Drunken Pineapple Upside-Down Pancakes

My last post was just inside of the new year, nearly 3 months ago. I had good intentions to maintain this blog. I've cooked a number of meals in this space of time and taken my customary step-by-step pictures of the best of them, but unfortunately I have not found the energy to translate even one of those meals into a blog post.

I realize that when I made the announcement of my return to full-time teaching, back at the beginning of November, I wrote:

"With these upcoming changes on the horizon, I still plan to update here with new recipes. This isn't a goodbye (after 3 years of documenting my cooking adventures, I wouldn't dream of abandoning "Krista's Kitchen") but realistically, my posts will be less frequent while I adjust to my new job and a typical work schedule."

When I typed the words "less frequent", I anticipated that I would post once a week, maybe every two weeks at the worst. I never imagined that I would find myself staring at the computer screen at 9 pm every single school night, with pictures of meals taken and downloaded, and nothing left in me to edit those pictures and type up even a brief description about my latest kitchen adventure. Granted, I could've/should've posted on the weekends- but I was too busy doing all of the stuff that I used to do during the week when my work-from-home schedule provided the luxury of flexibility.

I guess that it has taken me longer than expected to adjust to a typical 9-5 or rather a 7- 3:30 schedule (Which usually turns into 4:30 because I am adapting to a whole new kind of teaching.) Plus, this time I am doing it with 2 children, and one of them has homework now! (When I left my last teaching position, I only had one toddler.) I know- Excuses, excuses....

I have always had a tremendous amount of respect for you working moms who "do it all", but that respect has certainly been elevated, now that I am living it.

All of that said, I love my job teaching "life skills" to incarcerated youth. It lends itself to a feeling that I am making a difference on a daily basis. Additionally, the "Type A" planner in me is being challenged (which is a good thing) because no two days are ever the same. I'm certainly never bored! Plus, the stories that I hear from my students truly inspire me to count my blessings. I am grateful for this life that I was delivered into, my parents who loved and supported me, and the family that I have built with my wonderful husband. Every Single. Day.

And now it is Spring Break for 2 WHOLE WEEKS! (My breaks are longer because I teach at a year-round school.) I decided to kick off this break by celebrating with a special breakfast.

I prepared these amazing pancakes on my first Spring Break Saturday morning. We usually head South for Spring Break to enjoy the beaches of Florida.  However, this year, with the rise in fuel prices and the sheer need to just "catch up" around home, we decided to stick a little closer to home.

This recipe is perfect for a lazy Saturday "staycation" because it possessed the ability to take me to another place. It is involved and indulgent, compared to other pancake recipes I have prepared. With warm tropical flavors of pineapple, brown sugar, cinnamon, and dark rum- I may as well have been breakfasting on a beach patio with the taste of saltwater in the air and tradewinds in my hair.

This recipe begins by melting butter in a skillet with a cinnamon stick. I was just out of cinnamon sticks- I used the last one in a Faux Pho recipe (which I never got around to posting here...). I used some Pampered Chef Sweet Cinnamon Sprinkle instead, with a little bit of extra powdered cinnamon stirred in. (By the way, I used this same Pampered Chef Cinnamon blend to make the most easy, amazing cinnamon rolls for my family on Sunday morning. The recipe was on the back of the container).

Once the butter begins to brown, add fresh, 1/2" thick, pineapple slices...

Cook until light, golden brown, 4-5 minutes per side. Then add in dark rum and brown sugar.

Cook over medium-high heat until the juices are thick and syrupy.

Note: This recipe did not make enough syrup for all of the pancakes when cooked until the juices were perfect "syrup" consistency. Next time I will double or even triple the amount of pineapple juice, brown sugar, cinnamon, and rum.

While the pineapple syrup simmered, I began making the pancake batter. While these pancakes were more dense than Martha Stewart's Buttermilk Pancakes, a personal favorite, they were incredibly rich and delicious, even without the "drunken" ring of pineapple and the decadent pineapple-rum sauce. This time, the dense texture was actually a welcome change.

