Cookoff 2.0 #42 - Coconut

[ghenne]

Cookoff 2.0 #1 - Heat Infusion - Parrothead
Cookoff 2.0 #2 - Tomatoes - Unknown Foodie
Cookoff 2.0 #3 - Butternut Squash - Jackiecat
Cookoff 2.0 #4 - Fennel - Nolafoodie
Cookoff 2.0 #5 - Grains of Paradise - PattyE
Cookoff 2.0 #6 - Eggplant - Geimerst
Cookoff 2.0 #7 - Soup - Pixie
Cookoff 2.0 #8 - Ribs - Dan
Cookoff 2.0 #9 - Citrus fruit - Moonablaze
Cookoff 2.0 #10 - Clams - Thierry
Cookoff 2.0 #11 - Ground Beef - Parrothead
Cookoff 2.0 #12 - Olives - Grovite
Cookoff 2.0 #13 - Slaw - Nolafoodie
Cookoff 2.0 #14 - Peppercorns - Grovite
Cookoff 2.0 #15 - Yogurt - Eye4got
Cookoff 2.0 #16 - Summer Squash - Nolafoodie
Cookoff 2.0 #17 - Collards - ajkdvm
Cookoff 2.0 #18 - Lemongrass - Fleur
Cookoff 2.0 #19 - Summer herbs: basil/parsley/oregano/etc. - ajkdvm
Cookoff 2.0 #20 - Tapas and party bites - lunanoir
Cookoff 2.0 #21 - Fall Squash - ajkdvm
Cookoff 2.0 #22 - Cauliflower- altonfaninmd
Cookoff 2.0 #23 - Holiday Cookies - ghenne
Cookoff 2.0 #24 - Pressure Cooker - Charlene
Cookoff 2.0 #25 - Hot'n Spicy - Slamdunkpro
Cookoff 2.0 #26 - Soy Sauce - Eye4got
Cookoff 2.0 #27 - Peanut Butter - kimberlyjoy
Cookoff 2.0 #28 - Salmon - Charlene
Cookoff 2.0 #29 - Breakfast - DanC
Cookoff 2.0 #30 - Tortillas - Grovite
Cookoff 2.0 #31 - Foil Grill Packets - DitsyD
Cookoff 2.0 #32 - Rice - Charlene
Cookoff 2.0 #33 - Wild Game - haleoalau
Cookoff 2.0 #34 - Sugar-Free Desserts - nolafoodie
Cookoff 2.0 #35 - Potatoes - Kinsley
Cookoff 2.0 #36 - Egg Nog - Eye4got
Cookoff 2.0 #37 - Spices - Okbye
Cookoff 2.0 #38 - Grains - nolafoodie
Cookoff 2.0 #39 - Cucumbers - Pam T
Cookoff 2.0 #40 - Asparagus - Charlene
Cookoff 2.0 #41 - Fresh Fruit - Okbye
Cookoff 2.0 #42 - Coconut - ghenne

Either you love it or you hate it...I'm still choosing...COCONUT!

[tj]

Someone with Jamaican background may be able to help here, but one of the most interesting uses of coconut was when a Jamaican friend tossed together rice and peas for me when I needed something fo a church dinner: He mangled the whole coconut, putting the chunks in a blender and then strained the milk into the rice as it cooked with garlic, thyme (an entire jar--two good handfulls), and maybe some onion. Then added red beans, canned as I remember. I still wish I had made note of some details because once it was done it looked like nothing and tasted like ambrosia. You just could not stop eating it. The coconut flavor was not upfront but gosh was it good. Rice and "peas", by the way, is a generic Jamaican term for legumes cooked with rice.

[Marz Epan]

I love - absolutely love - coconut. I don't use it much though just because I usually can't use it frequently enough without the bag going stale. Anyway... one of my favorite applications is AB's recipe from Down & Out in Paradise when he dipped coconut (shaped into balls) in chocolate. It's time intensive, but mighty tasty.

I also like to toss it in to the batter when I'm baking chocolate chip cookies.

[ghenne]

tj - I'm pretty sure you are describing a very common Jamacian dish called Jamacian Red Beans and Rice. Although in most of the recipes I looked at on-line, none of them call for handfuls of thyme, just a sprig. Hot peppers were usually an ingredient too.

I work with a few people from Jamacia, I'll have to check with them.

[tj]

Ghenne, you are right, though I hear Red Beans and Rice more often in New Orleans references. The thyme amazed me. My friend was a definite islander, but also an freewheeling cook. He could grill jerk chicken that was tender as butter and had wonderfully complex flavor.

