Not Your Momma's Honey Cake

I'll be the first to admit it. I hate honey cake. I know it's a traditional holiday food, and every year as far back as I can remember I have somehow choked down a token bite of those dense brown bricks that masquerade as cake.

And then one year, a really great Emeril cookbook appeared in the mail, completely unbidden. When miracles like this happen, I'd rather just say thanks and not ask questions (although isn't it weird to get a cookbook in the mail when you never ordered one and didn't even know that this specific one existed?). Of course half the recipes call for pork, sausage, bacon, or some combination of the three. Which may in fact be very tasty, but I can only vouch for the non-pig recipes.

Like this honey cake. It's not even honey cake, really, but more of a chiffon spice cake sweetened with honey. The egg whites keep it nice and light, and the cake flour and mixing method give it a silky texture. It's almost a honey coffee cake. Honey-coffee-chiffon-spice-cake.

Makes You Want to be Jewish Challah

Did anyone know that Rosh Hashana (the Jewish new year) is this week? When did this happen?? Why did nobody tell me?

Do you know what this means? Two food-laden days (well, three if you count Shabbat). Full of baked goods. And I'm nowhere near prepared.

Time to start making absolutely ridiculous amounts of food. Let's start with Challah. I can take no credit for this recipe, but I can tell you that for the love of this absolutely chewy Challah, I will actually MEASURE all my ingredients. This, folks, is a big deal.

Cookie Giveaway

Why, what's that I spy?

What, cookies just waiting to be decorated!?!

Sweet Tea Vodka

Today I want to share a little gem of alcoholic deliciousness with you.

You've probably heard of sweet tea vodka.

It hasn't exactly made it's way to mainstream Israeli culture. What a shame. 

Only The Best Chocolate Brownies Ever

Between last night and this morning I have made about eighty four thousand different dishes. I have three friends coming to visit and apparently I think they eat like elephants. Did you know that elephants can eat up to 300 kg/day? It's sort of disturbing how many websites discuss the eating patterns of elephants.

But I digress. Cooking makes me sort of loopy sometimes.

So do these brownies. They make me go so crazy I turn into the type of animal that steals the food meant for it's family. Whoa, did you know there's even a name for this? It's called kleptoparasitism. Gee, google is a splendid creature.

I should probably stop.

Carrot Cupcakes and Kitchen Mishaps

It's been a long week, folks.

I'd love to complain to you and make you feel sorry for my pathetic cooking existence, but in the grand scheme of things it's not been terribly bad and so you probably won't have much sympathy for me.

Instead, I present to you my week in failed cooking experiments in pictorial format.

There was the too-dry bruschetta that I accidentally left too long in the oven. Crunch.

Sailor Cake

See this guy? He's going on top of a birthday cake for my boy who loves ships, and sailors, and the like. So, like the good mommy that I am, I baked a moist, 3- layer chocolate cake, filled with chocolate buttercream.

Sour Lemon Pie

We used to joke as kids that if Martha Stewart wanted to make steaks for dinner, first she had to fatten a calf and slaughter it.

So today, kiddies, we're going to make a lemon pie, Martha-style.

First go out to your lemon orchard and pick a few sour lemons.

 (This is our back yard. No lie. Did I mention we live in Paradise?)

Friday Morning Coffee Cake

I live in a land of no Entenmann's. That's right, no picture window boxes for you to peer into and find that your husband has eaten just the top of the crumb-top cake and left you with a stale cake bottom. I live a pathetic life, I know.

I've heard rumors that they sell these glorious food products in the Anglo enclave that is Beit Shemesh, but honestly does that even count as being part of Israel? (And food-product-jealousy rears its ugly head)

Anyways, Beit Shemesh is too far for Friday Morning Breakfast.