Girl Meets Farm (2018–…): Season 5, Episode 13 - Girl Meets Farm - full transcript

Happy birthday!

It's nick's birthday,
and I'm throwing him

a surprise party on the farm

with all of his favorite mexican
foods with a midwest bite,

like my super tasty
taco hot dish...

Look at all
these fun colors!

...Ham and cheese jalapeno
poppers that he won't be able

to put down,

and for a special
birthday dessert,

I'm making a mexican chocolate
pinata cake that's fun

and undeniably more delicious
than the real deal.



this is awesome!

Oh, yah!
Mmm!

Hey, this is me, molly yeh.

I'm a cookbook author
and food blogger.

This is my husband, nick.

This is our new addition,
and this is our home,

our farm on the north dakota,
minnesota border,

the place where I eat,
sleep, and breathe food.

These look like a party.

My food is a delicious mix
of my chinese

and jewish heritage
and a taste of the midwest.

I'm throwing nick a surprise
birthday party on the farm

featuring his favorite cuisine,

mexican...With
a midwest twist, of course.



Typically,
we celebrate nick

and his dad's
birthdays together,

because they're so close,

but this year,
I thought I would do something

extra special just for him.

For dessert, I am making
a mexican chocolate pinata cake,

which is moist and chocolaty
and has great personality

from cinnamon and cayenne
in the batter.

Then I'm gonna
fill the inside

with candy-coated
sunflower seeds

so that when you cut
into the center,

they all spill out,
just like a pinata!

To get started, I'm gonna
combine my dry ingredients.

I'll get one and 3/4
of a cup of sugar.

This is a really sweet,
moist cake.

I like having a lot of sugar
in my cakes.

And one and 3/4 of a cup of

all-purpose flour --
nick particularly likes

a dense cake,

so all-purpose flour
as opposed

to cake flour really
goes far in this one.

And 3/4 of a cup of
unsweetened cocoa powder.

It's gotta be
really chocolaty.

I'll also add one and 1/2
teaspoons of kosher salt

and then one and 1/2 teaspoons

of baking powder to
make it fluffy,

and 3/4 of a teaspoon
of baking soda.

And now what makes this
a mexican chocolate cake

is that I'm gonna add
2 teaspoons of cinnamon.

I love the combination of
cinnamon and chocolate,

just warms it up,
and then 1 teaspoon of cayenne.

This will add the perfect
bit of heat,

kind of lingers in your mouth
after you take a bite.

It's a great kick.

Every year, I make nick a cake
for his birthday,

and I start planning it
months in advance.

I'll save inspiration pictures
on my phone

and just dream up
new flavors.

But no matter what,
it has to involve

chocolate, because nick
loves chocolate, of course.

All right, my dry ingredients
are combined,

and now I'll grab
my wet ingredients.

I always like to mix up
my dry ingredients first.

Just makes the process cleaner.

Into my medium bowl here,

I'm gonna crack in
two eggs,

1/2 a cup of neutral oil,

and I love making
chocolate cakes,

because they're oil-based,

and you don't have to pull out

a stand mixer
to make the batter.

One cup of whole milk

and four teaspoons of vanilla,

which will complement
the chocolate really nicely.

I'll make sure that the eggs
are fully whipped up.

Now I'll add the wet ingredients
to the dry.

I can smell that cinnamon
and cayenne.

I've got one last ingredient,
and that's freshly brewed

hot coffee.

I'll add 3/4 of a cup.

The flavor of the coffee
really punches up

the chocolaty-ness of
the cake.

I'm not only making nick's
birthday special with this cake,

I'm also surprising him
by flying in

his best friend mikey
from new york.

They haven't seen each other
in two years.

Nick's gonna be so shocked.

And I can't wait to see
mikey, either.

He's hilarious and awesome.

My batter looks great.

I don't want to overmix
so that

I can ensure that
it's nice and light.

Now I'm ready to fill
my cake pans.

I have four cake pans here
that I've greased and lined

the bottoms with
parchment paper to ensure

that the cakes don't stick.

And I also have this really
adorable pony cake pan,

which I'm gonna stick on top
of the cake,

then it'll look like a pinata.

So to fill my pans,
I'm gonna grab my scoop.

And I'll do one
scoop at a time

to ensure that I get
an even amount

into each of
the four pans,

and then the pony pan just
needs a tiny bit of batter.

Now these are ready
for the oven.

I'll bake them at 350
for 25 to 30 minutes

until a toothpick
stuck into the center

comes out clean.

The cakes smell ready.

These are perfect.

Mm!

