Nutella Swirl Pound Cake

This past weekend was my Vienna group's 5 year reunion and I was trying to think of something Vienna-ish to make for the party and here's what I found. I remembered my mom emailing me this recipe from Food and Wine a while back. Here's what you need:

1 1/2 Cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

4 large eggs, at room temperature

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

1 1/4 Cups sugar

1 13oz jar Nutella

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Lightly grease and flour a 9 by 5 inch loaf pan, tapping out an excess flour. In a glass measuring cup, lightly beat the eggs with the vanilla. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour with the baking powder and salt. In a large bowl, using a handheld mixer, beat the butter with the sugar at medium-high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. With the mixer at medium-low speed, gradually beat in the egg mixture until fully incorporated. Add the flour mixture in 3 batches, beating at low speed between additions until just incorporated. Continue to beat for 30 seconds longer. Spread one-third of the batter in the prepared pan, then spread half of the Nutella on top. Repeat with another third of the batter and the remaining Nutella. Top with the remaining batter. Lightly swirl the Nutella into the batter with a butter knife. Do not over mix. Bake the cake for about an hour and 15 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan for 15 minutes. Invert the cake onto a wire rack, turn it right side up and let cool completely, about 2 hours. Cut the cake into slices and serve.

*Instead of baking my cake in one 9 by 5 loaf pan I made in 3 small loaf pans. Because the pans were smaller I only cooked them for an hour.

The pound cake was a big hit at the party, I hope you enjoy it!

Brazilian Black Beans and Rice

That's right folks, I still do cook sometimes...I have had red beans and rice before, and I really like them, so when I saw this recipe I knew I needed to try it out. Black beans are by far my favorite bean, and this recipe did not disappoint. Here's what you need:

White Minute Rice, as desired
2 cans black beans
2 Tbsp minced garlic
butter
1 package smoked sausage (I used the turkey kind)

Using the instructions on the box, measure how much rice you want for your family. In a saute pan melt 2 Tbsp butter (more if you are doing a lot of rice). Add garlic and dry white rice. Saute until rice is golden brown, this gives the rice a nutty flavor. Cook the rice according to the package directions.

Cut up the sausage into whatever size pieces you like. In another sauce pan, brown and render the fat from the sausage you are using. You may want to add butter or oil to the pan to help it cook up faster and stick less. When the sausage is nice and browned, developing a sweet flavor, and there is a good amount of fat in the pan add the black beans (don't drain them).

Heat the meat/bean mixture thoroughly. Add salt to taste and add more garlic if you'd like.

Serve beans over rice with a nice piece of crusty bread!

PW+MM=A great night

These shoes might not have been the best idea for standing in line, but how was I to know that I was going to be in said line for 4 1/2 hours.

I really thing The Pioneer Woman would have liked them, if I had remembered to put them back on before meeting her. Yeah they only made it through about hour 2 of the wait before I had to take them off and walk barefoot through 50 Penn Place and Full Circle Books. But don't worry, I wasn't ashamed, not one bit!

So yeah, my mom and I waited for over four and a half hours last night to meet the one and only Pioneer Woman! Was it worth it? I think this picture speaks for itself.

Oh, what was that, you wanted a closer look at that fine derriere? Well okay, I guess I can do that

Oh and don't worry, we also got to meet the punks and get their autographs too! They were all so cute and sweet. When my mom asked the youngest boy if he would sign his book he said no, so his brother signed his name for him, so cute.

They also got put to work bringing in more books for their mom to sign.

And at the end of those 4 and a half hours we finally got to the prize! The one and only Pioneer Woman! She was so sweet, especially since her hand had to be close to falling off after signing over 500 books! I can't even imagine...

All in all, it was a great night. We were going to go to the 'after party' dinner thing at Rococo which was supposed to start at 8:30. But since we didn't even leave the bookstore until 10:40 and there was at least another hours worth of books for her to sign, we decided to skip out on that.

Let me know what you think...

I am thinking about baking homemade pies to sell for the holiday season. Let me know if you would be interested in buying one (or more!) and also what kinds you would like to see...
Thanks!

