Pear and Cardamom Upside Down Cake

My girlfriends and I made this cake for an Indian themed, ladies only dinner party.  I am a major Indian food fan (and boy, did we feast well on dinner), however I have never been able to get into traditional Indian desserts.  Gulab Jamun anyone??  I just can't.  I do love Chai tea though, and it was on the menu.   I chose this cake as one of our dessert options because I thought the cardamom was reminiscent of those beautiful Indian flavours, it would go nicely with our Chai tea, and the fall pears were booming.  It's not a showstopper of a cake, it's kind of casual in a brown and mushy, snack cake sort of way.  But the flavour and light, fluffy, moist texture, more than compensates for it's lack of visual appeal. 

Pear and Cardamom Upside Down Cake

Origin, Mary Ellen Rae, LA Times 

Notes:  I've made this cake a few times, once without a stand mixer. With a wooden spoon, taking turns around the room, beating with some serious elbow grease, we got the butter nice and fluffy and the cake turned out great.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground cardamom (from about 6 to 8 pods) (I used pre-ground cardamom)
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, room temperature, divided
3/4 cup packed golden brown sugar
2 firm-ripe Anjou pears (I used Bartlett)
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk, room temperature 

Heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Generously butter a 9 x 1 1/2 inch round cake pan.

Sift the flour, salt and baking powder together. Stir in the cardamom and set aside.

Melt 1/4 cup butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the brown sugar and stir for 2 to 3 minutes, until the sugar has melted and combined with the butter. Pour the mixture into the prepared cake pan, spreading it to reach the sides.

Peel the pears, cut them in half and remove the core and stem. Cut each half into 1/4 inch thick slices. Arrange the pear slices in a slightly overlapping circle around the cake pan, starting at the outer rim. Finish with several slices in the center. Sprinkle the pears with the lemon juice. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside.

Beat the remaining 1/2 cup butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, until soft and fluffy. Add the sugar and beat until smooth. Add the eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in the vanilla, scraping down the sides of the bowl when needed. Alternately add the flour mixture and the milk, starting and ending with the dry ingredients. Beat after each addition just until combined.

Gently spoon the cake batter on top of the pears, smoothing out to the edge of the pan and making sure the cake batter fills in around the pears.

Bake until the top is a deep golden brown and a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Place the cake on a rack to cool for 5 minutes in the pan.

Run a small spatula or knife around the edge of the pan and invert onto a cake plate, leaving the pan on the cake for 10 minutes. Carefully remove the pan. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Monster Cookies

Quick!  There is only 2 days left until Halloween and you have to make these cookies!  Halloween is the best excuse to make these peanuty, oatmealy, chocolatey, Monster Cookies...all 5 dozen of them.  Yup, 5 dozen delicious, holiday appropriate cookies.  They are just begging to be made and given away to friends and Halloween drop-ins.  These cookies have very little flour, they are all about the mingling of peanut butter and oatmeal.  You can customize them with whatever treats you want to add in, nuts or m&ms are popular additions.  This mix of chocolate chips and Reece's Pieces is scrumptious, and perfect for Halloween.

Monster Cookies

Origin: Unknown

Notes:  Hurry up and get started...these cookies need to rest in the fridge for at least 5 hours!  I think it's to help soften the loads of oatmeal in them.

Ingredients:

5 3/4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
5 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon light corn syrup
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups creamy peanut butter (not natural)
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup Reese's Pieces

In a large bowl, whisk together the oats, flour, baking soda and salt until combined.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (I'm sure a bowl and a hand mixer will work for this), cream the butter until smooth and pale in color (a few minutes). Beat in the sugars on low speed until incorporated. 

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating and scraping down the sides of the bowl between additions.  Add the corn syrup and vanilla and beat just until combined. Add the peanut butter and beat on low just until smooth. Add the dry ingredients a little at a time (in three additions) on low speed until combined.  Fold in the chocolate chips and Reese's Pieces by hand. Cover the bowl tightly and refrigerate for at least 5 hours (I left it overnight).

