Every year near the end of summer our neighborhood puts on a block party. One of the organizers had an idea to do a raffle for prizes and asked if anyone wanted to donate to the raffle for giveaways.
During this same week (which I am fully convinced was not a coincidence), I was reading about the Parable of the Great Banquet. It went into detail about showing hospitality to strangers and invites a broader approach to who is invited to gatherings, beyond just close friends and family. Also, emphasizes not forgetting to show hospitality to strangers, even acknowledging that some have unknowingly entertained angels.
I conferred with my husband and suggested that we donate to the raffle a wine pairing dinner for 10 people. He thought it would be a great idea and an opportunity to meet new neighbors.
We were not able to attend the block party and to be very honest I completely for got about our donation...until the voicemail.
Three months later we were out of town traveling and I received a voicemail from an unknown caller...Molly.
I called Molly back. She was the winner of our wine pairing raffle prize. Molly was ecstatic. I learned that her birthday was coming up and she wanted to have a birthday party in our wine room. I think I was more excited that Molly.
We talked extensively about her food tastes and if there were any allergies to be respectively of with her and her friends. She just said, "Surprise me."
Triple Chocolate Bundt Cake with
Zinfandel Dark Chocolate Ganache
Triple Chocolate Bundt Cake
1 (15.25 ounce) package devil's food cake mix
1 (5.9 ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
1 cup sour cream
1 cup canola oil
1/2 cup water
4 large eggs
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Generously grease a 12-cup Bundt pan.
Mix together cake mix, pudding mix, sour cream, oil, water, and eggs in a large bowl until well-blended.
Stir in the chocolate chips.
Pour batter in the prepared Bundt pan.
Bake in preheated oven until top is springy to the touch and a sharp knife inserted into center of cake comes out clean, approximately 50-55 minutes.
Cook cake thoroughly in the pan for a leas 2 hours before inverting it onto a plate.
Zinfandel Dark Chocolate Ganache
3/4 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup favorite Zinfandel wine
1-1/2 Tbl unsweetened natural or Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 (four-ounce) Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate bars, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1/8 tsp salt
Whisk the heavy cream, wine, cocoa powder, and sugar together in a small saucepan over medium heat. Once simmering, allow it to simmer for 5-6 minutes. Stir occasionally. Remove from heat, stir in the chocolate, butter, and salt.
Allow to cool for a few minutes before using as a thin ganache. The ganache will thicken as it cools. Put in refrigerator, if wanting to use for frosting.
Cover and store leftover ganache in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. To thin out again, reheat in the microwave for 10-20 seconds.
