Egg In Your Beer

Yesterday I tried a baking experiment that worked! I made a chocolate box cake in a 9″ x 13″ pan and drizzled a jar of caramel ice cream topping over the cake before baking. I was hoping that the caramel would remain suspended in the cake, but it seeped in as the cake baked. The result was a moist cake that received raves! I topped it with canned chocolate frosting. Everyone at church wanted to know the secret of this amazing cake. Sorry to say, it was just a jar of caramel!

Next time I would grease and flour my pan instead of using spray for baking. That was one sticky cake!

I think the title of my blog needs to be Fail On Your Blog because I have been terrible at updating. I don’t have writers block, I have photographers block. I always feel like anything I write has to be accompanied by gorgeous photos. I do not have a good camera so my photos are usually of poor quality. I have wanted a new camera for years but haven’t invested in one. I think it’s time!

I want to share the recipe that got Husband and I through many a holiday party. This recipe came from the St. Bernadette’s church cookbook that was passed down from my great aunt to my sister, and then to me. The recipe called for you to make meatballs with ground beef and onion soup mix, but we take a short cut. I don’t know why they are called Polish Meatballs. Perhaps it’s because this is such a thrifty recipe?

Polish Meatballs
1 Bag Turkey Meatballs
1 Can Whole Cranberry Sauce (14 oz)
1 Can Sauerkraut (14 oz or so – we like Frank’s Sweet Bavarian Kraut)
1/2 Bottle Frank’s Red Hot Sauce (adjust to taste)

Preheat the oven to 350°. In a 9″ x 13″ baking dish, arrange the meatballs in a single layer. You may not need the whole bag. In a bowl, combine the cranberry sauce, sauerkraut and hot sauce. Pour over meatballs. Bake for 45 – 60 minutes until heated through.

We have also thrown this in a crock pot and it cooks perfectly. We always intended these meatballs to be appetizers but this recipe makes a lot. The meatballs are a great main dish with some mashed potatoes on the side.

How sad that fall is over and Christmas is upon us! According to the Sears commercial I saw yesterday it is so. It makes me sick to see Christmas starting in November. We still have plenty of lovely, crisp fall days ahead and we don’t need to start stocking up on meaningless crap just yet! I’ll wait until Thanksgiving, at least, to move my leg lamp into the window.

My sister and I are determined to have a Dickensian Christmas dinner this year. For years my family did did fondue on Christmas eve. We never did cute, elegant fondue with cheese or chocolate. We did grease. We heated up two fondue pots of peanut oil and fried the hell out of things. When the family tired of this Husband and I made it our New Year’s tradition.

For the past few years we’ve had a day-long appetizer feast. Every few hours we snack on mini quiches or taco dip. After two rounds this usually gets pretty sickening.

This year we’re ready for a challenge! Sister has mentioned making Beef Wellington and my challenge is a figgy pudding. I’ve wanted to make a traditional English pudding for years, especially one with a boozy sauce that you light on fire. I also want to incorporate a jar of None Such Mincemeat into one of my dishes just because it seems antiquated and weird. This Fruit ‘N Walnut Cheesecake sounds pretty tasty if you can get the picture of “mince meat” out of your head. Turns out None Such is just fruit, corn syrup and “beef” listed towards the end of the ingredients list. I trust that more than something with “Mc” in the name!