Had the urge to do a little cooking this week. Both of us enjoy cooking and baking, but with our long work hours lately, food is usually something random and quick. Tuesday night I went outside my comfort zone and tackled steak. Originally I was going to do the prep work and when Zachary got home from work, he was going to grill. Well I got the prep work done and before I knew it, the coals in the grill were hot and ready, and Zachary wasn't due home for another 20 minutes, so I had to take the helm of the grill. Eek! I am not the grill master of the house. I followed an Alton Brown recipe (I know, him again) and made Molasses Coffee Marinated Pork Chops. Instead of pork chops, we used steak. The marinade seems odd, but the flavor was incredible. You could taste all the flavors of the ingredients, and the result was a slightly sweet tangy creation that complemented the grilled steak well.The reduction sauce that is made from the marinade makes a wonderful dipping sauce for the steak and the fries. I actually got the steaks cooked right too, as Zachary likes his medium rare and myself well done.
Wednesday night I attempted baking. I wanted to treat Zachary to a chocolate cake he adores. He has made this before with great success and I wanted a stab at it. This one is called Beatty's Chocolate Cake.
The cake turned out perfect. Sooo moist. Sure beats the boxed variety. I had some problems with the chocolate butter cream frosting. Not sure what happened. It tastes great and it is smooth, but it didn't seem to get as creamy and light as when Zachary made it. My theories are either I rushed the butter and it wasn't soft enough when mixing, or the house was too cool. The frosting wanted to be thick. I tried adding a little hot water while mixing, it seemed to help a bit, but I was too scared to add more and wreck the mix. Any ideas? I don't make frosting very much, so I probably didn't see the warning signs.
Like my uneven frosting job? :-PI had a piece for breakfast this morning. Nothing like a shot of sweetness to start your day.
2 comments:
Yum! Steak and Fries and Chocolate cake?! A feast! Chocolate buttercream can be rather finicky, especially depending on your recipe. Adding water can sometimes cause chocolate to "seize" up and thicken. I typically keep a little bit of milk standing by, to thin out and fluff up frosting. And I usually let my butter get to room temp - at least an hour or two (sometimes longer in the winter!), or microwave cold sticks for 8-10 seconds to make sure they cream properly. Good luck with future attempts, though this one still looks delicious!
Might I say.... WHO CARES if the frosting is uneven! Just give me a piece of cake... But seriously, your dinner looks great, and who doesn't love Alton Brown!
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