If this icing were on a piece of cardboard, I'd eat it.

I feel slightly dumb posting this recipe here because, well, it comes from the back of a cocoa box and I really should just put a big ole sign on here that says "Y'ALL GO BUY SOME HERSHEY'S COCOA AND MAKE THE BEST CHOCOLATE ICING EVER" and my point would be made. But, brevity is not typically my strong point, so, here we go. (Plus, it's pretty much all we ate here at the Witherow house this past weekend.)

Y'all have probably learned by now how much I like, along with the quick and the easy, desserts. If I had my choice between breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert, I would always, always, always choose dessert.

Did I mention that I like dessert?

So, on Friday, I got a craving for some chocolate, and three Little Debbie Fudge Rounds did little to satisfy said craving. (You think I'm kidding? I'm not. And no, I'm not pregnant. Just pathetic.) So, I dug through the pantry and lo and behold, found a box of chocolate cake mix. Now, after making the yummy not-from-a-box chocolate cake (recipe below) a week or so ago, I had vowed to never make a cake from a mix again, but desperate times call for desperate measures. I ripped that box open faster than you could say "Hershey's."

Now, this post is not about the cake. The cake is just an average, run-of-the-mill cake-mix cake. I don't even know what brand it is. It's the icing that is its saving grace. Oh, the icing. Two words - butter (one whole stick) and cocoa. Need I say more? Divine.

Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Frosting
Ripped right off the back of the Hershey's Cocoa box
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
2/3 cup cocoa
3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating on medium speed of an electric mixer to spreading consistency. Add more milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. Makes about 2 cups.

Seriously. You could just skip the cake and eat this icing. It's that good.

Breakfast for dinner - homemade buttermilk pancakes

Last week, I made a cake that called for buttermilk (see the oh-so-creatively named "chocolate cake" recipe, below). After using one cup, I still had quite a bit left in the carton and wanted to use it before it went bad. Patrick and I love us some pancakes, and to me, Bisquick pancakes have always been "homemade enough." Not so much anymore. I don't know that I'll ever be able to look another Bisquick pancake in the eye again. Last night, I used the rest of the buttermilk on some as-close-as-they-come-to-Cracker-Barrel pancakes and don't know if I'll ever be able to go back to Bisquick. These are melt-in-your-mouth good.

This recipe uses butter (yes, in addition to buttermilk - this is not a healthy pancake), and I think the butter gives it that nice golden, crunchy crust. So tasty.

Buttermilk pancakes
From America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 cups buttermilk*

Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, melted butter, and then the buttermilk. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, pour the buttermilk mixture into the well, and whisk very gently until the buttermilk mixture is just incorporated (a few lumps should remain). Be careful not to overmix the batter.

Heat a 12-inch nonstick skillet (I use an electric griddle instead) over medium heat for 3-5 minutes. Brush the pan bottom with 1 teaspoon oil. Using 1/4 cup of batter per pancake, add the batter to the skillet and cook until large bubbles begin to appear, about 2 minutes. Flip the pancakes, and cook until golden brown on the second side, about 1 1/2 minutes longer.

If you're not eating these immediately as they come off the skillet of griddle, you can keep them warm by putting them on a wire rack (on top of a baking sheet) in a 200 degree oven.

One note: I would recommend letting the buttermilk come to room temperature before adding to the egg/butter mixture. I didn't, and the buttermilk was straight-from-the-fridge cold and made the melted butter get lumpy. Not good. I think room temperature buttermilk would combat that issue. Also, to keep the pancakes as light and fluffy as possible, the key is to mix the batter minimally. Stop stirring the batter when there are still streaks of flour visible. Overmixing the batter develops the gluten, which turns pancakes tough.

*If you don't have buttermilk, you can whisk 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice with two cups of milk in a medium bowl and set aside for a few minutes to thicken.

I scream, you scream, we all scream for PEACH ice cream!

Nothing says "summer" to me quite like a big bowl of my grandma Helen's peach ice cream. She would make this frozen deliciousness from sweet, ripe, Southern Illinois peaches, and the whole family would wait, rather impatiently, for it to freeze so we could devour it. More often than not, we wouldn't let it freeze all the way and would just dive right on in. It was so, so good. It was one of the highlights of our summer. All of us loved it, and we waited all year to taste it. And, although I know that I will never quite get it to taste exactly the way Grandma Helen did, I am going to try (especially now that I live in the Peach State)!

