Hot Diggidy Dog.... I won a contest

"The Ungourmet" was having a crazy cupcake contest and I won with my Pomegranate Jam Filled Cupcakes With Pomegrante Chantilly.

Thanks to "The Ungourmet". Take the time to go check out her blog theungourmet.com

Some Gossip and a Chocolate Layer Cake with Whipped Chocolate Ganache Frosting

I got a present for you..... some gossip. Did I hear your ears perk up? Are you salivating waiting for the news that I'm going to tell you? This trashy information is why I made the chocolate cake, gossip goes so well with a big slice of ooey gooey chocolate. So gather round the kitchen table ladies and listen up because I'm only going to repeat it once or twice.

The other day while at a community function, two ladies were sitting behind me were chatting away. I normally don't ease drop on conversations (well maybe sometimes.... okay you got me, I do it every chance I get).

The first woman was talking very excitedly, "Yeah, she lives right across the street from our community."

The other woman spoke in awe, "You're kidding me."

"I kid you not. It's the huge house with the gated driveway," the first woman responded.

Now a third woman chimes in, "Who are you talking about?"

Right about now I had to turn my head at a weird angle so I could hear out of my good ear. And I waited for her answer.

The first woman lowered her voice, "One of the Real Atlanta Housewives lives across the street."

"You're shitting me," I said as I spun around in my seat.
.....................................................................................

Okay, that's the end of my story. I don't know if this information is true but it makes for great conversation while eating chocolate cake.

I personally feel that a boxed cake mix is good enough. Especially when you're going to make a fabulous frosting. And this frosting is worth putting in the limelight. Even though it is whipped, it still has a deep rich chocolate flavor. Perfection for a chocoholic.

Ingredients for Frosting:
2-1/2 cups heavy cream
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup Lyle's Golden Syrup
1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:
In a 4-quart saucepan over low heat, combine the cream, and butter. Stir until the butter is melted. Remove from heat and whisk in the chopped chocolate until melted. Whisk in the sugar, cocoa powder, syrup, and salt until smooth. Be sure the cocoa powder dissolves completely. Pour into a 9x13-inch pan and freeze until firm, about 2 hours.

Remove the frosting from the freezer . Transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on medium speed for 12 minutes to soften. Change to a whisk attachment and beat at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

A special thanks to "Fine Cooking" Magazine for this recipe. I just recently discovered "Fine Cooking" Magazine and I am in love with the publication. This week I sent in my subscription card for a year of awesome recipes. And I'm even thinking of buying their DVD with the complete collection of recipes.

Follow-Up on Smoking a Turkey

Turkey 3/4 through the smoking process. Doesn't it look moist and succulent?

The weather was perfect for being outside so much today. It was near 70 degrees with a cloudless blue sky. With weather like this, who would think that next week is Thanksgiving. Even my flowers have been enjoying the mild autumn.

Pansies grow all winter long in the south. How wonderful it is to have vibrant color during the dreary winter months.

My Encore Azaleas are still in bloom. What a great plant!

Ingredients for Injection Liquid
1/4 cup garlic-flavored oil
4 ounces beer
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
10-pound to 11-pound turkey

Ingredients for Turkey Paste:
4 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon coarse-ground black pepper
1 tablespoon kosher salt
Pinch of cayenne
1 tablespoon garlic-flavored oil

Ingredients for Turkey Mop:
2 cups turkey or chicken stock
1 cup water
8 ounces beer
1/4 cup oil, preferably canola or corn.

The night before you plan to barbecue, combine the injection liquid ingredients in a small bowl. With a kitchen syringe, inject the mixture deep into the turkey in a half-dozen places, moving the needle around in each spot to shoot the liquid in several directions. Inject the greatest amount into the breast.

With a mortar and pestle or in a mini-food processor, combine the paste ingredients, mashing the garlic with the pepper, salt, and cayenne. Add the oil for form a thick paste. Massage the turkey with the paste inside and out, working it a s far as possible under the skin without tearing the skin. Place the turkey in a plastic bag and refrigerate it overnight.

Before you begin to barbecue, remove the turkey from the refrigerator and let it sit at room temperature for 45 minutes.

Prepare the smoker for barbecuing, bringing the temperature to 200 to 220 degrees.

Cut a 4-foot to 5-foot length of cheesecloth and dampen it thoroughly with water. Wrap the bird in the cheesecloth and tie the ends.

Transfer the turkey to the smoker, breast side down and cook for 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 hours per pound, until the internal temperature reaches 180 degrees. Wet the cheesecloth down with more water at 30-minute intervals in a wood-burning pit, or as appropriate for your style of smoker.

After about 6 hours, remove the cheesecloth, snipping it with scissor if necessary, and discard it. When the cheesecloth is removed, baste the turkey for the remainder of its cooking time. If you plan to baste, combine the mop ingredients in a saucepan and warm the mixture over low heat. Mop every 30 minutes.

When the turkey is done, remove it from the smoker and allow it to sit for 15 minutes before carving.

Chocolate Bread Pudding with Mexican Chocolate Sorbet and Kahlua Sauce

November sunshine had warmed my kitchen a tad to much for my posting picture. As you can see the sorbet was melting faster than I could snap the picture. But that's okay, it still tasted delicious. And don't you think my Kahlua Sauce looks like mustard? Trust me it's not. The Kahlua and cinnamon flavors complimented the rest of the dessert nicely.