[haleoalau]

We used to frequent a Jamaican/Chamorro restaurant when we lived on Guam. Their rice and peas used pigeon peas. I don't think it had coconut, but the coconut milk is a distinct possibility. It's now been 4+ years since we lived there, so the memory is hazy at best.

It.was.awesome.

err...no recipes to contribute though...

[beenie]

I like to use coconut milk and/or cream of coconut in place of other dairy in rice pudding. That's really all I have, though.

[Charlene]

Caramel Heavenlies
Recipe from: Liz December 2004

12 double graham crackers
2 cups mini marshmallows
¾ cup butter
¾ cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup coconut

In small saucepan, melt the butter, sugar, vanilla and cinnamon, stirring to blend. Place the crackers in a 15x9x2 pan (jelly roll pan). Cover with the marshmallows. Pour the butter mixture over. Sprinkle with the almonds then the coconut. Bake in 350 degree oven for 12-14 minutes. When cool cut into triangles.

Tips:
Make sure the crackers go to the edges of the pan. Line pan with parchment paper or grease pan very well.

I can't say this enough... GREASE THE HECK out of your pan Trust me!

These rock.

Char

[Charlene]

Char's Birthday Cake - AKA - Kathy’s German Sweet Chocolate Cake

1 (4ounce)package sweet baking chocolate (German's green box in baking aisle)
one half cup boiling water
1 cup butter or margarine softened
2 cups sugar
4 eggs, separated
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup buttermilk
2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 recipes Coconut-Pecan filling (recipe below)

Combine chocolate and boiling water; stirring until melted. Set aside. Cream butter; gradually add sugar, beating well. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add chocolate mixture; beat well. Dissolve soda in buttermilk. Combine flour and salt; add to creamed mixture alternately with buttermilk mixture; beginning and ending with flour mixture. Stir in vanilla. Beat egg whites (at room temperature) until stiff peaks form. Fold into batter. Pour batter into 3 waxed paper lined and greased 9 inch round cakepans. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes, remove from pans and cool completely. Spread Coconut pecan filling between layers and on top.

Coconut Pecan Filling (Double this)

1 cup whipping cream
1 cup sugar
3 egg yolks
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/3 cups flaked coconut
1 cup chopped pecans

Combine cream, sugar, egg yolks, and butter in a medium saucepan, cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Stir in remaining ingredients and let cool completely.

In my opinion, this cake is a compete and utter pain in the ass to make, mostly because it is time consuming and you have to wash a lot of dishes. It is WELL worth it though. I'm fortunate enough to have had my Aunt Kathy to make it for me when I was growing up, and now my husband makes it for my birthday every year. This cake is better the longer it sits. I never refrigerate it. It doesn't last more than a week.

Should also be named "For the love of all that is holy cake" just sayin....

Funny story: I made it for myself once or twice for my own birthday... people who tried it said they wanted me to make them one, how much would I charge... I told them I wouldn't make them one, because they couldn't pay me enough, but I would show them how. I had two people actually take me up on it, and we had a little class at my house. So much fun!


Char

[ghenne]

No one else has a kick ass coconut recipe?

[tj]

Not in the kickass bracket, but Pina coladas and cocnut ice cream deserve mention.

I am not really a "recipe" cook, so here is a recall of a favorite from childhood: Way back home in Indiana, the ladies of the church would come up with the idea for a Pitch-In Dinner after church. This usually happened during Sunday School. So, all kinds of incredible food would show up about an hour after church and we would eat like only midwesterners can. There were always a few rather warm cakes and Mom found a topping that could go right onto the top of a 9x13 yellow cake about as soon as it came out of the oven. You blended coconut, a little butter, chopped pecans and honey and smeared it on top of the cake, then ran the thing under the broiler until you got just a tiny bit of blackening. It was supposed to be GBD, but I always liked the tiny little black flakes.

Stupid easy and actually pretty good for a quick summer cake.

PS--Charlene, Iagree about the German's chocolate cake--an utter pain in the tuchas--I used to make them when I was in hgih school and could not manage to get the time down to less than three and a half hours. At least I got to lick the icing pan.

[okbye]

I know a kickass recipe but it's not mine so it's not an entry, it's one of those ATK test recipes. It's awesome though and my family loves it. It's reduced fat too but you would never know it. I make up a little bit more of the frosting cuz it doesn't make much (How do you reduce calories? Lose half the frosting!) but other than that it works great as written. I've made it a zillion times for gatherings. I was thinking of making it today as cupcakes, wonder how that would work...

RECIPE MAKEOVER: GERMAN CHOCOLATE CAKE
Serves 12
Do not substitute fat-free sour cream for the low-fat sour cream, or the cake will taste gummy. The coconut and nuts can be toasted simultaneously on a rimmed baking sheet in a 325 degree oven until the coconut shreds are a mix of golden brown and white and the nuts have deepened in color, about 15 minutes.

