Another Sweet Award To Share!

Here's a special award that seems to just help get in the fresh mood of Springtime, after such a harsh winter in so many parts of the country! And who doesn't need a cheerful lift every now and then? We can all use a random act of kindness extended to us unexpectedly! You never know what someone else might be going through in their life, that would appreciate a little gesture such as this precious award.

The blogger that I've discovered lately that I'll send this to is:

Are You Hungry?

Pin It

Caramel Crusted Pineapple Upside Down Cake

.
.
Well it is old-fashioned, traditional cake time in The Cake Slice group, and that is just fine with me! The cake selected for this month's challenge is one of my ALL-TIME favorites that I used to bake quite a lot when I was growing up! I loved this cake so much back then and and I still love it today. Some things just never get old! Sometimes I'm so busy trying new recipes, that I forget about the golden oldies that are tried and true favorites! This is just one of those recipes that I welcomed back in the kitchen and in my taste buds! So did W.D.....he loved this cake! I hope that you try this someday, the mixture of brown sugar and butter forms a caramel topping around the baked pineapples that is incredibly yummy!
.
Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
.
What you need for the cake:
.
For the Pineapple Topping:
One 20-ounce can pineapple rings, with their syrup or juice
4 tbsp cold butter
2/3 cup firmly packed brown sugar (I used 1-1/2 cups for a thicker caramel topping)
7 - 10 maraschino cherries
.
For the Cake:
1-½ cups all purpose flour
¾ cup sugar (I used a full cup instead)
1-½ tsp baking powder
½ salt
½ cup milk
4 tbsp butter, softened
1 egg (or 2 eggs if you prefer)
1 tsp vanilla extract
.
What you need to do to make the cake:
-.
Heat the oven to 350F.
Drain the pineapple well, reserving 2 tablespoons of the juice or syrup for the cake batter.
Melt butter in a 10 inch cast iron skillet over medium heat. (Or, put the butter in a 9inch round cake pan and put it in the oven for a few minutes as the heat melts the butter.)
Remove the pan from the oven or stove and sprinkle the brown sugar over the buttery surface. Place the pineapple rings carefully on top of the scattered brown sugar and melted butter, arranging them so they fit in 1 layer.
Place a cherry in the centre of each ring, and set the pan aside.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt, using a fork to mix them together well.
Add milk and butter; beat well with a mixer, scraping down the bowl, until a thick, fairly smooth batter forms for about 1 to 2 minutes.
Add egg, reserved pineapple juice and the vanilla. Beat for 2 minutes scraping sides of bowl.
Carefully pour the batter over the pineapple arranged in the skillet or cake pan and use a spoon to spread it evenly to the edges of the pan.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until the cake is golden brown and springs back when touched lightly in the centre.
Cool in the skillet or pan for 5 minutes on a wire rack.
.
With oven mitts, carefully turn out the warm cake onto a serving plate by placing the plate upside down over the cake in the pan and then flipping them over together to release the cake onto the plate.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
.
ENJOY this delightful cake!
.
.
In a cast iron or heavy round pan, melt the butter, sprinkle the brown sugar evenly over the butter, then place the pineapple rings in a pretty, circular pattern. Place a cherry in the center hole of each ring.
.
Pour the batter on top and bake.
.
Hot bubbly caramel oozing from below the baked cake! It smells divine too!
.
Sort of a blurry photo, but here's a close-up of the cake turned upside down, look how creamy the buttery, sugary caramel topping is! Mmmm!.

One last photo before I cut in and savor this old-fashioned, traditional pineapple upside down cake! It never grew old for me!

Pin It

Top o' The Mornin' to Ya On St. Patrick's Day!

..
Happy St. Patrick's Day Friends!

I'm so busy with the last half of the spring semester at work, that I have nothing to show for baking or cooking for this little Irish celebration day. Just a quick look at a photo of one of the NUMEROUS Irish pubs that we saw last week in New York City. So many to choose from to pull up to the bar and drink a pint or two!

.

Plus a few more pictures of my NYC trip last week . . . they're making me hungry and wanting to order some cheesecake online now! :-)

.

We actually chatted with an 'aspiring' playwright while enjoying a pint of Guinness here.

.

A little blurry photo from my phone camera, but look at the SIZE of these monster onion rings from the pub! I couldn't even eat half of them they were so large!

This Carrot Cake Cheesecake from Junior's was truly 4 - 5" tall !

Finally, a picture of a perfect, bright, clear blue sky over St. Patrick's Cathedral on 5th Ave.

Before you go, here's a sort of fuzzy shot from my phone camera, of the Irish Chocolate Mousse cheesecake from our last day of gluttony in Manhattan. Notice the size of the fork next to the size of the slice!! Simply HUGE portions were served!

Hope you have a Happy St. Patrick's Day!
Pin It

My Small Taste of the Big Apple

.

Oh my gosh, I'm back from my very brief trip to New York City. We ate our way through the city as fast as we could and with what our little wallets could afford (and that's not much in NYC!).

.

I'll keep it short because I've got a cake to bake tonight and I know that each of you is busy too!

