Spatulas, Corkscrews & Suitcases

MARTHA STEWART'S COOKBOOK GIVE-AWAY ~ WE HAVE A REAL WINNER HERE FOLKS!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Woo Hoo! My first ever Cookbook Give-Away was a huge success! Over 90 people entered with a few duplicates which I caught before the Random Number Generator took over!

Congratulations to Number 62! That's the number that came up using the Super Duper generator.

And the winner is......Drum Roll please.... Karen! Don't you just feel like Charlie holding the Golden Ticket in "Willy Wonka"?

Karen says, "I have so many favorites! But I will never turn down a thick moist chocolate cake with thick fudgy chocolate frosting."
(Posted by: Karen | April 26, 2008 at 12:27 PM)

Good for you Karen! I hope you enjoy your new Martha Stewart's Cookies Cookbook! (I sent you an email asking for your address, etc)

To everyone that entered my Cookbook Give-Away ~ Thanks so much for making my blog part of your life! Well, not really your whole life, just a piece, like a piece of Thick Moist Chocolate Cake with Thick Fudgy Chocolate Frosting!

If you haven't already done so, make sure to subscribe to receive an update each time I post. That way you don't miss a thing, and more importantly, the next BIG Give-Away!  I was thinking a Kitchen Aid would be nice. No, really, it would be nice if I had one here on the boat! Gotcha! But, you never know! Someday, when I'm rich and famous (Yeah, right) I'll give away one of those pretty red babies! For now, I'll try to do a Give-Away as a regular feature. It was so much fun wasn't it?

Again, Congratulations to Karen! May you forever bake in Martha's footsteps!

POLENTA AND RICOTTA CAKE ~ Tuesdays With Dorie

Don't forget my Martha Stewart's Cookies Cookbook Give-Away ~ Last Day to Enter!
                                                             

Tuesdays With Dorie
It's Tuesday again and that means another fantastic recipe from Dorie Greenspan's book "Baking: From My Home To Yours". The Fluted Polenta and Ricotta Cake recipe was chosen by Caitlin of Engineer Baker and baked by the Tuesdays With Dorie master bakers!
                                                                               
Nothing Too Weird
                                                               
My Hamilton Beach Was Up To The Task!
                                                            
EMPTY!    Now, Isn't This Prettier Than A Regular Tart Pan? 
                                                            
Full!
                                                                  
DONE!  Isn't that delicious looking? Don't you just want to dig right in?

I wasn't interested in this recipe at all this week. I mean, come on! Polenta and Ricotta Cake? Just didn't inspire me! But I figured, what the heck, I'll give it a try. The worst that could happen is that we don't like it and John would have to take it to work. Those guys eat anything! It wasn't that the ingredients were expensive. But it did mean that I'd have to use a springform pan as I don't have a fluted tart pan and didn't want to buy one more piece of equipment.
                                                                           
Look at the Tender Crumb on this cake!
                                                                           
I don't like figs! There, I've said it. But, I do like apricots and I had a whole bag of them. At least I thought I did. After hunting through three lockers, one with my feet in the air and my head stuck down the hole,I found those plump golden babies. You would think that I'd know exactly where everything is on this boat. It's only 30 feet long! How far could it go? It was at the very bottom of a locker that very few contortionists could reach!
                                                               
Those flowers hung around all weekend! We couldn't kill them!

It was raining cats & dogs outside the day I made the cake. Guess where my pan was? It was outside in the car (AKA the "storage unit") and that would mean a trip up the slippery dock, at low tide, in the rain, to get the right pan. Did I also mention I waited until the last day/minute to bake? Yeah...I was ready to throw in the towel as I was running out of time. So, I did what any creative genious would do ~ I improvised and used a fluted stoneware pie pan from Pampered Chef! I thought, gee, this looks pretty and it's fluted too! There's a reason the recipe says "Use a fluted tart pan with a removable bottom"! More later...
                                                                        
The Raspberry Sauce Made the Cake!

