Thursday, March 28, 2013

Chocolate Easter Egg Parade


It seems we have been gone more than we have been at home
and so blogging has been extremely sporadic.  

I am now with my youngest son on vacation for his
Spring Break and he chose to go to Disney World.

When we walked through the doors of the Grand Floridian, we
were greeted with the most magnificent display of gigantic 
Chocolate Easter Eggs.


Of course they have a Disney theme to most of them.



I can't believe the detail.  They are all laid out on a base of
colored curled chocolate 
and Easter eggs with chocolate bunnies
of all sizes.  

Some have cut outs like the one on the right of Snow White
and some are whole like the one on the left of Brave.



They have to be almost 24 inches tall and
there were so many of them.  Of course my mouth was watering.
One of my favorite things to do at Easter is to make chocolate
eggs and bunnies, but with being gone all month and an
early Easter, I didn't get anything done!



Of course I love this one of Tangled,
the painted chocolate is beautiful and look
at the intricate stand it is on.


The gilded leaves on the egg on the left and it's stand are stunning.
What variety.


This is Alice's tea pot and it is tilted and
 pouring chocolate into an intricate
cup.  It was one of my favorites.


There is one to appeal to everyone.


I had to show you the interior of this one with
  its miniature tea set and 
desserts.  Absolutely stunning!


And you couldn't not have Mickey!
Doesn't he make such a cute Easter Egg.


So Happy Easter to you from Florida
(where the crowds are horrific but
that is when his spring break was.  He just
put in his papers to serve a mission for
our church and will be gone for two years
so this will be our last big trip together.)

Sunday, March 17, 2013

Carnitas


Sometimes I think I could eat Mexican food every day.
One of our favorite dishes is Carnitas, a slow roasted pork
that is seasoned, baked until it falls apart, then shredded and
baked some more until it is crispy on the top.

My friend Sue Ellen was the first person that introduced
me to Carnitas.  We have been making it for years now, but
this is a new twist on the recipe that I found and I love.


We are down in Cabo right now and when I was here last time
I found a cookbook that someone had left at the home called
by Ann Hazard.

If you know me, you know I love to read through cookbooks
like novels and this one is packed with fabulous Mexican recipes,
many from restaurants.  My mouth was watering the whole time
and I had to come back and start trying some of the recipes right away.

Her recipe for Carnitas calls for the addition of some salsa verde
and that added such a flavor punch.  We won't ever want to make
Carnitas the old way again.  This is a slight variation on her recipe
as I have found that I love to use Montreal Steak Seasoning to
season my Carnitas, so I substituted that for her seasonings, I also
added my salsa verde after the pork was shredded.

Carnitas Recipe
4 lb. pork shoulder (don't use tenderloin, it is too dry)
2 -3T. Montreal Steak Seasoning
1 1/2 C. salsa verde (I used World Market's Roasted Tomatillo Salsa)
Corn tortillas
Shredded Monterey Jack or Chihuahua cheese
Pico de Gallo
Fresh limes

Season the pork shoulder with the Montreal Steak Seasoning.
Place in a roasting pan and bake uncovered at 350 for one hour.
Cover with foil and then reduce heat to 250 and bake another
4-5 hours or until it falls apart.  

Remove from oven and spoon out
excess grease if there is a lot. Then shred the meat using two forks
 Stir in the salsa verde.
Turn the oven back up to 350.  Return the meat uncovered
to the oven and bake about 20 minutes or until the top
is crispy.  Turn the meat over and repeat until the top is crispy.

Serve with corn tortillas that have been sprayed with Pam and heated
on both sides in a frying pan.  Top with Monterey Jack of Chihuahua
cheese, and pico de gallo.  Before eating, squeeze fresh lime juice 
on the top of the tacos.



See how crispy the uncovered meat becomes.  In one of my favorite
local restaurants, their Carnitas is deep fried - absolutely wicked!


This is such a great dish for a large crowd and so easy to prepare.
Everyone loves it.  You will make it over and over.
Just place everything in bowls and let everyone create their own.

I will be posting this with



Monday, March 11, 2013

And The Winner Is.....


When the Sara Lee Corporation contacted me about creating
a recipe for them and offered me a giveaway for my
readers, I decided I wanted to make it fun and see
what you would create with a Sara Lee Poundcake.

So many, many wonderful ideas.

Berry Tiramisu with French Cream
Stuffed French Toast
Baked Alaska
Trifles Galore
Strawberry Shortcakes
Grilled Poundcake
Easter Egg Cakes
Easter Baskets,
Lavender Pistachio Cakes
and many more....

What wonderful ideas.  I hope you get some Sara Lee
Poundcake and create some run recipes for yourself.

Some of them brought back memories.

One of our favorite restaurants to go to when we
went home to Madison, Wisconsin was Ella's Deli.


You can see right here in the middle of their menu
board Grilled Pound Cake Hot Fudge Sundae.




It is a magical place where you are greeted by
this beautiful carousel outside and an unimaginable
collection of whimsical animated toys filling the
deli.  So everyone's suggestions for grilled pound
cake tugged at my heart strings.

Another one that brought back memories of 
younger years was Sue's suggestion (from I Need Mom)
that you line your cheesecake pan with the pound cake.

Unfortunately I don't have the recipe, but one of the
first cheesecakes I made was a concoction my mom
and I created after I had blown a cake recipe.  The cake
turned out flat as a pancake and she suggested we top it
with a cheesecake layer.  The combination of the two
were amazing.  For sentimental reasons, and because
I want Sue's recipe, I am choosing Sue as the
$50 Visa card winner.  

Sue, email me your recipe and I will make it and
feature it on my blog.

But Linda's 
Maple and Banana Layered dessert
(from More Fun, Less Laundry)
sounds so great that I am awarding her a $50 Visa
card also.

Contact me by email and give me your emails so
I can send these out to you.

Thanks everyone.  I had almost 500 page views
on this contest.




Wednesday, March 6, 2013

St. George Utah Temple and Pioneer Homes And A Giveaway


While I am on the subject of St. George, Utah (see my 
post on the homeshow),
I told you how St. George is just 4 hours south of us, while
we lay wasting in snow and they have palm trees, well here
you see them at the St. George LDS Temple.

We visited there while we were down for the homeshow
and I captured this photo at the blue hour.  The stunning
white stucco against the intense blue is just gorgeous.


This temple was the first LDS temple finished in Utah.  It was announced
in 1871 and completed in 1877.  It is 110,000 square feet - quite an
accomplishment for early pioneers and designed by Truman O. Angell
who had been sent to Europe to study architecture there.


This particular building has always been of
interest to our family
as my great great great grandfather,
Christopher Lister Riding was a tin smith 
and he worked on this
gray top piece and the ball which were originally fashioned out of
tin.  They have since been replaced with fiberglass.


Christopher Lister Riding 
(on my mother's side) was a daring man and when the top was completed,
 he stood on his head on the ball  to celebrate 
(the directional arrows had not been added at that point).



As we were growing up in Wisconsin and would come through
Utah to visit my grandparents in Henderson, Nevada, my 
mother would always tell that story.

What a small world - as I repeated that story once, my
next door neighbor said he was also related to Christopher Lister Riding
and also knew that story.  He gave me a photo of him and a copy
of the history he had.  So now I know one of my distant cousins and he
lives right next door!


Christopher was born February 10, 1816 in Burnley, England.

We loved this photo -
 notice the clean shaven face but the underbeard!
Men and their fashions!!!


I am so glad that my parents shared some of their family history with me. 

This beautiful building stands as a tribute to the pioneers to came
west and settled here and created beauty out of barren desert. 

Share some family stories with your family.

