Desserts

Grandpa Howard's favorite!

 Crust

• 2 C 'nilla wafers, crushed to crumbs

• 6 T butter, melted

Combine crumbs and butter, press into bottom of 9-inch springform pan.  Bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

Batter

• 1 bag (14 ounce) Kraft caramels

• 1 can (5 ounce) evaporated milk

• 1 C chopped pecans

• 2 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese

• ½ C sugar

• 1 t vanilla

• 2 eggs

• ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted

Toast chopped pecans in non-stick pan over low heat, stirring frequently for 3-5 minutes until they change color slightly and smell toasted.  Be careful not to scorch them.  Let cool.

In 1 ½ quart saucepan, melt caramels (wrappers removed, duh!) with evaporated milk over low heat stirring frequently until smooth.  Pour over crust.  Top with chopped pecans, distributed evenly on surface.  

Combine cream cheese, sugar and vanilla, mixing at medium speed with electric mixer, until well blended.  Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each.  Blend in melted chocolate.  Pour batter slowly over pecans.  Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.  

Loosen cake from rim of pan.  Allow to cool before removing from pan.  Garnish with pecan halves if you would like (see photo).  Chill before serving.  Serve with homemade whipped cream and maybe some more chopped, toasted pecans.

The lovely and gracious Pete’s Mate made this dessert for a family gathering after the rehearsal dinner the night before she became Mrs. Pete.  Grandpa (Pete’s Dad) thought this was about the best dessert he had ever had and requested it regularly in the three decades since.  Make some for your dad while you still can.  Love you, Dad.  

· 1 commercial pound cake

· 1 ripe pineapple

· Butter

· Cinnamon

Clean your grill surface thoroughly so that the dessert does not taste like the last thing you cooked on it, which might have been really good but was probably not dessert. 

Cut bark off pineapple, core and slice ½” thick. Sprinkle both sides with cinnamon.

Cut pound cake into one-inch thick slices, butter both sides (this is not health food, its dessert).

Grill pineapple slices over medium-high heat for 3-5 minutes per side or until they start to brown and soften. Set aside.

Toast cake slices (both sides) on low-medium heat. Watch closely and turn when the first side is lightly toasted. I usually use a flat bottom grill basket set on the grates to do this instead of setting the cake slices directly on the grill but either way can work.

To serve, place pineapple slice on plate, set cake slice on top of pineapple. The add ice cream, whipped cream, dulce de leche, berries, etc. to finish. Cinnamon or vanilla ice cream go well with this. 

This is also really simple and it is cool to make dessert on the grill. Your old pal Pete won a camping Iron Chef contest and nearly foundered some Boy Scouts once because with a grate and a little care it can be made over a campfire. If the troop next door is making s’mores, watching you make this will make them feel pretty puny.

· 1 can sweetened condensed milk

· 3 eggs

· 1 egg yolk

· ½ cup fresh lime juice

· 1 graham cracker crumb pie crust

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix sweetened condensed milk, eggs, egg yolk and lime juice. Pour into pie crust. Bake 15-20 minutes until just set.

That seems too simple but it is not. You can use key limes or regular limes. Either one makes a good pie but key limes do have a unique flavor. Try them once and see which you prefer. Although this is really easy, do not take the shortcut of getting your lime juice in a bottle for this. Limes are cheap and easy to squeeze. If you have any extras you have a great excuse for margaritas.

Also, this pie is best served with homemade whipped cream. If you have never made whipped cream, you have no idea how good it can be. Read on…

Simple whipped cream

· 2 cups heavy whipping cream

· 2 T powdered sugar

· 1 tsp vanilla

Place cream in glass or metal bowl and mix with hand mixer (better yet a Kitchen Aide) on high speed until cream reaches the consistency of cake batter. This will take a few minutes, could be longer depending on your mixer. It works best if the cream is cold (refrigerated) and the bowl and beaters are cold as well. The cream will double in volume so this makes about 4 cups of whipped cream.

  · ½ cup shortening

· 1 cup white sugar

· 2 eggs

· 3 medium or 4 small very ripe bananas – mashed (should be about 1 ½ cups)

· 2 cups flour

· ¼ t salt

· 1 t baking soda

· ¼ cup chopped walnuts

· ¼ cup maraschino cherries

· ¼ cup chocolate chips

Cream shortening and sugar until fluffy. 

Add eggs and beat well. Sift dry ingredients and add to first mixture, then add mashed bananas. Fold in nuts, cherries and chocolate chips.

Pour into greased, floured loaf pan (9.5” * 5.5” * 3”). Bake 55-60 minutes at 350 degrees or until inserted toothpick comes out clean. This recipe makes two loaves that size. You can also use mini-loaf pans and bake about 10 minutes less.

Let cool on rack, then slice and enjoy. 

Store in airtight package to keep moist, a gallon ziplock freezer bag works well.

I know, banana bread can be dry and boring. This is not. Grandma Kay has the secret and now you have it, too. This stuff is really moist and tastes great. The chocolate chips and cherries make this dessert instead of something that would be a poor choice for a ham sandwich. Try it toasted with melted butter.