After we switched over from satellite television to cable here in the Billings, I very much enjoyed watching “Bitchin’ Kitchen,” a theme based cooking show with none other than Canadian chef and comedian Nadia G. Not to be confused with June Cleaver, Nadia saunters around her kitchen wearing sweet ruffled aprons and stiletto heels. She’s an awesome chef with an offbeat sense of humor, which I very much enjoy. Her series aired on the Cooking Channel, a different network than Food Network Television, and my cable company doesn’t carry Cooking. (In fact, the Cooking Channel has many more interesting shows than Food Network, which is running rampant with lots of repeats and one cooking challenge show after another. I’m not as big a fan as I used to be.)
This is the best peanut butter cake I’ve ever baked. Richard loves peanut butter, so I’ve made several attempts over the years for a successful recipe. To me, there’s never been enough peanut butter flavor, but this one did not disappoint.
It’s a rich sheet cake with a yummy peanut butter frosting that you cook on the stove top in a jiffy and pour over the warm moist cake. You get plenty of creamy fudge-like frosting with each piece. The directions for this recipe are a little different for me. You boil the peanut butter, butter, and water before added to the dry ingredients. No creaming the butter and sugars. Sure makes for a nice moist cake.
When I was first married in the 1970’s, I worked during the Christmas season at an Indianapolis department store icon L.S. Ayres. For those of us who grew up in an era when downtown department stores were the rage, L.S. Ayres was the cream of the Indianapolis crop in the same league as Chicago’s Marshall Field’s and New York’s Macy’s. There are many stories shared over the years about “Breakfast with the Bunny” Easters, glorious Christmas decorations, and the fate of the L.S. Ayres Cherub, who took its proper place at the corner of Washington and Meridian Streets every Christmas shopping season perched on the landmark L.S. Ayres clock. In fact, here’s a link to a little history of the Ayres clock and cherub from Historic Indianapolis.
I had no idea where I would clerk when I applied for a part-time job at the Glendale store on North Keystone, but I was offered a position in the housewares department. I couldn’t believe my good fortune. See, I’m addicted to housewares of all kinds. I was quite happy to help customers find the perfect holiday, shower or wedding gift. And I envied the gift recipients who were going to benefit from the newest set of fabulous pans, the sharpest knives, the quirkiest gadget, shiny new flatware, beautiful coffee mugs – I was in my element.
I always have fresh citrus fruits in the kitchen close at hand – you know, just a couple of lemons, limes and oranges. The juice and/or zest of any of these can be shaken into a fresh vinaigrette or sprinkled onto seafood or meat just before serving, or mixed with some yogurt, mayonnaise and a little sweetener for a fruit or vegetable dip. You never know when some fresh zest will come in handy as an addition for cakes, pies or frosting. As little as 1/2 of a lemon can make a big, wake-up-flavor difference. And a flavor enhancer to packaged food.
My husband, Richard, has been sick the last few days with a head cold. He’s knocked out and not terrible hungry, but I wanted to fix a quick meal that would have enough spicy heat to loosen up his congested sinuses and something pleasing and fragrant to give him hope he would recover. Normally, I don’t buy prepared, pre-packaged food, but Richard, in a weak moment, bought some frozen orange chicken at Costco. OK, not a big deal – heated the chicken in the oven according to directions, made the rice. In a small saucepan, I added the frozen, syrupy goo that was supposed to be the sauce for the meat. I dolled it up with zest from a fresh orange, squeezed orange juice, 1/4 teaspoonful crushed red pepper flakes, and about one tablespoonful of soy sauce. The orange and crushed peppers really came through in the sauce, and had the desired effect. For a little while at least, my husband was able to breath a little easier and enjoy his meal.
My husband and I love salmon, and since we’ve been married, salmon has become a steady part of our diet. Funny, I never ate much salmon growing up. We lived near Lake Michigan and there are lake salmon, but our fish diet was most exclusively perch. But my dad and I loved smoked salmon. He and I used to wrangle over the small jars my aunt would bring us from her fishing excursions in northern California – Aunt Jane and Uncle Lou caught, prepped and smoked their own. When we had a supply and just before dinner, my dad would retrieve the coveted jar from the refrigerator, and he would break off a chunk for us to share – wow – it was awesome! And, if you’ve never tried it, smoked trout is out of this world, too, but I digress . . .
When my children visit, we usually get a whole salmon filet, and either bake it or wrap it in foil to cook on the grill. But when they’re not with us, Richard and I buy frozen salmon filets from Costco. They’re good sized – about six ounces or so, individually wrapped, thaw quickly, and one bag is enough for several meals.
This is the best peanut butter cake I’ve ever baked. Richard loves peanut butter, so I’ve made several attempts over the years for a successful recipe. To me, there’s never been enough peanut butter flavor, but this one did not disappoint.
