Delicate Pear Cake with Caramel Sauce

Recipe from Pillsbury and Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen


This cake is just divine and must be made for a special occasion! I've been making it for years. It was one of the Pillsbury Bake-Off winners back in 1990. (You'll need a blender or a food processor.) The cake alone is moist and has a lovely aroma of ripe pears, so the cake would be great without sauce and frosting. (Caution: You may have battles over who licks the batter from the mixer paddles!!) The most difficult part is pressing the toasted nuts on the sides of the cake only because it's a bit messy. What I mean to say is that if you are a beginner baker, this is a great recipe for success. My husband really loves this dessert. The moist cake, the sweetened whipping cream frosting and the warm caramel sauce soaking into his slice is his idea of heaven. Because it's quite decadent, I only make it for him once or twice a year and only when we have company to help us eat it all.


Cake
1 (15-oz.) can pear halves in light syrup
1 (18.25-oz.) pkg. Pillsbury® Moist Supreme® White Cake Mix
1/3 cup oil (use a flavorless oil, such as grapeseed or vegetable oil)
3 egg whites


Sauce
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
1 cup whipping cream

Frosting
1 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon pear brandy or 1 teaspoon vanilla
1 (15-oz.) can pear halves in light syrup, well drained
1/2 cup finely chopped hazelnuts, skinless (filberts) or walnuts, toasted*

Toasting Nuts: Put nuts in a dry skillet on medium heat. Watch carefull (it doesn't take long) and stir occasionally until the nuts are toasted and give off a pleasant nutty fragrance. If the hazelnuts still have their dark brown skins (which are bitter tasting), here's how to remove the skins. Place them on a baking sheet in a 350F oven for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove nuts from oven and place a couple of handfuls of the roasted nuts at a time in a clean kitchen towel. Rub the hazelnuts vigorously in the towel. This will remove most of the skins.

DIRECTIONS:

· Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour 10-inch tube pan. Drain 1 can pear halves, reserving 1/3 cup liquid. Place pear halves in food processor bowl with metal blade or blender container; cover and process until smooth.
· In large bowl, combine cake mix, pureed pears, reserved 1/3 cup pear liquid, oil and egg whites; beat at low speed until moistened. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed. Pour into greased and floured pan.
· Bake at 350°F. for 40 to 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool cake upright in pan 15 minutes. Invert onto serving plate. Cool 1 1/2 hours or until completely cooled.
· Meanwhile, in medium saucepan, combine all sauce ingredients; mix well. Bring to a boil. Boil over medium heat 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; cool to room temperature.
· In small bowl, beat 1 cup whipping cream and sugar until stiff peaks form. Fold in pear brandy. Frost cooled cake with whipped cream. Cut drained pear halves lengthwise into about 32 slices. Arrange on top of cake, slightly overlapping slices. Press nuts into sides of cake. Refrigerate until serving time.

Just before serving, warm the sauce slightly and drizzle 2 tablespoons sauce over pear slices that are atop the cake.

To serve, spoon about 2 tablespoons sauce onto each individual dessert plate. Top each with slice of cake. Store cake and sauce in refrigerator. (The sauce will solidify in the fridge, but will liquify once it's reheated. That's why you shouldn't drizzle the sauce on the cake until just before serving.)

Winter Squash Information

Here's another very informative page, with photos included, about winter squash.

http://www.apple-works.com/gourds.html

Apple Information

I just received an email from Victoria Wesseler who has a great website http://www.goinglocal-info.com/ where you can "Discover, celebrate, and savor the abundance of Indiana’s fresh, in-season, and local foods."

Visit GOING LOCAL to discover, celebrate, and savor the abundance of Indiana’s fresh, in-season, and local foods. You’ll find:
Sources for delicious, healthy, locally grown, and in-season foods.
Information about Indiana farmers, businesses, and individuals who grow, raise, produce, and sell local foods.
Recipes and tips for preparing seasonal dishes that are healthy, quick, easy, and delicious.
A community for sharing your thoughts, ideas, and experiences for GOING LOCAL in Indiana.

She sent me a fabulous website where you can find out all you'd ever need to know about apples.

• Pick the Perfect Apple System http://www.apple-works.com/perfect.html#index.html

You'll find the Top 5 Baking, Pie Making, Saucing, Eating Salad, Butter or Uniquely Flavored Apples. You can search for apples based on the apple season. There's even a "Pick the Perfect Apple Index" where you'll find details about many, many types of apples. There are tips about how to get the most out of your apple eating experience.

