Joe and Petal's Recipes

Dear readers:
We are happy to announce that Petal Fuzzybottom has been accepted as Chef Joe’s new apprentice. Petal is a natural born cook. But she dreams of becoming a chef someday. And no one in Yellow can dispute she has found the best teacher possible. So congratulations and we wish you both well in your future culinary adventures.

The staff of the YG

   

Old-fashioned Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Ingredients:

  • 4 eggs
  • 1/2 cup butter
  • 1 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 1 (20 ounce) can sliced pineapple
  • 10 maraschino cherries
  • 1 cup sifted cake flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup white sugar
  • 1 tablespoon butter, melted
  • 1 teaspoon almond extract

Pineapple upside down cake

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C).
  2. In a 10 inch heavy skillet with a heat-resistant handle (I use a cast iron skillet), melt 1/2 cup butter or margarine over very low heat. Remove from heat, and sprinkle brown sugar evenly over pan. Arrange pineapple slices to cover bottom of skillet. Distribute cherries around pineapple; set aside.
  3. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt.
  4. Separate the eggs into two bowls. In a large bowl, beat egg whites just until soft peaks form. Add sugar gradually, (( take your time here )) beating well after each addition. Beat until stiff peaks form. In a small bowl, beat egg yolks at high speed until very thick and yellow. With a wire whisk or rubber scraper, using an over-and-under motion, gently fold egg yolks and flour mixture into whites until blended. Fold in 1 tablespoon melted butter or margarine and almond (some prefer a vanilla) extract. Spread batter evenly over pineapple in skillet.
  5. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until surface springs back when gently pressed with fingertip. Loosen the edges of the cake with table knife.
    Cool the cake for 5- 10 minutes before inverting onto serving plate.
Now fight others for your piece :-)

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Joe's (Me Maw's) Beef pot roast with vegetables and gravy

Ingredients

  • 1 chuck pot roast, tender chuck, chuck arm, etc., 3 to 4 pounds
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
  • 11/2 tablespoon olive oil (0r you can use vegetable oil)
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp dried thyme
  • 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
  • 1/4 cup flour
  • 3 cups beef broth
  • 5 to 6 medium potatoes, peeled, quartered (about 1 1/4 pounds) golden Yukons (are the best).
  • 2 cup baby carrots( diced or whole)
  • 1 medium yellow onion, cut in small chunks
  • 1 - 2 cups beef broth (You could use water but I find the broth adds great flavor)
  • 4 stalks celery, cut in 1-inch pieces

Pot roast plate

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375º F.
  2. Season roast
  3. In a medium skillet add ½ tablespoon oil, Then add half the garlic, thyme, rosemary. Bring to med to high heat, add the roast and sear all sides until browned.
  4. In a roasting pan place seared roast (along with the juices and bits from the skillet) in middle and arrange your veggies around it. Season veggies with salt and pepper and remaining spice. Pour the beef stock over it all and cover with foil.
  5. Lower oven temp to 325º F.
  6. Cook for 2-1/2 to 3 hours or until the roast falls apart with a fork then it's done!
  7. While the roast is cooking you can also make some fresh peas. Sweet Sugersnaps. These are best served on the side so they remain crisp nice off set.
  8. This meal can be easy to convert the left overs to a thick rich stew; when you do so you can mix in the peas and add few more veg if you have or want them...
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Petal's Favorite Banana Pudding

Ingredients

  • 2 boxes of instant banana pudding
  • 4 c. milk (I used 2%)
  • 1 box of vanilla wafers
  • 4-5 bananas, sliced
  • 3 egg whites
  • 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar
  • 3 TBS. white granulated sugar
Banana pudding

Preparation method

Preheat oven to 350º F.

Start with a layer of vanilla wafers, flat side down, side by side on the bottom of a 9" x 13" x 2" baking dish. Then layer banana slices on top of the wafers, but put the bananas side by side as well (not just 1 slice on top of a wafer - cover those wafers well.)

Prepare the first box of banana pudding with 2 cups of milk and whisk until it starts to thicken (see instructions on box), pour over the first layer of wafers and bananas - using all of it.

On top of the pudding, put another layer of wafers and then bananas - you should use all the bananas here and maybe all but 8 or 9 wafers from the box.

With the left over wafers place 4 (or 5 depending on how many are left) along the long sides of the dish, tucking them down in the pudding. Prepare the 2nd box of pudding as you did the first, pour over the 2nd wafer/ banana layer and then give the whole dish a little shimmy shake to even it out and to remove as many air bubbles as possible.

In a mixer, preferably using the whisk attachment, whisk the eggs and cream of tartar at high speed. When they just start to come together, add the 3 TBS. of sugar slowly. Continue to whisk until the eggs become glossy and form stiff peaks. Spread over the pudding and create little peaks with the tip of your knife or spatula.

Bake for 10-15 minutes in preheated oven, or until the meringue starts to brown. Allow to cool at room temp. This pudding can be served warm, at room temp or after being chilled for a few hours in the fridge.

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