Chicken in a Garden

From our Monday night impromptu dinner party – a salad overflowing with goodness!

Chicken and Romaine Salad with Red Wine Honey Lime Vinaigrette

(I know it’s a very long recipe name, but I like the way it rhymes :-)

1 tsp coriander
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp black pepper
4 skinless boneless chicken cutlets OR vegetarian breaded "chicken" patties
2 T olive oil
¼ cup red wine vinegar
2 T chopped chives
5 cloves garlic, crushed
1 T lime juice
4 T honey
1 T grated orange zest
½ tsp salt
8 cups coarsely shredded romaine lettuce
4 slices of your favorite bread, toasted and cut into ½” cubes (French bread or challah are terrific, but whole wheat breads work well too)
½ cup raisins
¼ to ½ cup sliced pimento stuffed olives

~ Stir the first 3 spices together, and rub each side of the chicken cutlets with the spice mixture.
~ In a skillet over medium high heat, brown the chicken until cooked through (approx. 4 minutes per side).
~ Remove the chicken from the pan, cut into bite sized pieces, and set aside.
~ Reduce the heat to medium, and briefly deglaze the pan with the wine vinegar. Add the chives, garlic, lime juice, honey, orange zest, and salt, and simmer until reduced by 1/3 and slightly thickened. Remove from the heat, set aside, and allow to completely cool.
~ To assemble the salad, toss the romaine lettuce with the cooled vinaigrette. Add the chicken pieces, toasted bread cubes, raisins, and olives, and toss again! Ta da! A meal in a salad!

The Comforts of Humble Food

Now that, as of 3 weeks ago, I am (hooray!!) in nursing school full time (and still working full time, of course :-p), two factors have suddenly influenced my kitchen with even more force than usual: time and budget. Tuition payments are responsible for the sight of me wandering through the grocery store with calculator and weekly budget in hand, shopping with a generous dose of prudence...

Also, taking evening classes after work means that dinner preperations often don't begin until rather l-a-t-e at night... Between the unusual degree of winter chill outside and our late nights in the kitchen, I'm drawn to one-pot meals more and more these days (or nights, rather!). There's something very fundamental about a one-pot recipe - the blending of various meal components into a united, all-encompassing dish (and, of course, the added benifit of only that one dish to wash!)

Someday, I will be able to purchase fresh asparagus for our kitchen without a second thought. Until then, I like to think of this as a new culinary challenge - fixing fresh, nutritious, delicious, and frugal meals!

So here I shall begin, on occasion, to feature my favorite "humble foods..." Comforting, nourishing, and from our dinner table to yours!

Without further ado, then, here is the first "humble foods" recipe! This dish also does double duty in the leftovers category, because the first ingredient calls for hamburgers (vegetarian or non-vegetarian, whichever your preference - both are delicious in this recipe). For maximum hamburger efficiency and enjoyment, we fix a big batch of hamburgers early in the week, have traditional hamburgers once or twice, and then use the remaining hamburgers in this recipe! This is indeed a multi-category recipe, because it also falls thoroughly within the low fat label as long as you make sure to use extra lean ground beef or vegetarian ground beef... (and it still has plenty of yummy gooeyness too, I promise. :-)

Hamburgers with Rosemary Roasted Potatoes

3 large or 5 medium potatoes, cut into bite-sized chunks

1 T olive oil

1 tsp rosemary

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

One batch of Zach's Onion Infused Hamburgers (or any hamburger recipe you fancy or have on hand)
1 cup fat free cheddar cheese

~ Sprinkle the olive oil, rosemary, and salt and pepper over the potato pieces, and toss to coat.

~ Spread the potatoes in a single layer across a baking sheet, and roast on the top rack of the oven until tender and browned around the edges. This usually takes 30 - 45 minutes... If you'd like to speed the process up a bit, cook the potatoes whole in the microwave, then cut them into pieces, toss with the oil and spices, and roast accordingly - this way the roasting will only take around 10 minutes! Ta da!

~ Meanwhile, prepare the hamburgers according to to your recipe of choice, or, if you're taking the leftovers approach (I am! I am!), just warm them up a bit.

