Today is National Chocolate Cake Day.

Simple yet decadent.

Preheat your oven and prepare the cake pan.

In a medium bowl combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt and sugar.

Mix it well.

In another bowl combine the vanilla, milk, oil and eggs.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until smooth.

Pour the batter into the cake pan.

Give it a little shake to release any bubbles.

Bake in the oven for 35-45 minutes or until tester inserted in center comes out clean.  Let cool before icing.

Here I make two cakes that I layered on top of each other with icing in between the layers and then all over the cake.

Trust me when I say it’s simple yet decadent.

Chocolate Cake

Makes 12 servings.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9“ cake pan.
2. Mix flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt, sugar and vanilla in a bowl.
3. Add milk, vegetable oil and eggs and mix till everything is smooth. Pour into cake tin.
4. Bake for 35-45 minutes until knife inserted in centre comes out clean. Let cool.
5. To make the frosting heat the whipping cream in a sauce pan. Remove from heat and add the chocolate and honey. Mix until smooth then let cool.
6. Use one 1/3 of the frosting between the two layers, 1/3 on top, and the rest around the cake. Refrigerate.

Today is National Pistachio Day.

This coating would work really well with fish too.

Pistachio Crusted Chicken

Serves 2

Today is National Irish Coffee Day.

It makes me all warm and fuzzy inside to see yet another hot beverage this month consisting of booze.
Here is the traditional recipe using plain cream though whipped cream can be substituted.

Makes 1 serving.

1. In a glass mug combine the coffee, sugar and whiskey.
2. Gently pour in the cream so that it is floating on top. Enjoy!

Today is National Peanut Butter Day.

Toss this with noodles or serve with chicken skewers.

Spicy Peanut Sauce

1. Whisk together the entire ingredients in blender until smoothed. Let it sit for several hours before using. Warm the sauce before serving.

Today is National Rhubarb Pie Day.

Here’s a great recipe to use any extra rhubarb you may have frozen from the spring.

Rhubarb Streusel Pie

Makes 8 servings.

Topping

Filling

1. Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Grease a 9” pie plate
2. Combine butter, Bisquick, brown sugar and nuts in a bowl for the topping. Set aside.
3. Arrange the rhubarb evenly in pie pan.
4. Beat the remaining filling ingredients in bowl till smooth then pour over rhubarb.
5. Sprinkle the reserved topping over the filling.
6. Bake for 40 minutes or until knife comes out clean when inserted in centre of pie.

Today is National Blonde Brownie Day.

Dare I say I think I enjoy these more than chocolate brownies.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare your pan.

Combine the brown sugar and butter in a medium bowl.

Add the egg and vanilla.

In a seperate bowl stir together the bakign powder, baking soda, salt and flour.

Add the mixed dry ingredients to the bowl of wet ingredients.

Combine everything together well.

Spread the batter evenly into your prepared pan. 

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until centre is done and allow to cool before slicing into bars.

Blondies

Makes 16 squares

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly butter and flour an 9X9 pan.
2. In a bowl whisk together the melted butter and sugar.
3. Add the egg and vanilla extract and whisk.
4. In another bowl combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Mix dry ingredients into the wet and combine well.
5. Pour into prepared pan and spread evenly.
6. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool then cut into squares.

Today is National New England Chowder Day.

New England Clam Chowder

Makes 8 servings

Today is National Cheese Lover’s Day, National Buttercrunch Day and National Granola Bar Day

Arranging a Cheese Tasting Party

I am a huge lover of cheese. Take me to any party and I head straight to the cheese platter and fully monopolize the wares. There has been occasions, due partly to laziness and partly to my obsession, that I have had a dinner consisting solely of cheese, crackers and the occasional pickle (it’s a vegetable you know).

What I think I love best about this wholesome food is that it has so many varieties with a huge range of flavours that everyone, except maybe the lactose intolerant, can find one they enjoy. Hosting a tasting party is a great was to enjoy your favourites and try a few new ones.

Here are a few guidelines you can follow to make the most of your party and to keep you on the right track.

K.I.S.S (Keep it simple silly!)

You’ll see why this is important when you just see the sheer volume of choices available. Without a clear idea what direction you want to go in a cheese arrangement can become a platter of mismatched tastes and textures that will only confuse and quite frankly disappoint yourself. Consider these ides:

Textures: Cheeses are like people, they can be soft, semi soft or firm. Pick one type and showcase the range of flavours it comes in. You can do the same when picking your guests.

Flavours: Yes the most important part yet the one that can get messed up the easiest. Offering one cheese with flavours from mild to strong is a great example of showing off it’s diversity.

Colours: Yellow, white and blue are all represented in the cheese world.

Themes: No I don’t mean having you guests dress up as 80’s rockers, though it would make for a great party. Cheeses can have themes too. Plan an arrangement around cheeses from the same country or one cheese that is produced differently in many countries. Choose a one colour theme like different blue cheeses or textures like a variety of soft spreadable cheese. And don’t forget cheese comes from different animals as well.

Amounts

Nobody likes a party where the food runs out before all the guests have arrived so make sure you have enough to go around. Hey if you have extra give me a call, I’ll help you with that problem. Here are some basic guidelines for the amount of cheese you will need, but can be adjusted of course if your party consists of supermodels or sumo wrestlers.

Presentation

You’ve planned your party, the guests are salivating over the invitations and you have taste tested each cheese personally…many times. Now it’s time to pull it all together.

Cheese is great on it’s own, but can be better with the right accompaniments. Crackers are suitable if not a bit boring but make sure that you don’t get the fancy ones with flavours that will over power your main attraction. Putting out bowls of nuts, olives, grapes and figs is a nice light touch that with help cleanse the palate between cheeses. Wine is also hugely popular and can definitely be added as a thematic element but sometimes you just want it to be about the cheese.

Take the cheeses out of the refrigerator 1 ½ hours before they are to be served. They need to be at room temperature to fully enjoy their tastes, but make sure they are wrapped tightly with plastic to keep them from drying out and to keep your greedy little fingers away. And never have your cheese cut ahead of time for all the same reasons.

You can present them on a large platter or individuals ones, that’s totally up to your decorating style. Have a knife for each hard cheese (and to use on any guests that seem to think a 3 inches slab is a serving) and a spoon for scooping each soft cheese as well as plates for your guests to load up.

What ever you end up trying don’t get to caught up in the right or wrong. It’s about gathering close friends and family together to share a love for the amazing flavours that cheese has to offer and each others company. Remember as long as there are cows, sheep, goats and buffalo around their will always be cheese so there will always be more parties. Because you know practice makes perfect.

Today is National Popcorn Day.

One of histories oldest snacks popcorn dates back over 5000 years. It was originally grown in Mexico but spread into Asia and India before explorers carried it with them to North Americas.

The tradition of popping the kernels of corn began as a game where they were thrown on the stones of a campfire and people would attempt to catch the shooting popcorn.

Popcorn carts didn’t begin appearing on the streets until 1885 at fairs and carnivals. Home poppers were invented in 1925 and twenty years later microwaves began popping the treat.

Today billions of pounds of popcorn are eaten each year.

Today is National Peking Duck Day.

The delicious blend of roasted meat and sweet crisp skin originated in Beijing during the Ming Dynasty. The Emperor of the royal palace was the only one allowed to enjoyed this dish until the fall of the Ching dynasty in 1911. Suddenly Peking duck was available on the streets for all the enjoy.

This dish is prepared by air being pumped into the bird to separate the skin from the fat. It is then hung to dry in the open air before being roasted until crispy. It is usually served sliced with light pancakes, cucumbers and a variety of sauces.