February Favorites

Tonight I was thinking about how close it is to Valentine's Day and how there are so many warm & fuzzy feelings that surround the "season of love." I was thinking about flowers, candy, luscious desserts, perfume, restaurants, etc. and it promtped me to think about my Favorite things connected with Valentine's Day. I jotted some of them down beside my sudoku puzzle I was working on and I thought I would share them with you.

Favorite flower - Hyacinth (I know it's not a traditional V. Day flower but I think it is the best smelling flower around.

Favorite food - anything Italian and most any salad.

Favorite dessert - Italian Cream Cake

Favorite Restaurant - Chop House

Favorite short trip - Pigeon Forge

Favorite Perfume - Estee Lauder's Pure White Linen

Favoite Love Song - Soul & Inspiration (Righteous Bros.)

Favorite Candy - Chocolate Covered Cherries

Favorite get-away with my man - Hilton Head Island, SC

Now that I've shared some of my favorites with you I would love to hear about your favorites if you would take the time to comment or email me at jerrycaton@bellsouth.net. I am also sharing a recipe with you and would love to have one from you.


Here's a delicious recipe that someone shared with me years ago:

CHOCOLATE COVERED CHERRIES CAKE RECIPE

CAKE:
Vegetable oil spray or butter (for coating the pan)
1 package devil's food cake mix
1 can (21 ounces) cherry pie filling
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure almond extract


CHOCOLATE GLAZE:
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup butter
1/2 cup milk
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips


1.
Preheat oven to 350°F with the rack placed in the center of the oven. Lightly coat a 13x9x2 inch baking
pan with vegetable spray or rub with a small amount of butter. Set the pan aside.

2.
place the cake mix, cherry pie filling, eggs, and almond extract in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric
mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Stop the mixer and using a rubber spatula scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Increase the speed of the mixer to medium and beat 2 minutes more, scraping down the sides of the
bowl again only if needed. The batter should be thick and well blended. Pour the batter into the prepared pan,
smoothing the top with the rubber spatula. Place the pan in the oven.

3.
Bake the cake until it springs back when lightly pressed with your finger and just starts to pull away from the
sides of the pan, 30 to 35 minutes. remove the pan from the oven and place it on a wire rack while you
prepare the glaze.

4.
For the glaze, place the sugar, butter, and milk in a small saucepan over medium-low heat and cook, stirring
constantly, until the mixture comes to a boil. Boil, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Remove the pan from the
heat and stir in the chocolate chips. When the chips have melted and the glaze is smooth, pour it over the warm
cake so that it covers the entire surface. The glaze will be thin but will firm up. Cool the cake for 20 minutes
before cutting it into squares for serving.

Wow, I think I gained weight just thinking about this cake!

Enjoy your Family, Friends, Faith, and Food (and exercise to stay Fit!)

Love to all!

For the mountains may move and the hills disappear, but even then my faithful love for you will remain. My covenant of blessing will never be broken," says the LORD, who has mercy on you. Isaiah 54:10 (New Living Translation)