The weather sucks...but this cake doesn't!

Pink Lemonade Cake...an old friend submitted it to me.  She has also sent me the Frozen Lemonade Pie...me thinks she likes lemonade.  Anyhow...this thing was freaking incredible.  Of course I had to make my own adjustments, which I will describe below.  As for now enjoy this entry and hope this fat kid survives the week of earthquakes and hurricanes in Maryland...speaking of hurricanes....that's one of my favorite adult beverages.  Think I will enjoy one with a piece of this killer cake!  

The hurricane is an extremely sweet alcoholic drink made with fruit juice, syrup or grenadine and rum. It is one of many popular drinks served in New Orleans.

 The creation of this passion fruit-colored relative of a Daiquiri drink is credited to New Orleans tavern owner Pat O'Brien. In the 1940s, he needed to create a new drink to help him get rid of all of the less popular rum that local distributors forced him to buy before he could get a few cases of more popular liquors such as scotch and whiskey. He poured the concoction into hurricane-lamp-shaped glasses and gave it away to sailors. The drink caught on, and it has been a mainstay in the French Quarter ever since. It is more commonly served in a disposable plastic cup, as New Orleans laws permit drinking in public and leaving a bar with a drink, but prohibit public drinking from glass or metal containers.   ---Got some irony to it doesn't it?

Hurricane

 Ingredients:

•2 oz light rum
•2 oz dark rum
•2 oz passion fruit juice
•1 oz orange juice
•juice of a half a lime
•1 Tbsp simple syrup
•1 Tbsp grenadine
•orange slice and cherry for garnish

 Preparation:

1.Squeeze juice from half a lime into shaker over ice.
2.Pour the remaining ingredients into the cocktail shaker.
3.Shake well.
4.Strain into a hurricane glass.
5.Garnish with a cherry and an orange slice.

Pink Lemonade Layer Cake

Recipe courtesy Paula Deen and Kerri

Ingredients

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened, plus more, for coating pans
• 1 (18 1/4-ounce) box white cake mix
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons sweetened pink lemonade drink powder - I used unsweetened
• 1 pound confectioners' sugar
• 5 tablespoons frozen pink lemonade concentrate - I added more for a better lemon taste
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter 2 (8-inch) round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper or waxed paper.

Prepare the cake batter according to the package directions. To the batter, stir in the lemon zest, vanilla, and pink lemonade powder. Pour the batter evenly into the prepared pans. Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. Let the cakes cool in the pans for 10 minutes. Carefully turn the cakes out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

While the cake is baking, prepare the frosting by beating together the confectioners' sugar and remaining 1 cup butter until fluffy. Beat in the remaining frosting ingredients until combined.

Transfer one cake to a cake stand or large platter. Using an offset spatula, spread the top of the cake with a layer of frosting. Place the second cake on top of the first. Spread the remaining frosting over the top and sides of both layers.

I got fancey and garnished it for the photo!

Drunken Chicken Master

I haven't been cooking much lately. It has been disgustingly hot here in the Baltimore/D.C. corridor and by some miracle of fate, I have developed a social life. (I've been dating this pretty awesome woman, spending lots of time at PW's with Mama, and hanging with the BFF aka the Fabulous Melissa,) Also, I have been having roommate issues that are beyond the control of this fat kid. Despite all of this...I did manage to cook a decent meal Sunday. Another roasted bird...I love chicken and I like it a lot of ways, but baked low and slow on a Sunday morning is my favorite.

Now this particular bird was done beer can style on a well washed, Mello Yello can. In said Mello Yello can, I filled it with water, rosemary, garlic, and chipoltle seasoning. I dressed the bird in olive oil and a seasoning concoction I will share with you at the end of this entry. I baked it in the oven on 175 for 4 hours then increased it to 250 for another hour and a half. The last hour, I cranked the oven up to 350 to finish cooking and crisping of the skin.

And, just in case there are readers that aren't familiar with beer can chicken...here is a brief history of it:

Beer Can Chicken is made by standing a prepared chicken upright on a partially filled can of beer and cooking it slowly in a barbecue or oven. The can goes into the opening of the chicken so that the beer evaporates and permeates the cooking chicken. It received the name dancing chicken due to way the chicken wobbles once the beer has evaporated and due to the fact the chicken is flavored with evaporated beer. The wobbling and falling usually indicates the chicken is done.

 

 

J.J.'s Chicken Rub

Measurements are approximate as I never measure.

• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• ¼ teaspoon of finely chopped rosemary
• ¼ teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
• ¼ teaspoon chipolte season
• 1 teaspoon Season Salt
• ¼ teaspoon sage

Left for the roommate so she wouldn't screw
with my chicken!

