Red Plum Up-Side-Down Cake

470. Growing up I really loved when my mother would bake and especially when she would make Pineapple Up-side-down Cake.  It was the crunchy sweet edges and the red maraschino cherries that did me in.  Would I have eaten all the edges and cherries first?  Absolutely.  And, I would have left the rest of the cake and pineapples for all that sugary sweetness.

A sweet tooth was a trait of mine from an early age.  Although I have tamed this beast over the years, I still enjoy a sweet delightful treat in moderation.  

A slight twist on this recipe is to replace the pineapple with any other fruit you choose.  I chose to use red plums.

Here is my recipe:

"I'm really a scientist.  I follow recipes exactly-until I decide not to.  And then I'll follow something else exactly.  I may decide I can turn this peach tart into a plum tart, but if I'm following a recipe, I follow it exactly."

~Ina Garten

Easter Dinner

415.  Sharing a few photos from our Easter Dinner Celebration.  Enjoy!

Roasted top pork loin roll with herbs and mustard marinade.

Handmade Pierogi filled with potato, cheese and onion.  Homemade Dinner Rolls.

Appetizer of Crudités

Desserts included Plum Pie, Chocolate Cream Pie, Peanut Butter Cream Pie,

and Apricot Coconut Squares.

We sat and enjoyed each other's company and ate till we were bursting. 

"The dinner hour is a sacred, happy time when everyone should be together and relaxed.

~ Julia Child

Plum Sauce

396.  Summer bbq is a favorite for our family and ribs on the grill tops the list.  Last year I ventured into creating a blackberry bbq sauce for ribs and we loved it.  So, last week when plums began to come into harvest in California, I was fortunate to be the receiver of several pounds of fresh picked plums.  Several cups of small wild plums and several pounds of red plums.  Ribs were on the menu for Father's Day and a Plum BBQ Sauce was in the works.  Here is my process and recipe...

The consistency of the sauce will thicken the longer you simmer it.  You want it to be thick enough to stick to the ribs.  

The flavor was tangy, fruity and savory and complemented the ribs very well.  Serving this sauce with goat cheese or blue cheese on a salad or stuffed in a mushroom was perfect.  This experiment payed off so well.  Thanks Teri for the plums!!

"When the old plum tree blooms, the entire world blooms."

~ Ancient Proverb

"The rose is a rose, and was always a rose. But the theory now goes that the apple's a rose, and the pear is, and so's the plum, I suppose.  The dear only knows what will next prove a rose.  You, of course, are a rose - but were always a rose."

~ Robert Frost