Oreogasm Poke Cake

Taken from delish.com

FAILURE. Eric said it was good, but he isn't a fan of chocolate cake base.

I thought it tasted good, but it's so unhealthy that it's not worth it if Eric doesn't really like. Ended up throwing it all away save 2 pieces.

I used a chop stick to poke small holes, but use something bigger and estimate how you're going to cut the cake and do one big hole for each piece.

Ingredients:

-1 box chocolate cake mix, plus ingredients called for on box

-1.5 cup marshmallow crème - 2 bottles of the creme (each bottle 7 oz)

-1 tbsp water

1/2 cup finely ground Oreos

2 cups heavy cream

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1 cup crushed Oreos, divided (used a lot more to cover entire cake)

-6 Oreos, halved (didn't use)

-chocolate fudge sauce for garnish (didn't use)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9 x 13 pan.  Prepare chocolate cake mix according to package directions and bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25 min

2. Poke cake all over with the bottom of a wooden spoon.

3. In a small bowl, microwave marshmallow crème and water, then stir until smooth

4. Stir in ground Oreos, then pour all over cake, making sure to fill the poked holes

5. Make frosting

--In a large bowl using a hand mixer, beat heavy cream, powdered sugar, and salt until medium peaks form

--Fold in 1/2 cup crushed Oreos

--Frost cake with the whipped cream

--Sprinkle with the rest of the crushed Oreos

--Top with halved Oreos and drizzle with chocolate sauce

*dessert

Thai Basil Gimlet

Taken from nerdswithknives.com
It was ok.  I really like using the St. Germain.

Ingredients (doubled for x2 drinks)

-Thai basil leaves

-1 ounce simple syrup (used a little more using 1/8 cup monk fruit recipe)

-1.5 oz fresh lime juice

-3 oz gin

-2 oz St. Germain

Directions:

1. Muddle basil leaves with simple syrup and lime juice

2. Add gin and St. Germain - fill with ice and shake

3. Strain and garnish with Thai basil leaves

*drinks

Limoncello Gin Thyme

 From Spec's website.  Didn't taste thyme at all.  Too strong tasting, better with topo chico. Would consider making thyme simple syrup instead.

Ingredients:
-Thyme sprigs

-2 oz gin

-1 oz limoncello

-1/2 oz lime juice

-splash of bubble water (topo chico)

Directions:

1. Juice limes

2. Muddle thyme

3. Add gin + limoncello

4. Shake with ice

5. Pour and garnish with fresh thyme

*Drinks

Pineapple Sage Mojito

New plant this year is pineapple sage.  Took me a while to even find pineapple sage, but found at Lowe's.

Cocktail modified from campbrighton.com

Didn't really like it - not sure what the problem was, but have some tips for next time. 

*I used the monkfruit simple syrup instead.  I should always make it in the morning so that it has time to cool and also marinate in with the herb.  The recipe with 1/4 cup of monkfruit + 1/2 cup of distilled water makes 4.5 oz of liquid or 3 large side jiggers of liquid.

*Also, it was too strong.  Made it 1:1 simple syrup and rum.  Use less next time.

Ingredients:

-2 key limes (can adjust)

-pineapple sage leaves

-1 part pineapple sage monkfruit simple syrup - make in morning and let cool in fridge

-1 part rum (would use less?)

-consider a splash of topo chico instead of less rum?

Directions:

1. Squeeze limes into shaker

2. Muddle pineapple sage leaves

3. Add simple syrup + rum

4. Shake

5. Pour into cups with ice

6. Add splash of topo chico

7. Top with pineapple sage for garnish

*Drinks

Magic Cookie Bar*

*WARNING - I HAVE NOT MADE YET

but I want to.  I screen-capped the recipe and I want to delete it off my phone haha.

Recipe taken from delish.com

Ingredients:

-18 (2 sleeves) graham crackers, crushed

-6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

-1/4 cups sugar

-1 (14 oz) can of condensed milk

-1 1/2 cups chocolate chips, divided

-1 1/2 cups chopped nuts (pecans or walnuts), divided

-2 cups unsweetened coconut flakes

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Grease 9x9 baking dish with cooking spray, then line with parchment paper up and over the sides with slight overhang.  Grease parchment again.

3. In a medium bowl, mix the graham crackers, butter, and sugar until mixture resembles wet sand.  Press graham cracker mixture into bottom of prepared baking dish

4. In even layer, drizzle condensed milk over the crust

5. Top with half the chocolate chips and half the nuts

6. Add the coconut

7. Top with remaining chips and nuts.

8.  Bake until chocolate melted and crust browned 25-30 min.  Let cool.

*dessert

Pecan Crusted Chicken

Recipe taken from wellplated.com

Eric didn't like very much, so probably won't make again. Oh well. Wish I had posted this last month because I don't remember it as well.  I think he likes the sesame encrusted chicken better because I marinate the chicken in soy sauce etc, which I obviously didn't do here, so maybe it was a bit too dry and not as flavorful.  

Oh and Eric told me to dust it with flour before dipping in egg, which I think actually messed it up more and made it so the pecans/panko didn't stick when I went to flip the chicken.  Or maybe I shouldn't have flipped the chicken at all.  Anyways, when I went to flip, basically the crust all came off.  

Plus, I ran out of eggs, pecan/panko, before I was finished with the chicken tenders, which sucked.  I think I used 1/4 cup because that's what I used for the sesame one, and need to use the full 1/2 cup.

Ingredients:

-2 large eggs

-1 cup pecan halves

-1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs

-1 tsp dried basil

-1/2 tsp kosher salt

-1/4 tsp coarse black pepper

-chicken tenders

Directions:

-Place rack in center of oven and preheat to 400 degrees.  Line baking sheet with parchment paper

-Lightly beat eggs in shallow bowl

-Pulse pecans in food processor --> mix with panko, basil, salt, pepper (also garlic)

-Dip chicken tender in eggs, then pecan mixture (did the flour beforehand per Eric, and didn't like)

-Place chicken tenders on sheet and spray with olive oil (think I forgot this step, too)

-Back for 15 to 20 min

*American

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

Made and was a hit.  Recipe from loveandlemons.com

Ingredients

-6 medium tomatillos

-1/4 medium yellow onion, cut into large chunks - (would do 1/3 onion bc didn't use burnt pieces)

-1 serrano or jalapeno pepper

-2 garlic cloves, unpeeled, wrapped in foil

-1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil

-1 1/2 Tbsp fresh lime juice - think I used one full lime and it was a lil too limey

-1/4 cup chopped cilantro

-1/2 to 3/4 tsp sea salt to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper

2. Remove husks from tomatillos and rinse under cool water to remove stickiness

3. Place tomatillos, onion, pepper on baking sheet - sprayed with olive oil, pinch of salt and pepper

4. Place wrapped garlic on pan

5. Roast for 15 min or until tomatillos are soft

6. Add all ingredients into food processor (add water if too thick)

Didn't add onion pieces that were too burnt, so add extra onions to pan.  Will make again.  Summer is when tomatillos are in season.  Hmmm.

*Mexican

*Appetizer