Beautiful! Those drippings made a
delicious gravy!

Simple and delicious!

The One Year Birthday Entry...

Hard to believe it's been a year since I started this blog and I have managed to post at least once a month for a whole year. I hope to make this place bigger and better in the next year. If you want to give Cooking with J.J. A great birthday present...tell your friends, follow me on twitter, or like my fan page on Facebook. Thanks for reading this fat kids ramblings!

Now for the nitty gritty...Who doesn't love copy cat recipes? I know I do. This is one of my favorites. Who doesn't love those yummy little biscuits they give you baskets of at Red Lobster? Thats right folks, I present you:

Cheddar Bay Biscuits

This recipe is a variation of Red Lobsters "Cheddar Bay biscuits". Honestly, I like my way better. They are so GOOD!

Ingredients

• 2 cups Bisquick
• 2/3 cup buttermilk
• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon Old Bay Seasoning (optional)

Directions

1. Heat oven to 450.
2. Combine Bisquick, milk, and cheddar cheese.
3. Stir together.
4. Spoon onto an ungreased cookie sheet. I usually use parchment paper.
5. Bake for 8-10 minutes.
6. In a small sauce pan combine butter, garlic powder and old bay seasoning.
7. Heat until butter is melted.
8. Spoon butter mixture over hot biscuits.
9. Eat em' up! 

And since it is still summer and the dog days as they call them...lets talk lemonade. I love lemonade...pink, plain, strawberry, or raspberry. My favorite lemonade being from Chick fil a. If you live in an area that doesn't have a Chick fil a...all I can't say is...I'm sorry.  

Pink Lemonade Lemons

As a kid, I thought lemonade came in a powder form in a pack or a canister. As I got older...I discovered real lemonade. Now when I am feeling lazy or I have kids at the house, I do fall back upon the Kool-Aid or Country Time brands. Now for myself...I need real lemons and real sugar and real water and real ice. It doesn't get much more basic than that folks. You can can control tartness Vs sweetness when you make real lemonade. Did you also know there is such a thing as pink lemonade lemons? They are really pink! I learned this a few weeks ago on Martha Stewart when I was too lazy to change the channel...I guess that annoying bitch is useful after all!

Here are a couple recipes I enjoy...

Lemonade

• 2 quarts plus 3/4 cup cold water
• 3/4 cup sugar - of course you can use as little or as much sugar as you like!
• 1 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1 lemon, thinly sliced 

1. In a small saucepan, combine the 3/4 cup of water with the sugar. Bring to a boil, then simmer until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat and let the syrup cool to room temperature.

2. In a large pitcher, combine the remaining 2 quarts of water with the lemon juice and sugar syrup. Add the lemon slices and refrigerate until chilled. Serve the lemonade over ice.

Strawberry Lemonade

• 2 large strawberries
• Ice
• 3 ounces fresh lemon juice
• 1 1/2 ounces water
• 1 1/2 ounces Simple Syrup
• 2 lemon wedges 

In a cocktail shaker, muddle the strawberries. Add ice and the lemon juice, water and Simple Syrup. Shake well and strain into an ice-filled highball glass. Garnish with the lemon wedges.

J.J.'s Adult Lemonade

• 6 oz Jack Daniel's® Tennessee whiskey – I'm not a whiskey fan...I use vodka.
• 2 oz sweet and sour mix
• 20 oz Sprite or 7Up
• 4 splash grenadine syrup

Pour the Jack Daniels, Sweet and Sour over ice into a collins glass (or similar). Now pour in the Soda allowing the soda bubbles to do all the mixing. Drink and enjoy! Adding a splash of Grenadine Cherry Syrup over the top will give it a sweeter flavor, almost like "pink-lemonade."

Serves Four

You wanna go where people know people are all the same...

You wanna go where everybody knows your name...
OK the place isn't named Cheers, but it is called PW's Sports Bar or PW's for short. If you go there enough, yes people will know your name. Why am I writing about PW's? The food is freaking awesome and cheap...did I mention you get a lot of it too? You can check out the menu here. ← Click that!

Here is another cool fact about PW's...It's a GAY sports bar. Is that not cool? Actually they are friendly to all open minded people. The majority of my gaggle of friends that hangs there are straight. Everyone is friendly and I always have a great time.

Mama Debbi Enjoying
her Mimosa!

