Italian Asparagus and Potato Gratin in Six Cheese Sauce

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Easter and Spring! Such a wonderful holiday and season that together herald delicious traditional foods including buttery asparagus, tender new potatoes, garden-fresh spinach, eggs, succulant ham and more! For our very small Easter dinner (just my husband and me this year), we baked a brown sugar crusted ham, a cheesy asparagus and potato gratin and prepared a sweet and savory spinach salad..
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Since the weather has been so incredibly warm for this time of year, we spent most of our day outside in the gardens after going to church early in the morning. We decided to keep our menu simple because all of our kids and their families stayed in their home cities this year. We've got a very busy family with their own careers, children, and even more babies on the way, so we just kept the stress level lower by not traveling to one or the other this year.
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So in light of that train of thought on simplicity, I'll get straight to one of my recipes that I prepared for Easter, starting with the Asparagus and Potato Gratin in Six Cheese Sauce. This is a dish that I came up with on my own, using my favorite cheeses that bubble and create a golden brown top with beautiful green asparagus peeking through while the potatoes float underneath. This dish is a lovely spring dish in presentation as well. Mmmm, so good too!.

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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?

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Caramel Crusted Pineapple Upside Down Cake

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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!
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Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
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What you need for the cake:
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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
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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
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What you need to do to make the cake:
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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.
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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.
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ENJOY this delightful cake!
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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.
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Pour the batter on top and bake.
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Hot bubbly caramel oozing from below the baked cake! It smells divine too!
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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!

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