Monthly Archives: October 2013

Southern Bologna Cake

Bologna Cake. I know; it sounds strange. Given that October 24th was National Bologna Day, I

Henriettibles Southern Bologna Cake

thought it was worth delving into. The first time you heard of it was probably while watching the flick, “Sweet Home Alabama”, and you thought to yourself, “They just made that up for the movie!” I assure you; like Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy, Bologna Cake does exist! It’s not the sweet treat that you think of when you hear “cake”. It’s a savory concoction, fabtastic on crusty bread or a cracker. I had seen images of the cake before, and set about creating my own version. You can see WHY it’s called “cake”. It resembles a torte. I have to admit, I’ve enjoyed forcing friends to try it. Their faces are priceless as they delightfully realize this stuff is yum! It really does taste wonderful, particularly if you use a good quality bologna. It’s a great conversation piece for any party, and easy enough to make and take to a party. I hope you enjoy and would love to hear your feedback!

Ingredients

10 slices good quality bologna
16 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 seeded cucumber, finely chopped
3 Tbs chives, chopped
3 Tbs grated parmesan cheese
2 Tbs Mayonnaise
1 Tbs shallots, finely chopped

Beat together all ingredients, except bologna, until creamy. Place one slice of bologna of serving platter or plate. Cover with a thin layer of the cream cheese mixture (see photo). Place another slice of bologna on top. Cover with a thin layer of cream cheese, Repeat until all layers are used. With remaining cram cheese mixture, cover top and sides as you would frost a cake. Chill for at least 2 hours before serving. When ready to serve, slice as you would a cake. I suggest thin slices for ease of eating. Be sure to use a sharp knife to slice so you the visual impact of the cake is not impaired!

ENJOY!

Henriettibles Guinness Stew

You’ve had Guinness Stew. You’ve had beef stew. You haven’t had Henriettibles Guinness Stew! Lot’s of flavor, a suprise ingredient…. And plenty of heartiness for St. Patrick’s Day festivities!

I’m a HUGE fan of St. Patrick’s Day celebrations (that’s no blarney!). I really wanted to do a little more than the usual corned beef and cabbage. I love bevvies and red meat. Viola, a little of the black stuff magic happened. It’s bleedin’ deadly.

It’s not just me, friends loved the taste test. To quote one of my best birds, Tracy Collins, “Not only is it delicious, it will keep you regular, too!” Howver, the most common words from the taste testers was, “Oh. My. God. This is soooo good!” They were gobsmacked. One tester from another continent thought the flavors tasted like there were some exotic spices in the stew; you’ll be stunned at how the simple flavors combine to create some savage taste.

Enjoy and Beannachtam na Feile Padraig!

Ingredients

2 lbs lean beef (I used a sirloin roast)
3 Tbs flour
1/2 tsp salt, plus salt to taste
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper, plus pepper to taste
3 Tbs grapeseed oil
1 1/2 cups chpped onion
2 cloves minced garlic
1 bottle Guinness Draught
1 cup beef stock
1 cup prune juice (THE surprise ingredient!)
3 Tbs tomato pate
1/2 tsp dried thyme
2 cups diced potato (I keep the skins on)
1 1/2 cups carrots
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp lemon zest

Trim fat from the steak. Cut into cubes of about 3/4 inch - try to keep them near the same size. Place in large bowl. Combne flour, salt and pepper in small bowl. Sprinkle into bowl of beef, and toss coat the beef.

In a large dutch over, add the grapeseed oil. When hot, add steak and cook until browned on all sides (about 4 to 5 minutes). Add onion and cook another 3 minutes until onions soften. Add Guinness and deglaze the pan. Add garlic, stock, prune juice, tomato paste and thyme. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, cover and simmer another 90 minutes.

ENJOY!

Henriettibles Pomegranate Granola

Henriettibles Pomegranate Granola Parfait

This pomegranate granola recipe came about because I was out of granola to put in my morning yogurt. I poked around my cabinets a little while and, voilà, awesome on a stick happened the first try. My good friend, Deb Carpenter, tried it and proclaimed, “This is the best granola I’ve EVER had. And I mean friggin EVER!” And she was eating it while drinking wine! Of course, the wine may have contributed to her enthusiasm….

Ingredients

2 Cups slow cooking oats
3/4 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup chopped dried pomegranate (or cherries, blueberries or whatever you have on hand, but
the pomegranate is AHMAAAZING!)
2 tbs ground flaxseed (optional)
1/2 cup honey

In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except the honey. Make sure it is mixed well so you don’t end up with lumps of brown sugar. Add the honey in small portions and mix in between each addition.

Line a large jelly roll pan with parchment paper. Turn the mixture onto the lined jelly roll pan. Spread evenly to edges of pan. Bake in 350 oven for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to set for 10 to 15 minutes before disturbing. Either cut or break into pieces, or crumble into small pieces, but not cutting through the parchment paper. The parchment paper will peel right off the back. Enjoy!!!

Post Road Pumpkin Ale Bars with White Chocolate Pumpkin Ale Cream Cheese Frosting

It’s October. It’s not the ghosts and goblins that remind us, it’s the pumpkin doughnuts, pumpkin lattes, pumpkin coffees that remind our taste buds that it’s October. This is a recipe that I started making about 15 years ago. I’ve altered it over the years, a beautiful and decided to make a tasty addition of Post Road Pumpkin Ale to make a grown up and more sophisticated version. If you’ve got mini loaf pans, that would be a great way to make some fabtastic gifts for the holidaze. Just fill the pans at half you would for bread. I promise you, not only will your kitchen smell heavenly, these mouth watering pumpkin bars will be all treat, no tricks!

Post Road Pumpkin Ale Bars with White Chocolate Pumpkin Ale Cream Cheese Frosting

1 cup butter, softened
½ cup packed dark brown sugar
½ cup sugar
1 cup solid pack pumpkin
1 egg
1 tsp pure vanilla extract (preferably clear)
1 Tbs Post Road Pumpkin Ale
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
¼ tsp fresh ground nutmeg
8 oz chopped white chocolate (small but not fine)
1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350. Grease cookie sheet/jelly roll pan (approximately 15 x 10). Beat butter until fluffy. Add sugars and beat until mixture is creamy. Add pumpkin, vanilla and Post Road Pumpkin Ale until combined. In separate bowl, combine flour, baking soda and spices and gradually beat into butter mixture. Fold in white chocolate and walnuts. Spread into prepared pan. Bake for 20 minutes or until pick comes out clean. Cool in pan.

Frosting

11 oz white chocolate (good quality), melted
12 oz cream cheese, room temperature
1 Tbs Post Road Pumpkin Ale
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract (preferably clear)
¼ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp ground cloves
2 Tbs powdered sugar

In medium bowl, cream together melted white chocolate and cream cheese. Add cinnamon and cloves. Stir in pumpkin beer and vanilla. Gradually add powdered sugar. Beat until lump free. Spread on baked pumpkin bars. Allow to set and serve.