Tag Archives: Comfort foods

April 3, 2019 · 4:06 am

#L&SRWednesdayBloggingChallenge 4.3.19

I almost skipped writing this blog entry this week. My comfort food recipes are like  children to me: how can I choose my favorite?? Especially since each one serves to comfort in a different way, for different emotional needs??

There was really only one way to do it and that was to throw a mental dart at the ones that people request I make the most. I narrowed it down to three, then threw that dart. This is the absolute fav: CHOCOLATE TRIFLE. 

I find it very TELLING that my favorite comfort food is a dessert. But that’s a topic for another blog, so…..

Looks good, doesn’t it? It is, trust me.

So here’s the easy recipe:

You’ll need: chocolate cake, 2 tubs of  Cool Whip, instant chocolate pudding and a Cadbury Chocolate/Orange ball ( Or a Hershey’s chocolate bar – your choice)

For the cake you will need:

  • 2 cups granulated sugar, sifted
  • 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour, sifted 
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder, sifted
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda, sifted
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3 large eggs
  • 1 cup cold regular milk
  • 1/2 cup vegetable oil
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup boiling water

To make the cake:

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Then grease and flour 2 9 inch round baking tins

  1. After sifting the dry ingredients mix the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda and baking powder and the salt into a mixer.
  2. Add in the eggs one at a time, then the milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed for 2-3 minutes.
  3. This is a weird step, but once the ingredients are mixed, slowly mix in the boiling water. The batter will become very thin. This is okay.
  4. Halve the mixture and pour each half into the 2 baking rounds. Then, bake 30 to 35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle of the cake comes out clean and flakey.
  5. Let the cake cook completely for about 3-4 hours. Then, slice the cake in half, length-wise to form 2 identical round discs.
To make the pudding: This one is easy. Just buy 2 large boxes of any commercial chocolate instant pudding mix and prepare them according to the box. Let them cool completely, even though they are instant. You want the pudding to be firmly formed, not watery or jiggly.
Once the cake is cooled and sliced, crumble one round and place it in the bottom of a trifle bowl. Press it down so the cake pieces cover the entire bottom of the bowl. Then, spoon in half the chocolate pudding, spreading it around the cake to form a layer ( refer to the picture above. ) Then spread a layer of cool whip -use about 1/2-2/3 of the tub. Again, refer to the above picture to see what it looks like.
So you now have 3 layers: cake crumbles, pudding, cool whip.
Do it again until you reach almost to the top of the bowl. If you have any pudding or cool whip left over, top the top off with it.
Take your Cadbury Chocolate orange and shave it using a small peeler to form chocolate shavings on the top.
Or, score a  Hershey’s chocolate bar into pieces for a bigger candy rush. On the above trifle I shaved the orange first then added Hershey’s pieces for a powerful chocolate punch.
Let the whole thing sit, covered with cellophane on the top, in the fridge, overnight.
Serve cold. Disclaimer: When I feel the emotional need to make this, NO ONE ELSE is allowed to have any.
Just saying.
WARNING: This is NOT for anyone on a  diet!!! hee hee.  You can reduce some of the calories by using SUGAR FREE INSTANT CHOCOLATE PUDDING and COOL WHIP FREE ( or FAT FREE COOL WHIP. )
Let’s see what some of the other authors in the blog challenge consider their fav recipes. L&SRWednesdayBlogChallenge
Bon Appetite ~Peg

Tweet Me//Read Me// Visit Me//Picture Me//Pin Me//Friend Me// Triber// BookMe // Monkey me //Watch me

Here’s the link to my TELL ME ABOUT YOUR DAMN BOOK podcast interview, just in case you missed it: TMAYDB

and the link to my recent interview on NewHampshirePublicRadio

And I can’t forget the OKRWA 2018 Award video

Advertisement

13 Comments

Filed under Long and SHort Reviews

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

August 23, 2017 · 8:59 am

#Sisters….the gift that continues to keep on giving, Part 2

Yesterday, I shared a sister scene from book 1 of the WILL COOK FOR LOVE series, Cooking with Kandy between, oldest sister Kandy Laine and her younger -by three years -sister, Gemma. In book 2, A SHOT AT LOVE, Gemma is now the heroine of the story. Kandy’s influence is never far from her mind and actions, though. This scene takes place in a cabin. Even though she is hundreds of miles away from her sister, Kandy is still taking care of her younger sister…and everyone else it seems.

From A SHOT AT LOVE

“Kandy sent some of the soup she’s featuring in the new restaurant, along with stuff to make her grilled cheese sandwiches to go with it,” Rick told her when she opened the refrigerator. “There’s a container of it on the second shelf.”

Gemma opened the tub and took a whiff. “Hmmm. Grandma’s tomato cream. Yummy.”

“Your sister is opening a restaurant?” Ky asked. He moved to the kitchen behind her, helping to take down dishes and utensils from the cabinets. Just being physically close to her again brightened the foul mood darkening his soul from everything he and Bannerman had discovered so far.

“Several, actually,” Gemma said. She filled a pot with the zesty smelling soup and placed it on the stove. “The first one opens in a month in Tribeca. Another in Orlando in the fall and then L.A. in January.”

“Impressive.”

“No. Kandy.” Gemma lifted her shoulders. “This has been her dream since she was a kid, although she never told it to anyone until recently. A restaurant featuring only comfort foods, the kind we all had and loved as kids.”

“An interesting premise.”

She nodded and began slathering bread slices with butter. “No lie. This soup,” she pointed to the pot, “is without a doubt the best tomato soup you will ever have. Hands down.”

“Truth,” Bannerman said.

“What makes it so special?”

Gemma’s quick grin had him hard as stone and wanting in a heartbeat. “The showman in Kandy will tell you it’s made with love added into every cup, but it’s really the mix grandma perfected of spices and herbs, plus the fact she uses almond milk as the cream, and not cow’s milk. Grandma was a pioneer when it came to using plant products for baking sauces instead of dairy ones.”

The soup started to warm, it’s enticing aroma filling the kitchen.

“I wasn’t hungry until just this moment,” Ky said, sniffing the air.

Gemma laughed and said, “Wait until you taste the grilled cheese.” She laid two sandwiches onto the griddle. “You’ll think you’ve died and gone to comfort food heaven.”

A few minutes later the three of them sat at the table.

The only sounds for a while were them sipping the soup and chewing.

“You didn’t exaggerate,” Ky said, wiping his lips with a napkin. “This truly is the best soup I’ve ever had. Think your sister will give me the recipe for my mother?”

“Not a chance in a gazillion, but she can come into the restaurant anytime and have some.” Her lips lifted at the corners.

Buy Links: Amazon // Kensington // B&N // Apple iBooks // Kobo //Google

Who couldn’t love a sister who sends food to wherever you are???

When I’m not writing about sisters and families, you can find me here:Tweet Me//Read Me// Visit Me//Picture Me//Pin Me//Friend Me//Google+Me// Triberr

Leave a comment

Filed under Alpha Hero, Author, Characters, Contemporary Romance, Cooking, Dialogue, Family Saga, Food lover, Foodie, Kensington Publishers, love, Lyrical Author, Romance, Romance Books, Strong Women, The Laine Women

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,