Ummmm Chocolate

So last night I found a smashing good recipe for a quick and super easy chocolate "cup"
cake. I call it the 4 C's cake Couple Chocolate "Cup" Cake and here it is--

4 tablespoons flour ( I use all purpose, if you use self rising don’t add the salt)
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
Pinch of salt
3 tablespoons chocolate chips (optional)
Splash of vanilla extract
1 large coffee mug

Add dry ingredients to mug and mix well. In separate bowl add egg. Beat well. To egg, add milk and oil. Blend together. Pour egg mixture into mug with dry ingredients and stir until well blended. (Make sure to scrape around the inner edges of the mug). Add vanilla extract and chocolate chips and mix again. Place in microwave and cook 2-2 1/2 minutes on high. The cake will rise over the top of the mug. That's OK. Once done, remove from oven with hot mitt and let cool a minute or two before removing from cup. Serve warm with ice cream if desired.

Note: Instructions from the original recipe is to cook cake 3 minutes at 1000 watts. Since I have no idea what wattage my microwave is I played around and found that 2 to 2 1/2 minutes worked fine. Since wattages vary per microwave you will need to do the same unless you know the exact wattage of your microwave.

The cake has a spongy texture to it but is delicious just the same. In my opinion the chocolate chips are essential to maintain the cakes moisture.

I made this for the little lady last night and she loved it, instead of ice cream I severed it with homemade chocolate whip cream

1/2 pt. whipping cream
3 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
½ tablespoon of cocoa powder

Whip cream with mixer. Be careful not to over beat or else will get too thick like butter. When it begins to thicken, add sugar and vanilla; stir.

I really need to try and take photos of these so I can show off how they look!! Anyway until next time got out and try some tripe!!!!

Top of the Mornin' to Ya'

Ahhh the weekend…..

This past weekend went by so fast it was complete bollocks!!!! Saturday morning started off very nice however, I made the little lady some breakfast which started with—

5 eggs

5 tablespoons milk

1 pat of butter

Kosher salt

Ground pepper

½ lbs of Bangers (aka sausage)

Sauté patties over medium-low heat in a non-stick pan. Sauté until brown and cooked through, approximately 10 to 15 minutes then start your eggs.

In a small mixing bowl, combine eggs and milk with a fork. In a non-stick skillet, melt the butter over medium-low heat until it bubbles. Stir a pinch of kosher salt into egg mixture then pour into pan, stirring slowly with a heat resistant rubber spatula. As soon as curds begin to form, increase heat to high and instead of stirring, use the spatula to fold the eggs over themselves while gently shaking the pan with your other hand. As soon as no more liquid is running around the bottom of the pan, remove from the heat and serve. Season with fresh black pepper and garnish with fresh chives or parsley. Remember: if they look done in the pan, they'll be over-done on the plate.

Also to this I made some homemade biscuits which this recipe

2 cups flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons shortening

1 cup buttermilk, chilled

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Using your fingertips, rub butter and shortening into dry ingredients until mixture looks like crumbs. (The faster the better, you don't want the fats to melt.) Make a well in the center and pour in the chilled buttermilk. Stir just until the dough comes together. The dough will be very sticky.

Turn dough onto floured surface, dust top with flour and gently fold dough over on itself 5 or 6 times. Press into a 1-inch thick round. Cut out biscuits with a 2-inch cutter, being sure to push straight down through the dough. Place biscuits on baking sheet so that they just touch. Reform scraps dough, working it as little as possible and continue cutting. (Biscuits from the second pass will not be quite as light as those from the first, but hey, that's life.)

Bake until biscuits are tall and light gold on top, 15 to 20 minutes.

Biscuits, Eggs, and Bangers DONE!

Once this was over did I have a mess to clean up! The ol’ lady tried to clean this up but I wouldn’t let her she said this was complete bollocks but oh well. I just made her a hot cup of vanilla flavored tea then proceeded to clean up my mess and then I just clapped out.

Crikey this has gotten long I better stop while I am ahead til then cheerio and go eat some chips!

The British are coming!!!

The British are coming!!!

So you might be wondering why the title of my blog is norm’s survival guide and all things British, well it is because I love them, I love everything about the Brits. The way they talk how they don’t have fluoride in the water so they have yellow teeth, the accents everything about them. I am also in love with Gordon Ramsay he has a few shows on TV right now I would suggest watching Kitchen Nightmares us version, and if you have BBC America then the original Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares and the F word. On kitchen nightmares Gordon goes to failing restaurants to try and help they make money or to fix the problems they are having from cooking to front of the house, and the menu. An usually what happens the place is totally trashed and nasty just plain dirty and the food is horrible!! Great show I mean I can’t get enough of it I will watch them over and over and over. The F word I just discovered in the last couple of weeks so I am still trying to get a handle on it. Moving on, so what to talk about today, the wife and I have been really working hard on my grandpappies house as of let so we can try and have a dinner party soon for some of our closest friends (so I can burn a green candle!) The two of use are really working hard to make this the best dinner party ever, but with our budget being so tight this month (being after Christmas an all) I dunno how we could do it. Well that is all for now I will right more about the crazy thing I call “Married Life” tomorrow or over the weekend until then Cheers!!

1st post

Where should I start? I should start with how i cam across the idea of when to start this blog. I got the idea from friends at a rehearsal dinner for some of my close friends several weeks ago. We could not stop talking about blogging So i got the great idea to start my own and today i had a little free time at work and thought lets get this thing going!! I really don't know where to start i guess i will start at Christmas.. Over my holiday i was super busy nonstop, i got married went on holiday to Savannah, then had Christmas times four. My family times two and the wife's fam two times also. Then had another wedding (this is the one that inspired me to start this.) I guess i should talk more about my own wedding well it rained which was complete bollocks!! However nothing major really happened the rain did not stop us from getting married or the people from coming. We honeymooned in Savannah, Ga which i had never been before but the wifey had several times, really cool place to go! It is a very historic town some building were built in the mid 1700's. Anyway i got to meet Jamie and Bobby Dean which are Paula Dean's sons that by far was the highlight of my honeymoon. Who does not want to me those boys woot woot!! That is a funny story i should tell. We went by Paula Deans on our last day in Savannah (Christmas Eve) but it was closed this was at like 9 am so we decided to start home.. .Well we hit South Carolina and the ol ball and chain really wanted to get something at paula's so i decided to whip the car around via the medium like any good action movie tires squalling white smoke coming out of the tires and away we went.. Got back to Savannah and meet the boys Anyway got back to town safe and sound.. I think that is all for today i might blog more tomorrow i hope you enjoyed this if not i really don't care because i will say it's bollocks!!!!