Posted by Karla Lofgren Davis, March 13, 2009
June 6, 2009 - One of the delicious desserts served at "The Shoot-out, Part Deaux" was the pineapple upside down cake that Charles and Dolly Crider brought. It looked great, and tasted great as well. No one needed to know that it might have turned out differently. But Charles loves a good story, and he spins a good yarn, so he couldn't resist telling about their comedy of errors when working together to make it. Ed heard the story and relayed it to me on the way home (Sorry I missed hearing Charles tell it!) So I asked Charles to write it up for me, and here it is:
Pineapple Upside-Down Cake Cake 1 box of Duncan Hines cake mix – Pineapple Supreme 3 eggs 1/3 cup oil 1 1/3 cups pineapple juice (Dolly substituted the juice for water) Topping 1 large can of crushed pineapple (drained) 1 jar cherries (drained and cut in half) 1 stick of margin (melted) 1 cup brown sugar (packed) Melt butter in a 9x13 pan Sprinkle brown sugar in pan. Spread drained cherries. Spread crushed pineapple. Spread prepared cake mix over the crushed pineapple. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes. Let cool in pan for 30 minutes then invert on a serving plate or another 9x13 pan. I attached Dolly's receipt for the pineapple upside-down cake (see below, it was delicious). When we started on the cake, Dolly worked on the cake batter and I started on the topping. After I put the cherries in, Dolly handed me the batter and I started pouring it in the pan. I had about 1/3 of it in when she said "Whoops". We had forgotten to put in the crushed pineapple. I stopped putting in the batter and put in the crushed pineapple. I then finished putting in the rest of the batter into the pan. We really hoped it would work. After it was cooked and cooled, we 'flipped' it into another pan and it looked like the crushed pineapple had moved to the top. Yea! I think it worked.
The pineapple motif inspired Linda Little Strickland to send a recipe that sounds like a delicious and refreshing dessert.
BUTTERMILK-PINEAPPLE ICE CREAM
1- 20 oz can of crush pineapple sweetened with Splenda
1- tsp vanilla
1- pinch salt
6- packets of Splenda
Juice of 1 lemon w/ some zest
Using a stick blender, mix these ingredients in a medium bowl that has a cover. Fill the empty can with 20 oz. of whole buttermilk and add to the mixture. Blend this good, cover, and put in freezer. When partially frozen
blend again. Freeze more, blend and eat when at the consistency you desire.
PREVIOUS INSTALLMENT - DUELING DUTCH BABIES
March 13, 2009 - There have been many exciting, serendipitous discoveries as the blog has developed. One of the revelations came as I have reconnected with Thurburn Barker and Glenda Burns Minniece. Thurburn included with his "Holiday Gatherings 2008" photos a picture of a particular dish he likes to create for his family on special occasions. Who takes a photo of food? Who includes that photo with their family photos of the holidays? Well, we do! Here's the story of the DUELING DUTCH BABIES.
Here is the actual photo that Thurburn sent me, along with the following commentary.
The German Pancakes photo shows four baked pancakes (my specialty). This batch was made from 8-eggs, 1/2 cup of flour (it's better to use a little bit of Gluten flour to stiffen the upright walls after baking), 1/2 cup milk; baked for 12-15 minutes at 450-degrees. After baking, they are filled with steamed apples slices followed by a bit of lemon juice, maple syrup, cinnamon and dusted with powdered sugar. Yummy. A few months ago, I taught Landon (grandson) how to make these. Now this is his specialty and he enjoys making these for his family and friends.
The Village Inn Pancake House used to have these on their menu in the Boulder and Denver area. However, the Village Inn dropped this item from their menu sometime in the 70's; I suppose that's because it took 20-minutes to prepare and was a bit more complex in presentation.
Here are some photos from a recent breakfast that Ed prepared in the kitchen of our Dallas kids – Matt, Megan, Alex, and Karly. We fill ours with a medley of fresh fruit, lightly sweetened so the juices develop, sprinkled with powdered sugar, and drizzled with honey or maple syrup. YUMMMMM!!!!!!!
And recently, Ed - who always love variety - tried a square dish. The tasted was the same but the presentation was fun.
But wait, the story of the Dueling Dutch Babies does not end there. I commented to Glenda in an e-mail how much I am enjoying becoming better acquainted with Thurburn (and his family) and mentioned the German Pancakes/Dutch Babies that we have in common. She explained that she was about to make some of those herself for John’s birthday as they think of them as a dessert.
When I told her I thought it would be fun to start a food related post on the blog (to see what other specialties our classmates make), she offered to take some photos to contribute to the cause. Being a school teacher, she took it one step further and did a step by step cooking demonstration. Her work follows.