~ When the potatoes and hamburgers are ready, stir them together along with the cheese in a large serving bowl. Cover for 5 minutes, allow the cheese to melt, stir again, and... Fix a tossed salad (or a big batch of corn and broccoli, which is what we did...) and supper's ready! :-)

Super Bowl Spirals

It's still Quite Cold here, the super bowl is fast approaching, and I'm already thinking of hearty, classic, cozy, game-day foods (I'll confess - while I certainly enjoy football, I'm always most excited about the excuse to prepare an abundance of festive dishes...) We don't have cable TV, so Major Events that are broadcast on regular channels are of particular excitement in our house.

Would a healthy appetizer makeover be out of the question? Not if you ask me! This is my healthy version of all the goodness of bacon and pasta - still every bit as delicious as it should be! (By the way, I find that this recipe makes a fun main course for a light supper, too...)


Smokey Pasta Spirals


8 oz. whole wheat lasagna noodles (here come the good, complex carbs and fiber...)
1 lb. turkey bacon OR vegetarian "bacon" (and here's the lighter, keep the flavor and lose the fat version of bacon!)
dried minced onion
granulated garlic powder
cajun seasoning
a mixture of your favorite dried herbs (rosemary, oregano, basil, thyme, etc)


~ Break each lasagna noodle in half (horizontally, not lengthwise), and then cook them as per package instructions until just al dente, and drain well.
~ Cook the turkey bacon or vegetarian "bacon" in an oil-free non-stick skillet until cooked through and just crispy around the edges.
~ Lay a lasagna noodle flat, and lay 1 slice of turkey bacon or "bacon" on top. Sprinkle with minced onion, garlic powder, a bit of cajun seasoning, and your herb mixture of preference.

~ Starting at one end, roll up the lasagna noodle around the bacon/"bacon." Secure with a festive toothpick, and voila! Hearty, healthy, and e-a-s-y! :-)


(If you prefer more bacon and less pasta, you can reverse the wrapping order and wrap a slice of bacon around a 1" piece of lasagnia noodle...)

Sugar High Fridays, Here I Come!

This post marks my first time participating in Sugar High Fridays! Invented by The Domestic Goddess, Sugar High Fridays are a fantastic way to celebrate the end of the week and the end of the month - by creating a themed dessert! CandyRecapper presented this month's challange: Any dessert that includes some form of store-bought candy.

I have no idea where thoughts come from sometimes. When I read CandyRecapper's description for this month's Sugar High Friday, and came to the part about "store-bought candy," the first image that popped into my mind was of the sesame candies that were my childhood favorites during visits to my uncle and grandmother's homes in Israel. Why this - a candy from another continant - was my first thought, instead of say, oh, I don't know, the bag of marshmellows in my pantry or something of the sort, I have no idea. I do know, though, that once the thought had taken hold, it was irreversable - I could bake sesame cookies, but with chunks of sesame candy instead of plain sesame seeds!

(Another delightful thing about sesame candy, by the way, is that it actually proves that "healthy candy" is not an oxymoron after all! I love it when the seemingly impossible becomes possible!)

Since the closest middle eastern grocery store that I know of is 10 hours away, I resigned myself to not finding the exact Israeli candy of my childhood and set about searching for an appropriate substitute. With a modicum of fuss I discovered these, at a tiny health food store near my office:

Voila! Exactly what I sought! I reserved judgement until I could sample them at home, but I wasn't dissapointed... They were just as I remembered: crunchy and creamy all at the same time, a slight nuttyness balanced by a hearty but subtle sweetness - similar to the halvah I adore but with a milder, softer flavor. The pureness of the ingredients really shines through in the flavor, too - these candies are made of simply: 1. sesame seeds 2. date syrup!

The cookie dough I whipped up tended towards the biscuit side of cookies, to make a nice, fluffy, generous-sized end product puffy enough to encompass the cruncy pieces of sesame candy in a cloud of softness. Indeed, that's just what happened... and the date syrup from the sesame candy melted into the cookie just a bit... and the result was chewey and creamy and light-as-air all at the same time...

(shhh... one of my favorite things about these cookies is that they're healthy enough to have for breakfast... ;-)

Another note - for my vegan friends! Since the sesame candies I used were labeled vegan, I figured I should most definitely post a vegan version of the recipe. To make these vegan, simply replace the egg whites with 1/4 cup soymilk, add 1/2 tsp baking soda, and make sure the light margerine you use is vegan. Yum!

