Cherry Dump Cake

I was asked today for my Dump Cake recipe. I’ve seen all kinds of variations, from blackberry to blueberry and even peach, I even have an old friend Maxine’s on the blog, only because she loves rhubarb. Me, I actually prefer the plain old cobbler that every woman from church makes. I’ve eaten it for as long as I can remember; it’s just to easy to make. So here it is, hope you all enjoy it.

INGREDIENTS:
1 (20 ounces) can crushed pineapple, undrained
1 (21 ounces) can prepared more fruit cherry pie filling
1 (18.25 ounces) box yellow or white cake mix
2 sticks (1 cup or 16 Tablespoons) of butter or margarine, each cut into 12 slices
1/4 cup chopped nuts (I use pecans or walnuts, but you can use your favorite)

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (325 for glass baking dish).
Dump undrained pineapple into a 9x13x2 baking dish and spread it out evenly.
Using a spoon, dump globs of cherry pie filling evenly on top of the pineapple.
Sprinkle the cake mix evenly over the cherry and pineapple layers.
Cut butter into slices with a butter knife and place slices evenly over cake mix.
Sprinkle nuts on top if you’re using them.
Bake for one hour.
To serve, scoop cake out with a large spoon like a cobbler and add a  scoop of vanilla ice cream. Serve warm or cold.

Yield: about 10 to 12 servings

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Many people miss their share of happiness not because they never found it but because they didn’t stop to enjoy it.

 

Buttermilk Cornbread

INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 cups yellow cornmeal
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, separated
3/4 teaspoons soda
1 1/3 cups buttermilk
2 tablespoons melted shortening

DIRECTIONS
Lift the cornmeal by spoonfuls into the measuring cup, then level off. Sift cornmeal and salt together. Beat egg yolks thoroughly, add soda and buttermilk and beat until completely mixed. Add to cornmeal mixture and stir until ingredients are blended. *Add hot melted shortening, beat again (work quickly so it doesn’t fry) and fold in the stiffly beaten egg whites. Turn immediately into a piping hot greased 10 inch heavy skillet and bake in a hot oven (450 degrees F.) for 30 minutes. Serve at once with melted butter.

Yield: 5 servings.

* Preheat the oven to temperature with the skillet in the oven. Pull out right just before time to bake. Add 3 tbsp tablespoons of shortening and swirl around until it covers the bottom and sides of the skillet. Dump 2 tbsp of the melted shortening into the batter.

That’s the way my mom always coated her skillet. My oldest sister Shirley only uses white cornmeal and adds 2 tbsp of sugar to the mix. She makes everything sweet.

I hope that everyone has a huge assortment of iron skillets, I know I do. Just make sure as soon as you wash them, to place them on top of the burner or back in the oven to dry out. When pan is completely dry, season the skillet (wipe inside & out with a cooking oil on a paper towel).

My dad’s favorite food was always cornbread and buttermilk. Sometimes he’d use crackers instead of the cornbread in his buttermilk. My kids would have staged a protest if I had served them, buttermilk with anything. I still use it in the occasional biscuit or cake. They don’t know the difference. sh

I remember as a kid being cold a lot, and hungry sometimes. We’d go to bed with just cornbread and milk, and I remember wearing shoes with holes in the bottom. I remember having twine for shoestrings. ~ Buck Owens

 

Creamed Rutabaga and Pearl Onions

INGREDIENTS
12 ounces pearl onions
1 large rutabaga, diced
1 cup heavy cream
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 garlic clove, smashed
1/2 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 cup goose stock or chicken broth

DIRECTIONS
Blanch the pearl onions by placing them into a large pot of rapidly boiling water. Cook them for about 1 minute. Remove the onions from the water with a strainer, and then plunge into an ice bath to stop the cooking process. Drain them, and then remove the skins. Toss diced rutabaga into pot of boiling water and cook until tender.

Put the onions in a 3-quart saucepan and place over low-medium heat. Add the cream, bay leaves, parsley, garlic and nutmeg. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and let simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until thickened. Then, remove the cover and add stock and tender rutabagas. Season again. Allow to cook down for 5 minutes to tighten up the cream sauce. Discard the garlic clove and bay leaves before serving.

The foliage has been losing its freshness through the month of August, and here and there a yellow leaf shows itself like the first gray hair amidst the locks of a beauty who has seen one season too many. ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes

 

Turnip Loaf

6 c. diced turnips
1 tsp. sugar
Pinch of pepper
Pinch of nutmeg
1/2 c. cream
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/4 c. soft bread crumbs
1 tbsp. melted butter

Cook turnips in boiling salted water for 20 minutes or until tender. Drain and mash. Add next 5 ingredients; blend thoroughly. Turn into buttered 6 cup casserole. Toss bread crumbs and butter together; sprinkle over casserole. Bake in 375 degree oven for 1 hour.  Serve hot.

