JBug's Kitchen Antics

Chocolate Raspberry Brownie Truffle Torte

Brownie's are kind of a crap shoot in JBug's Kitchen. There's just some things I can never get right, ya' know what I mean? I love a dense chewy brownie but unfortunately mine often turn out dry and cakey and edible only if topped with a half inch thick layer of chocolate buttercream and a scoop of vanilla with a drizzle of chocolate sauce. Darn!

At least that was the case until this recipe adapted from The Best of Bridge Ladies came along. Now I use it all the time whenever I'm craving brownies or want to come up with a special dessert, particularly since Big Guy's absolutely nuts about chocolate raspberry anything. Who doesn't like that combination, right?

Picture if you will, a torte with a chewy chocolate brownie base loaded with dark cocoa, butter and raspberry jam.  Baked until it still has a little "jiggle" in the middle, the base is cooled before it is topped with a layer of chocolatey cream, then finished with a disc of chocolate raspberry flavored "fudge". Ooo la la. I'm tellin' ya, it is to die for.

You're looking at our Christmas dessert and the best thing about it ...it took us the whole of Christmas week to finish it off. Oh my gosh my golly who needs mistletoe and holly. I'll be making it again PDQ!

Chocolate Raspberry Truffle Torte (a JBug's Kitchen original adapted from Best of Bridge Series Cookbooks)

Base:

9 level tablespoons good quality unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 cup butter, cut into pieces

1/4 cup raspberry jam (I used seedless)

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup flour

Preheat oven to 350. Line 8 inch round pan with removable bottom with parchment paper. Spray with cooking spray. Set aside. Combine cocoa, butter and jam in a small saucepan and heat over low heat, stirring constantly until butter has melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and set aside. Using electric mixer, beat eggs until light and foamy. Add sugar, vanilla and chocolate mixture and beat well to combine. Stir in flour mixing just until blended (be careful not to over mix at this point). Spread batter into prepared pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or just until cake has set and has a little “jiggle” in the center. DO NOT OVERBAKE. Remove from oven and place on a rack. Run a sharp knife around the inside of the pan but do not remove cake from pan. Cool completely.

Chocolate Cream:

8 ounces semi sweet chocolate pieces

1 egg

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 cup hot milk

Place chocolate, egg and vanilla into blender container and pulse until chocolate is chopped. With the motor running, pour in hot milk and blend until smooth. Pour over cooled brownie layer. Refrigerate for 45 minutes.

Topping:

2 tablespoons heavy cream

2 tablespoons raspberry jam

2 tablespoons butter

4 ounces semi sweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped (do not use unsweetened)

Combine cream, jam and butter in a small pot and heat over medium low heat stirring constantly until butter is melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and add chocolate, stirring until chocolate has melted. Cool until just starting to thicken – about 30 minutes.

Pour topping into middle of the cake onto partially set chocolate cream and spread slightly to within 1 inch of the edge. Return to refrigerator until set. (Takes about 3 hours).

Slice cake into small wedges and top with whipped cream. Garnish with fresh raspberries

 A year ago - Hash Brown Casserole

Two years ago - Pan Fried Tilapia with Romesco Sauce 

Three years ago - Chocolate Gelato

 

 

 

Caramel Pumpkin Orange Cheesecake

Ah, Thanksgiving. Yes people, this two country couple enjoyed Canada's version yesterday and we've the leftovers to prove it. Thank goodness for that too because it means the kitchen will be mostly dark today because there's no need to cook. Sounds like a vacation doesn't it?

Since we enjoyed the usual turkey, stuffing, gravy, veggie kind of meal I won't bore you with the details but I do want to share this rather lovely pie substitute we had for dessert. Snitched from Sunset magazine via myrecipes.com, it marries the somewhat unusal flavors of pumpkin and orange zest with a chocolate crust and real caramel topping. 

It is rich and creamy, not overly sweet, surprisingly light and the chocolate crust and zesty orange flavor really come through. Bonus - I actually made it on Friday and served it yesterday (Sunday) which made it a hostess' dream never mind it gave the flavors a chance to mellow. It's awesome and I've no hesitation in saying it deserves a second act for our next Thanksgiving production coming up at the end of November.

Incidentally, while the recipe calls for chocolate wafer cookies for some reason they're a little hard to find around here so I used regular graham cracker crumbs along with a few tablespoons of extra dark cocoa. I also used a combination of cinnamon, ginger, cloves and allspice instead of pumpkin pie spice but that's just because I'm ornery and I also forgot to sprinkle the coarse sea salt on the caramel that I scratch made but nobody missed what they hadn't tried before anyway. Give it a try and I think you'll agree - it's a real keeper!

Caramel Pumpkin Orange Cheesecake from JBug’s Kitchen Antics adapted from myrecipes.com

1 cup graham wafer crumbs

2 tablespoons dark cocoa powder

1/2 cup melted butter

Preheat oven to 350. Combine wafer crumbs, cocoa powder and melted butter together until well mixed. Place crumbs into an 8 or 9 inch pan with a removable bottom and press evenly on bottom and up sides of pan. Bake 7 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Lower oven to 300.

Filling:

3 – 8 ounce packages cream cheese (room temperature)

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 tablespoon flour

1 -1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

4 eggs (room temperature)

1 cup canned pumpkin

1/4 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup sour cream

1/4 cup maple syrup

Zest of 2 oranges

Chopped pecans for garnish

Caramel Sauce

Coarse Sea Salt for garnish

Whip cream cheese until light. Add sugars, flour and spices and beat until smooth. Beat in eggs 1 at a time at low speed. Add pumpkin, cream, sour cream, maple syrup and orange zest. Mix just until combined. Pour onto cooled crust and level top with a spatula. Bake for 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 hours until cheesecake is done and has just a slight movement in the center. Remove from oven to a wire rack and using a sharp knife run it around the edge of the cheesecake to prevent cake from cracking as it cools. Cool for at least 1 hour and then cover and refrigerate overnight.

 To serve, remove cake from pan and coat sides with chopped pecans. Pour approximately 2/3 cup of caramel over cake. Cut into slices and serve garnished with a sprinkle of coarse sea salt.

Caramel Sauce:

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup water

1-1/4 cups heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

In a large saucepan with a heavy bottom heat sugar and water over low heat until sugar dissolves. Do not stir! Increase heat to medium high and boil until mixture is a medium amber color, washing down sides of pot from time to time with a pastry brush dipped in water. Watch mixture carefully to make sure it doesn’t burn. When of desired color, remove from heat and slowly add cream. Mixture will bubble vigorously so be careful. Return to heat and cook stirring constantly for 30 seconds. Remove from heat. Add vanilla. Cool and refrigerator until serving. Reheat briefly to a pourable consistency.  

 A year ago -  Pork and Apple Pie in a Bowl

Two year's ago -  Old Settler Beans

Three year's ago -  Baked Haddock with Onion and Bacon Crust

 

Pumpkin Spice Cake

I've been stocking up on canned pumpkin lately which is pretty normal this time of year and hit the stash yesterday to make our first pumpkin cake of the season. Is there anything that smells better than a cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, clove laden cake in the oven on an early autumn evening?

This one's from Martha Stewart and pretty well a never fail kind of thing as long as you remember not to over mix it after adding the dry ingredients. Oh, I also took the long way around the spice cupboard and used individual spices instead of pumpkin pie spice but if you have it, go for it OK? Just make sure your spices are fresh or you'll be disappointed with the results. I also added vanilla to the mix because I make my own and it is at its exceptional peak right now and baked the cake in my favorite round cakepan with a removable bottom just so I could show off a bit. 

Instead of making Martha's honey frosting, a whipped butter and cream cheese with honey concoction, I made my favorite cream cheese vanilla frosting instead just because we love the stuff and any old excuse to make it is a good one.  Anyway, what more can I say.

This is really a super cake - dense, uber moist, intensely spiced and perfectly balanced with a tart sweetness of cream cheese frosting.  Split in the middle and frosted with a dusting of powdered sugar on top so there's frosting in every bite, it is quintessential Fall on a plate. 

As for what's up here on the Oregon Coast, the sun's just coming up and there's blue sky showing through a smattering of clouds. The surf has settled down from this week's storm and it's looking like a glorious day is on the way. Big Guy will be hitting the sunfreckled sea searching for the ever elusive salmon and I'm off to work. MMMM - is there something wrong with this "retirement" picture? 

Pumpkin Spice Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting from JBug’s Kitchen Antics adapted from Martha Stewart Living

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

3/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/8 teaspoon allspice

1/8 teaspoon cloves

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

1-1/2 cups granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla (optional)

1 can – 15 ounces solid pack pumpkin puree

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9 inch round or square pan with cooking spray and set aside. Whisk together dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl and set aside. In a large mixing bowl whisk melted butter, sugar, eggs, vanilla and pumpkin until well mixed. Using a spatula fold in dry ingredients and mix until just smooth. Transfer ingredients into prepared pan and level top. Bake for 45 to 55 minutes or until toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. Cool on a rack.

Remove from pan and slice in half. Place frosting in center and cake. Dust top with powdered sugar. Serve.  (Store leftovers in refrigerator).

Frosting:

1/4 cup unsalted butter (room temperature)

4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups powdered sugar

Heavy cream as needed

Whip butter and cream cheese together until smooth. Add vanilla and whip to combine. Slowly add powdered sugar and whip until light and fluffy. Add heavy cream as needed to make frosting spreading consistency. 

A year ago - Apple Cider Chicken 

Two year's ago - Ina's Plum Cake Tatin

Three year's ago -  Sole Almondine

 

Apple Kuchen

We made a huge mistake last night. I had planned to make halibut in a thai red curry for dinner. In fact, I've had the dish on the menu for the past 3 weeks or more but I think it might be cursed and going the way of the Do-Do bird.

Last night the halibut was thawed, ingredients gathered and dessert cooling on the counter when we did the supremely stupid and watched a recorded episode of Pioneer Woman before starting dinner. Ree made Mexican food ...delicious looking, soul satisfying Mexican food. We looked at each and said almost as one voice "let's go to Azul" so we did.  

As a result, all I have to talk to you about this morning is the apple kuchen I made for dessert. We've had this lovely German cross between a cake and a pie before as a perfect celebration of the stone fruit season. It's heavenly made with plums and peaches or nectarines are grand too. Heck, I've even made it with pears before - sweet, juicy Riviera pears (aka Comice) as a matter of fact, but this one is simply apples with a little extra butter and a touch of lemon juice on them to juice 'em up a bit.

You see, I used Granny Smith apples and to be honest they're kind of dry which makes 'em good in some ways because they hold their shape when baked, but not so good when you need some juices like you do when you're making a kuchen. I know there's a layer of lovely vanilla flavored sweet cream custard poured on top of the apples after the kuchen's in the oven for 25 minutes, but it still isn't enough.  

All I can say is next time I make an apple kuchen I'll use a Granny Smith along with a MacIntosh and maybe a Golden Delicious because they all bring a different flavor and texture to the party. Otherwise an apple kuchen is a tasty morsel of slightly sweet kinda tart crunchy creamy subtlely cinnamon vanilla flavored delicious excuse for a second piece. I'm heading there right now - nothing like a little kuchen for Sunday breakfast.

