The Pavlova Tradition

This past week was full of excitement. Every time the year flips over, we have that one week in February that is especially festive, and it's not only because love is in the air. St. Valentine’s day was the most famous day, but it also contained special days for two of my favorite people, Frannie and her daughter. They both had birthdays last week, all around St. Valentine's Day. I must tell you, I love her daughter. She is my most favorite little girl in the whole world; and she turned eight years-old! It seems like yesterday when we were changing her diapers. Now, I get to discuss the wonders of Pavlova with her. How great is that? I just love her to death. So you can see, the 12th, 13th, and 14th turns out to be a marathon of parties! How divine.

I want to share with you the dinner we had for Valentines Day. We decided that we wanted a light dinner, something to trigger the thoughts and feelings of upcoming spring. A tropical salsa certainly conjured up visions of setting suns and warm breezes. Tropical salsa and fish....yummm. I spooned the tropical salsa overtop lightly pan-seared tilapia. It hit the spot. The salsa really makes the dish spectacular. Fresh pineapple, mangoes, and papaya add the sweetness. The contrast presents itself in the cilantro, jalapeno pepper, fresh lime juice, and roasted red peppers. Just look at the picture, it makes my mouth water.

Dinner was great, the wine was flowing, and conversation took us all over the world. The underlying buzz throughout dinner was everyone's thoughts on dessert. None of us could wait to have a bite of Pavlova! For those unfamiliar, Pavlova is a meringue dessert named after the Russian ballet dancer, Anna Pavlova. It is crispy on the outside but light and fluffy on the inside. The inside is heaped with slightly sweetened whipped cream, and then generously topped with fresh berries. Simple, yet elegant.

The Pavlova tradition took hold of us about 4 years ago and it has become a fixture of our Valentine celebration. I must credit, where credit is due...the Pavlova is Frannie’s creation, and it always comes out spectacular. Take a look at the beautiful colors of the fruit. This dessert is so light and airy. It was perfect. How could it not taste divine?



The taste of the Pavlova warms our heart, but to put the cherry on top is the excitement of an eight year-old. She LOVES Pavlova and was so happy to eat it. It was truly an enchanted evening.

What to Drink:Well, we certainly were celebrating, so it was only natural to have a sparkling wine as we were preparing dinner. We had a beautiful Schramsberg Brut Rose. During dinner, we chose a light Pinot Blanc from Robert Sinskey which worked really well with the fish. And for dessert, we paired the beautiful Pavlova with a dessert wine from Darioush.

Until we can visit again, raise a glass and Cheers to You!

By the way, check out the Foodie BlogRoll on the right of the page. It's a great place to find other food related blogs!


Pavlova
Meringue:
5 egg whites room temperature
1 cup of sugar
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp distilled white vinegar

Pre-heat oven at 300 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with the parchment paper. Use a 9 inch cake pan as template to draw a circle on parchment. In an electric mixer, beat the whites until soft peaks form, gradually beat in sugar, and continue beating until the whites are stiff. Remove bowl, use a rubber spatula to gently fold in cornstarch, vanilla, and vinegar.

On the dedicated parchment circle, spoon ¾ of the meringue. Using a knife, make a cake-shaped mound. Then spoon the rest of the meringue around the edges to form a well.

Topping:
2 cups of heavy cream, whipped to soft peaks to make whipped cream

1 pint strawberries
1 pint blueberries
1 pint raspberries

Bake for one hour and then turn oven off and let meringue sit in oven for 3 hours, or until oven is cold.

Transfer the meringue to a large cake plate. Fill the center of the meringue with the whipped cream. Place the berries on top.

Something Gooey, something good

Well, last week was a good week. The best day was Wednesday because my hubby, Jamie, had a birthday. To me, nothing is better than baking for the people that I love. And, I had to bake him something good. He has such a sweet tooth; it isn't that hard to please him. But, I wanted to bake him something retro, not trendy, a little bit of comfort from our past – all of our pasts. So, I went digging into my recipe files. And finally, I found it.

As soon as I came across this recipe, I knew I had to bake it. What would be better than a gooey piece of pineapple-upside down cake? All at once, I wanted to taste the sweetness of the pineapple immersed in the brown sugar glaze sitting atop a moist cake. Yummy!

This recipe is quite simple and (no pun intended) was a piece of cake to bake. The results were outstanding. I can say that, because Jamie said it was the best pineapple-upside down cake that he has ever eaten. Wow! That was a compliment of the highest magnitude and it made me feel good. Don’t get me wrong, Jamie loves my cooking and he certainly loves to eat, especially sweets. It’s just that he isn’t very passionate about food. Poor thing, when he runs to the grocery store for me, for let’s say “fennel”, there is a side chance that he may bring home bok choy by mistake!! But at least he is willing to try. And I do love him for that!

So, when the pineapple-upside down cake made him happy, I knew I had to share it with you. Bake and enjoy!

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
Gourmet Magazine

For the topping:
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) butter, melted
2/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
3 cups 1-inch chunks fresh pineapple (about 1 pineapple)

For the cake:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened
2/3 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup milk
Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, as an accompaniment

Topping:
In a small bowl stir together well the butter and the brown sugar and spread the mixture evenly in a well-buttered 9 by 2-inch round cake pan. Pat the pineapple very dry between several thicknesses of paper towels and arrange it evenly on the sugar mixture.

Cake:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Into a bowl sift together the flour, the baking powder, the salt, and the cinnamon. In another bowl with an electric mixer cream the butter with the sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy, add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, and beat in the vanilla. Add the flour mixture alternately in batches with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour mixture and beating well after each addition. Pour the batter into the pan, spreading it evenly, and bake the cake in the middle of the oven for 45 to 55 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Let the cake cool in the pan on a rack for 15 minutes, run a thin knife around the edge, and invert the cake onto a plate. Serve the cake warm or at room temperature with the whipped cream or the ice cream.

What to Drink: Why a big glass of milk, of course!!

Until we can visit again, raise a glass and Cheers to You!!