Upside Down Cranberry Pumpkin Cake

Topping

* 2/3 cup packed brown sugar
* 1/3 cup butter
* 1 1/2 cups cranberries
* 1/2 cup chopped pecans

Cake

* 1/4 cup butter, softened
* 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar
* 1 eggs
* 1/2 cup sour cream
* 1/2 cup canned or cooked pumpkin
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1 cup all-purpose flour
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
* 1/8 teaspoon salt
* pinch ground ginger
* pinch ground all spice
* pinch nutmeg

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (300 degrees F with convection). Wrap the outside of a 9" springform with aluminum foil. Spray the sides with non-stick. Place it on a try with an edge (just in case).
2. In a small saucepan, combine brown sugar and butter. Bring to a boil. Pour into the springform and sprinkle with cranberries and pecans.

cranberry topping on the bottom

3. In a stand mixer, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and beat well.
4. In a small bowl, combine the sour cream, pumpkin and vanilla; mix well.
5. In another small bowl, combine dry ingredients; add to creamed mixture alternately with sour cream mixture. Beat on low just until blended. Spread the batter on the cranberry mixture in the pan. Try to level it out.
6. Bake for 40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. (Not that pretty this way, but just wait till you turn it over.)

out of the oven

7. Cool for 10 minutes. Remove the side of the springform pan, Put a plate on top and turn it over. Remove the pan bottom and foil. Serve warm.

Kringle

Dough:

* 4 Cups all-purpose flour
* 1 Cup butter, slightly softened
* 2 TB. sugar
* 1 tsp. salt
* 1 pkg. dry yeast
* 2 eggs, beaten
* 1 Cup milk

Cream Cheese Filling:

* 1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese
* ½ Cup sugar
* 1 tsp. PURE VANILLA EXTRACT
* 4 TB. RASPBERRY ENLIGHTENMENT
* 1 Cup chopped pecans

Glaze:

* 2 2/3 Cup powdered sugar
* 2 TB. butter, softened
* 4 TB. hot water
* 1 TB. milk
* 1-2 tsp. PURE VANILLA EXTRACT

Put the flour, butter, sugar and salt into a bowl. Using a pastry blender, two knives, or your hands, blend together until the mixture is crumbly. If you don't mind a little mess your hands work much better. In a separate bowl mix the dry yeast, beaten eggs, and the milk. Don't worry that the yeast remains cold, that's the beauty of this recipe, no rising! Add milk mixture to dry ingredients. Mix well with a fork until all ingredients are blended, it will pull away from the sides and form a ball. You may have to work the final flour into the dough with your hands. Divide it into two pieces, flatten into discs, wrap in plastic wrap and put them into the refrigerator overnight.

Preheat the oven to 350°. Beat together the cream cheese, sugar and VANILLA. Roll out each piece of dough into a rectangle, 1/8 inch thick, about the length of your cookie sheet and as wide as 1/8 inch will allow. Spread half of the cream cheese filling over each piece of dough. Then, spread each kringle with half of the RASPBERRY ENLIGHTENMENT and sprinkle with half of the pecans. Rolling from the short ends roll each side to the center. Pinch the center together and roll the ends under. Place each kringle on an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 20-25 minutes changing racks halfway through the baking time (top to bottom, bottom to top). Remove kringles from cookie sheets to a cooling rack and let cool about 10 minutes before glazing.

Mix glaze ingredients together and whisk until smooth. Top the kringles with the glaze. Tastes great warm, so slice and serve right after glazing if desired.

Prep. time: 15 minutes for dough, 15 minutes for assembly
Baking time: 25 minutes
Serves: 8-10 (makes 2)

Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes

3 1/2 pounds russet potatoes
16 fluid ounces (2 cups) half-and-half
6 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons kosher salt
6 ounces grated Parmesan

Peel and dice potatoes, making sure all are relatively the same size. Place in a large saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and then reduce heat to maintain a rolling boil. Cook until potatoes fall apart when poked with a fork.