I made this yesterday morning and we ate it for dessert last night - it was sweet and delicious!


As one of our wedding gifts, Patrick and I received a Cuisinart 1.5 quart electric ice cream maker. I chose it for one purpose and one purpose only - to make Grandma's peach ice cream. I think Patrick just wanted ice cream, period. Any flavor, any time. Point being, if I had one of those old-school ice-cream makers that requires salt and ice and all that jazz (like my Grandma Helen used), there would be no peach ice cream being made in the Witherow house. Y'all have learned by now my love for the quick and the easy. This, my friends, still fits the bill (that is, if you have a handy-dandy Cuisinart ice-cream maker. If you don't, give me a call and 30 minutes notice, and I'll prepare you your very own bowl of goodness).

Grandma Helen's peach ice cream
Modified to fit a 1.5 quart ice-cream machine
5 ripe peaches, peeled and mashed
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Pinch of salt (less than 1/8 teaspoon)
Between 1/4 & 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
2 cups half and half

Mix together the peaches, sugar and lemon juice and let stand for a while. Add the salt, vanilla, almond and half and half to the peach mixture and mix together. Add to your ice-cream maker freezer and follow its instructions.

I used these exact measurements and since the ice cream does expand during the freezing process, it did get really full in the ice cream freezer. Next time I might use only 4 peaches and a little less cream, but I really liked the taste of this combination and I didn't make a mess, so maybe I won't. Tweak as needed for your machine.

Leave a comment if you want the one-gallon recipe; I'll email it to anyone who wants it.

Sweet summertime!

PS - thanks to my mom for the conversions; I did not inherit her talents in math, so I had to turn to her for help!

We ate this so fast there was no time to take a picture - Tuscan Ravioli

That's how stinkin' yummy this dinner is, y'all. It's so good. Hear me on this. Do not let the lack of photo deter you from trying this recipe. I implore you. For the love of all that is good and right, try this recipe. If you need backup, just head on over to Suzanne's blog and ask her what she thinks of it. She'll give you the scoop. Her family digs this dinner, too.

So that's my pitch.

As I think I mentioned last week, Patrick and I have a standing dinner date with the Akins family every Thursday evening. It's a ton o' fun. They're a family with four kids four-years-old and under - what's not to love about that?? We get loads of kid and baby time (and good adult hang time, too), and also get to have great meals each week with six of our favorite people. A while back, I introduced them to this ravioli dish, and it was an instant hit. Everyone loved it, and it's one of Patrick's favorite meals. It's become a staple on the Witherow and Akins menu rotations ever since. Once you try it, you'll understand why.

Oh, and one more thing. It's super fast and super easy. Again, I love this recipe.

Tuscan Ravioli
Adapted from a Southern Living recipe
1 package frozen cheese ravioli
1 jar sun-dried tomato Alfredo sauce*
2 tablespoons white wine**
1 can petite diced tomatoes***
1/2 cup chopped basil
Parmesan cheese

Prepare pasta according to package directions; drain. Meanwhile, pour Alfredo sauce into a large saucepan. Pour wine into sauce jar, cover tightly, and shake well. Stir wine mixture into saucepan. Stir in tomatoes and chopped basil; cook over medium-low heat 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Toss with pasta; top with Parmesan cheese. Makes 4-6 servings.

If you're planning on having bread with this dinner (bring on the carbs!), put it in the oven before you start making the ravioli. Cause I'm telling ya, this dinner takes no time to make. The ravioli take about 5 minutes to cook, and the sauce takes 5. SO FAST!!

*I use Classico Sun-dried Tomato Alfredo Pasta Sauce. Sometimes Publix has it buy-one-get-one-free and then I stock up!
**I don't know anything about wine and use Fairbanks Sherry instead. I use it for anything cooking-related that calls for white wine.
***I use Hunt's petite diced tomatoes, and it seems to have less liquid than some of the other brands. If you use something else, I would recommend draining the liquid first. You'll have less sauce, but that's okay. (Draining the liquid is actually what the "real" recipe recommends, anyway, but we like the sauce and want lots of it.) You could also be all fresh about it and chop two medium-size fresh tomatoes, but I take the easy way out of things. Hello - quick, easy.

Aloha!

It seems like all of my recent recipes have been of the "fast and easy" variety. Well ... I guess when you're a working woman, that's what you like to cook after a day of working - something fast and easy - but still delicious!

