Mocha Pudding Frosting

Mom made a lot of birthday cakes -- at least seven a year for her seven kids. There were many kinds, but the one I remember most had a chocolate-coffee frosting, which I will call Mocha Pudding Frosting. Mom usually used decorator icing to write happy birthday. Decorating a cake is a lot harder than it looks--as you can see from the cake I made for MDS.

Chris and I remember this frosting being put on a chocolate cake. Mom thinks she used it on a yellow cake. Perhaps Mom just made the type of cake that the birthday kid wanted. While I will eat just about any type of cake, I prefer chocolate, so maybe that is why I remember the cake being chocolate. The cake was usually a pan cake, but there were times when Mom made other types of cakes. In our family lore, the most famous other cake was the blueberry layer cake Mom made for Grandpa, but that is a story for a future Spaghetti and Gravy post.

This frosting is easy and tasty. Its use of coffee disguised in chocolate must have been the beginning of my coffee addiction. All you need is a box of instant pudding, dream whip, instant coffee and milk. I loved to help Mom make this frosting because she would let me lick the bowl after she frosted the cake.

Mocha Pudding Frosting

• 1 box chocolate instant pudding
• 1 or 2 envelopes of Dream Whip
• 2 Tbsp. instant coffee
• Milk

In a large bowl, combine all the ingredients. Use one half the amount of milk called for on the box of the pudding and Dream Whip. If desired, you can use more instant coffee. Using a hand mixer, beat on low until the ingredients are blended. Then beat on high for about five minutes until soft peaks form.

If needed, you can refrigerate the frosting to help it stiffen. This frosting works best on sheet cakes, but could be used on any type of cake.

The Kitchen Table

In our house, Mom's kitchen table was the place to be. Throughout childhood, at both the house on Lincoln Avenue and the house on Addison Road, the kitchen table was where everyone gathered.  It was a big table--it had to be in order to seat all seven kids, plus Mom and Dad, Grandma and Grandpa, the Grandkids, and whoever else might have been around.

Recently, we had to say goodbye to the kitchen table. Mom has downsized to a smaller house and the house on Addison was sold. I thought about trying to keep the kitchen table, but it is too big. So, instead of keeping the kitchen table, MDS suggested that I write a post here.

The first photo is from the house on Lincoln. It was taken just before Christmas as part of the annual photo shoot for the Christmas card. Mom and Dad would make us dress up in nice clothes and then take a number of photos throughout the house in different arrangements of the seven kids. Here, Noah is front and center.

We celebrated many birthdays around the kitchen table, so there are a lot of photos of one of us with a cake and candles. When we were young, Mom always baked the cakes. She would serve the cake in the cake pans. Those birthday cakes were always the best cakes.

After we had all moved out, any time we visited Mom and Dad, the first stop was the kitchen table. Often, I didn't get past the kitchen table and would spend the entire visit there. The kitchen table was the heart of the house.

Below are a number of family photos taken around the kitchen table. Some are old (in one, I am the crying baby), some are new (featuring Mom and Dad with the grandkids), there is even one photo featuring a Saturday night spaghetti & gravy dinner. But all the photos are a fun reminder of the good times around the kitchen table. My favorite photo is the one of Rich and Marvin in sunglasses. Which is your favorite?

Beef Teriyaki

Beef Teriyaki is an easy weeknight meal. The only thing to remember is that you need to marinate the beef for a few hours, which can be done the night before or that morning. The simplicity of beef teriyaki is what makes it so good. All you need is beef, teriyaki sauce, lemon juice, and black pepper.  Mom always served it with rice and chopped iceberg lettuce.

To marinate the beef, cut it up into thin strips. You can use just about any cut of beef.  Some stores even sell the beef already cut up. The other ingredients are usually things already in the kitchen. The recipe below is Mom's recipe, but I sometimes modify the recipe by adding honey.

Mom always used white rice. I remember that we used to get the rice started first so it would be done about the time the beef was done. In later years, Mom switched to minute rice. Any type of rice would work. Beef Teriyaki was a popular meal--I don't remember there being any leftover Beef Teriyaki at our house.

Beef Teriyaki 

1 pound beef, but into thin strips
1-2 cups Teriyaki sauce
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
dash of black pepper
2-3 cups cooked white rice
chopped iceberg lettuce

The night before or the morning of the beef teriyaki dinner, marinate the beef. Cut the beef into strips and place into a bowl. Cover beef with teriyaki sauce. Add lemon juice and black pepper. Mix well and make sure the beef is covered. Refrigerate for a few hours.

Preheat a skillet over medium heat. Place the beef and all the marinade in the skillet. Cook, stirring occasionally, until meat is cooked and marinade starts to thicken, about 15 minutes. Serve the beef over the cooked rice, with chopped lettuce on the side.

Tuna Heroes

In the Buckley house, Tuna Heroes were a Friday night special, especially during Lent, but, in truth, all year round. When I was very young, Mom often went grocery shopping after work on Friday, so there was usually a fresh loaf of bread to use with the heroes. All the other ingredients are fairly standard items that would be around the house.

Mom's Tuna Heroes are an open face melt sandwich. Mom thinks she found the recipe in a magazine. I always thought she had just made the recipe up herself. Whatever the source of the recipe, it is a keeper.

Recently, Mom, Meg, and Tim came over for Tuna Heroes with MDS and me. It was just like the old days. Meg and I (well, really, Meg) made the tuna heroes. When I was in high school that Meg and I would make the tuna heroes and time them to be done just after Mom got home from work. The Tuna Heroes tasted just as I remembered. A good time was had by all.

But, even better than Friday night Tuna Heroes is Tuna Heroes for breakfast on Saturday morning.  MDS is horrified, but in the Buckley family house, there was always something of a race to get the Tuna Heroes for Saturday morning breakfast. I cannot explain why leftovers for breakfast was so popular in the house, but that is the way that it was.

The recipe is simple. As with so many of Mom's recipes, there are no formal measurements, but Meg and I will try to estimate the measurements.  The ingredients are simple and can be modified for your preferred taste. One note, Mom always used imitation swiss cheese on these tuna heroes. Sure, you could use real swiss cheese, or any other cheese for that matter. But for me, I will always use imitation swiss cheese.

Tuna Heroes
2 or 3 cans tuna
1 cup sour cream
1 cup mayonnaise
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 Tablespoon dried parsley
1 loaf french bread
spread butter or margarine
12 slices imitation swiss cheese

Heat the oven to 375. Drain the tuna and place into a large bowl. Add the sour cream, mayo, lemon juice, garlic salt, and dried parsley.  Mix well.

Slice the french bread the long way.  Place the bread, face up, on a baking sheet.  Spread each bread face with butter or margarine.  Then, evenly spread the tuna mixture onto the bread.  Cover with cheese.

Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 20 minutes, or until the cheese is slightly browned. If you prefer the cheese to be darker, turn on the broiler to brown the cheese.

Allow the Tuna Heroes to cool. Slice the Tuna Heroes and serve.