MONTEREY SAUSAGE PIE

I had this quite a while ago and used to make it for my boys. It really filled them up and is a delicious guilty pleasure. 

Ingredients:

• 1 pound Bulk Pork Sausage
• 3 teaspoons Minced Garlic
• 2-½ cups Shredded Monterey Jack Cheese, Divided
• 1-⅓ cup Milk
• 3 whole Eggs
• ¾ cups Biscuit/baking Mix
• ¾ teaspoons Rubbed Sage
• ¼ teaspoons Pepper

Directions

In a large skillet, cook the sausage over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Add garlic; cook 1 minute longer. Drain. Stir in 2 cups cheese. Transfer to a greased 9-inch deep-dish pie plate.

In a small bowl, combine the milk, eggs, biscuit mix, sage and pepper. Pour over sausage mixture.

Bake at 400°F for 20-25 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Sprinkle with remaining cheese; bake 1-2 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting.

 

The Best Carrot Cake In The World

This is my husband's favorite cake so it gets made a lot. For his birthday I make two 9" cake rounds and layer with cream cheese frosting. ~Cheryl

The Best Carrot Cake In The World

 

This is the best carrot cake I’ve ever tasted, it’s juicy, soft, full of wonderful aromas and not too sweet. You can garnish the cake with this creamy frosting that gives it a delicate sourness, but you can make it without the cream as well.

The Best Carrot Cake

Ingredients 

2 cups peeled and grated carrots
½ cup roasted pecans
⅓ cup raisins
1¾ cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2½ tablespoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt (Fleur-de-Sel)
1¼ cups sugar
½ cup Muscovado sugar (or dark brown sugar)
1 cup canola/grape seed or other vegetable oil
3 tablespoons olive oil
5 large eggs

Creamy Frosting:

1¼ cups heavy whipping cream
⅓ cup confectioner's sugar
¾ cup Philadelphia cream cheese
½ cup Mascarpone cheese
pinch of ground cinnamon

Preparation 
1. Carrot Cake: Place the grated carrots, pecans and raisins in a food processor and process until chopped. Add 2 tbsp of the flour and process for a few seconds. Transfer the mixture to a bowl.
2. In the same processor bowl process together all the rest of the ingredients till smooth. Add the carrot mixture and process for a few seconds. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
3. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius. line 2 x 19cm loaf pans with parchment paper.
4. Pour the mixture into the loaf pans and bake for 40-45 minutes or until just cooked when tested with a skewer. Allow to cool in the pan.
5. Creamy Frosting: In a mixer bowl whip together cream, confectioner’s sugar, cream cheese, mascarpone and cinnamon until stiff peaks form.
6. If you want to get fancy, pipe the cream on the cake.
Tip: The cake can be kept for about a week out of the fridge, without the cream cheese. You can make the cream and not pipe it on the cake but serve it next to it, so the cake will last longer. 

Hôtel de Crillon Famous Chocolate Cake - Paris

This is a wonderful chocolate cake with no flour, so it's gluten-free. It's become quite famous and I needed somewhere to save it. Let me know how you like it!

8 oz (227g) best-quality bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (I used Callebaut, Valrhona, or Guittard)

8 oz (227g) unsalted butter

1 c (200g) granulated sugar

1½ t kosher salt

2 t vanilla extract

4 eggs, room temperature

cocoa powder and/or chocolate curls, for garnish

Grease an 8" or 9" round cake pan. Cut a parchment circle to fit in the bottom of the pan. Grease the parchment as well. Dust with 1 tablespoon cocoa powder and tap out the excess. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Place chocolate, butter, and sugar in a microwave safe bowl. Carefully microwave in several 30 second intervals, stirring in between, until butter is melted and chocolate has softened (or melt using a double boiler). Remove and stir to melt chocolate and smooth mixture.

boiler). Remove and stir to melt chocolate and smooth mixture.

Add eggs, one at a time and whisk well after each addition. Whisk in vanilla and salt. Pour batter into pan and place pan into a larger cake pan or a baking dish. Fill larger pan with water to come 1/3 of the way up the sides of the cake pan. Bake about 1 hour and 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool at least one hour.

Run a knife around the edge of the pan. Place a serving plate over pan and invert, carefully banging several times to dislodge the cake. Leave the parchment round on the cake and refrigerate overnight.

Remove from the fridge, and let stand 30 minutes until sides are soft enough to be smoothed with a knife. Remove parchment round and sift cocoa powder on top. If desired, decorate with chocolate shavings. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream.