Food Finally!

I did a lot of cooking right when I found out I was pregnant. I was still feeling pretty good and the smells didn't bother me too much yet. Here are a couple of recipes that turned out really well.

German Chocolate Cake

I used a Devil's Food Chocolate Cake recipe and added my usual extra egg and substituted milk for water. It makes for a much more moist cake. Here's the recipe for the topping.

Frosting

1 cup evaporated milk
1 cup sugar
3 beaten egg yolks
1/2 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/3 cup Baker's Angel Flake Coconut
1 cup chopped pecans (roasted)

Mix the following ingredients on a stove set on medium heat for 12 minutes:
1 cup evaporated milk
1 cup sugar
3 beaten egg yolks
1/2 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla

Once you are done stirring in the above ingredients add the coconut and roasted pecans. Cool the frosting until it is firm and easy to spread.

Pork and Sweet Peppers

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 1-pound piece pork tenderloin

Kosher salt and pepper

1 pound new potatoes, quartered

2 large garlic cloves, smashed

1/2 cup dry white wine (such as Sauvignon Blanc)

1/2 cup low-sodium chicken broth or water

1/3 cup jarred hot cherry peppers, seeded and roughly chopped

1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley leaves

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.Season the pork with 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Place it on one side of the skillet; place the potatoes and garlic on the other side and season with 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook, stirring the potatoes and turning the pork, until the pork is browned on all sides, 6 to 8 minutes. Add the wine, broth, and cherry peppers. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook, covered, until the pork is cooked through and the potatoes are tender, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer the pork to a cutting board and let rest at least 5 minutes before slicing.Stir the parsley into the potatoes and serve with the sliced pork.

Apple Crisp Pie

Pastry:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 Tbs. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
6 Tbs. unsalted butter
2 Tbs. ice water

Filling:
4 Granny Smith apples
2 Tbs. sugar
Topping:
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
8 Tbs. unsalted butter, chilled

Directions:
Pastry:In a bowl, combine flour, sugar and salt. Cut butter into small cubes and with a pastry blender or 2 knives, cut butter into flour until pea sized granules form. Add ice water and mix lightly until dough forms a ball. Wrap plastic and refrigerate for 2-3 hours. Roll out pastry and fit into 9" pie plate.

Filling:peel, core and thinly slice apples; spread slices on paper towels and pat dry. Place in a bowl and toss with sugar. Fill pastry shell with apples, rounding up in center.

Topping:Combing dry ingredients in a bowl. Cut butter into small cubes, add to dry ingredients and mix with finger tips until granular and crumbly. Sprinkle evenly over apples. Bake for 15 minutes in a preheated 425 oven, reduce heat to 350 and bake another 25 to 30 minutes until top is golden brown and apples are cooked and bubbly. Cover pastry around rim with aluminum foil, if it is browning too fast. Serve warm with whipped cream. Serves 8.