pear/gingerbread upside down cake

the first time i made a pear-gingerbread upside down cake, it took  longer that it does now. it was fall and i was inspired by an abundance of fresh pears. guests were coming for dinner so i thought i would give it a try. i made the gingerbread from scratch and used fresh pears. THIS IS THE QUICK VERSION... and just as good. my 8 year old granddaughter and i made these. we had lots of pictures but while trying to set the date on my camera, the card was 'wiped clean'.

a winner

ingredients for 1 cake:

8 or 9 inch spring form pan

1 gingerbread cake mix

1 can pears, drained and juice saved

1/4 cup molasses

1/4 cup brown sugar,either light or dark
1/4 cup melted butter

1.preheat oven to 350 degrees
2.butter bottom and sides of spring form pan
3.melt 1/4 cup butter and add 1/4 cup brown sugar...stir and put in the bottom of the pan and spread evenly
4.arrange pears on top of melted butter and brown sugar ( no picture so remember they are upside-down ;)

5.follow directions for cake mix but instead of all water, use 1/4 cup of molasses and the juice from the pears. add water if needed ( the mix i used called for 1 egg and 1 cup of water. the molasses and pear juice made a full cup so i did not need any water). add ingredients all together and stir with a spoon till mixed. 6.pour over pears
7.bake according to box directions...mine took 30 minutes



out of the oven and on to the plate

remove from pan and flip over on plate while still hot. otherwise the sugar and butter will start to harden and stick to the pan ...do not ask me how i know this!  ;)

serve with whipped cream and ...............................enjoy!

roasted beet salad with arugula, butter lettuce and goat cheese

there are many recipes for roasted beet salad with cheese and nuts. the dressing is the key in this recipe. it was to accompany a pork roast and a heavy sweet potato,leek, parsnip au gratin. i wanted it to be slightly sweet. it was a hit...a keeper!

first a note on the greens in any salad: for crisp greens that hold the dressing...wash the greens in ice water ahead of time and spin dry. wrap in a dish towel or paper towels and store in the frig. for a couple of hours

 wrap the beets in foil and roast in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour. when they have cooled, remove the skins. the beets can be roasted ahead of time and refrigerated for a day or 2 if needed.

cut the beets in the desired shape. if the beets were small i would have quartered them



diced beets

dressing ingredients
1/2 good quality olive oil
1/3 cup white balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
juice of 1 clementine
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
fresh ground pepper

blend all ingredients. i place them in a jar and shake it. this too can be made ahead of time and refrigerated. be sure that it is at room temperature before using it.

crumble the goat cheese. i estimate about an ounce per salad

assemble the salad by placing the greens on a plate and adding a serving of beets,
spoon the dressing over all the beets and greens
add the crumbles goat cheese

                                                                           enjoy!

BLUE CHEESE CAKE

it's that time of year, lots of parties and lots of food. the following recipe is easy. it can be made ahead and refrigerated and it can even be frozen. it serves 20 as an appetizer and even more when it is spread on crackers


finished cheese cake

ingredients at room temperature 
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup crushed cheese crackers
16 ounces cream cheese, softened
8 ounces blue cheese or gorgonzola
3 eggs
1/4 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup picante sauce
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 teaspoon cajun seasoning(optional)

preheat oven to 325 degrees.
1. butter an 8 inch spring form pan and sprinkle cracker crumbs on the bottom and sides.
2. blend cheeses, flour, eggs, salt,cajun seasoning, picante sauce and sour cream till nice and creamy
3. fold in onions
4. pour mixture into pan( i pour the mixture slowly over a spatula so that the crumbs on the bottom are not      displaced)
5. sprinkle the top with walnuts

bake for 1 hour. cool and chill overnight

serve at room temperature.

                                                                        enjoy!

make ahead turkey gravy/gluten free

last year i was visiting my dear friend elsa. it was a couple of weeks before thanksgiving and she was making turkey gravy using turkey wings. after the gravy was made, she put it in the freezer...one less chore before serving up the turkey dinner. thinking this was a very smart idea i did the same when i got home. i just finished making this year's turkey gravy last night and i  measured the ingredients! i made it gluten free but the cornstarch can always be switched if a flour thickening is desired. 

i also included a link for my pumpkin cheesecake

http://the-jill-of-all-trades.blogspot.com/2010/11/pumpkin-cheesecake.html

ingredients for 8 cups of gravy

4 pounds turkey wings

2 cans turkey stock (chicken could be substituted)

4 cups water

1 large onion

celery tops

1 teaspoon thyme

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup water

1/2 cup cornstarch or 1 cup flour

preheat oven to 450degrees

turkey wings, onion, celery tops and turkey broth

             place wings in a shallow baking pan in the 450 degree oven for 30 minutes or until brown

 remove wings to a stock pot and deglaze pan with a cup of the water. add the rest of the 4 cups of water, the 2 -14.5 ounces of turkey broth, chopped onion, celery tops and seasoning and simmer covered for 2 hours.

