Mississippi Mud and Death of a Mixer

Last week, I received a renewal invitation for Southern Living magazine, which included a free recipe for a dessert I haven't had in a very long time, and have never actually made.  Mississippi Mud Cake.  Surely every true southerner has experienced this chocolate confection.  You probably have a similar recipe in your own archive.  However, the only time I recall having it was at potluck lunches or suppers at church when I was a kid.  One of the older ladies of the church, Mrs. Oretha, was known for making it, and hers is, as far as I know, the only one I ever had.  She passed away many years ago, but I have my mom's copy of Mrs. Oretha's handwritten recipe for it.  I wonder why, now, all these many years later, that I (nor my mother) never attempted to make it.  I guess that's why I'm so enthusiastic about it now...it's like I rediscovered something from my childhood.

I placed the new recipe - the one I got in the mail - under a magnet on the refrigerator door and made sure I had all of the ingredients.  It hung there for several days, almost taunting me, daring me to give it a try.  It isn't a particularly difficult recipe, and I don't know why I kept dodging it.

Today I took that step and baked this luscious-sticky-gooey-extremely-chocolate dessert.  Let me tell you, it is awesome.  I googled some photos to compare mine to "professional" results.  I think mine looks every bit as good as, and even better than, some pictures I found.

What do you think?

This has an almost brownie-like cake base, with gooey marshmallows, fudgy chocolate icing, and toasted chopped pecans to finish it off.  Sinful, for sure!  Try this the next time you want something different than, perhaps, a plain old pan of brownies.  There is some effort involved, but it's not too much, and the results are definitely worth it.

Sadly, in the process of this adventure, I had to say goodbye to one of my most prized kitchen possessions:  My old Oster mixer.  This is my third one, and I was determined to run it until the very end.  It had been showing some signs that it wouldn't be with me much longer right before I closed my restaurant, and today I officially retired it.  This mixer dated from the very early 80's, and they just don't make them like it anymore.  It was actually a part of an entire food processing system and could do so many different things, but I only used the mixer portion of it frequently.

Incidentally...I had a job interview last week, and was asked one of those aptitude questions that you know are just going to be off-the-wall-unexpected as to the content, and the question was "If you were a kitchen appliance, what would it be, and why?".  Of course, being the baker that I am, my response was "a mixer".  I was thinking specifically of THIS mixer, which is capable of doing so many different and varied tasks, and doing them all very well.  Unfortunately, and regrettably, I did not articulate my answer to that extent....I was actually prepared to explain why a manhole cover is round.

Anyway...as I was whipping the chocolate frosting for the cake today, I detected an absolutely noxious odor...no, not from the frosting, but from the mixer....a hot electrical smell, kind of like burning plastic.  It didn't start smoking, which would have really freaked me out, but I knew the mixer was done for.  I quickly shut it down, unplugged it, and carried it outside.  I was enjoying the lovely chocolate cake aroma coming from the oven, especially since I was expecting a bit of company mid-afternoon, and I knew the house would smell really nice.  But no!!  A few seconds of running that sick mixer and suddenly the whole kitchen was overwhelmed by that terrible odor.  It is very difficult to remove that smell from the house.  I opened windows and pulled out a box fan to circulate the air, but that awful smell lingered for several hours.  I did a little research, and determined the problem was most likely the field coil burning out, which will cause the motor to stop.  The thing is at least 30 years old, so I am quite satisfied with it's performance and I certainly got my money's worth.  This mixer was a workhorse and was built to last.  Back in the late 70's/early 80's, Oster apparently did not engage in the "planned obsolescence" mindset. 

Ahh...the early 80's...circa 1982/1983...lovely times were had back then, and I do miss them so.  If anyone is going back there, please let me know so I can catch a ride with you!

Here's the recipe from Southern Living for this wonderful dessert.  I hope you like it as much as we do.

Mississippi Mud Cake
Yield: 15 servings

Ingredients:

1 cup chopped pecans
1 cup (2 sticks) butter
1 (4-oz.) semisweet chocolate baking bar, chopped
2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 (10.5 oz.) bag mini marshmallows
Chocolate Frosting

Preheat oven to 350F.

Place pecans in a single layer on a baking sheet.  Bake at 350F for 8-10 minute or until toasted.

Microwave 1 cup butter and semisweet chocolate in a large microwave-safe glass bowl at HIGH 1 minute or until melted and smooth, stirring every 30 seconds.

Whisk sugar, flour, cocoa, eggs, vanilla extract and salt into chocolate mixture.  Pour into a 15 x 10 x 1-inch jelly-roll pan.  Bake at 350F for 20 minutes.  (I don't have a jelly-roll pan, so I used an 11x15 sheet cake pan and baked the cake for about 18 minutes.  And I used the mixer instead of a whisk to blend everything together.)

Remove cake from oven and sprinkle evenly with marshmallows.  Return to oven and bake 8-10 more minutes or until golden brown.

Drizzle warm cake with Chocolate Frosting (recipe below) and sprinkle evenly with toasted pecans.

Chocolate Frosting

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/3 cup milk
1 (16-oz.) package powdered sugar (about 4 cups)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Stir together butter, cocoa, and milk in a medium saucepan over medium heat until butter is melted.  Cook, stirring constantly, 2 minutes or until slightly thickened; remove from heat.