These little sandwiches certainly fit the bill. They take all of 10 minutes to assemble (if that), and 20 minutes to bake. Who doesn't love having dinner on the table in 30 minutes or less? These could also double as lunch, or as appetizers/snack food if you're throwing a party. They're quite the versatile little sandwich.

I got this recipe years ago, from one of my closest friends, Whitney. She claims that she can't boil water, but she can make a mean Hawaiian sandwich! And her mom, Rose, introduced me to butterbeans when Whitney and I were roommates at Ole Miss. Oh my word. I didn't know what I was missing until I had one of Mrs. Canterbury's butterbeans. Pure delight. Whitney - please get your mama to send me some of her recipes so I can try to make them! The Canterburys sure know how to put out a game-day spread in the Grove, too. Grovin' was always more fun when they were in town!


Hawaiian Sandwiches
Recipe courtesy of Whitney Puckett
1 package of King's Hawaiian sweet rolls (the original kind)
Lunch meat and cheese of your choice (I use turkey and ham, and colby/jack or cheddar)

Topping:
5 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

Combine melted butter, mustard and Worcestershire sauce in a small bowl and mix well.

Spray pan or cookie sheet with cooking spray.
Slice rolls; fill with meat and cheese and top with bread. Poke holes in top of rolls and drizzle topping over the top of all. (It's best to use a pan with sides so that the topping can pool in the bottom.) Cook for 20 minutes at 350 degrees. Keep covered with aluminum foil until the last 2-3 minutes of cooking.

Mama Mia!

I love pizza. I could eat it daily. I also really like Caprese salad. Fresh mozzarella, basil, and tomatoes ... mmm ... so good.

Put them together and what do you get? Pure deliciousness, that's what!


This Caprese Pizza is a quick, easy recipe (my favorite kind!), perfect for an after-work, weeknight meal. It's also a meatless dish, so it's great for any vegetarians out there. It's light and summery, too - just right for the hot, hazy days of August!

Caprese Pizza
Bake at 425 degrees
Toppings:
3 medium vine-ripened tomatoes
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 oz. fresh mozzarella
Coarsely ground black pepper

Crusts:
1 teaspoon + 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
1 package refrigerated pizza crust
1 clove garlic
1 oz. (2 tablespoons) grated Parmesan cheese

1. Slice tomatoes into 1/4" slices. Place onto a paper towel-lined cutting board. Sprinkle both sides evenly with salt; let stand 15 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, for crusts, lightly brush pan with 1 tsp. of oil. Unroll dough onto pan. Press garlic into prep bowl and combine with 1 Tbsp. oil; brush over dough. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over dough.

3. Cut dough lengthwise into thirds. Carefully move dough slightly apart to separate. Bake 11-12 minutes or until bottoms of crusts are light golden brown.

4. While crusts bake, finish toppings. Chop basil; combine with oil and set aside.

5. Blot tops of tomato slices with paper towels. Slice mozzarella cheese into 1/4" slices. Arrange tomato and cheese slices in overlapping rows on baked crusts. Brush basil oil over pizzas and sprinkle with black pepper. Return to oven and bake and additional 4-5 minutes or just until cheese melts.

Ciao; Enjoy!

The "key" to dessert success

So, as you know, Patrick and I visited my parents this weekend, which meant I got a few days reprieve from cooking. My mom is a great cook, so we got to indulge in a night of her cooking. We went out and got some great fresh seafood in downtown Savannah on Saturday night. One thing we were able to enjoy all weekend was a homemade Key Lime Pie. It's one of Patrick's favorite's, so Mom had made one and it was waiting on us when we arrived Friday evening. There was even enough for us to each bring a slice home to eat tonight. It's tart and slightly sweet - the perfect key lime pie.


My mom and I use the same recipe - the one that is on the bottle of Nellie & Joe's Key West Lime Juice, but we double the recipe so that the pie is thicker. We don't want a skinny, wimpy pie! Here's our modified recipe:

Kara's Key Lime Pie
adapted from the Nellie & Joe's Key Lime Pie recipe
9" graham cracker pie crust
2 - 14 oz. cans of sweetened condensed milk
6 egg yolks (whites not used)
1 cup Nellie & Joe's Key West Lime Juice

Combine milk, egg yolks and lime juice. Blend until smooth. Pour filling into pie crust and bake at 350º for 30 minutes. Allow to stand 10 minutes before refrigerating.