The recipe was very easy, no really weird ingredients other than ricotta which isn't really weird, just that I never have any of that onboard! I got all my ingredients out and realized my HUGE jug of honey had seized up into a solid block that was rock hard. And remember, I have no microwave. Oh No! I quickly put a pot of water on the stove, plopped that sucker right in and boiled it until I could get enough out of the jug! Sheesh! No other tragedies occurred and it was smooth sailing from then on.
                                                               

My oven isn't the biggest or the most reliable and it took a total of 75 minutes to bake. It smelled wonderful every time I opened the oven to check on it??? We were in a hurry to go somewhere so I placed it on a rack and we left thinking I could flip it out when we came back. WRONG! This is the reason you NEED a removable bottom! It almost broke as I was trying to transfer it to another plate. The sides were loose, but the bottom was stuck! Still, I insisted I was going to win. (I have issues!) I cut a slice out of the pie. It was now officially a "pie". Boy was it smelling good! John was sitting there like a little kid waiting for his after dinner pudding!
                                                                   
Cafe Demel, Here We Come!

I sprinkled it with a little powdered sugar and made a raspberry sauce to go with it as it seemed like it was missing something. Awesome! What a difference that made! Woke that pie right up and made my tongue sing! I also made a small batch of sweetened whipped cream to plop on the side.

This Polenta and Ricotta Cake proved me wrong. I went into it thinking I would be disappointed. In the end, it reminded me of a European dessert. Very simple, yet classy when dressed up! I closed my eyes and remembered sitting in the March sun, at an outside table in front of Vienna's Cafe Demel. Wow! Goosebumps as I wrote that!
                                                                              
Doesn't your mouth just Pucker thinking of the Raspberry Sauce?

Fluted Polenta and Ricotta Cake
"Baking: From My Home To Yours" by Dorie Greenspan

• About 16 moist, plump dried Mission or Kadota figs, stemmed (My Notes: I used moist dried apricots, chopped)
• 1 c. medium-grain polenta or yellow cornmeal
• ½ c. all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 c. ricotta
• 1/3 c. tepid water
• ¾ c. sugar
• ¾ c. honey (if you’re a real honey lover, use a full-flavored honey such as chestnut, pine, or buckwheat)
• Grated zest of 1 lemon
• 1 stick (8 Tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled,plus 1 Tablespoon, cut into bits and chilled
• 2 large eggs

Directions:

• Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. 
• Butter a 10 ½-inch fluted tart pan with a removable bottom (Very Important) and put it on a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone mat.
• Check that the figs (Apricots) are, indeed, moist and plump.  If they are the least bit hard, toss them into a small pan of boiling water and steep for a minute, then drain and pat dry.  If the figs are large (bigger than a bite), snip them in half.
• Whisk the polenta, flour, baking powder, and salt together.
• Working with a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the ricotta and water together on low speed until very smooth.  With the mixer at medium speed, add the sugar, honey, and lemon zest and beat until light.  Beat in the melted butter, then add the eggs one at a time, beating until the mixture is smooth.  Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they are fully incorporated.  You’ll have a sleek, smooth, pourable batter.
• Pour about one third of the batter into the pan and scatter over the figs.  Pour in the rest of the batter, smooth the top with a rubber spatula, if necessary, and dot the batter evenly with the chilled bits of butter.
• Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until a thin knife inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.  The cake should be honey brown and pulling away just a little from the sides of the pan, and the butter will have left light-colored circles in the top.  Transfer the cake to a rack and remove the sides of the pan after about 5 minutes.  Cool to warm, or cool completely.

                                                                        

The Damage! It wasn't as bad as it could have been!

CHEESECAKE POPS ~ DARING BAKERS

                                                                           

The Daring Bakers Cheesecake Pops

I'm a Daring Baker's Newbie! This was my first Daring Bakers Challenge and boy was it a Doozie! The Cheesecake Pops came out absolutely beautiful and delicious, but getting there that was half the battle. Most of you know that we live on a sailboat, and while this was supposedly an easy recipe, working without a freezer and lots of counter space was very challenging. But I'm always up for a challenge, especially if it includes cheesecake!
                                                                                 

Man I Miss My Kitchen Aid, and my 10 burner stove, and my
convection oven, and, and, and....