Spicy Gingered Asian Slaw

Recipe from Theresa Drerup-Ofer and Husband-Tested in Alice Wootton’s Kitchen
Serves 4-6

Several years ago, Jim and I visited our good friends, Theresa and Kurt, at their beautiful upstate New York home. Theresa made this delicious slaw for our dinner one evening. I was so taken with it, I asked her for the recipe. This is definitely good enough for when company comes. The dressing and salad can be prepped in advance, but be sure to dress the salad about 10 minutes before serving. All of the ingredients can be purchased at Lost River Market & Deli.

Dressing:
¼ cup fresh lime juice
¼ cup minced shallots
1 Tablespoon soy sauce
1 ½ Tablespoons minced fresh ginger
1 Tablespoon minced jalapeno pepper
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 Tablespoon honey
2 teaspoons Thai red curry paste
1 Tablespoon dark sesame oil
½ cup peanut oil
2 teaspoons Kosher salt
⅛ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Salad:
5 cups finely sliced Napa cabbage (Chinese cabbage)
1 ½ cup julienned or shredded carrots
1 large red pepper, thinly sliced
1 large yellow pepper, thinly sliced
½ cup green onions, sliced (scallions)
¼ cup chopped cilantro
2 Tablespoons unsalted skinless roasted peanuts, coarsely chopped
1 Tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted*

Blend dressing ingredients well. About 10 minutes before serving, pour the dressing over the salad and toss. Allow the salad to absorb the dressing for the 10 minutes, and then serve.

*To toast sesame seeds, place seeds in a dry skillet and put over medium heat. Watch carefully and stir occasionally until the seeds are toasted.

Me Me's Date Nut Pinwheel Cookies

Recipe from the kitchen of Hazel Cooksey, Grandmother of Alice Wootton and Husband-Tested many times!

I think I acquired my love for cooking in my grandmother's kitchen. I called her "Me Me." I miss her sweet southern drawl and her warm personality. When I make these cookies (usually during the holidays) I think of her. My brother, who usually doesn't eat sweets, asks me each year to make him a batch for his lunchbox. This takes time to make, (I usually make the dough on one day and the filling on another) but the great thing about this recipe is that you can freeze the dough after forming the "pinwheel" and when you're ready to bake a batch, you just take it out of the freezer and slice the dough to make the number of cookies you need. This is great when you have last minute guests and then you can just pop them in the oven and have hot fresh cookies on the table in just minutes. Make a few batches and give the frozen dough as gifts along with the baking directions. All of the ingredients can be found at Lost River Market & Deli.

DOUGH RECIPE

4 ½ cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 t. salt
1 t. baking powder
1 t. cinnamon
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 cups dark brown sugar, firmly packed
½ cup sugar
3 eggs, beaten

In large bowl, sift flour, salt, baking powder and cinnamon together. In another bowl, mix together the butter and the sugars. Add the beaten eggs to the butter/sugar mixture. Stir flour mixture into the butter mixture. Divide dough in half. Place each portion of dough onto a piece of plastic wrap and flatten into a thick rectangle. Wrap tightly and chill for several hours. While dough is chilling, make filling.

FILLING RECIPE

1 ½ chopped dates
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
½ cup chopped pecans or other nuts

Combine the first three filling ingredients in a medium saucepan. Cook over low heat, stirring, until mixture thickens. Remove from heat. Stir in the nuts. Cool completely at room temperature.

FORMING THE COOKIES

On a lightly floured surface, roll out each dough portion to about ½ thick rectangle. Spread filling on top. Filling will not be a thick layer.
(This next step is the hard part because even though the dough is chilled, it will still be quite soft.)
Roll the dough pinwheel style starting at the long end of the rectangle.
(I use a pastry scraper to help me lift the dough for rolling.)
Use a pastry brush to remove excess flour.
Place the roll onto wax paper and wrap tightly by twisting the ends of the paper. Place in the freezer.

BAKING THE COOKIES
Remove cookie dough from freezer and then from wax paper. Using a sharp knife, slice the dough into ¼- ½ inch slices. (Try to keep slices uniform for even baking.) Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake at 375F degrees for 10-15 minutes. Allow to cool for 15 minutes on cookie sheet. Continue to cool on a

Roasted Spaghetti Squash with Herbs & Hazelnuts

Recipe from Martha Stewart Living Magazine and Husband-Tested in Alice's Kitchen
Serves 4