                                          drain  and strain the cooked broth into a saucepan.

the cooked turkey can be picked from the bones and used for another purpose

TO THICKEN THE GRAVY

 mix cornstarch with remaining 1 cup of water making sure there are no lumps. add this mixture to the  broth in the saucepan and turn on the heat. stir constantly until the gravy reaches a rolling boil. if the gravy is not thick enough, mix more cornstarch and water...remove from heat and add slowly ,stirring constantly till it is the right consistancy for you. if it is too thick, some broth can be added from the turkey when it is reheated on thansgiving.  the gravy is now ready to refrigerate or freeze


                            ready to enjoy! 

leek, chard and turkey soup

i had not been out to the garden for about two weeks. rainy weather and other things to do i guess. i was pleasantly surprised when i went out this past monday. the late plantings of lettuce, arugula, tatsoi and cilantro were flourishing in the damp, cool weather. the chard that i planted in the beginning of june was still beautiful with its yellow, orange and red spines. the parsley was abundant.

i had about 3 quarts of turkey stock from cooking down a meaty turkey carcass. my neighbor and friend betsy gave me three huge leeks from here garden...what to make?  how about some turkey, leek, chard soup!

soup is easy to make. no measurements needed. most important is the stock. 'you have to put good in to get it out'. the bones for stock must be meaty. watery, weak stock just does not yield good soup

                                              3 large leeks that have been cleaned and sliced.

                                            a very large bunch of chard that has been chopped.

place the leeks and chard in with the stock pot with the broth and the turkey. i always chop the meat that has been cooked for the broth. it is a great way to find any little bones that you might have missed when the carcass was picked.bring to a simmer and add 3 sliced carrots...always great for color.

after about 20 minutes, bring the soup to a rolling boil and add some noodles or rice and a cup or so of chopped parsley. i added a cup and a half of small egg bows. i let them boil about 5 minutes stirring frequently and then turned off the heat.

the soup was an experiment and it was very tasty. it was interesting to see the colored stems of the chard change the color of the stock to a light yellow.

                                  enjoy!

oatmeal cookies with 'lots of goodies'

i rarely blog about baking because it is not my favorite... too restricting! i always feel like i am back in chemistry lab. i do know that if you follow the chemistry of baking that you can add all kinds of extras as long as you measure all the important stuff. i am not a chocolate chip cookie fan, especially the soft ones. i like my cookies to be either chewy or crunchy. this is my #1 choice. the nice thing about it is if you do not like one of the extras or goodies as i call them, you can always double up on the ones you like.

oatmeal cookies with raisins, chocolate chips, walnuts and coconut

1/2 pound softened butter
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup sugar
3 tablespoons milk
2ggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

dry ingredients
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup pastry flour
1 teaspoon each of salt, baking powder and baking soda

the goodies
2 cups oats
1 cup raisins
1 heaping cup chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1 cup coconut

cream the butter and sugars until light and fluffy. add the eggs,milk and vanilla

sift the dry ingredients and stir into the sugar and butter mixture.

fold in the oats and other 'stuff'.

preheat oven to 350 degrees

i use 2 soup spoons for shaping these cookies. try to shape them into balls as you put them on the cookie sheet and make sure they are at least 2 1/2 inches apart...they spread. they are about 3 inches across after they are baked. the recipe makes 3 times the amount in the picture (family got the rest).

bake for 8-15 minutes depending on the size and your oven. watch the first batch carefully and do not over bake. when they are light brown on the edges, remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before placing on the cooling rack,newspaper or whatever you use to cool your cookies. they will harden when they are cool.

enjoy!

dilled green potatoes

this recipe is most certainly tried and true. 48+ years ago my hubby and i finished school, got married 2 weeks later and a month after that he was in the air force and we landed in Duluth, Minnesota for 2 wonderful years. i was a very inexperienced cook and this is one of the first recipes that one of the other wives shared. it is a great side dish for grilled or roasted meats. the best part is that it can be made a day ahead and refrigerated

idaho potatoes, fresh chives, frozen chopped spinach, Jerusalem artichoke flowers

ingredients 6 large potatoes, peeled and cooked
3/4 -1 cup of light cream
1/4 pound butter, softened
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
4 tablespoons chopped chives
1 1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
1 package thawed and drained chopped spinach ( i squeeze it)


thawed and drained spinach and chopped chives

mash the potatoes with the butter and cream until they are fluffy.  add the rest of the ingredients and mix.

 place the mixture in a greased casserole( 1 1/2 quart )and either refrigerate or place in the oven at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

                                                                   serve and ENJOY!

note: i have made this recipe without the dill when i did not think it went with the rest of the meal...it was still good!