When you are ready to bake your cookies, preheat the oven to 375 degrees and place a rack in the middle position.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicone baking mat. 

Scoop the dough with a small  ice cream scoop (about 2 tablespoons worth) and place them on the prepared baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart.  Bake for 12 to 15 minutes, or until they begin to brown.  Rotate the baking sheet halfway through baking.  (I baked 2 trays worth of cookies at a time on 2 oven racks - one in the upper third of the oven and one in the lower third.  My cookies took about 16 minutes to bake when I did this.  Make sure you alternate racks and rotate the baking trays halfway through baking.)


Cool cookies in their pan for 8 to 10 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Makes 5 dozen cookies.

Spiders

 Our street is pretty quiet.  On Halloween we only get a handful of trick or treaters if we're lucky.  It's usually a pretty dull evening around here.  I need to indulge in a few extra Halloween themed activities and treats to get the most out of the holiday.  These sweet, salty, crunchy snacks are totally addictive.  They are very simple to make and they always help fill my Halloween void.

Spiders
Origin: Unknown

Notes:  I like to cover my peanuts and noodles with chocolate separately so that I can better control the shape of the spiders...they taste equally delicious and still look pretty spider-like when you mix them together in one bowl. 

Ingredients:

2 cups good quality semi-sweet chocolate chips
4 cups of fried chow mein noodles
1 cup roasted salted peanuts

Lightly grease or spray a baking sheet with vegetable oil.

Set a large glass bowl over a pot of simmering water.  Melt the chocolate chips in the glass bowl stirring with a spatula until smooth and melted.  Remove from heat.

Stir melted chocolate, peanuts and chow mein noodles together, coating everything evenly with chocolate.  Alternatively,  place peanuts in a bowl and toss with about 1/4 cup of melted chocolate.  Toss the chow mein noodles with the remaining chocolate.

Drop spoonfuls of the mixture onto prepared baking sheet.  If the noodles and peanuts are kept separate, drop spoonfuls of noodles onto baking sheet first and then top with peanuts.   You can manipulate the shape of the spiders a bit after you place them on the baking sheet.  I used tongs for this task but two forks or spoons would work well.  Let the spiders set, the chocolate will solidify after a couple of hours or you can speed it up by placing the baking sheet in the fridge.

Makes approximately 24 Spiders.

Café Salad with Apple, Cheddar Bundles and Walnuts

Are you scared of working with phyllo dough?  A lot of people are.  Don't beleive the hype...it's a cinch once you get the hang of it.  Take my hand...don't be afraid...let's do this.  This dish is so tasty and well worth the ten minutes it will take for you to learn this technique.
To prepare phyllo dough from scratch would be a nightmare...stretching and rolling the fragile dough into paper thin sheets.  It is available frozen in most grocery stores and it's one of those things that you are expected to buy frozen.  No one would frown on the idea of using a frozen phyllo dough (frozen pie crust is another story...ahem).  Putting together impressive phyllo parcels, or bundles, or pockets full of goodness requires no more than brushing these pre-made dough sheets with melted butter and layering them.  This combo of apples and cheddar is one of my favorites during this gorgeous fall season. The café salad which I served with the apples and cheddar is a simply dressed green salad with so much flavour.


Café Salad with Apple Cheddar Bundles and Walnuts
Origin: Salad Dressing Adapted from Food Network, Mellisa D'Arabian

Notes:  Don't be intimidated by the long instructions for the phyllo dough.  It's detailed work but once you get through it once...you'll start dreaming about what else you can cram into those layers of phyllo.  You really need a pastry brush to do this right.  But in a pinch (at the cottage) I have put a plastic baggie over my hand and with a light touch, spread a thin layer of melted butter over the dough.