My kiddos, who are not a fan of pineapple, still loved the pancakes. I just left out the fruit.

To make the pancakes, mix the dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt.

Note: Because I was out of granulated sugar (which never happens!) I used the cinnamon-sugar that we usually reserve for sprinkling on toast. It made the pancakes extra-cinnamony...which in my opinion was not a bad thing. :)

Add the liquid ingredients: buttermilk, egg, melted butter, and vanilla. Stir until smooth.

Once the pancake batter was mixed, I returned my attention to the pineapple simmering in syrup on the stovetop. I removed the pineapple slices to a plate and poured the syrup into a serving pitcher.

To make the pancakes, heat a griddle or heavy skillet then brush with oil or spray with non-stick cooking spray. For pancakes, I prefer to use oil. Pour the batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto the griddle. Cook for 2 minutes. Once little bubbles form on top of the pancake, top it with a pineapple ring.

Then flip!

Cook the pancake for another two minutes, until golden brown. The recipe calls for the pancakes to be transferred to a 325 degree oven for another 5 minutes to cook through. However, I found that mine were completely cooked when I removed them from the griddle.

Top with syrup and allow yourself to be transported to a place of sheer breakfast bliss....

Pineapple Upside-Down Cakes as seen in Bon Appetit Magazine March 2012

Makes eight 4" pancakes
Recipe by Moderne Barn in Armonk, NY

Ingredients

Pineapple
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 cinnamon stick, broken in half
1 large pineapple, peeled, cut into eight 1/2" rounds, cored
3/4 cup dark rum
1/4 cup (packed) dark brown sugar
Pancakes
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk
1 large egg
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Nonstick vegetable oil spray
Preparation
Pineapple
Melt butter with cinnamon stick in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Cook until butter begins to brown, about 2 minutes. Add pineapple slices; cook until light golden brown, 4–5 minutes per side. Remove skillet from heat; add rum and brown sugar. Cook over medium-high heat until juices are thick and syrupy. Transfer pineapple to a plate; let cool. Reserve syrup.
Pancakes
Preheat oven to 325°. Set a wire rack on a rimmed baking sheet. Whisk first 4 ingredients in a large bowl. Add buttermilk and next 3 ingredients; whisk until smooth.
Heat a griddle or large heavy skillet over medium heat. Lightly coat with nonstick spray. Working in batches, pour batter by 1/4-cupfuls onto griddle. Cook each pan- cake until golden brown and bubbles form on top, about 2 minutes. Top each pancake with a pineapple ring. Flip; cook until pancake is golden brown, about 2 minutes. Place pancakes on prepared rack and bake in oven until cooked through, about 5 minutes.
Rewarm reserved pineapple syrup. Divide pancakes among plates; drizzle with pineapple syrup.

Tip: To make perfect rings of fresh pineapple, slice in 1/2"-thick circles, then round off the edges and punch out the core with 3 3/4"- and 1 1/4"-diameter cookie cutters, respectively.

Nutritional Information
4 servings, 1 serving contains:
Calories (kcal) 375.0
%Calories from Fat 24.6
Fat (g) 10.2
Saturated Fat (g) 6.0
Cholesterol (mg) 71.6
Carbohydrates (g) 60.6
Dietary Fiber (g) 1.9
Total Sugars (g) 36.3
Net Carbs (g) 58.7
Protein (g) 7.1
Sodium (mg) 835.5

Wow, that felt good. It's nice to be posting again. Stay tuned for my next "staycation" post: Crab Cakes with a Spicy Remoulade Sauce.

Croque-Madame Casserole and the Meal Plan 2/21- 2/26

This Croque-Madame Casserole was a hit at our Sunday brunch a couple of weeks ago. You may be familiar with the Croque Monsieur(the French version of a grilled ham and cheese sandwich) and the Croque Madame (the Croque Monsieur served with a fried or poached egg on top). Well, leave it to Paula Deen to find a way to make this French sandwich into a casserole! I found this recipe in my copy of The Deen Family Cookbook (seen in my left sidebar).

