Lemon Ice

This Lemon Ice is a good cold treat on a hot August day. I found this recipe in Mom's recipe box. Although I don't recall her making this recipe, I do recall having these types of ice treats in the summer. And, this recipe is very similar to Italian Ice, which I do recall enjoying every summer. I especially love Mario's Italian Ice on Taylor Street, right behind my high school. Mario's closed over the winter, so every year when Mario's reopened, I knew that it was summer.

Mom's recipe calls for using ice cube trays as a mold. Then, the resulting lemon ice cubes could be used in a drink, which I am sure would be delicious. But, with my automatic ice cube maker, I don't own ice cube trays, so I poured the entire recipe into a bowl and froze it as a whole. Then, I used a spoon to scrape out the lemon ice into a small bowl for serving. Either way you choose to enjoy this recipe, I highly recommend on a 90 degree August day.

Lemon Ice 

• 4 cups water
• 1 cup sugar
• Juice of 3 lemons (about 10 Tbsp.)
• 1/4 cup cold water
• 1 package unflavored gelatin

Soften gelatin in 1/4 cup cold water. Boil 4 cups water and sugar together for five minutes. Remove from heat and add lemon juice. Add softened gelatin to the syrup and stir until dissolved. Place in ice cube trays and freeze until firm (about 3 hours). Enjoy!

Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

For MDS's 39th (again) Birthday, I made this delicious cake and frosting. I was glad MDS chose this combo. I usually pick chocolate cake with vanilla buttercream frosting. The chocolate cake with chocolate frosting combo is excellent. Both recipes came from Mom's recipe box. Making cake and frosting from scratch is easy enough that there really is no need to rely on the boxed mixes. The cake is called Hershey's Prize Chocolate Cake, so she must have gotten it from the back of Hershey's cocoa powder box back in the day. The recipe calls for making a round layer cake, but I made a pan cake instead. It took a little longer to bake, but like most cake recipes, you can use whatever pan works for you by adjusting the baking time.

The frosting recipe seems to be a basic chocolate buttercream recipe. I often struggle with making frosting, but I have found that if I use my electric mixer, I get better results with smoother and fluffier frosting. As for the "39" candles that you see in the photo. we plan to stay 39 forever, so we will keep using those candles until nothing is left.

Hershey's Prize Chocolate Cake 

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup shortening
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 3/4 cup cocoa
• 1 3/4 cup flour
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1 3/4 cup milk

Generously grease the pans. Cream butter, shortening, sugar and vanilla until light and fluffy. Blend in eggs. Combine soda, cocoa, flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl. Add alternately with milk to butter. Blend well. Pour into the prepared pans. Bake at 350 for 30-40 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan. Frost and enjoy!

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting 

• 2 2/3 cup confectioner sugar
• 3/4 cup cocoa
• 6 Tbsp. butter
• 4-5 Tbsp. milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Combine confectioner sugar and cocoa. Cream butter with one half of the cocoa mixture in a bowl. Add remaining cocoa alternating with milk. Beat to spreading consistency. Blend in vanilla. Use to frost cake. Enjoy!

Rum Chocolate Pie

This pie is a terrific summer dessert. First, it is served chilled. Second, depending on the crust you use, there is no need to use the oven. Third, the pie contains rum, which also seems to be a summertime drink. And, finally, it is outrageously delicious. So give this pie a try, you won't regret it.

When I made this pie, I used a graham cracker crust instead of a baked pastry crust because I did not want to turn on the oven. I think it could also be good with a chocolate cookie crust. There are three layers in the pie. The first layer is a custard layer. Although it takes some effort to make the custard layer, it is worth it. The second layer is a basic whipped cream layer. And the top layer is a chocolate whipped cream layer. Each layer is delicious, but it is the blend of all three layers that make this pie great.

Rum Chocolate Pie 

• 1 cup milk
• 1/8 tsp. nutmeg
• 2 eggs, separated
• 1/3 cup plus 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/8 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. unflavored gelatine, softened in 2 Tbsp. water
• 4 Tbsp. rum
• 1 9" pie crust, baked and cooled
• 1/2 pound milk chocolate
• 3 Tbsp. water
• 1 1/2 cup heavy cream, whipped
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Heat milk and nutmeg on low. Beat the egg yolks, 1/3 cup sugar and salt until light. Pour the hot milk over the egg yolks, stirring well. Return to stovetop, heat on low and stir until thick. Remove from heat and stir in gelatin. Place the pan on ice and cool the mixture. Add 3 tablespoons of room. When mixture thickens, fold in the beaten egg whites. Pour into the pie shell.

Place the chocolate and water on low heat. Stir until the chocolate melts. Cool slightly. Add half the whipped cream and the remaining rum. To the remaining whipped cream add the vanilla and tablespoon of sugar. Spread the whipped cream over the pie. Cover the cream layer with the chocolate mixture. Chill for several hours. Enjoy!

Curry Barley Salad

This recipe is one of my own. I came across a dish like this salad in the basement cafeteria at Macy's on State Street in Chicago (formerly known as Marshall Fields). This cafeteria has been serving lunch for years to many downtown workers and tourists alike. It is a bit of a hidden gem in the Loop. One day, I was getting lunch with some co-workers and I came across this salad from the many options at the salad bar. I loved it and decided that I had to recreate it. I first made it for an Easter celebration a few years back, and I have made it several times since then.