I wonder how it will go with a Bloody Mary. Nah!

Apple Kuchen (an original from JBug’s Kitchen Antics)

1 cup sugar

1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup cold butter (1 stick) cut into cubes

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9 inch spring form pan with cooking spray and set aside. Combine sugar, flour, salt, cinnamon and baking powder together in a bowl. Cut in butter until mixture forms coarse crumbs. Remove half a cup of crumbs and set aside. Put remaining crumbs into spring form pan and spread evening on bottom of pan. Do not press in but leave in loose crumbles.

3 apples – best combination 1 Granny Smith, 1 Golden Delicious, 1 Macintosh

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1 tablespoon butter

Peel and core apples. Slice into thin wedges and toss with lemon juice. Arrange on top of crumbs in spring form pan. Dot with butter and sprinkle with reserved crumbs. Place in preheated oven and bake for 25 minutes.

Meanwhile, beat together

1 cup heavy cream

1 egg

1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla

Top kuchen with mixture and return to oven. Continue to bake for additional 35 to 40 minutes or until custard has set. Cool to room temperature before serving. 

A year ago - Risotto with Pancetta and Duck

Two year's ago - Pork & Squash Pot Pie with White Cheddar Crust

Three year's ago - Green Chile Chili

Frozen Butter Pecan Cheesecake with Bourbon Peach Sauce

When you're entertaining and want to cover the dessert ground in advance, there's nothing much better than a cheesecake never mind one that can languish indefinitely in the freezer. 

Coincidentally, almost exactly a year ago this Strawberry Frozen Cheesecake was a star at a dinner party and at the time I indicated the possibilities were limited only by your imagination as far as coming up with alternative flavors. That's how this Butter Pecan version was born, although I admit I had a totally different vision in mind until my eyes hit the butter pecan icecream.

Simply good quality ice cream mixed with cream cheese and a little sugar, I added some extra bourbon to it not just for flavor, but because the alcohol keeps the ice cream from freezing too hard which means it can be cut and served right from the freezer without having to get out the hack saw...if you know what I mean.

Not satisified with cheesecake without a topping, the real pièce de résistance is this bourbon loaded peach sauce. Fresh sliced peaches added to a buttery sugary caramel jazzed up with good bourbon and a split vanilla pod - well it really takes the cake to a higher level. I could have "glugged" it right from the bowl but I didn't, honest! 

Frozen Butter Pecan Cheesecake with Peachy Bourbon Sauce (from JBug’s Kitchen Antics inspired by dairygoodness.ca)

Crust:

1-1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup butter, melted

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine all ingredients together and toss with a fork until well mixed. Press into bottom of an 8 inch spring form pan (or other pan with removable bottom) and freeze for 30 minutes.

Filling:

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 – 1-/2 quart carton butter pecan ice cream (softened)

2 tablespoons good quality bourbon (I used Knob Creek)

In bowl of electric mixer, cream together cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Gradually add ice cream and bourbon and mix well. Spread filling on the prepared crust, cover and return cake to freezer. Freeze for minimum 3 hours.

Sauce:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

3 tablespoons whipping cream

3 tablespoons good quality bourbon (I used Knob Creek)

1 vanilla pod, split down the middle

3 large firm peaches, peeled and sliced

In a large skillet with a heavy bottom melt butter. Sprinkle on brown sugar and cook, stirring until sugar dissolves and mixture thickens, bubbles and begins to darken. Carefully add cream a little at a time, stirring constantly. Continue to cook until sauce is thick and smooth - 1 to 2 minutes more. Remove pan from heat and add peaches and vanilla pod. When mixture stops bubbling add bourbon. Serve warm. Sauce may be chilled and reheated - be sure to remove vanilla pod before serving.

To serve, unmold cheesecake onto serving platter. Cut into wedges and serve with sauce.

A year ago - A Feast of Blue Crab

Two year's ago - Fried Chicken Gizzards

Three year's ago - Thai Curried Shrimp with Coconut

 

Oregon Strawberries Are Amazing

Most of you already know this but I'm Canadian and grew up in what I thought of as the far north, although to someone that really lives in the far north of Canada it is "central Ontario" or as North Bayites brag "the gateway to the North". Weather being what it is, strawberry season starts in late June and finishes mid July.

Thankfully, we don't have to wait that long for the sweet season to arrive here. According to the Oregon Strawberry Commission, "There are many reasons why Oregon strawberries are so sweet, red and juicy but one of the most important ones is our climate. Oregon has a long mild spring and early summer. We have lots of rain and often have cool nights and warm sunny days. These conditions are perfect for growing the sweetest strawberries. The berries stay on the vine and ripen slowly, allowing the sugars to increase before harvest."  

I'm here to tell you, I've never had a sweeter berry than the ones here and I'm not just sayin' that because I happen to live at heaven's gate. How do I know this, you ask?

I just tested about a quart of this flat and almost all of the rest is in the dehydrator as we speak so Big Guy will be able to enjoy them when he gets here at the end of the month. You wouldn't believe the aroma in here right now ...who the heck needs Chanel when you've got o' de JBug cologne?

Oh, I put a tray of the luscious red berries in the freezer too so I can bag 'em later when they're solid and whip up a Summer Pudding for that man o' mine or maybe a luscious Strawberry Mousse Cake, or how about a Strawberries & Cream Tart or even a frozen cheesecake with this incredible Strawberry Mint Sauce. 

 

Sweet and delicious Strawberries and Cream Tart

 

Easy Summer Pudding full of mixed berries

Rich and moist Strawberry Mousse Cake

   

Frozen Cheesecake with Strawberry Mint Sauce

MMM - now that I think of it I gotta' run. Better head down the hill and hit the Waldport market like I did a little while ago and pick up another flat of the beauties because I'm not quite sure I've got enough! What do you think?

A year ago - Cheater Chicken and Dumplings

Two year's ago - Mango and Spicy Shrimp Salad

 

Meyer Lemon Coffee Cake

Our Meyer lemon tree is doing its thing again this year and producing a ton of fruit. While smaller in size than last year's crop, there's more than enough sunny orbs on the tree to supply the entire neighborhood with tart/sweet deliciousness.

I whipped up this Martha Stewart recipe to enjoy with our morning coffee when the girls popped by on their way to the airport to head home to the Pacific Northwest. With Big Guy away this week as you're no doubt aware, I've been taking a much needed break from the kitchen. Consequently the coffers are relatively bare so it seemed like a good idea to take advantange of the one thing that we currently have in abundance.

Hit the link above and head directly to the source for the original recipe, because I honestly hardly changed a thing - I'm just lazy.

While I just bragged about whipping up the cake be forewarned it does take a little more time than the usual coffee cake to prep because lemons are sliced and simmered in water twice to remove the bitterness.

The other point I should make that Martha neglected to mention is that you'll want to remove as many seeds as possible from the lemons because they become quite bitter when cooked. That task is easier to accomplish before you simmer the lemons and I say that in all confidence because I found out the hard way. 

Also, as you see, I made the cake in a 8 inch high sided cake pan with a removable bottom rather than the tube pan Martha recommended so it took an extra 6 minutes to cook. I also cut the struesel in half because it just seemed there would be way too much of it when the focus should be on the cake and the lemons. 

So what was the verdict? Delicious - moist, incredibly full of flavor and definitely worth making. For those of you who don't have access to Meyer lemons, I'd go ahead and make it anyway with regular lemons, but leave out the layer of simmered fruit. It would be far too tart since Meyer's are much sweeter than a regular lemon; however, you might want to try substituting lemon curd instead. I haven't tried it that way but I can't see why it wouldn't work. 

 A year ago -  Makin' Bacon Revisted

Two year's ago - Dorie's Apple Cake

Pumpkin Gingerbread Tiramisu

While we love pumpkin pie around here, I don't like the way the bottom crust gets all soggy as it sits so usually try to come up with a different and special kind of pumpkin dessert. Some are more successful than others.    

Pumpkin Pie Creme Brulee'

  

Pumpkin Charlotte with Bourbon

  

Pumpkin Caramel Bread Pudding

Take this Pumpkin Gingerbread Tiramisu from Food & Wine for example. It has all the makings for a fabulous Thanksgiving dessert because it has to be made in advance and frozen, then sits at room temperature to thaw before serving. Constructed with the usual tiramisu ingredients and flavored with pumpkin and Apple Brandy, this one makes use of ginger snaps as the cake layer rather than the usual ladyfingers.  Just so you know, I cut the recipe in half and made it in a loaf pan so I could cut the slices all pretty like and we wouldn't be left with a ton of leftovers. 

 

Given the ingredients, it should be pretty special, right? Well, it was OK but not spectacular so I won't be making it again. Ever!

The flavors are all there, but I didn't like the texture overly much. It needed some whipped cream in the filling to lighten it up and the flavor was kind of one note with the gingersnaps overshadowing everything else. To be honest, it would be better served frozen because it weeps into an unappetizing mess as it thaws too, but maybe our room temperature isn't the "room temperature" they meant either. I'm providing you with the link for the recipe, but honestly in my opinion, you can do much better with one of the other pumpkin desserts we've made on this site. This one definitely needs work. 

 

Buttermilk Peach Pudding

Last night's dinner was the simple and sublime - grilled steak, baked potato and salad so I thought I'd take the opportunity to tell you about our sweet treat for the week instead.

From Southern Living via myrecipes.com, this peachy pudd is about as down home old fashioned good as it gets. Sliced fresh peaches on the bottom, topped with a peach infused cake on top, it is loaded with cinnamon and nutmeg - perfect additions to something made with any kind of stone fruit. I took the liberty of adding chopped candied ginger instead of ground ginger and I added a bit of vanilla too, just because just because I love the stuff; however, it really didn't need it. 

While it is made with fresh peaches, I'm convinced it would be just as wonderful with the frozen or even canned variety, especially now that fresh peach season has come to an end. I'd be willing to guess one could make it with other fruit too - like maybe pears or plums and I'll be the first to let you know because I plan on making it again. Baked in a water bath, the texture is almost like that of a steamed pudding - moist and relatively light with the rich flavor of peaches and spice. Yum!

As you can see, we crowned our servings with a dab of whipped topping but a drizzle of heavy cream or especially a scoop of ice cream would be fabulous too. We just don't have any in the freezer because I'm a glutton for the stuff. 

Buttermilk Peach Pudding (from JBug’s Kitchen adapted from myrecipes.com)

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

2 tablespoons chopped candied ginger

6 peaches (divided), peeled and sliced

1 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup butter softened

1-1/2 cups granulated sugar

3 large eggs

 

Preheat oven to 350. Sift together into a small bowl flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg. Return above ingredients to the sifter and set aside.

Spray a 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray and line the bottom with slices of 2 of the 6 peaches. Set aside. Put remaining peaches into a blender or using an immersion blender, mix until peaches are pureed. Should have 2 cups of puree. Add buttermilk and vanilla to peach puree and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine butter and sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time and beat well after each. Add candied ginger and peach mixture and beat until well combined. Sift dry ingredients lightly into batter and fold lightly to incorporate. Pour batter over peaches in pan. Place pan into a larger pan and pour boiling water to a level of 1 inch up the sides of the pan. Bake at 350 for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with moist crumbs attached. Serve warm or cold with whipped or ice cream. Makes 8 servings. 