                                                                              

But look how cute my Hamilton Beach is! He needs a name.

The cheesecake went together so easily. I only have my little 5 speed Hamilton Beach Mixer and my tiny Easy Bake Oven, and both were up to the task and performed admirably. The mixer started to struggle a little, but with 2 1/2 pounds of cream cheese, it wasn't a surprise! I think I can, I think I can, I know I can.....It was done and in the oven, just like that! The recipe said to bake it for 35-45 minutes. I don't know if it was the Easy Bake or the recipe, but I had to leave it in for 75 minutes until it was firm enough! Oh well, that wasn't too bad. I cooled it down and it went in our fridge overnight. (BTW, we just got our fridge 8 months ago. Prior to that, we were living out of a cooler)
                                                                           

The Cheesecake puffed up so much, it rose right out of the pan!

Next came the ball shaping! This was fun....NOT! It was sticky, gooey and very messy! I oiled up both hands and dove right in! Yuk! I suppose if I were a kid again, this would be child's play. After washing my hands 5 times, I gave up and started licking my fingers!  Man was it good!
                                                                      

The lollipop sticks came next. Stick 'em all in and into the freezer they go! OOOPS! I forgot to tell you, we have no freezer! No worries, the marina office has a little apartment sized fridge with a freezer, so John hiked up the dock and slid them in the freezer.

                                                                        

Cookies & Candy & Nuts Oh My!
                                                                              

The Assembly Line ~ See our table? It folds down from the wall and flips out to double the size.                                                                      
I had all my toppings ready the next morning. Crushed Oreos, Heath Bars, Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Pistachios, Sugared Almonds, Toasted Coconut, Sprinkles, Sanding Sugars in assorted colors, etc, etc, etc. It looked like a freakin' candy store in our little boat and boy, did it smell awfully good!
                                                                        

I melted my chocolate coatings in a pan of water on the stove, because, you guessed it, we have no microwave! It melted quick enough and then I was ready to go into business! John hiked back up the ramp into the office to retrieve what we thought were frozen...did I say FROZEN cheesecake pops? They were not frozen! Very cold maybe, but certainly NOT frozen!
                                                                              
This is my Easy Bake Oven and 2 Burner Stove ~ I need to paint it pink!                                                                                    
I came this far and these suckers were not gonna get the best of me. I was gonna win this cheesecake war! I dipped while John sprinkled. Then we switched. He dipped while I sprinkled. We got about 9 pops done, when we noticed the chocolate coating wasn't harding and seizing up on the pops like we had planned. We fought through 3 more until the cheesecake started to fall apart and slide off the sticks. OH NO! We started licking fingers and the sides of the cups and I threw one of them into John's mouth before it ended up on the floor!                                                                        

CHEESECAKE, CHEESECAKE AND MORE CHEESECAKE!
                                                                         
The whole scene reminded me of Lucy and Ethel in the candy factory on "I Love Lucy". You remember the one? The candy was coming down the conveyor belt so fast they couldn't keep up. They  popped them in their mouths and stuffed them down their shirts! Finally we gave up! We figured we have 12 good pops for pictures and we'll give the rest away...And so we did!

                                                                                        

Setting up for the "PHOTO SHOOT"
This gives you an idea of how we take pictures!
                                                                              
I don't want to discourage you from making these awesome Cheesecake Pops. They would have all come out perfect if we had a freezer that worked properly and froze them solid. That's the trick...You just need to have rock hard frozen balls!

YES! The flowers are real! They were so gorgeous!

Click these photos to see the detail!

This recipe is from Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey by Jill O’Connor.