I have ate here several times over the last six or seven months. Everything I have ever tried is delightful. My Mama Debbi introduced me to PW's and I am very glad she did. The first thing I ever ordered there was the wings. I got regular Buffalo and the were awesome, but HOT. It those are the normal ones I would hate to taste the hot ones. I've also had the BLT (count the bacon...there is a TON), the bacon and 'shroom burger among other things. The menu has a great variety and they have daily specials. They are open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. My new favorite meal there being the Sunday Brunch.





Crab Omelet



I've been to the Sunday Brunch a few times now. It is a relatively new thing. They have many flavors of Mimosas and a build your own Bloody Mary bar. I haven't had a Bloody Mary yet but I do indulge in the Mimosas. The crab cake Eggs Benedict is to die for. This past Sunday I had the crab omelet. It was divine. It was basically a crab cake in the omelet with Swiss cheese. It was sooooo good. Every brunch plate comes with fruit, asparagus, and home fries.

The evening life is nice too. Jackie and Melissa the sexy Bartender, will take good care of you. They both make great Amaretto Sours. On Monday nights this summer, Melissa the sexy Bartender offers up several flavors of margaritas. I personally recommend the Billy's Ocean. It's blue!!! Both of the bar ladies also offer up great mixed shots and awesome service.

If you are ever in the Baltimore/DC area, I suggest you check out PW's. You might just run into this fat kid. I will either be eating, singing karaoke, or playing trivia...maybe a combination of all three.

Inch by inch, row by row

I have a small yard but manage to have a large garden for its size. What does J.J. Have growing this year, you ask? Here is the breakdown:

• Pumpkins
• Tomatoes
• Jalapenos
• Cucumbers
• Zucchini

• Yellow Squash

Purple Sweet Peppers

• Purple Sweet Peppers
• Orange Sweet Peppers

I'm very sure that I will be writing about my fresh veggies in the near future.

Yellow Squash

Baby jalapenos



Now down to business...in less than a month, on August 2nd this blog will be a year old. How are we going to celebrate? Here is what I want you to do for me...send me your favorite recipes...like me on Facebook...tell your friends and family about J.J....follow me on twitter...follow me here on blogger. I am going to try to be better about posting more often. I do need some recipes to try out. I would like to aim for a posting once or twice a week. A bare bones minimum of twice a month. Send me your feed back! cookingwithjj.baker@gmail.com

 

As for cooking...I haven't been doing much lately. Even I get in a slump. Fast food has been my poison or the Cookie Monster has been feeding me. Did anyone happen to try the banana pudding milkshake at Chick-fil-A? That thing was phenomenal. I was hopping they would keep it around. I have a new Friday night thing where I go get a milkshake. Sometimes with the Cookie Monster, sometimes alone. In this fat kid's opinion, Chick-fil-A has the best milkshakes of a fast food place.

 

 Also thanks to the Cookie Monster...I have a new ice cream addiction: Blue Bunny Bordeaux Cherry Chip. I can't even describe how good this stuff is. I am not a huge ice cream fan...I know hard to believe...I do like my milk shakes, but regular ice cream...meh. I know my Mom reads this and she could testify in a note about the ice cream thing. Now this BBBCC...I can eat that every night and go back for seconds. For me, that makes it EPIC ice cream. I'm thinking about making a milk shake with some of it to try. That bad part about the BBBCC...in my area, the only place you can find it is Wal-Mart. This Fat Kid hates Hell-Mart...being a former employee and all.

 

Finally, yesterday was my birthday. The fabulous Melissa remembered me and got me a new griddle! SWEET! It is a sweet griddle...it has a nice weight and cooks pretty evenly. You know I had to try it. I wasn't in the mood for pancakes or french toast, so I fried some ham on it to go with my eggs. Tomorrow I will try a grilled cheese.

Post 4th of July

So the 4th of July has come and gone and it is now four days till this fat kids 34th birthday...I revisited some recipes I have covered before this year for Americas birthday. I did make some changes. I made lemonade pie again this year...still delicious. It was even more delicious with the changes I made. I first brought you lemonade pie in August of last year.

Frozen Lemonade Pie

Ingredients
For the Crust
•2 cups graham cracker crumbs
•1/4 cup sugar
•7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted


This year I used pre-made tart sized crust for miniature/baby pies. I bought 12 but propably could have used 18.

For the Filling

•2 cups heavy cream - the original recipe calls for Cool Whip
•1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk, chilled
•1 6-ounce can frozen lemonade concentrate (do not thaw) [I used 12ounces] – This year I used pink lemonade...this made for a better over all flavor.

For the Topping
•1 cup blueberries
•1 cup raspberries
•2 tablespoons sugar
•1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Make the crust: In a medium bowl, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar and melted butter. Press firmly on the bottom and up the sides of a 9-inch pie plate. Bake for 7 minutes; cool completely.

