Guinness Chocolate Pudding

There's nothing like a nice tall glass of Guinness on St. Patrick's Day. A nice tall glass of Guinness chocolate pudding that is! This delicious treat is made up of a dark and decadent chocolate pudding made with the Irish stout, topped with a "head" of softly whipped Guinness flavored cream. I've made Guinness flavored desserts in the past, but for the most part I've found that the flavor of the stout doesn't really shine through. That's not to say its super strong in this dessert either, but the dark chocolate and Guinness combination brings the stout flavor to the front a little more, as does adding Guinness that's been reduced to a thick syrup to the whipped cream topping. It's just the perfect amount of flavoring. Not so strong that it turns off those that are not a fan of stout, but a big enough presence that those who love stout will be able to appreciate it.

Peanut Butter Ice Cream Cake

 One of my favorite things about blogging is getting to babble on about the people who make my world go 'round.  You've met Jill, Pam, Dorien & Kenny, and obviously Allison.  So it's a pretty glaring omission that after all this, not much has been said about the guy I'll be spending forever with.  Without further delay, meet John Francis...

We met in college while working at California Pizza Kitchen.  I thought he was handsome, and he followed me around the restaurant delivering extra ranch dressing to my tables and opening bottles of wine for me.  He kissed me one Friday night after a late shift, I was smitten, and then he ignored my calls for a week.  Then he called me, and I ignored his calls.  But whatever phase of the ridiculous dating dance we found ourselves in, we'd usually end up together in the dive bar across the street from the restaurant, smooching to "Don't Stop Believin'" after eleventy six Miller Lites. 

5 years later, I still think he's handsome, although I've mastered the art of opening my own wine.  We share an obsessive love of Mad Men, Mexican food, and our dogs.  He puts up with my messes (a trail of shoes and dirty laundry follows me around our house), and I put up with his questionable taste in snack foods (atomic jalapeno Cheetos are never ok).  If he's not marathon running, playing exquisite classical guitar, or working on his dissertation, he's charming the little kids in my family, or listening intently while my dad recounts the 1981 NFC playoff game.  And get this:  he does the dishes.  All.  The.  Dishes.

A guy like that comes along once in a lifetime, so his birthday dessert matters.  While I've never seen him turn his nose at any of my baked creations, John Francis is a chocolate-peanut butter man.  And since he's watched me make countless birthday cakes, I knew I wanted to mix it up and surprise him with something special.  Enter the ice cream cake...

Homemade Oreos

There's something about that first bite of an Oreo cookie that takes me reeling straight back to my childhood. I can remember the way I liked to stack them in tall piles, piles that were way too large for such a small child to be consuming, and then eating them one by one, each a little differently. Some I would eat whole, others I would twist apart, scraping out the center to eat first, and savoring the cookies which were my favorite part. But my absolute favorite way to eat Oreos was dunking them whole, in a nice big glass of cold milk.
To this day that's still the way I enjoy to eat them. Although I don't allow myself to eat them very often nowadays, because left to my own devices, I do believe I could polish off an entire package. Honestly, it's a problem. And that's why after I baked these bad boys I promptly gave them away, because I knew it wouldn't be long before I started stacking them in piles and eating away the whole batch one by one.

Ok, ok, so maybe I enjoyed one or two before giving them away.

Guinness Milk Chocolate Ice Cream

I live in Los Angeles, steps from a massive film and television studio, so please forgive this analogy in advance.  I want to talk about stunt casting.  Stunt casting is the phenomenon in which a big star will play a small role in a movie or television show.  Examples include Britney Spears' guest spot on How I Met Your Mother, or Taylor Swift's role in Valentine's Day.  All too often, the guest star catches your eye, but then doesn't really bring anything to the party.  In the worst case scenario, said star becomes a distraction, and their extraneous role takes away from the show or movie's intended storyline.

Yes, I know this is a cooking blog, but hear me out.  When I saw this recipe for milk chocolate and Guinness ice cream, I assumed that the dark hearty stout was being stunt casted just for shock value.  Like, "look at me, putting beer in my ice cream, how edgy am I?".  Despite my skepticism, I forged ahead, since it's St. Patty's week and I wanted to bring you a dessert that didn't taste like Bailey's.  Here's my verdict:  if the Guinness in this ice cream is indeed an example of stunt casting, then it's like Tom Cruise in Tropic Thunder: understated, well-integrated, and downright impressive.  The Guinness blends seamlessly, adding a depth to the milk chocolate, and creating a silky smooth texture.  Still not convinced?  It tastes like a Wendy's frosty.  I think I've said enough... Let's make it.