Cheesecake Pops

• 5 8-oz. packages cream cheese at room temperature
• 2 cups sugar
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 5 large eggs
• 2 egg yolks
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• ¼ cup heavy cream
• Boiling water as needed
• Thirty to forty 8-inch lollipop sticks
• 1 pound chocolate, finely chopped – you can use all one kind or half and half of dark, milk, or white confectionary coating
• 2 tablespoons vegetable shortening
• Assorted decorations such as chopped nuts, colored jimmies, crushed peppermints, mini chocolate chips, sanding sugars, dragees - Optional

                                                                        

Directions:
Position oven rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 325 degrees F. Set some water to boil.
In a large bowl, beat together the cream cheese, sugar, flour, and salt until smooth. If using a mixer, mix on low speed. Add the whole eggs and the egg yolks, one at a time, beating well (but still at low speed) after each addition. Beat in the vanilla and cream.

Grease a 10-inch cake pan (not a springform pan), and pour the batter into the cake pan. Place the pan in a larger roasting pan. Fill the roasting pan with the boiling water until it reaches halfway up the sides of the cake pan.
                                                                            

These little baby cakes were all the scraps that fell off the sticks!

Bake until the cheesecake is firm and slightly golden on top, 35 to 45 minutes.
Remove the cheesecake from the water bath and cool to room temperature. Cover the cheesecake with plastic wrap and refrigerate until very cold, at least 3 hours or up to overnight.

When the cheesecake is cold and very firm, scoop the cheesecake into 2-ounce balls and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet. Carefully insert a lollipop stick into each cheesecake ball. Freeze the cheesecake pops, uncovered, until very hard, at least 1 – 2 hours.
                                                                        

How do we stick the pops in the teapot without them falling over? Easy!
We filled the pot with white sugar and marbles! Yeah, Marbles! It worked!

When the pops are frozen and ready for dipping, prepare the chocolate. In the top of a double boiler, set over simmering water, or in a heatproof bowl set over a pot of simmering water, heat half the chocolate and half the shortening, stirring often, until chocolate is melted and chocolate and shortening are combined. Stir until completely smooth. Do not heat the chocolate too much or your chocolate will lose it’s shine after it has dried. Save the rest of the chocolate and shortening for later dipping, or use another type of chocolate for variety. Alternately, you can microwave the same amount of chocolate coating pieces on high at 30 second intervals, stirring until smooth.
                                                                         

Quickly dip a frozen cheesecake pop in the melted chocolate, swirling quickly to coat it completely. Shake off any excess into the melted chocolate. If you like, you can now roll the pops quickly in optional decorations. You can also drizzle them with a contrasting color of melted chocolate (dark chocolate drizzled over milk chocolate or white chocolate over dark chocolate, etc.) Place the pop on a clean parchment paper-lined baking sheet to set.

Repeat with remaining pops, melting more chocolate and shortening (or confectionary chocolate pieces) as needed. Refrigerate the pops for up to 24 hours, until ready to serve.

Makes 30 – 40 Pops
                                                                                 

Don't forget my Cookbook Give-Away for a brand new Martha Stewart's Cookies. You have until midnight Tuesday 4/29 to get your comments in. Click here to enter. Good Luck! And please tell your friends. I'm so pathetic when it comes to challenges, give-aways and competitions. Ask my kids!

HOMEMADE PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES

                                                         
The Best Homemade Peanut Butter Cookies
Yes, it's been a while since our last Bake It, Make It & Take It project. I'm going to have to stop making excuses for myself and just make you happy with these awesome Peanut Butter Cookies! Erika from Stampin' Mama and I have put our heads together once more. I'm not sure who has any brain power left. I'm sure it's her 'cause she's younger than I am! But it is genetic, so she better watch out.

Erika has out done herself once again and designed the cutest package ever! Erika says, "For a simple stamped greeting, I chose the word that came to mind: YUM  - Talk about simple and to the point!" You have to see what she's done with Kitchen Sink Stamps, a belly band and some ribbon. Sometimes I just can't believe she's my daughter!

