Beet greens pesto

I'm excited to post this because i hope that it will make me post more in the coming weeks.  I just started getting a CSA and I'm excited to have the challenge of cooking all sorts of great things this summer.
When i picked up my first CSA and it had beets in it- i decided to zip something up quick with the really beautiful looking greens they came with.

Pesto is one of those no recipe, recipes. No one makes it the same, and it can be anything you want it to be, from an easy pasta sauce, to a marinade or even just garnish. Trade out the beet greens for arugula, mint or spinach, or just use all basil. Switch out the type of nut you use, the type of hard cheese or even add some crushed red pepper or curry powder for some spice. These were my measurements, but you don't really need a recipe- just make it taste good to you. The more you make it- the more things you'll think of to put it on! (eggs, pizza and grilled cheese being favorites of mine)

Freeze leftover pesto, or it will keep in the fridge for about 5 days. If you keep your pesto in the fridge, make sure the surface of the pesto is covered well with oil, and replace the oil as needed. Hopefully your pesto will be so delicious- it will be gone before you can start the sniff testing. 

Beet greens pesto. 
the tops from 3 large beets- or approximately 2 cups
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup basil
1/4 cup walnuts- toasted
the juice and the zest of one large lemon
2 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed.
3/4 cup grated asiago cheese
1/2-3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil- good quality
salt and pepper

Wash and drain the beet greens. remove any large veins/stems and set aside.
In a large pot, boil water and salt it liberally. add the white vinegar and boil the beet green tops for 3-4 minutes. Shock the beet greens in an ice water bath, and transfer the greens to a salad spinner/dry cloth. Dry the greens well, and chop them into 2 inch pieces.

While the water is boiling, toast your walnuts in a dry skillet over medium heat (or in a toaster oven set to "light brown" for approx 2-4 minutes). This may seem like a step you'll want to skip, but I've found that toasting the nuts is essential. The oils come out and the flavors develop much deeper with a light toasting.

In a large blender or food processor, add all ingredients except for, salt, pepper and oil. pulse multiple times and once the mixture is the texture of salsa, start drizzling in the oil slowly so it emulsifies. when the mixture is smooth and glossy, test for salt and pepper, add if needed.

enjoy with a friend, because your garlic dragon breath won't matter that much if you both reek.

Easy Easter

For Easter, we decided to do something simle and delicious. My older sister was in town for a short visit with her friends, so I didn't want to suck up too much time by doing something complicated. We decided on Potato Leek soup, a salad made with greens from our garden, biscuits and lemon meringue pie.

For the soup I pumped up the flavor by adding caramelized onions as a garnish, and the time spent on them was worth every golden brown bite. Intense, sweet and savory, caramelized onions are one of those things that it pays to do slowly, correctly and patiently.

For the pie I used 2 types of lemon and lots of zest to pump up the pucker factor. I love the pairing of the fluffy sweet egg white meringue with the punch of the lemon filling on a crispy crust.

I feel like I have been making these 2 recipes my whole life, and the more I make them the more I love them. My Grandmother was famous for her lemon meringue pie, and I’m fortunate to still have her recipe, in her dainty cursive on a yellowed and faded index card from 1989. I love the crinkly, foamy and sea like sound it makes when you cut into it and nothing beats this homemade pie filling.

Caramelized Onions (takes about 45 minutes to do it right)

2 large Vidalia/sweet onions

2 tbl vegetable oil

Tap water

This recipe makes about a cup of caramelized onions. you can start with one onion, but these are so good, i always make extra for use later on.

Cut the onions in half lengthwise, and discard the tops and bottoms, and the paper outer covering. Slice the onions thinly (half moon shapes)

While you're slicing, heat a stainless steel pan over medium heat with 2 tbl vegetable oil. (Do not use a non-stick!)

Add all the sliced onions to the pan once the pan is hot and stir. Don’t worry about overcrowding the pan- the amount of onions will reduce by 4, and you'll end up with less than you think. Stir occasionally until the onions start to stick. if you notice that there is starting to be a brown layer on the pan (called "Fond") add about 3 tablespoons water to the pan and scrape the bits off the bottom with a wooden spoon.

