Pickle dip, Lemon-Raspberry cake and French eggs, oh my!

Been keeping my hands busy the last few weeks. Started to play around with calligraphy, but more on that later. This post is about food. I've learned over the years that there isn't much that I don't love about it. Thought I'd share what I've been whipping up in my kitchen as well as a few tricks of the trade I've been using.

PICKLE DIP

- I made this for a Sunday school class girls night gathering. It was a BIG hit, which was a relief after my last outing with buffalo goat cheese bites was only so-so. Note to self; don't bring soft cheese to a gathering with numerous pregnant women. I highly recommend this as a simple and crowd pleasing item.

Ingredients:
(From bunsinmyoven.com)
- 8 oz cream cheese, room temp(can't stress the room temp part enough)
- 1/2 to 1 C dill pickles(to taste)
- 1T Worcestershire
- Dill, if desired
- Pickle juice(to taste)

Instructions:
- Chop pickles finely
- Combine cream cheese(the softer, the easier to mix) with Worcestershire
- Use pickle juice to thin dip out
- Season with dill if desired
Serve cold or at room temp with chips(I chose the classic ruffled chip, is there anything better to use as a vessel for dip?)

TRIPLE LAYER LEMON CAKE WITH BLACK RASPBERRY FROSTING

- This past Sunday, I was given the task of bringing a dessert for Easter and did not want to:
A) disappoint the in-laws(always more pressure there)
B) bring a standard dessert

Tutorial:
I used 2 boxed lemon cake mixes. I ALWAYS doctor my boxed cakes with either flavored pudding, melted chocolate, or (in this case) lemon pie/dessert filling. I make the cake according to the box instructions and add the extra 'goo' to keep the cake super moist. Some helpful tips...
- it does help of you sift the cake mix, but you could hand whisk the lumps if you wanted
- use the box cooking temp and time as a guideline and just keep an eye out(using common baking sense, aka toothpick test).
2 boxes made 3 8-inch round cakes and I used the extra batter and my favorite Wilton mini fluted bundt cake pan to make little lemon cakes which I brought to work.

For the frosting, I used a classic American buttercream recipe(see below) and added in my new favorite sweet-Graeter's Black Raspberry Fruit Topping(found at Kroger with Ice-Cream Sundae stuff). A few notes about making frosting...
- add powdered sugar a small bit at a time(never fails that my counter, floor, dogs and myself end up covered)
- make sure your butter is softened or you will get butter chunks in your frosting
- too runny? Add more powdered sugar. Too thick? Add Water or cream. Grainy? Whip it into submission

I let the cakes sit before moving them to a cooling rack. I use parchment paper when flipping them onto the rack since the extra moist cakes can break easily(bonus-less dishes!). The cooled completely before I even made the frosting, this is so I'm not tempted to rush the process. The rest is easy
- put strips of parchment on your cake plate that can be removed after frosting for a clean base.
- center 1st layer, top with thick layer of frosting, repeat with 2nd layer
- place top layer on and frost with thin crumb coat.
- frost cake with desired thickness(I'm not a huge frosting person, but I have to admit that this recipe rocks!)

The frosting would have been fine on it's own, but the Graeter's topping gave it such a delicious fruit flavor and gave it such a beautiful pink color. Et Voila!

OEUFS EN COQUETTE AUX FINES HERBES(Eggs baked in Ramekins with Herbs) a Julia Child Recipe
- My something to read this Christmas was Mastering the Art of French Cooking by Julia Child. So after coming across this Pinterest recipe pin, I was inspired to delve into the cooking book and try.

I used Amanda's Cookin blog as a guideline, along with my cookbook
Ingredients:
* I modified the amounts.
- 2 T cream
- 1-2 eggs
- dab of butter
- herbs(S&P)
- you'll also need an stove & oven proof pan

Instructions:
- turn oven to 350 degrees
- fill stove top and oven safe pan halfway with water and bring to simmer
- 1 T Cream into greased ramekin, flavor with herbs, half dab of butter
- place ramekins in simmering water and heat until butter melts
- add egg(s), 1T cream, remaining dan butter and additional herbs
- place pan in middle of over(so you don't burn bottom or top)
- cook 7-10 min(depending on oven) until just set. Remove and let sit for 3-5 min
Notes:
- The cream will make it look not cooked
- you could play around with various herbs and ingredients
* I'm guessing this is one of the easier recipes in the cookbook, but I'm hoping to get the courage to try additional recipes soon!