Certainly not on any list of healthy foods, I'd be willing to diet all week for a slice of this! My husband and I loved it. My kindergartner ate about half of her serving, exclaiming how good it tasted. But halfway through she stopped eating abruptly and asked, "Does this have mustard in it? " Before I could answer, she went on. "Yes. Yes it does have mustard. I definitely taste mustard. YUCK! Mustard. I am NOT eating this." As my oldest went on complaining I noticed as her little sister quietly pushed her plate away as a sign of solidarity. Oh well, more for me!

If your children (or you) are not a fan of mustard, just leave it out. But definitely make this!

Here's how:

As with many of Ms. Deen's recipes, we begin with butter. If you have a problem with the amount of butter used in this recipe, I'd like to quote the Queen of Southern Cooking here: "I'm your cook, not your doctor!"

Anyway, melt 6 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet to make the bechamel sauce. From The Deen Family Cookbook: Bechamel sauce- That's just French for plain ol' white sauce.

Cook the butter until it bubbles.



Whisk in flour and cook for one minute.



Slowly whisk in 2-1/2 cups of milk and cook for 3 to 5 minutes until thick and bubbling.





Pour a thin layer of the sauce into a greased baking dish.




Cover with 5-6 slices of bread.



Top with half of the ham.




And half of the cheese.



The recipe called for Gruyere cheese. Gruyere is an excellent melting cheese (ideal for fondues) with a taste that is distinctive but not overpowering. It takes it's name from the town of Gruyères in Switzerland. It IS a bit pricey. I think that I paid around $15 for this bag of shredded fondue blend cheese at my local grocery. If you don't want to pay the price, you could always substitute your favorite Swiss cheese instead.




Repeat the layers of bread, ham, and cheese, ending with the sauce.




Bake the casserole for 30 minutes. Then remove from the oven and cut into 6 equal pieces.



Fry eggs in a skillet heated with the remaining butter.



Plate the slices of casserole and top each with a fried egg.



Time to dig in! I served mine with an Artisanal Blend of salad greens, which was added a nice crisp, refreshing taste in between bites of this rich, delicious casserole.



Here's the recipe:

Croque-Madame Casserole from Paula Deen's Deen Family Cookbook

Prep Time:20 min
Cook Time:40 min
Serves: 6

Ingredients
•6 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, plus 2 tablespoons for eggs
•1/4 cup all-purpose flour
•2 cups milk
•2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
•3/4 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning
•1/2 teaspoon pepper, plus more for seasoning
•1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
•10 to 12 slices white bread
•3/4 pound deli ham
•1 1/2 cups (6 ounces) grated Gruyere, reserve some for top of casserole
•6 eggs
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease an 8-inch square baking dish.

Melt 6 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet over low heat until bubbling. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in the milk and cook until thick and bubbling, 3 to 5 minutes more. Whisk in the mustard, salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

Pour a thin layer of the sauce into the prepared baking dish and cover it with 5 or 6 slices of the bread, then slices of the ham and an even layer of the Gruyere. Repeat the layers once more, ending with a third layer of sauce to cover all. Bake the casserole for 30 minutes. Remove it from the oven and cut into 6 equal pieces.

Working in 2 batches, melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Crack 3 eggs into the skillet and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Cook until the whites are nearly set, about 3 minutes. Carefully flip the eggs and continue cooking until the whites are completely set, about 1 minute more. You're going to top each portion of the casserole with a fried egg. Repeat with the remaining 3 eggs and 1 tablespoon butter. Top with Gruyere and it in the oven for a few minutes until cheese melts.
___________________________

And now for the meal plan...this week I'm only trying one new recipe, "Crafty Lasagna". The rest of the meals featured in the plan below have already been posted on Krista's Kitchen. Just click the links to see the posts with step by step instructions.

