Chocolate Stout Cake

Steve calls this my "Three sticks of butter and a can of beer" cake. I call it delicious. Adapted from epicurious.com.

Cake
12oz Guinness (buy the 14oz can and have a few sips)
3 sticks butter
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (plus more for dusting pan)

3 cups flour
3 cups sugar
3 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
3 large eggs
1 cup sour cream

Glaze
.33 cup butter
2 cups powdered sugar
6 TBS cocoa
2 TBS vegetable oil
1.5 tsp vanilla
2 - 4 TBS hot water

Preheat oven to 350. Spray large Bundt pan with cooking spray and dust with cocoa powder. Shake off excess. Bring Guiness and butter to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.
Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in large bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat eggs and sour cream in another large bowl to blend. Add chocolate mixture to egg mixture and beat just to combine. Add flour mixture and beat briefly on slow speed. Using rubber spatula, fold batter until completely combined. (This makes a lot of batter!) Pour batter into prepared Bundt pan. Bake for 85 minutes, until tester inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Transfer pan to metal rack; cool for 10 minutes. Invert cake onto rack, cool completely.

To prepare glaze: melt butter in saucepan, whisk in cocoa and oil. Blend in sugar and vanilla. Stir in water, one tablespoon at a time, until glaze is of proper consistency. Drizzle over cooled cake.

Curried Couscous w/Chicken

Can also be made without chicken, as a side dish (omit romaine lettuce). Adapted from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook. Serves 3-4 as a light main dish.

1.5 cups Israeli couscous
1 TBS butter
2 cups water
.25 cup plain yogurt or sour cream
.25 cup good olive oil
1tsp white wine vinegar
1tsp curry powder
.25 tsp ground turmeric
1.5 tsp kosher salt
1tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 large chicken breast, cooked and chopped
.5 cup grated or small-diced carrots
.5 cup minced fresh flat leaf parsley
.5 cup dried currants
.25 cup blanched, sliced almonds
2 scallions, thinly sliced (white & green parts)
OR
.25 cup small-diced red onion
Several cups chopped romaine lettuce

Mix couscous with water and butter, bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until all liquid is absorbed and couscous is tender. Add more water during cooking if needed. Fluff with a fork.

Wisk together yogurt, olive oil, vinegar, and spices in a medium bowl. Add couscous and toss well to coat. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Serve at room temperature over a bed of chopped romaine lettuce.

Coming attractions

I've been cooking and baking a lot lately for other people, which leads to the very flattering "I must have this recipe!" request. I love it, obviously, or I wouldn't have this blog. Soon, you will see recipes for the following:

Orzo BFO
Chocolate Stout Cake
Fresh Shiitake Mushroom appetizer
Chocolate chip oatmeal bar cookies
Curried couscous w/chicken

And maybe a few other things I have forgotten about...