Someday Recipes

I have a HUGE paper grocery bag filled to the breaking point with "Someday" recipes: Someday I will make this, Someday I will sort this, Someday I will file this, Someday I will chuck this whole bag in the trash. So far, Someday hasn't arrived. BUT, I am getting a little closer since I got my new iPhone 4S. (Okay, so I haven't quite figured out my relationship with Siri, have become addicted to playing Mahjong, and stopped carting around my digital camera ever since I heard that Annie Leibovitz recommended the iPhone camera for candid pix.)

My moment of clarity occurred as I flipped through Gayle's über-neatly organized 3-ring binder of collected recipes, complete with clear plastic sleeves. Of course, I saw quite a few recipes that I wanted to try so I began rummaging around in my purse for a pen in order to write them all down. (Sure...like I need more recipes.) And there it was — my iPhone — I realized that the Annie Leibovitz-recommended camera was offering me a short-cut...the path to my Someday!!

In particular, I was drooling over a "Pear-Pecan Upside-Down Cake" that is baked in a crockpot. Looking at the page Gayle had pulled out of the November 2009 issue of Food Network Magazine, I could almost smell how delicious this cake would be...pears, butter, brown sugar, pecans, cornmeal?? Yep, I had to try it, thus it became my first Someday Recipe Photo.

And that's my not-so-secret secret for getting rid of stockpiled recipes: photos I can file away via iPhoto...no wasted time spent copying, loose papers getting lost, thick folders to store, etc...just *snap* & toss. See if this works for you, too (click on the smaller photo to see the full-size, aka readable, version):

...ripped from the pages...

My instincts were right — this cake smelled wonderful as it slow-baked for 3 hours and it was perfectly timed for our Sunday after-dinner sweet-treat. The pears were juicy, the brown sugar/butter gooey topping was sweet and slightly salty, the cake was moist with a really distinctive texture. I'm absolutely making this again soon!

...the final result...

Buon appetito!

Perfect for Gayle's Birthday--or Valentine's Day!

The simplicity of this recipe from singer Ingrid Michaelson (printed in the February 6, 2011, Parade magazine supplement to the Akron Beacon Journal) made it a no-brainer when deciding on a special cake to bake to celebrate Gayle's 34th birthday. And Ingrid was right: this cake looked ugly coming out of the oven but was positively YUMMY! I already have the ingredients to make another one...soon!

Flourless Chocolate Cake

✔ 7 oz. semi-sweet chocolate (45-50% cocoa—I used Baker's [54%])
✔ 3/4 c. butter
✔ 1 c. sugar, divided
✔ 4 eggs, separated

Preheat oven to 300°F. Melt chocolate and butter in a double boiler (or since I don't have one, I placed a small pot within a larger one half-filled with boiling water—it still worked). Stir together 1/2 cup sugar and 4 yolks; add to melted chocolate/butter.

With an electric mixer, beat the 4 egg whites; slowly add remaining 1/2 cup sugar until stiff peaks form. Fold mixture into chocolate.

Pour into a greased 9-inch cake pan and bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few crumbs on it (don't expect it to come out clean). Cool for 30 minutes before trying to remove it from the pan (I didn't bother). Dust the top with powdered sugar.

Buon appetito!

What a day for cake!

With tears of joy welling up in our eyes, today we witnessed the wedding ceremony of our dear friends, Debbie and Andy. May they have many happy and healthy years ahead--they deserve everything this life has to give.

So again, no stories today--just shared deliciousness--today, in the form of a wonderful cake/icing recipe I received in the late 1970s when I was involved with Akron's Childbirth Education Association. And again, a recipe that I would be sad to lose, thus worthy of posting here.

Lynn's Moist Pineapple Cake

Cake:
✔ 2 eggs, beaten
✔ 1-3/4 cups sugar
✔ 2 cups flour
✔ 2 teaspoons baking soda
✔ 1 13.5 oz. can crushed pineapple (in juice is best)
✔ 1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350°. Mix above ingredients together with a spoon or mixer and bake in 9"x13" pan for 45 minutes at 350°. Cool.

Icing:
✔ 8 oz. cream cheese, softened to room temperature
✔ 1 stick butter or margarine, softened to room temperature
✔ 1-1/2 cups powdered sugar
✔ 1 teaspoon vanilla

Beat together with mixer, adding more powdered sugar if necessary for proper consistency. Spread on cooled cake.

Mazel Tov, Debbie and Andy!! xoxo