A year ago - Italian Style Meat Sauce with Polenta

Two year's ago - Pork, Pork and Prunes

Pumpkin Cake

This week's sweet treat of the week made great use of an entire 15 ounce can of pumpkin puree. Don't you just hate it when there's pumpkin left over, although personally I make it a mission to never throw a tablespoon of it away. I love the stuff.

Speaking of tradition, every year I have to make a pumpkin cake and this year's took all of 10 minutes to throw together. Simply eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin with ramped up spices, instead of making "bars" I baked my version in a 9 x 12 pan and called it a cake. Heck, I didn't even have to adjust the cooking time - what's up with that?

Anyway, cooled and frosted with cream cheese frosting, the cake is moist with a fine crumb.  Go ahead and have more than one piece. After all, pumpkin's absolutely loaded with Vitamin A and fiber and goodness knows we could all use a little more of that!

Incidentally, last year's version was from Pioneer Woman and loaded with rum soaked raisins, while the recipe below adapted from Taste of Home is without embellishment. I think I prefer the former but I'll have to make it again to be sure. Such a martyr!

Pumpkin Cake (from JBug’s Kitchen adapted from Taste of Home)

4 eggs

1 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup brown sugar

1 cup vegetable oil (or canola)

1 – 15 ounce can solid pack pumpkin

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

1/2 teaspoon all spice

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl combine eggs, sugars, vegetable oil, vanilla and pumpkin. Beat with a hand mixer or whisk together until well combined. In a smaller bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices until light. Blend into pumpkin mixture and mix until well combined. Turn into ungreased 9 x 12 and bake for 30 minutes or until done. Cool on a wire rack.

Frosting:

8 ounces cream cheese

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 pound powdered sugar, presifted

Using electric mixer beat together butter and cream cheese until light. Beat in vanilla. Add powdered sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Spread onto cooled cake. 

A year ago - Grilled Salmon with Pineapple Teriyaka Glaze

Two year's ago -  Chicken and Mushroom Lasagne

Pumpkin Chocolate Cheesecake Bars

Tiz' the season of the great pumpkin and while most of us think of it in terms of pie, like any other member of the squash/gourd family, it can be used in sweet or savory dishes. We'll be show casing squash this week as a recurring theme so I thought we'd start the enjoyment with something familiar and our sweet treat of the week.

Pumpkin Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake Bars with a Gingersnap Crust

Inspired by a Rachael Ray recipe, I took the liberty of changing it up a bit by using crushed gingersnaps as the base instead of chocolate wafer crumbs. For some strange reason, chocolate wafer cookies are a little hard to find these days and I didn't want to go the Oreo route because the leftovers are too tempting. No matter though, because the spices in the cookie are synonymous with pumpkin anyway.  I added more spice to the cream cheese, sugar and egg combination too along with a wee dram of bourbon...please don't be telling Big Guy I'm using his Knob Creek to cook with or he'll be locking the liquor cabinet on me. I figured he wouldn't miss 2 teaspoons of the stuff unless he's marked the bottle. Yikes...I'd better check.

Anyway, there's lots of versions of pumpkin chocolate cheesecake bars out there and while most of them place the chocolate layer next to the crust, this particular version has the chocolate combined with a portion of the cheesecake filling and swirled into the top. 

I think they're pretty good, if I do say so...incredibly rich, creamy and oh so slightly decadent. 

Pumpkin Chocolate Swirl Cheesecake Bars (from JBug’s Kitchen adapted from Rachael Ray)

1 cup gingersnap crumbs (approximately 10 cookies)

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 tablespoons butter, melted

--------------------------------------------------------------------

2 – 8 ounce packages cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup canned pumpkin puree

3 large eggs

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon allspice

Dash ground cloves

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons bourbon or vanilla

4 ounces dark chocolate, melted

Preheat oven to 350. Line an 8 inch square pan with aluminum foil or parchment and set aside.

Combine cookie crumbs, sugar and butter in a small bowl and mix well. Pat into bottom of pan and bake for 10 minutes or until slightly firm to the touch. Cool on a wire rack.

Meanwhile pulse cream cheese in a food processor until smooth. Add sugar and pumpkin puree and mix until very smooth. Add flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves and salt and pulse to combine then add eggs and bourbon or vanilla. Combine. Remove 1 cup of cheesecake mixture into a small bowl and combine with melted chocolate. Pour remainder of cheesecake mixture onto cooled crumb crust and top with spoonful’s of the chocolate mixture. Swirl with a knife to combine.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until set but slightly soft in the center. Cool on a wire rack to room temperature then refrigerate for at least 2 hours before slicing. Cut, wiping knife between each use. 

A year ago - Sweet Potato, Beef and Black Bean Enchiladas 

Two year's ago -  Coq au Vin

Frozen Strawberry Cheesecake with a Peppery Strawberry Mint Sauce

Ah the dog days of summer. It's still hotter than the proverbial hubs of Hades. Humid too. You've guests coming for dinner which means dessert is a necessity and while you could make a pie, the thought of heating up the kitchen with a hot oven isn't in the cards. Well, have I got a deal for you. Drum roll please!

How about this frozen strawberry cheesecake. Now don't get your shorts in a twist thinking I'm going to keep you busy in the kitchen for an hour or two - this one's so darn easy, you'll wonder why you didn't think of it yourself. 

From our friends at Dairy Goodness and the Dairy Farmers of Canada comes this super quick and incredibly tasty version of a cheesecake. Similar to a regular cheesecake with the usual graham wafer crust and cream cheese/ sugar filling on top, that's where the similarity ends. Instead of eggs, sour cream and oven time, this one makes use of a carton of purchased strawberry ice cream, softened then whipped into the cream cheese. Spread on the crust, the pan hits the freezer for a minimum 3 hours before the ooh's and ahh's begin. 

Served with a strawberry compote loaded with fresh mint and black pepper - yup you read right, dessert is a sight to behold and a pleasure to eat. Never mind that, just imagine the combinations you can come up with. How about peach ice cream with bourbon and peaches on top; or chunky peanut butter cup ice cream on a chocolate wafer crust with hot fudge sauce on top .... well, aren't the possibilities endless?

Best of all, you could whip one up and hide it in the freezer for the next time unexpected guests come over, then show off and absolutely knock their socks off. I said YOU could. ME? I don't have that much willpower. 

Pssst - about the black pepper and strawberries; you wouldn't believe what a couple of passes of coarse ground black pepper does to the lowly strawberry. It really brings out the sweetness and gives it a bit of a kick too and the mint...well, that's a whole other story. Give it a try and you'll see what I mean but if mint's just not your cup of tea, try a little balsamic with the berries and black pepper instead for a whole different taste sensation. I guarantee! 

Frozen Strawberry Cheesecake with a Peppery Strawberry Mint Sauce (from JBug’s Kitchen Antics adapted from Dairy Goodness)

Crust:

1-1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup butter, melted

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Combine all ingredients together and toss with a fork until well mixed. Press into bottom of an 8 inch spring form pan (or other pan with removable bottom) and freeze for 30 minutes.

Filling:

8 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup granulated sugar

1 – 1-/2 quart carton strawberry ice cream (softened)

In bowl of electric mixer, cream together cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy (about 2 minutes). Gradually add strawberry ice cream and mix well. Spread filling on the prepared crust, cover and return cake to freezer. Freeze for minimum 3 hours.

Sauce:

2 cups fresh strawberries, washed, hulled and quartered

1/4 cup chopped fresh mint

1/4 cup maple syrup (must use real thing…do not substitute)

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (to taste)

In a small saucepan combine strawberries, mint, and maple syrup. Cook over low heat, stirring often for 5 minutes. Add black pepper and allow mixture to cool.

To serve, unmold cheesecake onto serving platter. Cut into wedges and serve with strawberry sauce.

A year ago - Greek Style Meatballs in Tomato Sauce

Two year's ago - Kung Pao Chicken

Individual Rhubarb Upside Down Cakes

One of the better purchases I've made in the last while has been individual foil baking cups from an on-line baker's supply company who shall remain nameless because I've forgotton it. There's a host of different sizes to choose from and the thing about it is that you can turn just about any recipe into a personal sized serving. Better yet, it's a guaranteed form of portion control and we seem to have an issue with that around here.

For example, we've made this simple creamy rhubarb pudding like cake before in one large pan, and managed to somehow devour it in about 3 sittings.

Made with a mix, it's the kind of cake that goes into the oven with the batter on the bottom and the tart rhubarb on top and magically reverses while baking to come out with the batter on top and fruit on the bottom in a rich creamy custard. To say it is delicious is an understatement.

When I thought about it, I figured I should be able to make the same cake in individual servings so they'd could be flipped over and look a little prettier on the plate and at the same time keep my bony fingers out of the rest of the cake.

I've made mini sized versions of things before like sticky toffee puddings, pina colada cupcakes and even sex in a pan ...you just have to adjust the baking time slightly to account for the smaller container. 

 
As you'll see, the result kind of speaks for itself and now I've 11 of these beauties residing in the freezer topped with their own little plastic cover and away from said bony fingers. To enjoy, simply remove from freezer and run a knife around the outside of the cup; flip onto a plate and microwave for about 15 seconds until thawed. Delicious. 

In case you've really read all my drivel and you've figured out where there were 13 there are now 11 and wonder what happened to the other 2 .... well MMMM. It's a mystery for sure. 

Individual Rhubarb Upside Down Cakes (from JBug’s Kitchen re-adapted from Wall Drug Cookbook)

1 yellow cake mix (I used Pillsbury Golden Yellow)

4 cups rhubarb

1 cup sugar

1 cup heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350. In a large bowl combine rhubarb with sugar and toss well to coat fruit in sugar.

Spray 13 individual 6 ounce foil cups with cooking spray and place them on a sheet pan. Make cake mix according to package directions, dividing batter evenly between the cups (approximately 2/3 cup in each). Divide the sugared rhubarb between the cups, arrange fruit on top of batter and top each with a tablespoon and a half of cream. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until cake is golden brown and springs back when touched lightly on top. Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack. To serve, run a knife around the inside of the foil cup and flip cake onto serving plate. If you wish, serve with whipped cream or ice cream. Makes 13 servings.  

A year ago - Gorgonzola Pork Chops 

Two year's ago - Fish and Rings

Chocolate Caramel Brownies

Ree calls these beauties "Knock You Naked Brownies" and I can certainly see why. They are absolutely kick ass good. Super simple too! Hit the link for her version but if you'll give me a second, I'll tell you about mine.

Now I'm not above using a cake mix or ten when the spirit moves me and happen to have a couple in the cupboard waiting for a moment when I'm feeling lazy and having a sweet treat craving. Lucky for us I came across this recipe during my search for "chocolate cake mix" and "caramel". Isn't the internet wonderful?

Simply a dark chocolate cake mix combined with melted butter and evaporated milk, I had both the former and none of the latter so I used half and half instead of the canned milk. Neither did I have a single solitary caramel on site but then again, I'm not sure I have the required patience to remove the wrappers from 60 of the darn things anyway so idea person that I am I substituted Hershey's Caramel Sauce instead. By the way, I only had a half cup of pecans so threw in a handful of hazelnuts as well and oh I didn't have any chocolate chips or powdered sugar either. 

But you know what? It mattered not because I know for a fact these chewy chocolate caramel brownies are so darned delicious, they'll kick your ass...and how do I know that you may ask. I put 2 of them in Big Guy's lunch box and he kicked mine when he got home last night. No way could he pass up those brownies. 

Incidentally, as you can see from the picture, I served them on top of a pool of caramel syrup just for a little somethin' somethin' and they'd be even more amazing with a scoop of vanilla ice cream too. 

Chewy Chocolate Caramel Brownies (from JBug’s Kitchen adapted from Pioneerwoman.com)

1 package (18.5) ounce Dark Chocolate Cake Mix (I used Pillsbury Devil’s Food)

1/2 cup chopped pecans

1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts

1/3 cup half and half

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted

1/2 a 14 oz. jar Hershey’s Caramel Topping

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9 inch square pan with cooking spray. In a large bowl combine cake mix, pecans, hazelnuts, half and half and butter. Stir together well. Mixture will be very stiff. Divide mixture in two and press half into the bottom of the pan, building up sides slightly. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from oven and cool slightly on a wire rack.

Pour Hershey’s caramel topping over baked crust. Using hands, crumble remaining dough evenly onto caramel sauce and return pan to the oven. Bake for additional 25 to 30 minutes. Place pan on wire rack to cool, then cover and refrigerate for several hours before cutting into squares. To serve, drop a small amount of caramel sauce onto plate and swirl gently. Place brownie on top and enjoy!

A year ago - Bacon and Onion Quiche

Two year's ago - Vietnamese Pork and Shrimp Meatballs on Salad 

Not Your Mama's Banana Pudding

What do you make for a guy that's been living off hiking food for 4 days? Anything with calories, lots and lots of calories!

The Big Guy made it back from his Grand Canyon adventure tanned, tired and hungry so other than greeting him at the door with a monster sized martini, I cooked up a whole mess a' beef and mashed potatoes.

We've had the beef before - it's one of my Big Guy's favorites, so I'll send you to the previous version to check it out in all it's beefy bacon beerie filled glory, but here's a picture of the first serving of several. Along with a monster sized salad, my alter ego was happy happy.

For dessert, I had every intention of whipping up a rhubarb strawberry pie but then I had an epiphany of sorts and realized after sweating buckets and buckets, my man likely needed to have his potassium levels re-adjusted. What better excuse to make this fabulous dessert from Paula Deen. 

Loaded with bananas and tons and tons of calories, I changed it up by using some of the leftover lady fingers from Big Guy's birthday tiramisu as well as some vanilla wafers in my favorite round cake pan with a removable bottom instead of putting the whole thing in a 9 by 13 pan. It's a lot prettier that way! Oh I added rum too - a lot of it because I figured Big Guy'd need a little fortifying if you know what I mean. Check out Paula's version by hitting the link here to Food Network and see my version below. 

This is one extremely rich and fabulous calorie laden glory and while it was delicious last night, it's gonna' be stellar today or even tomorrow because it's the kind of thing that just gets better and better with time.  That's providing you ignore the siren call coming from the refrigerator and give it time to ruminate. Truthfully, it's kind of hard to resist. 

JBug’s Version of Not Yo’ Mama’s Banana Pudding (adapted from Paula Deen, Foodnetwork.com)

1 package ladyfingers

Approximately 10 to 15 vanilla wafers

1/2 cup white rum

3 large bananas

1-3/4 cups milk

1 – 5 ounce box instant vanilla pudding

1 – 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened

1 – 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk

1  small container frozen whipped topping, thawed

Dip flat side of ladyfingers into rum for approximately 1 second each and line outside of  8 inch round cake pan with removable bottom. Line bottom with vanilla wafer cookies and sprinkle them with rum.

Beat together milk and vanilla pudding mix.  In a separate bowl, beat cream cheese and condensed milk together until smooth. Mix pudding into cream cheese mixture and beat until well combined. Fold in whipped topping.

Place one third of cream mixture on top of vanilla wafers. Add banana slices and top with vanilla wafers. Sprinkle vanilla wafers with rum. Repeat layers ending with cream mixture – fold any remaining rum into cream mixture for the top of the cake. Sprinkle top with vanilla wafer crumbs. Refrigerate for minimum 5 hours before serving.  

A year ago - Orange Soy Glazed Ribs 

Two year's ago - Roast Chicken with Pancetta

Sweet Treats - Cheesecake in a Jar and More

For those of us with a sweet tooth or several, dessert is the most important part of the meal. Fortunately we don't have it very often or we'd be hard pressed to fit through the door; however, Monday night's party was a great reason to celebrate with more than one sweet ending for the meal.

The first and dare I say most popular dessert choice was an idea borrowed from a favorite Canadian blog I follow called Dinner with Julie. Hit the link and it'll take you directly to her site to see her version of these lovely little cheesecakes in a jar. After seeing it on her site, I did a little exploring and found another version thanks to Martha Stewart Living which showcases a baked cheesecake that turned out to be light and fluffy with a very smooth texture thanks in no small part to the fact it bakes at a fairly low temperature in a water bath.

Topped with cherries and buttered graham wafer crumbs, it tastes like a mini version of the real McCoy only better because it is totally portable.

Second choice was a mini size version of the Pina Colada cupcakes we've enjoyed here before. Loaded with rummy goodness, they're a simple cake made from a mix and jazzed up with booze and butter and cooked up in 24 medium sized muffin cups. After baking they're bathed in a mixture of Coco Lopez cream of coconut and more rum of course, and then "marinate" for a day in the refrigerator. Before serving, top 'em with crushed pineapple, whipped cream and toasted coconut and you'll be sure to impress even the most hard core dessert officiandos. Be sure to limit consumption though or you'll have to send the over imbibers home in a cab (plus you'll want to hide a few to keep for a midnight refrigerator raid).

Last but definitely not least are little chocolate cupcakes we normally make in a large cake pan and call 'em "Sex in a Pan". Once again made from a mix using the same method as with the Pina Colada version above, the still warm cupcakes are filled with an ooey gooey sweet mixture of caramel ice cream topping and sweetened condensed milk before they hit the fridge to ruminate. Best ignored for at least a day, they're topped with freshy whipped cream and pieces of a Heath or Score bar before serving. Suffice to say, they're a chocolate/caramel lover's version of nirvana and just so flippin' easy to make it's ridiculous. 

That's it people. Bet you all thought I really fussed, didn't ya? All the desserts were made the day before the party, decorated long before the guests arrived and kept in the refrigerator until serving time. In case you're wondering, my secret to keeping the whipped cream intact is to freeze the bowl and beater to make sure it's really, really cold before you whip the cream. As well, be sure to use powdered confectioner's sugar (a heaping tablespoon per cup of cream) rather than granulated because the cornstarch in the sugar will help stabilize the cream. 

Pina Colada Cupcakes (adapted from Gulfshore Delights, The Junior League of Ft. Myers) 

1 package yellow cake mix (I used Duncan Hines ..is there any other kind?)

2/3 cup light rum

3 large eggs

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 – 15 ounce can Coco Lopez (cream of coconut)

1/3 cup light rum

 1 – 8 ounce can crushed pineapple well drained

Whipped Topping or Whipped Cream

1 cup coconut, toasted

Preheat oven to 350. Line 24 muffin cups with aluminum foil liners and set aside. Using an electric mixer, combine cake mix, rum, eggs and softened butter. Beat at medium speed for 5 minutes. Distribute evenly between muffin cups and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. (The cakes may fall but don’t worry – they’ll be fine). Leave cakes in pan and cool on wire rack. Meanwhile combine cream of coconut and rum together. Using a melon baller or small spoon, remove a scoop of cake from center of each cupcake, leaving sides and bottom of cake intact. Pour rum/cream of coconut mixture slowly into the hole created in each cake, distributing evenly between the 24 cupcakes. Repeat this several times until all of the mixture has been used. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Before serving, top each cake with a spoonful of crushed pineapple, followed by a mound of whipped cream. Garnish with more toasted coconut. Makes 24 servings.

Note – may be made in a 9 x 13 inch pan (bake for 35 minutes). When cake has cooled slightly poke holes in top with a skewer, then pour cream of coconut rum mixture over top of warm cake, then cover and refrigerate. Top cake with crushed pineapple, followed by whipped topping and garnish with toasted coconut.   Keeps well in refrigerator for 3 or 4 days.

Sex In A Pan (from JBug’s Kitchen adapted from Best of the Best from Iowa)

1 dark chocolate cake mix (I used Duncan Hines)

1 – 12 ounce jar caramel ice cream topping

1 can Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk

Whipped cream or whipped topping

2 Heath (or Skor) bars, broken into pieces

Make cake mix according to package directions and bake in 24 aluminum foil lined muffin cups. Cool on wire racks. Meanwhile combine caramel topping and sweetened condensed milk and heat until warm. When cupcakes are still slightly warm, using a melon baller or small spoon, remove a small portion of cake from the center of the cup leaving bottom and sides intact. Pour heated topping into indentation and repeat process several times. There may be some caramel mixture left over but it’s great on ice cream or crepes (or both). Cover and refrigerate cupcakes overnight. Before serving top each cupcake with whipped cream and garnish with a piece of Heath or Skor bar. Makes 24.

A year ago - Pasta with Bacon, Clams and Mushrooms

Two year's ago - Baked Huevos Rancheros

Tiramisu

I truly believe Tiramisu is one of the better desserts (as if there are any bad ones), so I wasn't complaining when Big Guy asked for one instead of his usual birthday pie. Who doesn't enjoy the creamy, boozy, coffee flavored combination in this fabulous Italian dessert?

There's certainly a lot of ways of making a tiramisu, but one thing they all have in common are Italian ladyfingers known as Savoiardi so I'm thinking when we spotted a big display of them at Sprouts last weekend, it might have been the reason for Big Guy's choice. 

This particular version makes use of egg yolks whipped to a lemon colored frothy frenzy along with a fairly small amount of sugar as well as mascarpone and cream cheese. I know a lot of you worry about eating raw eggs because of the threat of samlonella but if you're careful how you handle them including picking the the freshest cleanest highest quality eggs you can find, there shouldn't be a problem. Just remember - throw any cracked or broken eggs out, don't leave the finished cake out of the refrigerator too long and warn anyone with a compromised immune system they  shouldn't be eating it. I figure with the amount of liquor in it, you won't be serving it to children so we don't have to go there. Right?

Incidentally, as you can see tiramisu doesn't have to be relegated to a 9 x 12 pan or made in a trifle bowl. It can be a beautiful cake and stands up perfectly well to being made in a cake pan with a removable bottom or springform pan. As well, you know I'm pretty anal about telling you all the sources of my recipes, but this time I have to admit I'm stumped because it's a compilation of the best of many versions I've made over the years and hand written in the back of one of my oldest cookbooks.

I've always loved it because it's not too sweet, definitely boozy and has just the right hint of coffee/chocolate flavors, at least in my opinion. We should know because we finished the darn thing yesterday and if anything, it gets better with time. What can I say...we're gluttons for the good stuff. 

