Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Bars

I needed to make a "bar" dessert, and I was looking for something delicious, awesome, and easy. With those qualities in mind, I turned to a trusty cookbook, the 175th Anniversary Celebration Cookbook from Randall Memorial Baptist Church.

I happen to love church cookbooks. I read the names of the men and women who submitted each recipe and wonder what kind of folks they were. Or, if I happen to know them, I always have a happy memory to think back on. And, from my experience, church cookbooks have the market covered on delicious, awesome, and easy desserts. The first dessert I made when the husband and I moved to Milwaukee and were invited to a new friend's home was Honey Bun Cake. Thanks, Debbie Alcott for that one. Hurricane Oatmeal Cake? That gem can be attributed to none other than my fabulous mom. Debby Brown's Death by Chocolate Trifle has come through on a number of occasions.

When I made today's recipe, I wasn't concerned. The bakers of Randall Memorial Baptist Church have had my back on a number of occasions. As I started making the bars, though, I got a bit nervous. It didn't feel right. The crust mixture seemed a bit dry. Was I missing something? And it didn't cook too long. Was it really done? I went to sleep with a feeling of unease as my bars finished cooling in the fridge.

When I woke up, the bars were the first thing on my mind. Did they look better? I peered under the foil. No. They still looked a little dry and crumbly. Nuts. Well, maybe I'd just cut them up. Doggone again! These suckers are tough to cut while they're cold, and I was already late for work. My nerves rising, I cut off a little sliver and popped it in my mouth for a taste test.

Ho-ly cow. I should have known the church cookbook would come through! These suckers were AWESOME! They looked dry, but it was a trick. They were delicious. The husband had a taste test, too, and he had the perfect description. "They taste like Oreo balls." And they do.

So, don't doubt the church cookbook. Just make these.

Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Bars
From: Dondra Decker in the 175th Anniversary Celebration Cookbook from Randall Memorial Baptist Church

1 18.5 ounce package fudge cake mix
2 eggs, divided
1/3 cup vegetable oil
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix dry cake mix, 1 egg, and vegetable oil until crumbly.

Reserve 2 cups for topping. Pat remaining crumb mixture into a lightly greased 9x13 baking dish. Bake for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, beat together cream cheese, sugar, and remaining 1 egg until light and smooth.

Stir in chocolate chips. Spread cream cheese mixture over baked crust and sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture. Bake 15 minutes longer. Cool before cutting. Store in refrigerator, but bring to room temperature before serving.

Corn and Black Bean Salad

As you may have noticed, I'm on a bit of a sweet corn kick. I just can't help it. It's August, and the corn tastes like candy. It's Halloween for grown-ups.

I snagged a few ears at the farmer's market, and set off to make this recipe for a BBQ we were having. Burgers on the grill and fresh sweet corn. It smelled like summer. It tasted like summer. It WAS summer. 

Serve this as a side dish. Scoop it up with tortilla chips, if you're so inclined. But do it quickly because the sweet corn won't last forever.

P.S. Although I looove raw onion, it doesn't always love me back. I like to make the dressing for this recipe an hour or two before I finish the salad. I find the vinegar in the dressing takes the bite out of the raw scallions when it sits for a bit. Please note: This is not at all scientifically based; there's a good chance it's in my head. But I'm a firm believer in the placebo effect.

Corn and Black Bean Salad

Serves: 8

Dressing

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (Use the good stuff here.)

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (about 1.5 small limes)

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

3 large scallions, thinly sliced (Use the white, light, and dark green parts.)

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

Salt and pepper, to taste

Salad

8 ears corn on the cob, husks and silk removed

1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed

2 tablespoons minced cilantro

1 pint grape or cherry tomatoes, halved (or quartered if large)

Salt and pepper, to taste

Combine all the dressing ingredients and whisk together. If you'd like to let the onion mellow, set dressing aside for about an hour.

Meanwhile, bring a very large pot of water to a boil. Add the corn and cook until just tender, about 4 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold water until it's cooled to the touch. Cut the corn off the cob and place in a large bowl. (See my post on Therese's Corn and Tomato Salad for pictures of this step.)

Add black beans and cilantro to the corn. Whisk dressing again to combine, and stir it into the salad. Stop to appreciate how beautiful summer heirloom tomatoes really are.

Then, gently fold tomatoes into the salad. Taste and, if necessary, add more salt and pepper. Refrigerate until ready to serve (up to a day.) If desired, serve with tortilla chips.

Beer Marinated Flank Steak

Serendipitously, the husband was out of town on a boy's weekend the same time my pal Mo's husband was out of town at a bachelor party. Since we were ladies of leisure without our men, we got together to cook dinner. And chat. Ok, honestly it was mostly chatting interrupted by cooking.

Anyway, Mo and I (with the help of her grill-savvy father-in-law), made a fan-freaking-tastic flank steak. I've shared with you the husband's Lime Cilantro Marinade, and this one is just as good. We only had time to marinade our steak for a couple hours, but I bet it'd be even better if you let this sucker rest in the fridge overnight. (If you give the overnight marinade a try, please let me know how it is!)

Beer Marinated Flank Steak
From Bon Apetit via epicurious.com
Serves: 6

2 pounds flank steak
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 teaspoons cumin
Salt and pepper, to taste
1/4 cup olive oil
6 green onions, sliced
12 ounces dark beer (we used Guinness)
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce (or a little more if you love this stuff as much as Mo and I do)

Score the flank steak in a crisscross pattern. (Your scoring should only be about 1/8" deep.) Place steak in a glass baking dish large enough to hold it. Sprinkle oregano, cumin, salt, and pepper all over the steak. Pour oil over the top, and rub it into the meat, making sure you cover both sides. Add green onions, beer, and Worcestershire, flipping the steaks to make sure they're coated evenly. Cover with plastic wrap and marinade at room temperature for an hour or in the fridge overnight.

