Sliders and Pops: A Labor Day Two-fer

It's finally September and cooler weather is here! I feel like half of America wants Fall to be here already and the other half is wishing Summer would stick aound just a little longer. I fall somewhere in between. Autumn is my favorite season (and dog!) so I wish it for it year-round but I'm not quite ready for Summer to be over. I just wish we had cooler temps. I'm not a fan of 105 degree days, where are the 80's? Heck the other day it was after 9pm and still in the 90's- that's crazy!

This menu reminds me of Summer. It's simple and fuss free and can be eaten with your hands. Both can be made ahead of time and require very little time to get them on in your belly. Of course they can be prepared and eaten any time of year but I think they're perfect for rounding out the last few days of Summer. They can be eaten as snacks or as a full meal and kids love them as much as the adults do too. The nice thing about these recipes is you can make as many or as few you need.

I made these ham and swiss sliders on sweet Hawaiian bread, but any soft white dinner roll will do. There's not one element that stands out above the other, but it's the buttery poppyseed mustard sauce that tops it all off that makes it unique. These popsicles taste like a slice of fresh pineapple. The original recipe called for milk but I did an experiment and made half with pineapple juice and those turned out to be better looking and tasting. And you don't need any fancy molds to make them, just fill up paper cups and put a stick in them. Make enough to feed your family or a crowd this Labor Day!

Ham and Swiss Sliders adapted from Christy

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• 12 good white dinner rolls (I used Hawaiian rolls)
• 12 pieces good honey ham
• 12 small slices Swiss cheese
• 3 Tbsp. mayonnaise
• 3 Tbsp. miracle whip

Poppy seed sauce:

• 1 1/2 tsp. poppyseeds
• 2 tsp. yellow mustard
• 1/2 stick butter, melted
• 1/2 tsp. dried minced onion or 1 1/2 tsp. fresh minced onion
• 1/4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

In a small bowl, mix together mayonnaise and miracle whip. Cut the rolls in half and place cut side up. Spread onto both sides of the center of each roll. Place a slice of ham and a slice of Swiss inside of each roll. Close rolls and place them into a large baking dish or heavy cookie sheet. Place very close together.

In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the poppy seed sauce ingredients. Pour evenly over all of the sandwiches. Let sit 10 minutes or until butter sets slightly.

Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until cheese is melted. Uncover and cook for 2 additional minutes. Serve warm.

NOTE: Sandwiches can be assembled a day ahead and kept in the fridge ready to bake.

Pineapple Pops adapted from Everyday Food

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• 3 cups fresh pineapple chunks (or one 14.5-ounce can chunks packed in juice, drained)
• 1/3 cup pineapple juice or milk
• ¼ cup sugar

In a food processor, combine pineapple chunks, juice or milk, and sugar; pulse until almost smooth, with some chunks of pineapple remaining.

Pour half the mixture into a medium bowl (or a glass measuring cup for easy pouring). Pulse remaining mixture until completely smooth; add to mixture in bowl.

Divide evenly among eight 3-ounce molds or paper cups, and insert wooden sticks. Freeze until solid, at least 4 hours or up to 2 weeks (cover with plastic wrap).

NOTE: The original recipe calls for milk to be added to the pops. I made half a batch with milk and the other with the reserved pineapple juice from the can. The juice was hands down more flavorful!

Hope you have a wonderful Labor Day weekend!

Cupcakes and Cookbooks

It's Cake Slice time again, and May's cake choice was Lemon Poppyseed Cake with Almond Frosting from Sky High Cakes by Alisa Huntsman and Peter Wynne. I was so glad to get the chance to bake from this book again since it is one of my favorites. Only instead of making a triple layer cake I decided to make these into cupcakes.

I did make a few adaptations but they were minor and didn't really change the recipe. Firstly I halved this recipe and ended up with 15 cupcakes. I did this because I thought it would be better for portion control. Secondly, I only used half the amount of poppyseeds the recipe called for because I used them all in/on my Everything No-Knead Bread. And lastly, instead of adding almond extract to the cream cheese frosting, I added lemon zest because there are nut allergies in my family.

These cupcakes were different than any other lemon poppyseed cake I've had. Mostly because it was a white cake used for the base. There are no egg yolks in this recipe so the texture is very light and fluffy, but still firm. They're tender but not terribly moist. Luckily they're brushed with a lemon syrup that sweetens and moistens them up.

I think an almond flavoring in the frosting would have been delicious but the lemon was refreshing and bright and complimented the cupcakes perfectly. It also piped really well, thanks to the boatload of powdered sugar :-) I baked them in these Spring-y liners and picks from the Martha collection that I found last year. I had been waiting for the perfect occasion to use them and this Mother's Day was it. I then garnished them with more sugared lemon zest. I hope you like 'em!