Cake
3 ounces milk chocolate, chopped
3 tablespoons Dutch-processed cocoa powder
1/3 cup boiling water
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
½ cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
½ teaspoon salt
3 large eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup low-fat sour cream, room temperature

Frosting
1 cup fat-free evaporated milk
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup pecans, toasted and chopped fine
½ cup sweetened, shredded coconut, toasted

1. MAKE BATTER Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk chocolate, cocoa, and boiling water in bowl until smooth; let cool. Combine flour and baking soda in separate bowl. With electric mixer on medium-low speed, beat butter, sugars, and salt until combined. Increase speed to medium and beat until mixture lightens in color and sticks to sides of bowl, about 1 minute. Scrape down bowl, then add eggs, one at a time, and mix until thickened and well combined, about 45 seconds. Reduce speed to low and add chocolate mixture and vanilla until incorporated. Add flour mixture in three additions, alternating with 2 additions of sour cream, and mix until just combined.
2. BAKE CAKE Grease and flour two 9-inch cake pans. Scrape equal amounts of batter into prepared pans and bake until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 10 to 15 minutes. Cool cakes in pans 10 minutes, then turn out onto wire rack. Cool cakes completely, at least 1 hour. (Cooled cakes can be wrapped in plastic and stored at room temperature for 2 days.)
3. MAKE FROSTING Whisk evaporated milk, cornstarch, butter, brown sugar, and salt in saucepan over medium-high heat until bubbling, about 3 minutes. Continue to cook until mixture is thickened, about 1 minute. Off heat, stir in vanilla and all but 1 tablespoon each of pecans and coconut. Cool to room temperature.
4. ASSEMBLE CAKE Place 1 cake round on serving platter. Spread half of frosting over cake, then top with second cake round. Spread remaining frosting over top of cake. Sprinkle cake with remaining pecans and coconut. Serve.

[Kinsley]

Jamaican friend... thyme (an entire jar--two good handfulls)...
You just could not stop eating it.

Are you sure it was thyme?

[tj]

It was indeed thyme. I still don't understand it, but the result was great.

[scooter]

Don't pick this one to win, but this is a really great coconut recipe that should be made every chance you get!

Kick A$$ Toasted Coconut Cake Recipe

Filling

* 2 tablespoons cornstarch
* 2 tablespoons water
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 1/4 cups whipping cream
* 1/2 cup sugar
* 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
* 2 1/4 cups sweetened flaked coconut
* 1/4 cup sour cream


Cake

* 3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
* 1 tablespoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 2 1/4 cups sugar
* 1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
* 5 large eggs
* 1 1/3 cups whipping cream
* 1 tablespoon vanilla extract


Frosting

* 2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature
* 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
* 2 cups powdered sugar
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract


* 4 cups sweetened flaked coconut, toasted AND 1 LARGE GRATED DARK CHOCOLATE BAR

Preparation

For filling:
Stir cornstarch, 2 tablespoons water, and vanilla in small bowl to dissolve cornstarch. Bring cream, sugar, and butter to boil in heavy medium saucepan. Add cornstarch mixture and bring to boil. Remove from heat and stir in coconut. Cool completely. Mix in sour cream. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

For cake:
Preheat oven to 325°F. Butter and flour three 9-inch round cake pans. Whisk flour, baking powder and salt in large bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in another large bowl to blend. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in cream and vanilla. Stir flour mixture into butter mixture. Divide batter equally among pans. Bake until tester inserted into center of cakes comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Cool completely.

For frosting:
Using electric mixer, beat cream cheese and butter in large bowl to blend. Beat in powdered sugar and vanilla extract.

Place 1 cake layer on cake plate. Top with half of filling. Cover that with half of dark chocolate shavings. Place second cake layer atop filling and chocolate. Top with remaining filling and dark chocolate shavings. Place third cake layer atop filling. Spread frosting over top and sides of cake. Pat toasted coconut over top and sides of cake, pressing gently to adhere. (Can be prepared up to 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Let stand at room temperature 3 hours before serving.)

[ghenne]

Last call for coconut recipes. I'll pick a winner tomorrow!

[ghenne]

Ok I choose:

Caramel Heavenlies

Caramel AND Coconut. Hands down a winner in my book!

Congrats Char!

[Charlene]

Thanks Lisa! How about we give cabbage a whirl! Anyone have great slaw recipes? What about homemade sauerkraut, or sauerkraut and brats. Purple cabbage? I love cabbage any which way. Show me what you love about it.

Char