Glenda wrote: John's birthday isn't until Thursday but because I'm going out of town to Mother's after we go out to lunch that day, I went ahead and made the pancakes last night, and we had the leftovers tonight. By the way, I normally use Falfurrias butter to support Texas businesses. Here's the recipe (from MarthaStewart.com). She calls them Puffy Maine Pancakes; we call them Dutch Baby Pancakes: 2 large eggs, lightly beaten 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 cup milk (we use Promise Land - it's from all Jersey cows and John likes it best) 1 pinch salt 1 pinch freshly grated nutmeg (who is Martha kidding? I use the already grated kind and like it fine.) 3 tablespoons unsalted butter (that would be better for John's heart but I still use salted most of the time since we don't use much) Confectioners' sugar, for dusting Heat oven to 425 degrees F. Place eggs, flour, milk, salt, and nutmeg in a medium bowl; whisk until combined. Batter may still be slightly lumpy. The batter may be made a day ahead and chilled overnight. Yield: 4 servings.
For each pancake, melt 1 tablespoon butter in a 4-inch crepe pan or ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Using a ladle, pour one-third of the batter into the very hot pan; transfer pan or skillet immediately to the oven.
Bake until pancake is golden brown and very puffy, about 10 minutes. Dust with confectioners' sugar; serve immediately.
(John and I add bananas and strawberries, plus ready-made whipped cream.)
So, whether you call them German Pancakes, Dutch Baby Pancakes, or Puffy Maine Pancakes - try them - they may become one of YOUR SIGNATURE DISHES.
And now, let's hear (and see) what's cookin' in your kitchen!!! Send photos, recipes, techniques, etc. to Karla via e-mail and it will show up here soon enough.
Also, please leave a comment below on any topic related to delicious cuisine.
CLICK HERE to return to the top of the main section after reading comments below, and/or making your own comment.
My dad made German potato pancakes (not dessert) to serve with a pork roast and home made apple sauce.
His recipe was one potato, one onion, and one egg per person served, plus a dash of nutmeg per person and salt and pepper. Grind the potatos and onion in an old fashioned meat grinder (coarse grind) if you have one (a food processor doesn't seem to do as well)and fry in an iron skillet over high heat. Make the pancakes larger than silver dollars, but smaller than breakfast pancakes. Takes a long time, not very healthy, and trashes the top of the stove--but a good winter dish.
I'm looking for a great macaroni and cheese recipe. Any suggestions?? I'll trade for an excellent Italian bread recipe.
Posted by: Paul Schrader | March 14, 2009 at 06:53 PM
Glenda,
Why is your oven so clean?
Posted by: Sheila Steele Howard | March 15, 2009 at 08:14 AM
The recipe comes from my cousin, Betsy Birdwell, who lives inland (Bryan, Texas) and makes it with canned shrimp and crab, but here is how I make it:
SEAFOOD QUICHE
1 unbaked pie shell (I make my own, which is better, but Pillsbury would do in a pinch)
3/4 cup mayonnaise
2 TBS flour
2 eggs, slightly beaten (egg substitute OK)
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 cup finely chopped green onion
1/2 cup finely chopped red pepper
1/2 pound shrimp, shelled (small to medium work best, otherwise cut them up)
6 ounces crab meat, picked over
1/2 lb. Swiss cheese, cubed (NOTE: Always cube it, never grate it, because I did that once and it wasn't as good)
Mix mayonnaise with flour. Stir in remaining ingredients and add to pie shell. Bake at 350 degrees 35-45 minutes until lightly browned and set.
Posted by: Laura McNeil Burns | March 15, 2009 at 04:16 PM
Hi Sheila - My oven is so clean because I seldom use it! :) :)
Posted by: Glenda Burns Minniece | April 25, 2009 at 05:35 PM
Mrs. Minniece! I was a student in your 4th grade class at Bane Elementary! I'm graduating this Friday from college and wanted to send you a graduation party invitation :) I'm not sure if you remember me, as it was a long time ago! But you've really had a great impact on my life and I wanted to say, "Thanks!" my email address is [email protected]
Posted by: Ramon Rodriguez | April 30, 2009 at 05:32 PM
First of all, I love to cook, and I have enough recipes gleaned from my mother's archives to fill a lot of space at the blog's recipe site. However, I fear, that would be way too narcissistic of me. Here's one of my all-time favorite dishes that she used to make:
Chicken Paprika
¼ C butter
3 medium onions, chopped
1 Tblspn paprika
2 tspns salt
3½-lb chicken, cut into pieces
3 Tblspns (or more) sour cream
2 Tblspns flour
½ C chopped green bell pepper
½ can tomatoes (or more as desired), chopped
Heat butter in large skillet with lid. Add onions and peppers and cook. Stir in paprika, salt, chicken pieces, and tomatoes. Cover and cook approximately 45 minutes. Stir occasionally and add water if needed. Combine sour cream and flour. Blend into chicken mixture until smooth. Continue simmering chicken until tender. Serve over cooked rice or cooked noodles.
Jody
Posted by: Jody Bugg | May 22, 2009 at 08:35 PM