Monday February 21st

Beef and Barley Soup

Tuesday February 22nd

Spicy Tuna Linguine

Wednesday February 23rd

Crafty Lasagna

Thursday February 24th

Leftovers

Friday February 25th

Make Your Own Pizza Night

Saturday February 26th

Creamy Roasted Tomato Soup with Mini Focaccias

Sunday February 27th

Chili Cheese Dogs

Grocery List

Produce

2-3 onions
celery
carrots
4 heads garlic
shallot
2-3 leeks
parsley
mushrooms
cilantro
pine nuts
pizza toppings of choice: mushrooms, onion, peppers
3 lbs. plum tomatoes
basil

Meat

3-4 cups cooked beef roast
1/2 lb. lean ground beef
hot dogs
12 oz. canned tuna packed in water
pizza toppings: pepperoni, sausage, bacon, ham

Dairy

shredded cheese for pizza
sour cream
1 (11 oz.) tube breadsticks
grated parmesan
shredded cheddar

Dry Goods

quick cooking barley
Italian seasoning
red pepper flakes
9 oz. dry linguine
quick rise yeast
sugar
all purpose flour
wheat flour
oregano
hot dog buns
brown sugar
chili powder
garlic powder
cumin

Canned Goods

olive oil
64 oz. beef broth
3 cans diced tomatoes
46 oz. chicken broth
pizza sauce
3- 6 oz. cans tomato paste
12 oz. evaporated milk
mustard

Gingerbread Cinnamon Rolls

I made this festive version of cinnamon rolls as a breakfast treat for my daughters early this week, but they would be perfect for any holiday brunch. I knew that they would be well received in this kitchen because my girls LOVE gingerbread. We make gingerbread men, ladies, houses, barns, and even reindeer every year for Christmas. I freeze the extras and we eat the spicy cookies throughout the year. Someone recently pointed out to me that gingerbread is an acquired taste. If that's so, then my children have acquired the taste early. They'll eat gingerbread cookies by the dozen, with or without frosting! So, it's no surprise that my family gobbled up these gingerbread flavored cinnamon rolls for breakfast.

This cinnamon roll recipe starts out like many others, with yeast proofing in warm water. This is 2 packages of active dry yeast in 1/4 cup of water (around 115 degrees).

Then mix together evaporated milk, molasses, brown sugar, an egg, vegetable oil, and salt.

Add in the proofed yeast mixture and keep stirring until combined.

Stir in as much flour as you can, then turn the dough onto a floured surface and knead in enough of the remaining flour to form a soft, smooth, elastic dough (for about 5 minutes kneading time). I got a little too enthusiastic with my flour and added a smidge too much, which made for a denser, drier finished product (Shame on me!) The dough seemed so soft as I was stirring that I just dumped in the rest of the flour. The fact that I was rushing to get these mixed up contributed to my hasty flour addition; I made these after dinner and I wanted to get them rising before I put the girls to bed. Next time, I'll add the flour little by little...

Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a greased bowl. Cover and let rise until doubled. The recipe suggests that this should take about an hour. Mine needed 2 hours until it was doubled.  I swear that I put it in a warm place....

Once doubled, punch the dough down, then cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Again, I was busy, so I failed to read the recipe and I skipped this step and went straight to the rolling. Man, I used to be so good at yeast rolls and bread!

I rolled the dough out into a rectangle. Mine was slightly bigger then the recipe recommended 12 X 8 inch rectangle.

Spread the dough with 2 tablespoons of butter.

Combine brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and ginger for the filling.

Spread the sugar mixture evenly over the butter.

Then roll the dough up, long side to long side.

Pinch the seams to seal. As I finished this step, I marvelled at how very much the gingerbread cinnamon roll log looked like a GIANT cigar. But, unlike a cigar, when you fire these up, the house will smell absolutely wonderful!

Slice the dough into 1 to 1-1/2" thick slices.

Lookin' good....