Peanut Butter Cookies ~ All in the family!
This recipe was passed down from my Grandma. Remember the story about my Grandma's recipes a little while back? Long, long ago, she gave this recipe to my Mom on a piece of scrap paper. It never made it into her recipe journal. Not sure why. Maybe it had fallen out. Anyway...way before I knew there was a journal and way before my Grandma passed away, I was making The Best Peanut Butter Cookies in the world! What did I know at 10 years old? I had nothing to compare them to.
                                                                              
My Dad ate everything I put in front of him. He was my best-est taste tester ever! He's going on 79 now, and he's STILL my biggest fan! Funny how Dad's are. You could bake a piece of crap and they'd still tell you it was fabulous and smack their lips, all the while trying to swallow it down with a glass of milk! Gotta love him! Now that I'm away, Erika bakes these treats for him. My son John ~ he's the one with our bakery ~ keeps Grandpa's freezer stocked with cookies. But when I'm in town, I RULE! ME! The favorite daughter!

Will You Like Them? Absolutely!
So, to get back to The Best Peanut Butter Cookies. You will absolutely adore these cookies. They are rich beyond imagination ~ if you like peanut butter that is! They're a little crumbly on the outside and softer on the insides. Just like a true Old Fashioned Homemade Peanut Butter Cookie should be!

You can put chocolate chips in the batter or plop a Hershey's Kiss in the middle as they're coming out of the oven! Make them with smooth or creamy peanut butter. Dip them in melted chocolate. Everything's better with chocolate! Be creative and have fun!
                                                                                 

My son makes these cookies to sell in the stores. He had to change the recipe slightly to beef them up so they don't break under pressure ~ from people squeezing them! Seriously, people squeeze cookies! Can you imagine? he he! He doesn't put the famous criss-crosses on the tops with the fork though. When you're making hundreds and hundreds of these cookies, who has time for dipping a fork in sugar? BUT, you should, because they are soooo wickedly gorgeous with the criss-cross on top!

My recipe can be found at The Best Peanut Butter Cookie Recipe from Suite101. Remember, they're the online magazine I write for, so I can't republish it here. But it's just a click away and you'll be Smokin'! THEN, go to Stampin' Mama Designs and Erika will walk you through a  step-by-step how-to, to make the perfect gift package just right for these cookies.

HOMEMADE CARROT CAKE ~ TUESDAYS WITH DORIE

                                                                      

It's Tuesday again! I know I said it before, but last Tuesday was just 4 days ago! How does this happen so quickly each week? Is it me? Or am I just too busy baking Carrot Cake, Lemon Cream Tarts, Gooey Chocolate Cakes, Raisin Brioche, Caramel Flan and Homemade Marshmallows? I'm pooped and splattered with frosting, but everyone loves me, and that's all that matters! Or is it all the goodies they love?
                                                                        
                                                                   
This week, Amanda from slow like honey chose Bill's Big Carrot Cake for the dessert of the week. Make sure to come back next week when we'll all make Fluted Polenta and Ricotta Cake. Check out all the other Carrot Cake entries over at Tuesdays With Dorie.
                                                                     
The Little Mixer That Could! He Can't Even Reach The Bowl!

                                                                         
                                                                           
Homemade Sourdough Carrot Cake
I've been making Carrot Cake for over 30 years now. Oh, my gosh! I just realized how old that made me sound! Ignore what I just said and make believe I was bragging that I had lots of baking experience instead! Anyway...Let's just say, I've made my share of cakes over the years. The Carrot Cake of choice with my family and bakery customers has always been my Sourdough Carrot Cake. I used to keep a 5 gallon bucket of sourdough starter going at all times. No, that wasn't a typo. During the busy season, we kept TWO 5 gallon buckets fermenting in the cooler. We used it and fed it and kept it happy. It was many, many years old when it finally passed away and we let it rest in peace. I still use the same recipe, but now I make it with buttermilk instead. Poor sourdough.
                                                                                                                                

It's not mine. Will I like It?
When this assignment came up last week, I thought, I don't want to make someone else's Carrot Cake! It will never be as good as the one I've been making all these years. John won't like it and I probably won't either. You see,I've never put raisins, coconut, pineapple or nuts inside my Carrot Cake. Ever! I like my Carrot Cake pure and unadulterated! I decorate the outsides of my cakes with nuts and coconut just in case someone doesn't like them. That way, it can be easily scraped off on the side of the plate.
Dorie's Carrot Cake had all these things (no pineapple) inside. Yuk! But I was determined to give it a shot and see. After all, I've liked all her previous recipes! I compromised and used raisins and coconut, but refused to put nuts in the cake.