Ingredients for sorbet:
1 cup granulated sugar
2-1/2 cups water
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Ingredients for bread pudding:
4 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/3 cup granulated sugar, divided
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 large eggs, separated
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
5 slices fresh firm-textured white bread, cut into 1/2-inch cubes, to yield approximately 3-1/2 cups

Ingredients for Kahlua sauce:
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon Kahlua
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
3 large egg yolks
3 tablespoons granulated sugar

Directions for sorbet:
1. In a medium heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat, bring the sugar, water and corn syrup to a simmer, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat.

2. Pour about one-quarter of the sugar mixture into a small bowl. Whisk in the cocoa until well incorporated. Return the cocoa mixture to the sugar mixture. Add the cinnamon, salt and vanilla, whisking to combine.

3. Pour the mixture into a bowl and cover the surface with plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until well chilled, 2 to 3 hours.

4. Strain the sorbet mixture and freeze in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's instructions. Pack the sorbet into a 1 quart container and freeze until firm, 2 to 3 hours.

Directions for bread pudding:
1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Lightly butter the bottoms and sides of six 8-ounce ceramic ramekins, custard cups or souffle molds. Coat evenly with a thin layer of granulated sugar.

2. In a small heavy-bottomed saucepan over low heat, combine the chocolate, half the sugar, heavy cream, and butter. Stir until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. Transfer to a large bowl and let cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally to prevent a skin from forming on its surface. Whisk in the egg yolks and vanilla.

3. In a medium bowl with a handheld mixer, beat the egg whites at medium speed until soft peaks form. Slowly add the remaining sugar while increasing the speed to high. Beat until stiff peaks form. With a large rubber spatula, fold the beaten egg whites into the chocolate mixture. Gently fold in the bread cubes.

4. Divide the mixture evenly among the prepared ramekins or custard cups. Bake the puddings in a water bath 45 to 50 minutes, until they are set and a knife inserted into the middle of each pudding comes out clean. Transfer the ramekins or custard cups to a wire rack to cool slightly. Unmold onto dessert plates while still warm.

Directions to make Kahlua Sauce:
1. In a small heavy-bottomed saucepan over low heat, bring the heavy cream to a bare simmer. Whisk in the Kahlua and cinnamon. Let cool slightly.

2. In a small bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar. Slowly whisk in the a warm cream mixture. Return the mixture to the saucepan and place on over low heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until the sauce thickens to coat the back of a spoon about 3 to 4 minutes. Strain the mixture into another container and cover the surface with a sheet of plastic wrap to prevent a skin from forming. Let cool to room temperature, then refrigerate.

Arrange a chocolate bread pudding on a dessert plate and place a scoop of chocolate sorbet alongside it. Surround the bread pudding with a few tablespoon of chilled Kahlua sauce. Repeat with the remaining desserts.

Recipe adapted from Chocolatier Magazine.

Smoking a Turkey

After waiting 4 days for my turkey to thaw in the refrigerator. I then waited another day for my cooking oil to become infused with the garlic. The remaining ingredients were added and I was ready for the injection. I pumped the bird up with the garlicky concoction until it looked like a balloon on the verge of bursting.

Next came the rub. Massage the rub inside, outside, and under the skin. Tomorrow I will do the smoking. I'm expecting it to take between 8 and 10 hours for this 10-pound turkey.

Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry

I love the perks of being a Foodbuzz Tastemaker. We get free stuff! Yeah I know, how lucky am I? Right this minute, I'm doing my little free stuff dance in front of the computer. If only you could see. You would be in awe of the great moves this granny can do.

Okay back to the free Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry. First I want to say a big thank you to Foodbuzz. Second, now I've got to think of a recipe to enter in Pepperidge Farm's 123 puff pastry contest.

Honey-Preserved Clementines

The first time I ate a clementine was 15 years ago. Pap was sent on a business trip to France. And lucky me, I got to go along for the ride. What a wonderful time we had: the historic sites, the sinful desserts, the pornography on the television, and especially my first taste of a clementine. It was love at first bite.

Over the years, clementines have made their way to the USA. In fact the ones I bought for this recipe were grown in California. Evidently, lots of other people love clementines. So hurry out to your favorite grocery store, purchase a little wooden crate filled with sweet, juicy clementines before the season is over and they are but a mere memory.

I'm preserving these clementines in a syrup made from honey, sugar, and spices. The process cures them by drawing water out of them and preventing the growth of harmful bacteria. It also makes their rinds ultra-tender and their flesh silky soft.

Ingredients:
1 cup honey
1 cup granulated sugar
5 whole cloves
2 green cardamom pods
1 4-inch cinnamon stick
1-1/2 pounds firm, clementines (5 to 7), cut horizontally into 3/8-inch-thick slices

Directions:
1. In a 4-quart saucepan, bring 1 cup water and the honey, sugar, cloves, cardamom, and cinnamon stick to a boil over high heat.

2. Gently slip the clementines into the liquid with stirring. If any slices are mostly rind, place them rind down. Return to a full boil and then reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, cover, and set aside over night; at least 8 and up to 12 hours.

3. Spoon and gently pack the slices into a 1-quart canning jar. Bring the syrup in the saucepan back to a boil over medium-high heat; boil 3 minutes to concentrate the flavors.

4. Pour the syrup over the slices to cover; discard any excess syrup. Cool to room temperature. Seal and refrigerate for at least 1 week before using. The clementines will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 months.

Thank you "Fine Cooking" for such a great recipe.