Cinnamon-Apple Cake

This is an old Cooking Light recipe that I periodically remember. I use more cream cheese than the original calls for and it's great served with a homemade caramel sauce.

Cinnamon-Apple Cake
1 3/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
3 peeled and chopped Rome apples
Vegetable cooking spray
Caramel Sauce

1. Beat sugar and next 2 ingredients until blended and creamy. Mix in vanilla and eggs, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition.
2. Combine flour and next 4 ingredients. Gradually add to cream cheese mixture, beating until blended. Stir in apples. Pour batter into a springform pan coated with cooking spray.
3. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until done. Let cool for 30 minutes in pan; release and remove sides of pan, and cool completely. Serve with Caramel Sauce, if desired.

White Chocolate-Cherry Bars

I used the recipe for Oatmeal-Chocolate Chip Bar Cookies as the base. The chocolate chips and toffee chips were replaced with 1 package white chocolate chips and 1 package dried cherries. Yummy!

Cranberry-Orange Muffins

These muffins were inspired by a recipe for cranberry bread in the November issue of Everyday Food. The orange zest is my addition; it's a perfect partner for the tart cranberries. After I made the muffins, I decided some Orange Buttercream would be the perfect topper. This is a keeper!

Cranberry-Orange Muffins
4 Tbsp. butter, melted
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 egg
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. orange zest
1 bag fresh cranberries
Orange Buttercream (optional)

1. Stir together all ingredients. Pour into lightly greased muffin cups.
2. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until done. Cool in muffin cups 10 minutes; remove from pans, and cool completely. Top with Orange Buttercream, if desired.

Orange Buttercream
1/4 cup butter, softened
8 oz. powdered sugar
2 Tbsp. orange juice

Mix together all ingredients until spreading consistency.

Persimmon Cakes

This has been a tough week at work, and my response to stress is to bake, so that's what I did all afternoon. I made Persimmon Cakes, Cranberry-Orange Muffins, Cinnamon Apple Cake, White Chocolate-Cherry Bars, and Pumpkin Streusel Coffee Cake. I'll post the new recipes over the next few days. The Persimmon Cakes came about because last weekend my sister and her family picked persimmons at a local garden center. She gave me a bagful, and I had to find something to do with them.

Persimmon Cakes
I made these in pumpkin-shaped mini Bundt pans. A muffin pan or round cake pan would also work.
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 (8-oz.) block cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
3 cups diced persimmons
Vegetable cooking spray

1. Beat sugar and next 2 ingredients at medium speed with an electric mixer. Mix in eggs, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition.
2. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients. Gradually add to cream cheese mixture, beating until blended.
3. Stir in persimmons. Pour batter into pan coated with cooking spray.
4. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until done. Let cool in pan 10 minutes; remove cakes from pans,a nd let cool completely.

Brisket Quesadillas

Leftovers as leftovers are unappealing to me. Therefore whenever we have them (which is often), I try to reinvent them a little. Tonight I used what was left of Saturday's Beef Brisket to make quesadillas. Very simple and tasty! Just place leftover brisket and a handful of shredded cheese (Colby-Jack tonight) on a flour tortilla. Top with another tortilla. Place on a hot grill pan or skillet; cook until bottom is crispy and cheese begins to melt. Flip quesadilla to cook the other side. Serve with sour cream and salsa.

Mini Plum-Raspberry Upside-Down Cakes

I love to make single-serving desserts. It probably has something to do with the fact that I'm cooking for just two and that I don't like having partial-cut cakes on my countertop (there's just not enough room). Here's my latest endeavor from Saturday night. These cakes are based on a 2001 recipe from Martha Stewart Living. It would also be tasty with apples or pears and cranberries, I think. Maybe I'll try that at Thanksgiving. (The pan I used is a jumbo muffin pan that has six muffin cups.)

Mini Plum-Raspberry Upside-Down Cakes

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter
Brown sugar
3 plums, halved and pitted
1/2 pint raspberries
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp. orange zest
1 tsp. vanilla
3 egg yolks
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly grated or ground nutmeg
1/2 cup sour cream

1. Melt 1/4 cup butter. Evenly pour butter in lightly greased jumbo muffin cups. Sprinkle 1 to 2 Tbsp. brown sugar over butter. Place 1 plum half, cut side down, in center of each muffin cup. Arrange about 6 raspberries around outside of each plum half.
2. Beat remaining 1/2 cup butter and 3/4 cup granulated sugar at medium speed with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Beat in orange zest and vanilla. Beat in egg yolks, 1 at a time, beating until blended after each addition.
3. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients. Add half of flour mixture to butter mixture, beating until blended. Beat in sour cream; then add in remaining flour mixture. (Note: Batter will be very thick.) Spread batter evenly over plums in muffin cups.
4. Bake at 375° for 40 to 45 minutes or until cake is done. Use a fork to carefully remove cakes from pan. Place on individual serving dishes, plum sides up. Serve warm.

Beef Brisket and Latkes

The cool fall air made me crave something hearty for dinner tonight. My inspiration was some of the traditional dishes served at Hanukkah celebrations: beef brisket and latkes (potato pancakes). Andy grew up eating brisket, so he was glad. Earlier this year, I made my first brisket and have tried a few recipes; I'll definitely make this again. The longer you cook brisket, the better it is. A few years ago at Christmas, my father-in-law and I made latkes, and I've been a fan ever since. What's not to like? For a side dish, we had roasted asparagus. Mom, Mel, Russ, and the girls came over, which means we laughed a lot. Good food, great company, and beautiful fall weather—the recipe for an enjoyable evening. (Because Mel doesn't eat beef, I cooked a chicken breast for her with the brisket.)

Beef Brisket
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 (2.5-lb.) beef brisket (Mine cost about $13 at the grocery store.)
Salt and pepper
4 large carrots, cut in chunks
3 celery stalks, cut in chunks
2 red onions, cut in chunks
1 1/2 cups dry red wine
1 (28-oz.) can crushed tomatoes
1/4 cup chopped parsley
2 rosemary springs, leaves removed and chopped
2 bay leaves

1. Brown brisket in hot oil on all sides. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
2. Line a 13- x 9-inch pan or roasting pan with aluminum foil. Place vegetables in pan. Top with browned brisket. Pour red wine and tomatoes over top. Add in parsley and remaining ingredients. Cover with foil.
3. Bake at 400° for 2 1/2 hours or until meat is done. Remove from oven, and let stand for 15 minutes. Cut into thin slices. (I used my very handy electric knife.) Strain tomato mixture to serve as gravy. Serve sliced brisket with roasted vegetables and tomato gravy, if desired.

Latkes
The most important thing when making latkes is to make sure you squeeze as much moisture as possible out of the shredded potato and onion mixture. They stick together better when they are pretty dry.
4 russet potatoes, peeled
2 medium-size sweet onions
1/4 cup chopped chives
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Salt and pepper
Vegetable oil
Sour cream

1. Grate potatoes and onions with food processor (a box grater will also work). Place shredded potato-and-onion mixture in a clean kitchen towel, and squeeze to remove all moisture (this takes muscle). Place in a large bowl. Stir in chives, eggs, and salt and pepper.
2. Pour 1 inch of oil into a Dutch oven. When oil is hot, drop potato mixture in small balls into oil. Cook until golden on one side, flattening with a spatula. Turn and cook until the other side is golden. Drain on paper towels; sprinkle with salt to taste. Serve warm with sour cream.