A Frozen Treat To Make Your Taste Buds Pop!

Nothing refreshes in the summer better than a tasty frozen treat on a stick! Here's a delicious ice pop that's not only great tasting, but also a healthy alternative to those boxes of artificially colored sugary water pops you find at the grocery store!

These Mango-Lassi pops combine the summery taste of fresh mango, with yogurt, buttermilk and a small amount of fresh honey!

In the bowl of a food processor or blender, blend 2 cups of ripe mango chunks (can be fresh or frozen) until it becomes a very fine paste.

To that, add 1/2 cup of plain yogurt, 1/2 cup of buttermilk, 1 tablespoon of honey and a pinch of salt. Blend until pale orange and very smooth.

Fill popsicle molds to about 1/4" from the top.

Cover and freeze for about an hour. Then insert the popsicle sticks and freeze for another 8 hours.

Dip the mold in warm water for a few seconds to help dislodge the pops! Enjoy!!

Mario's Weekend Cooking Challange: Mexican Chocolate Cake

Mario's Weekend Cooking Challenge is a Facebook Group for people to get together, once a month and cook the same recipe, compare notes and discuss outcomes. It is put together by Mario Bosquez host of "Living Today" on Martha Stewart Living Radio, Sirius 112 & XM 157

This month's weekend Cooking Challenge we were given a choice of 2 desserts to prepare. A Mexican Chocolate Cake or Magnolia's Famous Banana Pudding. Since I had already made the Banana Pudding a month back, I chose to make the Mexican Chocolate Cake.

This simple cake is easily put together and what makes it different from your regular chocolate cake is the addition of cinnamon which comes through nicely and compliments the chocolate very well!

The recipe is courtesy of Mario Bosquez, himself, creator of the Weekend Cooking Challenge, and can be found here: Mario Bosquez's Mexican Chocolate Cake

Please note: the recipe calls for 1 stick of margarine and 1/2 cup oil. I substituted 2 sticks of unsalted butter and the cake turned out perfectly. Other ingredients include cocoa, flour, sugar, buttermilk, eggs, cinnamon & vanilla.

Start out by preheating your oven to 350 degrees. Combine your butter (or margarine & oil) along with the cocoa and some water in a sauce pan and heat until melted.

In a large bowl, combine the remaining ingredients and mix well.

Combine that with the chocolate mixture and pour into a buttered 12" x 18" cake pan or a nice ceramic baking dish. I've used this lovely fluted oval "oven-to-table" baking dish.

Bake the cake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cake cool on a wire rack while you prepare the icing.

The icing, again another quick recipe, combines cocoa, butter, milk, vanilla, chopped pecans and confectioners sugar.

In a saucepan, combine your butter, cocoa and milk on medium heat just until the butter is melted and small bubbles form around the sides of the pan. Remove from heat.

Stir in vanilla and pecans, then your confectioner's sugar. As recommended by Mario, use only about 3/4 lb of the sugar and it won't be overly sweet.

While the cake is slightly warm, pour the icing over the cake and spread evenly. Decorate the edge with pecan halves, if desired. This cake is best enjoyed still slightly warm or at room temperature!

Bananas Foster Meets Upside-Down Cake!

I found this recipe while thumbing through a recent newspaper insert. I love bananas and this recipe is adapted from the rich New Orleans dessert of flaming bananas served with vanilla ice cream.

Visitors to "The Mixing Bowl" may remember when I made the actual dessert of Bananas Foster. That was so enjoyable that I knew this cake was to be just as good and it did not disappoint!

The recipe can be found in the book "Burger Parties" by James McNair and Jeffrey Starr.

First step is to preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9" round cake pan and set aside.

Combine, in a saucepan, 1/4 cup of unsalted butter, room temperature, 1/2 cup of firmly packed dark brown sugar, 1/4 cup dark rum and 3/4 teas. cinnamon. Cook over medium heat, stirring frequently until the butter and sugar are melted, about 3 minute. Pour into the prepared cake pan.

Arrange enough banana slices to fit, snugly, in one layer over the sugar/butter mixture. About 2-1/2 cups of 1/4" sliced bananas.

In a separate bowl, combine 1-1/2 cups of all-purpose flour, 1-1/2 teas. baking powder and 1/2 teas. salt, whisk together. Set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together 1 stick of softened unsalted butter and 3/4 cup of granulated sugar on medium speed, for about 5 minutes. Add 2 eggs and 1 teas. of pure vanilla extract, mix until well combined. On low-speed, add about 1/3 the flour mixture, then 1/4 cup of milk, another 1/3 of the flour, another 1/4 cup of milk, the remaining flour. Mix until combined after each addition. Do not over mix! Pour the cake batter into the prepared pan (scraping the bowl well) and spread evenly over the bananas.