Heat the half-and-half and the garlic in a medium saucepan over medium heat until simmering. Remove from heat and set aside.

Remove the potatoes from the heat and drain off the water. Mash and add the garlic-cream mixture, salt, and Parmesan; stir to combine. Let stand for 5 minutes so that mixture thickens and then serve.

10 to 12 servings

Spiced Wafer Crust

1/2 cup sugar
20 ginger snaps
1/2 cup melted butter


Break 4 cookies into pieces and place into an electric blender. Blend to crumbs. Empty crumbs into a bowl and continue until all cookies are crumbled.

Add melted butter and sugar. Mix until crumbs are moistened. Press two thirds of the crumb mixture into a buttered 9" pie plate. Reserve remaining crumbs for garnish. Chill crust before adding filling.

Cranberry Bread

INGREDIENTS

* 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
* 1 cup white sugar
* 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/4 cup butter
* 1 egg, beaten
* 1 teaspoon orange zest
* 3/4 cup orange juice
* 1 1/2 cups golden raisins
* 1 1/2 cups chopped cranberries

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DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray or grease one 9x5x3 inch loaf pan.
2. Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda.
3. Cut in butter until mixture is crumbly. Add egg, orange peel, and orange juice; stir to mix and fold in raisins and cranberries.
4. Pour into loaf pan and bake for 70 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Remove from pan; cool on wire rack.

Peanut Butter Cookies

1 Cup butter, softened (2 sticks)
1 Cup granulated white sugar
1 Cup brown sugar, firmly packed
2 eggs
1 TB pure vanilla extract
1 Cup peanut butter
3 cups flour
2 tsp baking soda
dash salt
1/2 cup vanilla sugar to roll cookies in

Preheat oven to 375, lightly grease 2 cookie sheets and set aside/ Cream together the butter and sugars. Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Add the peanut butter and mix until well blended. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. Add to the creamed mixture and mix until blended well. Roll dough into 1 inch balls. Roll the balls in the sugar if desired (and why wouldn't you?). Place on the cookie sheets, 12 to a sheet. Using a fork flatten the cookies with a crisscross pattern. Put two pans in the oven at a time. Bake for 8 minutes for chewy cookies or 10 minutes for crispy cookies, switching the pans, top to bottom-bottom to top, after half of the baking time.

Prep time: 10 min
Baking time: 30 min
Yield: 6 dozen

Pumpkin pie spice

1. Measure 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon into a small bowl or cup.
2. Add 1/4 teaspoon of ground ginger.
3. Add 1/8 teaspoon of ground allspice or ground cloves.
4. Add 1/8 teaspoon of ground nutmeg.
5. Stir to blend.

Makes 1 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice.

Date Nut Cookies

* 2 Cups all-purpose flour
* 2 Cups pitted dates
* 1/2 tsp. salt
* 1/2 tsp. baking soda
* 1 tsp. PUMPKIN PIE SPICE
* 1/2 Cup butter
* 1 Cup brown sugar
* 1 egg
* 1 tsp. PURE VANILLA EXTRACT
* 1/2 Cup buttermilk
* 1/2 Cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 375°. Grease two cookie sheets with vegetable shortening, because butter burns easily and will make the cookies dark. Measure the flour and sift into a roomy bowl. Slice the dates and toss them in 2 TB. of the flour and set them aside. Add the salt, baking soda, and PUMPKIN PIE SPICE to the remaining flour and sift again. In a separate bowl, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the egg and the PURE VANILLA EXTRACT to the sugar mixture and blend until thoroughly mixed. Next, add the flour mixture, alternating with the buttermilk and blending thoroughly after each addition. Mix the dates and pecans into the dough by hand. Drop by rounded teaspoonsful onto the greased cookie sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes. The cookies should be soft and not too brown.