Irish Car Bomb Cupcakes

I don’t think I fully understood that my family was Irish until we took a trip to Ireland when I was 18. I don't think I even realized that our last name Hackett was Irish, until we came upon a castle in the Ireland countryside with the same name. It was on that trip that I started thinking about heritage, tradition and my family namesake. It was also on that trip that I had my first taste of Guinness, and it was love at first sip. Unlike anything I had ever tasted; dark and rich, yet smoother than expected. After a pint of it, I felt full, like I had just eaten a large meal. And being underage for drinking back home, it made the whole experience seem slightly illicit. It was not until years later however, that I had my first Irish Car Bomb; which let’s just say was love at first chug.

If you are unfamiliar with what an Irish Car Bomb is; I will do my best to describe it. First, Guinness is poured about ¾ of the way into a pint glass. Then a shot glass filled with half whiskey, half Bailey’s Irish cream is dropped in to the pint glass and the mixture must be chugged quickly. If not drank quickly, it can start to curdle; not the most pleasant drink experience.
Something about the way all three ingredients combine creates a wonderful tasting mixture that I would best describe as a beer milkshake. This beer milkshake was love at first chug for my father as well. I will forever remember my college graduation dinner as the time we went to Cheesecake Factory and my Dad insisted on ordering an Irish Car Bomb, even though it was not on the menu. He had to order each ingredient separately, assemble the drink himself, and after spending a ridiculous $18 later he was happy. So happy that he ended up ordering two of them.

And somehow over the years, the Irish Car Bomb has become a Hackett family tradition. I guess you could call it our signature drink. At least a few times throughout the year, on holidays, birthdays and special occasions, we inevitably will have a round of car bombs. I know this may make us seem like a family with a drinking problem, but I swear it’s just our Irish roots, or something like that. Here we are at Christmas, chugging away. Classy, right?Classy or not, I loved the idea of turning this drink in to a dessert for St. Patrick’s Day. I had seen several interpretations of it on the Internet, typically a Guinness chocolate cupcake with some sort of Irish Cream or Whiskey frosting. But I loved the idea I saw on Smitten Kitchen, which was to fill the cupcakes with a whiskey chocolate ganache, and then top with an Irish Cream frosting.

Hot Chocolate Layer Cake with Homemade Marshmallows

Sometimes, you just gotta bake a cake. At least that's how I was feeling last weekend. I had absolutely no reason to bake a gigantic cake, but I did it anyways. You know why? Because I felt like it. And that's just one of the joys of being an adult. You can bake a cake just for the hell of it.

And this was one hell of a cake. I had my eye on making it ever since I saw it in the October issue of Fine Cooking magazine. I loved the idea of a hot cocoa flavored cake with the quintessential marshmallow topping, made even more special by making the marshmallows from scratch.

Chocolate Soufflés

I couldn’t agree more with Mary that Valentine’s Day is the perfect time to stay in and cook, rather than go out to a restaurant. While I love dining out, on this particular holiday I’d rather stay in and make a special meal with a special someone. I like to use the occasion to make recipes that may seem a little too time consuming or perhaps too elegant for just any ordinary night of the week. It’s a fine time to not worry about calories, splurge on an expensive cut of meat, open up that bottle of wine you've been saving, and most importantly, take pleasure in the time spent preparing and enjoying the meal together.

As cliché as it may sound, I believe that cooking for someone shows that you care about them. And since Valentine’s Day is all about the love, what better way to show it then by preparing a special meal for those you care about? Whether it’s your significant other, your friends, family or maybe a furry friend, go ahead and take the time to cook them something really special. I guarantee they’ll feel the love.

Double Chocolate Cupcakes

This is my friend Javi.
Javi is the real deal. We run on the same marathon team, and during my very first 8-mile run when I had to stop and pee, Javi waited for me so I wouldn't have to run alone. More importantly, Javi is on a mission. He has already raised tens of thousands of dollars for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and he's not stopping until they find a cure. To do this, he is training for the Lavaman Olympic Triathlon, and you can support his mission here.

When Javi wants chocolate cupcakes, Javi gets chocolate cupcakes. And these are some serious, gooey, hardcore chocolate cupcakes. My go-to chocolate cake recipe had always been the one on the back of the Hershey's cocoa powder box, but then my office-mate Faith brought these bad boys to our Halloween potluck and the clouds parted and the angels came down from the sky and I thought I had died and gone to heaven right then and there. This is no hyperbole, they are that good.

Foolproof Fudge

The holidays are winding down, and I'm reflecting on the fact that I ate 45 lbs of fudge between Christmas Eve and New Year's Day. Fudge is such a quintessential holiday food. Eat a fistful in May and your friends will whisper behind your back. Eat that much in December and you're just one of the gang.

My mom's fudge has been consistent and delicious since I was in braces. Her recipe comes from a Diamond Walnut ad that she ripped out of the December issue of Family Circle Magazine... 13 years ago. The ad says, "This season, try standing next to luscious Foolproof Fudge instead of mistletoe. Good things are bound to happen." 90's ads make me laugh.

My mom's old magazine page probably wouldn't survive a trip through the photocopier, so I'm saving it here. The name Foolproof Fudge couldn't be more apt. This recipe is easy.