Keep doing this stir/water treatment until the onions turn dark brown all over and are sweet and sticky with caramelization. The water is to prevent sticking/burning. Do not turn up the heat the pan to speed up the process- it won't work. You want these onions to cook low and slow, but don't worry- it they will be worth the wait. Great for pizza toppings, as an addition to pasta, on a crustini for an appetizer, or on almost anything savory you want to eat. These are addictive.

Leek and Potato Soup

3 tablespoons olive oil

(special equipment- immersion blender, or a blender with a large cup)
1 yellow onion, julienned
2-3 large leeks, green parts discarded, white/light green parts chopped into half moons and soaked in cold water to remove any grit/sand.
3 whole, peeled garlic cloves
2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced
32 ounces vegetable stock (low sodium)
10 ounces heavy cream (omit if you want this recipe to be vegan. it will be almost as good)
salt and white pepper

In a large soup/stock pot, heat oil on medium heat. Drain the leeks- being careful not to pour the sandy water back on them. Add the leeks to your pot and stir. Slice your onion finely, and add to the cooking leeks. Add the whole peeled garlic, and stir. Cook until the onions are translucent, but not brown. If your onions/leeks start to brown- turn down the heat. Once the onions are translucent, add diced potatoes and vegetable stock. The vegetable stock should cover the vegetables and potatoes. If it isn't enough- add water until the potatoes are just covered. Bring the soup to a boil, and reduce to medium low/low and simmer until the potatoes are fork tender.

Using an immersion blender (or transferring soup in batches to a blender) blend the soup until smooth. Taste for salt and pepper, and add if needed. If you are serving immediately add the cream, and blend together until rich and smooth. Test again for salt and pepper, and add if needed. This soup is also excellent cold.

Garnish with caramelized onions.

Lemon Meringue Pie

Prepared pie dough (you can make your own, but i bought a pre made dough from the grocery store. it isn't cheating as long as the filling is awesome) and 1 pound of pie weights, dried beans or rice

Filling
5 egg yolks
1 cup sugar
6 tablespoons corn starch
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup water
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup lemon juice and the zest of the 2 lemons
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract

Meringue. (we like it piled high!)

6-7 large egg whites- room temperature

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

separating eggs

Preheat the oven to 400

Roll out the prepared dough in a 9 inch pie plate. Using your fingers, make a decorative edge. Using a fork, prick the dough all over so the crust doesn't bubble. Place a sheet of parchment or wax paper on the dough and put the pie weights or beans/rice on top to weigh the dough down. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until the crust is golden brown. if your crust is not getting brown in the middle- remove the pie weights and bake for an additional 4-6 minutes until the crust is just golden. let cool and prepare the filling.

Lower the oven temp to 350

In a medium sized sauce pan on medium heat, combine sugar, corn starch, salt, water and milk. Stir until corn starch lumps are dissolved, and bring to a low boil until the mixture has thickened greatly. (Should look like pudding) Temper in the eggs slowly, and stir until completely incorporated. Cook for an additional 3-4 minutes on medium low. Remove from heat and add lemon juice, lemon zest, vanilla extract and lemon extract. Stir well. Pour filling through a sieve to remove any possible lumps, cover filling (pressing wrap to the filling to prevent the formation of a skin) and set aside.

In a clean, dry mixing bowl. Add egg whites and cream of tartar to a mixer fitted with a whisk attachment.

Whip the mixture on high until foam is created. SLOWLY add granulated sugar, and continue to whip on high until stiff peaks are formed, and egg whites are glossy and firm but not too dry!

Add the filling to the shell and smooth.

Add the egg whites to the top of the pie making sure to smooth the egg whites out so that the crust is completely sealed (or whites will shrink!). Using the back of a spoon or spatula, make peaks and dips in the egg whites for decoration. Bake for 7-10 minutes, or until the egg whites are golden brown.

Let cool completely, and then refrigerate if you can wait to eat it.

Salted Caramel Corn

For a long time, my sister and i have had a love affair with popcorn.


We grew up in a poor single parent family with 4 kids in a struggling neighborhood in South Richmond. Latch key kids with TV as the babysitter. As an adult i credit my cooking skills to Martin Yan and Julia Child. They were my every day after school babysitter, and while i was too young to appreciate their skill, their knowledge doled out in 30 minute segments seeped into my young and malleable brain, creating the perfect foundation for a budding foodie.


