Peek-A-Boo! {TWD} Double Apple Bundt Cake/Jan's Fresh Pear Cake

Hello friends!  Life has been crazy crazy crazy, like it often is.  But its back to reality, and back to blogging for me...finally!  Oh, how I've missed being an active part of the fanatic foodie world.  Don't worry, next time I will catch you up on all of my recent distractions, but today my post is dedicated to Tuesdays With Dorie.  Lynn of Honey Muffin chose for us to bake Dorie's Double Apple Bundt Cake this week.  Click HERE  for the complete recipe for this sweet autumn treat. 

I'm not gonna lie to you, I didn't make this cake.  I didn't make any cake.  But my mother made her very own Pear Cake that took our latest family party by storm, and I couldn't resist sharing it with you.  So moist.  So perfectly spiced.  So... So... well, you'll just have to try it for yourselves to know what I mean. This will be perfect for the next time you have friends over for dinner and games, or the next family gathering you attend.  Happy Fall, my foodie friends!



Fresh Pear Cake

From Janet Porter (my momma)

Ingredients

2 cups sugar

1 tsp salt

3 eggs (well beaten)

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups cooking oil

2 tsp cinnamon

3 cups flour

3 cups pears (peeled & sliced very thin)

1 tsp baking soda

Directions

 

1. Blend sugar, eggs, and cooking oil together.

2. Sift flour, soda, salt together.

3. Gradually add one cup at a time to sugar mixture.

4. Then add the vanilla and cinnamon and pears. Mix well and pour into a well greased and floured tube

or bundt pan.

5. Bake at 350' for approximately one hour.

***The softer the pears the more moist the cake will be.

Glaze

Melt and mix together:

1/2 square butter or margarine

1 cup sugar

1/4 tsp salt

Add:

1/2 cup buttermilk

1/4 tsp soda

Mix and boil for 2 minutes.

Let cool a bit then drizzle over cake.

Enjoy!



Pear & Walnut Rice Salad w/ Cranberries

I know it might be hard to believe that I work in the health field when you look at a number of the oh-so-unhealthy (but delicious) recipes I've shared with you, my foodie friends.  But believe it or not, I am a health professional.  You might think that I would feel guilt in flaunting the less than healthy treats, but I don't.  My mission is to live a life of balance where I can experience all of the physical activity I can get and enjoy eating all of the foods that I love in moderation.  Its a package deal - you have to practice both exercise and moderation for it to work - and I want you all to enjoy that same balance and happiness with me.  That being said, I expect people to be smart enough to eat only a small slice of the banana split ice cream cake, and not the whole thing on their own.  I won't feel guilty for someone else being a dummy.  Anyway, every week I post a "healthy recipe of the week" on a bulletin board at work for all to see, and this was one that I couldn't wait to test in my own kitchen.  Dick and I were both huge fans, and we fought over who got to take leftovers for lunch when it began to disappear.  So, if you had pizza for dinner last night, try balancing your menu out with this one tonight!  That way none of us will feel guilty.

Pear & Walnut Rice Salad w/ Cranberries

From EatingWell Magazine

Ingredients

3 c. cooked brown rice

1 large pear, cored & diced

3 medium green onions

1/2 c. chopped toasted walnuts

1/3 c. crumbled blue cheese

1/3 c. prepared raspberry vinaigrette

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

handful of dried cranberries

Directions

Mix all ingredients until well-incorporated.

Serve warm, cold, or at room temperature - all taste great!

Roasted Pears with Blue Cheese = My homerun of the weekend

Last night we had my parents over for dinner. And then we went to see Iron Man 2, but we won't talk about that because I'm starting to lose it just thinking of hunky Mr. Downey! Anyway, I was able to kill not only 2 birds by having them over, but 4. Yep, 4. I tried 3 new recipes last night, and luckily they were all big, big hits. I'm pretty sure everyone's fave was this salad, though. At least that was the vibe I got when Dick licked his bowl clean. Just like the dear in Snow White. Which is why I just invited Mom & Dad to my house rather than a restaurant...I can't take him anywhere! teasing, teasing. You'll be inviting everyone you know over for dinner so that you can dazzle them with this scrumptious, fancy-looking, but super simple salad, too.

Roasted Pears with Blue Cheese

Ina Garten from the Food Network

Ingredients

3 ripe but firm Anjou pears

Freshly squeezed lemon juice (3 lemons)

3 oz. coarsely crumbled sharp blue cheese

1/4 c. dried cranberries

1/4 c. walnut halves, toasted & chopped

1/2 c. apple cider

1/3 c. light brown sugar, lightly packed

1/4 c. good olive oil

6 oz. baby arugula (I used leafy green lettuce)

Kosher salt

Directions

Preheat oven to 375.

Peel the pears & slice lengthwise into halves. Remove the core & seeds from each pear, leaving a round well for the filling. Trim a small slice away from the rounded sides of each pear half so that they will sit in the baking dish without wobbling. Toss the pears with some lemon juice to prevent them from turning brown. Arrange them, core side up, in a baking dish large enough to hold the pears snugly.

Gently toss the blue cheese, dried cranberries, & walnuts together in a small bowl. Divide the mixture among the pears, mounding it on top of the indentation.

In the same small bowl, combine the apple cider and brown sugar, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Pour the mixture over and around the pears. Bake the pears, basting occasionally with the cider mixture, for 30 minutes, or until tender. Set aside until warm or at room temp.

Just before serving, whisk together the olive oil, 1/4 c. of lemon juice, and 1/4 c. of the basting liquid in a large bowl. Divide the arugula among 6 plates and top each with a pear half. Drizzle each pear with some of the basting liquid, sprinkle with salt & serve warm.