Freshly baked chocolate cake
smell is the best.

I'm gonna let these cool now,
and then

I'll get on with my creamy
cinnamon buttercream.

this frosting is a delight.

It has warmth from cinnamon,

and it provides a cooling
balance to the heat of

the cayenne in the cake.

Start by beating up two cups
of softened unsalted butter,

gradually add 8 cups of
powdered sugar,

1/2 a cup of heavy cream,

1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt,

a teaspoon of cinnamon,

and 2 teaspoons of
vanilla extract.

I'll mix this in,
and that's it.

Nick's sister, anna, is also
coming to the party,

and she's gonna be excited
to see mikey, too,

because they walked down
the aisle together

of our wedding.

So right now, I think they're
stuffing a real pinata.

Nick is gonna love this.

He loves candy.

- Awesome.

what is that bat made out of?
We need to tell nick

how hard to hit the taco.
-I have no idea.

I'll tell him to smack away.

-Oh, okay.
-Oh, that's pretty --

yeah, that's pretty hard.

This frosting is fluffy
and ready to go.

Now I'm gonna add some
food coloring.

I'm gonna make three different
colors of buttercream

to decorate the pony cake with,

and then I'll use
the uncolored buttercream

to decorate the cake.

In the first bowl,

I am going to make a goldish,
yellowish color,

and I always like to combine
different shades

of food coloring
and take the time

to get the exact shade
of frosting

that I'm looking for.

And I don't need that
much frosting.

It's just a pony,
not a clydesdale.

This is a great shade of yellow.

Now I'll mix up the red.

I want bright colors that are
still a little muted,

but I want it to be fun.

This red is perfect --
and bluish greenish.

I'll add some turquoise, teal,
and sky blue.

Oh, this is a good one.

These shades are perfect.

Now I'm gonna fill
my piping bags.

They're fitted with
star tips,

which will make the pony look
extra pinata-y.

And it's always easier
to use these smaller piping bags

when I'm doing detail work.

The colors are so nice
and bright,

perfect for a grown man's
birthday party.

Coming up, I'm putting
this whole pinata cake

together and stuffing it
with a colorful surprise.

Happy birthday, nick.

Then, I'm on to a savory
and extra crunchy taco hot dish.

This is gonna be nick's
new taco obsession.

And ham and cheese
jalapeno poppers

that I know nick is gonna
freak out about.

This is gonna be his best
birthday ever.

my frosting is prepped,
and the cakes have cooled.

Now it's time to assemble
this pinata cake.

I've got my cake wheel
and a bunch of candy-coated

sunflower seeds,

which I'm gonna add
to the center of the cake,

because nick loves
sunflower seeds.

I'm first gonna grab
my biscuit cutter,

and it's about 2 and 3/4 of
an inch, and I'm gonna cut out

the very centers of two
of the layers of cake.

And these are nice,
because you get to taste them.

Mm! Mm.

So rich.

Now I'm gonna take one of
the full layers of cake,

and I'll put it onto
my cake board.

I'm gonna glue it down with
a schmear of frosting,

then I'll center it,
give it a smash,

and I'll spread it
with a layer of frosting.

I want to go all the way to
the edge and even past the edge

so that I have some frosting
there to spread down

onto the sides of the cake.

I'll top this with a layer
that has the center cut out,

and then I'll add a layer of
frosting to the top of this.

I'm spreading it around evenly
on top,

and I'm also gonna spread
a thin layer of frosting

on the exposed cake
in the center

to lock the crumbs in
and also

to prevent the cake
from drying out.

And this part doesn't need
to be perfect,

because it's on the inside
of the cake.

Next, I'll add the other layer
of cake with the center cut out,

and then a layer of frosting
on top and the inside, as well.

Okay, I'm ready
to fill the center.

I'll grab
my sunflower seeds

and pour them in
right to the top.

A few more.

I wanna get it totally filled.

I'm gonna seal in
these little guys.

No one's ever gonna know.

Now, I'm gonna frost
this cake all over

and then colorfully
decorate nick's pony topper.

I like to do a nice even layer
of frosting

around the entire cake,

scraping the sides and top
so that everything is smooth.

Then I'm gonna use
my colored frosting to pipe

stars onto the pony
so it looks like a pinata.

Then stick him in the freezer
to chill and firm up,

then I'll use skewers
to make the pony stand up

and then pipe
the colorful other half.

It's way easier to do
than it looks

and will really
impress your friends.

How cute is he?

I cannot wait
to see nick's face

when he cuts into this cake,
and it explodes.

