Memorial Day-Chandra's Golden-Glazed Lemon Cheesecake

Golden-Glazed Lemon cheesecake

Memorial Day was spent with my husband's side of our family at Brookside Park. 

It was a beautiful day with a huge variety of picnic food.  

I picked this dessert to share.  It tastes as delicious as it is beautiful.

I am with Chandra and her masterpiece.

This is the recipe and directions directly from the recipe Chandra used.

Fun & Family Pictures

 Liz, Tim, Chandra, Dave, Doug

 Mitch, Marilyn, Andrea, Steve, Scott

 Cody, Scott, Bob, Rena, Marilyn, Andrea

 Esther, Vernon, Doug

 Cynthia, Jim, Nick, Miranda, Sarah, Jan, Christoper, Jia Jia, Haile

 Vernon, Bob, Rena, Mitch, Diane

Esther

 Christopher, Haile, Sarah, Jia Jia

 Haile & Aiden

 Aiden, Liz, & Camden

Tim & Kaylee

Enjoy!

 Now this is how you eat cheesecake!

Doug thinks this is wonderful! 

You can trust him, he is a professional! 

Memorial Day

Memorial Day, originally called Decoration Day, is a day of remembrance for those who have died in service of the United States of America. Over two dozen cities and towns claim to be the birthplace of Memorial Day. While Waterloo N.Y. was officially declared the birthplace of Memorial Day by President Lyndon Johnson in May 1966, it’s difficult to prove conclusively the origins of the day.

Regardless of the exact date or location of its origins, one thing is clear – Memorial Day was borne out of the Civil War and a desire to honor our dead. It was officially proclaimed on 5 May 1868 by General John Logan, national commander of the Grand Army of the Republic, in his General Order No. 11. “The 30th of May, 1868, is designated for the purpose of strewing with flowers, or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion, and whose bodies now lie in almost every city, village and hamlet churchyard in the land,” he proclaimed. The date of Decoration Day, as he called it, was chosen because it wasn’t the anniversary of any particular battle.

For more about this holiday visit: History of Memorial Day

Poached Pear Banana Bread

  I saw a picture of a poached pear bread on line and knew I had to make it.  The recipe I saw called for an olive oil bread.  Banana bread has always been a classic go-to bread, so I used my own quick bread for my version of a poached pear bread.  I love how it looks when it is sliced.  It is perfect for a special celebration or just an everyday dessert.  You have to try this.  The beautiful poached pears make it elegant.
I made this bread for one of my friends who just turned 96 years young on the 26th.
Happy Birthday and many more!

Beautiful!

Begin by "poaching" the pears.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups water
• 2 cups granulated sugar
• 3 whole Bosc pears

Bosc Pears

Alternate name: Kaiser Pears

Characteristics: The Bosc pear stands a head taller than other pears with its elongated slender neck.  Its brown skin has a relatively rough texture and can have hints of yellow or green.  The pear's white flesh is sweet, crisp, and firm to the touch.  If a recipe calls for poaching, Bosc pears are a good choice since they will keep their shape and not turn to mush.  They are also good for eating raw and baking. 
from: A Visual Guide to Pears

Start by poaching the pears.
A poached pear is a pear that is slowly boiled or otherwise cooked in a liquid.
Bring 4 cups water and granulated sugar to a boil in a medium saucepan.

 Add the pears; reduce heat to medium, and cook at a medium-low boil for 5 minutes
or until the pears start to soften.

 Remove the pears from pan and cool slightly.

 Trim the bottom off each pear
so that it is about the height of your 9x5-inch bread loaf pan.

 Lightly brush flour over the bottom 2/3rds of each pear.

 Spray the loaf pan with non-stick baking spray.
Arrange the pears in the pan.

Make a banana bread to pour around the pears.
The link to the recipe is:
Banana Bread

Carefully pour in the batter around the pears.
Bake at 350 degrees in a preheated oven for about 60 minutes
or until a wooden toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Cool for about 20 minutes in pan on a wire rack.
Carefully remove from pan and slice and serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Doug's Apple Dumplings Revisited- Mother's Day

Mother's Day 2014

We try to have as many siblings gather together on Mother's Day as possible.

This year we met (again) at Pizza Ranch.  The buffet has enough variety for everyone, and we can get a room all our own so we can visit and catch up on the latest.