My good walking buddy, Janet, recently gave me some spaghetti squash from her garden. My hubby and I usually eat spaghetti squash with spaghetti sauce on it, but I saw this recipe along with an enticing photo of the dish in a Martha Stewart Magazine, I decided to give this a try. My honey, Jim, really liked this dish. I thought it tasted even better the next day after reheating it in the microwave. To learned more about spaghetti squash and hazelnuts, including alternate cooking methods for spaghetti squash, go to this website or read more at the end of this blog entry: http://www.fabulousfoods.com/

1 spaghetti squash (about 4 pounds), halved lengthwise, seeds removed (use a spoon to scrape seeds out, just as you would a pumpkin)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for brushing
1 tablespoon packed light-brown sugar
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (about 2 1/2 ounces)
1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/4 cup blanched hazelnuts (1 ounce), toasted and coarsely chopped (To see how to "blanch," read below.)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brush cut sides of squash with oil, and sprinkle with sugar and salt and pepper to taste. Place squash, cut sides down, on a rimmed baking sheet. Roast until tender, about 45 minutes. Let cool slightly on sheet on a wire rack, about 10 minutes.
Scrape squash with a fork to remove flesh in long strands. Place in a large bowl. Add oil, Parmesan, parsley, cilantro, hazelnuts, 1 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste. Toss, and serve immediately.

More great information about spaghetti squash:
Averaging from 4 to 8 pounds, the cylinder shaped spaghetti squash is generally available year-round with a peak season from early fall through winter. While a true spaghetti squash is pale ivory to pale yellow in color have a mild flavor that is easily enhanced by the food served with or on it. A dieter's dream, a four-ounce serving of spaghetti squash has only 37 calories. Spaghetti Squash can be stored at room temperature for about a month. After cutting, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate up to 2 days. Spaghetti squash also freezes well. Pack cooked squash into freezer bags, seal, label and freeze. Partially thaw before re-using, then steam until tender but still firm, about 5 minutes.
How To Cook Spaghetti Squash:
Bake It -- Pierce the whole shell several times with a large fork or skewer and place in baking dish. Cook squash in preheated 375?F oven approximately 1 hour or until flesh is tender.
Boil It -- Heat a pot of water large enough to hold the whole squash. When the water is boiling, drop in the squash and cook for 20 to 30 minutes, depending on its size. When a fork goes easily into the flesh, the squash is done.
Microwave It -- Cut squash in half lengthwise; remove seeds. Place squash cut sides up in a microwave dish with 1/4 cup water. Cover with plastic wrap and cook on high for 10 to 12 minutes, depending on size of squash. Add more cooking time if necessary. Let stand covered, for 5 minutes. With fork "comb" out the strands.
Slow Cooker or Crock-Pot - Choose a smaller spaghetti squash (unless you have an extra large slow cooker) so that it will fit. Add 2 cups of water to slow cooker. Pierce the whole shell several times with a large fork or skewer, add to Crock Pot, cover and cook on low for 8 to 9 hours.

Once the squash is cooked, let it cool for 10 to 20 minutes so it will be easier to handle, before cutting in half (if it wasn't already) and removing the seeds. Pull a fork lengthwise through the flesh to separate it into long strands. You can do these steps ahead of time, then prepare spaghetti squash recipes whenever the mood strikes.

Hazelnuts: Also known as Filberts Rich, sweet, grape sized wild nuts that grow in clusters on the hazel tree. Filberts are used in both sweet and savory dishes, as well as eaten out of hand. You can buy Filberts chopped or whole in packages or in the hard brown shells. If you buy your nuts in the shell, be sure to remove the bitter brown skin before using. The best way to do this is to place them on a baking sheet in a 350F oven for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove nuts from oven and place a couple of handfuls of the roasted nuts at a time in a clean kitchen towel. Rub the nuts vigorously in the towel. This will remove most of the skins.

Carol’s Curried Cucumbers

Recipe from the kitchen of Carol Anderson and Husband-Tested in Alice’s Kitchen

My dear friend, Janabai, hosted a ladies tea party to celebrate my recent birthday. My mother and many of my best buddies came. Everyone contributed to the tea party and everything was just lovely!! We all especially liked this salad that Carol brought. I could’ve eaten the whole dish all by myself, but, alas, that would have been impolite to do so at a tea party! All of the ingredients can be found at Lost River Market & Deli.

Salad:
2 lbs. cucumbers, seeded and cut into half moons
¼ cup chopped cilantro
2 Tablespoons chopped parsley
Several sliced green onions (scallions)
1 small jalapeno, minced (optional)

Dressing:
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar
¼ cup oil
2 teaspoons sugar
1 clove fresh garlic, minced
1 teaspoon or more curry powder (Carol used a sweet curry - also good with hot curry powder)
Add chopped peanuts before serving.