Pineapple Upside-down Cake

I made this cake yesterday for dessert, just because I happened to have some leftover canned pineapple in the fridge.  Who knew it was going to be so delicious and decadent!  I remember when my Mom made this cake when I was little and have always loved it, but her version didn't have this rich caramel layer on the bottom.  This extra step makes this cake really special and even good enough for entertaining - especially with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

I baked this cake in a cast iron pan and so can be made in one step.  However, if you do not have one, then just pour the caramel into a 9 inch cake pan or Pyrex dish.  The cake recipe part is pretty basic and luckily only uses one egg (due to my kids making egg and bacon sandwiches for breakfast).  The caramel part is a little trickier however, and I found it impossible to dissolve brown sugar in melted butter as the recipes tell you to do.  So, if you come across the same problem, just add a teaspoon of hot water to the mixture and whisk vigorously on medium heat.  This will dissolve the sugar and result in a beautiful liquid caramel.  I hope you try this cake, I'm sure you and family/friends will love it.

Pineapple Upside-down Cake
(Makes 9 or 10 inch cake)
Ingredients:
Caramel layer
1/2 (4 tbs) stick butter
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 - 2 teaspoons hot water
1 large can pineapple slices, drained
Maraschino cherries
Cake: 
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 stick (6 tbs) butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2/3 cup milk

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• Prepare caramel: If you are using a cast iron skillet, melt the butter over medium high heat.  Sprinkle on  the sugar and stir to dissolve for 3 to 4 minutes.  If the sugar clumps and does not blend into the butter, then add the water and whisk vigorously until a syrup forms.  Transfer the caramel to a 9 or 10 inch baking pan or Pyrex dish.  Set aside.

• Carefully place the rings of pineapple on top of the caramel and fill the centers with cherries (or raspberries, if you don't have cherries).

• Prepare cake:  Sift the flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl.
• Using a stand or hand mixer, cream the soft butter and sugar until light and creamy.  Beat in the egg and vanilla.
• Mixing on slow speed, add one third of the flour, then one half of the milk.  Add another third of the flour and the remaining milk.  Finally mix in the rest of the flour, but do not over mix.
• Spoon the batter evenly on top of the pineapple.
• Bake  for 30 to 40 minutes or until golden brown and a toothpick when inserted in the middle comes out clean.

• Cool on wire rack for 5 to 10 minutes and carefully turn out onto a serving plate. This must be done while the cake is still warm.  Enjoy!

Ultimate Banana Nut Muffins

So, we have a house full of guests this week - 3 daughters, plus friends and boyfriends.  I also had a fruit bowl full of over ripe bananas.  It was the perfect opportunity to make muffins for breakfast or any time snack.

I decided to search the web for the BEST banana nut muffins and came up with Tyler Florence and his "Ultimate recipe"  It looked perfect and didn't have any extras like sour cream (which was not in my half empty fridge) and from the reviews, I could even cut down the amount of butter from 1 1/2 sticks to 1 stick!  Hurrah!  I also had the cup of brown sugar, which is a change from other recipes I have tried before. He also mashes half of the bananas roughly, so we get to see chunks of the fruit inside.  I also substituted the pecans from his original recipe to walnuts.  This recipe definitely looked promising.  As you can see from the photos, they were a great success and made 15 good sized muffins.  Thank you Tyler!

The Ultimate Banana Nut Muffin
2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 overripe bananas
1 cup brown sugar
1 stick butter, melted and cooled
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and grease 2 muffin tins with non-stick spray. 
•  In a large bowl, sift the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt; set aside. 
•  Mash 2 of the bananas with a fork in a small bowl so they still have a bit of texture.

•  With an electric mixer fitted with a wire whisk, whip the remaining bananas and sugar together like you mean it, for a good 3 minutes. Add the melted butter, eggs, and vanilla and beat well, scraping down the sides of the bowl once or twice.

 

• Mix in the dry ingredients just until incorporated. Fold in the nuts and the mashed bananas with a rubber spatula. 

 

•  Use ice cream scoop or spoon the batter into the muffin tins to fill them about halfway. Give them a rap on the counter to get any air bubbles out.

•  Bake until a toothpick stuck in the muffins comes out clean, 18 to 20 minutes. Let cool for a few minutes before turning the muffins out. Serve warm or at room temperature. 

Merry Christmas!

Just wanted to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  My family are all together again this week and will be celebrating this evening at Trinity Church in Boston.  We all enjoy singing Christmas carols together - the girls have such great voices! Tomorrow, we couldn't decide on Roast Turkey (again, it's an English tradition) or Roast Beef, so we are having both.  At least I won't have to cook for the rest of the week.  We haven't seen any snow yet this month, but they are predicting a few flurries tonight.  It will be nice to have a white Christmas.  Anyway, that's all for now. Hope you check in with me next year...

