Hello Cocoa Beach

Tans will fade,

but the memories will last forever.

This was our first trip to Cocoa Beach, Florida.

This was one of the most relaxing vacations we have experienced.

The pace was slow and relaxed, the weather was perfect, and the water was cool and refreshing.

Perfect!

It was a chilly 50 degrees when we left Iowa at 8:10 AM.

We arrived in Florida around 12:45 PM at the Orlando Airport.

We were greeted with perfect skies, clear blue water, and 84 degree temperatures.

So glad we came!

Our first Florida meal was in Cocoa Beach at

Squid Lips.

I love the name.

We wanted to eat fish while here, so these were our first selections.

 Doug is all about cheese, so he was enticed by the
Seafood Lasagna.
Layers of spinach & egg lasagna noodles filled with Blue Crab claw meat,
shrimp & sea scallops, ricotta, mozzarella & provolone cheeses,
then topped with a creamy tomato-alfredo sauce.
A Taste of Florida!

I opted for Bahama Mahi.

Pan sauteed Mahi Mahi with a delicious Mango salsa.

We started our trip off on the right culinary foot.

These are our first views of the Atlantic from our Cocoa Beach resort.

Location, location.

We did a little exploring along the beach.

 Yes, we did have long walks on the beach,
and left our footprints in the sand.

Back to our room.

More to come.


 I like to post recipes.

I found this one in a magazine on our plane.

I used to live in Albuquerque, so thought I would save this for

future reference.

I love Mexican cuisine.

Ingredients:

4 6-in. corn tortillas

1 16-oz. can pinto or black beans

4 eggs

1 cup Hatch Green Chile sauce

1 cup Red Chile sauce

1 avocado, diced

1 tomato, diced

1-2 green onions, diced

1/2 green bell pepper, diced

Directions:

Heat vegetable oil in a skillet. Place a tortilla in the skillet and cook to a light brown.  Flip and cook another 30 seconds.  Transfer to a plate.  Cook all of the tortillas.

Heat beans in a saucepan.  Heat the chile sauces in individual bowls in microwave.

Cook the eggs in the skillet to taste.

Assemble the dish.  Spoon beans over the tortilla, place egg on each one.  Spoon the warmed chile sauces over the eggs.  Sprinkle with the avocado, green onions, tomato, and bell pepper.

Season to taste.

We have a very exciting day planned for Monday,
Kennedy Space Center.

Cake- for Anniversaries and Birthdays-Chocolate Raspberry Ganache

Wow!  This looks good enough to eat!

Chocolate Raspberry Ganache Cake

I wanted to make a special cake to celebrate my brother and his wife's second anniversary.

Of course, it had to be chocolate cake, covered with ganache.

I made them a chocolate cake covered with ganache for their wedding.

But the first cake was garnished with strawberries.

The second cake is filled with fresh raspberries and red raspberry jam.

Either way, you can't go wrong with chocolate ganache covering the top and dripping down the

sides of chocolate cake.

I baked a layer cake according to the package directions.

The next step is to make a raspberry mousse to sandwich the layers together.

Beat 8 oz. of softened cream cheese.

Add 1/4 cup of powdered sugar and mix until creamy.

Add 1/2 cup of Seedless Red  Raspberry Jam.

Beat until thoroughly mixed together.

Fold in a 12-oz. carton of Cool Whip non dairy topping.

Spread a thin layer of the raspberry jam over first cake layer.

Fold into the mousse a 6 oz. carton of fresh red raspberries, leaving 5 for garnish.

Spoon half of the mixture onto the top of the first layer.

Refrigerate the remaining mousse for a second cake.

Add the top cake layer.

Again, spread a layer of  the Seedless Red Raspberry Jam on top.

Now for the Ganache.

Here is a link to another one of my blogs for ganache.

Ganache

This just happens to be my ganache recipe for Gail & Yatzi's wedding cake.

Their second anniversary cake is covered in a delicious layer of creamy, silky ganache.

I think I have a theme going on when I bake cakes for them!

Ganache.

To make ganache, the ingredients are weighed, not measured,

Use 8 oz. of good chocolate chips like Ghiradelli.

Place in a glass bowl.