The nice thing about this recipe is that the amount of the various ingredients you use is very flexible. MDS does not like cheese, so I always set aside some with the feta for him. When I made this batch, I had forgotten to add the raisins. I was able to add them into the leftovers, but I love the raisins, so don't make the same mistake that I did. I highly recommend making this dish a day in advance and allowing it to chill in the refrigerator so the flavors can blend. I get the barley and the curry sauce  from Trader Joe's and they come in the approximate sizes noted below. You could also make your own curry sauce, using plain greek yogurt and curry powder or some other variation. Because it is a salad, there is no need to worry about precise measurements, just add to taste.

Curry Barley Salad 

• 1 cup barley, uncooked 
• 11 ounces curry sauce
• 15 ounce can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 red onion, finely chopped
• 1 pound broccoli, chopped
• 6 ounces feta cheese
• 1 cup raisins
• Ground black pepper, to taste

Cook the barley based on the package directions. After draining excess water from the barley, add in the curry sauce, garbanzo beans, red onion, broccoli, feta cheese, raisins and pepper. Stir until the ingredients are mixed well. Refrigerate for a few hours or overnight. Enjoy!

Sunny Pizza Snacks

When I found this among Grandma's recipes, I did not recall it, but with the use of hard-boiled eggs, I am not surprised to find it. As I've mentioned before, many of our family's Italian-American recipes include the use of hard-boiled eggs. I loved seeing my Grandma's handwriting on this recipe card. It reminded me of the letters that she used to write to me when I was in college.

This recipe is very easy. Grandma's recipe states that it makes 8 snacks or 4 main dishes. But, it can be scaled up or down with ease. In some ways, it is an Italian variation on the Egg McMuffin. But, I like that this recipe uses the broiler to melt and brown the cheese, rather than the microwave. MDS was skeptical, but he liked these sunny pizza snacks. Pizza sauce is simply tomato sauce with a few herbs and spices, such as garlic, oregano and basil, added in.

Sunny Pizza Snacks 

• 4 English muffins, split
• 8 oz. pizza sauce
• 8 hard-boiled eggs, sliced
• 1 cup mozzarella cheese, shredded

Place the muffin halves on a baking sheet. Spread each with one tablespoon pizza sauce. Arrange the sliced eggs on each half muffin. Spread each with one tablespoon of pizza sauce. Sprinkle each muffin with mozzarella cheese. Place the baking sheet under the broiler, about six inches away, until cheese is melted and just starting to brown. Enjoy!

Pasta with Broccoli

Mom's recipe box is filled with recipes that I do not specifically recall, but that sound good. This recipe is one example. When we were kids, we often resisted eating vegetables. Mom would try to find different ways to make vegetables that we would eat. If I did not like it when I was I kid, I was a silly kid. It is an excellent side dish. It could also be turned into a main dish by adding some protein, like beans or chicken.

When I made this dish, I mostly followed the recipe. However, I used elbow macaroni instead of cavatelli pasta, which is a small shell shape. You could use just about any type of pasta. I did not have any crushed red pepper, so I just used more black pepper. I also used more garlic than the recipes calls for, but I really like garlic. This recipe is easy to make and tolerates modifications. The next time that I make it, I will double the amount of broccoli. I modified Mom's recipe by sauteing the broccoli in the oil and garlic, rather than separately cooking it.

Pasta with Broccoli 

• 1 clove garlic, diced
• 6 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tsp. pepper
• crushed red pepper to taste
• 1/2 pound pasta, cooked
• 1 pound broccoli

Cut the broccoli to bite sized pieces. Brown the garlic in olive oil in a large skillet. Add the pepper and broccoli and cook until tender. Add the pasta and cook until the flavors blend, stirring frequently. Enjoy!

Gooey Butter Cake

Every June, Mom and I go to St. Louis for opera weekend at Opera Theater of St. Louis. While in St. Louis, we are sure to sample some local St. Louis foods, and Gooey Butter Cake is legendary in St. Louis. The most common story is that it originated in the 1930s at a St. Louis bakery when a new baker made a mistake when making a coffee cake, but the result was so popular that it became a standard St. Louis specialty. Gooey Butter Cake is a dense cake that is similar in texture to brownies. When I brought the cake to Mom's on a recent Saturday night, my nieces and nephews loved it, and all the adults loved it too.

Mom and I have gotten gooey butter cake at Missouri Baking Company. This recipe is the standard vanilla flavor. But we have gotten other flavors, including tuxedo, which is a vanilla and chocolate marble version. The next time I make this cake, I might try to make another flavor but mixing the flavoring into the topping. I think chocolate, almond or strawberry would be delicious. The recipe below is adopted from Smitten Kitchen. It uses yeast, so it does require some rise time. But don't let that prevent you from trying out this excellent cake.

Gooey Butter Cake 

Base layer

• 5 Tbsp. milk
• 1 3/4 tsp. active dry yeast
• 6 Tbsp. butter, softened
• 3 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 egg
• 1 3/4 cup flour

Top layer

• 12 Tbsp. butter, salted
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 1 egg
• 3 tsp. vanilla
• 4 Tbsp. light corn syrup
• 1 1/4 cup flour
• Powdered sugar for dusting

Make the base layer: In a small bowl, warm the milk to about 120 degrees. Add the yeast to the milk and allow it to dissolve and foam. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, sugar and salt until fluffy. Beat in the egg. Alternately add in the yeast and the flour, blending completely. Grease a 13X9 glass pan. Press the dough into the pan. Cover the pan and put in a warm place to allow the dough to rise until doubled, about three hours.

Make the topping: In a bowl, blend the sugar and butter until fluffy. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Alternately add in the corn syrup and the flour and mix until smooth.

Spoon the topping over the risen cake and use an offset spatula to form an even layer. Bake at 350 for 30 to 45 minutes, until golden brown. Allow to cool. Sprinkle with powdered sugar. Enjoy!