The First Alto Wedding Cake!

Or the remnants, anyway, because it was so tasty I forgot to take a picture earlier :)

Grilled Pineapple

I don't know where I even saw grilled pineapple. I'd never tried it before, but I'll definitely make it again! I don't know about everyone else, but I love pineapple. When it comes to fruit platters, forget the melon, especially the unripe honeydew, I go straight for the pineapple. It is always so nice and juicy and just the right amount of sweet, unlike canned pineapple which is way to sweet for me. So we were in the hamlet of Amenia today, stopped at Label Shopper, the famous Drugworld and Freshtown (no, we did not get a chance to go into Tractor Supply where they have clothes "for the womens"). Freshtown had pineapples for sale $2.99 each. Nice deal. Even better than the GU Market in Millertown: Town of the Future which has them on sale this week for 3.99. So when Mom and I went into Freshtown for Niagra Heavy Startch, I picked up some pineapple. What made the deal even sweeter was that the cashier charged me $2.00 instead of 2.99. I don't know if it was computer error or if the produce department made the sale sign wrong, but what's done is done.
So, we had planned for steak tonight and I thought it would be best to let me grill the pineapple first before the raw meat went on the grill. I didn't really want my pineapple to taste of beef. So we just fired up the grill and put the pineapple on.
You'll need a nice ripe pineapple. Smell the bottom of the pineapple at the store. If it smells sweet and the rind is turning yellow, you're in good shape. Then, twist the leaves at the top off. I cut right down the middle of the pineapple then cut each half in half. You could cut the pineapple in long pieces or smaller ones, but not too small since you don't want them to fall between the grill grates. Cut out the core and trim off all the rind. I didn't get to crazy and get all of the leftover spiny parts off. I found the more I cut and trimmed the more slippery it became.
Then, mix 3 tablespoons honey, 1-2 tablespoons lemon or lime juice (I did some of each) and 1/2 teaspoon of ground black pepper together. After I mixed it all up I just dumped it into the bowl that I had put the prepared pineapple into and tossed it around to get everything coated. Throw it on the grill and grill each side about 4 minutes or until they get nice grill marks on each side. Since I made the dessert before dinner, I wanted to keep them warm, so I just put them in the oven on what our oven calls Warm and Hold, which is just really low heat. When I took them out after dinner they were still warm and juicy and oh so very tastey.

Ninjabread Men

Summery Cherry Cobbler

Last weekend I decided that I wanted to make cobbler since summer finally seems to be appearing, but I didn't go grocery shopping until Monday afternoon, so I decided to hold off until this weekend. With many boys descending on my apartment tonight and tomorrow for Tom's bachelor party, I thought it would be nice to have some baked goods on hand to feed them with, so the cobbler is baking as we speak (write?), and it smells deeeeelicious!!!

I found this recipe in the archives of a food blog I really enjoy, Andrea's Recipes. I made a few small modifications to account for ingredients I don't have around the house, but her recipe is essentially repeated below. I can't wait to taste it and I'll let you all know how it comes out :-)

Ingredients:

Cherry Filling:

• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1-1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 6 cups fresh or frozen pitted tart cherries
• 1 tablespoon Triple Sec (the original called for hazelnut: Frangelico or Di Saronno Amaretto)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• scant 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon and nutmeg (the original called for allspice)

Biscuit Topping:

• 2 cups White Lily Self-Rising Flour (or for those of us in the north who can't get White Lily Flour *sniff*, 2 cups all purpose flour plus 1 tablespoon baking powder)
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 3/4 cup whipping cream
• 1 large egg
• cinnamon sugar mixture

Process:

• Preheat the oven to 375° F.
• FILLING: In the saucepan whisk together sugar and cornstarch. Add cherries, liqueur, vanilla, and allspice and melt together over moderate heat, stirring occasionally. Simmer and stir for about 2 minutes and transfer to the casserole dish.
• BISCUITS: Add the flour, sugar, salt, and cinnamon to the food processor bowl and pulse 3 or 4 times. Add the butter pieces and pulse about 10 times, no more 
  (or do this by hand, cutting the butter into the dried mixture until crumbly, using a fork or a pastry cutter)
   Whisk 3/4 cup whipping cream and egg in a large bowl. Pour the flour mixture into the large bowl and stir just until the dry ingredients are wet. Gently knead the dough in bowl just until it comes together. If you overwork the dough, the biscuits will be tough.
• ASSEMBLE: Use an ice cream scoop to form the biscuits and drop them over the cherries, spacing apart. Brush dough with whipping cream and sprinkle some cinnamon sugar mixture over the dough.
• BAKE: Bake in the preheated oven until the cherries are bubbling and the biscuits are golden brown, about 35 to 40 minutes. Cool slightly. Serve hot or warm with vanilla ice cream.

Here are a few sexy photos of the final product: