mexican chocolate pound cake - minus the mexican chocolate

Chocolate porn. Don't be alarmed. Chow Creations is not yet another food blog to resolve to indecency to increase traffic. We simply listen to our viewers and the viewers say more porn, food porn that is. This week, after being away for quite awhile, I return with a mexican chocolate pound cake. Rich and dense however at the same time somehow fluffy and definitely chocolatey. This cake can certainly be the subject of many ahhh's and ohhh's of the next family gathering or church potluck. 

Despite it's lack of "mexican" chocolate, we make up for it with a heaping dose of cinnamon and many other tasty flavors including coconut, buttermilk, and "american" chocolate. Well I'm not sure if any chocolate is american seeing that they all come from Brazil or Columbia or some place of that nature, but it's certainly a chocolate which has an american stamp of approval seeing that it's fortified with tons of sugar and milk. Plus I'm using chocolate that's in "chip" form and you know americans love their chips. 

coming soon - mexican chocolate pound cake

Last week, or was it two weeks ago, (I'm still a little disorientated from just getting back from the caribbean) we had some serious porn on this site, manchego cheese porn that is. But instead of cheese porn, cause that gets cheesy after a while this week we're showcasing chocolate porn. That's right rich, fruity, delicious chocolate melted and folded into dense, yet at the same time fluffy pound cake, a post you guys shouldn't miss. This week. On Chow Creations. And as always, 

Chow!

homemade thin crust pizza + pesto + potato + manchego

It's one of those rare days in San Diego where the clouds congregate low and heavy in the sky, and they choke the air with their presence. They cried. Last week I made this awesome Manchego and Marcona Almond Pesto, which you should definitely check out, but I was beginning to get tired of the ol' pesto on bread or mixed into pasta. After hours of scribbling ideas into a notepad, ripping them out, and missing the trash bin, I decided what I needed was to whip up a batch of fresh pizza dough. 

I love making pizza, even making and kneading my own dough, but what I love most about making pizza is figuring out what to put on it. In the past I've tried Alfredo and Scampi, Sloppy Joe's, even a Quintuple Meat (Pepperoni, Ham, Bacon, Brisket, and Sausage) Pizza. This time I wanted to make something simple, simple but elegant, and I don't think it gets any simpler nor elegant than Pesto, Potato, and Manchego. Plus you won't guess how easy making your own pizza dough can be.

coming soon - homemade thin crust pizza + pesto + potato + manchego

pesto + manchego + marcona almond

Viewer Discretion Advised. This post is home to 99.9% of the manchego cheese porn on the internet. 

Chow Creations usually strays away from the lewd and cheesy concupiscence that inundates the food blogging universe, after all, we're not a pizza blog, wait, what do you mean the next post is a pizza, what happened to the cookies and cakes, and what type of lunatic creates an entire post for pesto, has this all been one sentence, no we're having a conversation, wait, who are you, who am I, *sings Who Am I from Les Mis for a couple minutes, and we're back. 

coming soon - pesto + manchego + marcona almond

simple potato salad + bacon + onion

Summer is passing by like a bullet train, but there's still time to have that barbeque or picnic you've been talking about since winter. This week I'm going to show you one of the easiest, most delicious side dishes that's going to knock everyone's socks off at the next shindig. 

Everyone has their go to potato salad recipe, however few of them are tasty, even less cook their potatoes right, and only one is as simple and delicious is this one. This my friends, is one of the easiest, make-ahead, delicious potato salads there is on the market. I'm talking about perfectly seasoned Al dente chunks of potato lightly coated in mayo and bacon drippings and simply folded with crispy bacon, caramelized onions, and spicy green onions. Plus, what makes this dish so great is that I'm sure all of you have the ingredients to make it right now!

coming soon - simple potato salad + bacon + onion

corn and cranberry pancake cookies - the pancakie revolution has commenced!

