Double Drizzle Kettle Corn

This chocolate drizzled kettle corn recipe is perfect for a viewing party for Sunday's 7 p.m. Oscars on ABC!

Birmingham party expert Martie Duncan  
www.martieknowsparties.com passed along her tasty Double Drizzle Kettle Corn recipe to share with my readers. Below are some of my picks for Oscar night. I loved the Social Network and The Kings Speech!

Best Picture - The Social Network
Best Actor - Colin Firth
Best Supporting Actor - Geoffrey Rush
Best Actress - Natalie Portman

DOUBLE DRIZZLE KETTLE CORN

¼ cup vegetable oil
¾ cup popcorn kernels
3 tablespoons sugar
1 ½ teaspoons Kosher salt
Parchment paper
½ cup bittersweet chocolate chips
½ cup white chocolate chips

In a large pot or stock pot with a lid, heat the vegetable oil over medium high heat. Add the popcorn. When the oil begins to hiss, sprinkle the sugar over the kernels. Cover with the lid.

When the popping starts, hold the lid with a pot holder and shake the pot over the heat until the popping begins to slow down. It goes from popped to burnt very quickly.

Remove from the heat; toss with the salt.

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Spread the popcorn out onto the pans, being careful not to overlap the popped kernels.

Melt the chocolate separately in a heat-proof bowl over a double boiler. Stir frequently and keep the heat low because the chocolate will burn easily.

Dip a fork in the chocolate and drizzle it over the popcorn. Do the same with the white chocolate. Allow to set until dry. Break into pieces and store.

*For those who don't want to make this stovetop version, Duncan said the microwave kettle corn can be substituted. However, she prefers to pop it on the stove because the popcorn pops up big and fluffy. She said the stovetop version can keep for a few days if stored in a tin or some other kind of container.

Auntie Berta's Amazing Carrot Cake

This special handwritten recipe was sent to us from Auntie Berta in Surfside Beach, SC! She is an amazing cook and made us the most delicious meals and the most delicious carrot cake we ever tasted! We were lucky enough to spend a week at her beautiful house just a few blocks from the beach. Julia is really not a cake lover but she could not get enough of this cake! It is light, moist and not too sweet!! Learn from my mistake please. The first time I made it I put all the carrot peels in my disposal and I had clogged up sink and a mess! Put the peels in the trash! :) 

Auntie Berta's Amazing Carrot Cake

Ingredients

6 eggs beaten
1 ¼ cup sugar
1 cup Wesson oil
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
3 cups peeled and shredded carrots
1 cup chopped walnuts optional
2 teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350°. Mix all ingredients one at a time from top to bottom. You can add a 1 cup of chopped walnuts if you like. Toss them with a little flour before adding to batter so they don’t sink to the bottom cake. Spray a 9 X 13 or bunt cake pan with baking spray or grease and flour pan. Pour batter in pan and bake for 45 to 55 minutes until a toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean.  Cool for 15 minutes and take cake out of pan and onto a serving plate.  Cool completely and dust with powdered sugar or top with your favorite frosting.  This cake is so moist and delicious you really don’t need frosting!

Carmine's Bolognese Sauce

I'm so excited to share this Bolognese sauce with all of you compliments of Carmine’s Restaurant. Carmine's is a family style Italian restaurant with locations in NYC, NJ, Bahamas, and Washington DC. Carmine’s was created with the goal of serving every meal in the style of an Italian American wedding feast. It was a pleasure to interview Chef Terry Natas of Carmine's in DC. Chef Terry suggests pairing the Bolognese sauce with a type of pasta like rigatoni or maybe fresh pappardelle. "Food is only as good as the types of ingredients you put in your sauces, " he said. They cook all their pasta to order and make sure its al dente for each individual order with the perfect amount of pasta to the perfect amount of sauce. Buon appetito!

Carmine’s Bolognese Sauce

Makes 7 Cups

¼ cup olive oil

2 Tablespoons finely chopped garlic

¼ onion, finely chopped

4 Tablespoons finely chopped celery

4 Tablespoons finely chopped carrots

1 pound coarsely ground beef

½ pound of sweet or hot fennel sausage, casing removed

2 Tablespoons chopped fresh basil

2 Tablespoons chopped flat leaf parsely

1 bay leaf

½ teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary

½ teaspoon chopped fresh oregano

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 ½ cup dry red wine

One 26 to 28 ounce can Italian plum tomatoes, drained and coarsely crushed

2 cups chicken or beef stock

1 cup grated Romano cheese

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

 

1.    In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the garlic and stir in. Increase the heat to high, add the onions, and cook the mixture, stirring, for about 1 minute and until it is fragrant. Add the celery and cook it, stirring, for one minute. Add the carrots, and cook it, stirring, for 1 minute longer to soften the vegetables slightly.

