Tuesday, June 23, 2009

Strawberry Shortcake... Pretty Little Miss

What else are you going to do with that giant thing of strawberries from Costco that will go bad before you can eat them all? COME ON! This is so good. You could secretly eat just the frosting with some strawberries. MMMMMMMmmmmmm. (I included this photo so you would be sure to know how thick the frosting needs to be.)


1 white cake mix

8 oz. cream cheese

8 oz. Cool Whip

1 T. milk

2 c. powdered sugar

2 pkgs. Strawberry Danish Dessert

2 10-oz. pkgs. strawberries cut into thirds


Prepare cake as directed. Cool completely.


Beat together softened cream cheese, Cool Whip, and powdered sugar. Frost cooled cake and refrigerate. Prepare Danish Dessert using the fruit sauce directions. Add strawberries. Top individual pieces of cake with strawberry mixture right before serving.

Tuesday, June 9, 2009

HAWAIIAN LUAU!!!

I've tried one or two recipes from Sunset Magazine before, but never an entire meal at once. Everything in their Hawaiian luau from the June issue sounded SO GOOD that I decided it had to be done. (Everything except the shrimp - which sounded really good, but Brian is allergic to shell fish. Not worth it.) The pork sandwiches were AWESOME. I'm surprised I'm not still at the table eating one right now. The salad (and especially the vinaigrette) was delightful - even without the $14 vanilla bean (never). We'll find out tomorrow if the dip is good since I need to read directions more carefully. We substituted Lipton Onion Dip with Maui Onion Kettle Chips. Yum. Seriously, why am I not still eating? I'm only putting the pork sandwich recipe in here because it's SO LONG and I'm tired and fat from eating. If you want the other recipes, go to the link at the beginning of this paragraph. ENJOY!

Char Siu-Glazed Pork and Pineapple Buns

1/4 c. salt
1/4 c. light brown sugar
1 T. vanilla extract
2 pork tenderloins (the real skinny kind - about a pound each)

1/2 c. ketchup
1/2 c. hoisin sauce (I found it near the soy sauce)
2 T. toasted sesame oil
2 T. minced garlic
2 T. ground ginger
2 T. soy sauce

12 slices peeled and cored fresh pineapple
24 sweet rolls (we used Costco dinner rolls - perfect size)
1 c. cilantro sprigs

In a large saucepan, bring 3 1/2 cups water to a boil. Stir in salt, brown sugar, and vanilla. Chill until cool.

Put pork in a Zip-lock bag, then in a 9"x13" pan. Chill for at least 3 hours and up to 12.

Make char siu glaze: In a small bowl, mix together ketchup, hoisin, sesame oil, garlic, ginger, and soy sauce. Pour half of the sauce into another small bowl.

Prepare grill for indirect medium heat (350-450 degrees). Lay pork over indirect-heat area and cook, covered, until meat reaches 135 degrees on a meat thermometer (about 15-20 minutes). Brush one bowl of glaze over pork, saving 2 tablespoons for the pineapple. Cook pork, turning occasionally, until glaze has caramelized slightly and meat thermometer reaches 145 degrees (5 to 10 more minutes). Transfer pork to a cutting board, tent with foil, and let rest 15 minutes.

Lay pineapple slices on direct-heat area of grill, brush with glaze, and cook, turning once (about 4 minutes per side).
Cut pork into 1/2 inch slices. Fill each roll with a piece of pork, grilled pineapple and a sprig of cilantro.

Brine and char siu glaze can be made a day ahead of time.

Monday, June 8, 2009

Super Easy Pizza Crust

my friend shelby condon gave me this recipe.  she made it for us when we stayed at her house.  she claimed it didn't need to rise and could be done in 15 min.  i liked the sound of that and asked for the recipe.

2-2 1/2 C. Bread Flour
1 T. yeast
1 T. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt 
Mix together; set aside

1 C. water
1 T. olive oil
Heat in microwave for 1 minute; add to flour mixture

mix in stand mixer with dough hook for 5 minutes; let rise for 15 minutes in warm spot.

bake at 475 degrees for 12 minutes or until golden brown.

Chocolate Cake: Variation on a theme

Chocolate Cake
1 package devil's food cake mix
1 small package chocolate instant pudding mix
4 large eggs
1 C. sour cream
1/2 C. warm water
1/2 C. canola oil
TWIST:  i added some semi-sweet chocolate chunks.  it made this killer recipe into an even more killer recipe.  
Bake at 350 degrees for 17-20 minutes or longer if the dish is a bigger size.
i made this into cupcakes with some cream cheese frosting.  they absolutely made our memorial day feast into a party.