Ingredients:

Apple Cheddar Bundles
1 package frozen phyllo dough (thawed per package instructions - you will only use half of the package for 4 servings)
1/4 cup butter - melted, plus 1 tablespoon for sauteing
2 apples, peeled, cored and sliced into 1/4 inch slices (I used Granny Smith)
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, stripped from their stalks
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard (optional if you're not into it)
1 cup grated sharp (old) cheddar cheese
1 egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water for egg wash


Café Salad
1 large garlic clove, sliced in half
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon soy sauce
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil

6 cups salad greens (I like red leaf lettuce for this)
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and roughly chopped

To make the apple cheddar bundles:
Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and place a rack in the center position.

Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a medium frying pan over medium-high heat. Saute apples for about 5 minutes, until they start to soften and brown a little bit.  Add thyme and cook for one more minute to help release the thyme flavour.  Set aside.

Have your melted butter handy and prepare a clean work surface or cutting board to prepare your dough.  

Unroll your phyllo dough, you can cover your dough with a damp kitchen towel while you work, as the dough can dry out quickly and crack easily.

Lay one sheet out on your work surface and brush the entire sheet with a thin layer of melted butter.  Lay another sheet of phyllo on top of the buttered surface and brush it with melted butter.  Continue layering and buttering until you have 6 sheets of buttered phyllo total.

Cut the large rectangular stack of dough into 4 smaller rectangles - 1 cut through the center vertically and 1 cut through the center horizontally (I use a pizza cutter for this).

Take one rectangular stack of dough and place it in front of you vertically so that the short side of the rectangle is directly in front of you.  Spread the dough with 1/2 teaspoon of mustard, leaving a one inch border around the entire rectangle.  About one inch from the bottom of your rectangle place about 1/4 cup of sauteed apples in a pile (do not spread them out - heap them at one end of your dough)  top the apples with 1/4 cup of grated cheese.  Fold the bottom 1 inch border of the dough over the apples and cheese, then fold the sides (1 inch, mustard free borders) inward.  Make sure your filling is tucked in and roll the bundle up.  Prepare the other 3 apple cheddar bundles the same way.

Place the bundles on a baking sheet, seam down, and brush with additional melted butter and egg wash.  Bake for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

To make the salad:
Rub the inside of a mixing bowl or salad bowl with the cut sides of the garlic.  Add vinegar, mustard and soy sauce, season with salt and pepper and whisk together.  Slowly pour in the olive oil, whisking constantly to emulsify.

Add the greens to your bowl with the dressing and toss just before serving.  Divide greens between plates and top each one with an apple/cheddar bundle (I cut mine in half for presentation) and scatter walnuts over top.

Serves 4 (recipe is easily doubled and 1 package of phyllo will make at least 8 bundles).

Walnut Pesto

I'm not fancy.  See that photo up there with the little red and green garnish?  I did that for you and for the blog, but it's all a lie.  The photo below is how I would really serve this delicious pesto.  All brown on brown and everything.  See, I'm casual.  I do enjoy pretty things, pretty plates and napkins really turn my crank.  But I'm not the type to come up with a garnish to enhance the look of a dish even though that garnish has nothing to do with what's in the dish.  If the pesto tastes good, put it on a pretty plate with the right tool to eat it, maybe add some pretty napkins along side and we're good to go.  There is no basil to be found in this pesto.  It's a rustic blend of earthy walnuts, Parmesan, sun-dried tomatoes and thyme.  It would make a great Autumn or Thanksgiving appetizer.

Walnut Pesto

Origin: Smitten Kitchen

Notes:  The garnish I used in the top photo was chopped parsley and diced red jalepeno.  It actually tasted great.  It added a bright freshness and a little heat to this appetizer.  I would recommend this combo...if you are the fancy type.

Ingredients:

1 cup walnuts, halves or peices, toasted and cooled
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 small garlic clove, peeled and crushed
3 sprigs of thyme, leaves only
1/2  teaspoon salt, or more to taste
2 teaspoons of sherry vinegar (or red wine vinegar)
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons oil packed sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
1 loaf of crusty bread or a baguette, sliced

Place walnuts, sun-dried tomatoes, Parmesan cheese, garlic, thyme, salt and vinegar, in the bowl of a food processor, pulse several times to chop everything.  Add the oil a little at a time, pulsing and scraping down the sides of the bowl, to further break down the ingredients and combine everything into a uniform pesto.