Lemon Poppyseed Cake from Sky High

Printable Version

Cake:

• 3 cups cake flour
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 4½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 3 tbsp poppy seeds
• 2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter
• Zest of 1 large lemon
• 1¼ cups buttermilk
• 5 egg whites

Lemon Syrup:

• 1/3 cup water
• 1/4 cup sugar
• Juice of 1 large lemon

Frosting:

• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter
• 5 cups confectioners sugar
• 1 tbsp almond extract or finely grated zest of 1 lemon

Cake: Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease three 8 inch cake pans and line the bases with parchment paper. Combine the flour, 1¾ cups sugar, baking powder, poppy seeds and salt in a mixing bowl. Mix gently to combine.

Add the butter, lemon zest and 1 cup of buttermilk to the flour. Beat on low until completely mixed. Raise the speed to medium and beat for 1-2 minutes until lighter in color.

In a medium bowl, combine the egg whites with the remaining ¼ cup buttermilk, whisk to blend thoroughly. Add the egg white mixture to the batter in 2-3 additions, scraping down the sides of the bowl and beating only enough to incorporate the mix. Divide the batter between the three pans.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until the cakes are golden brown, spring back when touched lightly in the centre, and a cake tester comes out clean. Leave to cool in the pans for 10 minutes before turning out.

While the cake layers are cooling, make a lemon syrup.

Syrup: In a small pan combine the remaining ¼ cup sugar, water and lemon juice. Bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar.

Generously brush the cakes with the lemon syrup while they are still warm. Then allow the cakes to cool completely.

Frosting: In a large mixing bowl beat the cream cheese and butter with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Gradually add the confectioners sugar, 1 cup at a time, beating well between each addition. Add the almond extract or lemon zest and then continue to beat well for 3-4 minutes until light and fluffy.

To complete the cake, place one layer, top side down, on a cake plate and spread about a fifth of the frosting over the cake to cover evenly. Repeat with the second layer and place the third layer on top. Frost the top and sides of the cake with the remaining frosting.

Makes 1 x 8inch triple layer cake or 30 cupcakes.

NOTE: I added lemon zest to the cream cheese frosting instead of the almond extract.

I halved the recipe and made 15 cupcakes.

Be sure to stop by the other Cake Slice Bakers to see their cakes!

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WAIT! I have a giveaway for you!

You have a chance to win ANY cookbook your little heart desires. Yes, it's true! This giveaway is sponsored by Snubbr and all you have to do is leave me a comment on this post telling me what cookbook you'd like to win and why. Be sure to answer both questions! That's it, just make sure it's a cookbook still in print so they can send it to you :-)

A winner will be chosen in one week by the folks at Snubbr. Be sure I have a way of contacting you if you win.

At the request of Snubbr, this giveaway is only open to US residents.

Best of luck to you all!

Christmas Breakfast: Day 1

I was going to offer you 7 days of Christmas cookies like I did last year and them I figured that 1). you're probably tired of looking at cookies 2). you've probably already narrowed down which cookies you're going to make and don't need my suggestions, if you're not already done baking and 3). I didn't really want to blog about 7 different cookies anyway!

So I have decided that I'm going to give you 6 days of breakfasts instead, starting today! I may regret this later, but that's okay, it will all be worth it in the end, right? Besides breakfast is my favorite meal of the day because it's acceptable to eat in the morning, at lunch time and for dinner. Gotta love that!

You may have all your cookies baked and nestled cozily in the freezer waiting to be packaged up or perhaps you haven't begun your baking yet (like me!) but do you have Christmas morning breakfast all figured out? Will you serve pancakes, or cinnamon toast? Will it be a frittata or coffee cake? Homemade cinnamon rolls or easy cheese danish? Scones or biscuits and gravy? Am I making you hungry?

First breakfast recipe up for today is Lemon Poppy Seed Pancakes. Yes, they were as good as they sound. I found the recipe and wonderful photos on Picky Cook. Yummy stuff and gorgeous photos on her site.

Lemon Poppy Seed Pancakes from Picky Cook

Makes about 12 large pancakes

• 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/3 cup sugar
• pinch of salt
• 1/3 cup poppy seeds
• zest of 4 lemons
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• butter, to serve (and for pan)

To make the pancakes combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt in a large bowl. In another bowl the buttermilk, eggs, butter, lemon zest and poppy seeds. Add the wet to the dry. Stir all the ingredients until they are just combined. Don't worry if the batter is a bit lumpy, you don't want to over mix.

Heat your skillet, pan, or griddle to medium-hot and brush it with a bit of butter. Test for the right temperature. If a drop of water dropped onto the pan starts to dance, you are in the ballpark. Pour about 1/3 of a cup of batter into the skillet. Wait until the pancake bottom is deep golden in color, then flip with a spatula and cook the other side until golden and cooked through. Repeat with the remaining batter.

Serve warm with macerated berries.

This little girl always seems to come around when it's meal time. She likes to keep her chin warm on my lap and she thinks looking at me with those big brown eyes will get her something off my plate.

She's right. It works every time.

See ya tomorrow for another scrumptious breakfast!