2.    Add the beef and sausage and use a wooden spoon or long- handled fork to break up the meat so that it will cook evenly. Cook the mixture for 5 to 7 minutes or until the meat is browned. Stir it occasionally after the first 2 or 3 minutes of cooking.

3.    Add the basil, parsley, bay leaf, rosemary, oregano, 1 tablespoon of salt, and ½ teaspoon of pepper. Reduce the heat to medium and cook the mixture, stirring, for 2 to 3 minutes.

4.    Add the wine, increase the heat to high, and bring the mixture to a boil. Boil it for about 3 minutes or until the red wine is reduced to ¼ cup. Add the tomatoes and stock and return it to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer it for about 50 minutes until it is well blended. Increase the heat to high and boil it for 10 minutes or until some of the liquid evaporates and it is slightly thickened consistency.

5.    Season the sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Remove it from the heat and stir in the grated cheese and butter.  Serve the sauce immediately, ladled over  cooked pasta.

6.    To store the sauce, transfer it to a bowl, and cool it to room temperature. Transfer it to a tightly covered storage container and refrigerate it for up to 1 week or freeze it for up to 1 month

Happy Valentines Day! Snowfall White Cake

I came across this recipe right before the holidays. Another recipe I had written down on legal paper years ago. I think I saw it in a local newspaper while on vacation about 20 years ago.  I only tried it right before the holidays and have baked about ten so far. I did one for Christmas with toasted coconut that was pictured on my previous blog! This was the Valentine’s Day Snowfall cake I made this weekend for Papa Burkholder!

SNOWFALL WHITE CAKE
1 double layer CAKE

1 cup whole milk at cool room temperature
6 large egg whites at cool room temperature
1 ½ cups sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
¾ tsp. salt
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/3 cups cake flour
12 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened but still firm

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees and adjust a rack to the center position. Grease two 9-inch cake pans with softened butter or Crisco and cover the bottom of each pan with a circle of parchment paper. In a medium bowl stir together the milk, egg whites, and vanilla with a fork.

2. Sift Flour and baking soda. Place the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the butter and ¼ of the milk mixture and mix on low speed until dry ingredients are moistened, about 1 minute. Increase the speed to medium and mix until the batter comes together, about 30 seconds. Increase the speed to medium high and mix for 2 minutes stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl once or twice. Add the remaining milk/egg white mixture to the batter in three batches mixing for about 20 seconds after each addition. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat on medium high until batter is homogeneous and light, about 30 seconds longer.

3. Transfer the batter to the prepared pans and bake until the cake is lightly colored, feels set, and a cake tester comes out clean when inserted to the center, about 26 minutes, rotating the cakes 180 degrees halfway through the baking time. (Baking time will vary depending on your oven.)

4. Remove pans to cooling rack and let rest for 5 minutes. Run a thin knife around the sides of the pans and invert the cakes one at a time onto cooling rack. Reinvert cakes so the top is facing up and let cool completely. Makes 2 nine-inch cakes.

NOTE: This is a great recipe to use as the basis for a classic birthday cake. A simple chocolate frosting works well.

DON’T HAVE TIME FOR MADE FROM SCRATCH BAKING?
For you non-bakers Duncan Hines Classic White cake mix makes a very moist delicious cake! My friend dear friend Lorretta shared this secret for Duncan Hines cake mix and I absolutely loved how great it turns out! You can make any cake light and moist if you always sift the dry ingredients first.  

Grease and flour two 8-inch round cake pans or one 13x9 inch pan.  Prepare Duncan Hines Classic White cake mix as directed on the box. The secret to making this light and delicious is that you need to sift the cake mix as well.  Remove pans to cooling rack and let rest for 10 minutes.  Run a thin knife around the sides of the pans and invert the cakes one at a time onto cooling rack. Reinvert cakes so the top is facing up and let cool completely. Makes 2 8-inch cakes.


WHITE FROSTING for Double layer cake

½  cup vegetable shortening softened
1 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 boxes Confectionary Sugar SIFTED
2 ½ tablespoons milk (a little more if needed to make creamier)

Beat all of the ingredients until light and fluffy.


LARGE AMOUNT of WHITE FROSTING for two double layer cakes

1 Stick butter softened
2 Sticks butter softened1 cup vegetable shortening softened
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 boxes Confectionary Sugar SIFTED
5 tablespoons milk (a little more if needed to make creamier)

Beat all of the ingredients until light and fluffy.

