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.

Frozen Daiquiri

With seven kids in the family, just about every year, at least one of us was graduating from one school or another. As such, just about every June, there was a backyard party celebrating the graduation. June was always hot, so Mom made Frozen Daiquiri. The great thing about Frozen Daiquiri is that you can make it ahead of time and keep it in the freezer. When ready to serve, just pull it out and let it melt a little until it is somewhat slushy and a cool treat on a hot day. Mom always served it in an ice bucket.

Because I was a kid, I couldn't have the Frozen Daiquiri, but I did get a small taste. I must have enjoyed the taste because my favorite Baskin-Robbins flavor was Daiquiri Ice--lime ice with rum flavoring. MDS worked at a Baskin-Robbins when he was a teen. People used to ask him if Daiquiri Ice had alcohol in it, as if they would serve alcoholic ice cream to kids.

Frozen Daiquiri
2 Liter 7-Up
2 cans frozen lemonade concentrate
Light Rum (enough to fill one empty can)

Partially thaw the frozen lemonade. In a large bowl, mix the 7-Up, lemonade and rum. Pour into a container that can go into the freezer. Leave room in each container for the liquid to freeze. You may want to use several small containers so you can enjoy it in small amounts. Freeze for several hours or overnight. Remove the frozen daiquiri shortly before you are ready to use. Serve the frozen daiquiri when it melts just a little so that it is slushy. You may need to use a spoon to mix up the frozen daiquiri. If it melts too much, just stick the daiquiri back into the freezer.

Eclairs

When I was a kid, every Memorial Day and Labor Day, Mom made eclairs -- first to bring to the barbecue at Grandma's and Grandpa's house, and then, after Grandma and Grandpa moved in with us, as the dessert after Grandpa ran the barbecue in our backyard. 

Eclairs were such a special treat. They seemed so fancy. In reality, they are not too difficult to make, but they do take some time. There are three parts: puff, filling, and frosting. Mom always made them the same way: puff, vanilla pudding filling, and chocolate frosting.

The puff is the base. They are so tasty on their own that you could just eat the puffs without filling or frosting. Despite my best efforts, Mom would make me wait until she was ready to serve the eclairs, and not let me eat the puffs right out of the oven.

You can use any filling such as whipped cream, chocolate pudding, or any other flavor, even a savory filling. But Mom's eclairs are always made with vanilla pudding filling. Now, if you want to be more professional, you could use a pastry bag to pipe in the filling. Or, just like Mom, just cut open the puffs and spoon in the pudding. The key to the filling is to make it thick -- use less milk than the pudding recipe calls for. Dream Whip is powdered whipped cream that can be found in the grocery aisle near the pudding and it makes the filling richer. When we made eclairs, Mom alway let me lick the bowl and the beaters after we were done filling the eclairs. Needless to say, I always helped Mom with the eclairs.

The chocolate frosting is almost a fudge type frosting. If you are like my sister, Megan, and you do not like frosting, you can just leave it off. But I love this chocolate frosting, so I always use it. To me, it makes the eclairs complete.

After the eclairs were made, Mom put them in the fridge. I always prefer to eat them when they are cold, straight out of the fridge. Eclairs never lasted long in the fridge because everyone liked them.

Eclairs (yields about 20-25 small eclairs)

Puffs

6 Tbsp. unsalted butter

3/4 cup milk or water

3/4 flour

3 eggs

optional: 1 egg for egg wash 

Pudding Filling

1 package vanilla filling

1 envelope Dream Whip

1 to 1.5 cup milk

Chocolate Frosting

2 squares unsweetened chocolate

dash of salt

3 Tbsp. milk

2 Tbsp. unsalted butter

1. 5 cup confectioner's sugar

On stovetop, heat milk and butter over medium-high and bring just to boil. Turn heat to low, add all flour and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon. The dough will pull together. Cook for a few minutes, stirring the ball of dough around, so it dries out. Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes. Add eggs one at a time and incorporate completely. After all the eggs are added, mix until dough is a paste consistency. Spoon dough onto parchment lined baking sheets. Make egg wash by beating one egg with a tablespoon of water. Brush egg wash onto puffs. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes, then lower the heat to 350 degrees and bake for 20 to 30 more minutes. Watch closely to prevent over-baking. Turn off heat on the oven, open the oven door a few inches and let the puffs dry out for about 30 minutes. Allow the puffs to cool completely.

To make the pudding filling, use a mixer to beat the vanilla pudding mix, dream whip, and milk. The pudding filling should be firm. Refrigerate the pudding until ready to fill. Then cut each puff in half. Fill each with about a spoonful of filling in each and replace the top half.

To make the chocolate frosting, melt the butter and chocolate on low in a sauce pan on the stove top.  Then add the salt, milk and sugar. Stir to make a smooth frosting. The frosting will set quickly, so frost quickly. If needed, return the frosting to the stove top to loosen it up enough so it can be spread.

Eclairs can be stored in the refrigerator for a few days, if they last that long.

Sun Tea

If it's summer, it's time for sun tea. Mom made sun tea throughout the summer, so it is something I am used to enjoying on a hot day. Mom did not add lemon or sugar. We just drank it straight. In the summertime, nothing is as refreshing as sun tea.

You can use any kind of tea. Currently, I use Trader Joe's Irish Breakfast Tea. For my sun tea jar, four tea bags work fine. You may need to experiment to determine how many tea bags you will prefer.

Sun Tea
4 Tea Bags
Water
Sun Tea Jar

Fill jar (or any other container) with water. Add tea bags. Place container outside in a sunny place. Let it sit out there for a few hours. Remove tea bags and refrigerate. Enjoy.