mmm_chocolate

I used to be a cake maker (no longer in public business), so I've tried a few chocolate cake recipes. (www.cakekraft.com) Here's an awesomely moist chocolate cake recipe that always gets rave reviews. And it's super-easy! I usually make this as a vegan cake, to reduce the cholesterol (and believe me know ones knows they're not there) but its works with the eggs and dairy as well. Give it a try and see how it goes. Super Moist Chocolate Fudge Cake 2 cups sugar 2 1/2 cups flour 3/4 cups cocoa 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder 1 1/2 tsp baking soda 1 1/4 tsp salt 2 eggs, lightly beaten 1 cup milk 1/2 cup vegetable oil 2 tsp. vanilla 1 cup water + 2 tsp instant coffee Combine all dry ingredients and mix until combined. Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla to dry. Beat for two minutes on medium speed. In the meantime, bring water to a boil and then add instant coffee to the water. Stir coffee into batter until combined. Pour into 2 greased and floured 9" x 3" pans, or or if you have 9x2" or 8x2", you may need to use three. Bake for 30-35 minutes at 350, or until toothpick comes out clean. let cool 10 minutes before turning out of pans. Any questions, just ask! Michelle

The Brits always seem to do chocolate and dairy a little better than us Americans...just looking at those pics makes me want to pop in to the chocolates shop and have a nip. But 4 pounds for one chocolate sounds like too much to me....? Even if it is super tasty.

Yeah...HFCs are definitely NOT natural. 7-Up should be sued, because people who don't know any better will be drinking it on purpose because they feel it's good for them...or BETTER for them than say, Sprite...when in reality they're the same thing. R.W. Knudsen makes an awesome all natural soda - http://www.knudsenjuices.com/products/cate...2&categoryID=58 I buy the Light Spritzers, which are nice when watching calories. -Michelle

Hi, this is my first post!! I went to the High Street Caffe in West Chester on Saturday 5/6/06. It's a small BYOB with cajun-themed dining. I was very impressed with the food, although the service lagged a bit. I ordered the Grilled Portobella and Smoked Mozerella Salad to start. It was BIG! This is a good salad to share with someone. The portobella was juicy and delicious, and the smoked mozerella was a wonderful complement. Awesome starter. For the main course, they prepared a "Veggie Saute" for me, which is not featured on the menu. I am a vegetarian who eats fish, but after a case of mild food poisoning due to some iffy seafood two nights previous at Lourdas Restaurant, my stomach begged me to play it safe. Artichoke hearts, string beans, sun dried tomatoes, and onions were sauteed with fetuccini in a garlic infused olive oil. Very nice! Here's a question for you.....is it necessary to FRY cheesecake? The High Street Caffe felt the need, and resultantly turned out one of the best desserts I've ever experienced. And I'm a dessert chef, so I've had my share of the sweet stuff. The Banana Fosters Fried Cheesecake features cheescake wrapped in a pastry shell and fried until golden brown and delicious. So you've got this warm and crispy outside with a creamy cheesecake interior. Mmmm, just thinking about it makes me drool. It's topped with classic bananas foster: brown sugar, butter, rum and bananas and dolloped with whipped cream. If you consider yourself a dessert enthusiast, you have to get over to High Street. As I understand, this is a seasonal item, so don't wait! It was a busy Saturday night, and I don't mind leisurely service, but I need to be able to drink my wine while I am waiting to be a happy camper. After being seated, it took a full 15 minutes for someone to open our wine. After that it was another 25 minutes before our order was taken. We did have bread on the table, which seemed to be homemade, and was very good. But 40 minutes to get an order in is just a bit too long. The server was very nice, she was just too busy to get to everyone on time. On the positive side, once our order was in, the food came out at about the right pace. It was about 10 minutes for our starters and another 10 for the main courses. We did have to wait again after dinner to have our plates taken and order dessert, but by that time I was flagging down anyone who came past our table to make sure we weren't there till midnight. They had a jazz guitar player who played throughout, and was a nice touch to the New Orleans theme...and unlike some live dining music, he wasn't too loud. However, the general noise level in the restaurant WAS very loud... so much so that at times we were practically shouting to each other across the table. If you're looking for a small quiet romantic BYOB, High Street Caffe on a Saturday night won't fit the bill. Overall, it was a great dining experience. The food, which is the most important part, was flawless. I will definitely return if only for that glorious dessert, and hope that we caught the waitstaff on an off night.