This is John's Hairy Arm, Not Mine!                                                                                                                                                              
WOW! Moist Carrot Cake!
The batter was extremely heavy even without the nuts, and I was worried it wouldn't rise. It did rise a little, only to sink when it came out of the oven. I'll tell you one thing though...it sure was moist! It made a batch of 24 regular sized cupcakes. I made a different batch for 2 thick layers.
The frosting was way too thin for my liking. I'm used to thick frosting that will stand up to a heavy cake layers. I fixed the problem by adding more powdered sugar. I had to refrigerate it a little while so I could pipe it with a pastry bag and tip.

Isn't this beautiful? John decorated it! I think I'll Keep Him!

                                                                                                                                                           
Decorating Carrot Cakes
I decorated some of the cupcakes with basketweave, a small border and a dainty rosebud on the top. Some of the other cupcakes got iced tops and sides and rolled in toasted coconut, topped with a rosette of cream cheese frosting and a cherry on top! The remainder of the cupcakes got a good swirl of frosting and sugared & toasted almond slices on top. 
The cake layers were frozen first (that's a secret most bakers don't know about) then iced. We freeze all our cake layers overnight. It makes it so much easier to frost and there's less chance of ripping up cake crumbs into the frosting.
Then John put it on a cardboard cake circle and iced the cake, smoothing with an off-set spatula as he turned it around to get all sides. He patted the sides with chopped walnuts and sprinkled the top with toasted coconut. We have this nifty tool that lightly scores the cakes into perfect slices. It's a piece of cake ~ Ha Ha! ~ to measure out the rosettes on top.

                                                                                                                                                         
                                                                        
My Rating?
I rate Bill's Big Carrot Cake a 4 out of 5. The batter was easy to put together and I discovered that I did like some raisins and coconut inside my cupcakes after all! I'd probably make the cupcakes again, but in all honesty, my recipe is more to my liking for a layer cake. (Stands up better.) Maybe you can't teach an old dog new tricks after all.

                                                                     

Bill's Big Carrot Cake 
Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan

Ingredients For the cake:

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• 3 cups grated carrots (about 9 carrots, you can grate them in food processor fitted w/ a shredding a blade or use a box grater)
• 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts or pecans
• 1 cup shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)
• ½ cup moist, plump raisins (dark or golden) or dried cranberries
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup canola oil
• 4 large eggs 

Ingredients For the frosting:

• 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
• 1 stick ( 8 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 pound or 3 and ¾ cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
• 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice or ½ teaspoon pure lemon extract
• ½ cup shredded coconut (optional)
• Finely chopped toasted nuts and/or toasted shredded coconut (optional)

Getting ready:
Position the racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Butter three 9-x-2-inch round cake pans, flour the insides, and tap out the excess. Put the two pans on one baking sheet and one on another. My Notes: I used two 9x2 inch pans.
                                                                            
To make the cake:
Whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. In another bowl, stir together the carrots, chopped nuts, coconut, and raisins.

Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment, or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the sugar and oil together on a medium speed until smooth. Add the eggs one by one and continue to beat until the batter is even smoother. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour mixture, mixing only until the dry ingredients disappear. Gently mix the chunky ingredients. Divide the batter among the baking pans.

Bake for 40-50 minutes, rotating the pans from top to bottom and front to back at the midway point, until a thin knife inserted into the centers comes out clean. The cakes will have just started to come away from the sides of the pans. Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then run a knife around the sides of the cakes and unmold them. Invert and cool to room temperature right side up. My Notes: Because I used two pans, the layers needed longer in the oven ~ about 60-70 minutes.
The cakes can be wrapped airtight and kept at room temperature overnight or frozen for up to 2 months.

