Annie Laurie's Cold Oven Pound Cake

Here is my mother's signature pound cake. All who knew and loved her can tell you that this was the ultimate in pound cake, and let me tell you, when you got one as a gift, you recieved the tops in gift giving.

My best memory of one of these cakes was when my 2 sisters and my best friend traveled to Maine (where I was living at the time) one early October, and carried a pound cake with them on the plane so that my twin sister and I could celebrate our birthday. As mom couldn't be there, she sent the next best thing. It, as always, was wonderful.

Enjoy

Annie Laurie's Cold Oven Pound Cake

3 sticks (1.5 cups) butter
3 cups sugar
6 eggs (Cold)
3 cups sifted cake flour
1 cup whole milk (VERY Cold)
1 teaspoon vanila extract
1 teaspoon almond extract

*eggs & milk should be cold right out of the refrigerator (not room temperature)

1. Prepare large tube pan by either spraying with bakers spray (and wiping gently with a paper towel to remove excess) or greasing with soft butter & dusting with flour. Set aside.
2. Cream butter and sugar together.
3. Beat in eggs, one at a time.
4. Beat in flour, one cup at a time, alternating with milk.
5. Add vanilla extract and almond extract.
6. Beat on medium-high to high speed of hand mixer for two minutes, scrapping down sides of bowl.
7. Carefully pour batter evenly into tube pan – use all that is in the bowl (a rubber spatula will help).
8. Place on middle rack in COLD oven and bake at 275F. for 2 hours.
9. Check it towards the end in case your oven cooks fast or slow.
10. Remove the pan from the oven and place it on a cake rack on the counter for about four minutes.
11. Run a dinner knife around the middle and edges.
12. Turn cake out onto dinner plate and then upright onto a cake plate.
13. Let the cake cool before cutting – best to use a serrated knife, at least while cake is somewhat warm.

Serving Suggestions:
Annie Laurie’s Cold Oven Pound Cake is great just as it is or with chocolate ice cream on top or with strawberries & whipped cream or with fudge icing dripping down the sides… Try it with warm cooked apples, a bit of cinnamon & apple syrup. It can be frozen & thawed to serve later and is perfect to give as a gift for a job well done!

French Bread

I haven't made bread in many years. But I was flipping through this cookbook I have on Sunday evening and saw this really easy French Bread Recipe. So, in between doing dishes and cleaning the house on Monday, I decided to try it and see what happens..

Well I'm here to tell you.. very easy, tasted great. I hope I can reproduce the same results again in the near future..

Here is the Recipe.

Makes 2 loaves

1 tbsp Active Dry Yeast (I used 1 package)

16 fl oz lukewarm water

1 tbsp salt

1 lb 14oz - 2 lb 8oz plain flour

semolina (corn meal) or flour for sprinkling.

1. Combine the yeast and water, stir, and leave for 15minutes to dissolve. Stir in Salt

2. Add the flour, 5 oz at a time. Beat in with a wooden spoon, adding just enough flour to obtain a smooth dough. Alternateively, use an electric mixer with a dough hook. ( I started out beating it by hand, but ended up using my electric mixer, worked much better)

3. Tranfer to a floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic.

4. Shape into a ball, place in a greased bowl and cover with a plastic bag. Leave to rise in a warm place until doubled in volumn (2-4 hours). (well I had to go out and ended up leaving mine for about 5 hours in total time)

5. Transfer to a lighlty floured board and shape into 2 long loaves. Place on a baking sheet sprinkled with semolina or flour and let rise for 5 minutes.

6. Score the tops in several places with a very sharp knife. Brush with water and place in a cold oven. Set a pan of boailing water on the bottom of the oven and set the oven to 400F. Bake until crusty and golden, about 40min. Cool on a rack.

Those Zucchini Fritters

Well I tried the fritters at lunch today.. Too much Zucchini (but I was making it for more than 2 people) and I didn't do my measurements correctly. (which is a problem I have when cooking .. I don't always use the exact measurements, except in Baking).

They turned at good, but I think I used too much cheese, and made to many of them.. Also, didn't have Self Rising flour, so used the substitue version (added Baking powder and salt to regular flour).

The hubby and oldest daughter enjoyed them, as did I.. I'll try them again, but with a better what on my measurements.

LunchBox Recipes - HELP!!!

My big thing is that I have 3 children all who need lunchboxes for school. I need recipes for lunchboxes.. and the thing is, my children aren't big veggie eaters, or fruit eaters.. Ok an apple here and there, Broccoli done a certain way with dinner, no problem, but not in the lunch box.

So.. please send me info via the comments section to suggestion possible lunchbox recipes. I'll post them for the world to see (if you want me to).

Really looking forward to it. By the way.. We live on a hot island, many items not available (most, but not some), so be resonable when posting.

Thanks for the help

Courgette Fritters - BBCGoodFood.com

Saw this recipe in a friends Magazine and thought that it looked really good and really easy.. so I'll report back when I've made it to go with lunch tomorrow.



INGREDIENTS
2 medium courgettes, grated
2 tbsp self-raising flour
25g parmesan, finely grated
1 tbsp olive oil
170g tub roasted red pepper houmous, to serve



In a bowl, combine the grated courgette, flour and parmesan. Shape into walnut-size balls, then flatten.
Heat a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and add the oil. Fry the fritters for 2-3 mins on each side until golden brown. Serve straight away with red pepper houmous.

It starts with just one post.

I'm sitting here this evening having seen a friends cooking magazine this morning and I decided I need a place, not just my computer, to put all those great recipes that I like into one place. My own little on the web cookbook. Well I'm not the first and I'm sure I'm not the last. I hope I don't get into trouble reposting some of this info, but I'm sure if I do, someone will let me know.

Feel free to chime in with other great recipes you would like me to add, or suggestions on how we can make this better.