Beat in powdered sugar and vanilla at medium-high speed with electric mixer until smooth.

Note: 

This frosting reminds me of the type of frosting you would use on an old-fashioned layer cake....that fudgy, quick-to-harden kind, although this recipe is a little thicker. 

I made the frosting while the cake was baking, so it had to sit for a few minutes.  It began to crust slightly, so I turned the mixer on a couple of times to bring it back to a smooth texture. (This is when the mixer started giving me problems.)  Because the frosting is somewhat thick, it is easier to spoon it over the warm cake instead of drizzling it.  It sets up quickly, and when I sprinkled the pecans over it, I lightly pressed them down into the chocolate/marshmallow topping.

Enjoy!


Sherry

My First Cooking Lesson and Green Beans

Since I've been home a few weeks now, we are slowly returning to our old way of cooking around the house, which simply means "not eating sandwiches and casseroles from the restaurant".  We are cooking for ourselves the way we once did...a way that was pretty much abandoned when the restaurant was a part of our everyday life.  Now we aren't restricted to using only the recipes that adapt easily for mass quantities, like we did when we were testing and producing large casserole batches.  Now we can take our time and rediscover some old favorites, as well as find a few new ones.  One of my projects is to consolidate those favorites into one binder that will hold up to sticky fingers and stovetop splatters. 

Tonight we are eating leftovers.  Once upon a time, leftovers sat in our fridge for days until we finally tossed them out.  Now, we look forward to them, not only because we are making efforts to become less wasteful, but also because...well, they're good! 

One of my top five favorite kitchen items is my crock pot.  I have become reacquainted with it and have used it quite frequently these last few weeks.  A couple of days ago, I cooked a pot roast with potatoes, onions, and carrots.  To me, it is always just a bit better a day or two after it's been cooked.   We also discovered a new recipe for macaroni and cheese that has become our new favorite, and we are having those leftovers as well.  (This mac and cheese is so good that I can eat it cold.  I seriously considered making a sandwich out of it today for a snack.  I'll post that recipe another day.)

To round out this meal of old-time comfort food tonight, I assembled another old favorite...marinated green beans.  I am not a canned green bean fan, nor do I like the traditional green bean casserole, although I have made it many times at customers' requests.  To me, this recipe that I made tonight is reminiscent of German potato salad...it has a sweet-tangy vinegary bacony dressing that really perks up plain old green beans.  I imagine it would work equally as well with frozen or fresh cooked green beans, and would probably taste even better.

Making this dish requires a few strips of "real" bacon.  I absolutely love bacon.  I'm from the south, and I grew up with it.  I am painfully aware that it is not good for you (what comfort/southern food is?).  Moderation!

In the last few years, I've become accustomed to using pre-cooked bacon and microwaving it to crispy perfection.  It was neat and clean and easy, and I still use it to make club sandwiches and the like.  But this recipe calls for the bacon drippings, so I had to go retro and fry it up.

And on that subject...my best friend Lisa and I go way back.  We met when we were 5 years old and lived a couple of houses apart.  Growing up, she was either at my house or I was at hers.  I remember when we were in the fifth grade, I think, and I had stayed overnight (we called it "spending the night") at her house, and her dad fixed us bacon and eggs for breakfast the next morning.  My first "cooking lesson" came from her dad that day.  The bacon (which I love!...did I mention that??) was so good, and he explained to me that the way to cook bacon was low and slow.  It won't burn, it won't splatter, and it fries up just right.  I have always followed his instruction since that day with nothing but great results. 

Here we go with the recipe for the green beans.  It is super easy and super tasty, and yields 6 servings.  You can adjust any of the ingredients to your taste.  Sometimes I cook a few more slices of bacon to yield more of the drippings.


Marinated Green Beans

Ingredients:

2 16-oz. cans French-style or regular cut green beans
4 Tbsp. brown sugar
2 Tbsp. bacon grease (or more...whatever your bacon yields)
2 Tbsp. prepared mustard (regular or spicy)
4 Tbsp. vinegar (white or cider)
4 strips crispy fried bacon

Directions:

Gather your ingredients.

Take four slices of bacon (thin sliced bacon is best) and place them in a large skillet.  I cut the strips in half so they wouldn't hang over the sides of the pan.  Slowly cook over medium low heat, turning occasionally as the strips begin to brown.

While the bacon is cooking, heat the green beans in a large saucepan.  (Do not drain.)

When the beans are warm, drain and place in a casserole dish.

 

When the bacon starts to shrink and gets foamy little bubbles on top, remove it from the pan and drain it on a paper towel-lined plate. 



 

Combine the bacon drippings (I prefer the word "drippings" to the word "grease", don't you?  Makes me feel a little better about eating it.), brown sugar, mustard and vinegar.  (I used spicy mustard and cider vinegar.)  Trust me, it will look much better than this......

...when you whisk it all together like this.

You can warm the vinaigrette, if desired, or simply pour it over the green beans.  Toss to coat.

Crumble the bacon and sprinkle over the top.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

How easy is that?

I hope you'll give this recipe a try the next time you see those cans of green beans staring at you from your kitchen cabinet.  Sometimes they want to get dressed up instead of being cloaked in cream of mushroom soup!

Enjoy!!