Gail, Keith, Denise, Rick with Mom.

Doug made his Apple Dumplings for Mom,
and after lunch delivered another batch to our adopted "Mom", Marie.

Doug has the best recipe for Apple Dumplings.  I posted it previously, and I wanted to revive it again.

The most frequent comment when eating these is, 

"These are the best Apple Dumplings I have ever eaten.  Can I have the recipe?"

The answer is, "Yes!"

Doug's Perfect Apple Dumplings

This recipe can be found at the following link from this blog:
Doug's Apple Dumplings
Along with Doug's Perfect Pie Crust:
Doug's Perfect Pie Crust

Try this recipe.  It will become your favorite.

Mother's Day Pictures 2014

 Mom

 Camden, Gail & Yatzi, Doug & Denise, Keith & Ethyl, Sheila & Rick
Mom

Aiden, Gail, Mom, Rick
 Garrett, Yatzi, Liz, Doug, Camden, Denise, Keith, Ethyl, Sheila

Ethyl, Liz, Sheila, Mom, Denise

Celebrating  Mothers on this special day.

Doug gave some of his "Mother's Day" Apple Dumplings to Marie.
This is one of her Mother's Day pictures with three of her children,
Virginia, Reggie, and Cathy.

In 1908, Anna M. Jarvis campaigned for an official Mother’s Day in memory of her own mother, an activist and social worker who hoped that the contributions of mothers would someday be recognized. Anna Jarvis was determined to make her mother’s wish come true. She petitioned the superintendent of the church her mother had attended and on May 10, 1908, the first official Mother’s Day celebration took place at a church service in Grafton, West Virginia. Jarvis gave carnations—her mother’s favorite flower—to each mother at the service. Later Jarvis and her supporters lobbied for the creation of an official Mother’s Day. In 1914 her dream came true when President Wilson declared the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day.  
http://www.history4kids.info/blog/2012/04/the-history-of-mothers-day.html

Family History

Mom's baby picture.

Mom & Dad's Wedding Picture
with Aunt Raideen & Uncle Gerald

Mom's mother, Eva, on her graduation day.

Dad's Mom, Ferne

Cherry Coca-Cola Cupcakes

Coney Island

My grandson, Spencer, was an inspiration for this recipe.  When my little granddaughter was born, we went to Coney Island in Ft. Wayne and enjoyed their original coney dogs and chili.  This place has been around for 100 years and is an institution.  We sipped Coke through a straw out of a glass bottle.  

It was a trip back in time.

This is my version of Cherry Coke Cupcakes.

The original version of this cake is made from scratch, and it is an old Southern dessert.  This recipe is easy to make and looks amazing when it is done.  You can vary the kind of Coca-Cola that you add, so it is also flexible.  This recipe is a combination of recipes and tips I read on line for making a Coca-Cola cake from a box cake mix.
There are "copycat" cake mixes from scratch trying to duplicate Cracker Barrel's Double Chocolate Fudge Coca-Cola Cake.  For an interesting history by Nora Zelevansky's read : Cracker Barrel's Coca-Cola Cake History

• 1 box of chocolate cake mix, I used a dark chocolate
• 1-12 oz. can of Cherry Coca-Cola
• 2 egg whites

Stir the ingredients together and bake according to the directions on the box. 

One of the recipes I saw was easier.  It did not call for the egg whites. However, adding the egg whites makes the mixture come together better.  

Cherry Coca-Cola Cupcakes

Pour any chocolate cake mix into a mixing owl.

Add 12 ozs. of Coca-Cola.  Use one 12-oz. can if you have one on hand.
I used Cherry Coke. Some recipes called for regular Coke or Diet Coke.

The carbonation in the soda makes the cake mix expand.

 (Some of my Coke collection.)

Add 2 egg whites.

Mix on low speed for 30 seconds,
then on medium speed for 2 minutes.

Spoon into a cupcake pan.  It will make 24 cupcakes.
Bake at 350 degrees for 18-23 minutes.

When cool, frost the cupcakes with chocolate frosting.
 I used was a tub of prepared frosting with chocolate chips in it.

Top with a maraschino cherry.

I took some of these delicious treats to the work site where 

my brother is building his log house.

It is progressing nicely.

Time for a Cherry Coca-Cola Cupcake break.

Garrett, Rick, Aiden, Camden, and Gail.

Enjoy!