Cranberry Upside-down Cake

When I was a teenager, my good friend's Mom was one of those amazing Italian cooks. One time while I was visiting, her Mom made this glorious cake which she called Cranberry Upside-down Cake. I never was a big fan of cranberries, but this recipe makes the tartness of the berries melt away with the sweetness of the glaze and cake. I raved so much about it to my friend's Mom, that she was nice enough to print me out the recipe. I made it many times, especially during the holiday season. I always got big compliments on it. I lost this recipe a few years ago, to my dismay. I almost forgot about it altogether, until about a month ago, when I realized that Thanksgiving was around the corner and I had not thought up of what I was going to make. Later, while shopping, this recipe popped into my head at the grocery store when I saw a sale for cranberries. So I looked it up on All Recipes, which gave me this recipe. This new recipe is a huge improvement from the original recipe I lost. It asks for sour cream, which I think gives it it's rich texture. I did change some things when I made this recipe, I've changed some ingredient amounts, and skipped a step. So try this one out, it is actually really easy and will become one of your favorite cake recipes!

You Will Need:
For the Bottom(which turns into the topping):
2/3 Cups Brown sugar
1 1/2 Cups Fresh Cranberries
1/2 Cup Walnuts

Cake Batter:
1/2 Cup Butter (1 stick)
3/4 White Sugar
2 Eggs
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 Cup Sour Cream
1 1/2 Cups Flour
1 1/2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1 Teaspoon Cinnamon
1/4 Teaspoon Salt

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Unwrap the stick of butter and use one end to grease a 9x9 inch glass dish. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Set aside.


• Put fresh cranberries, brown sugar, and walnuts into baking dish. Mix together with your hands until combined and pushed down.

• In a large bowl, cream together the butter and 3/4 cup sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Beat in the flour mixture alternately with the sour cream.

• Pour batter into prepared dish.

• Bake in the preheated oven for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, run a knife around the edges to loosen, then invert onto serving platter and carefully remove pan. Serve warm. This cake goes even further if you have a piece with some Vanilla Bean Ice cream.

This recipe is not only very delicious, it is also very versatile because you can replace Cranberries for just about any fruit or berry, I think next time I will try this with blueberries. It is a great way to impress guests as well. Give it a try!

Broccoli Cheese Soup

I made a new recipe last night. It turned out amazing! My kids actually asked for seconds. In my world, that is a miracle. I will definitely be making this again. I got the recipe from Allrecipes, but changed it so much that I thought I would just post it here. It should make about 6 servings. I think next time I make this, I will double it and freeze the leftovers in zip lock bags for a quick meal.

8 Tblspns Butter
1 Medium Onion chopped
1 Carrot shredded
3 Cups Chicken Broth
6 Cups Chopped Broccoli (including the stem)
1 1/2 Cup Shredded Cheese
1/4 Cup Parmesan Cheese
1 1/2 Cups Milk
Salt and Pepper to taste


Directions: Melt 4 tablespoons butter in a medium sized
stock pot, and saute onion and shredded carrot until the onion is
translucent.

Chop the broccoli into small cubes. (You can also substitute frozen chopped
broccoli). Add broccoli and broth to pot and let simmer for about 15-20 minutes,
until tender.

Spoon out most of the chunks and puree it in a blender or you can also use
an immersion blender. Put puree back into pot and mix. Add milk, cheese, parm.
cheese, 4 tablespoons butter, and salt and pepper.

So there you go. I wish I had taken pictures of this one, I'm going to try to add step by step pics next time. Oh, and you can suck it Panera Bread, this soup tastes way better than your bagged gloop!