Loftwarmen Menu

Morgan Terrace Loftwarmen

We recently moved to a loft in Chicago's West Loop. Our pets, Long John, Buster and Sheleata Kanatuna, hosted a festive Loftwarmen last night. Some 70 guests stopped by to celebrate the new digs and Long John's 10th birthday.

Menu

Brie & garlic jack cheese

Assorted crackers

Baguette slices

Assorted vegetables

Hummus

Spinach dip

Olive tapenade

Blue corn chips

Salsa

Guacamole

Ann's avocado salsa

Chocolate fondue

Pound cake

Strawberries

Pretzel dipping rods

pineapple

Brownies

Buckeyes

Pita pizza wedges

Pepperoni

Fresh tomato

Stuffed tomatoes

Hummus

Spinach dip

Cilantro & chive yogurt dip

Tomato, bacon sandwiches

Pound Cake

This is one of my favorite treats. I love it for breakfast, dipping in chocolate fondue or covered in fresh fruit and whipped cream.

Pound Cake

½ pound butter
1 teaspoon grated nutmeg
pinch salt
1 2/3 cups sugar
5 eggs
2 cups sifted cake flour

1. Have all the ingredients at room temperature. Soften the butter and add the nutmeg and salt. Beat 4 minutes by electric beater or 8 minutes by hand.

2. Gradually blend in the sugar until fluffy, beating 2 minutes by electric beater or 8 minutes by hand.

3. Beat in 4 of the eggs, 1 at a time. Total beating time should be 1 minute by electric beater or 2 minutes by hand.

4. Stir in all the flour at one time and beat 2 minutes by electric beater or 5 minutes by hand.

5. Blend in remaining egg, 15 seconds by electric beater or 33 strokes by hand. Turn the mixture into a well-greased, lightly floured 9 x 3½-inch tube cake pan.

6. Place in a cold oven and set the control to 300°F. If the cake is mixed by electric beater, bake 2 hours; if mixed by hand, bake 1½ hours. (Because the electric beater entraps a little more air into the batter, it produces a cake that is a little thicker and lighter.)

7. Cool the cake in the pan 10 minutes. Turn out on a wire rack to finish cooling.

Source: The New York Times Cookbook

Bean and Corn Chili

I was in the mood for chili and decided to give the Crock-Pot some action. A couple of friends stopped by while the chili was cooking. They couldn't stop raving at how good it smelled, so I invited them over for an impromptu dinner party.

Wine and beer flew out of the fridge and the five of us finished off the chili.

Bean and Corn Chili

2 medium onions, finely chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp olive oil
2 Tbs red wine
1 green bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
1 red bell pepper, seeded and finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely sliced
6 Roma tomatoes, chopped
2 15-oz cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 6-oz can tomato paste
8-oz frozen corn kernels
1 tsp salt
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1 1/2 cups nonfat chicken or vegetable broth

1. In a medium skillet, saute the onions and garlic in the olive oil and red wine.

Add the skillet contents and the remaining ingredients to the slow cooker. Mix thoroughly.

Cover; cook on Low for 6 to 8 hours or on High for 3 to 4 hours.

We can thank our friends at CrockPot.com.

Buckeyes

We were reminiscing about treats our Grandma's made during a recent dinner party. Buckeyes, a mix of peanut butter, powdered sugar and chocolate, peeked my interest. I will admit a great fondness for most treats that involve a mixture of peanut butter and chocolate.

I must agree, they are tasty. While making a batch last night for Jessica's Super Bowl party, I devoured six.

Buckeyes

1 16 ounce package powdered sugar, sifted
1 ½ cups creamy peanut butter
½ cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon salt
2 ounces paraffin (optional)
1 12 ounce package semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Blend sugar, peanut butter, butter, salt and vanilla until smooth. Shape into 1 inch balls.

2. Melt chocolate chips and paraffin in top of double boiler. Dip balls in chocolate mixture with toothpick until ¾ covered. Place on waxed paper until set. Cover over hole until smooth.

Yield: 6 dozen

Recipe Source cooks.com

Carrot Cake with Maple-Cream Cheese Icing

The fridge is overflowing with fresh carrots from the weekly Angelic Organics CSA veggie boxes. My last attempt at carrot cake, Martha let me down. I told her I had to work late Thursday night and hung out with Epicurious.com.

Epicurious provided me with a boost of confidence and a no-frills carrot cake recipe. I went to work measuring and grating.

After adding the final swirls of Maple-Cream Cheese Icing, I cut a couple of slices and let my tasters at it. They were raving. One, after taking his first bite, proclaimed, "This is damn good!".

I'm off to exercise - I ate more than my share.

Old-Fashioned Carrot Cake with Maple-Cream Cheese Icing

2 cups sugar
1 cup canola oil
4 large eggs
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
4 cups finely grated peeled carrots
1 cup walnuts, toasted, chopped

Maple-Cream Cheese Icing

24 ounces cream cheese, softened
12 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (1 Ã?‚Ã?½ sticks)
24 teaspoons maple syrup or honey

1. Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350Ã?‚Ã?°F. Butter and flour two 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 1 1/2-inch-high sides. Using electric mixer, beat sugar, oil and eggs in large bowl until well blended. Add flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and salt; beat until blended. Stir in carrots and walnuts. Divide batter between pans.

2. Bake cakes until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 32 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on rack 15 minutes. Run small knife between pan sides and cakes to loosen. Turn cakes out onto racks; cool completely.

3. Place 1 cake layer, flat side up, on platter. Spread 1 cup icing over. Top with second cake layer, flat side down. Spread remaining icing over top and sides of cake. Refrigerate cake 1 hour or up to 1 day. Serve at room temperature.

4. Maple-Cream Cheese Icing: In a bowl beat together frosting ingredients until smooth and chill.

Servings: 10

Carrot Cake Flop

I love to celebrate sweet taste of success when my cooking or baking produce a tasty treat. At times, the sweet success is not so sweet.

I took my first crack at a carrot cake. I think it would best be described as carrot flop. Back to the drawing board with another recipe. When the carrot cake is carrot-licious, I'll share the recipe.

Marinara Sauce

In our weekly Angelic Organics CSA (Community Suported Agriculture) veggie box, I received an abundance of fresh and tasty tomatoes. I took the opportunity to give this new sauce recipe a try.

Marinara Sauce

2 tablespoons Olive oil
½ yellow onion, diced small
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups diced tomatoes (with juice)
1 cup tomato puree
¼ cup fresh parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh oregano, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh basil, chiffonade
1 bay leaf
salt and black pepper

1. Heat a large sauce pot over medium heat; add olive oil and heat through.

2. Add onions; saute 2 minutes

3. Add garlic; saute 1 minute

4. Add remaining ingredients; bring to a simmer.

5. Simmer for ½ hour.

6. Season with salt and pepper.

Servings: 4