Tiramisu from JBug’s Kitchen

6 egg yolks

1/2 cup granulated sugar

8 ounces mascarpone

8 ounces (1 package) cream cheese, softened

1 tablespoon heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 large package ladyfingers, approximately 30

3 tablespoons extra dark cocoa powder

3 teaspoons Espresso powder

1/2 cup hot water

1/3 cup dark rum

 

2/3 cup heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks (optional)

Cocoa powder or chocolate shavings as garnish

In a small bowl, mix espresso powder with hot water, stirring until granules are dissolved. Cool to room temperature. Add rum and set aside.

Using an electric mixer, beat egg yolks with sugar until thick and light lemon in color – about 5 minutes. Mix in mascarpone, cream cheese, heavy cream and vanilla and beat until smooth and creamy.

One at a time, quickly dip both sides of ladyfingers into coffee/rum mixture and arrange on bottom of a spring form pan or cake pan with removable bottom. I used an 8 inch cake pan with 2.5 inch sides and a removable bottom. For outside of pan, cut off bottom tip of ladyfingers and dip flat side only of ladyfingers. Stand them up around the pan, with the flat side facing inward. Pour half the filling over the bottom layer of ladyfingers, spreading evenly in pan. Place cocoa powder into small mesh sieve and tap to sprinkle cocoa evenly on top of filling. Repeat with another layer of ladyfingers, dipping both sides quickly into coffee/run mixture. Finish with remaining filling, spreading evenly to cover ladyfinger layer. Sprinkle with remaining cocoa powder. Cover well and refrigerate for a minimum 8 hours, or preferably overnight.

To serve, remove tiramisu from cake pan and place onto serving plate. Garnish with whipped cream and sprinkle with cocoa powder or chocolate shavings. Refrigerate any leftovers promptly.

A year ago - Chocolate Banana Cake 

Two year's ago - Short Ribs Provencal

Old Fashioned Apple Cake

It's a pretty rare day that you won't find apples in the fruit drawer of our refrigerator. They're one of the favorites around here as they're not limited to snacks, but great in salads, or panini's, or rice pilaf like we had the other night, never mind some pretty awesome sweet treats.

This old fashioned apple dessert has a moist cake like base that gets its leavening from beaten eggs, and shines with apples decorating the top in a pinwheel shape. Finished with cinnamon sugar, it comes out of the oven 40 minutes later looking like something straight out of Granny's kitchen. 

Not super sweet, it's darn near perfect served warm from the oven with a scoop of ice cream, or a chunk of sharp cheddar cheese or both and deserves a place on the list along with some of our other favorite apple desserts.

Shredded Apple Pie   Dorie's Apple Cake   Rhubarb Apple Diddle Dumplings    

      

Apple Fritters            Apple Pear Cake      Apple Dumplings 

      
Old Fashioned Apple Cake (from JBug’s Kitchen adapted from The Wall Drug Cookbook, 2^nd Edition)

1/2 cup butter, room temperature

1/2 cup sugar

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 large apples, peeled, cored and cut into wedges (I used 1 Granny Smith and 1 Golden Delicious)

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375. Grease an 8 inch cake pan with removable bottom and line bottom with parchment. Set aside. In bowl of electric mixer, beat together butter and 1/2 cup sugar until light and fully. Add eggs and beat until light and a pale lemon color (about 3 to 4 minutes). Add vanilla and flour and mix just until combined. Place in bottom of prepared pan and layer apple pieces on top in a pinwheel fashion. Mix together cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle on top of apples. Bake at 375 for 40 to 45 minutes or until tester inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool briefly, and then remove cake from pan and place on a serving plate. Serve warm with whipped or ice cream. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

A year ago - Cheater Lasagne 

Two year's ago - Corn Meal Pancakes

 

Cinnamon Pear Walnut Cake with Toffee Sauce

Are you wondering what to do with 3 very ripe pears in your fruit drawer that you hate to part with? Well that's what moved me to bake this cake and it's a real keeper. 

Adapted from Southern Living via myrecipes.com, I used my big beautiful soft juicy and somewhat over-ripe pears and changed up the recipe by exchanging walnuts for pecans (have you seen the price of pecans lately?) and added some cinnamon to the mix. The cake also took considerably longer to bake than they indicated and I've adjusted my version to reflect the additional time. Also, if you're really smart (I wasn't), give your pan a good coating with shortening and flour it well too. I have a fluted "non-stick" bundt pan that's usually fine with a good shot of cooking spray but unfortunately it really wanted to hold onto half the cake so next time I may even use a parchment lined spring form pan to bake this one up. 

Also, while Southern Living recommended a caramel glaze in their recipe, I just happened to have some toffee sauce on hand from making Sticky Toffee Puddings for my great white hunters, so I warmed a little of it in the microwave and drizzled it on top of the cake. It really doesn't need a darn thing to make it delicious but I have to admit, the sauce kind of puts it over the top.

It's a very moist dense cake that just gets better and better with time. Served with a cup of Twining's finest, it makes for a grand afternoon pick me up, if you can wait that long!

Cinnamon Pear Walnut Cake with Toffee Sauce (from JBug’s Kitchen adapted from myrecipes.com)

3 cups peeled and diced very ripe pears (I used 3 Riviera pears)

1 tablespoon sugar

3 large eggs

2 cups sugar

1-1/4 cups vegetable oil

2 teaspoons vanilla

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1-1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1-1/2 cups chopped walnuts or pecans

Combine pears with 1 tablespoon sugar in a small bowl and toss well. Allow to sit for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk together flour, salt, baking soda and cinnamon and set aside. Grease and flour a Bundt pan very well and set aside. Preheat oven to 350.

In bowl of stand mixer, beat together eggs, sugar, oil and vanilla until lightly colored and well mixed. At low speed, add flour mixture and beat until just combined. Fold in pears and walnuts. Pour into prepared pan and bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes to 1 hour and 20 minutes. Check with a toothpick and cake is done when toothpick comes out clean. Baking time will vary depending on the amount of moisture in the pears so start checking cake after 1 hour.

Remove from pan and cool. Serve with sauce drizzled over top.

Toffee Sauce:

3/4 cup butter

1-1/2 cups brown sugar

1 cup cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

Melt butter in medium saucepan. Add brown sugar and stir well to combine. Add cream. Bring to a boil stirring constantly, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Cool slightly and stir in vanilla. Serve warm. Store leftovers in refrigerator and reheat as needed in the microwave. 

A year ago - Sticky Chicky     Two year's ago - Coquille St Jacques

 

Flourless Kumquat Cake

I know this site is all about every day cooking and every day for some of you means gluten free. I've been thinking about the people close to my heart that have had to drop gluten from their diets so Linda, Lea, Whitney, Scott and Susan this creation's for you!

I think most of us of are aware of flourless chocolate cake as a pretty good candidate for a gluten free diet, but with mountains of kumquats to deal with and limited shelf space for marmalade I've been on the lookout for something different to make. I found this on the Joy of Baking so hit the link and go there to see the original. 

Their version makes use of clementines rather than the little citrus gems I have available by the boatload so some changes were necessary. No matter - I simply cut a pound of kumquats in half, seeded and covered them in water and simmered for 45 minutes until they were tender and the peels transparent. Drained and cooled, they hit a food processor along with eggs before mixing with the dry ingredients. After it baked, I brushed the cake with triple sec as it cooled to give the end result a healthy glow - oh I do mean the cake, ya' know. 

By the way, be sure to check the label of your baking powder to make sure it's gluten free but if you'd rather make it yourself, you can find the recipe on this link. Also, in case you're wondering almond meal is simply ground up almonds, with or without the skins and it's perfect for baking cookies, cakes or muffins.  If you can't find it on the shelf, you can always make it yourself by grinding almonds in a food processor or blender but be careful because if you're over eager, you'll have butter instead of "flour". 

We had our cake with a yogurt mascarpone cream mixed with some kumquat marmalade because heaven knows we needed a little more calories - just kidding, but honestly the cake would be fine simply dusted with a little confectioners sugar. It has a fine light crumb and intensely orange almond flavor. Store the leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator and enjoy the intensified flavors and moist dense texture after it sits for a few days - if you can hold off that is. We couldn't.

Flourless Kumquat Cake (from JBug’s Kitchen adapted from Joy of Baking)

1 pound fresh kumquats

6 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1-1/4 cups granulated sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2-3/4 cups almond meal

2 ounces triple sec or other orange flavored liqueur (optional)

Wash kumquats well then cut in half lengthwise and remove seeds. Place into a medium sized pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer and cook uncovered for 45 minutes or until kumquats are tender and peel is becoming transparent. Drain in a colander and cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile preheat oven to 375. Spray an 8 inch pan with removable bottom with cooking spray and line bottom and sides with parchment. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together granulated sugar, baking powder, salt and almond meal. Place cooked kumquats into a food processor and pulse until ground up. Add eggs and vanilla and pulse processor until mixture is fairly smooth – about 30 seconds. Pour egg/kumquat mixture into dry ingredients and whisk together until mixed. Move to prepared pan and bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until tester inserted in cake comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. When cool enough to handle, remove cake from pan. Brush with triple sec as cake is cooling.

Store in an airtight container in refrigerator. Flavor intensifies as cake sits, but it is still delicious served on the day it is baked.  Serve with whipped cream or equal parts of mascarpone and yogurt mixed together and sweetened with sugar or orange marmalade.

Oh, in case you're wondering what we had for dinner before our fabulously delicious dessert, I pulled another recipe out of the archives from 2010 and honestly, I'm not quite sure why we don't include this one in a regular rotation. Spicy, sweet roasted manchurian cauliflower on a bed of crunchy chicken fillets - well, it's about the best way to cook cauliflower there is! Honest! Hit the link and check it out for yourself. You won't be sorry - not one bit!

New England Style Clam Chowder and a Caramelized Pear Gingerbread Upsidedown Cake

Sorry I'm  late this morning! It's raining here ...finally, a beautiful steady downpour on a very cool autumn Tucson day. It is without question a perfect Monday and to take advantage of it, I just had to go run with the dogs in the back yard and catch raindrops. Needless to say we were all soaked to the skin and cold so it took us a little longer to dry off and warm up than anticipated but boy did we have fun!

Not only that, I had to make a quick run to the Veterinarian for some medication for Finnigan. You see not only did he come to us with a smashing personality and a cute face but he also arrived with coccidia, a parasite that is incurable and rears its ugly head from time to time especially when he gets over excited. We took the boys to the dog park yesterday and he had a blast trying to "make love" to a rather large golden retriever. Talk about huge aspirations - I mean there's only about a 60 pound difference in their weights. To appease his little neutered ego he tried the same trick on the cat later in the afternoon. It wasn't pretty!

Last night's Sunday Soup Supper was my version of a New England Clam Chowder and actually the first recipe I ever posted way back in April 2009. I've certainly made it many times since and haven't changed it a bit which is a miracle around here.We've created quite the selection of chowder's on this site, but this one remains one of our favorites, likely due to the fact that it is loaded with some of our homemade maple smoked bacon and includes clams the Big Guy harvested from Waldport Bay in Oregon.