To make the frosting:
Working with a stand mixer, preferably fitted with a paddle attachment or with a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and butter together until smooth and creamy. Gradually add the sugar and continue to beat until the frosting is velvety smooth. Beat in the lemon juice or extract. If you'd like coconut in the filling, scoop about half of the frosting and stir the coconut into this position.

To assemble the cake:
Put one layer top side up on a cardboard cake round or a cake plate protected by strips of wax or parchment paper. If you added the coconut to the frosting, use half of the coconut frosting to generously cover the first layer (or generously cover with plain frosting). Use an offset spatula or a spoon to smooth the frosting all the way to the edges of the layer. Top with the second layer, this time placing the cake stop side down, and frost with the remainder of the coconut frosting or plain frosting.  Top with the last layer, right side up, and frost the top- and the sides- of the cake. Finish the top with swirls of frosting. If you want to top the cake with toasted nuts or coconut, sprinkle them on now while the frosting is soft.
My Notes: You can see how I decorated two layers. Frosting in between, and frost the entire cake. Pat chopped walnuts around the outside and sprinkle nuts or toasted coconut on top.
                                                                           

Refrigerate the cake for 30 minutes, just to set the frosting before serving.

Serving:
This cake can be served as soon as the frosting is set. It can also wait, at room temperature and covered with a cake keeper overnight. The cake is best served in thick slices at room temperature and while it's good plain, it's even better with vanilla ice cream or some lemon curd.
                                                                              

Storing:
The cake will keep  at room temperature for 2 to 3 days. It can also be frozen. Freeze it uncovered, then when it's firm, wrap airtight and freeze for up to 2 months. Defrost, still wrapped, overnight in the refrigerator.
                                                                      

And remember to enter the Great Cookbook Give-Away for a brand new "Martha Stewart's
Cookies" cookbook.
                                          



 

COOKBOOK GIVE-AWAY ~ "Martha Stewart's Cookies"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I promised you a Cookbook Give-Away and here it is!

Because I appreciate you all so much, I'm giving away a Brand New 2008 copy of "Martha Stewart's Cookies". (The fact that I love all the hype has nothing to do with it!) Check out the link to read the Amazon review and all the cookies you have to look forward to!

                                                                               

It's so Brand New, that I told myself I wouldn't open it. But I just couldn't help myself. I needed to know what was in it so I could get you all excited! Well, let me tell you...I want this book for myself and I may just go out and buy another one, just for me! Why do I want one so bad? Cause it's got lots and lots of ooey, gooey, gorgeous, mouth-watering close-up pictures!In fact, I think there's a photo for all 175 cookie recipes!

A free cookbook? Come On! What's the deal?
As Erika from Stampin' Mama would say..."So......what do you need to do to enter this Groovy Give-Away?"

I'm giving you a whole week for this Cookbook Give-Away.
Why so long? Because I want all of you to Spread the Love and send all your friends over to enter too!
                                                                        

All you have to do is leave a comment on this post and tell me what your favorite dessert is. Or tell me what recipes you're looking for, what you'd like to see more of. Tell me why I should give away more cookbooks. You get the picture! The more comments I get, the more likely I am to make this a regular feature.

If you do happen to have your own blog, you can help spread the love and mention my "Martha Stewart's Cookies Cookbook Give-Away".

And while you're at it, make sure to enter your email address into my Feedblitz box at the very top of my blog so that you don't miss out on any of the fun stuff. (if you've already done this or you subscribe to my blog through a reader service like Google or Bloglines, you can skip this part)

*** This Give-Away is NOT limited to where you live.....so even if you are outside of the US or Canada, you can still participate.***

I'll pick the winner with the random number generator on Tuesday (4/29) at 9 pm Eastern Time and announce the winner here!
                                                                            

So, there you have it! Go and Spread The Love! X O

LIVING ABOARD ~ Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay

Gorgeous RI Weather
The weather in Rhode Island has been exceptional lately, with each day getting warmer and sunnier. Today's temperature was around 75 with a light wind out of the southeast. The sunny day and bright blue sky made the water look even more intense, making a great backdrop for white billowy sails.  There's been a flurry of activity at the marina as all the impatient boaters want their boats in the water and ready yesterday! Kids and dogs and sailors. They all seem to go together!