Pour over 8 oz. of heavy whipping cream that has been heated to just simmering.

Do not stir.

Cover to trap the heat and let sit undisturbed (no mixing or peaking) for 4 minutes.

Gently stir the mixture starting in the center and working outward until smooth.

The ganache will turn creamy and change to a deep chocolate color before your eyes.

Let sit uncovered at room temperature for 15 minutes.

There is enough ganache for two cakes.

Then pour it over the cake and let it run down the sides.

Let the ganache set.

I refrigerated half of the ganache until I baked another layer cake.

Top with the fresh red raspberries  that were set aside for garnish.

Here is our anniversary couple,

Gail & Yatzi.

Happy Second Anniversary!

These are our dinner guests,

Ethyl, Keith,Doug.

Gail, Yatzi, Aiden, Camden.

The creamy mousse and chocolate ganache melt in your mouth.

This cake is not only delicious, but very pretty.

Happy Birthday!

There was enough raspberry mousse filling and ganache to make two cakes.

There was a birthday just a couple of days after I made the first cake.

I had the ingredients, and all I had to do was to bake another layer cake.

A lady I know turned 90 years old.

 I made a mental note to bake her a cake for her milestone birthday.

I took this cake over to her on her special day.

The big smile on her face and look of surprise will be remembered by me for 

a long time.

Easter Brunch with Doug-Peach Croissant Breakfast Casserole

Just before Easter I received an email from Doug.
It was simple.
"This looks good."
And he sent me the link to the recipe.
Yes, it did look good.
Too good to pass up.

As a result this was our Easter brunch dish.

Peach Croissant Breakfast Casserole

It is called,

 Wife Saver Breakfast.

Go to:

Wife Saver Breakfast-Simply Stacie

I am more than happy to share this sight with anyone who reads this.

It was delicious and a recipe I want to share and keep for myself

when we have company and when we want to treat ourselves.

It reminds me a little of French Toast but made with croissants.

Here is the recipe.

Ingredients:
⦁ 6 croissants 
⦁ 3 eggs 
⦁ 1 cup milk 
⦁ 2 tsp vanilla 
⦁ 1/8 tsp salt 
⦁ 1/8 tsp nutmeg 
⦁ 1 big can of unsweetened sliced peaches, drained (I think the one I used was around 700 ml) 
⦁ ¼ cup brown sugar 
⦁ ¼ tsp cinnamon 
⦁ maple syrup, to taste

Directions:
1. Grease a 9×13 pan. Break croissants into bite sized pieces and spread on the bottom of the pan.
2. In a medium size bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, vanilla, salt and nutmeg. Pour over top of croissants.
3. Layer the peaches on top. Sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon.
4. Cover with foil and refrigerate overnight.
5. In the morning, preheat the oven to 350°F. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional 10 minutes.

6. Serve with maple syrup

This recipe is great when you have company.  You can prepare it the night before and bake it in the morning.

Easy, Delicious!

Mini-Cinni Easter Bunny Rolls

Graham loves to try out new kid friendly recipes with me when I visit.

For Easter we made a very simple bunny from cinnamon refrigerator rolls.

Easy and delicious for a quick treat.

Ceci is Graham's sous chef.

The hardest part of this recipe is getting the biscuits out of the tube.

You have to smack the container on the edge of the table

for it to pop open.

Our inspiration for an Easter treat is

The Easter Bunny.

It is simple to transform cinnamon roll refrigerator dough into a bunny.

The head is one cinnamon roll.

Use 6 of the cinnamon rolls for the head.
Use the remainder for the ears.

Unroll the remaining rolls and cut them until you have 12 ears.

Grandma is helping Ceci cut her bunny ears.

Fold the strips of dough and press them into the top of the roll
to look like ears.


Bake them according to package directions,
350 degrees for about 20 minutes.


They will be golden brown.


After they are cool,
spread the icing onto each one.


Enjoy!

Graham has many talents.

One of them is photography.

He took several of these pictures that I am posting.

BTW Mom and Dad, he wants a camera for his birthday! 

 Graham loves to draw,

and spends a lot of his free time with his sketch pad and pen.

Happy Easter, Graham!