Mad About Maida

Irish Whiskey Chocolate Cake Source:  Maida Heatter's Best Dessert Book Ever (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1997 ed.) , pg. 64 . Some days nothing goes right for you and the day I made this cake was one of those. I am convinced that planetary alignments or some other phenonema sometimes affect a person and no matter how careful you are, you are doomed to failure.  Such was the case a few days ago. It was too rainy and dreary to be out in the garden so I thought I would work on updating some photos that had been lost on my blog. Technical issues as well as the sheer burden of the job prompted me to abandon that and go into the kitchen for some baking. I proceeded as carefully as I could - I measured and set out all the ingredients and read the recipe completely before beginning. The first gaffaw happened after I was getting ready to pour the batter into the pan and realized that I had forgotten the flour mixture somewhere along the way. I reread the recipe and s...

Georgia Pecan Bars Source:  Maida Heatter's Cookies (Andrews & McMeel Publishing, 1997 ed.) , pg. 147 . Pecan Pie will always remind me of my childhood and family holidays. At every family gathering, it was inconceivable that there not be a pecan pie. Of course, my mother, aunts and grandmothers made other great desserts as well but there would always be pecan pie. In the past, I've made Pecan Tassies which I think is similar if not the same as this recipe. This is like a pecan pie in miniature, much easier to eat in bite-size pieces. It is a bit different though in that the filling is more firm and there are no ground nuts in the filling. These are easy to make and I just used a hand mixer. I would follow the directions on cutting the bars carefully to avoid disappointment. The only problem I encountered was that the filling seeped underneath the foil lining in the pan. There was probably a tear and Maida advises to press the foil into place with a folded towel ...