We had a busy weekend on tap and, in the midst of working, cleaning, catching up on projects, etc. I had to find some time to throw together dinner and dessert for a friend and co-worker visiting from out of town. True to my usual M.O., I either overestimated how much I had to do or underestimated how long it all would take… but either way… my plan to make a pineapple upside-down cake was thwarted by the clock. So, I went with the next best thing – two-ingredient pineapple bliss cupcakes!

You read that right – two ingredient cupcakes (five if you count the frosting). Talk about a lifesaver! Take a box of yellow cake mix and a can of undrained, crushed pineapple… combine… mix… and bake! You don’t add any of the usual ingredients required by the box mix – it’s literally just the cake mix and the pineapple. They’ll bake up into a lovely, slightly dense, wonderfully moist cupcake with little bits of pineapple in each bite. They’re like a mixed-up pineapple upside down cake! Frost them with a nice, light cream cheese frosting and you’re good to go!

Pineapple Bliss Cupcakes
(cupcake recipe courtesy of Gina @ Skinnytaste)
18.25 oz box yellow cake mix
20 oz can crushed pineapple in juice (do not drain)

Combine cake mix and undrained crushed pineapple in a large bowl. Mix on medium speed with electric mixer until combined.

Pour into lined cupcake tins about 2/3 full. Bake according to directions on the back of the cake mix box or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean.

Cool completely and frost with Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe follows).

Serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to eat. Cupcakes will keep nicely tightly covered in the fridge for a few days.

Whipped Cream Cheese Frosting
1 box of regular or 1/3 less fat cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup confectioners sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
10 ounces regular or lite Cool Whip

Beat cream cheese until light and fluffy. Add vanilla and powdered sugar and beat until smooth and well-combined. Fold in whipped cream until combined.

I love this soup – it’s thick and creamy without the usual underpinnings of thick and creamy soups… butter and cream… and I promise – you won’t even miss them! Blend this soup to be as smooth as you like it (I prefer to leave mine with a a little bit of texture) and use additional chicken stock to your soup if you prefer yours to be a little thinner (I like mine split-pea thick).

I’ve topped this soup with a variety of things – sour cream… mascarpone… feta cheese… but my favorite it goat cheese! Serve up big bowls with fat slices of crusty bread for dipping and you’ve got a perfect meal for a chilly winter day… or any day! Enjoy!

Creamy Artichoke Soup
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 medium or 3 small russet potatoes, peeled and diced
2 14 oz. cans artichoke hearts (marinated or unmarinated), drained and roughly chopped
3 cups no-salt added chicken stock
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/8 teaspoon chipotle powder
2 tablespoons half & half
1 tablespoon prepared pesto
crumbled goat cheese for garnish

Heat olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat.  Add garlic and cook until slightly translucent, 2-3 minutes. Add potatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Add artichoke hearts, chicken stock, salt, pepper, red pepper flakes, onion powder and chipotle powder. Cook over medium-low heat for 20-25 minutes until potatoes are tender and flavors have melded.

Add half & half and pesto to soup and, using a handheld immersion blender, or in a blender in batches, puree the soup. Adjust seasonings to taste, ladle into bowls and garnish with goat cheese.

Hasselback potatoes is a Swedish dish that takes its name from Hasselbacken, the Stockholm restaurant where it was first served. The potatoes turn out crisp on the outside and beautifully tender on the inside. They’re similar to a baked potato but – in my opinion – even better.

The trick with hasselback potatoes is to slice the potato thinly without cutting all the way through the bottom. If you’re worried about slicing all the way through, just place chopsticks or the handles of two wooden spoons on either side of your potato and as you cut, your knife will be stopped before it gets all the way to the other side (be sure to still be careful with then ends).

I’m loving the pretty presentation of these beauties and will definitely be making them again soon!

Garlic Hasselback Potatoes with Herbed Sour Cream
(adapted from Food Network)
2 medium baking potatoes
2-3 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon heavy cream
1/2 cup shredded mexican blend cheese
Herbed Sour Cream, recipe follows

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Place a wooden chopstick on each side of one potato make several parallel slits into each potato top making sure not to slice completely through. Repeat with second potato. Place garlic slices between every other slit. Toss potatoes in a medium bowl with butter and olive oil. Place on a baking sheet and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Bake until tops are crispy and potatoes are cooked through, about 1 hour. Remove from oven, drizzle with 1/2 tablespoon of heavy cream each and top each with half the cheese. Return to oven and cook until cheese is completely melted. Transfer to a plate and top with Herbed Sour Cream.