The recipe may be a little different than the one you make, and likely different from one a tried and true born and bred New Englander would make but isn't that what cookin's all about. Different doesn't make it wrong - just different and this version involves making a buttery golden flour roux to enhance the flavors and thicken the chowder because we prefer it that way.

To top off our comforting Sunday dinner and celebrate a perfect autumn day in Tucson, I whipped up a tasty caramelized pear gingerbread upside down cake. Created from perfectly ripe but firm Bosc pears, peeled, sliced and placed atop a buttery sugary caramel in my favorite cast iron pan and topped with an old fashioned spicy sour milk gingerbread it smelled glorious as it was baking and tasted even better with a touch of Bourbon flavored whipped cream.

I'm going to let you in on a little secret - because we're into extra flavor around here, I added cinnamon, cloves and allspice to the gingerbread and dusted the top of the pears with some coarse ground black pepper as well. Pepper goes very well with gingerbread and the added flavor is very subtle but incredibly delicious.

By the way, if you're in need of a little edumacatin' on the different types of pears and what's best for baking, head on over to Epicurious' Visual Guide to Pears.

Clam Chowder – New England Style (a JBug’s Kitchen original inspired by the New Basics Cookbook)

2 cups steamed, prepared clam meat coarsely chopped *

1/2 lb. bacon, cut into small dice

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

4 cups chopped onion (1/4” dice)

3/4 cup flour

4 cups red potatoes, peeled & cut into ½” dice

2 Tablespoons old bay seasoning

1-1/2 teaspoons dried thyme

fresh ground black pepper, to taste

2 bottles clam juice, or reserved juice from cooked clams

2 cups whole milk (or more depending on how thick you like your chowder)

2 cups heavy cream (didn’t say it was diet chowder)

1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley

 (20 cockles, or 2-1/2 dozen cherry stone clams, scrubbed & steamed in 2 cups of water. Reserve juice & strain. Discard any clams that do not open. Clean & chop meat.)  Cook bacon over low heat, until fat is rendered and bacon is lightly browned. Remove from pan.Add butter to fat remaining in pan. Add flour. Cook & stir until roux becomes a light yellow color – approximately 10 minutes. Add chopped onion. Cook until onion is transparent (approx. 10 minutes). Add seasonings & cook for 2 minutes before adding potatoes and clam juice. Cook stirring often until potatoes are al dente’ (approx. 12-15 minutes). Mixture will be very thick!  Add milk and cream. Cook until potatoes are completely cooked through & soup is smooth & thick. Do not let boil.  Add clams & heat for 5 more minutes.  Check for seasonings.Garnish with parsley, & serve with oyster crackers.  Makes 10 to 12 portions. Download Clam Chowder - New England Style

Caramelized Pear Gingerbread Upside Down Cake  (inspired by Purity Cookbook)

3 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 firm but ripe pears, peeled cored and sliced

1/4 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1-1/2 teaspoons ground ginger

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/3 cup shortening

1/3 cup brown sugar

1 egg

3/4 cup molasses

3/4 cup sour milk or buttermilk

Using a 9 inch cast iron pan, melt butter over low heat. Add sugar and cook, stirring occasionally until sugar melts and turns golden in color – 5 minutes. Remove from heat and cool slightly. Carefully place pear slices on top of caramelized sugar/butter mixture. Sprinkle with coarse ground black pepper and set aside. Preheat oven to 325.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking soda, and spices until well combined. Using a medium bowl and electric mixer, cream shortening and brown sugar until light. Add egg and molasses, mixing until well combined and light in texture. Add dry ingredients alternately with sour milk, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Mix only until combined. Pour on top of pears in prepared pan and spread to level. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until tester inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from oven and rest for a few minutes, then carefully flip upside down onto a plate. Remove cast iron pan. Serve gingerbread with sweetened whipped cream. Download Caramelized Pear Gingerbread Upside Down Cake

A year ago -  Lemon Chicken Wings

A Perfect Menu for Entertaining

We love to entertain although I admit we're a tad out of practice because we just don't do it often enough. If you find yourself in the same boat, the wisest thing you can do is to "go with what you know". That's what we did last night. Dinner included:

• Sundried Tomato and Spinach Parmieres (served with pre-dinner drinks)

• Asian Glazed Sockeye Salmon

• Soba Noodle Salad with Fresh Vegetables

• Vegetarian Pot Stickers with Sweet Chile Sauce

• Apple Cake with Caramel Sauce

Our menu was made up of some tried and true favorites, but as usual, we neglected to take pictures of everything so I'll tell you about what I can show you, but I'll have to tell you about the parmieres some other time. Too bad, because they're really easy to make and rather impressive too. Sorry about that!

As for the main course, we've had the Asian glaze before on steelhead, but this time I used sockeye salmon. I prepped the glaze in advance so I wouldn't have to worry about it after our guest arrived which made cooking the main course a breeze. I can say that because the Big Guy grilled the salmon which took a grand total of about 6 minutes from start to finish - just enough time for me to cook up some purchased pot stickers and put the finishing touches on our soba noodle salad.

The salad's a breeze to throw together with julienned red pepper, grated carrot and sliced green onions along with lovely Japanese buckwheat noodles (soba) in a sweet spicy Asian vinaigrette. Although the whole thing can be put together in advance, yesterday afternoon I prepped the ingredients separately and had 'em all ready to toss together at the last minute so the vegetables would maintain their color. The salad is an interesting and fresh tasting accompaniment to any grilled entree, but particularly delicious with salmon.

It's hard to come up with an Asian style dessert so I went a different route and picked an autumny one instead. Dorie Greenspan's version of an Apple Cake is absolutely without question the best cake you'll ever make. It's rummy flavor really showcases the apple in all its glory. This time I used 3 different kinds of apples (Granny Smith, Red Rome, Gala) and served the cake with a homemade caramel sauce at the Big Guy's request. He can take some bows for his ingenuity because it tasted just like a caramel apple only much, much better.

Asian Glazed Salmon with Soba Noodle Salad

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/3 cup soy sauce

2 Tablespoons hoisin sauce

2 Tablespoons peeled and minced ginger

1 Tablespoon minced fresh garlic

Dried red pepper flakes

1 Tablespoon fresh lime juice

 

1-1/2 pounds sockeye salmon, (skin on) cut into serving pieces

Place sugar, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, ginger, garlic, red pepper flakes and lime juice in a small saucepan. Bring mixture to a boil stirring constantly. Reduce heat to medium low and cook for 9 minutes, or until sauce forms a glaze. Watch closely to prevent burning.

Clean salmon well under running water and pat dry. Leave skin on but check fish for pin bones and remove as needed. Dry fillet well. Baste with some of the glaze and let sit for 15 minutes.  Grill for 6 minutes or until cooked through. Baste once more with glaze before serving.

Soba Noodle Salad:

 4 ounces soba noodles cooked per package directions and well drained

1/2 cup shredded carrots

1 small zucchini, cut into julienne strips

2 green onions, sliced

Combine ingredients below in a screw top jar and shake until well mixed.

1/3 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1-1/2 tablespoons sesame oil

1 tablespoon honey

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons fresh ginger, minced

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon Asian chili sauce (sambel olek) optional

Toss soba and vegetables together with dressing and serve.  Serves 4 Download Asian Glazed Salmon with Soba Noodle Salad

 

Apple Cake (adapted from Dorie Greenspan) 

3/4 cup all purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

Pinch of salt

2 Granny Smith apples

1 Red Rome apple

1 Gala apple

2 large eggs

3/4 cup sugar

3 tablespoons dark rum

1 teaspoon vanilla

8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

Preheat oven to 350. Spray an 8 inch spring form pan with cooking spray and line sides and  bottom with parchment. Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. Peel and core apples and cut into one inch chunk. Set aside.

In medium sized bowl whisk eggs until light and frothy. Add sugar and whisk for 1 minute until well combined. Add rum and vanilla and mix well to combine. Stir in half the dry ingredients then add half the melted butter. Mix until combined, then finish with remaining flour and butter. Fold in apple pieces until they’re well coated with batter and turn into prepared pan. Level top with spatula. Bake for 50 to 60 minutes or until golden brown on top and knife inserted into center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Turn onto serving plate when cool enough to handle and remove parchment. Serve with caramel sauce. (Store cake at room temperature, lightly covered).

Caramel Sauce:

1 cup white sugar

2 tablespoons water

6 tablespoons butter

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

Place sugar in a medium sized saucepan with a wide heavy bottom. Add water but do not mix together. Place pot on medium high heat and cook without moving or stirring until sugar is amber colored. Watch carefully so it doesn’t burn and it is important not to move the pot. When sugar is caramelized and amber, carefully stir in butter (it will foam up, so be careful). Stir until butter is melted, then remove pot from heat. Carefully stir in heavy cream. When mixture stops foaming, add vanilla. Cool to room temperature. Download Apple Cake with Caramel Sauce

 

Pumpkin Cake with Rummy Cream Cheese Frosting

Well here we are at the crack before dawn and I can honestly say I cooked not one thing yesterday. That's 2 days off from the kitchen. What do I think this is - a vacation?

The Big Guy's off in Phoenix at a convention so I took the opportunity to take it easy. It's not that I've entirely forsaken all of you - I'm still working on that index I promised everyone although goodness knows it would have been a lot easier had I started it 900 odd posts ago. Anyway to reward myself for all my hard labor I was able to enjoy a piece of this fabulous pumpkin cake I've hiding in the freezer. After all it is the time of year we celebrate the great pumpkin and buy up every tin of the stuff we can get our hands on.

As you can see, I wasn't sure whether to call it a cake with cream cheese frosting or a rummy frosting with a touch of pumpkin cake. For certain this dense, extremely moist cake could have definitely stood on its own without the excesses on top, in fact it would have been better, but this after all is a sweet treat for the week. Right?

From Pioneer Woman, I took the liberty of changing her recipe up a tad by reducing the amount of booze soaking the raisins (they were very fresh and really didn't need it anyway) and I upped the spice quotient by adding more cinnamon and nutmeg in addition to ginger and a touch of cloves. It's a wonderful cake and freezes beautifully, frosting and all. Hit this link to check out Ree's recipe right from the source and give either version a try if you've a minute.

Pumpkin Cake with Rummy Cream Cheese Frosting

Cake:  (adapted from Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond)

1 cup golden raisins

2 tablespoons dark rum

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon cinnamon

2 teaspoons dried ginger

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Pinch ground cloves

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1-1/2 cups sugar

3 large eggs

1-1/4 cups plain unflavored yogurt

1 cup pumpkin puree

Preheat oven to 325. Spray a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with cooking spray. Set aside. Combine raisins with rum in a small bowl. Set aside. In another bowl, whisk together flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves until well combined. Set aside.

Using electric mixer beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy. With mixer running, add eggs one at a time, followed by yogurt and pumpkin puree. Add flour mixture in thirds, mixing until just combined. Do not over mix. Fold in raisins. Pour into prepared baking pan and spread evenly. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until a toothpick placed in the center comes out clean. Cool of a wire rack.