Not a day went by when we were kids that we didn't make a big bowl of popcorn for our after school snack when we were old enough to be trusted in the kitchen alone. I remember dutifully cutting cold butter into small bits to stick in the amber butter melting cup that went on top of the white and black whirling, hot air spewing popper that always sat on the counter. My sister and i would take turns flavoring, and measurements were never taken into consideration. We had a "feel" for popcorn flavoring. My brother, sister and myself would then go and munch on an embarrassment of riches (of popcorn) to our hearts content while watching the tube until mom got home. Cheap and tasty, it is still my favorite snack. While i doubt 10 year old versions of ourselves would have ever created anything this intense- i can guarantee we would have eaten it.

Salted Caramel Popcorn with Peanuts and Dried Cranberries.
Dark, chewy, crunchy, salty and sweet. If you have an air popper- pop the kernels in there and omit the oil.
1/3 rounded cup white popcorn kernels
2 tbs vegetable oil (do not use butter. it will burn)
1 stick unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 teaspoon kosher (or better) salt, plus more for sprinkling
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup peanuts (preferably lightly salted or unsalted)
1/2 cup dried cranberries


In your largest stock pot (like a pasta cooking pot or soup pot) heat the vegetable oil on medium heat. once the oil starts to shimmer/smoke a little, pour in the popcorn and put a lid on the pot. shake the pot vigerously until all the kernels are popped. (hint- if more than 3 seconds goes by between pops, its done. don't burn the corn!) set the popcorn aside uncovered.


Line the bottom of a large cookie sheet (with a rim) with foil and spray liberally with vegetable oil. set aside.


Using the same pot, melt the butter on medium. once the butter has melted add the brown sugar and corn syrup mixing together with a long handled wooden spoon. Boil the butter and sugar mixture on medium until a thermomiter reaches exactly 300 degrees. Do not stir the mixture. test the temperature frequently( You will need a good quality candy thermomiter- the unbreakable kind, or a digital probe thermomiter for this)

Once the temperature reaches exactly 300 degrees, REMOVE FROM HEAT and add the salt and baking soda and stir well with a wooden spoon. NOTE-- It will look like you messed up here because everything will look bubbly and brown and gross and chunky. hang tight, its about to get awesome, I promise. QUICKLY after adding the baking soda and salt, add the peanuts/cranberries and then the popcorn and stir quickly and thoroughly to mix well.


Pour the molten popcorn mixture onto your prepared cookie sheet, and spread out quickly. while the mixture is still hot and sticky, sprinkle with a little extra salt. let set for 30 minutes to an hour uncovered until it is cool. Break the popcorn apart and store in an air tight container. Doubling this recipe is not reccomended unless you have a ridiculously large pot.


Enjoy.

snow day lunch

It is snowing cats and dogs here in Richmond VA. I had one of those moments where i realized i hadn't been to the grocery store in... some time. I needed to come up with something with just the stuff in my kitchen.... which was looking like a daunting process. I haven't been cooking much- because of being busy and then consequently being lazy when I'm not busy. I've been living off of the same go to sandwich for a while now- grainy bread- toasted, shaved cucumber and carrot on top of a grilled chicken thigh with garam masalla spice and asiago cheese. totally delicious.

But i wanted something substantial and hot, and something i could eat straight up if if we lost power. So i thought pasta. I knew i had some shrimp and some bay scallops in the freezer, and i was really having a hankering for a vodka style sauce- so i started searching for something creamy and something tomato. After rummaging in the freezer for the seafood, i spyed the goat cheese i snagged for way under normal prices, and took some asiago cheese from the spacious looking cheese drawer. i grabbed a jar of roasted peppers and got to work. Give this easy pantry dish a fancy name, and you just might fool a foodie.

Spanish Seafood Pasta with 3 cheese red pepper sauce

feeds five.

