' The theme for many of the gifts I received for Christmas this year was gourmet treats. One of the things I got was BELLAGIO Gourmet Sipping Chocolate
*Yes, this is an affiliate link. I gotta pay for my chocolate somehow. 
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31Jan
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30Jan
This is a Nigella Lawson recipe, from Feast. It’s been slapped up all over the internet, so I figured it was my turn to post it. This is one of Matt’s favorite cakes, and it’s so very rich. The kids like it too. I’ve honestly never made it with the frosting, but I’m including it in the recipe anyway.
The recipe is in metric for the most part, but I’m sure you can figure out the conversions.
Chocolate Guinness Cake
Makes one huge cake.250ml Guinness
250g butter (1 cup)
75g cocoa (a rounded 1/2 cup)
400g caster sugar (2 cups)
140ml sour cream
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
275g all purpose flour (2 1/4 cups)
2 1/2 teaspoons baking sodafor the icing:
300g cream cheese
150g icing sugar (1 cup)
125ml creamPreheat the oven to 180C, and grease and line (yes! lining is essential – if you don’t line it, you’ll never get it out of the pan in one piece) a 23 centimetre springform tin.
Pour the Guinness into a large saucepan, and add the sliced butter. Heat until the butter is melted, and remove the saucepan from the heat. Whisk in the cocoa and sugar. Beat the sour cream with the eggs and vanilla, then pour into the saucepan. Finally, beat in the flour and bicarb.
Pour the batter into the greased and lined tin, and bake for 45 mins to an hour. Leave to get completely cool in the tin, as it’s quite a damp cake.
For the icing, beat the icing sugar and cream cheese together. Add the cream, and beat again until it’s a spreadable consistency. Ice the top of the black cake until it resembles the frothy top of the famous pint.
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29Jan
There’s a lot of sources of recipes on the web. This recipe comes from Betty Crocker. I’ve removed the brand names, as I’m not going to mention specific products, unless it’s the ones I used.
Was it a hit? Based on the look of bliss on Matt’s face when he tasted the meat before it was combined with the sauce, and how quickly everyone gobbled down their food, I’d have to say yes.
1 pork boneless loin roast, (2 1/2 pounds), trimmed on fat
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
2 cups barbecue sauce
3/4 cup medium salsa
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 bag (1 pound) frozen stir-fry bell peppers and onions
1/2 teaspoon salt
18 flour tortillas (8 to 10 inches in diameter)
Shredded cheese, if desired
Guacamole, if desired
Sour cream, if desiredPlace pork in 3- to 4-quart slow cooker. Place onion on top. Mix barbecue sauce, salsa, chili powder and cumin in small bowl; pour over pork and onion.
Cover and cook on Low heat setting 8 to 10 hours.
Remove pork from cooker; place on cutting board. Shred pork, using 2 forks. Return pork to cooker and mix well. Stir in stir-fry vegetables and salt. Increase heat setting to High. Cover and cook 30 minutes or until mixture is hot and vegetables are tender.
Using slotted spoon to remove pork mixture from cooker, fill each tortilla with 1/2 cup pork mixture. Fold one end of tortilla up about 1 inch over filling; fold right and left sides over folded end, overlapping. Fold remaining end down. Serve with cheese, guacamole and sour cream.
We didn’t eat all of this. It made enough for two meals, and I put half of it into the freezer for another time.
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28Jan
This is the quesadillas recipe I mentioned in Tamari Slaw Salad. It was good, but would be better with spicier chicken, and a bit more cheese in each one. This is from Rollover Jerk Chicken Quesadillas with Slaw Salad, by Rachael Ray. It uses jerked chicken and roasted peppers and pineapple from Jerk Chicken with Roasted Peppers and Pineapple .
When I made this, I used 8 tortillas, to make four full circle quesadillas, and used my quesadilla maker instead of a skillet.
Jerk Chicken Quesadillas
Serves 44 large whole wheat tortillas
Remaining vegetable and pineapple mixture (about 2 cups)
Remaining roasted chicken, skin removed and meat shredded (about 2 cups)
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack, pepper Jack or smoked cheddar cheesePlace a large skillet over medium heat. Add one tortilla to the pan and cook about 1 minute per side, or until starting to blister.
Add a quarter of the vegetable and pineapple mixture, a quarter of the shredded chicken and a quarter of the cheese to half of the tortilla and fold the other half up to create a half moon. Cook until cheese is melted, flipping halfway through, and repeat with the remaining tortillas.
Cut into wedges and serve.
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27Jan
This is the first meal made with the leftovers from the Jerk Chicken with Roasted Peppers and Pineapple recipe. I really liked it, but it could do with a bit more spice. We’ll try it again with the spicier jerk chicken, and a bit more ginger in the sauce, then move on from there.
I didn’t put in the sesame seeds or the scallions, mainly because I got distracted when cooking and completely forgot. It was still good.
Sweet and Spicy Noodles with Shredded Jerk Chicken
Serves 4Salt
1 pound spaghetti, whole wheat or plain
1/2 cup chicken stock
A 1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated or 1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 clove garlic, grated
3 tablespoons peanut butter
1/4 cup Tamari (dark soy sauce)
A couple dashes of hot sauce
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons honey
cooked chicken, skin removed and meat shredded (about 2 cups)
roasted peppers and pineapple (about 2 cups)
2 cups sack slaw salad mix (shredded cabbage and carrots)
4 scallions, thinly sliced on an angle
3 tablespoons toasted sesame seedsPlace a large pot of water over high heat and bring to a boil. Once the water is boiling, add a generous amount of salt and the pasta and cook to al dente.
While the pasta is cooking, heat the chicken stock in a small saucepan. Once warm, add the ginger, garlic, peanut butter, Tamari, hot sauce, canola oil and honey and whisk to combine.
In a large bowl, combine the shredded chicken, leftover peppers, onions and pineapple and 2 cups of slaw salad mix. Reserve the rest of the slaw salad mix for the next rollover supper.
Drain the pasta and add to the bowl. Pour sauce over noodles and toss to combine. Garnish with scallions and sesame seeds.
