Sisters' Gourmet Brownies in Dubai....

We received this link today (to another blog), and thought it was fun and quite interesting! We at Sisters' Gourmet have a distributor in Dubai that sells our products to some of the local gourmet stores. Because we don't do a LOT of international business, we haven't thought through some of the translation/cultural issues that apparently we need to address. In this "story", you will see what I am talking about! Enjoy!

**above photo courtesy of (my niece) Rebekah L Photography

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Granny's Disappearing Chocolate Cake

Our Grandma was a fabulous cook! As she got older, we tried to get her to write down as many recipes as possible so they wouldn't be lost forever. This cake was always a family favorite, so of course, we got the recipe. It's been over 10 years since Grandma passed away, but I still think of her every time I make the cake.

The problem was that she wrote it down wrong (but I didn't know that until last month)!!! So every time I made it, I wondered why I had such differing results. Sometimes it seemed to work out ok, but other times, it would just fall in the middle. Finally, I decided to do some research and see what I could find. Because Grandma always called it "Hershey's Disappearing Cake", I was able to find the original recipe on the internet, along with the following note, "We found this recipe in a magazine at a doctor's office where my wife discovered she was pregnant over 19 years ago. It has become our favorite recipe." Finally, I was able to see where Grandma had copied the recipe wrong. She had written 1 1/4 cups of flour, instead of 1 3/4 cups! Now, it is truly our favorite recipe, since we can make it without fail - literally!

1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup shortening
2 cups sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
3/4 cup cocoa
1 3/4 cup flour
3/4 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1 3/4 cup milk

Grease a 9x13 pan. Cream butter and shortening, then add sugar and vanilla until fluffy. Blend in eggs. Combine cocoa, flour, baking powder and soda, and salt in a bowl. Add milk and flour mixture alternately to batter. Blend well and pour into prepared pan. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes, or until cake bounces back when touched. Cool for 10 minutes, then spread the warm chocolate frosting (recipe below) on the cake.

Granny's Chocolate Frosting
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
3 TB butter
1/4 cup water
1 tsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Mix first 4 ingredients in saucepan over low heat, stirring occassionally until smooth. Add powdered sugar and beat until smooth. (at this point, sometimes I transfer the frosting to my Kitchen Aid for mixing, so that the frosting will be really smooth and creamy, or you could just use a hand mixer in the saucepan).

Tips: You want this frosting to be a little "runny" when you spread it on the cake. As it cools, it will harden - sometimes to the point of fudge! So, I often add a tablespoon of milk before spreading it on the cake. That keeps the frosting a little softer after cooling. Either way, it is delicious!!

Tangy Chicken BLT Sandwiches

Yes, it's sandwich time at our house again, but it is summer - and it's 95 degrees outside today! I thought I had see a recipe like this online, but when I went to make these yummy sandwiches today, I couldn't find it anywhere, so I was on my own. It's super easy to put together and so delicious! Don't talk yourself out of the sauce - it truly makes this sandwich special.

I made these sandwiches on 2 medium sized french bread loaves (actually labeled "sweet italian bread" at Kroger). Then, each was cut into 3 servings for a total of 6 servings. Of course, you can make it any size, but this recipe will give you a place to start....

You will need:
2 french bread loaves, sliced lengthwise in half
1 fully cooked rotisserie chicken, sliced
12 slices of bacon, cooked (I baked mine at 400 for about 15 minutes)
a few slices of lettuce, washed
2 tomatoes, sliced
2 TB mayonnaise
2 TB ketchup
salt and pepper to taste

Mix equal amounts of ketchup and mayo (about 2 TB each) and set aside.

Put sliced bread under broiler for about 3 minutes or until just starting to brown, then remove from oven.

Layer bottom slice of bread with bacon, chicken, lettuce, and tomato. Sprinkle salt and pepper on tomatoes. Generously spread sauce on top layer of bread, then lay on top of sandwich. Slice into desired serving sizes and enjoy!

S'more Cookie Bars!

I came across these on lovinintheoven.com and had to try.. they are even better than they look!!

S'More Cookie Bars

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 king-sized milk chocolate bars (e.g. Hershey’s)
• 1 1/2 cups marshmallow creme/fluff (not melted marshmallows)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.
   
2. In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg and vanilla. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture and mix at a low speed until combined.
   
3. Divide dough in half and press half of dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan. Place chocolate bars over dough. 2 king-sized Hershey’s bars should fit perfectly side by side, but break the chocolate (if necessary) to get it to fit in a single layer no more than 1/4 inch thick. Spread chocolate with marshmallow creme or fluff. Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the fluff (most easily achieved by flattening the dough into small shingles and laying them together).
4. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool completely before cutting into bars.

Makes 16 cookie bars.

Garlic Breadsticks

Easy Breadsticks!

1 1/2 c. warm (105-115 degrees) water
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. yeast
1/2 tsp. salt
3-4 1/2 c. flour


In a large bowl, combine water, sugar, and yeast. Let stand for 10 minutes or until yeast is bubbly.  