Make the filling: In a cold medium bowl, whip the cream until stiff peaks form. In another bowl, stir together the condensed milk and frozen lemonade. Gently fold the lemonade mixture into the whipped cream. Pour the filling into the crust; freeze overnight.

About an hour before you serve the pie, make the topping: Toss the berries in a medium bowl with the sugar and lemon juice. Set aside until ready to serve.

Let the pie come to room temperature for 10 minutes before cutting. Top each slice with berries

I also grilled some chicken this year. I love grilled chicken thats been kissed with BBQ sauce. This chicken was the bomb. I rubbed it down with a newly created rub this year. I would have ate it without the sauce, but I love the sauce. I import it from back home and only use it for myself or very special people. I love Montgomery Inn BBQ sauce. The Montgomery Inn is a restaurant in Cincinnati/Montgomery Ohio and they have hands down the best ribs and I think the best bottled BBQ sauce on the planet. I would seriously drink this sauce if you asked me to. As for this rub I think I want to try it on a pork loin at some point.



J.J.'s Chicken Rub

• ½ cup brown sugar 
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ teaspoon fresh course ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon Chipotle seasoning – I used the one you get from Pampered Chef

Rub on chicken at least 4 hours before grilling/cooking

.

One potato, two potato, three potato, four! Five potato, six potato, seven potato, more!

What is cooking in this fat kids kitchen? Tons of interesting things. I have been entertaining the last couple of weekends and twice baked/loaded mashed potatoes has been on the menu.

 

 

J.J.'s Twice Baked Potatoes

 

Ingredients

• 4 large russet potatoes, about a pound each
• Olive oil
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 Tbsp butter, softened
• 1 Tbsp cream
• 1 cup grated cheddar/Gouda cheese
• 4 strips bacon
• 1/4 cup chopped green onion or chives

1 Bake the potatoes. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Scrub the potatoes clean under running water. Poke each potato in several places with the tines of a fork so that when the potatoes are cooking they don't explode. Rub the potatoes all over with a little olive oil. Place directly on the middle or top rack of the oven. Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked through. They should give a little when pressed.

 

If short on time you can bake the potatoes in the microwave, 10 minutes on high heat for 2 potatoes, 15 minutes for 4 potatoes. The skins of microwave baked potatoes aren't nearly as crispy, so you may want to rub a little olive oil on them and finish them in a conventional oven at 400°F for 10 minutes.

 

2 While the potatoes are cooking, cook the bacon strips in a frying pan on medium low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, or until crisp. Drain on paper towels. Let cool. Crumble.

 

3 Allow the potatoes to cool to touch. Slice the top third lengthwise off the potato. Use a spoon to scoop out the insides, forming a potato "canoe", leaving about 1/4 inch of potato on the skin.

 

Alternatively you can slice the potatoes in half, lengthwise. In this case you may want to bake an extra potato so that you will have more potato filling to mound into the potato boats.

 

4 Place the scooped out potato insides, sour cream, milk, cream, and butter into a large bowl. Mash with a potato masher. If you want a creamy texture, beat with an electric beater until desired consistency. Note, do not over-beat potatoes, they can turn glue-y.

 

5 Mix in the extras with the potatoes. Reserve some of the extras to sprinkle on the tops of the potatoes. Spoon fillings into the potato shells. Sprinkle with extra toppings.

 

6 Heat oven to 350°F. Place potatoes on a pan and bake 15 to 20 minutes until heated through.

 

 

Amish Potato Salad

• • 2 lb Potatoes
  • 1-1/2 cup Mayonnaise 
  • 1 tbsp Vinegar
  • 1 tbsp Mustard
  • 2 med Celery stalks
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • ¼ tsp Pepper
  • 1 Onion
  • 4 Eggs, hard cooked

  
  

   

  
  

  Prepare and boil potatoes, cool slightly, cut into cubes. Mix  mayonnaise, mustard, vinegar, salt and pepper in four quart glass bowl. Add potatoes, celery and onion. Toss. Stir in eggs, cover and refrigerate for at least four hours. Makes about 10 servings

 

 

 

Hash Brown Casserole

 

Ingredients

• 1 (2 pound) package frozen hash brown potatoes, thawed
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup chopped onion  
• 1 can condensed cream of chicken/mushroom soup
• 2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray one 9x13 inch pan with non-stick cooking spray.

 

In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, butter, salt, pepper, onions, soup and cheese. Gently mix and pour into prepared pan or dish. Bake uncovered for 35 minutes.