Texas Sheet Cake

Lest I forget to post this horrible "I can hardly read it" recipe before the next time my mom asks me if I have it (even though it is HER favorite), I'd better do it now.  My Aunt Kathy & Uncle Skip's Texas Sheet Cake Recipe!  Ta da!

Texas Sheet Cake

Preheat oven to 350.

2 cups of flour

2 cups of sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp cinnamon

Combine these and set aside.

In a saucepan, bring to a boil:

1 cup butter

4 tbsp cocoa

1 cup water

Then add to the flour mixture.

Now also add:

1/2 cup buttermilk

2 beaten eggs

1 tsp vanilla

and mix well.

Spray jellyroll pan (see below) with Pam and bake 20-25 minutes at 350.

Frosting:

1/2 cup melted butter

3 tsp cocoa

4 tbsp buttermilk

1 box confectioner's sugar

Mix well and pour over cake while warm.   

Allow to cool and slice into large squares to be individually tin foiled so they can then be gifted to your mother who can store them in the freezer and enter Nirvana any old time she pleases.

You'll need one of these if you don't already have one:

Thanksgiving

Quinn and I cooked a Thanksgiving feast for TM yesterday, yes, the day after we had stuffed ourselves over at Dad and Aylene's. What can I say, I need leftovers.
The day before Thanksgiving I was watching Ina Garten make this herb roasted turkey breast. She used a whole, bone in breast, and I used two halves. Whatever. The only difference is that it cooked quicker than hers, maybe an hour and a half or so.
I also tried Alton Brown's "Best Ever Greenbean Casserole" which I had high hopes for, but I can only say was it not only NOT the best ever, it wasn't even good. I have been ruined by that gloppy canned stuff it seems, because fresh ingredients were not my bag. Or Quinn's bag. Or TM's bag. We had an entire skillet full of the stuff and none of it was saved with the other leftovers.
We had leftover stuffing from Dad and Aylene's, mashed potatoes and gravy a la Quinn, and Aylene's mashed sweet potatoes. And bread. And salad. And Texas sheet cake and ice cream.
* ugh *

Barefoot Contessa Herb Roasted Turkey
turkey breast, 6 1/2 - 7lbs (either 1 whole bone in, or two halves)
3 cloves minced garlic
2 tbsp dry mustard or 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons good olive oil
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup dry white wine

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Place the turkey breast, skin side up, on a rack in a roasting pan.

In a small bowl, combine the garlic, mustard, herbs, salt, pepper, olive oil, and lemon juice to make a paste. Loosen the skin from the meat gently with your fingers and smear half of the paste directly on the meat under the skin. Spread the remaining paste evenly on the skin. Pour the wine into the bottom of the roasting pan.

Roast the turkey for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until the skin is golden brown and an instant-read thermometer registers 165 degrees F when inserted into the thickest and meatiest areas of the breast.

If the skin is over-browning, cover the breast loosely with aluminum foil. When the turkey is done, cover with foil and allow it to rest at room temperature for 15 minutes. Slice and serve with the pan juices spooned over the turkey.

The Texas sheet cake turned out well, but it's not a favorite of mine so I sent the majority home with TM, since it IS her favorite!

If I weren't heading out to a party, I would be all over a turkey sandwich right now. Actually, I might anyway. Mmmmm.