It's tradition...

There are a few things we have for dinner at Easter I think would be a crime to leave off the menu. Dishes that have been an Easter staple in my family since probably before I was born.
Sour Potatoes
Country Ham stuffed with kale
Strawberry Pretzel Salad
My grams' Pudding Dessert
Honey Baked Ham
There's more to name I'm sure but these have always made their way to my plate. Besides the pudding dessert I haven't really picked a favorite dessert. I'm hoping to change that this year.
One dessert that finds it's way into many southern homes, and mine this year, is Hummingbird Cake. I had never heard of this cake until I read The Girl Who Chased The Moon by Sarah Addison Allen. It wasn't really descriptive but I decided to investigate. Everything I read made my mouth water. So I bookmarked some recipes. Something new to try in my expedition into extravagant confections.

One of my new favorite blogs is written by Rebecca Crump, Ezra Pound Cake. I used the recipe she posted. She adapted it from Mrs. L.H. Wiggins. It was printed in "Southern Living" in 1978. I made 2 minor changes.

Hummingbird Cake

3 cups all purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
3 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
8 oz. can crushed pineapple, undrained
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour your cake pans.
In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, & nutmeg. Add eggs, oil, and vanilla and mix until dry ingredients are moistened. Stir in pineapple, bananas, and pecans.
Spoon batter into cake pans. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from pans and cool immediately. Once the cakes are completely cooled frost with cream cheese icing (recipe below).

I made a two layer 6" cake and 1 dozen cupcakes with this recipe. Mouthwatering delicious. They call it Hummingbird cake because it's sweetness is likened to the nectar hummingbirds feed on. And it's spicy from the cinnamon and nutmeg. Super moist. I do believe it will make its way onto the family table again.

Aren't they the cutest!!!

Cream Cheese Frosting


1/2 cup room temperature butter
8 oz. package room temperature cream cheese
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 - 4 tbsp. milk
2 pounds confectioners sugar

Cream butter, cream cheese, and vanilla until smooth and creamy. Add the sugar 1/2 cup at a time, adding milk as needed to get a smooth spreadable consistency.

Yo ho ho and a bottle of Rum "Cake"?

Today decided it wanted to be sunny! So I decided to bake a cake. And yes, as you might have guessed, a rum cake. Now I know I'm not a cake person, despite being really cake obsessed lately, but rum cake is one of my all time favorite desserts. I just don't ever make it. I can eat the whole cake. Not only would I gain about 20 pounds probably, I'd also be pretty sloshed. It's called a rum cake for a reason.

Here's what you need:
1 box yellow cake mix
1 1 oz. box sugar free, fat free instant vanilla pudding mix
4 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup cold milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup dark rum

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Combine all the ingredients into a bowl and beat for 2 minutes. Pour into buttered and floured bundt pan and bake for 1 hour. Let cool in the pan then invert onto a cake plate. Take a toothpick and poke holes all over it.

For the glaze:

1 stick of butter

1/4 cup water

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup dark rum

Melt the butter in a sauce pan over medium heat. Add the water and the sugar. Bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and stir in the rum. Be careful as it may steam. 

Pour over the cake! 

It will soak into all the little holes you poke and just seep all up into that cake! I go ahead and par-slice mine so all the slices can drink it up. It is so moist. And the best thing about rum cake, they're even better the next day! So be sure to save a slice for every day of the week. 

Kickin Chickin w/ Mango Salsa

It is not going to be a sunny week. It's been raining all day and the skies are grey grey grey! I need sunshine to survive. I don't like this Edward Cullen approved climate. So I'm transporting myself out of my little kitchen nook and onto an island. A sunny island, with a warm breezy, palm trees, soft sand, and rolling waves. Well, it's still raining outside but hey dinner is good enough for me! And I don't think I've posted dinner in a while.
So tonight I tried Jerk chicken. I also going to the easy way out and used a store bought marinade. I didn't have time today to mix and measure. It was definitely what I needed to help get me through this rainy evening.

Just marinate according to the directions on the bottle.
I used a split chicken breast. I covered mine with the marinade for 30 minutes. Then I cooked it at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes. Pretty easy right?

Mango Salsa? Yes please! Easy? Of course!
All you have to do is slice and dice:
3 roma tomatoes
1/2 small red onion
1 mango (peeled)
1 jalapeno (ribs and seeds removed if you don't like spicy)
1 clove of garlic
juice of 1/2 of a lime
1 tbsp honey
pinch of salt and pepper

Dice up the top 5 yummies and mince up the garlic. Toss in a bowl with the lime juice and honey. Season to taste with S & P.

Cook the rice according to package directions. When it's finished, fluff it up and add the juice of 1 1/2 limes. Add a generous sprinkle of salt and cilantro and stir it up to mix.