Don't forget my giveaway.
Click here and tell me what you would make
with a Sara Lee Pound Cake.  The winner
will earn a $50 Visa card.




Saturday, March 2, 2013

Raspberry Lemon Mousse Mini Cakes and A Giveaway


Any mini dessert is just the rage whether at restaurants 
or at home and especially here at 
Purple Chocolat Home.


Did you know that March 4th is National Pound Cake Day?
I was honored to be contacted by Sara Lee (yes, THE Sara Lee)
to create a recipe using one of their ready made pound cakes
to help celebrate National Pound Cake Day.

Of course my mind started spinning about all of the fun
things I could do with Sara Lee Pound Cakes.  

I had made the Valentine's Petit Fours and found
their pound cake to be so much fun to work with.
It is flavorful and has such a great, firm texture.

What better flavors than raspberry, lemon and cream
to go along with a Sara Lee All Butter Pound cake!


I began by cutting the cake loaf into thirds and then turning those
thirds on their sides and cutting them into thirds again.  Use
a bread knife.  Keep the bottom crust on but cut the rounded
top crust off before you cut the last third.



So each third will give you three slices of cake.
Using a 2 1/4 inch round cookie or biscuit cutter,
cut each cake slice into a round.



You should now have three rounds for each third of the loaf.
Cut the center out of the third piece so that you end up with
a ring using a 1 1/4 inch cookie or biscuit cutter or as I did,
using the wide end of my largest frosting tip.


Now spread raspberry jam on the top and bottom pieces - the ones
without the hole in the center and then stack the middle piece
on the bottom piece.


Pipe your lemon mousse into the center and then place the top
on with the jam side down.

The towers are then frosted with additional lemon mousse.


When you slice into the mini cake you have a raspberry and lemon mousse
filled center.

Raspberry Lemon Mousse Mini Cakes
(Makes 6 mini cakes)

2 - 10.75 oz Sara Lee All Butter Pound Cakes, thawed
Raspberry jam
1 C. heavy whipping cream
1/2 C. lemon curd
Fresh raspberries
Powdered sugar
Raspberry Sauce if desired.

Prepare and slice the pound cakes as directed above.
You will end up with 18 rounds, six with holes in the
center and twelve without.

Set the cake aside.
In mixer bowl using a wire whisk beat the heavy
whipping cream with the lemon curd until soft peaks
form.  You will want it stiff enough to be able to frost
with.

Spread one side of the twelve rounds without holes
with raspberry jam.  Do not spread all the way to the
edge.  

Stack the center round with the hole on top of the
bottom round.  

Place half of the mousse in a pastry bag.
Pipe the mousse into the center of the cakes.
Top with the last round, jam side down.
Frost each cake with additional mousse.  I
sat mine on top of a tiny glass - like a shot glass.

Garnish with fresh raspberries and powdered sugar.
Serve with raspberry sauce if desired. 

Click here for a printable recipe.


This is so light tasting and refreshing, perfect for Spring celebrations.

So let me just tell you my taste tester's reactions -
My daughter and her boyfriend were fighting over their piece, even
grabbing the plate and running off with it.
I had already wolfed one down earlier in the day.
My hubby came home from work and I cut it in half
to show him how pretty it was (thinking I would get half)
and he gobbled the whole thing down saying, "That was
fantastic!"  Needless to say, this was a big hit here.


Thank you Sara Lee for asking me to participate.
Not only did Sara Lee send me a $50 Visa gift card and coupons
for participating,
they sent me a 
$50 Visa gift card and coupons
for a giveaway to my readers.

Tell me what creative recipe you would make
 with a 
Sara Lee Pound Cake by leaving
me a comment (and the recipe if needed)
and I will choose my favorite idea.  
The winner will
receive the $50 Visa gift card and coupons.  
All entries must
be received by Midnight March 9th.

Then I will make and feature the winning
recipe on my blog!

I will be posting this with
On The Menu Monday
Foodie Fridays




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