Jackson Tyler Anderson

Dustin is going to have a baby brother!

We had our appointment with the Perinatologists first thing this morning. Everything looks well with Jackson Tyler Anderson!!

We are very pleased that the ultrasound showed everything as it should be at this state in Jackson's development. We had some anxiety going into the appointment, in light of the news that we'd received at this stage during my pregnancy with Dustin. I think Tim and both held our breath until the appointment was over!

The due date is still slated for March 1--I am 18 weeks and one day along (as of today)!

A Zesty Italian, a Chocolate German and the sweetest little American!

Once again, I am getting behind in my blogging!! At this point, I have several posts (including photos of our trip to Lake Cumberland) that will take me a little bit to catch up! Where does all of the time go?

There are several recipes that I have wanted to post for well over a month or so now. Since I already had the photographs loaded to the computer, I thought that this would make for a quick post!

But first, a photograph of Little Man (the sweetest little American):



















He is not walking yet, but it is only a matter of a very short period of time. Given that Dustin is extraordinarily mobile, without walking, Tim and I are perfectly content with him taking his time to walk. I am not a huge fan of overalls, however; I did think that the overalls in the photo above were adorable!

A Zesty Italian:















Tim tried his hand this past summer at square foot gardening. For the first season of growing, it turned out fairly well! One of the more abundant crops was zucchini. I found several new recipes in which to use the veggie. Growing up, I enjoyed fried zucchini and squash. I found a little bit of a variation that makes a yummy appetizer:


Ingredients

Olive oil, for frying
1 3/4 cups freshly grated Parmesan Cheese
1 1/2 cups Italian breadcrumbs
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3 medium zucchini, cut into 3-inch long by 1/2-inch wide strips

Directions

• Pour enough oil into a large frying pan to reach a depth of 2 inches. Heat the oil over medium heat.
• Stir 1 1/2 cups Parmesan, the Italian breadcrumbs, and salt in a medium bowl to blend.
• Whisk the eggs in another medium bowl to blend.
• Working in batches, dip the zucchini in the eggs to coat completely and allow the excess egg to drip back into the bowl. Coat the zucchini in the breadcrumb mixture, patting to adhere and coat completely. Place the zucchini strips on a baking sheet.
• When the oil is hot, working in batches, fry the zucchini sticks until they are golden brown, about 3 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the fried zucchini to paper towels and drain.
• Arrange the fried zucchini on a platter. Sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan and serve. (We enjoy serving this with marinara sauce.)

Adapted from recipe by Giada De Laurentiis

A Chocolate German:
















This German Chocolate Cake absolutely tasted even better than the photographs possibly show. This recipe is from annies-eats, a blog that I have become quite fond of for finding new recipes to prepare for my family. The dishes on annies site typically involve multiple steps and are thus not your thirty minute meals, but they are quite fun to prepare and usually pretty tasty, too!

So far, the cakes that I have selected to bake from annies site have been a bit dry. So, I elected to shave 10 minutes off of the cooking time on this cake, to help keep it moist (the original recipe called for a baking time of 45 minutes). This helped, but the cake could have ideally used a cooking time of about 30 minutes (at least in my oven). For me, the general rule is that the cake needs to come out of the oven when it begins to pull away from the side of the pan. This time, I was not paying close enough attention while preparing the frosting and missed the cake pulling away!

The syrup in between the layers did add some moisture to the cake. The original recipe called for rum. I used the water substitute, since Peanut would surely not favor rum! In any event, if you love chocolate (as I do), you will most certainly love this cake!
















Ingredients

For the cake:
2 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
6 tbsp. water
4 large eggs, separated
16 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature
1½ cups sugar, divided
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla extract

For the syrup:
1 cup water
¾ cup sugar
optional--(2 tbsp. or dark rum)

For the filling:
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup sugar
3 large egg yolks
6 tbsp. butter, cut into small pieces
½ tsp. salt
1 cup pecans, toasted and finely chopped
1 1/3 cups coconut


For the icing:
8 oz. bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
2 tbsp. light corn syrup
3 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 cup heavy cream


Directions

• Preheat the oven to 350° F.
• Line two 9-inch round cake pans with parchment paper. Butter and flour the sides of the pans; set aside.
• Using a double boiler (or the microwave in short bursts), melt the bittersweet and unsweetened chocolate with the water, stirring until smooth. Set aside until the mixture cools to room temperature.
• In the clean, dry bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, beat the egg whites on high speed until they form soft droopy peaks. Slowly add ¼ cup of the sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form. Transfer the egg whites to a separate bowl and return the mixer bowl to the mixer base.
• In the bowl the electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the butter with 1¼ cups of the sugar. Beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Beat in the melted chocolate. Mix in the egg yolks one at a time, scraping down the bowl as needed.
• In another bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Mix half of the dry ingredients into the butter mixture on low speed just until incorporated. Mix in the buttermilk and vanilla extract until combined. Mix in the remaining dry ingredients just until incorporated. Using a rubber spatula, gently fold about a third of the egg whites into the batter to lighten it. Then fold in the remaining egg whites just until incorporated.
  Divide the batter between the prepared cake pans and bake in the preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the cake pans for 10 minutes, then remove from the pans and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• While the cakes are cooling, make the syrup. Combine the water and sugar in a small saucepan over medium-high heat and heat until the sugar is dissolved, stirring occasionally.
• To make the filling, combine the cream, sugar and egg yolks in a medium saucepan. Put the butter, pecans and coconut in a mixing bowl; set aside. Heat the cream mixture and cook, stirring constantly and scraping the bottom until the mixture begins to thicken and coats the back of a spoon. Pour the hot custard immediately into the pecan coconut mixture and stir until the butter is melted. Cool completely to room temperature. The mixture will thicken as it cools.
  

• To make the icing, place the chopped chocolate in a bowl with the corn syrup and butter. Heat the cream just until it begins to boil. Remove from the heat and pour over the chocolate. Let stand for 1 minute, then stir until smooth. Chill thoroughly in the refrigerator or freezer until firm enough for decorating.

• To assemble the cake, cut the two cake layers in half horizontally to yield four layers. Set the first layer on a cake circle, cut side up. Brush well with the syrup. Spread ¾ cup of the coconut filling over the cake layer, making sure to reach the edges. Set another cake layer on top of the filling. Repeat, using the syrup to brush each cake layer, then spreading ¾ cup of the coconut filling over each layer, including the top. Ice the sides of the cake with the chilled chocolate icing. Pipe a decorative border around the top layer, encircling the coconut topping.

Source: adapted from annies-eats.

Happy eating!

A Boating We will Go

We had a very fun filled weekend that included some boating time on Lake Cumberland, here in Kentucky!

This was Dustin's first experience on a boat; I must say-he did quite well! The only part that Dustin did not enjoy was the part where we made him wear a life jacket! While we were anchored and enjoying the coolness of the water, we let him play in the boat without the jacket--he had a great time!

Tim and I also enjoyed the time in the sun and with friends. I would love to have gone water skiing. However, this will have to wait until Peanut is born!

Here are some photos of our little man playing with Lauren:

I was not able to get a picture of both of them facing the camera at the same time! Oh well, Dustin had a fun time!

Our little man was so worn out by the next day that he took two naps! He also went to be at a quarter after seven the next evening. His normal bedtime is 8:00!

Dustin is proving to be a smart little boy. This weekend I asked him to hand me a green shirt of his while folding his laundry. Although I did not expect it, he handed it right over! It is so fun to watch him at this age--something new every few days!