Banana Nut Bread

The story behind this recipe goes back to July 4^th Brunch 1983 at the Legend Restaurant (no longer exists) at the Statler Brothers Museum in Staunton, Virginia. For a number of years, the Statler Brothers would put on a free show in their huge downtown park for their hometown every year on July 4^th. We went for several years and had a really great time. I think it was 1981 when I was 16 and the whole Burkholder family went to brunch at the Legend Restaurant for the first time. We weren’t sitting down long at our table before this adorable little chef who came out of the kitchen with these huge banana nut muffins that had just come out of the oven. He brought the whole pan out and starting giving each of us one to try. I was only about 16 at the time but I, along with everyone else at the table were blown away by how good they were! I had been collecting recipes and baking ever since I was about ten, so I asked if he would share the recipe with me. He was so sweet to share it and had his staff write down the recipe for me before we finished brunch.  I will never forget the sight of that cute little chef with the huge pan of giant muffins! Hope you enjoy the recipe!

Banana Nut Bread

Ingredients

1/3 cup shortening
½ cup sugar
2 eggs
1 ¾ cup sifted flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed ripe bananas
½ cup chopped walnuts

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Place shortening and sugar in bow; attach bowl and beater. Beat at speed six for one minute; stop and scrape bowl. Beat 1 minute more at speed six, then turn to speed four and add eggs. Beat 30 seconds, stop and scrape bowl. Turn to speed six for 1 ½ minutes, stop.

Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Turn to stir speed and add half of bananas, half of flour mixture, remaining bananas, then remaining flour mixture; mixing 30 seconds after each addition. Stop and scrape bowl. Blend in walnuts on stir speed, about 15 seconds.

Pour in greased and floured 9 ½ x 5x3 inch loaf pan or cupcake/muffin pans. Bake at 350°F for 40 to 45 minutes until toothpick inserted in middle of loaf comes out clean. Remove from pan and cool on wire rack. Makes one delicious loaf!

Make someone smile bake something delicious!

Mom’s Tricolor Pasta Salad

I hope you enjoy my mom's delicious pasta salad recipe. You can add any veggies that you prefer like broccoli, zucchini or green bell peppers and you can also toss in garbonzo beans or olives.  It seems to taste even better the second day.

I can still remember my mom making this pasta salad for me in the mornings before I went to school and later when I was in my early 20’s and still living at home. Just so I would have a fresh delicious salad for lunch instead of a boring sandwich.  I am in awe of how much she did for me and how lucky I am to have her! My mom is my biggest fan but can also be my worst critic. I never know if my recipe is quite right until she tries it and gives me her opinion.  I have to say she wins the academy award for best mother ever and you just never realize how selfless and loving they are until you have kids of your own! 


Tricolor Pasta Salad

 Ingredients

1 ½ cups tricolor corkscrew or other pasta
1 thinly sliced thin zucchini
1 cup broccoli florets
2 carrots shredded
½ cup chopped parsley
Salt and black pepper to taste
Pinch of white pepper
Pinch of fine red pepper
1 teaspoon basil and more to taste
1 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
4 tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil to start and add more to suit your taste

Directions

Bring 3 quarts water to a boil and cook pasta with a dash of salt and a drizzle of vegetable oil (so pasta does not stick together)  according to package directions.  Perfectly cooked pasta should be “al dente,” or firm to the bite, yet cooked through. Rinse the pasta under cold water to stop the cooking process, and drain well. The only time you should rinse pasta after draining is when you are going to use it in a cold dish such as this pasta salad, or when you are not going to sauce and serve it immediately. You need to add seasonings a little at a time and adjust to your own taste. Mix all ingredients together and toss with cooked pasta and enjoy.

WHAT YOU MAY NOT KNOW ABOUT PASTA

Pasta is healthy, satisfying and economical. High quality durum wheat is the main ingredient in U.S.-produced pasta. It is from durum wheat, the hardest wheat knowN to man, that pasta gets its yellow amber color, nutty flavor and the ability to retain both shape and firmness when cooked.

Popular legend has it that Marco Polo introduced pasta to Italy following his exploration of the Far East in the late 13^th century. The Chinese were making a noodle-like food as early as 3000 B.C. And Greek mythology suggests that the Greek God Vulcan invented a device that made strings of dough (the first spaghetti!).  

Make someone smile cook or bake them something delicious!

Tips for Baking Breads and Rolls

• Over-ripe bananas can be peeled and frozen in a plastic container until it’s time to bake bread or cake.

• When baking bread, a small dish of water in the oven will help keep the crust from getting too hard or brown.
• Use shortening, not margarine or oil, to grease pans, as margarine and oil obsorb more easily into the dough or batter (especially bread).
• When baking bread, you get a finer texture if you use milk. Water makes the bread coarse.
• The freshness of eggs can be tested by placing them in a large bowl of cold water, if they float, do not use them.