Ok, so I know I said I was done with my blog, but evidently it was something I truly looked forward to doing, and apparently just needed a little break from it to recharge ~ after doing it for almost 9 years ~ I missed the whole process. In other words, I missed being a part of the community.
I thought about you all more than once, and wondered what great travel adventure or tip I missed. And, what if I missed your fabulous recipe…
Thanks to Bill's friend for this recipe that’s apparently all over the www, but this is the first I’ve laid eyes on it. It’s pineapple, ham, red bell pepper, and green onion, all coated with a tasty pineapple dressing for a delicious pasta salad.
This is another potluck dish for the summer, that’s a little different in a great way. It’s all about the fantastic sweet and tangy pineapple dressing that’s so easy to make.
The creamy sauce has a whole lot of tang, thanks mainly to the added vinegar, Dijon mustard and sour cream. Pineapple juice and a spoonful of honey take the edge off.
It gives awesome flavor when combined well in the bowl filled with pasta, pineapple, ham, peppers and onion.
It may not be the fanciest of dishes, but it’s one of the best of the season…
It will surely be a hit at your family cookout or at your next gathering!
8 ounces bow tie pasta 1 (14-ounces) can pineapple tidbits, juice reserved 1 red bell pepper, diced 2 cups diced ham 2 green onions, sliced thin
Dressing:
½ cup mayonnaise ¼ cup sour cream 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard ⅓ cup pineapple juice 1 teaspoon cider vinegar 1 teaspoon honey ½ teaspoon garlic powder Black pepper to taste
Method:
Cook pasta according to package directions. Whisk together all dressing ingredients until smooth. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and gently toss with the dressing. Refrigerate 2 hours before serving. Store refrigerated up to 5 days.
When I bite into one of these little gems, it’s like
capturing the essence of Hawaii, my favorite destination!
It’s a buttery sugary treat with a creamy filling nesting in
the thumbprint. It’s a cookie that is
filled with the delicious flavor of pineapple.
This recipe, from Food Network
Magazine, can easily be doubled.
Making "thumbprints"
Filling the "thumbprints"
To mellow the sweetness, the filling is blended with cream
cheese. Then the cookie is finished with a few bits of dried pineapple clustered
in the cream cheese filling.
Maybe a little toasted
coconut scattered over the cookie would be the icing on the cake...
½ teaspoon
baking powder ½ teaspoon
salt 10
tablespoons butter, at room temperature ½ cup packed
light brown sugar 1/3 cup plus
2 teaspoons granulated sugar 1 large egg 1 tablespoon fresh
lemon juice ½ cup dried
pineapple chunks, finely chopped, plus more for topping 1/3 cup
canned crushed pineapple in juice 1½ ounces
cream cheese ½ teaspoon
vanilla extract ½ teaspoon finely
grated lemon zest Milk, for
brushing
Method:
Whisk flour
baking powder and salt in a medium bowl. Beat butter,
brown sugar and 1/3 cup granulated sugar in a large bowl with a mixer on medium
speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the
egg, then the lemon juice.
Reduce mixer
speed to medium low; mix in dried pineapple, the the flour mixture until
combined. Cover and
refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes.
Meanwhile,
combine crushed pineapple, cream cheese, the remaining 2 teaspoons granulated
sugar, vanilla and lemon zest in a bowl with a rubber spatula, breaking up any
large pineapple pieces. Refrigerate
until slightly firm, at least 30 minutes.
To bake:
Preheat oven
to 350 degrees.
Line 2 baking
sheets with parchment paper.
Roll dough
into 1-inch balls; arrange 2” apart on baking sheets.
Indent each
with the back of a floured ¼ teaspoon measuring spoon.
Brush with
milk.
Bake until
cookies are slightly puffed, 10-12 minutes.
Remove from
oven and re-indent.
Spoon in the
filling.
Return to
oven until lightly browned, 6-8 more minutes.
Let cool 5
minutes on baking sheets; transfer to racks to cool completely.
I like the taste of grilled pineapple with succulent pork ~
it seems like they go together naturally!
If you’ve never eaten jerk seasoning, you’re in for a
surprise at how delicious it is.