If you're looking for some holiday recipes, here are some of my faves.  Just click on the links...

Sausage Rolls
Soft White Dinner Rolls
Real Yorkshire Puddings
Ginger Molasses Cookies
Gingerbread House
Mince Pies
English Trifle

Turkey Pot Pie

Hopefully you have eaten all your Thanksgiving turkey, but if you still have some left over, this is a delicious classic recipe for cooked turkey, chicken or ham.  Yes, you could make it the easy way using a can of condensed soup, but this sauce is so simple and we all have flour, butter and milk at home.   I think a veloute sauce is much tastier with this pie (it's a bechamel sauce made with chicken stock).  I try to have a jar of "Better than Bouillon" in my fridge, so I can always make my own chicken broth.

For convenience and speed, I used frozen puff pastry but you can buy regular frozen pie crust or even make your own, much nicer!  Just make sure it's defrosted in the fridge before you start.  I like to use fresh vegetables such as onion, carrot, celery, mushrooms, leeks, spinach, bell pepper, zucchini and frozen peas or corn.  However, frozen mixed veg could also be used if you're a beginner.  By all means, just use vegetables and omit the meat if you fancy a meat free meal.

So, you choose the vegetables, add the protein and sauce, then top with pastry and bake.  Easy as pie!

Turkey Pot Pie 

(Serves 4)

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons butter

1 small onion, peeled and diced

2 carrots, peeled and sliced

2 stalks celery, sliced

1/4 cup flour

1 cup chicken broth

1 cup milk or half and half

1 cup frozen peas

2 cups cooked turkey, diced

1/2 teaspoon dried mixed herbs

Salt and pepper to taste

1 layer frozen puff pastry, defrosted in fridge

Directions:

• In a medium saucepan with lid, melt the butter over medium heat.  Add the prepared vegetables and saute for 2 to 3 minutes. Add a little of the measured broth to the pan, cover with lid and simmer on low until the vegetables are tender, approx. 5 minutes.  
• Add the flour to the vegetables and increase heat to medium high. Stir with wooden spoon until a roux is formed or the flour mixture thickens and turns a light golden brown.
• Gradually pour in the chicken broth and milk and stir continuously until the sauce thickens. Season with dried herbs, salt and pepper to taste.
• Remove from the heat and stir in the peas and diced turkey.

• Transfer the mixture to a baking dish and set aside.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

• On a floured work surface, roll out the pastry to fit the pie dish.  Lay over the filling, cut with scissors or knife to leave a 1 inch overhang. Turn the edge under all around and press the pastry down firmly to the dish rim to secure.

• The top can be brushed with beaten egg or milk and cut 3 or 4 slits.
• Place dish on baking tray and bake in preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes until golden brown and filling is bubbling.

• Serve immediately and enjoy.

Fish and Chips

OK. it's safe to say that I LOVE fish and chips!  However, it has to be in the British style with cod or haddock fried in a crispy batter, accompanied by thick fried wedges of potato.  It hasn't been easy to find this meal in the U.S.,and unfortunately I'm still looking.  I still have unhappy memories of a fish and chip dinner at "Jasper White's" Summer Shack here in Boston, where the batter was soft and cakey (probably used egg in the batter).  However, we do have very nice fresh fish in New England, so I'm happy to make my own. 

The batter recipe, of course, is crucial and there are loads of recipes out there for you to choose from.  This one is a winner and is based on a tempura batter, but using beer instead of seltzer water.  Other secret ingredients are rice flour mixed in with AP flour and baking powder to make a light batter. 

Chef tips: Make sure the fish is nice and dry, then dredge in flour before dipping in the batter and deep fry in oil heated to 350 degrees F. 

Fish and Chips (Serves 2)

Ingredients:

2 - 3 cups canola or vegetable oil

2 medium potatoes, preferably russet

8 - 10 oz fillet of cod, haddock or white fish

1/2 cup rice flour

1/2 cup all purpose flour

1 teaspoon Kosher salt

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 cup approx. beer or lager

Directions:

• Peel the potatoes and cut into chips.  Wash and transfer to bowl of cold water.
• Cut the fish into 4 equal pieces, dry thoroughly with paper towel.  Set aside.
• Prepare batter: In a medium bowl, whisk together the rice flour and AP flour.  Remove 1/4 cup to a smaller bowl for dredging.

• Add the salt and baking powder to the remaining flour.  Mix together with a wire whisk and slowly add the beer until the batter resembles thick cream.

• Heat the oil on high heat, in a medium heavy bottomed pot until the temperature reaches 350 degrees F.
• Drain the chips and dry with a clean kitchen towel. Slowly, lower the potatoes into the oil, being careful not to over load the pan or the oil will spill over.  Cook in two batches if the pot is too small.
• Cook until the potatoes are soft but not browned.  Remove from the oil and set aside on a plate.  Repeat with any remaining potatoes.
• Coat the fish with dredging flour and dip into the beer batter.  Shake off any excess batter and fry in the hot oil, a couple of pieces at a time, until golden brown and cooked through approx. 3 minutes each side.