Rummy Cream Cheese Frosting: (from JBug’s Kitchen)

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

1 – 8 ounce package cream cheese, room temperature

1 tablespoon dark rum

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 pound powdered sugar (or more as needed)

Ground Cinnamon as garnish

Using electric mixer beat together butter and cream cheese until light. Beat in rum and vanilla. Add powdered sugar and beat until light, fluffy and of spreading consistency. May need to add more sugar to achieve desired consistency. Spread on top of cooled cake and sprinkle with ground cinnamon if desired.  Makes 12 servings (freezes very well). Download Pumpkin Cake with Rummy Cream Cheese Frosting

Oh, here's a few other ways to use up your pumpkin stash so you can hit the stores for more.

 Pumpkin Charlotte                               Pumpkin Bread Pudding 

 

 Pumpkin Pie Cake                    A year ago - Brats with Apples, Onion et al

 

Ina's Plum Cake Tatin

I saw Ina bake this on television a couple of weeks ago and just knew it was going to be in our future and obviously it didn't take long to become part of our past either. We all know that Ina's dishes are inevitably fabulous and this cake from her book, Barefoot in Paris is absolutely sublime.

This incredible tatin is a take on apple tart tatin only made with plums and without the usual pastry but a light and moist cake instead. With blue plums holding court on the bottom of a pie dish, a simple caramel  poured over top, when baked becomes the top of the dessert in the usual upside down cake manner. After the cake cools a tad and is flipped over, the caramel saturates the cake and hardens too which presents you with a cake soaked in tart plum juices and sweet caramel with delicious crunchy edges. It is very simple to make and absolutely stellar.

It would be wonderful made with any stone fruit including apricots, nectarines or peaches and even apples or pears too, although you'd need to give the apples and pears a quick saute to partially cook them before placing them in the bottom of the pan. Oh by the way, when you've started your sugar and water caramelizing, don't stir it or move the pot and give it time to percolate. You'll have absolutely no problem with crystallization and you won't have to bother with washing the sides of the pot down as its cooking because you haven't disturbed the granules of sugar. So there!

Enjoy people. This is one dessert really worth making again and again!

Ina’s Plum Cake Tatin (adapted from Barefoot in Paris)

Caramel:

1 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup water

Cake:

8 blue plums, cut in half and pits removed

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs at room temperature

1/3 cup sour cream

Rind of half a lemon

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Place a medium saucepan on stove burner and put sugar and water into pot. Cook over medium high heat without stirring or moving pot until caramel reaches an amber color. Meanwhile grease a 9 inch glass pie pan liberally with butter and place on a sheet pan to catch any drips. Place plums, cut side down into pie pan crowding them in so they’ll fit. When caramel is an amber color, immediately pour over plums in dish. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350. Using an electric mixer cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time followed by sour cream, lemon zest and vanilla. Scrape bottom and sides of bowl with a spatula to make sure ingredients are evenly mixed. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt and add to butter mixture, mixing briefly just until flour is barely incorporated into butter mixture. Do not over mix. Remove bowl from mixer and finish mixing batter together using a spatula. Pour over plums and spread evenly. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until cake is done. Cool for 15 minutes on a wire rack then invert carefully onto a plate. Serve warm or cold.

A year ago - Sole Almondine

Pina Colada Cupcakes

I swear by the time dessert time rolled around last night I was plum happy to bury my face in this little coconut pineapple rum ball and I enjoyed every alcoholic crumb full of it too. In fact eating more than one at a sitting might nix driving or operating any kind of machinery because for certain you'll blow more than a point 08. Geez, may I shoulda' had 2 and it would have got me out of operating the dishwasher. LOL

For someone who cooks as much as I do and who's spent the better part of her life in the kitchen, failures still occur from time to time and they're not taken lightly. I mean, you'd think someone that's been cooking in some form or another since she could reach the kitchen counter with the help of a chair would know a thing or two about what's going to be good and what isn't. I love trying new recipes and since yesterday was our anniversary, I planned something that I thought we'd enjoy and was original to both of us. Of course I had every intention of posting it and can give you a preview of the plate, but you'll not be finding the recipe on this site anytime soon.

Described as one of the national dishes of Germany, Sauerbraten is a roast marinated in a mixture of wine, vinegar, onions, herbs and spices for 3 whole days, before it hits a braising pot. After braising in the same mixture for many hours, the tender rump roast is removed and ginger snaps, and more sugar added to the marinade as it is made into a thick rich gravy. Sounds kinda' good right? Ya, that's what I thought too but alas I hated the taste.

The Big Guy, however, will eat anything but peas so he gamely had 2 helpings and made the rest of it into 2 crammed full containers for his lunch the next couple of days. What can I say, but this is the lovely man I married who also enjoys a big bowl of menudo every Saturday morning for breakfast as well as beef cheeks, heart, tongue and liver of any kind. Baaaahhh.

Now, if you're still with me, I mentioned way back at the start of this post the saving grace of our celebratory dinner was this wonderfully easy to prepare and incredibly tasty take on Pina Colada cake; however, instead of making one large cake, I constructed 12 individual taste bombs instead. 

The cake is a mere mix that uses light rum instead of water as the liquid. Baked in jumbo muffin pans or in my case individual 8 ounce aluminum foil cups, when the cakes have cooled they remain in the pans and are soaked in a mixture of rum and Coco Lopez cream of coconut. Refrigerated for several hours or even overnight, they're removed from their pans, rolled in toasted coconut then each topped with a spoonful of crushed pineapple and crowned with whipped cream garnished with a touch more toasted coconut.

They're mind blowing incredibly delicious rummy yummies for your tummy and certainly saved my bacon. Oh, speaking of saving bacon, a person who shall remain nameless forgot about said 11th anniversary but redeemed himself big time last night. He came home with not one, but two lovely little boxes of truffles, that's a whole dozen of 'em people, along with a gushy card and 2 tickets for an upcoming KD Lang concert at the University. Sweet eh?

Pina Colada Cupcakes (adapted from Gulfshore Delights, The Junior League of Ft. Myers)

1 package yellow cake mix (I used Duncan Hines ..is there any other kind?)

2/3 cup light rum

3 large eggs

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 – 15 ounce can Coco Lopez (cream of coconut)

1/3 cup light rum

 1 – 8 ounce can crushed pineapple well drained

Whipped Topping or Whipped Cream

1 cup coconut, toasted

Preheat oven to 350. Spray 12 jumbo muffin cups with cooking spray and set aside. Using an electric mixer, combine cake mix, rum, eggs and softened butter. Beat at medium speed for 5 minutes. Distribute evenly between muffin cups and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. (The cakes may fall but don’t worry – they’ll be fine). Leave cakes in pan and cool on wire rack. Meanwhile combine cream of coconut and rum together. Poke a few small holes into each cake with a skewer, then pour rum/cream of coconut mixture slowly on top of each cake, distributing evenly between the 12 cupcakes. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Before serving, carefully remove chilled cakes from muffin tins and roll sides of cupcakes into toasted coconut. Top each cake with a spoonful of crushed pineapple, followed by a mound of whipped cream. Garnish with more toasted coconut. Makes 12 servings.

Note – may be made in a 9 x 13 inch pan (bake for 35 minutes). When cake has cooled slightly poke holes in top with a skewer, then pour cream of coconut rum mixture over top of warm cake, then cover and refrigerate. Top cake with crushed pineapple, followed by whipped topping and garnish with toasted coconut.   Keeps well in refrigerator for 3 or 4 days. Download Pina Colada Cupcakes

Strawberry Rhubarb Upsidedown Cake

We're back at the beach after our long weekend in Pendleton and even the dog is happy to be back. I haven't broken the news to him yet that he'll be back in the Jeep and heading south early Friday morning. This is the week I dread the most - our last one at the beach for another year. Boy it goes fast but we're determined to make the most of our 4 remaining days.

The first week we were here I managed to find some fresh rhubarb and baked this lovely cake. Amazingly enough it is the only sweet treat I've made during our vacation which is so unlike me. We usually chow down on a bunch of pies, crisps and various and sundry berry items, but not so this year.

A perfect "made for the beach" dessert, along with rhubarb this cake has very few ingredients and includes a couple of convenience items, namely strawberry jello and a cake mix. Along with a dollop of whipped cream it is just plum tasty and even gets better with time. Bonus!

By the way, you already know I haven't exactly been spending a lot of time in the kitchen, but then again there's not much kitchen to spend time in which is all fine and dandy as far as efficiency goes. As you can see in the size department this kitchen is plenty efficient and in no way is it a "two butt" kitchen. Heck, at the rate I'm going given a little more time it would barely be a "one butt" kitchen.

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm all for small kitchens - I mean when you look at the size of the average restaurant kitchen it's usually very tiny. I mean why take up valuable real estate when you could have more paying tables in the dining room. Right?

The only real issue is a vintage electric stove made by General Electric way back in the day (approximately 1964), although its striking avocado color may have been manufactured as late as the early 70's. It is definitely a "gem" aka dinosaur of the best kind and holy cow, it takes a lot of patience to cook on. Slow to heat up and long to cool down, it's been the bane of my existence. So now you know the rest of the story.

Rhubarb Upside Down Cake (adapted  from Wall Drug Cookbook)

1 cake mix, either white or golden yellow

4 cups sliced fresh rhubarb

1 cup sugar

2 tablespoons all purpose flour

2 tablespoons melted butter

1 small box strawberry jello

Preheat oven to 350. Spray 9 x 13 pan with cooking spray. In a medium bowl, mix together rhubarb, sugar, flour, jello and melted butter and arrange evenly in bottom of prepared pan. Prepare cake mix according to package directions and pour over rhubarb sugar mixture. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes until cake tests done. Remove from oven and let cool on a rack for 10 minutes. Invert onto a platter. Serve warm or cold which whipped cream. Store leftovers well covered in refrigerator.   Download Rhubarb Upside Down Cake

Spicy Bean Snackin' Cake

Beans, beans, beans. You can boil em, bake em, fry em and re-fry em. They make a mean salad, casserole or burrito too but I bet you didn't know you could make a spice cake out of the oh so healthy musical little things, did ya?

The Big Guy and yours truly are hitting the road in a few days for a long drive to the Oregon Coast and we pack most of our meals along with us because it's impossible to stop at a restaurant when it is stinkin' hot and you've a dog in the car. We all know what 3 days worth of very little exercise and too much food can do to the "morning constitutional", so I thought some fiber might be a good thing to include in our diets.

The only thing is I need to be subtle about adding it, since a couple of years ago we brought along some big beautiful bran muffins and someone who shall remain nameless ate a few too many of the things and darn near put us in the ditch trying to find a rest stop. It was so traumatic it almost put him off fiber for life. Enter this snackin' cake.

Loaded with chopped apples, raisins, pecans, very little butter and moderate sugar, the pinto beans are mashed and hidden in the mix disguised with lots of cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg. Topped with a fluffy cap of cream cheese frosting the cake is oh so moist, tender and perfect for taking on the road to enjoy with our morning coffee. It might smell like beans when it's in the oven, but certainly in no way, shape or form resembles the original thing except maybe for the color. Course if you want to change that, add a little cocoa and you've got the problem solved.

I only have one fear and it's a rather serious concern. Since we're gonna' be together in such close quarters, I'm hoping my plan doesn't backfire - if you get my drift.