Bake until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack for about 2 minutes.

Run a paring knife around the inside on the pan to loosen the cake sides. Invert the cake onto a wide serving plate, and lift off the pan, the sauce should run down the sides of the cake.

Cut into wedges and serve with scoops of the best vanilla ice cream! Serve this at your next barbecue or if you're just feeling like you need a lift!

Mario's Weekend Cooking Challange: Spatchcocked Chicken With Potatoes

Mario's Weekend Cooking Challenge is a Facebook Group for people to get together, once a month and cook the same recipe, compare notes and discuss outcomes. It is put together by Mario Bosquez host of "Living Today" on Martha Stewart Living Radio, Sirius 112 & XM 157

This month, I had to prepare my recipe on a Thursday since I was stuck working all weekend long.

This month's cooking challenge recipe is Spatchcocked Chicken with Potatoes and is courtesy of Sandy Gluck, Co-Host of the Everyday Food Radio show on Martha Stewart Living Radio. Sandy is a fantastic and creative chef (she can create a delicious meal out of almost anything!), and fun radio personality. Get 3 different variations of this recipe here: Spatchcocked Chicken


This technique---splitting, then flattening a chicken---yields a perfect roasted chicken in less time than a whole one takes. It also exposes more skin, which crisps up nicely at higher temperatures.

This simple chicken dish utilizes a few basic ingredients and the results are a moist, juicy and flavorful chicken! Ingredients included are a whole chicken (of course), some thin slices of lemon, fresh sprigs of thyme (the first from my herb garden!), some new potatoes & onion.

Now, How To Spatchcock A Chicken (WARNING: GRAPHIC PHOTOGRAPH FOLLOWS!)

1. Place 1 whole chicken, breast side down, on a work surface.

2. Starting at the thigh end, cut along one side of backbone with poultry or sharp kitchen shears.

3. Turn chicken around, cut along other side. Discard or save backbone for stock.

4. Flip chicken over and open it like a book. Press firmly on breastbone to flatten.

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Season the the chicken with salt and pepper. Gently loosen the skin of the breast with your fingers and insert lemon slices and some thyme sprigs. Place chicken in a roasting pan.

In a bowl, toss potatoes, onion, thyme with some olive oil, salt & pepper. Add this to the roasting pan.

Now, we need to take a moment to discuss proper hand washing and cleanliness when handling raw poultry! It's VERY important that you wash hands thoroughly and often, as well as your work area and ALL utensils to limit the spread of harmful bacteria that can be associated with raw poultry!

Of course, I recommend using these great all-natural products from the new Martha Stewart Clean line available at your local Home Depot and other local stores.

Roast the chicken until the juices run clear when pierced between the breast and leg and an instant read thermometer reads 165 degrees when inserted in the thickest part of the thigh (avoiding bone), which should take about 30 minutes!

Let chicken rest 5 minutes before carving!

Magnolia's Famous Banana Pudding

This recipe comes from New York City's Magnolia Bakery and was developed by the bakery's co-founder, Allysa Torey, who began making this pudding in her early twenties when she was cooking in a Tex-Mex restaurant. When she opened Magnolia Bakery, she thought it would be a great idea to put it on the bakery menu. It remains the second most popular dessert (after their famous cupcakes) at the bakery.

Though it's not difficult to make, this dessert does take some time. Definitely worth the wait as this is insanely delicious and I can see why it's so popular! The recipe is included in a wonderful cookbook by Allysa Torey, "More From Magnolia".

The pudding starts out by mixing together some sweetened condensed milk, ice water and instant vanilla pudding. Cover and refrigerate for 3-4 hours or overnight until it is set.

After the pudding mixture has been refrigerated, whip up some heavy cream in the bowl of an electric mixer until stiff. Don't over beat or you'll have a lot of butter on your hands!

Gently fold the pudding mixture into the whipped cream until well blended and no streaks remain.

To assemble the dessert, select a large, wide bowl (preferably glass) with a 4-5-quart capacity, like a trifle bowl. Arrange 1/3 of a 12 oz box of Nilla Wafers (no substitutions!), some sliced ripe banana, and 1/3 of the pudding. Repeat this layering twice more, garnishing the top with additional Nilla Wafers or wafer crumbs on the top layer.

Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the refrigerator for 4 hours, but no more than 8 hours! Serve and enjoy!

Why not make this and bring to a BBQ or picnic this summer and you'll be the hit of the party!

Click here for more information on The Magnolia Bakery!