Sweet Biscuits with Sesame Candy

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup brown sugar, only very lightly packed
1/4 cup applesauce
1/4 cup light canola margerine
2 T water
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 egg whites
1 1/2 cup chopped (approx. 1/8" chunks) sesame candy - the kind that's just a thin layer of sesame and date syrup,rice syrup, or molassas

~ Mix all the ingredients except for the sesame candy with an electric mixer set on low, until the dough is well blended. The dough will be very stiff, and will feel more like bread dough than cookie dough.

~ Using a sturdy wooden spoon, fold the sesame candy into the dough. You will have to stir firmly, because the dough is quite stiff. Make sure not to overwork the dough, though.

~ With damp hands (to prevent sticking), shape the dough, 2 T at at time, into ovals approximately 2" long.

~ Place the ovals on an ungreased baking sheet, and bake for 20 minutes - until the dough is just set and bairly beginning to turn the palest golden brown around the very edges.

~ Cool on a wire rack. Serve warm or cold, plain or drizzled with honey!

Winter Salad and Southern Snow!

I still have no idea if this recipe is a casserole
or a salad. Perhaps it's a casserole salad? It's good warm (casserole) or cold (traditionally salad, although a salad could be either, I suppose). It contains all the elements of a main dish and even a "one dish" meal, which, again, lends itself to casserole, but it's light, crisp, and refreshing, which makes me think of a salad again...

Maybe it's a winter salad, since we awoke to SNOW in our yard this morning! I'm talking serious snow, too - several inches - which Does Not Happen here in the deep south... and hence is cause for a Huge Delight and Much Merriment and Celebration - and lots of cooking, and a new salad/casserole! (which also happens to be a scrumptious mixture of protein, fiber, veggie for our healthful 2008!) Enjoy, and let me know to which category you think it belongs!

Winter Casserole Salad

1 lb. shrimp, all inedible parts removed (aka peeled, deveined, and tails removed) OR 1lb. mock shrimp (usually made from seasoned whitefish) OR 1lb. vegetarian/vegan "fish," cut into small cubes
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 small onion, sliced thinly
1 tablespoons minced garlic
1 1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/4 cup red wine
1/4 cup vegetable or chicken stock
3 Tbsp light canola margarine, divided
1 Tbsp chopped parsley
1 cup cooked corn kernels
1 cup cooked brown rice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

~ In a large skillet over medium-high heat, saute the shrimp or substitute of choice until just seared on each side, but not cooked through. Remove from the pan, and set aside.
~ Add the onions to the skillet and saute just until they begin to soften.
~ Add the garlic to the onions, and saute for another 30 seconds.
~ Add the lemon juice, red wine, and stock, and simmer until reduced by 2/3.
~ Return the shrimp or shrimp substitute to the pan and stir in 1 Tbsp margarine. Sprinkle with parsley.
~ Stir the remaining 2 Tbsp margarine into the corn.
~ Combine the shrimp (or "shrimp") mixture, corn, and rice altogether in a bowl or casserole dish. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve warm - or cold!

"Siren Ingredients"

The inspiration from the wonderful world of food blogs continues... While reading Clotilde's recent Chocolate and Zucchini post, I fell in love with her term "siren ingredient." You know, those ingredients that call to you whenever you see them in the store or spot them in the composition of a recipe - the ingredients that you find yourself including and preparing in as many ways possible. I have been under the influence of this phenomena for ages, but I was never fully conscious of the process until Clotilde enlightened me with her vivid term.

My "siren ingredients" make me smile when I read about them and use them in the kitchen, and seem to make my recipes especially soul-fulfilling. I'm sure they have everything to do with the unique food culture in which we each grew up - into the happy 'foodies' we are today!

Here are mine... What are yours?

• Cornmeal (I'm a southerner! Cornbread, Cornbread, Cornbread! Mmmm!)

• Okra (see above... :-)

• Eggplant (every time I see one I picture the heaps of perfect purple globes piled high in crates in the Machne Yehuda market in Jerusalem...)


• Chickpeas (I suppose I'm a bit of a "hybrid" - a southerner with middle eastern roots... I think it makes for a rather good food combo! :-)

• Black Eyed Peas (the southern version of chickpeas, I suppose? :-)


• Cinnamon (especially in savory recipes, where it's less expected...)


• Leeks (I'm not sure why, they still seem magical to me)

• Cauliflower (go ahead and laugh, but I think of cauliflower as broccoli's gentle, shy sister!)