Jerk style of cooking is native to Jamaica in which meat is either
dry-rubbed or wet marinated, with a hot spice mixture. The use of allspice and thyme, as well
as an abundance of peppers characterizes the seasoning, with sugar for a sweet
touch to complement the hot chillies.
For this recipe, mix the paste, spread over the pork and
place in the refrigerator for at least an hour and up to 24 hours to marinate,
allowing the seasonings to penetrate deep into the meat.
The jerk pork with juicy pineapple slices is an outstanding
combination…
It’s good eating, my friend!
Grilled Jerk Pork
Tenderloin with Pineapple Slices
2 pounds pork tenderloin
1 fresh pineapple, peeled, cored and sliced 1” thick
Jerk Seasoning:
2 habanero chillies, deseeded and chopped
½ teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground thyme
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 green onions, chopped
2 teaspoons light brown sugar
1 tablespoon lime juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
Pineapple
ingredients:
1 fresh pineapple, trimmed, cored and peeled
3 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon lime juice, orange or lemon
1 teaspoon seasoned pepper
Method:
Using a mortar and pestle, or food processor, blend together
the ingredients for the jerk seasoning to make a smooth paste.
Spread mixture over pork tenderloin and place in a
resealable plastic bag, making sure the pork is well coated with the marinade.
Refrigerate for at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours.
Preheat a grill to medium heat.
Remove meat from bag and discard marinade.
Grill the pork for 8 to 10 minutes per side, or until
slightly charred on the outside and an instant-read thermometer registers 145
degrees.
Let rest 5 minutes before slicing.
Meanwhile, combine glaze ingredients for pineapple in a
small bowl.
Cut pineapple into 1-inch slices.
Brush with glaze.
Grill about 3 minutes on each side, turning once and basting
with glaze.
Fresh pineapple is my favorite sweet, sunny fruit and always reminds me of the pineapple plantations we saw in Hawaii ~ not to mention the Pacific Ocean, beaches, palm trees and Hilo Hattie.
During Colonial days, the striking visual attractiveness, the rarity and the expense of the pineapple made it the ultimate exotic fruit. It was served only on special occasions and quickly became a symbol of hospitality.
This recipe is from our local newspaper, The Northwest Herald. It combines the jerk seasoning with pork chops and pineapple. In Jamaica, the jerk method of cooking involves seasoning meat with a sweet-hot secret mixture of peppers, spices and herbs, then slowly cooking them. The blend of allspice and thyme in this recipe captures the taste of the islands perfectly.
Its Jamaican jerk, made with thick, juicy pork and succulent fruit. Pineapple has a meatier side and if you like flavorful dishes, this sweet and savory dish is for you!
Jerk Pineapple Pork Chops
Ingredients:
1 small pineapple
1 bunch scallions, sliced cross-wise into 1-inch pieces
1 jalapeno pepper, stemmed and seeded
2 teaspoons dried thyme
4 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
1½ teaspoons ground allspice
4 bone-in pork chops
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 teaspoons olive oil
Method:
Cut four ½-inch-thick rounds from pineapple; set aside.
Cut remaining pineapple into large chunks, discarding core.
In a food processor, combine pineapple chunks, scallions
chile, thyme, garlic and allspice and pulse until coarsel
chopped.
Reserve ¾ cup pineapple marinade and refrigerate.
Season pork with salt and pepper and place in a 9-by-13-inch
glass baking dish along with pineapple rounds.
Top pork and pineapple with remaining pineapple marinade
and turn pork and pineapple to coat.
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour (or up to 4 hours).
In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over
medium-high.
Working in two batches, brush pineapple mixture off pork
and cook chops until browned and cooked through, about 20
minutes per batch, flipping once.
Add 1 tablespoon oil to skillet.
Brush pineapple marinade off pineapple and cook rounds
until golden brown in spots, about 5 to 7 minutes, flipping
once.
Serve with pork and reserved pineapple marinade.
It’s tropically delicious!!!
Now it’s award time: Times flies and a while back my Cajun friend, Marguerite at Cajun Delights, presented me with these 8 awards. I thank Marguerite and am honored that she chose my blog. Margueritenot only posts great Cajun recipes, she has music and dancing videos also. If her blog is new to you, you should check it out!