Happy birthday, nick.

for my main course,
I'm making my taco hot dish,

which is a one-pan,
flavor-filled fiesta.

I just cook up
a savory beef filling,

fold in
my favorite taco toppings,

and cover it with corn chips.

It's out of this world.

I've got half of a white
onion sizzling in my pan

in a little bit of neutral oil,
and I'll add a pinch of salt.

I'll stir this around,

and I'll let my onions cook

for a few minutes to soften.

It's already smelling
good in here.

As these cook, I'll grab
my jalapeno and bell pepper.

These are gonna add some nice
color to the dish.

I'll chop these up, too.

I'm removing the seeds
from my jalapeno.

I don't want it
to be too spicy.

Taco hot dish is totally
a midwest thing.

A hot dish is a type of
casserole that's a meal

in a dish.

It's gotta have a protein,
a starch, a veggie,

and something to bind it
all together,

like a cream soup, or today,
I'm using salsa.

I love these bright colors.

It's already a fiesta.

While these continue to cook,
I'll grab my other ingredients.

I've got my corn chips,
which will be

the crunchy topping,

my mild salsa, which will hold
everything together,

and taco seasoning, which will
add loads of flavor.

Taco seasoning is heavy
on the cumin,

the chili powder,
and onion powder,

and it's gonna be so good --
I usually just buy mine,

but you could also make
your own.

I'll add this to the pan
with my veggies.

It's gonna start to smell
even better in here.

I'll stir this around, because
I want my spices to toast.

It'll bring out more flavor --
ooh, I'm smelling

that chili powder!

As the spices continue
to toast,

I'll grab my beef and corn.

I love this dish.

Everything just gets
added to the same pan.

It's so easy.

I'll break this up with
my spoon and brown it all over.

Nick is obsessed with tacos --
whenever we travel,

he likes to find the best taco
in each city we're in.

So every year
for his birthday,

I like doing a different
taco-themed surprise.

Last year, made him
taco pizza.

This year, I'm combining
two of his favorites,

tacos and hot dish.

So there is no way he's not
gonna go crazy for this.

Next...

Look at all these fun colors!

...I'm loading up this hot dish
with extra savory goodness

and bringing
an unforgettable layer of

crunch over the top.

Corn chips --
heck yeah.

Nick's surprise birthday
party is only a few hours away,

so I've gotta finish up
this taco hot dish.

My meat is browning nicely now.

Okay, I'm ready to add
some black beans.

Nick also love beans --
gotta have beans.

These have been drained
and rinsed.

And some corn -- fresh
or frozen will both do.

I'm using frozen.

It'll thaw almost
immediately when I pour it in.

This will add

little morsels of sweetness.

I'll stir this in and allow

the heat to heat up
the corn and beans.

Look at all these fun colors!

You could put this into
a tortilla and eat it

like a taco,

but to hot dish it,

I'm gonna add something to
bind it all together, my salsa.

I'll stir it together.

I'm always done --
that was so easy.

And I barely have to clean
anything -- that's a win.

My filling is set,
and now I am going to add

the crunchy topping.

Corn chips --
heck yeah.

They're gonna be
gorgeous on top.

They're gonna add great crunch.

And they're gonna get even
more crunchy in the oven.

Mm, nick is gonna go crazy.

Oh, oh!

This is my favorite excuse to
buy corn chips at the store.

Okay, the hard part is over.

I'm gonna stick this
in the oven now at 375

for about 20 minutes and let
everything come together.

This is gonna be the most
comforting form of tacos ever.

And I bet anna and mike
are almost done

with the decorations.

I can't wait to get
this party started.

Perfect height!

All right, that's perfect.
Cool.

Nice job!

I can smell my taco hot dish.

I think it's ready.

Oh, yeah!

This looks awesome!

I love the way some of
the corn chips soak up

the juices.

They're crispy on top
and a little soft

on the bottom -- for some
colorful pops of freshness,

I'm gonna finish this with
some crumbled queso fresco.

This'll add
some great salty snaps.

I'll also add some
sliced radishes.

These'll add a peppery bite,

and they look like
confetti on top.

A few lime wedges that
my guests can squeeze

on themselves.

This'll add a hit of acidity.

I love squeezing limes
on my tacos.

Typically, hot dishes are
a little brown,

but this one is fit
for a party

with all
these colorful toppings.

And I'll sprinkle with some
chopped fresh cilantro.

Okay, don't think anybody is
gonna notice if I steal a chip.

mm! This bursts with flavor.

I love the corn in there.