• and finally, good 'ole Peanut Butter (have you ever tried peanut butter on baked sweet potatoes? Soooo unexpectedly good...)

and speaking of wonderful things, Muffin the Car now has company in the food-inspired-name department - Cookie the Bike!

Pure Eggplant

This is in inspired post - inspired by Greg's incredible low-fat eggplant recipe. As Greg astutely points out, eggplant (one of my favorite vegetables, by the way) often seems to wind up in recipes drenched in oil, which it happily soaks up like a sponge. Yet eggplant purely by itself has a naturally rich, smooth flavor and texture, especially when roasted to a delectable softness. Hence, Greg's post reminded me of the time I too decided to roast eggplant without oil, with the goal of creating a fat-free eggplant dip. I fix babaganush quite frequently, and it ranks quite high on my list of heavenly foods, but it is (*sigh*) dripping with tahini and olive oil. I would begin by drenching the eggplant with olive oil pre-roasting, and then the dip itself would receive a generous splosh of oil. Certainly, olive oil has tremendous health benifits, but any oil is, well, caloric in Excess... So, anyway, to continue with the story, one day I simply did the following -

- Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Slice 2 large eggplants in half. Cut diagonal slits across each eggplant half. Press some crushed rosemary down into the slits, then sprinkle the tops of the eggplant halves with coarse sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place the halves, cut side up, on a large baking sheet, and roast (on the top rack of the oven) for 20 to 30 to 40 minutes (depending on your oven and the size and thickness of the eggplant) - until the skin is wrinkly and the inner eggplant itself has browned and completely softened to an almost pudding-like consistancy. Serve immediately, with pita chips or toast points to scoop the gooey, creamy eggplant right from the "shells." Amazingly, the eggplant will have actually aquired, all on its own, a rich, melting consistancy just as though it had been drenched in imaginary oil...

These Caffeinated Days

Back in college, I used to shake my head worriedly over my favorite professor, Dr. Mary. “She’s going to give herself a heart attack, or at least an ulcer,” I’d fret. Dr. Mary lived on Mountain Dew – literally. A large, cardboard case of 24 soda cans occupied a designated spot under her desk, doubling as a footrest. Juggling research (writing a book, several articles, and conducting a study on multi-media assignments in the literature classroom), teaching 4 courses a semester, spending time with her family, and a myriad of student advisees (myself included), Dr. Mary substituted caffeine for sleep. As a result, her speech flew across the room at 90MPH, requiring especially attentive listening skills to comprehend, and she didn’t walk from room to room – she ran. A tiny woman, barely 5 feet high, she gave off a rapid, somewhat frantic staccato of footsteps that always announced her approach. Perhaps this was why I adored Dr. Mary – her unrelenting refusal to let mere trivialities such as sleep and clocks interfere with her enthusiasm. I saw her as an inspiration of sorts, a kindred spirit, for I too attempted to perfect the sleepless night while in college, studying until dawn in the dim, lamp-lit living room of the apartment I shared with 4 other girls who actually did spend more than 2 hours a night beneath a fluffy comforter or quilt. Dr. Mary was the only person I could call at 2AM with the assurance that she too would be awake, yet, regardless, I was still perplexed by the extent of her ability to exist, 7 days a week, purely on a whirl of caffeinated, carbonated beverage (I may not have slept much during the week, but I did sleep well past noon on the weekends, like any good college student, and the extent of my caffeine consumption back then, somehow, consisted of the occasional cup of tea).

Now, several years graduated, several states away, and back in school again, I highlight and underline the passage in my nutrition textbook that says caffeine increases the body’s metabolic rate. This biochemical fact might not be justification enough for all the caffeine I suddenly find myself consuming, but I find it a cheerful bit of knowledge nonetheless. To think I used to fancy that those classic college years, when you’re 18, 19, 20, and 21, were as hyper as life was going to get. Instead, life hands you a full time job, more full time school, and a myriad of hobbies, interests, loves, and passions that somehow just weren’t around to make your life more interesting when you were living in a dorm room and imagining you were figuring it all out.

Turns out I’m not Dr. Mary, or even anything like her, but I think I finally understand all that caffeine. Oddly enough, these days I manage to sleep a more reasonable number of nightly hours than I did during college, despite discovering, to my surprise, that my schedule is much more crammed. I speak more softly now, pacing my words and my thoughts. I rake leaves or pull weeds on the weekends, and think that life, here, in our backyard, is peaceful.

But there is a case of diet Mountain Dew under my desk.