1 pound good quality fettuccine

1/2 pound tiny bay scallops, washed and patted dry with paper towels

1/2 pound Texas brown shrimp, washed, dried, de shelled, devained, and de tailed (yeah- i know the restaurants keep them on- but it annoys me)
1 13-15 ounce jar of roasted red peppers, drained
1 yellow onion
2 ounces vodka
1 small raw garlic clove (if you're not a fan of big garlic flavor- you can cook the whole clove with your onions in the beginning)
1 4 oz log of goat cheese
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup shredded asiago cheese
2 tsp good balsamic vinegar (at least 3 years old)
1 tablespoon Spanish smoked dulce paprika (that's sweet paprika ya'll! picture inset. i got mine at a Mexican grocery store)

1 teaspoon mustard powder (colman's of course)
salt, pepper and extra virgin Olive oil

In a large skillet, heat up enough olive oil to coat the bottom of a stainless steel pan. cut your onion in half, discard the papery skin and slice thinly into 1/2 moons. saute the onion in the olive oil and deglaze the pan with a little liquor- but you can use water if you don't have any. i used a little airplane bottle's worth of vodka. Remove the onions from the pan, and heat up some more olive oil (enough to coat the bottom of the pan), and toss the scallops and shrimp with a teaspoon of the sweet paprika, a teaspoon of sea salt and a 1/4 teaspoon of pepper- or 4-5 grinds of fresh pepper. cook the seafood on medium high heat, for about 5 minutes. the seafood will cook quickly. once the shrimps are pink and the scallops are completely white, remove them and any juices to a bowl.

In a blender or food processor, add the drained roasted red peppers, sauteed onions, 1 raw garlic clove, goat cheese, mozzarella, asiago, the rest of the paprika, mustard powder, and balsamic vinegar. pulse until smooth. if the mixture is very thick- you will want to reserve a 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking liquid to thin out the sauce.

Cook the pasta till it is al dente in salted water, and reserve a 1/2 cup of the cooking water. drain the pasta, and put it back in the hot pot. pour over the pepper sauce, and add the seafood. toss well, and serve immediately. the sauce is the most brilliant orangy red, and it just warms you to look at.

if you absolutely must have something vegetable- peas or edamame would be an excellent choice. boil frozen veggies alongside the pasta in the last
couple minutes to heat them up. enjoy!

Pizzalicious Guest Blog

Hey pals-- just wanted to let you know that i'm guest blogging on my sister Pizzalicious' blog this week. see my review!


http://pizzaliciousblog.blogspot.com/

Red Velvet Celebration Cupcakes

In honor of my friend Kelly's birthday, i decided to make her something really special. inspired by Martha's Birthday Cake in the Martha Stewart Baking book

A special shout out also goes to my friend Kat, who surprise mailed me an adorable little cupcake stamp with pink and black ink a while back! She knows me so well! Kat and her boyfriend Harris are known for their thoughtful natures- always sending notes, cards and small presents in the mail to their friends. They make me want to be a better friend!

I used the stamp and one other coffee cup stamp i had laying around to decorate the boxes and make them special. (coffee and cupcakes- my friends know how serious i am about those things!) I got these delightful magenta boxes from Sur La Table, and at 1.50 per box, its an inexpensive, and a great way to gussy up a cupcake and make the birthday girl feel extra special. each box fit 9 or 10 normal sized cupcakes.

I think these may be the best cupcakes i have ever made, in style and in taste.

Red Velvet Celebration Cupcakes
I'll be honest. I'm not a huge fan of red velvet. When I think of red velvet- my mind immediately goes to sitting on the zebra couch with my grandma and watching Steel Magnolias. While the color is festive, the cake itself is usually dry and the resemblance to blood kind of grosses me out. for this cake, i added some extra cocoa to make the red velvet cake darker and more sophisticated, and topped it with an adapted version of Swiss meringue-- one of my favorite fancy icings. You make it sort of the way you make marshmallows- but without the gelatin, and there is something so appealing, special and exciting to me about using science to make something so delicious and fancy. The Swiss meringue is decadent and sweet. Mimicking a regular pie style meringue, but without the foamy jiggle. (Kelly's special cupcake had extra) You can use this icing without bruleeing the tops-- and it makes an excellent super white and fluffy icing for any cake. I've just bought some A&W Root beer syrup-- so my next cupcake will be root beer float cupcakes-- and I'll probably use this icing again.

A friend at the birthday party summed up everyone's collective feelings on the cupcakes in a pretty funny and naughty way,

"mmmmmmm..... I want to cover my bed in it and roll around in this icing with a lady."

wow... you don't say? ;)

Red Velvet Cupcakes

I adapted the Joy of cooking's Buttermilk Layer cake for this.

