Irish Cheddar and Stout Fondue

There are two things you should know about me.  One is that I love cooking for holidays, no matter how obscure or irrelevant to my personal culture.  The second is that the smell of slow-roasted corned beef and boiled cabbage makes me want to vomit into my hand.  While I've endured many a traditional St. Patty's day meal, I was thrilled to find a recipe that's festive and delicious, with ingredients I was excited to prepare.  This fondue combines some of my favorite vegetables with a rich cheesy sauce that features delicious Irish cheddar and a splash of dark Irish stout.

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.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Pancakes

Ok, ok, so I realize it’s not really “pumpkin season,” that time between Halloween and Thanksgiving where pumpkins are prominent in many a patch, front porch, and recipe. During the rest of the year they are not to be seen or heard from until fall comes round again. Unless you’re like me, and you have several leftover cans of the stuff staring at you woefully from your kitchen cupboard, begging to be used in one form or another.

I had many ambitious goals for pumpkin recipes this past fall. There was going to be pumpkin breads, cheesecake, and cookies, along with several new recipes for the classic pie. Unfortunately, time caught up with me and I think I just barely got around to baking up some pumpkin muffins, and these pumpkin pancakes. Hence the extra cans of pumpkin hanging out in my kitchen.And so, with a few sad, lonely cans still staring at me from the cupboard, I decided that March is a perfectly acceptable month to eat some pumpkin. Especially when it’s a Saturday morning and I’ve got a pancake craving something fierce.

Everyone's Favorite Carrot Cake

 

 I am of the belief that every home cook should have a signature dish.  Like Allison's apple spice cake, your signature is the dish you can turn to when you're feeling less than spectacular, a dish that comes out perfect every time.  This carrot cake is my mom's signature.  And everyone loses their shit over it.  It's a perfect mix of cinnamon, carrot, sweetness, nuttiness, and a tart cream cheese frosting sends it right over the edge.  I've eaten it a bajillion times, and I truly believe I could pick it out of a blindfolded lineup.  And in my humble home baker's opinion, it's the only carrot cake recipe you'll ever need. 

What I'm Doing in March

 

Meet Kenny and Dorien!  They're our neighbors on our Culver City hippie duplex compound, where we all live in peace and harmony.

 

Even our dogs are harmonious!

Dorien and Kenny are talented.  And generous.  And warm.  And hilarious.  So they've made the very wise choice to live happily ever after.

Gorgeous photo by the very talented Avi Rothman!

I adore weddings, but this one will forever hold a unique place in my heart.   Because...  Drumroll...  I'm making the wedding cake!!!  That's right!  A cake to be served at a real wedding!  Watch out Martha Stewart.

Apple Spice Cake with Caramel Sauce

It seems like I have a never-ending supply of recipes. With every new magazine and cookbook I receive, with every cooking blog and website I visit, there are what seem like thousands of new dishes that look delicious and I can’t wait to make. So I rip out pages from the magazines, tag the books, and bookmark all those great creations I see online. I think I’ve compiled a list of so many recipes that I wouldn’t be able to make all of them in this lifetime. And the number of cake recipes is extremely plentiful. There’s just something about them that I can’t say no to.

However, for all of these cake creations that I hold on to, and for all of the cakes that I do bake, the number of recipes that I actually keep in my list of “favorite recipes” is relatively short. A handful at most. Because I only keep the ones that are really good.
And when I say good, what I really mean is amazing. Because there will always be the next new recipe out there to try that’s just good, but only once in a while will one come along that’s amazing. One that’s worth being willing to make again. This cake, is in the amazing category. It is hands down, one of my absolute favorite cakes.

Warm Winter Vegetable Salad

I must admit, winter is not my favorite season when it comes to fresh vegetables. I miss summer, where all the produce seems to smell and taste so much fresher, and is crying out to picked and eaten as-is. Winter veggies require a little more time and patience. They need to be slow roasted, until they become tender and caramelized, making them much richer in flavor and texture.

And so, roasting becomes my go-to preparation for vegetables in the winter time. It's great for almost anything, squashes, brussel sprouts, and any root vegetable all get even tastier when roasted in the oven. I especially love sweet potatoes and acorn squash. Tossed with a little bit of olive oil and salt and pepper and then cooked in the oven, they are absolutely delicious. But after a while, I'm looking for new ways to roast and not get bored.
Which is why I loved this Warm Winter-Vegetable Salad recipe. The technique is the same, but simply adding in some toasted nuts, a sprinkling of cheese, and a light yet flavorful vinaigrette made it seem like something I had never eaten before.