Pineapple Butter Cake and Two Soups

Right before Easter, I bought a pineapple for $1 at Safeway - it was a little green, but I let it sit for over a week on my counter and it ripened up very well. As I was browsing through some of my fave blogs, I spotted an easy cake using pineapple. I made it right away, and it was goooood. I will make it again for sure, and I also want to try the same version, but with apples.

Pineapple Butter Cake by Chef Dennis
½ cup unsalted butter
2 cups chopped pineapple
2/3 cup flour
½ tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
2 whole eggs plus 1 egg yolk
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup granulated sugar
½ tsp grated lemon zest
powdered sugar to dust

Preheat oven to 350, butter a 9” round cake pan
In a large frying pan over low heat, melt the butter, reserve 6 tbs for later. Add the Pineapple and cook for about 10 minutes. In a small bowl mix together flour, salt and baking powder. In a large bowl beat the whole eggs and egg yolks until blended. Add the butter, sugar, vanilla and lemon zest. Stir in flour and pineapple. Spoon into prepared pan, smoothing the top. Bake until cake is browned, 30-35 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool in pan for 5 minutes. Invert cake onto plate to remove the pan and then invert again and return to rack to cool completely.
Before serving dust with powdered sugar.

My comments - I used half the sugar, and the cake still was pretty sweet, maybe because my pineapple was very ripe.

I told the kids "Let's have soup for dinner." One said "Ooh, make my favorite baked potato soup!" and the other one said "No, make my favorite chicken noodle soup." What does a mother do in such a situation? Makes both! These 2 soups have very few ingredients, so they weren't too hard to make. While the chicken stock for one was simmering away, the potatoes were baking for the other. My handy mandolin also helped speed things up by slicing the carrots and the potatoes. It was all very painless:)

Baked Potato Soup from Curvy Carrot
Servings: 6-8

Ingredients

For the soup:

5 russet potatoes, scrubbed well and dried

4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter

1/2 cup all-purpose flour, divided into two 1/4-cup portions

6 cups whole milk

2 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

3/4 cup white cheddar cheese, shredded

1/2 cup green onions, chopped

1/2 cup sour cream

For the potato skins:

Reserved potato skins (from above)

Canola oil, for brushing

Sea salt and pepper

For topping: Additional cheese (I used an extra sharp cheddar), sour cream, green onion



Instructions

1. For the soup: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

2. Poke tiny holes in each potato multiple times with a fork, and place the potatoes on a baking sheet.

3. Bake the potatoes until fully cooked and softened, about 1 hour.

4. Once fully cooked, remove the potatoes from the oven and let cool completely (about 1 hour or so).

5. Once cooled, slice each potato into two pieces and carefully peel back the skins, removing the skins intact as best as possible. (If you plan on using them for the crunchy potato skins, this is helpful. If you don’t plan on using them, just discard the skins.)

6. Place half of the potato “insides” in a separate large bowl. Using a potato masher or large wooden spoon, mash the potato into small pieces.

7. Slice the remaining potato halves into 1/2-inch (or bite size) pieces.

8. In a large saucepan or Dutch oven over medium heat, melt the butter.

9. Add 1/4 cup of the flour to the melted butter, whisking constantly until lightly golden brown, about 2 minutes.

10. Slowly add the milk, whisking constantly and scraping the bottom of the pan well.

11. Add the remaining flour and whisk to combine. Cook the mixture until thickened, about 8 minutes.

12. Add the potato bits and pieces and stir well.

13. Add the salt, pepper, and white cheddar, stirring well until the cheese is fully melted and incorporated.

14. Remove the pan from the heat, and add the green onions and sour cream. Serve immediately.

15. For the potato skins: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

16. Place the reserved, intact potato skins (or, if you are like me, irregular jagged bits of potato skins……) onto a baking sheet.

17. Using a silicone brush, lightly brush each skin with a little canola oil.

18. Sprinkle the pieces with salt and pepper (or other seasonings, if desired).

19. Bake for 15 minutes or so, or until potato skins are crispy. ***I would advise checking them quite often since oven temperatures may vary.

Comments: The instructions seem long, but the soup is so easy to make. I substituted 2 C of milk with water. I did not try making the potato skins, but maybe you will:) I just fried up some bacon.
I cup up bacon, green onion, and shredded some cheddar cheese, placed them in little bowls, and had Tosha add it himself to his soup - he loved doing that and ate 2 full bowls!

Chicken Noodle Soup
I don't really have a recipe, I just kinda make it. For the chicken stock I used
8 C of water
2 chicken thighs with skin on and bone in
1 onion
1 carrot
2 bay leaves
Salt to taste
I let it cook for about an hour, then I strain the broth. Discard skin and bone from the chicken and cup up the meat. Use the mandolin to cut up 2 carrots, and 2 potatoes into the soup. Let it cook for 10 more mins. Add in some chopped parsley and dill. The noodles, I cook separately (I use very fine egg noodles). To plate, I put some noodles into the bowl, ladle the broth w/ veggies and chicken over the noodles.