Free Taste of Home cookbook downloads

OK so recently I had somewhat of a catastrophe – my recipe software decided to reinstall itself, essentially deleting ALL my stored cookbooks and digital recipes. No, I’m not able to recover them, no I don’t have them anywhere with the exception of the ones I’ve shared on my blog (thank you Terry for reminding me of this).

At any rate, in my search for a new program (because there’s no way I’m going to use that one anymore) I came across something pretty awesome. If any of you are fans of the Taste of Home magazines, they have 27 digital cookbooks available for a free download! Simply click the link below and you’ll see them, all available in PDF format for download.

• Link: Taste of Home Digital Cookbooks

So… can anyone recommend a reliable recipe organizer software for Vista?

Recipe: Chocolatetown Special Cake

Nothing brings happiness like chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. And sprinkles.

In our family, on your birthday you get to request your favorite cake and the family baker (aka, yours truly) makes it magically appear. This year, Justin asked for his favorite – chocolate cake with chocolate frosting.

Now if you’ve never made a cake from scratch before, I recommend you try. It’s really very easy and the results are so much better than what you get when you buy a mix. Plus, there are no wierd additives like hydrogenated soybean oil - just honest, old-fashioned, sugary, moist deliciousness.

One of the best chocolate cakes I’ve made is the Hershey’s Original, however I was looking to try something a little different and ended up with this gem. It’s got buttermilk, which immediately validated it in my mind. The result was a cake even richer and chocolateir (?) than the original famous Hershey recipe. For the frosting, I substituted buttermilk for the milk and the result was a creamy, very spreadable icing that tasted wonderful. Due to the 110+ degree Arizona heat I kept it in the fridge til candle time, but it held up very well on our kitchen counter thereafter.

CHOCOLATOWN SPECIAL CAKE

1/2 cup Hershey’s cocoa
1/2 cup boiling water
2/3 cup shortening
1-3/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2  eggs
2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/3 cups buttermilk or sour milk*
  one-bowl buttercream frosting (recipe follows)

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.

2. Stir together cocoa and water in small bowl until smooth. Beat
shortening, sugar and vanilla in large bowl until fluffy. Add eggs; beat
well. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; add to shortening mixture
alternately with buttermilk, beating until well blended. Add cocoa mixture;
beat well. Pour batter into prepared pans.

3. Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out
clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.
Frost with ONE-BOWL BUTTERCREAM FROSTING. 8 to 10 servings.

* To Sour Milk: Use 4 teaspoons white vinegar plus milk to equal 1-1/3
cups.

ONE-BOWL CHOCOLATE BUTTERCREAM FROSTING

6 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
2-2/3 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup HERSHEY’S Cocoa or HERSHEY’S Dutch Processed Cocoa
1/3 cup milk (NOTE: I substituted buttermilk since I had it on hand)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Beat butter in small bowl. Add powdered sugar and cocoa alternately with
milk; beat to spreading consistency (additional milk may be needed). Stir
in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.

Interview with a budding chef

We sat down recently with up and coming chef Justin, and asked him a few questions. Here, he provides insight into one of his favorite pastimes.

Desert-Drivel: Justin, how long have you been cooking? Who taught you how to cook?
Justin: I’ve been cooking for about a year. My Mom and Dad taught me what I know about it.

DD: Have you ever considered taking a cooking class?
J: Maybe someday.

DD: What is your favorite dish to cook?
J: I really love to make scrambled eggs. They taste great. I also love grilled cheese. My Dad taught me how to make it one time before a football game and man, it was the best grilled cheese I’ve ever had.

DD: What is the most difficult thing you’ve ever made?
J: Lasagne. I cooked it with my Mom about a week ago. It was fun and delicious, but it was also a lot of hard work.

DD: What is something you’d like to learn to cook in the future?
J: Family meals. I think it would be nice to learn how to put everything on the table for dinner. I really like spending time in the kitchen cooking a meal, then enjoying it once it’s done.

DD: Have you ever had an accident in the kitchen?
J: Once, when I was about five, I burned my hand on the stovetop. I didn’t know much about cooking at that time, but since then I’ve learned a lot more about safety in the kitchen.

DD: Have you ever considered making a career out of cooking?
J: Not really. I’d like to just keep it as a hobby.