Besides the fact that this title has a serious case of alliteration overboard, these pancake cookies were amazing and absolutely delicious! Seeing that this Chow Creation is the convergence of two of my favorite breakfast/dessert items, I couldn't see why this wouldn't be a home run. They are soft and pancake like, but have this buttery crumb like a cookie. It's the perfect breakfast food that everyone is going to go crazy for! Not mention that pairing of the sweet corn (that is right at it's peak season) and those sweet tart cranberries, this is killer! 

Now I know what most of you in the foodieverse must be thinking, is this the new Cronut. Yes, yes it is. In fact, I'm predicting this is going to be even bigger than the cronut because, unlike the Cronut, which is difficult to make and comes in a limited range of flavors, the Pancakie can be made by anyone with a whisk and there's an unlimited array of variations you can create. Soon households all over America will have their favorite Pancakie recipe and then it'll spread to Asia, and then Europe, and I'll be king of the world! ahemmmm...so yeah, Pancakies, they're gonna be huge.  

coming soon - corn and cranberry pancake cookies

Gosh I'm so proud of my alliteration. I'm just gonna clear the air and say that that title is rivaling Shakespeare. One Midsummer's Night I just kicked your ass. Oh and the cookies were okay. The post is still baking, it'll be out soon. 

pistachio cherry crumble - let's get crackin'

I'm not sponsored by Wonderful Pistachios nor do I even think they know this blog exists (actually I'm positive they don't), nevertheless this post is going to be me trying my best to get their attention. So let's get crackin' (ohhh...I see what you did there).

If there was an award for biggest pistachio fan, my grandma would win it twice over blindfolded with her hands tied to her back. She is a pistachio fanatic, the quickest pistachio huller I've ever seen. Recently, and by recently I mean a couple hours ago, we bought a 3 pound bag of pistachios and within that time from the car to the house half the bag was gone. Keep in mind that this feat would be impressive for anybody, let alone a small, 80-something year old chinese lady. She pops those quicker than tic-tacs. Sometimes, even two at a time. But in all seriousness my grandma is wonderful...pistachios. Okay even I thought that one was lame, I'm gonna move on to the cooking. 

coming soon - pistachio cherry crumble

Cherries are bubbling away under a crumble of pistachios and butter. Check back soon. Unless I already posted it and it's right above in which you should scroll back up. 

frozen yogurt shortbread bars + coconut + chocolate

I want to say thank you to all the kind people at Foodista and Food Gawker who featured this measly, blurry picture filled blog on their sites. How you inflate my ego internet. Now I can't walk down the produce aisle without knocking down apples. (So with the cooking unrelated introductions aside, so do the cooking related introductions begin)

In the beginning of the summer of my sixteenth year, I made Frozen Yogurt Shortbread Bars (and watched TFIOS). I'm sure all of you have seen The Fault in our Stars in movies, but for those of you who haven't what's wrong with you. But, this blog isn't about movies or whether if Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort are dating, it's about food, good food, especially fudge swirled creamy coconut frozen yogurt layered upon delicious buttery crunchy shortbread food. 

This chow creation was born out of my desperation to escape the beating heat of the San Diegan sun. And I know what some of you may be thinking, "I didn't know San Diego had it's own sun?" Troll much. You don't know how many trolls spite me and mock my ambiguous 10th grade wishy-washy grammar. Anyways. People of the internet and beyond, before you can graduate to Frozen Yogurt Shortbread status, you need to learn how to make the veins of Easy Vegan Hot Fudge Sauce that is swirled throughout this dessert. For those of you who need me to say, click the orange link.

coming soon - frozen yogurt shortbread bars + coconut + chocolate

Although it may not look like I'm trying, but I'm trying to shorten these titles. These recipes are just so jammed pack with awesomeness that I can't find a way to downsize to just 35 characters (which as you all know is the "preferred" length of a title). Titles are my enemy. Good thing Frozen Yogurt Shortbread Bars + Coconut + Chocolate lend succor to title anxiety. Stay with Chow. And as always, 

Chow!