cheesecake Truffle

The Cheesecake Truffle is a Milk Chocolate Truffle with a creamy cheesecake center and toasted almonds on the exterior.  The center is very buttery with a hint of vanilla and a slight note of toasted ghramcrakers just like the real thing. But the Truffle actually reminded me more a smores than cheesecake. It was good, but unmemorable.

Tiramisu Truffle

The Tiramisu Truffle is a White Chocolate Truffle with a milk chocolate inner shell, a split center of a vanilla cream and a questionable brown butterscotch espresso substance and shaved dark chocolate on the shell. I'm going to play nice here and just say this truffle was a fail.  Not an epic fail, but a fail none the less. I would have to be paid to eat this one again. Even if you are Tiramisu Obsessed I'd still skip this truffle.

Strawberry Tarte Truffle

The Strawberry Tarte is a Milk Chocolate Truffle, with a lovely dark chocolate drizzle  and a split center with a sweet cream on one side & a sweet-tarte strawberry preserve on the other.  The sweet cream has flecks of vanilla bean and is rich and creamy while the strawberry preserve is tart and light.  This truffle strikes a great balance between rich creamy decedence & light tart fruit. The strawberry tasted a bit overprocessed, but overall it's worth the calories.

 I must say overall this collection is a HUGE impovement over the lackluster performance of this summer's Ice Cream Parlor Collection.

The Historic Cattlemen's Steakhouse

Every town has one of those places, the one you "have" to go to.  Often they get all hyped up and you end up disappointed in the end.  Cattlemen's is NOT one of those places.

Cattlemen's is celebrating it's 100th anniversary this year.  There is a good reason it's still in business after 100 years: great food, pure and simple.

Cattlemen's is still located in its original building on Agnew St in Stockyards City. The walls are dark panelled, the booths are deep red and there's a whole lot of cowboys stoppin' in for "supper"

Dinner is plain and simple:

House Salad with House Dressing

a ranch-like dressing but "more creamy and less salty" (this is what I was told, since I'm not really a salad dressing kind of girl)

Husband ordered Shrimp and Mashed Potatoes.  The Shrimp were lightly coated and perfectly seasoned.  Husband rated them 4/5 stars.  

I went for my favorite cut - the Rib Eye.

This was the best steak in my recent memory.  It was perfectly cut and perfectly cooked to Medium Rare +.  Melt in your mouth perfection. The steak was perfect on it's own, but once they added the Au Jus Wow!  Too good for words. 5/5 stars!

And who can forget the rolls...mmm

Our dinner companions. 

 If you're in the mood for a great steak Cattlemen's is a must.

The history is an added bonus.

Muffin Madness!

Sometimes a girl just wants to BAKE!

With a surplus of Bananas & Carrots, I decided Muffins were in order.

First up  

Experimental Carrot

The Deets

1 1/2 Cup Sugar

1 Cup Canola Oil

1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

3 Eggs

3 Cups Whole Wheat Flour

2 tsp Baking Soda

1 tsp Salt

5 Cups carrot (shred in food processor) 

1 Cup Mini Chocolate Chips

Mix it all together

Bake @ 350 for 25 minutes

Now for what I'm known for

BANANA Flax Muffins

The Deets 

3/4 Cup Sugar

1/2 Cup (1 stick) Butter - real Butter

2 Eggs

6 Ripe Bananas 

1/2 Cup Milk

1 tsp Pure Vanilla

2 1/2 Cups Whole Wheat Flour

1/2 Cup Flax Seeds

1 Cup Mini Chocolate Chips

Mix it up

Bake @350 for 35 Minutes

The Verdict:

 The Carrot were a hit. I gotta say I was really surprised how great they were, I'll be adding those to my regular arsenal!

The Banana Flax weren't my best ever, but they were still Yummolisious 

Flat Tire Burgers

Sometimes you just need a good Burger.
Last week we decided to try Flat Tire Burgers at 318 E Ayers in Edmond
It's a great collegey (yes I just made up a word) joint with great service, great food & good prices.

We started off with Fried Pickles

(Can you tell we couldn't wait for the camera to begin sampling)

You may not know this but I LOVE Pickles!

Ever since I can remember they've been one of my favorite snacks.

When I was in college there was this bowling alley dive cafe that served a basket of Pickles with Ranch Dressing with your order. It was Amazingly Delicious!

Back to the Pickles at hand Flat Tire's Fried Pickles

Honestly, they were just OK.

I'd rate them 3/5

The breading was a little thick & had too much pepper for my taste

But it was still fun to try something different

If you're checking out Flat Tire I would definitely give them a try.

Husband Ordered a Chocolate Milkshake & a Jalapeno Burger

He is a Chocolate Milkshake Connoisseur & rated it as "good"

The Jalapeno Burger got Rave Reviews!

He said it was the best burger he'd had in a long time.

I ordered the Guacamole Burger on a whole wheat bun

Let me just say, this is the best burger I've had in a very long time.

From Bun to Burger 5/5

The Bun was soft & grainy (Grainy as in I could taste the whole grains)

The Burger Juicy & Flavorful

The toppings Fresh & Delish

The only thing that could have made it better was a little more guac.

We had good food & good service at a good price.

& as a bonus we watched Boise State kick VT's butt! 

Go Broncos!

If you're in the mood for a burger, you really should check out Flat Tire Burgers

Rainy Day Breakfast

I love a good rainy Sunday

Rainy Sundays call for special Breakfast

This morning I made Husband's favorite - Monkeybread-

The Deets

(My take on the MIL's Recipe)
{MIL = mother-in-law}

The "Rolls"

1 can refrigerated biscuit dough (Pillsbury is my fav)

1/2 cup Brown Sugar

1/2 cup Sugar

1 tsp (or so) of Cinnamon

(Mix sugars & cinnamon for dipping)

3 TBS Butter

Icing

1/4 cup Powdered Sugar

1 TBS Milk

1/2 tsp Vanilla

Directions

Cut Biscuits into quarters

Dip in Butter

Roll in Cinnamon Sugar Mixture 

Place in High Sided Ceramic Dish  about a 1 1/2 qt.
 I like corningware 

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes
(we like ours a little gooey so 15 is what I do)

Flip & drizzle icing over the top

Man cannot live on Sugar alone (although he'd like to try)

So we also had a Spinach, Mushroom & Tomato Omelet

Mix 2 Eggs

2 TBS Milk

Sprinkle of cheese

Cook over medium heat until 2/3 done

Add 

1 cup Spinach

1/2 diced Tomato

5 diced Mushrooms

Cook over low heat for 4-5 minutes

Add a sprinkle of cheese

Enjoy!