Place the rolls onto a greased 13 X 9 inch pan, then cover and let rise for another hour, until nearly doubled. This second raising session went better for me. After an hour, they were ready to go! The recipe recommended that I bake these at 350 degrees for 22-25 minutes. I baked these on the low end of the recommendation, for 22 minutes. It was too long. I bet that they would have been good to go at between 18-20 minutes.

Move the rolls to a plate or serving platter to cool while you stir the glaze together. The glaze is simply powdered sugar, cinnamon, vanilla, and milk. Stir the mixture until smooth and desired spreading consistency.

Spread the glaze over the slightly cooled rolls and garnish with sugared cranberries, if you like. Even if these were a tad on the dry side from my over-use of flour and over-baking, they were still really good. We ate them for breakfast two mornings in a row!

In addition to being delicious, the rolls were very photogenic, they just looked so pretty, especially with the sugared cranberries sprinkled around the plate, that I had a difficult time choosing which picture to use for this post...so I went with two.

Here's the recipe, as seen in the December 2009 edition of Better Homes and Gardens Magazine

Gingerbread Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients
2 pkg. active dry yeast
1/2 cup evaporated milk
1/3 cup molasses
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp. granulated sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
2 Tbsp. butter, softened
1 recipe Glaze (recipe below)
Sugared cranberries*
Directions
1. In a bowl combine yeast and 1/4 cup warm water (about 115 degrees F). Let stand 5 minutes. Stir in milk, molasses, 1/4 cup brown sugar, the egg, oil, and 1/2 tsp. salt. Stir in as much flour as you can. Turn dough out onto floured surface. Knead in enough remaining flour for moderately soft, smooth, elastic dough (5 minutes). Shape in ball. Place in greased bowl; turn once. Cover; let rise until double (1 hour). Punch down. Turn onto lightly floured surface. Cover; let rest 10 minutes.

2. Grease a 13x9x2-inch pan. For filling, in bowl combine 1/4 cup brown sugar, granulated sugar, cinnamon, and ginger. Roll dough to 12x8-inch rectangle. Spread butter on dough. Sprinkle filling to within 1 inch along one long side. Roll up, beginning at long side of filling. Pinch to seal. Cut 12 slices. Place in pan. Cover; let rise until nearly double (45 minutes).

3. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake for 22 to 25 minutes or until golden brown and set. Let stand 5 minutes; invert onto platter. Drizzle with Glaze. To serve, top with sugared cranberries. Makes 12 rolls.

Glaze: Combine 1-1/2 cups powdered sugar, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, and 1/2 tsp. vanilla. Whisk in enough milk (4 to 5 tsp.) for drizzling consistency.

*Note: For sugared cranberries, roll frozen cranberries in sugar.

Nutrition Facts
Servings Per Recipe 12 rollsCalories332, Total Fat (g)6, Saturated Fat (g)2, Monounsaturated Fat (g)2, Polyunsaturated Fat (g)1, Cholesterol (mg)26, Sodium (mg)136, Carbohydrate (g)64, Total Sugar (g)32, Fiber (g)1, Protein (g)6, Calcium (DV%)7, Iron (DV%)15, Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet

My Notes:
*As stated above, add that last cup of flour slowly to avoid a dry product.
*Start checking rolls after 18 minutes of baking time to make sure that they do not overbake.
*I prefer a spicier gingerbread flavor. Next time I will add in nutmeg and ground cloves to the dough.
*These could be "gooey-ier". Next time I might increase the butter/filling for the recipe to make 1-1/2 to 2 X more filling.

I love the idea of these. This recipe is an excellent starting place. I can't wait to "tweak" them to perfection when I make them again!