Spicy Bean Snackin’ Cake (adapted from Idaho a la CArte)

1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 eggs

2 cups cooked pinto beans, mashed (2 cans rinsed and drained)

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa (optional)

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup sugar

1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

2 cups chopped apples (peeled and cored)

3/4 cup raisins

1/2 cup chopped pecans

2 teaspoons vanilla

Preheat oven to 375. Spray a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with cooking spray. Set aside. In a small bowl combine flour, cocoa if using, salt, baking soda, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves. Whisk to lighten. Set aside. Using an electric mixer in a large bowl beat butter until light. Add eggs one at a time and beat well. Beat in mashed beans. Add dry ingredients and blend well. Fold in apples, raisins, pecans and vanilla. Pour into cake pan (batter will be very stiff) and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.  Top with cream cheese frosting. Makes 12 servings.

Cream Cheese Frosting

6 ounces cream cheese, softened

1/3 cup softened butter

2 teaspoons vanilla

3 to 4 cups powdered sugar

Beat together cream cheese and softened butter until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla. Slowly add icing sugar, beating until mixture is light and creamy. Download Spicy Bean Snackin' Cake

A year ago - Roasted Corn Chowder

Chocolate Banana Cake

As you've no doubt noticed, for the most part this has been a week of repeats in our household because it's Birthday week, thus a week of favorites. Last night's dinner included these Clam, Corn and Basil Cakes that we've shared with you before. Loaded with the obvious along with fresh basil and sundried tomatoes, they make a fabulous light dinner along with fresh crunchy veggies - in our case a JBug version of Greek salad made of vibrant red and green peppers, sweet onion, little persian cucumbers, pearl tomatoes and feta on a bed of fresh spinach.

Since I had some bananas left over from the Big Guy's Birthday pie earlier in the week, I figured I'd best make use of them before they turned into a stinky black mess. With the heat back on here in Tucson and a string of 90 degree days, things don't last long if you know what I mean. For some bizzare reason, bananas in their natural state last a lot longer in this house, than a cake made from said bananas ever will. Is it like that at your place too?

The Big Guy's quite partial to chocolate so a little research yielded a recipe for Chocolate Banana Cake that quite honestly is out of this world. It whipped up in no time flat and baked in a sweet round cake pan with 3 inch sides that was part of my birthday loot from Home Goods. The glory of this cake is that it is incredibly moist but not too sweet, even with the mound of buttery chocolate frosting on top. It really doesn't require frosting and would be fabulous with just a dusting of powdered sugar on top but we're kind of into excesses around here.

Chocolate Banana Cake (adapted from The Cake Book by Tish Boyle)

1-1/4 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup good quality unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Trader Joe’s)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup room temperature unsalted butter

1 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs

1-1/3 cups mashed ripe bananas (3 medium)

1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 cup sour cream

4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 350. Grease bottom and sides of 9 inch round cake pan and line bottom with parchment paper. Set aside. Sift together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.

In bowl of electric mixer, beat butter until creamy – about 1 minute. Add sugar slowly and beat until mixture is light and fluffy – about 2 minutes. Add eggs one at a time, beating well between each addition. Scrape sides of bowl down and beat on high for additional 2 minutes. Slowly add mashed bananas and vanilla, beating just until combined. Add flour mixture in thirds alternately with sour cream, beginning and ending with flour. Mix just until blended. Fold in chopped chocolate and turn batter into prepared pan. Make sure top is even.

Bake for 45 to 40 minutes in middle of the oven, or until cake pulls away from the sides of the pan and a tester comes out clean. Cool for 15 minutes in pan, then turn out on a wire rack. Cool completely before frosting.

Chocolate Butter Frosting (adapted from Purity Cookbook)

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

2 cups sifted powdered sugar

Dash of salt

2 to 2-1/2 tablespoons warm half and half

In bowl of electric mixer, beat together butter, vanilla, salt and cocoa powder until butter is light and creamy and mixture is well combined. With mixer on low, slowly beat in powdered sugar, adding cream as needed to make frosting spreading consistency. Increase mixer speed to high and beat for 2 minutes until frosting is light. Spread frosting on top of cooled cake. Download Chocolate Banana Cake

Powerful Pucker Power

Is there anything that wakes the taste buds up quite like lemon?  Our citrus trees have once again produced healthy crops and for one, our "Improved Meyer Lemon Tree" is filled with yellow orbs of sunshine. The plus side is that it's highly unlikely we'll suffer from scurvy anytime in the future.

Of course we've been busy making good use of them - we've already got a double batch of limoncello brewing, and with the big guy away for dinner most of the week, I thought I'd take the opportunity to try some new recipes - new to me at least. My experimentation made use of a full dozen and I'm left with about 2 cups of juice to use or freeze in the next couple of days. That's on top of the two gallon bags of lemon juice cubes I have in the freezer already from making a double batch of limoncello. Not to brag, there's still at least 40 lemons left on the tree. Do we hear a cheer for another batch of booze?

By the way, Meyer Lemons are a cross between a lemon and a mandarin orange. "The fruit is yellow and rounder than a true lemon. The skin is fragrant and thin, coloured a deep yellow with a slight orange tint when ripe. Meyer lemon fruits have a sweeter, less acidic flavor than the more common lemon Lisbon or Eureka grocery store varieties. The pulp is a dark yellow..." As you can see from this photo, the rind of a really ripe Meyer is quite orange in color, but it does taste like lemon. Honestly ...am I making any sense?

Anyway, I digress. Mary at One Perfect Bite posted a gorgeous lemon pound cake the other day that I just had to try. To say that it has a "hint" of lemon flavor is putting it mildly because it makes use of a quarter cup of grated rind and juice and it has a lovely dense but tender crumb. It's also moist as all get out. I won't go into it because I didn't change one thing so instead I'll send you directly to her site so you can print off the recipe (see link above). It is more than worth making as is everything the talented lady posts on her blog.

While the cake would be lovely with blueberries or another fruit we all know I have a fondness for ice cream. After all, I've got to make good use of my new ice cream maker, don't I? I did some searching and found a recipe on-line for a Lemon Gelato that as luck would have it, made use of a full 3/4 cup of juice and a 1/4 cup of grated rind. Of course I made a couple of adjustments to it, enough that I feel confident the cyber police won't shut me down if I share it so here you go.

You may want to note that it's absolutely perfectly creamy and wonderful about 2 hours after it comes out of the ice cream maker and hits the freezer, but gets quite hard and a little grainy after that which is all good because it means you don't have to wait too long to have a taste. OK, I admit I've had more than two bowls!  It has some powerful pucker power, enough that you might be uncomfortable whistling Dixie after eating it, but is it rich and tasty? You betcher lemon yellow boots it is!

Lemon Gelato (adapted from Taste of Home)

1 cup milk

1 cup sugar

2 eggs plus 1 yolk, lightly beaten

1/4 cup grated lemon rind

3/4 cup fresh lemon juice

2 cups heavy whipping cream

2 tablespoons Limoncello (optional)

Combine milk and sugar in a small pot and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly. Do not allow to boil. Whisk slowly into egg yolks, and then return the mixture to the pan. Add lemon rind and cook stirring constantly over low heat until mixture reaches 160 degrees and coats the back of a metal spoon. Stir in lemon juice. Put custard mixture through a wire mesh strainer into a metal bowl and place in freezer for 15 to 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or until cool. Remove from freezer, stir in whipping cream and Limoncello. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Transfer to an ice cream maker and process per manufacturers directions (mine took 17 minutes). Transfer to an air tight container and freeze for 2 hours before serving. Makes 1-1/2 quarts. Download Lemon Gelato

Fish & Chips, Clam Strips & Expanding Hips

Yikes - yesterday was one of those should'a days. Should'a' had salad for lunch instead of fish and chips...should'a believed my guy when he said I'd like the clam strips...should'a packed some antacid pills. Oh boy, what a day.

The gaper twins came back from their trip to Newport not as happy as they'd been the past couple of days. Apparantly clamming there is not as sweet smelling nor as easy as it is in Walport (as if it's easy anyway) and neither was it as successful. Ya could'a fooled me. Looked like their bags were full of something! Anyway, by the time they got their catch cooked and cleaned up, and cleaned themselves up, and tackled the 24 gapers waiting outside in the cooler to be cleaned, the day had flown by and it was after 2 bells. As there's only room in the kitchen for one cook at a time, John was kind enough to take us all to lunch.

Now this is the third time we've spent a July in Yachats, so we're familiar with the best places to go for certain menu items. I mean there's no doubt the best bakery is the Green Salmon, The Drift Inn has the best burgers and the Blue Whale is the place to go for fish and chips. The proof is in the picture, is it not?

I was being good (insert sarcasm). I had the small order which is $1.00 less and has two, not three pieces of pollack, nicely coated and so hot you gotta nibble on chips until the whole thing cools enough to eat. Don't ask me what they put in the batter, but it's light and perfectly crisp. The fish is moist, mild flavored and fresh...I mean really fresh, and the quantity...well! Notice I stressed that I'd ordered the SMALL order. I ate every morsel of it and when we left the restaurant, I could have stood in for the Pillsbury Dough Boy. Honest!

After such a late lunch, it was home to put a cheater pumpkin cake in the oven, then nap time. Yeah, nap time. DId I walk off that huge lunch - no siree, just stretched out on the couch and tried to fit my snores in with the trio already making strange sounds (GMan, John & Max). After the nap it was libation time, then dinner. Oh yeah...dinner!

The big guy was right when he said he'd be surprised if I didn't like the clam strips, but man, I tell you, prepping these babies is a real job. I watched him do bit of it, but there are some things just better kept a secret and this could make one a might squeamish! First the clams have to soak in ice water about 8 hours, then the shell comes off and the guck gets cleaned out, then the brown skin gets scraped off the long "neck", more guck is cleaned off, then they're rinsed, cut, rinsed again, pounded, coated and fried. No wonder the darn things are so expensive in the store. GMan coated the strips in flour, then an egg wash which included some hot sauce, followed by a dunk in a mixture of flour and corn meal. He fried them in corn oil outside on the burner attached to the barbecue. Dusted with a little coarse salt and some lemon pepper, they were indescribable.

I mean, I so didn't want to like them, but how can you not like something that is so tender, mild flavored and crispy? These clam strips were like the absolute best calamari I had ever tasted, only better cause they were CLAMS and very, very tender. Who'da thunk it?  He served them with more of those sweet potato chips - hey they're addictive.

Dessert, as if we needed it, was what I call a cheater pumpkin cake. It takes about 5 minutes to throw together, an hour in the oven, a couple to cool and man, you've got something that looks like a cake, but tastes just like pumpkin pie. It is just plumb good. This recipe is from the Wall Drug & Cafe Cookbook from South Dakota. Download Pumpkin Pie Cake It's a little regional collection of recipes compiled by friends, relatives and employees of Wall Drug Store and it is loaded with wonderful little jewels.

Other than refusing to eat a darn thing (yeah, we'll see how long that lasts), who knows what today is going to bring. The guys have already left to hit the clamming beds again. It's early and the sun's not out yet, though the birds are. The sun didn't come out yesterday until late afternoon - it was one of those misty, rainy, grey perfect beach days. I love it here, even when it rains, and of course, it's cool. It's fun to brag about the weather here when it is heading for 108 in Tucson and 112 is just around the corner. Cruel, aren't I? Sorry Tucson.