Grill or toast your bread.  Top warm bread slices with a heaping teaspoon of pesto or serve pesto and bread beside each other, letting guest serve themselves. 

Pretty eh?!

Strawberry Shortcakes

To my surprise, at the farmers market this weekend, I saw rows of baskets filled with perfectly bright red, juicy strawberries.  I didn't get it.  I was expecting to see the squashes, huge cauliflowers, hearty greens and apples...but strawberries?  So I started asking questions and I got a very cool answer.  In recent years around our region of Ontario and Quebec, farmers have been extending the harvest season by planting varieties such as "Day Neutral" and "Ever Bearing" strawberries.  These fruits have a later season and can be harvested until after the first frost!  They were really delicious berries and I wanted to relive some of summer's splendour, so I decided to showcase them in a classic Strawberry Shortcake recipe.  Oh!  And I hear they are experimenting with fall harvest raspberries too...delightful!


Strawberry Shortcakes
Origin: Smitten Kitchen, adapted from this recipe

Notes:  The shortcakes were light, fluffy and buttery on the inside with a perfect crisp crust.  They were simple to make.  The most time consuming part was making the hard boiled eggs for the shortcakes.  Seems funny too, hard boiled egg yolks in a pastry batter.  But it works, they add a richness to the shortcakes.  The final outcome of your dish will depend on the ripeness and flavour of your fruit.  You could substitute many types of fruit for these shortcakes, peaches would be divine too.


Ingredients:

Shortcakes
1 2/3 cups all purpose flour
3 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 hard boiled egg yolks
1/8 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
2 teaspoons lemon or orange zest, optional (I forgot to add the zest -  but I would definitely use it in the future)
2/3 cup, plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream
coarse sugar for finishing (I used regular granulated sugar)

Strawberry Shortcake Assembly
1/2 pound strawberries, washed, hulled and quartered
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 cup whipping cream, beaten to soft peaks

In the bowl of a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, egg yolks, and salt.  Pulse to combine.  Add the butter and zest and pulse until the flour resembles coarse meal (the butter should be mixed throughout, in pieces no larger than peas).  Add 2/3 cup of cream and pulse just until the dough comes together.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and gather into a ball.  Knead a couple times to make it into a cohesive mass and then pat it into a rough circle about 6 to 7 inches in diameter, and 3/4 to 1-inch thick.

Using a sharp knife, cut the circle into 6 wedges and arrange on a parchment lined baking sheet.  You can also use a cookie cutter or biscuit cutter to make shapes of your choice.  Chill the pieces for 20 minutes (and up to 2 hours)

Preheat oven to 350° degrees.  Brush the tops of the shortcakes very lightly with heavy cream and sprinkle lightly with the coarse sugar.  Bake until risen and golden brown, 18 to 20 minutes.  Turn the pan around halfway through to ensure even cooking (my shortcakes took 22 minutes to start turning golden brown, then I broiled the tops of them for a couple of minutes, without taking my eyes off of them, to get the right colour).

While the shortcakes are baking, toss the strawberries, sugar and lemon juice together in a bowl.  Let stand several minutes (if the strawberries are extremely firm, do this 30 minutes in advance).

Split the shortcakes in half horizontally and set the tops aside.  Place the bottoms on dessert plates and heap strawberries over them.  Spoon whipped cream generously over the strawberries and replace the shortcake tops.  Serve immediately with any remaining whipped cream on the side.

Serves 6.