Yield: 4-5 dozen.
Prep. time: 15 minutes
Baking time: 10 minutes

Berry Beer Baked Beans Recipe

2 cups dried cranberry, borlotti,or pinto beans, soaked over night

a splash of extra virgin olive oil
1 medium red onion, chopped
1/4 cup molasses
1 tablespoon Dijon-style mustard
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
3 cups berry beer
1/2 cup dried berries and/or cherries, loosely chopped
2 cups light vegetable broth

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika (or more to taste)
fine-grain sea salt

Preheat oven to 350F degrees, and place rack in lower third.

In a large oven-proof casserole (I use my large Le Creuset Dutch oven), heat the olive oil and saute the red onion for a minute or so. Stir in the molasses, mustard, red pepper flakes, beans, beer, dried berries, and broth. Bring to a simmer, cover, and place in oven for roughly 1 1/2 - 2 hours, or until beans are tender. Every batch of beans is different, and they'll decide for themselves when they're done. After an hour or so, (carefully) check every 25 minutes to see how the beans are doing. When the beans are tender remove the pot from the oven. In the off chance they need more liquid during the baking process, add more broth (or water) 1/2 cup at a time. More likely, if the beans finish cooking before the cooking broth really thickens up, pull the pot back up onto the stove top, uncover, and bring the pot to a boil until the liquid has more body - usually 5 - 10 minutes.

Now it's time to season the pot. Stir in the smoked paprika and a few big, generous pinches of salt. Wait a minute and then taste, you definitely need enough salt and to make the flavors pop and to counter-balance the sweetness of the molasses and fruit - the smoked paprika helps balance in this regard as well.

A big pot - serves 8 - 10.

Pumpkin spice syrup

1 cup water
1 cup sugar
2 Tbsp ground cinammon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract

Dissolve sugar in simmering water, add all spices and simmer for 5 minutes. Strain syrup to remove particulates and add vanilla.

Store the cooled syrup in a glass bottle or jar, away from direct sunlight, or in the fridge.

To make a latte, combine 2 shots of espresso with about 2 T spice syrup, then add steamed milk.

Baked Ziti

Ingredients

* 1 pound dried ziti pasta
* Kosher salt
* 3 1/2 cups Quick Tomato Sauce
* 1 pound fresh mozzarella, half cut into 1/2-inch cubes and half thinly sliced
* 3/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan, divided
* 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
* Pinch red pepper flakes

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt generously, and boil the pasta until al dente, tender but still slightly firm. Drain.

Toss the cooked pasta with the marinara sauce, cubed mozzarella, half the Parmesan cheese, black pepper, and pepper flakes. Transfer the pasta to an oiled 9 by 13-inch baking dish. Cover the top of the pasta with the sliced mozzarella, and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan. Bake until lightly browned and hot, about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

Quick Tomato Sauce

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 pound sweet and or spicy Italian sausages, casing removed and crumbled

1/4 medium onion, diced (about 3 tablespoons)

3 cloves garlic, chopped

3 1/2 cups whole, peeled, canned tomatoes in puree, (one 28-ounce can), roughly chopped

Sprig fresh thyme

Sprig fresh basil

2 teaspoons kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper
Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook the sausage until beginning to brown, about 3 minutes. Add the onion and garlic, stirring, until lightly browned, about 3 minutes more. Add the tomatoes and the herb sprigs and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer, covered, for 10 minutes.

Remove and discard the herb sprigs. Stir in the salt and season with pepper, to taste. Use now or store covered in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or freeze for up to 2 months.

Lemonade Syrup

Ingredients:

* 1 1/2 cups sugar
* 1/2 cup boiling water
* 1 lemon of zest
* 1 1/2 cups lemon juice

Preparation:
Dissolve sugar in hot water, and remove from heat. Stir in lemon juice and lemon zest. Let cool and keep refrigerated. To make instant lemonade, mix 1/4 cup of syrup with 3/4 cup cold water. Serve over ice.

