Chicagoans, your egg story is as funny as Marcolo's pie weights! (My own ketchup story is just sad, not funny.) For those who've never heard of them, pie weights (which have been around in one form or another for at least a hundred years), beans, rice, or a second pie tin, are put in a pie shell that one is pre-baking to keep it from bubbling. There are some kinds of pie that you make in the raw dough, and some for which you bake the (bottom) crust before filling. From Chef's Catalog:

There's a flag at our front door that says "Lucky To Be IRISH", and we have hosted some really fine St. Patrick's Day Hoolies (parties) over the years. Lots of great food to prepare over a couple weeks of marathon baking... The first two recipes are desserts I made from a class I took years ago on Irish Cookery: BROONIE (Irish Gingerbread) 2 c. flour 1-1/2 t. baking soda 1 t. cinnamon 1 t. ground ginger 3/4 t. salt 1/2 c. butter, softened 1/2 c. sugar 1 egg 2 egg yolks 1 c. molasses 1/2 c. quick-cooking oatmeal 1 c. hot water Measure flour, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and salt. Sift together onto waxed paper. In mixing bowl, combine butter with sugar until well blended. Add the egg plus the two additional egg yolks. Beat mixture until fluffy. Stir in molasses. Add sifted dry ingredients, oatmeal and hot water (1/4 at a time) to egg and molasses mixture, stirring after each addition. Pour mixture into a greased 9x13" baking pan. Bake in a 350°F. oven 20-25-minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean when tested. Cut into squares and serve warm. Kerry Apple Cake 1-1/2 c. flour 1/2 c. sugar 1 t. baking powder 1/2 t. cinnamon 1/4 t. ground cloves 1/4 t. salt 1/2 c. butter 1 egg, slightly beaten 1/3 c. milk 3 medium size apples, peeled and thinly sliced, (about 2-1/2 cups) 1/4 c. brown sugar Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder and spices. Cut in butter with a pastry blender until mixture is coarse crumbs. Add egg and milk and blend well to a stiff batter. Mix in apple slices and spread in a greased 9" square baking pan. Sprinkle top with brown sugar, bake in a 375°F oven 25-minutes. Serve warm, with whipped cream if desired. ----------------------------------- A traditional Irish cake from "Classic Irish Recipes": IRISH WHISKEY CAKE 1-3/4 c. golden raisins Grated rind of 1 lemon 1/2 c. whiskey (Irish Mist) 12 T. (1-1/2 sticks) butter, softened 3/4 c. firmly packed brown sugar 3 eggs 1-1/2 c. all-purpose flour pinch of salt pinch of ground cloves 1 t. baking powder Icing: Juice of 1 lemon 1-3/4 c. confectioners' sugar a little warm water crystallized lemon slices to garnish (optional) Put the raisins and grated lemon rind into a bowl with the whiskey and let soak overnight. Grease a 7-inch deep cake pan and line the bottom with wax paper. Preheat a moderate oven to 350°F. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Separate the eggs. Sift the flour, salt, cloves and baking powder together into a bowl. Beat the yolks into the butter and sugar one at a time, including a spoonful of flour and beating well after each addition. Gradually add the raisins and whiskey mixture, alternating with the remaining flour. Do not overbeat at this stage. Finally, whisk the egg whites until stiff and fold them into the mixture with a metal spoon Turn into the prepared pan and bake in the preheated oven for about 1-1/2-hours, or until well risen and springy to the touch - test with a skewer, which should come out clean, if you are uncertain. Turn out and cool on a wire rack. Meanwhile, make the icing by mixing the lemon juice with sifted confectioners' sugar and just enough warm water so that you can pour the icing. Put a dinner plate under the cake rack to catch the icing. [Grainlady Note: I baked this recipe in a fluted Bundt pan. Check the cake for doneness after 30-minutes.] ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Last, the least traditional, and the most popular.... KILLARNEY CHERRY CAKE (I've posted this recipe so many times on the Internet over the years that you can now Google it and find the recipe. I found this recipe in a cookbook that was compiled by Home Ec. Teachers in the "Foreign Section". How authentic to Ireland it is somewhat doubtful - although cherries are an Irish favorite - but this cake is always a hit and easy to make.) 1-lb. 2 1/2 oz. pkg. chocolate fudge cake mix 1/4 c. plus 3 T. creme de menth or 1 1/2 t. peppermint flavoring 1/2 c. chopped red or green Maraschino cherries 1 1/2 c. heavy cream 2 T. confectioners sugar (powdered sugar) 1/4 c. whole green (or red) Maraschino cherries* Chocolate curls (take a potato peeler to a cold or frozen Hershey Chocolate Candy Bar) Prepare cake according to package directions, substituting 1/4 c.creme de menthe for 1/4 c. water or adding 1 t. peppermint flavoring and using the same amount of water as called for on the box (Grainlady note: I prefer the peppermint flavoring to the creme de menthe - creme de menthe tends to burn the cake). Stir in chopped cherries; pour into two greased 9-inch layer pans. Bake as directed on cake mix package. Cool. Whip the cream with remaining creme de menthe or 1/2 t. peppermint flavoring and confectioners sugar. Spread one-third of the whipped cream between cake layers. Heap remaining whipped cream on top. Arrange whole cherries on the top of the cake (Grainlady note: *drain and blot the cherries on paper towels first to prevent cherry juice dripping on the whipped cream), add chocolate curls over whipped cream. Note: If you want to save time and money, frost the cake with a tub of Cool Whip (regular or Extra Creamy, the Low-fat stuff doesn't hold up well) with either creme de menthe or peppermint flavoring in it instead of whipping the cream. Make sure this cake is refrigerated until time to serve.

An update on my chocolate cake and chocolate frosting. I used the Ghiradelli Double chocolate cake mix and the same brand for the icing. I added an extra egg, butter instead of oil and milk instead of water. Thanks Tina and Mtn! The cake turned out amazing and my friend loved it. I actually thought it was delicious as well (given I am not a big fan of chocolate). I have never made chocolate frosting before. I used loads of butter, half and half, cocoa powder and confectioner's sugar and vanilla extract. It turned out perfectly. My friend loved the cake and took it home. I would share a photo but it wasn't a pretty cake. I did a bit of decorating in the limited time I had (and I live in a small apartment) and made her wear this banner which she loved. We drank champagne and played some silly games and we had a blast. It is so wonderful when you and your best friend get together and it feels like you had a huge party! Thanks so much for everyone's input!

Well....you may have guessed by now, I eat a LOT of Organic food and make most of my food from scratch. I'm a salads once a day gurl! So eating chocolate bars instead of a few chocolate chips to calm a craving....well....BIG SPLURGE! ALL three bars have now been sampled, with a little help from my husband....and they were DELICIOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🎇 🧨 🎇 🧨 🎇🧨 I'll keep my eyes open for Dubai cake or any other new chocolate experience. I remember when Tiramisu was ALL the rage. That fad has come and gone too.