Add salt and stir. Add 1 1/2 c. flour and mix well. Gradually add more flour (usually between 3-4 cups,) until dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl and it barely sticks to your finger.

Spray a glass or metal bowl with cooking spray or coat with oil and place dough in the bowl. Cover and allow to rise for 45 minutes or until doubled in bulk.

Remove from bowl and place on a lightly-floured surface. Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Roll into a rectangle and cut into 12 strips with a pizza cutter.

Roll out each piece of dough into a snake and then fold in half and twist the dough. Place on baking sheet and repeat with remaining pieces of dough.  Put them a few inches apart unless you want them to be connected when baked.

Cover pan and allow dough to rise for another 30 minutes. When there's about 15 minutes to go, preheat your oven to 425. When done rising, bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Rub some butter on top of the breadsticks  and sprinkle with garlic mixed with parmesan and parsley. For a sweet treat you could sprinkle them with cinnamon sugar. Enjoy!

Men vs. Women BBQ Wars...

So I sent this innocent (but hilarious) e-mail to a few guys in our family, my brother in law being one of them.. here is the e-mail I sent him and below that is his response.. enjoy!

BBQ RULES We are about to enter the BBQ season. Therefore it is important to refresh your memory on the etiquette of this sublime outdoor cooking activity. When a man volunteers to do the BBQ the following chain of events are put into motion:  Routine...  (1) The woman buys the food.  (2) The woman makes the salad, prepares the vegetables and makes dessert.  (3) The woman prepares the meat for cooking, places it on a tray along with the necessary cooking utensils and sauces, and takes it to the man who is lounging beside the grill - drink in hand.  (4) The woman remains outside the compulsory three meter exclusion zone where the exuberance of testosterone and other manly bonding activities can take place without the interference of the woman.   Here comes the important part:  (5) THE MAN PLACES THE MEAT ON THE GRILL.   More routine...  (6) The woman goes inside to organize the plates and cutlery.  (7) The woman comes out to tell the man that the meat is looking great. He thanks her and asks if she will bring another drink while he flips the meat.   Important again:  (8) THE MAN TAKES THE MEAT OFF THE GRILL AND HANDS IT TO THE WOMAN.   More routine...  (9) The woman prepares the plates, salad, bread, utensils, napkins, sauce and brings them to the table.  (10) After eating, the woman clears the table and does the dishes.   And most important of all:  (11) Everyone PRAISES the MAN and THANKS HIM for his cooking efforts.   (12) The man asks the woman how she enjoyed her 'night off,' and, upon seeing her annoyed reaction, concludes that there's just no pleasing some women.

 Rob's response...

Suzy,

Heres how the guys see it.

One Month before the party (90 degrees out):

The man fertilizes the lawn
The man pressure washes the house and the deck
The man touches up the paint
The man fixes the pump on the pool and replaces the filters

The man mows the lawn

edges the lawn, trims the lawn, blows the sidewalks and driveway

Three weeks out (93 degrees out):

The man refinishes the deck
The man pressure washes the driveway
The man trims the shrubs
The man sweeps and shocks the pool
The man refreshes the mulch
The man sprays the yard for weeds

The man mows the lawn

edges the lawn, trims the lawn, blows the sidewalks and driveway

Two weeks out (97 degrees out):

The man weeds the flowerbeds
The man pressure washes the pool furniture and the pool deck

The man mows the lawn

edges the lawn, trims the lawn, blows the sidewalks and driveway

3-4 days out (record breaking heat since 1905):

The man mows the lawn
edges the lawn, trims the lawn, blows the sidewalks and driveway
The man fills the propane tanks
The man sprays for bugs and ants.
The man cleans the grill and the grill tools.
The woman goes shopping... for food and plates and clothes and shoes and purses
The woman assigns stuff for all of her friends to bring

Party day:

The man stands outside in the 99 degree 100% humidity weather and cooks over a 400 degree grill for 2 hours.
The woman stays in the air conditioned house and tosses salad.
Everybody else eats.
The man eats a cold hot dog and chicken breast with a diet coke.  The brats and burgers are gone.  The salad is wilted and the fruit is warm.  The regular coke is gone.  The only chips left are fat free veggie crisps.
The man gets in the pool and enjoys the rest of the day.

What a great party.

It is conceivable in some cases the the word Man above may not be referring to the man of the house, but possible some other man who was picked up at QT that morning, but the man of the house still gets the credit.  After all he did go pick up the man and pay the man and take the man home.  Us men have to stick together.

Rob

Toasted Ravioli!!

If you have never tried fried ravioli- you are missing out!  We grew up in St. Louis where it is a local favorite, but lots of our country hasn't caught on that everything fried is better... It is super easy and worth the calories!

Toasted Ravioli
1 bag of frozen beef ravioli (you can use cheese, but then it is just fried cheese!)
3-4 eggs, beaten
Italian breadcrumbs
Oil of choice

Heat the oil in a frying pan.  Put eggs into medium to large shallow bowl.  Do the same with the breadcrumbs.  Dip frozen ravioli into eggs then breadcrumbs and fry in hot oil until brown on both sides.  Drain and serve with favorite marinara and parmesan cheese!