2 1/3 cups cake flour
4 tablespoons buttermilk powder (why always buttermilk powder? well i hate drinking buttermilk- and i don't use it enough to justify buying it and then throwing it away. so i use this for added richness and flavor, and just keep buying the skim milk i know I'll use)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons dark chocolate cocoa powder
3 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 small bottle of red food coloring (about 2.5 tablespoons)
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter at room temp--- if your butter isn't at room temp-- just mix it with the paddle in the mixer for a couple extra minutes- starting on low- and moving to high for a couple minutes.
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 cup skim milk

Preheat oven to 350

On top of some parchment paper (for easy mixing) Sift together the cake flour, cocoa powder, buttermilk powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside. In a 2 cup measuring cup, whisk together the eggs, skim milk, red food coloring, and vanilla extract.Using a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and on medium/high speed , beat the butter until creamy- adding a 1/3 cup of sugar at a time until the mixture is light yellow and really fluffy. once its all fluffy, alternate 1/3 of the liquid with 1/3 dry scraping the sides of the bowls between incorporations until the mixture is smooth, but don't over mix!

Using a 3 ounce disher (that's a fancy ice cream scoop, y'all!), or a ladle, or a measuring cup with a spout (the possibilities are endless) portion the batter into festive paper cupcake cups (i used red stripes) filling about 3/4 full. this recipe should make 20-24 cupcakes.

Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, or about 14-16 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes, then take the cupcakes out of the metal cupcake tin, and set on a cooling rack. You'll want the cupcakes to be completely cool before frosting.

Swiss Meringue

Adapted from Martha Stewart Baking

8 large egg whites (or 1/2 cup of liquid egg whites)
2 cups sugar
2 drops almond extract
2 tablespoons room temp unsalted butter (very important that it be smooth and room temp)

Directions
In the heatproof bowl of an electric mixer, combine egg whites, sugar, and almond extract. Set the bowl over a pan of simmering water. Whisk constantly until the sugar has dissolved and whites are hot to the touch, 3 to 5 minutes. You'll want the sugar to be completely dissolved- so the icing isn't "crunchy"- unless yo ulike that sort of thing.

Transfer the bowl to the electric mixer. Using the whisk attachment, mix on low speed, gradually increasing to high speed, until stiff, glossy peaks form, about 8 minutes. add in room temp unsalted butter, and mix on high again for about 3 minutes Fill a pastry bag with the meringue. Using a star tip on your pastry bag, pipe the frosting on each cupcake in little dots-covering the surface of the cupcake top- pulling upward as you go. Putting a little bit of pressure on the bag on the upturn creates little spikes all over the cupcake. Using a torch, brulee the tops until you have a good amount of caramelization on the tops-- do this to your liking. If you don't have a torch, preheat your broiler (must be a top broiler) to high for about 5-10 minutes, with the oven rack in the upper middle, lightly brown the tops of the cupcakes carefully-- it can go from looking like a perfectly toasted marshmallow to incinerated pile of ash in a matter of seconds- so like a good ninja, don't turn your back. these cupcakes will keep at room temp for 6-8 hours. after that- they just don't look as awesome.

Super Cute food

You may not know me, but know this. I LOVE cute things. Nothing improves my day or my mood more quickly than looking at, making or petting cute things. My love of cute is almost as strong as my love of food, and it just turns this sarcastic sourpuss into a baby talking fool.


Mupcakes


Don't adjust your monitor-- yes, that is meatloaf made to look like a cupcake. I almost wish i had gotten a picture of them lookin all pretty- but seriously we ravaged these little "mupcakes" as i call them- so a picture of the mupcake carnage was apropos. I served my mupcakes with a side of corn and herb biscuits from the Martha Stewart baking book (excellent), and to finish, old fashioned marble cake.