Once the meat is marinated, grill over medium-high heat. Cooking about 3-4 minutes per side should result in a medium-rare steak. Let steak rest 5 minutes and thinly slice across the grain to serve.

Who Wants Cake?

I've been flipping through my cookbooks and pining over all the Autumn inspired recipes. (Thanks, San Francisco, for this despicable ahem! Summer weather!) You know things are bad when the urge to make cake, only in order to stand warmed and cozy beside the oven, is the first thought upon waking to yet another dreary, foggy, pea soup day.

I'm justifying this post because TA DA! it's lemon pound cake, and it seems to harness those last days of summer, while hinting at the warm buttery goodness just around the corner. (Yes, it's nearly September! Meaning, it's basically the week before Christmas.)

This is the perfect cake to drop off at your neighbor's door, bring to tea with the girls or nibble in the kitchen, justifying each dirty fork as you pop them in the dishwasher, one by one..."my LAST bite!"

Here's what you'll need...

3 cups cake flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature

3 cups sugar

6 eggs, room temperature

1/2 cup fresh lemon juice

2 tablespoons grated lemon peel

1 cup sour cream

The Glaze is easy...

1 cup powdered sugar

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

And here's how to do it...

Preheat oven to 325°F. Line two loaf pans with parchment paper.

Sift flour, baking soda and salt into medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl at medium speed until fluffy. Gradually add sugar and beat 5 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating just until combined after each addition. Beat in lemon juice and peel. Using rubber spatula, mix in dry ingredients. Mix in sour cream. Be gentle. Transfer batter to prepared pan.

Bake cake until tester inserted near center(s) comes out clean, about 1 hour 20 minutes. Let cake cool in pan on rack 15 minutes. Turn out cake.

Carefully turn cake right side up on rack and cool completely. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Wrap in foil and let stand at room temperature.)

Once cool, drizzle with glaze. Yum!

xoxo

{ Lady of the House }

Therese's Corn and Tomato Salad

A friend of a friend has a great summer project going on with his kids. They are raising corn in their backyard garden and selling their bounty for, get this, $2 a dozen. (TWO MEASLY BUCKS!) The kids are allowed to keep 50% of their profits, but the other 50% gets divided evenly between their college savings accounts, church, and the charity of their choice (the Humane Society.) I could not pass up helping the kids learn such a great life lesson in saving and giving to good causes, so I signed up for a dozen ears of summer sweet corn.

My friend brought me the bag of corn on Friday, and it was at that point I thought to myself, "What in the world am I going to do with all this corn?"

I chatted with Therese, of dinner co-op fame, and she shared a recipe for corn salad. It was easy. EA-SY. And delicious. DUH-LICIOUS. So, I'm sharing it with you here.

Visit your local purveyor of sweet corn, be it the grocery store, farm stand, or kids learning a life lesson, and make this up before summer passes you by.

Therese's Corn and Tomato Salad
From: Therese (Obviously.)
Serves: 6

6 ears corn on the cob, husks and silk removed
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved if large
1/2 - 1 cup basil (to taste or as much as your garden can handle), chopped
6 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
4 tablespoons olive oil (the good stuff)
Salt and pepper

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add the corn and boil for 3-4 minutes. Remove corn to a colander and place under cold, running water to stop the cooking process and cool it down quickly. (Alternatively, if you plan ahead, you can shock the corn in an ice bath. I, obviously, didn't plan ahead.)

Using a very sharp knife, cut the corn kernels off the cob. (Note: As you can see from the photo, I attempted to catch runaway kernels by placing the cutting board on a rimmed baking sheet. I'm pleased to report that it worked!)

In a large bowl, combine corn kernels, tomatoes, and basil. In a separate bowl, whisk together cider vinegar and olive oil. Pour dressing over the salad and stir gently to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Go have fun! It's an order!

I was all set to make chicken and some delightful basil carrots for dinner, and I was planning to share that recipe with you folks today.

But then I got a better offer. Some pals invited us to eat a picnic dinner with them at Jazz in the Park, a summer tradition in Milwaukee.

My little mind started running away with me when we got the invite. What about the carrots? What will I share with the good readers of HDHH? And shouldn't I fold that laundry that's been languishing in my dryer all day? And what will I bring to Jazz in the Park? I don't have time to bake an apple pie after work!

Uh, hello, Erin! Who cares about the carrots?! (If you care, please comment. I'll owe you a serious apology.) The skivvies in the dryer will be there tomorrow, no wrinklier than they are now. And you will bring chips to Jazz in the Park. And no one will judge you for it.

So, the husband and I threw together some quick sandwiches for our picnic in the park. (PB&J for me, leftover chicken and cheese for him.) We rinsed some grapes, snagged a bag of chips, and we were off. And we had a grand time.

This is the lesson I learned for today, and I'm sharing it with you in place of the carrot recipe. Don't take yourself too seriously. And when a friend calls with a better offer for dinner, or your little one asks you to play trucks, take them up on it. You won't regret it.

The New Kid in Town by Lady of the House

Hey, speaking of the Food Pyramid...

Funny to think of our kids growing up with the "plate" eh?

From a visual standpoint, this is working out a lot better for me. From a guilty-as-charged standpoint, not so much.

I'm just wondering where the donuts and gummy bears fit in...

xoxo

{ Lady of the House }