Good Dinner Mrs. Mellen

    Lucious Lemon Curd Layer Cake with Lemon Buttercream Frosting ingredients 2 1/2 cups sifted cake flour 1 1/3 cups sugar 1 tablespoon baking powder 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 cup vegetable oil 5 large eggs, separated 3/4 cup fresh orange juice 3 tablespoons orange zest 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar 1 jar Lemon Curd, I like Stonewall Kitchen Lemon Butter Cream Frosting Garnish: Candied Lemon Slices Preparation 1. Preheat oven to 350°. Combine first 4 ingredients in bowl of a heavy-duty electric stand mixer. Make a well in center of flour mixture; add oil, egg yolks, and orange juice. Beat at medium-high speed 3 to 4 minutes or until smooth. Stir in zest. 2. Beat egg whites and cream of tartar at medium-high speed until stiff peaks form. Gently fold into flour mixture. Spoon batter into 3 greased and floured 9-inch round cake pans. 3. Bake at 350° for 17 to 20 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Coo...

Clothes are my passion, my love! I just had to share my favorite dress of this spring/summer season, a fabulously versatile Kate Spade leopard dot tie back dress that I just fell in love with. I get euphoric just thinking about wearing this dress, it’s just perfect for me. The moment I saw this dress on line I got that special rush when I see something that I know I had to have, it had my name all over it. I booked it to my nearest Kate Spade store to see if the dress had made an appearance in their newly arrived  collection. As soon as I entered the store my eyes went right to the dress . Much to my despair only two sizes were left, two and six. I tried on the six which was too big, unusual since I find Kate Spade dresses are cut small. No size four in the store so I gave the two a try and to my surprise a perfect fit. I was delighted that not only did the dress fit, it was just outstanding on me. Quickly I whipped out my credit card securing this beauty for me. ...

 Chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate. If you love chocolate this cake is for you. My inspiration for this outrageous chocolate cake was chocolate salted caramel candy. I have to admit  I seemed to get a little carried away. Warring this cake is very rich eat accordingly! Truly a show stopping cake worth a few calories.  CAKE 2 cups all-purpose flour 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon table salt 1 1/2 cups butter, softened at room temperature 3 cups granulated sugar 5 large eggs, at room temperature 1 1/4 cups buttermilk 2 teaspoons instant espresso 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 1 cup 60% cacao bittersweet chocolate morsels 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate morsels 1/2 cup caramel sauce     CHOCOLATE GLAZE 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate morsels 3 tablespoons butter 1 tablespoon light corn syrup 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract WHITE CHOCOLATE GLAZE 3/4 cup white chocolate chips 3 tablespoon cream 3/4 cu...

In the book The Blue Zones by Dan Beuttner, Blue Zones are the longest living cultures in the world, one common dietary staple in all the areas is beans, all different kinds of beans. I love to use any kind of bean in my recipes, from soups, chillies, pastas and especially salads. Chickpeas( garbanzo beans ) are one of my favorite to use in my recipes like this Live to 100 Chickpea Salad.  I've added some crunch and sweetness to this salad with pecans and dried cranberries. Nuts also play an important role in Blue Zone cultures! You can like I do use this salad as a base for a more hearty dinner salad combining a protein such as tuna, chicken, tofu just to name a few. If you want to keep the salad vegan you can add more crunchy veggies such as red peppers, carrots, fennel and so many more different colors and textures. Experimenting you can find so many different uses for this basic salad while adding years on your life! Live to 100 Chickpea Salad Ingredients:...

We are really having a tough winter here in New England with the temperature at minus fifteen this morning when I went out to yoga.  What could be warm me up better than a hot bowl of soup. I love all the ingredients in the Sausage Soup I made today which taste so good and filling on a cold winter day. Healthy and tasty my favorite combination! Chicken Sausage White Bean Kale Soup with Mushrooms 5-6 chicken sausage 2 tablespoons olive oil 4 cloves garlic, minced 1 cup chopped leeks, white part only 1/2 cup celery, chopped 8 ounces mushrooms, sliced 2 cups Kale, chopped leaves no stems 62 ounces(cartons) chicken broth, either homemade or bought.  I use low sodium, low fat chicken broth 1/2 teaspoon pepper 1 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon dried french thyme Cook sausage in large frying pan on medium heat turning frequently for 15- 20 minutes. Sausage should be browned. Drain on paper towel and set aside. Heat olive in large stock pot. Add garlic, leeks and celery ...

  Lemon Curd Cream Cheese Pound Cake Ingredients: 1 1/2 cups butter, softened 3 cups sugar 1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese, softened 6 large eggs 3 cups all-purpose flour  1 teaspoon lemon extract 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 jar Lemon Curd Preparation: 1. Preheat oven to 350°. Beat butter at medium speed with a heavy-duty electric stand mixer until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating at medium speed until light and fluffy. Add cream cheese, beating until creamy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating just until blended after each addition. 2. Gradually add flour to butter mixture. Beat at low speed just until blended after each addition, stopping to scrape bowl as needed. Stir in lemon and vanilla extracts. Pour one-third of batter into a greased and floured 10-inch (14-cup) tube pan (about 2 2/3 cups batter). Dollop 8 rounded teaspoonfuls lemon curd over batter, and swirl with wooden skewer. Repeat procedure once, and top with remaining third of ...

I enjoy setting a holiday table including making decorator Place Cards. These spring themed place cards are perfect for Easter or any other spring dinner party. This Easter I had an egg them so I wanted to make place cards to match. So easy to make! Supplies Needed: 12 colored place cards, I used mint green from Paper Source, my go to paper store. 12 mini nest from Jo-Ann Fabric and Craft Store dried moss from any craft store 12 mini robin eggs from Pottery Barn hot glue gun 1. Print name on place cards. Paper Source has a templates on line for all your printing needs. I used brown to print on the mint green. 2. Attach a just a few strands of the moss on robin's nest with glue. Put a little more glue on top of moss and attach robin egg. Press and hold for a few seconds to secure. 3. Cut to slits on the top of the place card, the slits should be an inch in from each side. Fold slits down to create a ledge for the robins nest. 4. Cover ledge with glue secur...