Herbed Sour Cream
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 tablespoon finely chopped fresh parsley leaves
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Combine ingredients in a small bowl. Season, to taste, and refrigerate until use.

Making it even MORE fun, I finally got to catch up with our group’s founder after some 20 years (I can’t believe high school graduation was that long ago!). We’d been talking about getting together for dinner for a while, so when we finally got a plan in place for him to join my husband and I this weekend, I was pretty sure that the ingredient of the week just HAD to be incorporated.

Things being as they are, my timeline got a little out of whack and, though dinner was great (and the company was better), it wasn’t terribly pretty. So, though there might have been some cell phone photos taken and posted to the groups FB page, they weren’t anything I’d consider blog-worthy. Not to be defeated… I just made the same meal again for dinner tonight! This time… much prettier and totally worth photographing.

Capers are a briney little berry that I’ve never had a huge affinity for. However, I think I’ve finally found my magic combination… capers and cream (my friend Kathy incorporated cream and capers this week, too – check out her blog ::here::). The cream really mellows the flavor a bit leaving just a little salty zing. The walnuts add a lovely crunch and don’t forget to serve with a lemon wedge for just a little extra flavor. (We served this with wild rice and arugula dressed simply with olive oil, lemon juice and salt and pepper.)

Chicken Cutlets with Walnut Caper Cream Sauce
(adapted from Huffington Post’s Kitchen Daily)
4 thinly-sliced chicken breasts
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2-3/4 cup chopped walnuts
3/4 cup chicken stock
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1.5 tablespoons capers, drained, rinsed and chopped
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley
Accompaniment: lemon wedges

Arrange cutlets in 1 layer on a tray or baking sheet and season both sides with salt and pepper.

Heat a 12-inch non-stick skillet over moderately high heat until hot. Add oil and swirl to coat bottom. Cook chicken 2-4 minutes each side or until cooked through. Transfer to a platter and cover loosely with foil to keep warm.

Melt butter in skillet over moderate heat and when foam subsides, cook walnuts, stirring, until butter and nuts are deep golden and fragrantly toasty. Stir in garlic, and capers and simmer, allow garlic to soften, then add chicken stock and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, for 5-10 minutes until sauce reduces by half.

Stir in cream and lemon juice. Salt and pepper to taste. Spoon mixture over chicken, sprinkle with fresh parsley and serve with lemon wedges.

With a big bag of Calimyrna Jumbo Dried Figs at the ready (p.s. they really are BIG! not just good for cooking… but also great for snacking!), I decided to make a riff on one of my favorite appetizers from a local restaurant – crostini with pesto, brie, prosciutto and fig-cranberry compote.

This is an easy appetizer that looks very impressive. You can make it super-simple by using pre-made pesto and a fig jam – or you can make everything from scratch. My basil plant’s dead as a doornail, so I resorted to something in-between – using bottled pesto but making my own compote.

The complexity of flavors here is amazing… a little salty, a little sweet, a little savory. YUM. Prep these up to a couple of hours ahead of time and you can just pop them into the oven for a final toasting just before you’re ready to serve. Then… just stand back and wait for the raves.

Crostini with Pesto, Brie, Prosciutto and Fig-Cranberry Compote
(adapted from one of my favorite places - Tavola Trattoria) 
1 baguette, sliced on the bias
3-4 ounces of prepared pesto (bottled or your favorite recipe)
6 wedges Wee Brie, sliced thinly on the long side
7-8 slice prosciutto, sliced into 2-3 pcs per slice
Fig compote or fig spread (my fig-cranberry compote recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Arrange baguette slices in a single layer on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake 4-6 minutes until very lightly toasted.

Remove from oven and layer on a smear of pesto, a slice of brie, a piece of prosciutto and compote onto each slice. Return to baking sheet and broil for 3-4 minutes until warmed through and bread crusts are golden brown. Allow to cool slightly and serve warm. (Makes approximately 24 appetizers.)

Fig-Cranberry Compote
1 cup dried figs, finely chopped
1/2 cup fresh cranberries
3/4 cup port wine
3-4 tablespoons honey
1/2 to 1 cup water (as needed)

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until cranberries have popped, figs have softened, and port has reduced out. If mixture becomes too dry before it has reached the preferred consistency, add water as needed. Allow to cool before using.