it's not over, 'til the....

last bite is eaten?




This month's daring baker challenge was to make an Opera Cake. The challenge (other than having to put together this complicated cake) was to make it with light flavorings, invoking thoughts of summer and dedicated to Barbara of Winos and foodies dot com and her sponsorship of A Taste of Yellow a way of celebrating LIVEStrong Day.



An Opera Cake consists of layers of syrup-soaked joconde (almond sponge cake), separated by buttercream and covered by a thin glaze (generally chocolate). I understand that a ganache can be involved as well but I did not make ganache, mainly because I am running late in the completion of the challenge.

I wish that I had given the flavorings more thought because I made everything almond flavored. It is a bit overpowering. I loved reading of everyone else's flavor concoctions. If I made it again, I might make lemon & raspberry or peanut butter and jelly (weird, but it could be cool, right?) They all sounded yummy! To see the other Daring Bakers Opera cakes, see the Daring Baker blogroll.

I wasn't pleased with the way my cake rose. Otherwise, it was pretty easy. I lined my jellyroll pans with parchment paper sprayed with Baker's Joy spray, so that they wouldn't stick. It was pretty, but next time I'll get extra chocolate to make shapes to decorate the cake. That would have been the icing on the cake!

If you would like the recipe, check the blogroll or send me a comment and I'll be happy to send it to you. It is rather long, so be prepared! Don't worry. It isn't too difficult!

Eat Down!

We are on an "eat down", as my mother-in-law calls it. An eat down is when you start looking through your pantry and freezer and find uses for the strange (or ordinary) ingredients that ended up there. I am not sure when my mother-in-law initiates an "eat down" but I generally start one when I notice an accumulation of things that I will never use unless I sit down and plan menus around them.

Like 4 boxes of Cheez-its?
Or 8 cans of peas?
Tamarind paste?
ghee?
chorizo?
tart cherries?
countless boxes of JELL-O pudding and gelatin?

So, my eat down is all about finding creative ways to use these ingredients (not all together) in recipes. We'll start with the Cheez-its....

My husband thinks that we need Cheez-its every time that we go to the grocery store, hence the 4 boxes in my pantry. His favorite thing to do with them is to dip them in cream cheese and pepper jelly. Unfortunately, I am out of both and the main objective of the "eat down" is to use ingredients that you already have in the kitchen.

#1) Cheez-it trail mix
2 cups Cheez-it
1 cup chocolate chips or peanut butter chips
1 cup raisins

I brought this to my sister's house for a party. I thought it would be good beer-snacking food. She laughed at me.

#2) Cheez-it chicken
5-6 chicken breasts
1 stick butter
1 egg white mixed with water.
2-3 cups Cheez-its (Tabasco-flavored), crushed
1 tsp. hot sauce

Put each chicken breast through the water-egg white mixture then coat with cracker crumbs. Place on a baking sheet sprayed with non-stick spray like Pam. Do this with each of the chicken breasts. Melt butter, add hot sauce and drizzle over the chicken. Bake 40-45 minutes at 375° F.

This one was met with good reviews from the husband. Sorry, no pictures. It was that good!

Next, 8 cans of peas....