Dulce de Leche

Earlier this week I made dulce de leche to contribute to Heidi's fiesta. Dulce de leche is a rich milk-based caramel flavored sauce. It's great on toast, fruit, ice cream, and even spoons! I enjoyed mine on homemade apricot scones, and had some left over for hubby to eat on bread. Untoasted, white sandwich bread. I have yet to convert him to whole wheat, but I will keep trying. Battles must be chosen wisely! I chose to make my dulce de leche in the oven as opposed to the often-used stove top method, and it could not have been simpler.

Dulce de Leche

1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
sea salt (optional)

Empty the condensed milk into a glass pie plate and add a little sea salt if desired. Cover tightly with foil and place in a roasting pan. Add hot water to the roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of the pie plate. Bake in a 425 degree oven for 1 hour - 1 hour 15 minutes, until caramelized. Remove from oven and let cool, then whisk until smooth. Store leftovers in the refrigerator, and microwave to warm before serving.

Barefoot Bloggers: Beatty's Chocolate Cake

I was very excited to see that Mary of Passionate Perseverance chose Beatty's Chocolate Cake for the second of the barefoot bloggers' September recipes. I have been saving this recipe to try for quite some time now. I decided to halve the recipe and make a one-layer cake for my RCIA class at church tonight. I purposefully signed up to bring the refreshments for tonight when the September recipes came out. It is a small class and I am taking other food, so I think the size will work out nicely, and I won't have chocolate cake tempting me at home! A win/win outcome for sure.

I baked my cake in a 9" springform pan, and I'm glad I did as it rose pretty high and may have overflowed an 8" pan of a lesser depth. I did have to make the batter twice because towards the end of the recipe, I forgot that I was halving it, and added the called for amounts of oil, coffee, and egg. My batter was very thin! I guess I don't learn from my mistakes very well; this was the second time I did this today - made the same mistake baking cookies earlier. Anyways, the second time around, the batter was fine and the cake turned out great. The icing was okay, but I am not a fan of coffee in my icing, and ended up adding more butter, vanilla and sugar to detract from the strong coffee flavor. Next time I will leave it out of the icing completely, but I like the extra depth it adds to the chocolate in the cake itself. Visit Mary's site if you would like the recipe.

Frijoles con Chorizo

Mexico's Independence Day is coming up on September 16th. Many share the misconception that Cinco de Mayo is the Mexican Independence Day; May 5th actually celebrates the victory over the French at the Battle of Puebla in 1862.



In celebration of el Día de Independencía, aromasysabores is hosting a Mexican fiesta featuring recipes and culture. I will be participating in the celebration and posting some favorite recetas the rest of this month.

To get things started, I am sharing Frijoles con Chorizo, homemade refried pinto beans with mexican chorizo. Please do not confuse mexican chorizo with the spanish variety, which is a drier, cured product. I buy Cacique brand chorizo (the most readily available around here), and always pork chorizo, never beef. I do not use an actual recipe with measurements for this (a tendency I have), so please feel free to make any adjustments.

Frijoles con Chorizo

6 oz. mexican chorizo
1-2 Tbs. vegetable oil
3-4 c. cooked pinto beans
reserved bean cooking liquid
queso fresco, for serving
hot corn tortillas, for serving


Cook the chorizo in oil in a large skillet until it resembles cooked finely ground pork and is lightly browned, about 8 to 10 minutes, breaking up the meat as it cooks. Add the pinto beans and mash to your preferred consistency with a potato masher, or the back of a cooking spoon. Stir in the reserved bean broth (a couple of cups, maybe) to reach a soupy consistency. Bring to a gentle boil and simmer for 10-15 minutes, again until it is at your desired consistency. Salt to taste (you won't need much), and serve in tortillas with crumbled queso fresco.

Barefoot Bloggers: Birthday Sheet Cake

A couple of weeks ago, I joined an online group called the Barefoot Bloggers, who twice a month make an Ina Garten recipe and then blog about it. I am so exited to be participating in this group; the contessa has some great recipes, and this way I can branch out and make some that I might have otherwise passed up.

I must admit, the first recipe for this month is one that I probably would not have made. It had quite a few bad reviews on the food network site. For one thing, the baking soda to flour ratio is off - it should be 3/4 teaspoon instead of the full teaspoon published. Also, chocolate and lemon do not tempt me together, so I left the lemon zest out.

I halved the recipe and made cupcakes (about 2 dozen). I loved the buttery sweet flavor, and the frosting was great, although a little thin and runny for me. Next time I will refrigerate the frosting, then let it return to room temp before applying. Also, I used about 3/4 milk chocolate chips and for the remainder used semi-sweet, and my frosting was still very rich and chocolatey. I opted to decorate my cupcakes with sprinkles instead of the chocolate candies called for.

Please visit Susy at Everyday Gourmet for the recipe.

Shrimp Cocktail

Shrimp cocktail is a great summer dish, light and refreshing on sweltering days. This recipe is simple to prepare; I usually combine everything while the shrimp is cooking, then drain and peel the shrimp before throwing them in. If you can't find jicama, feel free to omit. 

Shrimp Cocktail

1/2 c. fresh lime juice

1 lime, halved

1 lb shrimp (ideally 41/50 count to a pound)
1/2 c. white onion, diced
1/3 c. chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 c. diced tomato
1/4 c. ketchup
1-2 Tbs. vinegary mexican bottled hot sauce (I like Salsa Valentina, found in the Mexican food aisle)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 c. each diced peeled cucumber and jicama (or 1 c. cucumber)
1 small ripe avocado, peeled, pitted and cubed
salt (to taste, about 1/2 tsp)
tostadas or tortilla chips

Bring 1 quart salted water to a boil and add the juice and rinds of the halved lime. Scoop in the shrimp, cover and let the water return to the boil. Immediately remove from the heat, and pour off all the liquid. Replace the cover and let the shrimp steam off the heat for 10 minutes. Allow the shrimp to cool completely, then peel and devein. Combine remaining ingredients (save the tostadas or chips for serving), and add shrimp. Refrigerate about an hour before serving.