Ruth’s Cherry Limeade cake

Note from Jamie: I used a white cake mix instead of making the cake from scratch, but I am sure this was great too!
Notes from Ruth: All other notes in the recipe are from Ruth. I wonder if I can still call her Ruthie... 

Cake (from America’s test kitchen cookbook)--

¾ cup whole milk at room temperature
6 large eggs, room temp.
1 Tbl. Vanilla extract
2 2/3 cup cake flour
2 ¼ cup sugar
1 Tbl. Baking powder
1 tsp. salt
3 sticks, unsalted butter, cut into chunks and softened.
(This is from the “Wedding Cake” section, so it’s designed to put into 1 6in. pan, 1 9in. pan and 1 12in. pan. I didn’t have a 12 inch, so I did the 6in. pan and 2 9in. pans.  If all you have is 9in. pans, you’ll probably be fine – just make a couple of cupcakes to go with it.)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Prep your cake pans (I used parchment paper on the bottom and then sprayed PAM on all of it).

Whisk together eggs, milk, and vanilla in a large bowl. Reserve out ¾ of a cup of liquid.
In your mixing bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Beat in the butter one chunk at a time, with your mixer on low. Continue 1-3 minutes until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. (My butter wasn’t quite soft enough at this point, so I had to do a little mixing by hand).
Add liquid into mixing bowl (all except the ¾ cup) and beat on medium till smooth and fluffy, 2-4 minutes.
Add the last ¾ cup gradually until combined; the batter will look slightly curdled.
Put 2 ½ cups of batter into each 9in. pan (or if you’re using 3 different pan sizes: 1 cup in the 6in. pan, 2 ½ cups into the 9in. and “the remainder” into the 12in. pan).
Smooth the tops gently and place in your oven.  Check cakes after 25 minutes and remove when a toothpick comes out with just a few crumbs.  Let the cakes cool in pans for 10 minutes then remove to a cooling rack. Let them cool completely before assembling and frosting.

--This recipe is good. I think the density issue was my execution, so maybe you’ll have better luck with it. My eggs were not at room temperature, so I’m blaming them until I have a better idea. Of what went wrong. Over-mixing? I do mix things too long sometimes…

Filling (modified from America’s test Kitchen Cookbook)
1 cup maraschino cherries, drained
¼ cup hot maraschino juice
1 tsp unflavored gelatin
1 jar cherry jam (approximately 1 ¼ cup)

The original recipe calls for dried fruit that you reconstitute in orange juice. Since I was starting with the maraschino cherries, I just drained them and skipped that step. I vote if you can use a canned fruit, choose that over a dried one any day. But maybe that’s just me.

Microwave the juice till bubbly (you may use water instead) and add gelatin.  Combine cherries, gelatin, and jam and process in food processor (I used a hand blender) for about 5 seconds, till fruit is finely chopped. Put mixture in fridge and let set at least 8 hours and up to 1 week (I used mine within an hour or two and it was fine.

I don’t know what the deal was but the cherries ended up kind of rubbery. I’m not sure what I’d do to improve this though. Mix chopped maraschino cherries into a can of cherry frosting maybe?

Frosting: Lime Butter Icing (from Betty Crocker’s Cooky Book)

2 ½ Tbls soft butter
1 ½ cups confectioner’s sugar
1 ½ Tbl lime juice
2 tsp. grated lime rind (zest!)

Mix all ingredients together until smooth. If you like your frosting stiffer or more liquid-y, add milk or sugar accordingly.  This recipe is really for lemon, but it’s so good I just switched out the limes for lemons. Also, it’s a “cooky” frosting, but I doubled it and it covered my 2.5 layer cake with some to spare.

Soft Gingerbread Cookies

3/4 C shortening
1 C brown sugar
1 beaten egg
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ginger
1/4 C light molasses (I use full flavor, whatever that means)
2 C flour
some white sugar, for rolling

1. Mix shortening, brown sugar, and egg.
2. Add salt, baking soda, and spices. Then add molasses and mix until well blended.
3. Add flour and mix. Roll into balls, then roll in a bowl of sugar.
4. Place cookies on baking sheet and flatten just a little. Bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes.

I also like to roll out the dough and cut out shapes. They hold their shape pretty well and are still soft, if you shorten the cooking time a little bit. Just use a lot of flour for rolling out, or it gets sticky and messy, and not very fun or successful.