I do, times 2

This weekend was a pretty busy one for me. Not only was it OU/tx weekend, but I also had two great friends weddings to go to.
Friday night one of my best friends from college, Jessica Nelson, got married at the Tulsa Garden Center. It was a beautiful wedding and a great reception with a whole dessert room.

The wedding party, it was a little on the chilly side!

The second wedding of the weekend was in Fort Worth on Sunday afternoon. It was the wedding of John Whitaker and Rachel Burgess, some great friends. A group of us road tripped down on Sunday afternoon for the festivities, and of course road trips are always fun!

I got to see Rev. Matt Johns perform his second wedding ceremony

The beautiful bride walking down the aisle

Cheers!

My great friends, with the groom

Feels Like Home To Me....

A few weeks ago I decided it was time for me to take a trip back "home". I have lived in several places in my 25 years. I was born in Tulsa and lived in Broken Arrow until I was almost 13, then we moved to Plano, TX. We only lived there about a year and moved just up the highway to Allen. Almost two years into college at OC my parents moved up to Edmond to ruin my life, or so I thought at the time (love you guys!). Although at the time I wasn't crazy about the idea, it's been more than wonderful living in the same town as them, I don't know what I'd do without them! Anyway, enough of the mushy stuff...I haven't made enough trips back "home" to Allen as I'd like since my parents don't live there anymore. Pretty much all my friends from high school, well actually I think pretty much everyone from my high school, still live in or around Allen. I had a weekend open and decided to go back down there to visit, and shop of course. My mom decided to tag along so we could do a little shopping together. We headed down on Friday afternoon and hit up IKEA. I got some great kitchen stuff for cheap! I love that place. We had dinner at Buca di Beppo, if you haven't been there, you need to try it. It is a family style Italian restaurant, so you have to order your food for the whole table. We had a yummy salad with Granny Smith apples, dried cranberries, spiced walnuts and Gorgonzola cheese. Then we had the most amazing pasta dish, it had chicken and broccoli in a pesto cream sauce. I am not kidding when I say it was the best pasta I have ever had!

That night we went to watch my Alma Mater (and reigning state champs) the Allen Eagles take on Plano West. We got there in the middle of the 1st quarter and the score was already 14-o Allen. We got to watch at least 2 more TDs in the 1st quarter and the amazing Allen Eagle Escadrille during halftime. Here is a picture of the band performing, they are one of the biggest marching bands in the world!

We went to the Allen Outlet Mall on Saturday and got some goodies there too. I also got to try on my first pair of Manolo Blahniks...they weren't even that cute, but I just had to have them on my feet.

The original price on these babies was over $800, but don't worry the outlet price was only $280. Maybe someday when I win the lottery I will buy myself a pair and pretend I'm Carrie Bradshaw. Until then, I will just have to stare longingly at these pictures...

Saturday night before we headed home I got to meet up with my best friends from high school for dinner. It was so great to see them and catch up, it seems like the only time we've been able to do that in the last 7 years is at weddings and showers. I'm hoping it can become a more regular event...I sure do miss them!

Pancakes

I have always had trouble with pancakes. I either flip them too soon and splatter batter all over the place or I wait too long until they are rubbery, ick. I finally found the perfect pancake batter that has, so far, worked every time. Here is what you need:

1 1/2 Cups flour
1 Tbsp sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1/4-1/2 tsp salt (or more depending on your taste)
1 egg
4 Tbsp butter, melted or shortening
1 1/4 Cups milk

Sift the dry ingredients together twice into a large bowl. Beat the egg with the milk and butter, beating to combine. Using a wooden spoon, fold the egg mixture into the dry ingredients to make a smooth batter without over mixing. Heat a heavy griddle or frying pan greased with butter. The pan is hot enough when a drop of water breaks into several smaller drops which 'dance' around the pan. Pour a small amount of batter (approx. 1/4 cup) into a pan and tip to spread out or spread with spoon. When bubbles appear on surface and begin to break, turn over and cook the other side. If you like chocolate chips or blueberries add those right before flipping the pancakes over. Serve with lemon juice and powdered sugar or your favorite syrup. Enjoy!