•  Drain the fried fish on paper towel and keep warm.  
• Reheat the oil until almost smoking and fry the chips a second time until crisp and golden. Drain on paper towel.
• Serve the fish and chips immediately with salt and malt vinegar.  Enjoy!

Braised Lamb Shanks

Fall is here and the evenings are getting colder. It's the perfect time for casseroles and stews, prepared either in your slow cooker or a low oven.  If you love an Irish stew made with lamb, it can get quite expensive, especially when made with the leg of lamb.  So, look out for lamb shanks next time you're in the supermarket. You've guessed right if you think they look like little legs, they are in fact the lower leg and are probably the toughest part of the lamb.  So, low and slow is the answer!  By the way, this recipe takes about 2 hours to braise in the oven, so don't start this if you want a quick meal.

Braised Lamb Shanks (Serves 2)

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon canola or olive oil

2 lamb shanks

1 medium onion

3 medium carrots

2 - 3 stalks celery

3 garlic cloves

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 tablespoon flour

1 x 15oz can diced tomatoes

1 cup chicken or beef broth

1 sprig fresh rosemary or 1 teaspoon dried mixed herbs

2 medium potatoes, preferably Yukon gold 

1 cup frozen green peas

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

• Season the lamb shanks with salt and pepper. Heat a large (cast iron) dutch oven with lid on medium heat. Add the oil and brown the meat on both sides.  Remove and set aside. 

 

• Cut up the vegetables and thinly slice the garlic cloves.

• Transfer to the pan and cook in the remaining oil for 3 to 4 minutes until lightly browned.
• Add the tomato paste and flour and cook for a further 2 to 3 minutes.

• Stir in the canned tomatoes and broth, increase the heat and bring to the boil.  Add the lamb shanks and herbs, lower the heat to simmer and cover with lid.

• The dish can be cooked in 3 ways - bake in a preheated 325 degree F oven for 45 minutes or on top of the stove (on low) for 45 minutes or transfer to slow cooker (see directions for times). 

• Add the cut up potatoes and peas to the stew and continue to cook for a further 20 to 30 minutes until tender.  The meat should be falling off the bone at this stage.  Season to taste and serve.

Wegman's Supermarket has arrived!

Calling all Foodies!  There's a new supermarket in town and it's fantabulous....

There has been so much hype about this new store on the tv, that I finally drove the 30 minutes from my home in Acton, MA to Northborough, MA.  The minute I stepped into the store I was excited and amazed at the enormity of the place.  Even though they have been open for over two months, there were lots of customers looking as happy as me.

It was lunchtime, so I headed towards the cafe and ready to eat foods, which is located to the right of the entrance.  I couldn't believe my eyes, there was everything you could possibly want.  In the mood for some fried calamari or have a hankering for a hearty pub burger? The Market Café offers restaurant-quality fresh and prepared foods to enjoy in the store’s dining areas that seat 300 (offering free WiFi), or take-out to eat at home or the office. One room even has a roaring fireplace while another features a train table and enticing toys sure to attract the younger set. The café includes a dizzying array of foods including a coffee shop, panini station, sub shop, sushi bar, vegetarian bar, wokery, pizza shop, soup station and food bar.

Everything at Wegmans is larger than life. The store itself is 138,000 square feet – almost three acres and bigger than two football fields.  The grocery store offers 70,000 products, while most other stores offer only 40,000. They stock 300 specialty cheeses in our store along with 700 different fruits and vegetables. If you want fresh fish, the Day Boat Station offers fish caught that day.

Wegmans, a family-owned business first founded in 1916 as a fresh produce pushcart, has always been ahead of its time. The Wegman brothers made national headlines when they opened a 20,000-square-foot food store in 1930 that included a cafeteria that seated 300. Today the chain’s innovations continue to draw loyal customers. Before even opening in Northborough, over 25,000 people signed up online for Wegmans Shoppers Club Card.

Wine, spirits and beer are also available in the 15,000-square-foot space devoted to over 600 varieties of domestic and imported beers, $6 wine selections, and a “Craft Your Own Pack” feature that allows customers to fill a six-pack with any six beers from a wide selection.

Shopping is easy with wide aisles and over 30 cashiers, ready to open their register if there are more than two people already in any line.

Wegmans is also well known for its extensive community outreach efforts. These include offering customers a selection of produce from area farms such as Carlson Apples, Confrida Farms and Sid Wainer & Sons, and supporting regional food banks. In Northborough, the store has been a boon to the economy, offering jobs to 600 locals.

Wegmans Food Market is now open from 6 a.m. to midnight every day, and is located at Northborough Crossing next to T.J. Maxx at 9102 Shops Way.

Happy Shopping!