Cherry Blossom Sling Margaritas
Living on the water as we do, We don't take the weather for granted. When the sun shines and the temps rise, there's only one thing to do. Break out the margaritas and have a dock party! And that's exactly what we did! John dug out our folding dock chairs and set them up on the dock next to "Nirvana". Out came the folding table (everything has to be very compact on a boat) and the margaritas! As I was browsing the Williams-Sonoma store near us one day, I noticed a new Margarita mix called "Agave 15 Margarita Mix". They had a few different flavors, but the one that tempted me the most was Cherry Blossom Sling! It was soooo red and luscious looking. According to Williams-Sonoma, "Cherry Blossom Sling creates a sweet-tart scarlet margarita that pairs Key lime with the juices of Bing, Lapin and Sweetheart cherries." That's good enough for me! I had to have it. ($16.95 for a 32 ounce bottle) On the way home, I stopped for a bottle of Jose Cuervo Tequila ($16.95) to mix with it. The 2 bottles made enough to serve a crowd! We poured it over the rocks and darned if I didn't forget the salt!

Cheers!
Here's John toasting all you poor landlubbers! Unfortunately, there's no way I can prove I was at this party as I was the one taking pictures! You'll just have to trust me on this one!
Look at those gorgeous boats in the background. They're not ours.
To go with our pretty red margaritas, we had Green Mountain Gringo Salsa and tortilla chips from Vermont.

Marinated Salmon & Brown Jasmine Rice
The entree was a huge slab of Atlantic Salmon. I really don't like salmon at all, but since we're trying to eat more fish, I decided to try it once more. This time I marinated it in a garlic, wine and herb packaged mix that you add water, vinegar and oil to. I slid it right into a Ziploc bag (the fishy never touched my hands) and it stewed in the marinade for about 30 minutes. I like to grill the fish outside cause I just don't like stinkin' up the insides of my boat! But grilling fish can be a real bummer if the fish flakes off and slides into the coals! To remedy this problem, we've taken to grilling our fish in a heavy-duty foil packet. I slid the fish onto a big piece of foil (again, the fishy never touched human hands) and topped it with sliced onions, yellow peppers and juicy red tomatoes.
                                                                              

Doesn't it look delicious? I folded the foil at the top and pinched off the sides and it was ready to take to the grill. John cooked it for about 20-25 minutes ~ it doesn't take long. Check it a few times cause there's nothing worse than dry salmon!

I served it along side a wonderfully fragrant brown jasmine rice and Ginger-Lime Sauce. It was awesome! There was virtually no clean-up because the foil packet went right in the garbage!

And the best part? We ate it "Just sittin' on the dock of the bay, Wastin' time"!

(Otis Redding recorded the lyrics to his song "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay" just a few days before a plane crash took his life in 1967.)

HOMEMADE MARSHMALLOWS ~ Tuesdays With Dorie

                                                                              

Tuesdays With Dorie                          (click to enlarge)
Here it is. Tuesday already! I swear Tuesday comes every 5 days now! Seriously, I just did this less than a week ago...or so it seems! This recipe ~ Homemade Marshmallows ~ was chosen by Judy, of Judy's Gross Eats. Yeah, I'll have to ask her what that means someday. Thanks also to Chelle for writing out this very long recipe! Homemade Marshmallows is just one of many fabulous recipes in Baking: From My Home To Yours by Dorie Greenspan. Click on the rest of my posts under TWD to see the other delicious desserts I've made from this book.

Don't forget the Cookbook Give-Away that I'll be announcing during the week! Like I said below, it's gonna be a good one!