Coconut Cake

2 cups white sugar
1 cup butter
5 eggs
1 teaspoon coconut extract
1 cup buttermilk

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup flaked coconut
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour a 10 inch tube pan. Mix flour, baking powder and salt together and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time; beat well. Mix in coconut flavoring. Add flour mixture alternately with buttermilk, mixing well with each addition. Fold in coconut. Pour batter into prepared pan.
3. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.

The cake doesn't bake for an hour. It's more like 40 mins when you put it in 2 9-inch pans.

Frosting

INGREDIENTS:
1 (18.25 ounce) package
yellow cake mix
1 (3.5 ounce) package instant
vanilla pudding mix
1 1/3 cups water
4 eggs
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 cups flaked coconut

1 cup chopped walnuts
4 tablespoons butter
2 cups flaked coconut
2 teaspoons milk
3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 (8 ounce) package cream
cheese
DIRECTIONS:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour three 8 or 9 inch round cake pans.
2. Blend the cake mix, pudding mix, water, eggs and oil in a large mixing bowl. Beat at medium speed for 4 minutes. Stir in 2 cups of the coconut and the chopped walnuts. Pour the batter into the prepared pans.
3. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 35 minutes. Let cakes cool in pans for 15 minutes then remove and finish cooling on rack.
4. To Make Frosting: Melt the butter or margarine in a skillet. Add the 2 cups flaked coconut and stir constantly over low heat until golden brown. Spread coconut on absorbent paper to cool.
5. Cream the remaining 2 tablespoons butter or margarine with the cream cheese. Add the milk and confectioners' sugar alternately, beating well. Add the vanilla and stir in 1 3/4 cups of the toasted coconut.
6. To Assemble Cake: Spread tops of cooled cake layers with some of the frosting. Stack them and then frost the sides of the cake. Sprinkle Cake with the remaining toasted coconut.

Grilled Jamaican Jerk Tilapia Packets

Prep Time: 12 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Ingredients:

* 4 tilapia fillets, about 6 ounces
* 1 cup white onion, chopped
* 1 cup red or orange bell pepper, julienned
* 2 poblano peppers, seeded and chopped
* 3 cloves garlic, minced
* 3 tablespoons olive oil
* 3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
* 3 tablespoons Jerk Seasoning
* 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
* salt and black pepper
* 4 large pieces of aluminum foil

Preparation:
Preheat grill medium high heat. Place one piece of tilapia in each piece of foil. Combine, garlic, olive oil, cilantro, lemon juice, and jerk seasoning in a small bowl. Brush well with mixture on both sides of fish. Place equal portions of onion, bell pepper, and poblano on each piece of fish. Season lightly with salt and black pepper. Crimp edges of foil over and seal packets well. Place on grill and cook for 10 minutes, turn, and cook for a remaining ten. When Fish no longer appears opaque and vegetables become tender, remove from heat. Allow packets to stand for 5 minutes before opening.

Traditional Swedish Pancakes

10 min | 5 min prep

SERVES 4

* 3 eggs
* 2 1/2 cups low-fat milk
* 1 1/4 cups flour
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 3 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted

1. In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs with half the milk.
2. Beat in flour and salt until smooth.
3. Stir in melted butter and remaining milk.
4. Heat a griddle or large skillet with a small amount of vegetable oil.
5. For each pancake, pour about 1/4 cup batter onto the griddle and cook over medium heat 1 to 2 minutes.
6. With a spatula, turn the pancakes and cook until golden brown, about 1/2 minute.
7. Serve immediately or keep warm while making the remaining pancakes.

pineapple rasberry frosty tequila beverage

4 oz tequila blanco
4 oz rasberry concentrate
12 oz water
4 oz tequila infused pineapple
1 cup ice

only used 2 oz first go round, will try 4 next time

Grits with Corn & Vidalia Onion

Serves 4-6

From "Bon Appetit, Y'all," by Virginia Willis (Ten Speed Press, $32.50). When we tested this dish at The Chronicle, the milk curdled slightly when poured into the onion and corn mixture. We continued with the recipe and the results were successful.

* 1 tablespoon canola oil
* 1 onion, preferably Vidalia, grated
* -- Scraped kernels from 2 ears fresh sweet corn (about 1 cup)
* 2 cups whole milk
* 2 cups water
* -- Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
* 1 cup stone-ground or coarse-ground grits
* 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
* 3/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese (about 3 ounces)
* 1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
* 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives

Instructions: In a heavy-bottom saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring, until transparent, about 2 minutes.

Add the corn and cook, stirring occasionally, until the kernels become soft, about 5 minutes.

Add the milk, water, and 1 teaspoon of the salt. Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat. Whisk in the grits, decrease the heat to low, and simmer, whisking occasionally, until the grits are creamy and thick, 45-60 minutes. Stir in the butter, cheese, parsley and chives. Taste and adjust for seasoning with salt and pepper.

Per serving: 285 calories, 11 g protein, 31 g carbohydrate, 13 g fat (7 g saturated), 31 mg cholesterol, 278 mg sodium, 2 g fiber.

Jamaican Rice & Peas

Serves 8

In Jamaican cuisine, "peas" usually refers to kidney beans or some other type of small bean.

* 1 cup long-grain white rice
* 1/2 pound dried red kidney beans, soaked in water overnight
* -- Kosher salt
* 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
* 1/2 cup chopped onion
* 14 ounce can unsweetened coconut milk (see Note)
* 1/4 cup water
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
* 1 bay leaf
* 1 Scotch bonnet pepper (or habanero), halved and
* seeded
* -- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions: In a fine mesh strainer, wash the rice in cold running water for 5 minutes. This helps remove excess starch from the rice, and prevents it from becoming gummy or sticky. Set the rice aside to drain.

Put the kidney beans in a medium-size pot and add enough water to cover them by an inch or two. Salt the water liberally. Boil 30-45 minutes, until the beans are tender. Drain and set aside.

In a separate pot, saute the rice in the vegetable oil until opaque, about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the onion and saute until slightly tender, about 2 minutes. Combine the coconut milk with the water and add to the pot. Add the garlic, thyme, bay leaf and the Scotch bonnet pepper. Bring to a boil over high heat, cover, reduce heat to low and cook for 15-20 minutes, until all the liquid is absorbed. Fluff rice with fork and fold in the beans. Remove the chile pepper and bay leaf. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

Note: Coconut "cream" powder is a dry packaged product that can be found at Caribbean stores such as Art's Jamaican Market, 4042 Broadway (at 41st, Oakland); (510) 652-2168. If using, substitute 2 cups water for the coconut milk and water. After the rice has cooked 10 minutes, stir in 1 to 2 teaspoons of the coconut powder, then continue cooking for another 5 to 10 minutes or until rice is tender.

Per serving: 215 calories, 4 g protein, 24 g carbohydrate, 13 g fat (10 g saturated), 0 cholesterol, 9 mg sodium, 1 g fiber.

Ginger Lemon Pancakes

Pancake Ingredients
1 1/2 cups flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 1/4 cups milk
2 Tbsp. molasses
1/4 cup butter, melted

Lemon Sauce Ingredients
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbsp. cornstarch
pinch of salt
1 cup water
1/4 cup butter
2 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
Grated peel from 1 lemon

Pancakes:
In a medium mixing bowl stir together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, and salt. In a large mixing bowl beat the egg, milk, molasses and butter until well combined. Add dry ingredients to the milk mixture and stir till blended. Batter should be a little lumpy. Pour batter onto a pre-heated, lightly greased griddle or skillet. Cook over medium heat till browned, turning once. Serve with Lemon Sauce.

Lemon Sauce:
In a small saucepan stir together sugar, cornstarch and salt. Whisk in water. Cook, stirring frequently until mixture comes to a boil and is thickened. Cook for 1 minute after reaching a boil. Remove from heat and stir in butter, lemon juice and lemon peel. Serve warm over pancakes.