CREAMY CUCUMBER DRESSING

1/2 medium cucumber
1 cup sour cream
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
1 Tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. salt

1. Halve cucumber lengthwise, remove seeds and cut into small pieces.
2. Place cucumber pieces, sour cream, lemon juice, sugar and salt into blender and blend until smooth and creamy.
3. Refrigerate until ready to use. Store any left over dressing in fridge.

Lemon Curd

Lemon Curd
(adapted from Williams-Sonoma Muffins Cookbook)


Makes approximately 1 1/2 cups

1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar
3 eggs
6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Combine juice, sugar, and eggs in a blender/food processor and blend for about 15 seconds. With the blades running, slowly pour in the melted butter.

Pour the mixture into a saucepan and bring to a low boil over medium heat (this may take a few minutes). Stir frequently.

As soon as it reaches a boil, lower the heat to just above low and stir constantly until the mixture resembles pudding (it should coat the back of your spatula/spoon) and is a little bit shiny. This should only take about two to three minutes after it's boiled. 

Pour into a jar or bowl and let cool a bit before serving or storing.

Keeps in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Shredded BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

6 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
1 (12 oz) bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce --we like famous dave's
1/2 cup Italian dressing
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Combine all ingredients in crock pot.
Cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-8 hours.
Drain off excess liquid (keep on the side) and shred chicken with forks. Add drained liquid back as needed to keep meat moist and cook for additional 1/2 hour.
Serve on buns. Wonderful with cheese on top!

Crockpot Southwestern Chicken

1 small bag frozen corn
1 can black beans
2 large frozen boneless skinless chicken breasts (it’s safest to thaw them first before placing in the slow cooker, although I usually add them frozen)
1 16-oz jar medium salsa, such as Pace medium picante sauce
shredded cheddar cheese
tortilla chips
sour cream
chopped cilantro
diced avocado

Pour bag of frozen corn in bottom of crockpot. Place chicken breasts on top of corn and cover with rinsed and drained black beans and jar of medium salsa. Cook on high for 1 hour, and then on low for 4 hours. Shred chicken with forks. Serve with tortilla chips and add toppings to individual servings.
**It is very important that you use MEDIUM salsa in this. Mild simply isn’t flavorful enough. Be sure to serve with tortilla chips, and not tortillas. The salty crunchy chips make this so good!

Pizza Spaghetti

1 lb. ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
8 oz. pkg. button mushrooms, sliced OR 2 more bell peppers, chopped
26 oz. jar pasta sauce
8 ounce can tomato sauce
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
1 lb. spaghetti pasta, broken into 2" pieces
3/4 cup whole milk
2 eggs, beaten
1 (5 ounce) package sliced pepperoni
1-1/2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to boil for cooking spaghetti. Cook ground beef, onion, green pepper, and mushrooms in heavy skillet over medium heat until beef is browned, stirring to break up beef. Drain well and add pasta sauce, tomato sauce, and Italian seasoning; stir well and let simmer while preparing spaghetti.
2. Cook spaghetti according to package directions. Meanwhile, combine eggs and milk in large bowl and beat until blended. Drain spaghetti and toss with egg and milk mixture. Spread half of spaghetti/egg/milk mixture in a 13x9" glass baking dish. Top with half of sauce and beef mixture. Repeat layers. **
3. If baking without freezing or refrigerating, bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes until hot and bubbly. Top with pepperoni, then cheese, return to oven, and bake for 10 minutes longer to melt cheese. Let stand 5 minutes to set, then cut into squares to serve. 10 servings
**To freeze, cool casserole in refrigerator at this point. When cold, wrap well, label, and freeze up to 3 months. To thaw and reheat, thaw casserole overnight in refrigerator. Bake, covered, at 350 degrees F for 40-50 minutes until thoroughly heated. Uncover, top with pepperoni and cheese, and bake 10-15 minutes longer until cheese melts and edges of casserole bubble.
**To refrigerate overnight and bake the next day, cover the casserole and chill for 2-24 hours. When ready to eat, bake, covered, at 350 degrees F for 40-50 minutes until hot. Then uncover, top with pepperoni and cheese, and bake for 10-15 minutes longer until cheese melts.