Creole Chicken Cakes

If you're like us, you eat a lot of chicken. Although it's versatile and can be cooked and seasoned so many ways, sometimes it just gets a little... boring. Here's a recipe that can spice up your plate when chicken is what's for dinner.

Creole Chicken Cakes (adapted from Southern Living)
















1 TBS olive or canola oil
1/2 medium sized red bell pepper, small dice
4 green onions, thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, pressed
3 cups chopped cooked chicken
1 cup soft breadcrumbs
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 TBS mayonnaise
1 TBS spicy brown mustard
2 tsp Creole seasoning
1/4 cup canola oil

Heat 1 TBS oil in large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add bell pepper, green onion and garlic. Saute until tender, 3-4 minutes.
Stir together bell pepper mixture, chicken and next 5 ingredients (through seasoning) in bowl. Shape into 3" patties.
Fry in 2 TBS hot oil in large skillet over medium heat, 3 minutes per side or until golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Repeat with remaining oil and patties. Serve immediately.

A lot of people equate Creole with tongue-burning spicy. But don't worry about these setting your mouth on fire, unless you use a very spicy Creole seasoning mix. (I like to make my own, mainly because I find the common grocery store brands to be incredibly salty. I'll share that recipe in a few days... I've got to get you to visit my blog again, right?) Creole Chicken Cakes are wonderful all by their lonesome, but we sometimes serve them with Ranch dressing or a dip made with yogurt, spicy brown mustard and just a drizzle of honey (made to taste, not measured).

Here's a little tip to make your finished product look like it came off the pages of Southern Living: Make sure the chicken pieces are small. Take the time to chop to a consistent size, around 1/2" pieces or just a bit smaller. This will result in cakes that hold together better, especially when transferring to/from the skillet and flipping. It also helps to chill them before cooking; in fact, you can make them up to 24 hours in advance and refrigerate until you're ready to cook. I've experimented with freezing the patties and seen mixed results. They must be completely thawed to cook evenly, but sometimes they weep and lose too much moisture while thawing, so I don't recommend it.

Forget Buns of Steel. Gimme Honey Bun (Cake).

It's been years since I ate a honey bun out of a cellophane wrapper, but what a treat I thought they were back in the day. Some things are better remembered instead of revisited, so I think I'll leave those wrappers sealed. The fond memories of that unmistakable scent and flavor are probably what made this recipe so appealing. I've been making this cake for around 10 years; it has one of those classic flavors that appeals to most everyone, and it's easy as can be.

(This is normally where I'd show you what the cake looks like. You'll just have to click the link below to see how Betty Crocker's food stylists dressed it up. I'm good at cooking, not so much the photography.)

Honey Bun Cake (from Betty Crocker)

1 pkg butter recipe yellow cake mix
2 sticks butter or margarine, softened
4 eggs
8 oz sour cream
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped pecans
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup powdered sugar
1 TBS milk
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350°. Generously grease bottom only of 9x13 pan. Reserve 1/2 cup dry cake mix.
Beat remaining cake mix, butter, eggs and sour cream in large bowl on medium speed for 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally.
Spread half of batter in pan. Stir together reserved cake mix, brown sugar, pecans, and cinnamon; sprinkle over batter in pan. Carefully spread remaining batter evenly over pecan mixture.
Bake 30-33 minutes or until deep golden brown and cake springs back when lightly touched in center.
Stir powdered sugar, milk and vanilla until thin enough to drizzle, stirring in additional milk, 1 tsp at a time, if necessary. Poke top of warm cake evenly with fork. Spread glaze over cake.

The last time I baked this cake I substituted plain yogurt for the sour cream, and it worked very well. It's a typical substitution, but I was concerned the yogurt may be too tangy.

Honey Bun cake is similar to a coffee cake, not too sweet with just a hint of cinnamon. It's a great cake for a brunch, in the afternoon with coffee or tea, or when you just need to feel like a kid again, without the cellophane.

I'm MELTING!!!!

My birthday falls shortly after Thanksgiving and just a few short weeks before the onslaught of Christmas merriment. While I L.O.V.E. cake, I have to step back and be practical about how much cake I should eat between slices of pumpkin pie and trays of Christmas cookies. I'm able to temper my cake needs with decadent molten cakes. These single serving beauties take only minutes to prepare. There are many variations; in the past we've had peanut butter, marshmallow, chocolate, and black forest, but the kind Adam made this year may be the best I've had to date.

Dark Chocolate Molten Cake

6 oz bittersweet chocolate+, chopped

10 TBS butter

1 1/2 cups + 1 TBS powdered sugar, divided

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

3 whole eggs

3 egg yolks

Heat oven to 325.

Spray 6* ramekins or custard cups with nonstick spray and place on baking sheet.

Microwave chocolate and butter in a large bowl at 50% power for 2 minutes or until butter melts. Stir with whisk until chocolate melts.

Add 1 1/2 cups sugar and all of flour. Mix well.

Add eggs and egg yolks. Beat until well mixed. Pour into prepared cups.

Bake 13-15 minutes, until cakes are firm at edges but center is still soft. Let sit 1 minute.

Place plate on top of cup, and while holding plate in place, flip cup over to unmold. Sprinkle with remaining 1 TBS powdered sugar.

+ If you don't have bittersweet chocolate you can substitute semisweet chocolate ounce-for-ounce or unsweetened chocolate (1 ounce unsweetened chocolate +1 TBS sugar) per ounce bittersweet chocolate.

* If you don't want to make 6 cakes, make as many a you want and refrigerate the remaining batter up to 2 days. Bring to room temperature before baking.

Ours ending up sitting for a bit more than 1 minute (I'm just amazed it wasn't 10 minutes with 2 little ones under foot.). They were very good, just not quite as gooey in the center. If you like a really melty center, make sure you unmold and eat quickly. If you prefer a more solid center, let them sit a few minutes. Either way, I bet you'll make these again.