Light Bright White Chili

I'm SO excited...















about all the health-oriented blog posts I've read lately! I love how the New Year inspires us to seek out healthfulness, and treat ourselves with the joyous care we deserve. This leads me back to my initial mission for this blog, namely seeking the nourishment both our bodies and our taste-buds crave - with no compromises in either arena! Healthy food should be 100% delicious, and delicious food should be 100% nourishing! Impossible? I'm convinced it's not. Pack in the flavor! Bring on the good stuff!

Let's start with a recipe that, at first glance, sounds, well, more decadent than healthful. Chili? With sausage (or vegetarian sausage...)? And cheese? Absolutely! The trick is to use variations on classic ingredients, that still retain all the flavor our tongues remember and long for.

A hearty, bean-based chili is a prime candidate for healthful comfort food, with its excellent supply of fiber and protein. I love how this recipe manages to be "light" yet still every bit the warm, creamy dish we crave during these frigid months (yes, even here in the south, although perhaps I have a different concept of "cold" than some others do! For those of you in the snow, you're very brave... This is me sending some warm chili to you! :-)

White Chili

2 T olive oil

2 medium onions, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 lb. jalapeño chicken sausage OR vegetarian "sausage" - the spiciest you can find, chopped into small pieces

1 (14.5 oz) can canelli beans, drained

1 (14.5 oz) can pinto beans, drained

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp oregano

salt to taste

1 cup low-fat Monterey jack cheese

~ In a medium (approx. 3 quart) stockpot, heat the olive oil over medium high heat and sauté the onions and garlic until the onions are limp and translucent.

~ Reduce the heat to medium, add the sausage or vegetarian "sausage," and continue to sauté until the sausage is cooked through and a bit browned in places.

~ Stir in the beans, cumin, and oregano, and simmer until the beans are heated through and nicely softened and incorporated with the onions and sausage.

~ Add salt to taste.

~ Reduce the heat to low, stir in the cheese, and serve right away! It's fantastic over rice, whole wheat pasta, or just by itself... Rolled up with a whole wheat tortilla, the leftovers make great burritos!

A Stew for the New Year

There's a special kind of delight in fixing a dish that surprises people. I don't think I have a signature dish, per se, but one of my favorite dishes to fix is my version of peanut stew. Such a seemingly humble offering - a big bowl of vegetables wrapped in a thick, hearty, slightly spicy sauce. Placing the stew pot on the table, the initial reaction is subtle - "smells good," someone might offer. Pass the plates, heap a generous helping atop a pile of rice or quinoa, perhaps, and wait for the first few bites... Yes, this really is one of the BEST Things I've ever tasted. (and oh my goodness, SO good for you!)

Peanut Stew

2 leeks, green parts only, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 T Peanut oil
1/2 cup roasted peanuts
1 large sweet potatoes, cooked (in the microwave is the easiest and fastest)
1/2 small cabbage, shredded
1 small eggplant or ½ large eggplant, cut into small chunks
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (and more to taste!)
1 tsp grated fresh ginger or ½ tsp ground ginger
1 rounded T fresh cilantro, chopped, or 1 tsp dried cilantro
1/2 cup tomato puree
1/2 cup apple juice or applesauce
3 tomatoes, chopped
1 cup vegetable broth
4 very generously rounded T peanut butter
salt to taste

~ Place the eggplant chunks in a bowl of salty salt water and allow them to soak for about 20 minutes, with a plate or bowl sitting on top to press the eggplant down into the water.

~ In a stockpot, sauté the leeks and garlic in the olive oil over medium heat until soft.

~ Add the peanuts, sweet potato, cabbage, and eggplant, then cover and steam for about 5 minutes.

~ Add the cayenne, ginger, cilantro, apple juice, tomato puree, and tomatoes to the pot, and boil or simmer (depending on how quickly you want your stew to be done) until the eggplant is soft and cooked through.

~ Stir in the peanut butter, then add salt and more cayenne to taste. Heat through, then serve either solo or over rice, quinoa, or whatever strikes your fancy!