Optional: Serve with a dish of warm white turnips and carrots.

Yield: 6 to 8 servings.

Honesty is the first chapter in the book of wisdom. ~ Thomas Jefferson

 

Praline Pecan Pie

Pie Crust (see recipe below)
8 tablespoons (1 stick or cube) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/4 cup firmly-packed dark brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 large eggs
1/4 cup dark corn syrup
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
2 to 4 tablespoons bourbon (your choice)
2 cups whole pecans, toasted, cooled, and broken into small pieces*

* To toast the pecans, spread them on a baking sheet and bake them until fragrant, approximately 5 to 7 minutes (watch as they can burn easily). When the pecans have cooled, use a rolling pin to gently break the pecans into 1/2-inch pieces.

Prepare and bake Pie Crust and set aside.

Lower oven temperature to 275 degrees Fahrenheit. If the prebaked pie shell is not still warm, place it in the oven while you prepare the filling.

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, cook butter, brown sugar, and salt together until sugar is melted and butter is absorbed, approximately 2 minutes. Remove the butter mixture from the heat source and whisk in the eggs, 1 at a time, until combined. Whisk in the corn syrup, vanilla extract, and bourbon. Return the pan to medium heat and stir constantly until the mixture is glossy and warm to the touch, approximately 4 minutes. NOTE: Do not overheat; remove pan from heat if mixture starts to steam or bubble. Temperature should be about 130 degrees F. Remove pan from heat and stir in toasted pecans.

Pour the cooked pie filling mixture into the warm pie shell. Bake until center feels set yet soft, like gelatin, when gently pressed, approximately 45 to 60 minutes. The center of the pie should be set but still wobbly; residual heat will finish the job. Remove from oven and let pie cool completely on a wire rack at least 4 hours. NOTE: Pie can be refrigerated for up to 1 day.

Serve pie at room temperature, accompanied by whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.
Makes 8 to 10 servings.

Pie Crust:
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus extra for dusting work surface
2 tablespoons firmly-packed dark brown sugar
1/3 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons (1 stick or cube) unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch pieces and chilled
3 to 4 tablespoons ice water

In the bowl of your food process, pulse flour, brown sugar, and salt until blended. Add the chilled butter pieces and pulse until flour is pale yellow and resembles coarse cornmeal, approximately 10 to 15 (1-second pulses). Place crust mixture into a medium-size bowl.
Using a rubber spatula, fold 3 tablespoons ice water into the flour mixture, then press against side of bowl (if mixture doesn’t hold together, add up to 1 more tablespoon ice water). Squeeze dough together and flatten into a disk shape. Dust with flour, wrap in plastic wrap, and refrigerate at least 30 minutes or up to 2 days before rolling.
When ready to bake, remove dough from refrigerator and let stand until dough is malleable enough to roll out, but still cool, approximately 10 to 20 minutes.

Roll dough on a lightly floured surface into a 12-inch circle. Roll dough over the rolling pin and then unroll it evenly into a 9-inch Pyrex pie plate. Fit dough into the pie plate and flute edges. Refrigerate dough for 40 minutes, then freeze for 20 minutes.
While dough is chilling, adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 375 degrees F.

When ready to bake the pie crust, line the pie shell with two (2) 12-inch pieces of aluminum foil, fitting foil so that it hangs over edges of crust. Distribute 2 cups pie weights (or beans) over the foil. Bake pie crust until the dough under the aluminum dries out, approximately 20 to 25 minutes. Carefully remove the aluminum foil and weights, and then continue to bake the crust until it is firmly set and lightly browned, approximately 10 to 15 minutes. Remove pie crust from oven and set aside.

What a pity flowers can utter no sound!—A singing rose, a whispering violet, a murmuring honeysuckle … oh, what a rare and exquisite miracle would these be! ~ Henry Ward Beecher

 

Potatoes Romanoff

INGREDIENTS
10 baking potatoes, peeled, cut into large pieces
1 pint sour cream
6 green onions, chopped
1 pound processed cheese, cubed

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add potatoes and cook until tender but still firm, about 15 minutes. Drain and mash.
3. In a 9 x 13 inch casserole dish combine potatoes, sour cream, green onions and processed cheese.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until heated through.

All your renown is like the summer flower that blooms and dies; because the sunny glow which brings it forth, soon slays with parching power. ~ Dante Alighieri