I am supposed to pass these 8 awards rolled into one off to 15 of my favorite foodie bloggers. So I am going to pass them on to these great people who inspire me with their winning recipes, and writing, and who are supportive of me with theircomments. Here they are, in no particular order:
These snowballs are like a winter wonderland; they are delectable and you don’t have to do any shoveling!
This is an elegant “heavenly dessert” that Mom prepared for dinner parties during the holidays. I have no idea how she came upon this recipe ~ I just know I love the result! They are soooo delicious if you love sweet luscious pineapple, angel flaked coconut and fresh whipped cream. They look similar to a Hostess Sno Ball, only larger and taste a hundred times better.
The preparation is a little time consuming; however, the good thing is that they can be assembled a day ahead of time. The day before serving, crushed pineapple, chopped pecans and powdered sugar are combined, then spread on 3 stacked vanilla wafers and covered with coconut on serving day. They’re a great “make ahead of time” dessert and scrumptious beyond words!
Snowballs
Ingredients:
1 can (20 ounces) crushed pineapple, well drained
½ pound (2 sticks) butter
2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
4 eggs yolks, 4 egg whites
1 cup ground pecans
3 pints whipping cream
Vanilla wafers
Angel flake coconut
1 tablespoon milk
Day before serving:
Drain crushed pineapple. You have to end up squeezing it in your hands.
Cream butter and sugar.
Add egg yolks, nuts and pineapple.
Beat egg whites till stiff.
Fold egg whites into pineapple mixture.
Put 3 vanilla wafers together with pineapple filling: place one wafer on plate, cover liberally with filling, stack another wafer on top, cover liberally with filling, place a third wafer on top of the stack.
Place them in a pan and set in refrigerator overnight.
Next day:
Beat whipping cream until stiff.
Put wafer stack on a spatula.
Cover all but bottom with stiffly beaten whipped cream.
Sprinkle with coconut.
Place in refrigerator till serving time.
Pam’s Notes: This recipe takes 1 ½ boxes of vanilla wafers. The recipe can easily be halved. If you wish, the coconut can be tinted for a festive look: In a baggie, mix 1 tablespoon milk, a couple of drops of red food coloring and 1 package of coconut together. Let dry overnight.
A fun thing is happening this morning! I will be joining Linda (“My Kind of Cooking”) on the radio, via telephone this morning during her cooking segment, “Fast Food Friday.”
You can listen over the internet by clicking this link: Passion Radio. Click on the Listen Live button in the upper left hand corner of the website to connect. We will be on around 8:20 a.m. mountain time, 9:20 central time.
As you may have seen on my June 25th post, I won her cookbook in a drawing. Linda mentioned my winning the cookbook on the radio program as I was listening. And then to my amazement, she emailed asking if I would like to join her on the air.
With that, I made two recipes and shipped the “goodies” to Linda in New Mexico. I had a hard time trying to decide upon what to make that would ship well in this heat.
The first recipe I made was Chocolate Chunk Butterscotch Blondies. It is a recipe that Mom made and I did some substituting. It originally called for walnuts, shredded coconut and milk chocolate chips. I bake it with pecans, butterscotch chips and semi-sweet chocolate chunks.
These blondies are about the brown sugar though. They are similar to a brownie but have a brown sugar base instead of cocoa like brownies. Blondies are a sweet thing!
Chocolate Chunk Butterscotch Blondies
Ingredients:
1 cup flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1/3 cup butter, at room temperature
3 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons vanilla
½ cup butterscotch morsels
½ cup semi-sweet dark chocolate chunks
½ cup pecans, chopped
Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease or spray an 8” baking dish with cooking spray.
In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.
Beat butter and cream cheese in a large bowl with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy.
Add the brown sugar and beat 3-4 minutes longer.
Beat in the egg and vanilla.
Add the flour mixture and mix until just combined.
Fold in the butterscotch morsels, chocolate chunks and pecans.
Spread the batter in the baking dish and bake for about 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Let cool about 15-20 minutes in the pan before slicing.
Makes about 16 bars
Yum!!!
Now, for the second ~ Hawaiian Pineapple Bread is a great sweet bread that a friend at our church in Louisville gave to me. I love pineapple and macadamia nuts so this fit the bill! It’s easy and a great moist bread.