A Car Named Muffin

Zach's sister-in-law, Elise, drives a car sporting an elaborately air-brushed front license plate proclaiming, yes, the car's name: Muffin. While Muffin the Car may be small, sporty, and appropriately muffin-shaped, the real story behind the naming is that Elise is famous for her muffins - and rightly so. Since Elise is also a professional artist and art teacher, I suppose I shouldn't have been too surprised when I walked into the kitchen one afternoon during this holiday's visit, and beheld these stunning, art-candy muffins... These are not only delectably light, airy, delicately sweet, perfect for dessert or breakfast, muffins, but they're also gorgeous. Swirls of pink and white tumble across the dough,

and the colors stay every bit as bright after baking, complete with a sugar-crystal topping!

Even better, while they look and taste like pure muffin candy, they're also quite nourishing and good for you!

This is my version of the recipe, using Elise's technique for obtaining the pink and white swirls...

Elise's Pink and White Raspberry Muffins

1/2 cup low-fat sour cream

3 T olive oil

1 T lemon juice

2 egg whites

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups flour

3/4 cup sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp lemon zest

1 cup frozen raspberries

2 T sugar - for the topping

~ Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners.

~ Warm the raspberries slightly in the microwave until JUST thawed (you want to get rid of the icyness, but you don't want them soggy), and then set them in a coulender to drain.

~ Stir the baking powder into the sour cream, and set aside.

~ Stir together the the flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt, and lemon zest, and set that aside too.

~ Add the oil, lemon juice, egg whites, and vanilla to the sour cream mixture, and stir until blended.

~ Add the flour mixture, and stir until just combined.

~ Fold in the raspberries very gently - as you fold in the raspberries your pink swirls will start appearing, but too much stirring will turn all the batter pink (which would still be pretty too, just not as dramatic).

~ Spoon the batter into the muffin cups, and sprinkle sugar over the tops.

~ Bake for 15 to 17 minutes - until the top is lightly springy when touched. Cool the muffins in the tin on a wire rack... or serve them warm!

Pecans and Filing Cabinets

All of my coworkers were away at a meeting today, leaving me with a very quiet office all to myself – or so I thought. Because my office is technically in the front hall, I usually try to maintain some level of decorum for the sake of my professional image. This afternoon, though, I set about completely reorganizing the expense report filing system, and, since I had a mammoth task ahead of me and I was devoid of onlookers directly tied to the control of my salary, I decided to make an event of it. Because the filing cabinet is enormous, and – in a case of space-saving ingenuity somewhat lacking in practical application – is wedged behind an overstuffed leather wing chair and entails lots of Clambering Up and Reaching Down, I pulled off and cast aside my 3"-high-heeled-boots. For a change of air, I used two large UPS boxes to prop open the main door (through which the CEO – aka “everyone's boss” – never passes; his office is at the other end of the hall and he always uses the other entrance). Finally, in lieu of standing on top of the aforementioned leather chair for a significant period of time, I opted to yank out a quantity of files and proceed cross-legged on the floor, files scattered around me. My system worked quite well except for when I had to jump up and run across the room, barefoot, to answer the phone, leaning over my desk and scattering files in my wake. Which is exactly what I was doing when the boss materialized inexplicably, climbed over the boxes to enter the door, stepped neatly around my boots, smiled politely at me, and departed down the hallway. Unfortunately, in the extent of my duration working here, this was only the second time I’d ever seen the man who approves my paychecks. It was not my finest moment.

This cake, which I fixed at Scott and Elise's house over the holidays, was a much finer moment. It's very good at leaving a memorable, lasting impression - of the favorable kind!

As the ingredients will reveal, it's a very intense cake... and a very adult cake...

Bourbon Pecan Pound Cake

1 1/2 cups butter, softened

1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened

3 cups sugar

6 eggs

3 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup bourbon

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup flaked sweetened coconut

1/2 cup mini semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips

1/4 cup extra chopped pecans.

~ Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour a 12 cup bundt pan.

~ Beat the butter and cream cheese until, well, for lack of a better term, creamy.

~ Add the sugar gradually, beating until light and fluffy.

~ Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition just until blended.

~ Stir together the flour and salt. Add the flour mixture alternately with the bourbon, beginning and ending with flour, and stirring until just combined after each addition.

~ Gently stir in the vanilla.

~ Fold in the 1 cup pecans and the coconut.

~ Pour the batter into the bundt pan. Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes - until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then remove from the pan and transfer to a wire rack. Scatter half the chocolate chips on top, allow them to melt for a moment, then scatter the remaining chocolate chips on top (they'll stick to the melted chocolate, allowing an extra layer of chocolateness!). Scatter the pecans on top. Serve warm or cool...