Mupcakes
1 pound organic extra lean ground beef
1 stalk celery, cleaned and diced finely
2 med carrots, cleaned and diced finely
1 yellow onion, cleaned and diced finely
2 cloves garlic, minced finely
1/4 cup dry sherry
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
1 egg
1/4 cup skim milk
3/4 cup bread crumbs
2 tsp dried Italian seasoning
2 tsp salt salt and 1/2 tsp ground pepper (1/2 for veggies, 1/2 for meat)
olive oil
1/4 cup ketchup (or catsup-- what is the difference?)


preheat oven to 400


spray a cupcake pan with vegetable spray lightly and set aside. (don't bother using paper or those foil cups-- they get all greasy and gross from the fat in the meat anyway)


in a medium pan on medium high heat, heat enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan. when oil is hot, saute the carrots, celery and onion together for 4-5 minutes. add salt, pepper, minced garlic, and saute until golden brown. deglaze the pan with the sherry, and set aside to cool.


in a medium sized bowl, whisk together egg, milk, Worcestershire sauce, bread crumbs, Italian seasoning, salt and pepper, add cooled veggies (hot veggies will scramble the egg-- not yummy) and stir. Add meat and mix quickly with your hands. don't over mix- which will make the mupcakes really tough, and not in the Roseanne Barr tuff on the outside, soft on the inside kind of way.


Using your fingers- fill the cupcake tins with the meat and veggie mixture and press down in the center of each with your thumb. the mixture should make exactly 12 little meat cakes. Paint some ketchup over the top of each little meat cake (just like mom would do), and bake for 20-25 minutes or until done through. (a meat thermometer should read 165 and no more)

While the meat cakes are cooking- work on your potatoes


Mashed potato "frosting"
6-8 large red potatoes, peeled, and cut into 6 pieces per half a potato
3 tablespoons prepared horseradish
4 ounces reduced fat cream cheese
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup skim milk
salt and pepper


starting with cold water and a generous amount of salt, boil the potatoes until they are fork tender. while the potatoes are cooking, add together rest of ingredients (except for salt and pepper) and microwave until hot and mixture is lump free. drain the potatoes, and mash the potatoes in a ricer (much smoother/less gummy), and add milk mixture. mix and season with salt and pepper. scoop the potatoes into a pastry bag- fitted with a large plain or star tip. (make sure there are no lumps- because seriously- i busted my bag wide open because i tried to make those potatoes submit to my will) pipe the potato onto the top of the little meat loafs as you would frosting. at this point you can stick them under the broiler for a minute or 2 for a little fancy, or just sprinkle on a little chopped chives, or a little fancy colored salt like i did- looked just like sprinkles! i used some fancy pink salt my older sister got me a while back.


serve and smile

Marble Cake with Cheater icing
I adapted the Joy of cooking's Buttermilk Layer cake for this.


a little extra butter and flour is needed for greasing pans
2 1/3 cups cake flour
4 tablespoons buttermilk powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter at room temp--- if your butter isn't at room temp-- just mix it with the paddle in the mixer for a couple extra minutes- starting on low- and moving to high for a couple minutes.
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 cup semi sweet morsels
1 cup skim milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans and set aside. On top of some parchment paper (for easy mixing) Sift together the cake flour, buttermilk powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt; set aside. In a 2 cup measuring cup, whisk together the eggs, skim milk, vanilla and almond extract.

Using a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and on medium/high speed , beat the butter until creamy- adding a 1/3 cup of sugar at a time until the mixture is light yellow and really fluffy. once its all fluffy, alternate 1/3 of the liquid with 1/3 dry until well incorporated, but don't over mix!


Remove about 1/3 of the batter, and put in a medium bowl. in a microwave safe bowl, microwave the chocolate chips 10 seconds at a time and stirring in between until smooth. whisk in the chocolate into one of the bowls, and mix well.


Add vanilla batter to the pans 1/2 in each, an smooth over the batter in the pans. add chocolate in dollops over the top of the batter. using a butter knife, swirl in the chocolate batter with the vanilla batter, but don't over mix. you just want a marbled pattern.


Bake until light golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes, then unmold onto a rack and stick in the fridge to cool completely before frosting.

Cheater frosting
1 stick room temp butter (see above if cold)
1/3 cup unflavored Crisco (your guests will never know- and don't need to either)

1/4 tsp salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 drop almond extract
1-2 tablespoon/s milk

3/4 pound confectioners sugar

beat the butter and crisco together with a paddle attachment until smooth. replace paddle with the whisk attachment, and beat until fluffy. Add salt, vanilla and almond and mix well. turn the mixer to low, and add in confectioners sugar. add in milk until the mixture is smooth and pliable. turn the mixer to high, and beat for 2-4 minutes, or until the mixture is really fluffy. ice cake immediately.