I have to tell you about Junior's, a non-descript restaurant, with an ordinary menu. The big deal about this eatery was the famous cheesecake that can be ordered on-line or on QVC. The photo below is the slice from Carnegie Deli and the slice from Junior's is almost double in size! It was so dreamy-creamy, that we went back for a second slice (that time it was the carrot cake cheesecake), and another time for a third slice (that time we had chocolate mousse cheesecake). We were so gluttonous at Junior's it was nearly embarrassing! The cheesecake at Carnegie Deli was good, but just not as good as Junior's. We ate Jewish knishes at the deli as well, which sadly didn't stack up to those I used to get when I lived in St. Louis.

.

.

A huge slice of creamy NY cheesecake from both Junior's and Carnegie Deli.

(Junior's was worthy of its #1 ranking of all NY cheesecakes!!)

A romantic night on the town in Tribeca, at Scalini Fedeli Italian Ristorante' -- EXQUISITE!

..

Our big splurge was at a very highly ranked (#6) Italian restaurant in the Tribeca area of Manhattan near the World Trade Center ground zero site. Well, it was just pure heaven! The early reservation began with fresh-out-of-the-oven focaccia, olive breads, and 3 other varieties that never stopped arriving at the table! In typical Italian style, the first course was pasta and I enjoyed a black truffle risotto with peas and prosciutto -- simply sublime! The chef then gave each of us a sample of ravioli in a butter sage cream sauce -- completely unexpected and oh so yummy! For our entrees we selected a light fish entree that was quite good, but the entree that my husband had was outrageously delicious: an order of double bone-in pork chops with a black truffle, herb cream sauce that melted in my mouth. Two different flavored sorbets were served between courses to cleanse the palates. Desserts included a fabulous apple tart for W.D. and an intense dark chocolate concoction for me.....not over yet! Finally, a complimentary surprise finishing touch arrived that included huge strawberries in Sabayon!

.

Needless to say, we could barely walk to grab a taxi! But we managed to get back to our hotel room and pass out!

.

We were recommended to eat true, authentic thin NY pizza at John's Pizzeria in the Theatre District on 44th Street. Below is a photo of one of the 100 year-old brick ovens that are fired with coal-fires and watched carefully by the cooks. Just incredible -- perfect crust and golden, bubbly cheese on top of yummy pepperoni! I ate (seriously, I'm not kidding you) 3/4's of a small pizza by myself, which really was the size of a 'normal' large pizza. The slices are very thin though! LOL!

.

Perfect NY pizza from John's Coal-Fired Pizzeria in the Theatre District

Rich chocolates from Switzerland in a shop with spring floral window displays. So pretty!

Street food! Piping hot pretzels, knishes, hot dogs, chestnuts, and more!

A typical NY pizzeria . . . this one was pretty sub-par in quality and taste

The Marriott Marquis on Times Square Lobby Bar ~~ a super cool place to have cocktails.

A turquoise stand-up bar lit-up from the inside, truly unique and modern for the city

Fabulous decor in the Marquis' Sushi Bar in the lobby

The sushi bar itself was opaque and lit up from within ~~ very contemporary!

Flags flying around Rockefeller Center Plaza on a sunny, 58 degree afternoon.

We didn't see any of the Broadway shows due to time and expense, but also because we just saw "Wicked" here in SC for our Valentine's Day gift to each other (that cost almost $300 less per ticket). We paid $130 per ticket for orchestra seating here in SC and the same seats were selling for $400 each on Broadway ~~ not exactly doable on an educator's budget! Phew! "Take Money" is my advice when in New York City! We walked off all of the calories that we inhaled, and I do have tons of additional photos, but time is ticking away, you're busy, and I've still got that cake to bake! I highly recommend a visit to New York City to all of you foodies, and I can't wait until I am able to visit the Big Apple again someday! Pin It

New York . . . New York!

.

A beautiful gift from France, our Lady of Liberty in NYC

Every March is conference season in my line of work and this month is no exception. It is time for me to change roles and switch from professor to student and learn more about how to improve on what I do in my chosen vocation of teaching.

.

Now usually in March I attend meetings in the warmer Southern U.S. states (you know . . . places like Hilton Head, SC, Destin, FL, or Savannah, GA), but this time I've chosen to, yes, go NORTH instead! I'll be peeling the Big Apple for the next few days of Spring Break. If I stayed home for break, I'd just spend the whole week catching up on cleaning the house! :-( So this is a MUCH better destination!

W.D. is going to tag along with me, so that we can spend evenings dining in oh-so-much-nicer eateries than we have here in our little village of a town nearby the acreage. We've already done our research and decided on a scrumptiously delicious Italian restaurant in the financial district near Wall Street. During the day we plan on going to some great deli's for huge submarine sandwiches, sky high NY cheesecake, and, of course, some genuine, authentic NY bagels! We've also got some great pizzarias on our list of go-to's! Mmmm, I'm hungry already! I'll give you the full scoop on how each of these experiences are when I return, cuz this week I'm trading in my kitchen apron for a seat at several tables in New York City! I know that I'll come home with more culinary inspiration to use in my own kitchen to share with you.

.

I am SO excited about this trip since I have not been back to New York City since just before 9/11 and the tragedy against our beautiful nation.

.

I'll be checking in my blog for your comments, because if you happen to have ANY recommendations for foodie hot spots, please let me know. I'll do my best to squeeze my friends' suggestions in.

So ciao for now my good friends, I'm off to do some BIG apple peeling!

The infamous Times Square where my hotel window will be looking right out on.

Pin It