The Cook's Corner - Choctails & Jewelry

Welcome to The Cook's Corner! I wanted to share some delicious, quick and easy dessert recipes today. I am preparing for a "Choctails & Jewelry" party on Friday night and thought I would get some of my "do ahead" items off my list today. I also want to do a run through with my decorations. My very good friend Jerrie opened her own jewelry business last fall with Premier Designs Jewelry. You may not be familiar with it but it is high quality fashion jewelry. Many of the pieces remind me of Brighton Jewelry and the prices are similar. So I scheduled Jerrie to come on Friday night and present her lovely jewelry to a group of my friends while us girls celebrate Valentine's Day just a little early. The party is at 7pm and since most of the girls will have had dinner by then, my theme is "Choctails". Everything on my menu will be CHOCOLATE! I have 4 recipes to share. The first one comes from my Easy to Bake, Easy to Make cards.

Valentine Heart Cake

1 package white chocolate cake mix or cherry chip

1/2 cup sugar

2 tablespoons water

2 large egg whites

1 jar marshmallow creme

1-2 tablespoons heart-shaped cake decors

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line one 9-inch square cake pan and one 9-inch round cake pan with parchment paper or waxed paper. I use parchment paper.
• Prepare cake mix according to package directions. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake until a toothpick inserted in centers of cakes comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes. Cool on wire racks.
• Mix sugar, water, and egg whites in a 2-quart heavy saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat, beating continuously with an electric mixer on high speed until soft peaks form, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat, add marshmallow creme; beat mixture on high speed until stiff peaks form, about 2 minutes longer.
• Remove cakes from pans and remove paper liners. Place square cake on serving platter. Cut round cake in half.
• Place round cake halves against 2 adjacent sides of square cake to form heart shape. Spread top and sides with marshmallow creme frosting and decorate with heart-shaped decors as desired.

My next recipe was found in Women's World magazine a couple of weeks ago.

Cherry Cheesecake Brownie Bars

1 tube refrigerated triple chocolate chunk brownie batter

2 packages cream cheese, room temperature

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 can, 21 oz., cherry pie filling

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Line 9" square baking pan with foil, leaving 2" overhang; coat with cooking spray.
• Spread tube of brownie batter in pan. Bake 25 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
• Beat cream cheese, sugar, eggs and vanilla extract until fluffy.
• Spread over brownie. Bake 20 minutes or until cream cheese topping is set.
• Cool on rack for 30 minutes. Refrigerate until chilled, about 1-2 hours. Use foil to help lift from pan. Just before serving cut into bars and then top with cherry pie filling. I use about a tablespoon of cherry pie filling per bar. Garnish with white and dark chocolate curls.

The next recipe I plan to use came out of Southern Living magazine a couple of years ago during the Christmas holiday season. This is easy-peazy and tastes oh so good!

Chocolate Passion Bowl

3 cups cold milk

2 packages Jell-O Chocolate Flavor Instant Pudding

1 tub French Vanilla Whipped Topping, thawed and divided. Such as Cool Whip brand.

1 baked 9-inch square brownie layer, cooled and cut into 1-inch cubes

2 cups fresh raspberries

• Pour milk into large bowl. Add dry pudding mixes. Beat with wire whisk 2 minutes or until well blended. Gently stir in 1 cup of the whipped topping.
• Place half of brownie cubes in 2-quart serving bowl or trifle bowl, top with half of the pudding mixture, half of the raspberries and half of the remaining whipped topping. Repeat all layer.
• Refrigerate at least 1 hour or until ready to serve. Store leftover dessert in refrigerator.

I scanned the picture from the magazine. Doesn't this look like just the perfect dessert for Valentine's Day? Red, White and Chocolate!

Back in 2005, I was in a Williams-Sonoma and found these little heart-shaped silicon molds. They are perfect for making individual cupcakes, muffins or Valentine treats. I think I will make little heart-shaped Chocolate Lava cakes using this mold. For the beverage I plan to make an Iced Mocha Punch. The recipe is super easy and you can make it ahead of time and let it chill in the fridge until the day of your party.

Iced Mocha Punch

3 cups strong coffee

1 1/2 cup chocolate syrup

1 gallon 2% milk

1/2 cup sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 gallon French Vanilla ice cream

Blend coffee, chocolate syrup, milk, sugar and vanilla extract together. Chill until ready to serve. Then, scoop softened ice cream into punch bowl and pour mocha mixture over it. Carefully fold mixture together. This makes about 50 punch cup servings. I am really excited about using my Grandmother's milk glass punch bowl and cups.

While I was at W-S, I also found these adorable pancake molds. The heart with the arrow through it makes a great cookie cutter too! The cookies are rather large using this, about the size of two regular sized Chocolate Chip cookies.

I decided I would do a run through of my decorations for Friday night. I had these two red, pink and white striped runners and decided to crisscross them along my island. I found these at TJMaxx a few years ago. About the only time I use them is at Valentine's Day. When decorating for Valentine's you really don't have to worry about matching your room's decor. It's more about setting a festive and fun atmosphere that reflects that special occasion.

I purchased a bunch of Pink Gerbera Daisies and Red Tulips from the market this morning. Remember my Grandmother's milk glass from a few blogs back? Well, I decided to use the collection of bud vases and place single stems in each one then cluster them in the center.

Since there is only going to be 10 of us on Friday night, I really wanted to use real plates and napkins. I pulled out 10 cherry red satin napkins and placed Pink Gerbera Daisy napkin rings on each one. I used 5 of the napkins to form a cluster on either end of the island. I found the napkin rings at Bed, Bath and Beyond for 99 cents each a few years ago.

The heart-shaped topiary is from Marshalls. This was another find from a few years ago. The topiary is made with fuchsia and red rose buds. It really adds a touch of whimsy and Valentine's Day flair to the centerpiece.

So pretty and girlie!

Now all I have to do is prepare my desserts and fill my silver serving platters. I should have the paramedics standing by just in case we truly have a "death by chocolate"!

I will take plenty of pictures and share them with you on Saturday. Until then,

Happy Entertaining!

~Alisa