Pumpkin-Spiced Cinnamon Rolls

When I saw these Easy Pumpkin Spice Cinnamon Rolls on The Ungourmet last week, I knew that they would make an appearance in my kitchen in the near future. By the way, if you haven't visited Kim's blog, please give it a look for some excellent baked goodies (her cupcakes are SO creative!) and delicious meals. I already had all of the ingredients needed for pumpkin-spiced cinnamon rolls, so they were an easy choice for this morning's breakfast. Besides, what's not to love about cinnamon rolls...especially pumpkin -spiced cinnamon rolls...especially at this time of year!? This is the perfect easy Saturday morning recipe, a morning that no on needs to rush off to work or school and you can all sit down together and enjoy it with glasses of cold milk or a cup of steaming, fragrant coffe. Make it in your p.j.'s...cartoons playing in the background...savoring the haven of your warm, cozy kitchen. Smile out at the cold, hard, gray November morning as the smell of pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon fill the air. The holiday hustle and bustle is just around the corner, but today it's just a low-key Saturday morning with the family and these yummy pumpkin-spiced, cream cheese and maple topped cinnamon rolls on your plate...

I began by combining the filling ingredients: pumpkin puree, a little butter, maple syrup, cinnamon, and pumpkin pie spice. Stir until smooth.



Then grab an 16-18 oz package of refrigerated pizza dough. Kim, from The Ungourmet used Trader Joe's pizza dough that comes in a bag, not a tube. I went with what I already had...Pillsbury in a tube. I still haven't figured out where Trader Joe's is in this town...



You're supposed to roll it out into a 12 X 10 inch rectangle. Since I used the thin crust version of Pillsbury pizza dough, I simply needed to unroll it onto a floured surface.



Then I spread the filling over the rectangle, leaving about an inch on each side.



Kim commented that these rolls aren't overly sweet, which was good for her because super sweet goodies just aren't her cup of tea. Me on the other hand, I'm all about the sugar high! I sprinkled another layer of sugar-cinnamon blend over the filling mixture.



Then, starting with the long side, I rolled the rectangle up, jelly roll style. Pinch the seams to seal.



Then, using a sharp knife, slice the roll into 1 to 1-1/2" portions. Mine were a little "smooshy", partly because I used pizza roll from a tube and partly because I didn't roll it as tightly as I should have.



It was all good, though...they still turned out okay. Transfer them to a greased, 9-inch baking dish. I used my 9-inch springform pan, but a regular 9 in. round or square pan would work out just fine. Depending on the type of pizza dough, you might need to let these rise until doubled for about 45 minutes. Using pizza dough from a tube, I found that the rolls do not expand much when left to rest on the counter. I think that I let mine sit for about 30 minutes with no change. Next time, I might not even bother. Bake the rolls at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until golden brown.



While the rolls bake, combine the icing ingredients: butter, cream cheese, maple syrup, and a little orange juice.



Sift in a cup of powdered sugar and stir until combined and smooth.



Spread the icing over the rolls while they are still warm.



The recipe makes plenty of icing...feel free to smother em'! Mmmm. These were great fresh from the oven, but I liked them even better, hours later, with an afternoon cup of coffee.




Pumpkin Spice Cinnamon Rolls
adapted from theUngourmet

1 16-18 oz package of refrigerated pizza dough
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/3 cup maple syrup
2 tbsp room temperature butter

Icing
2 tbsp room temperature butter
1/2 cup room temperature cream cheese
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 tbsp orange juice
1 cup sifted powdered sugar

Roll dough into a 12x10 inch rectangle. Combine the pumpkin, spices, syrup and butter. Spread filling onto the rolled dough, leaving 1 inch on each side. Carefully roll dough jelly-roll style, starting at the long end (this will be a bit messy). Pinch seam to seal. Use a sharp serrated knife to cut 12 1 inch slices. Place rolls into a greased 9 inch baking pan. Cover and place in a draft free area and allow to rise until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown.

Combine icing ingredients and beat until smooth. Spread over rolls while they are still warm. Enjoy!

Notes: I used pizza dough from a tube. It didn't really need time to raise. If you use homemade dough or refrigerated pizza dough from a bag, it will a) need time to raise and b) probably yield a lighter, fluffier cinnamon roll.

I liberally sprinkled cinnamon-sugar over the filling before I rolled up the dough for a sweeter product.