Bulgogi

Being an Army brat, I had the pleasure of many new experiences and becoming friends with a diverse group of people while growing up. My first best friend ever I met in Germany in the 1980s while in elementary school. Gina and I did everything together and stayed at each other's houses often. I made my nachos for her, and her mother, a Korean native, introduced me to many foods I'd never tried before. Gina and I reconnected in adulthood and remain friends to this day. For Thanksgiving 2016, Gina and her daughter came to visit me and my family. We had so much fun reminiscing and allowing our daughters the chance to get to know one another. One of my favorite activities was the cooking we did together... just like old times. I made Gina several dishes she had not tried before, and Gina made me bulgogi. Have you ever had bulgogi? It's a Korean dish made of thin, marinated slices of beef or pork grilled on a barbecue or on a stove-top griddle. It is also often stir-fried in a pan in home cooking. Sirloin, rib eye or brisket are frequently used cuts of beef for the dish. This dish was so delicious, and both my daughter and I loved it. This is Gina's recipe that she shared with me. You have to try this!

4 lbs rump roast (ask the store to shave it as thinly as possible)
1 entire bulb of garlic finely chopped
2 bunches of green onions sliced thin
2 large yellow onions chopped
3 green (red, yellow or orange) bell peppers chopped
4 large carrots finely peeled and sliced or a bag of julienne pre-cut matchstix size
1/2 cup of white sugar
1 entire bottle of low sodium soy sauce
1/2 bottle of sesame seed oil

2 Tbsp of fresh diced ginger or use the purée in a tube

1 Tbsp of black pepper

Start by chopping and prepping the bell pepper, onion, green onion, and carrots and garlic, if you're chopping those. I chose to use jarred garlic and the matchstix carrots.

Add the soy sauce and sesame oil to the meat.

Add the garlic, ginger, and sugar and mix into the meat.

Add the carrots, bell peppers, onion, and green onion and mix all of it together by hand (put on latex gloves) and be sure to separate the slices of meat to get all the flavors mixed in it.

Let it marinate for 30 minutes to overnight. The 4 lbs of meat will make enough to feed 6 people two times. I chose to bag and freeze mine. I got four quart-size freezer bags full of bulgogi, which feed my daughter and me twice. Be sure to freeze them flat. It's easier to store, and they thaws quicker. 

If you are pulling it out of the freezer, be sure to pull it the night before and thaw in fridge. When ready to cook, fry in a frying pan or wok on high heat. No extra oil is needed. At first it will be very liquidy... just continue to cook until some of the moisture cooks down.

Serve over jasmine rice and enjoy the aromatic, delicious yumminess!

Caramel Cake

There are a few desserts that I just completely associate with the South. Chess pie, banana pudding, and caramel cake are a few of those desserts. Personally, I can live without banana pudding, although I have to make it for my mom and grandpa every now and then, but I can definitely get with the program for a slice of chess pie or caramel cake. Caramel cake is a truly decadent, rich, amazing dessert, and if you've never had a piece, then you definitely are missing out. Just be sure to take any diabetes medication before you bite into a slice, because it is so sweet and rich. This recipe I found on Pinterest for Southern Caramel Cake makes a moist, tender crumb cake and a beautifully whipped, smooth, crazy rich and sweet caramel frosting. You should make this cake for your next potluck... your friends, coworkers, family, or church will thank you.

For the Cake:

3 cups cake flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) of unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
2 cups granulated sugar
4 large eggs
1 cup milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Caramel icing, recipes below
3/4 cup of finely chopped toasted pecans, or whole pecan halves, optional

For the Caramel Icing:

2 cups of granulated sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons of baking soda
2 tablespoons of white corn syrup
1/2 cup of buttermilk
1/2 cup of vegetable shortening
1/2 cup of unsalted butter
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Have everything at room temperature. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray the bottoms of three 9-inch cake pans with cooking spray. Cut rounds of parchment paper to place into the bottoms of each pan and grease or flour the pan and paper, or spray with Baker's Joy; set aside. In a large bowl, sift together the cake flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.

With a mixer, cream the butter first on medium speed, then add the sugar a little at a time, beating well for about 6 minutes total. 

Reduce the speed to low and add the eggs, one at a time, mixing each in before adding the next one. 

Start adding the flour and alternate adding in the flour and the milk, starting with the flour and ending with the flour. 

Add the vanilla and mix well.

Equally divide the batter among the three pans and level the batter. Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick comes back clean, shifting the pans around halfway through. Don't overcook it or it will be dry, so check at about 20 minutes. 

Cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, turn out onto a rack to cool completely.

For the icing, combine all ingredients except vanilla in a saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until it reaches the desired caramel color. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Use a hand held mixer to beat it until it cools and becomes thick enough to spread. Spread thinly on each layer, on the top and along the sides. Sprinkle the nuts on top before icing sets, or decorate the top and sides with whole pecan halves.

Mounds Cake

Oh. My. Gosh. This cake was soooooo very decadent. Just pure chocolatey, coconutty, delicious decadence. I ran across the recipe for Mounds Layer Cake on Pinterest, and it looked like something my daughter would love, so I pinned it. It's not exactly a simple cake to make, but it's definitely worth the work. The cake had so much delicious chocolate flavor that it's difficult to describe. It was so moist and just... delicious. If you like Mounds bars and coconut, then you definitely need to try this cake the next time you have friends or family over for dinner.

Filling

14 oz bag sweetened, shredded coconut
1 can sweetened condensed milk

Filling: In a large bowl, combine coconut and sweetened condensed milk. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Cake

2 cups sugar
1 cup Dutch Process Cocoa Powder (I used Hershey's Special Dark)
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup boiling water

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour three 9-inch round pans. It's a good idea to use parchment paper in the bottom on your pans, but not required. If you only have two pans, just fill one pan a little more than the other. You will split the taller cake in half.

Cake: In the bowl of your mixer, combine sugar, cocoa powder, flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. 

Add eggs, oil, and buttermilk and beat on medium speed for two minutes.

 

Scrape sides of bowl and stir in boiling water. Divide batter into cake pans (batter will be thin) and bake for 30 minutes or until tops spring back until lightly touched. Allow cakes to cool in pans for about 5 minutes, then remove to cooling racks to cool completely.

Ganache

1/2 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup light corn syrup (you can use honey if you are opposed to corn syrup)

Ganache: While cake bakes, in a microwave safe bowl, combine chocolate chips and heavy cream. Microwave for about 2 minutes, stopping every 30 seconds to stir until smooth. 

Stir in corn syrup and refrigerate until slightly cooled and thickened.

Frosting
1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, slightly softened
1/3 cup cream of coconut (I buy this in a squeeze bottle with the drink mixers)
1/4 cup heavy cream
3 cups powdered sugar

Frosting: While cake bakes, in the bowl of your mixer, beat butter, cream of coconut, and heavy cream on medium speed until smooth. With the mixer set on low, slowly add powdered sugar. Once the powdered sugar is just barely mixed in, increase speed to high and beat for one minute until fluffy.

Spread coconut filling between 3 layers. 

Frost with coconut frosting.

Spoon ganache on top to the very edges of the cake, letting it drip down the sides.

 

Garnish with a scoop of coconut filling if desired. Let ganache set, and then prepare for a bite of heaven.