This is gonna be nick's
new taco obsession.

nick's surprise birthday party
is about to begin.

I just have to whip up
an appetizer that I know

all of his buddies
are gonna go nuts for --

they're my ham and cheese
jalapeno poppers.

They're creamy and cheesy
on the inside

and crunchy and golden
on the outside.

So to get started,
I've chopped

my jalapenos in half
and removed the seeds.

These will be the vessels
for my ham and cheese

and pickle filling.

I'm gonna grab a pickle.

then I'll chop this up.

I'm adding one chopped
dill pickle,

which will add
crunchy brininess.

Pickle dip is huge
in the midwest,

so I'm basically making
a pickle dip with ham

and stuffing it into
these jalapenos.

I'll put this into my bowl,

and then I'll grab
my ham and cheese.

I've got chopped ham,
which is

nick's all-time favorite
salad bar topping.

I'll also add
shredded mozzarella,

which will get really melty,
shredded swiss cheese

for a hint of funkiness.

Some softened cream cheese.

This is gonna help bind
the filling together.

I'll add a tablespoon

of dijon mustard
for some zinginess.

You gotta have mustard on
a ham and cheese sandwich.

And a little smokiness of heat
with a pinch of cayenne

and paprika.

Just a bit will do.

I'll season with salt
and pepper.

This is combined
and ready to stuff

the jalapenos -- should probably
taste it to make sure it's okay.

Mm -- oh, yeah.

The mustard in there
is really nice.

I find it's easiest to use
an offset spatula to fill these,

and scoop some filling
into the center,

and be generous with it.

Then I'll smooth out the top,
just like that.

Then I'll continue on
with the rest of these.

This is a great appetizer
to prep ahead for any party,

because you can fill them

and then even bread them,
and then stick them

in the refrigerator
or freezer

and fry right before
the party so that they're hot

and fresh and ready to go.

Still to come,

I'm gonna bread and fry up

these jalapeno poppers
really quickly...

Hear that sizzle.

And then nick better be ready...

because he's got a surprise in
store that he won't soon forget.

You're amazing!

Everyone has already
gathered in the shop for

nick's surprise birthday fiesta,

but first, I've just gotta
bread and fry

these jalapeno poppers
that are gonna blow his mind.

I'll take a few of my poppers,
and I'll roll them in flour,

and that's gonna help
my egg wash stick,

and then I'll transfer them
to the egg.

And now the egg will help
the crunchy,

buttery crackers stick,
and I like a thick coating.

Extra crunch -- I'll cover these
completely in the crackers

so that I can directly
transfer them into my oil.

And I have a few inches of

neutral oil heating up here
to 365 degrees.

I'm ready to fry.

I'll gently lower these
into my oil.

Hear that sizzle.

These only need a couple
of minutes in the oil

until they're
golden and crunchy.

Oh, yeah, look at that!

This is golden and so crispy
around the outside,

and I love how I can see

the green jalapeno
peeking through.

I'm gonna transfer this
to a wire rack now

so any excess oil
can drip off.

And I like to use a wire rack
instead of

a paper towel,
because it allows the bottoms

to stay crispy.

And I love how some of them

have bits of oozy cheese
coming out.

I'm gonna taste one.

mm!

Mm.

That is the perfect bite.

It's so melty and crunchy.

And it's got that ham
and the heat from the jalapeno.

Everyone's gonna love these.

All right, I'm gonna keep on
frying these in batches,

and then I'll get nick
over to the party

for his birthday surprise.

Yeah,
that's gonna be cool,

because I haven't been here
since your wedding.

So that's five years ago.

Oh, I was just thinking
about their wedding!

Shh!

-okay, are you ready?
-Okay.

happy birthday!

You're amazing!

Mike!
Good to see you.

Okay, those are ham
and cheese jalapeno poppers.

-What?!
-So just pace yourself.

-They...
-I'm getting two.

Oh, this is incredible.

-Only the best for your visit.
-Awesome.

This looks so good.

Every year, I have to do
a different taco-inspired thing.

That should probably, at
this point, not surprise me.

And yet every year
that we have tacos,

I'm even more surprised
and happy about it.

Thank you so much!

a nice thick slice
all the way to the center.

Oh, man. I can't wait.

What?!

-oh, yeah -- surprise!
-A pinata!

This is awesome!

How did I end up
with the whole pony?

I thought you always wanted
a pony

for your birthday.

-This cake is amazing.
-Yeah.

Do you see it?

-Okay.
-Oh, boy.

I don't know if

you want to do that.
-More sunflower seeds!

- okay.
- Oh!

- No!