When my dad was active with the Kiwanis Club in Orofino, he served as chairman of the spring dinner fundraiser. The menu was pretty much the same every year – a molded Jello-o salad, turkey dressing casserole, baked beans, and three types of angel food dessert – chocolate, strawberry, and pineapple. (I never knew why baked beans appeared on the same menu with turkey dressing casserole.) But I think the dinner earned a fairly positive reputation and was well-attended. Friend and fellow Kiwanian, Bob Oud, featured the main dish as Turkey Casserole a la Dobson. I think Daddy made the turkey casserole and the baked beans while others (mostly wives of the members) made the salads and the desserts according to recipes that my dad provided. I think the dinner had a successful run. I remember that Mike and I went several times during the 1970s.
I thought of all this today. Certain days have a feel to them, and now that the days feel springlike, I think of the Kiwanis dinner. Also – tonight is the bike club’s spaghetti feed. The club supplies the spaghetti and sauce while the members bring salads and desserts. I decided against cupcakes and in favor of one of my dad’s recipes – pineapple angel food delight. I remember how much he enjoyed the pineapple version, pronouncing it delicious and eating another.
It would have been best if I had made the cake yesterday, but no – I baked it this morning. That means the cake won’t really have time to set and flavors blend. But that’s okay. In this day and age when most folks buy a salad or dessert at the super market on their way to the meeting from work, it will really be okay. In fact, it’s entirely possible I will come home with most of it, and then Mike and I can eat it tomorrow – when the flavors will have blended.
[The above photo is of the angel food cake I baked this morning. I couldn’t find an old pop bottle, and other options didn’t work. I had to be innovative. In this case, where I intend to tear the cake to bits, I don’t believe it’s a big deal to hang it anyway.]
I thought of all this today. Certain days have a feel to them, and now that the days feel springlike, I think of the Kiwanis dinner. Also – tonight is the bike club’s spaghetti feed. The club supplies the spaghetti and sauce while the members bring salads and desserts. I decided against cupcakes and in favor of one of my dad’s recipes – pineapple angel food delight. I remember how much he enjoyed the pineapple version, pronouncing it delicious and eating another.
It would have been best if I had made the cake yesterday, but no – I baked it this morning. That means the cake won’t really have time to set and flavors blend. But that’s okay. In this day and age when most folks buy a salad or dessert at the super market on their way to the meeting from work, it will really be okay. In fact, it’s entirely possible I will come home with most of it, and then Mike and I can eat it tomorrow – when the flavors will have blended.
[The above photo is of the angel food cake I baked this morning. I couldn’t find an old pop bottle, and other options didn’t work. I had to be innovative. In this case, where I intend to tear the cake to bits, I don’t believe it’s a big deal to hang it anyway.]
3 comments:
Mmm, sounds good. Mom used to make something strawberry with angel food cake, but I've never had a pineapple one. Have fun at the potluck--this time there'll be a dessert there! :-)
My folks often used strawberries, too. This particular recipe uses strawberries with strawberry Jell-o or pineapple with lemon Jell-o. The cooking of the sauce, a custard base, did not go really well for me. As the sauce was cooling, I tasted it (with a clean spoon) and noted a grainy texture. At first I thought the sugar and Jell-o hadn’t dissolved, trying to close my mind to the possibility that it might have curdled. Hmmm. So, I approached the information highway, and it explained that curdling is caused by having the heat too high or by adding salt or acid during the cooking process. Also, skim milk curdles more rapidly than whole milk; fat inhibits curdling. Well, wouldn’t you know it! I was a little impatient. I used a double boiler but I kept the water boiling fairly hard, and I also added the salt and the Jell-o while cooking instead of taking the mixture off the heat first. You’d think that by this time in my life . . .
Well, I finished it up anyway and it really wasn’t so noticeable once the fruit and the Cool Whip were added to the sauce. We came home with just enough for our supper dessert tonight. I was amused at one cyclist who appeared to examine this dessert quite closely – even gave it the sniff test before taking a helping. I overheard him remark to someone that he didn’t like pineapple and sure enough, it had pineapple in it. I couldn’t help thinking, “When in doubt – don’t! -- Or just take a small taste.” If I do a “mystery dessert” again, I might label it.
i don't care for Amgel food cake but see that Kraft hs a new recipe out this spring called "Pineapple Lush" and it reminded me of this post.
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