Monday, November 18, 2013

Pineapple USD Baby Cakes

I've been absent for a long time--ran out of things to say, I guess.  Or maybe too many hours on jet planes has fried my brain.  Anyhow, we had company last night for dinner, and since there was a test recipe from America's Test Kitchen that needed reviewing, I decided it would be a "comfort food" menu.  The test was Mac and Cheese that is made ahead, and frozen in a disposable foil pan.  It baked up very nicely, and we all thought it was pretty tasty.  The trick is to undercook the pasta so that it isn't mushy after being frozen.  So, what goes with M&C?  Meatloaf, and I thought a homey dessert would fit the bill--pineapple upsidedown cake.

So, since I can't help tweaking any recipe that comes before my eyes, I decided to make baby cakes.  That single slice of pineapple was just calling out for a starring solo appearance, and it made a very nice presentation.  And what has to be in a pineapple dessert?  Rum, of course.  A little of that went into the topping and the batter as well.  So--here's the recipe--made it up myself!

 
 
Serves 8 
8 Buttered  Ramekins
1 can Pineapple slices in juice
8 maraschino cherries
8 tbs brown sugar
10 tbs melted butter
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2/3 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 tbs rum
 
Heat oven to 350*.  Butter the ramekins.  Drain off the pineapple slices, saving the juice.  Put 1 tbs of brown sugar into each ramekin, patting it flat with a small fork.  Drizzle in some melted butter and a little rum.  There should be about 8 tbs butter left for the cake batter, and 1 tbs of the rum.  Put the pineapple slices on top of the sugar, with a cherry in the middle.
 
Cream the egg, butter, and sugar until light colored, and add in the rum.  Combine the dry ingredients and add to the butter mixture, alternating with the pineapple juice, finishing with the dry ingredients.  I didn't measure out the pineapple juice--just added enough to look like a good cake batter-not too thick, not too thin.  Pour batter over the pineapple slices.
 
Put the ramekins on a large baking pan, spacing them out so that the heat can circulate.  Bake 25-30 minutes, until top springs back when you touch it with your finger.  Cool on a rack-loosen the edges of the cake while it is still warm.  When the ramekins are cool enough to handle, upend onto the serving plates.  I think if you wait too long, the sugar in the bottom will not come out nicely. Enjoy!


 
                                                                                                                                                                                               

Friday, March 15, 2013

Mac and Cheese

Who doesn't like Mac and Cheese?  Those of us who shouldn't be eating it only manage to make it once in a blue moon, but goodness knows, life is too short to survive the kind of deprivation required to maintain the weight of the previous decade, and I have long questioned if it is worth the struggle.  I go to Weight Watcher's off and on, especially when I have a friend who motivates me, and this last time I ended up the "biggest loser" of the three of us who signed on.  By "BL" I mean the one who gave up first and managed to gain back that which was lost.  Well--I did okay for a couple years, anyhow. 

Weight Watchers has left me with several recipes that are really good that I truly like, and this is the one for Mac and Cheese.  I will write the original and then offer my variations.

12 oz elbows
1/2 cup fat free sour cream

12 oz fat free evaporated milk (1 can)
1 TBS Dijon
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 pepper
1/8 tsp nutmeg

8 oz reduced fat Colby or cheddar

2 TBS bread crumbs
2 TBS grated Parmesan

Boil the pasta until al dente.  Drain, and put into a baking dish.  While it is hot, add the sour cream, and mix it in.

Scald the can of evaporated milk--this seems to be necessary to keep it from curdling during the baking.  Add in the salt, pepper, mustard and nutmeg.  Reduce the heat to low, or take it off the heat and stir in the cheese until smooth.  Pour it over the pasta. 

Mix the bread crumbs and the Parmesan and sprinkle over the top.

Bake 350* for 40 minutes

Okay--here's me.  My oven runs hot, so I turned it down to 335*.  I also pulled it out after 30 or so minutes, since the last time I left it in too long, and the creaminess sort of clogs up between the pieces of pasta.  This time it was perfect.

My bad self also lightly browns up a package of fresh chorizo and stirs that in.  This time I had a package of Johnstown Chicken Sausage (with red peppers and cheese), and I just sliced that up and put it in without browning, since I thought the cheese would probably just melt out and mess up the frying pan, and besides, it looked pretty cooked right out of the package.  I have no idea what this does to the calorie content or the WW points--just that it makes it into a meal.  Also, I only had 8 oz of pasta, and only used 4 oz of regular cheese, and MT and I finished less than half the pan.  I don't know how many servings the original is supposed to serve.

Something else that I just thought of--I only had about a quarter cup of the FF sour cream, so I added about a quarter cup of FF mayonnaise...

Yeah, I know--I confess I cook by the seat of my pants, and each time things are different.  It depends a lot on what is in the house at the time.  Works for me!