Chocolate-It's What's for Dinner

I was feeling a little retro-y when I came across this recipe. It is so 1970s. Pineapple Upside Down Cake (adapted from Nigella Express ) 2T sugar butter for pan 6 pineapple slices 12 marashino cherries 1/2 c butter 1/2 c sugar 2 eggs 1t vanilla 2/3 c flour 1t baking powder 1/4 t baking soda 1/4 t salt 3T liquid from pinepples Grease a 9" pan with butter and sprinkle sugar to coat the pan. Tap out excess. Blot pineapples with paper towels. Arrange in pan with one in the center and the remaining surrounding. Place a cherry in the center of each and one inbetween each (did I count an extra - well that is for the chef to eat).  In a bowl cream butter and sugar. Add eggs one at a time and then vanilla. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add 3T of pineapple liquid. Carefully spread the batter over the pineapples. It will just about cover them. Bake at 400 for 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Let the cake gather itself for about ...

I got my hands on some really nice fresh, shelled English peas and wanted to make some pasta with them. I was looking for something somewhat healthy to make but I ended up with something decidedly not that healthy but decidedly delicious. Orecchiette with Peas (Adapted from Epicurious ) 1 lb Orecchiette 2 oz pancetta (or bacon) 1 shallot, minced 1 c  fresh English peas, shelled 2T white wine 1 c heavy cream 1/c grated Parmesean salt/pepper While water for pasta is cooking, place pancetta in a skillet. Cook until browned. Add shallot and cook until softened.  Add peas to skillet and white wine. Cook for 3-5 minutes. Add heavy cream and bring to low simmer. Cook for 5 minutes. Add Parmesan and salt/pepper. Drain pasta (reserve some pasta water) and add to skillet. Stir until mixed through. You might want to add some of the reserved pasta water to loosen it up. This was so quick and so good. I usually use a spider to drain the pasta and then dump it by spiderful...

I know there are a lot of Mac N Cheese recipes out there. I was watching this recipe on TV and knew I had to make this one immediately. It was so simple and yet it looked so delicious. It is not often that I see a recipe and make it immediately. I mean the show went off and I literally got up and went into the kitchen to make it. Mac N Cheese Stovetop (Adatped from ATK ) 1 1/2 c water 1 c milk 8oz macaroni 4 oz fontina 4 oz  extra sharp cheddar (I used a truffle gouda*) 1/2 t Dijon mustard 1/3 c panko 1T olive oil 2T Parmesan Salt/pepper Heat water and milk in a saucepan until boiling. Add macaroni and lower to medium-low, stirring frequently. Cook for about 8 minutes (a little softer than al dente). Add fontina and dijon. And heat until melted. Remove from heat and add cheddar (or truffle gouda). Cover and let sit for 5 minutes. Meanwhile in a small frying pan add panko and olive oil. Toast panko until browned, watching carefully. Remove from heat and add Parmesa...

I've made Yorkshire Pudding before but couldn't find the recipe so I found this one on epicurious. The recipe I had made it in individual muffin tins, which I think would work with this recipe as well. I just hate filling those so the one dish concept was appealing to me. Yorkshire Pudding (Adapted from Epicurious ) 2 eggs 1 c milk 1 c sifted flour 1/2 t salt 1 oz dried mushrooms about 1/2 c meat drippings or canola oil In a blender place eggs, milk, flour, salt, and mushrooms. Buzz it up until it is smooth. Let rest for at least 2 hours in the refrigerator. In a cast iron skillet or baking pan, heat oil in a 450 oven. It is key to get the pan ripping hot. Pour batter into the skillet/pan and bake for 10 minutes. Lower the oven to 350 and cook another 10-15 minutes until browned. Cut into pieces and serve immediately. Once again I have deviated from tradition (horrors!) and added some weirdo ingredient to a traditional recipe. The mushrooms add some nice additio...