Roasted Corn Pudding in Acorn Squash

Seasonally speaking, this is a great transitional dish.  It brings together sweet, summer corn and an autumnal vibe from the season's first squash.  This is a winning vegetarian recipe.  Inside those cheesy, perfectly roasted acorn squash halves lies a savoury corn pudding studded with scallions and anise seed.  It's hearty and warming, and healthy as the pudding gets its heft from a mostly egg white and milk base.  It's fun to dig into and immensely satisfying.  I think it's special enough to make it's way onto a Thanksgiving table as a vegetarian main course, as it has at our place with great success.

Roasted Corn Pudding in Acorn Squash
Origin: adapted by Heidi Swanson, 101 Cookbooks

Notes: This is another great recipe from my long time favorite - 101 Cookbooks.  Have you gone over there yet?  You won't be sorry.  It is full of healthy innovative recipes with great pictures and stories.
You can bake leftover corn pudding in ramekins or a small oven safe dish for 20 minutes alongside the squash, however it's best when eaten with the squash.  This recipe takes a while to prepare because of the lengthy roasting time...but it's easy to do.

Ingredients:
1 small acorn squash, cut in half lengthwise and seeded
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup milk
1 egg plus 2 egg whites
1/2 cup fresh corn kernels (or more if you like)
1/4 teaspoon anise seed, chopped
1/2 cup chopped scallions
a tiny pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
1/3 cup grated white cheddar cheese

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees with a rack in the middle.

Rub the orange flesh of the squash with the olive oil. Place cut side up on a baking sheet. You will want it to sit flat (and not tip), if you are having trouble just level out the bottom using a knife. If the squash is tilting on the pan, the filling will run out - bad news. Cover the squash with foil and bake for 40 minutes or until the squash starts to get tender.

In a bowl combine the milk, eggs, corn, anise seed, half of the scallions, nutmeg, and salt. Fill each of the squash bowls 3/4 full. Carefully transfer the squash back to the oven without spilling. Continue baking uncovered for another 30-50 minutes, or until the squash is fully cooked through, and the pudding has set. The amount of time it takes can vary wildly depending on the squash and oven.

At the last minute sprinkle with cheese and finish with a flash under the broiler to brown the cheese. Keep and eye on things, you can go from melted cheese to burnt and inedible in a flash. Serve hot sprinkled with the remaining scallions.

Serves 4.

Autumn Apple, Pear and Cheddar Salad with Pecans

It's officially a week after Labour day...are we good to go here?  Can I post something with the word "autumn" in it without hurting anyone's feelings?  I swear, this salad will make you forget summer even existed....it is beyond good.  The dressing is crucial to the success of this salad, reduced apple juice with apple cider vinegar to balance the sweetness.  I always get asked for the recipe when I pull this one out, but I've been seriously protective of it.  I've given out the recipe to a select few people and sworn them to secrecy.  Now, here I am sending it out into the world...this blog does weird things to me.

Autumn Apple, Pear, Cheddar Salad with Pecans
Origin: Adapted from Cooking Light Magazine
  
Notes:  So.  Freakin.  Good.  Enjoy.  (see my changes in brackets below)
 

Ingredients:

Dressing
1  cup apple juice
2 - 3 tablespoons cider vinegar
1  teaspoon extra virgin olive oil (I use 3 tbs olive oil - equal to juice/vinegar)
1/2  teaspoon salt
1/4  teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Salad
10 cups salad greens (about 10 ounces) (I use red leaf lettuce or romaine usually - maybe 6 cups)
1  medium McIntosh apple, cored and cut into thin wedges
1  medium Bartlett pear, cored and cut into thin wedges
1/4 cup finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese (more to taste)
3  tablespoons chopped pecans, toasted (more to taste)

Place apple juice in a small saucepan, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat.  Cook until reduced to about 3 tablespoons (about 10 minutes).  Combine reduced apple juice, vinegar (I use equal parts reduced apple juice and cider vinegar), oil, salt, and pepper, stirring with a whisk.

Combine greens, apple, and pear in a large bowl.  Drizzle with dressing, toss gently to coat.  Sprinkle with cheese and nuts.

Serves 4-6.