How about a little Bundt pan history?

In 1950 Nordic Ware invented the Bundt® Pan; a ring shaped pan with fluted sides.   The pan sold somewhat slowly until the 1966 Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest winner used the little-known Bundt® Pan for her Tunnel of Fudge cake recipe. This prompted a mad rush for the pans, causing them to surpass the tin Jell-O mold to become the most-sold pan in the United States. Since their introduction, more than 50 million Bundt pans have been sold by Nordic Ware.

Oh, and by the way, National Bundt Pan Day is November 15th.  And do you remember the scene in the 2002 movie, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, when the mother of the groom-to-be comes to the home of the mother of the bride-to-be and presents to you a Bundt cake? Still makes me smile, HERE IS A LINK to a grainy video from You Tube.

This super moist yogurt cake is perfect for breakfast, brunch, or dessert. So simple to put together and pop in the oven… seriously delish.

FYI: I used a decorative sunflower Bundt pan in place of the traditional Bundt that has the tube in the center, so it took about 20 minutes longer to cook than this recipe states.

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Like just about everyone else I know, I love Mason jars! Check out my Mason jar Pinterest board to see just a few of the wonderful ideas clever people have come up with using these American icons. How about a little Wikipedia info on the beloved jars…

“A Mason jar is a glass jar used in canning to preserve food. It was invented and patented by John Landis Mason, a Philadelphia tinsmith in 1858. They are also called Ball jars, after Ball Corp., a popular and early manufacturer of the jars; fruit jars because they are often used to store fruit; “jam jars” or generically glass canning jars. While largely supplanted by other methods for commercial mass-production, they are still commonly used in home canning.”

I baked the cobblers for the clambake in wide-mouth (squat and fat) half-pint Kerr Mason jars and served homemade vanilla ice cream in regular-mouth (tall and thin) half-pint jars. Just as when using for canning, first sterilize the jars with boiling water – and when using for baking, place in a water bath to prevent the jars from cracking.

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As promised – here is the recipe for the crunchy banana muffins.  If it looks like a whole lot of flour, sugar, and butter… well, it’s because this recipe makes a boatload of muffins….  30 anyway, and that’s a bunch from one recipe. Enjoy!

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Weekly Tip #9

I think I may have missed a week of “tip time”.  We did have “game time” last week though. To make it up to you, an extra tip this week.

Holiday Baking Special Edition

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I made these luxurious little toffee cakes for the last class of my three-week series at Les Gourmettes Cooking School last Wednesday night and then served them again for a dinner party at a friend’s home last night. They are a true Christmas treat. Make, share, and enjoy!

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Weekly Tip #8

Today, I’m actually giving you more bang for your buck – two tips and a recipe – my gift to you!

The first tip is for you Facebook users.  Go to THIS LINK and “like” (or maybe it’s now “follow”) this page for Chow Bella.  Chow Bella is the informative, fun, sometimes irreverent New Times food blog. You will get more food info and learn more about what’s going on in the Valley of Sun (and beyond) than you ever thought there was to know about! Plus, tomorrow, I will be featured in their “Perfect Food Day” series. I think you’ll like it!  And…. while you’re on Facebook – if you haven’t “liked” or “followed” the Les Petites Gourmettes page – do that too! Here is THE LINK for that page.  Now on to the second (and real) tip for today…

Holiday baking time is upon us. Here is shortcut from Chef Anne Willian for making rum balls while using up leftover or stale muffins at the same time.

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Ready to make your pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving? Yeah, sorry I didn’t get this recipe up before the big feast. But maybe you will need to make a pumpkin pie for Christmas, in which case, this is perfect timing!

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Weekly Tip #5

When beating the eggs for your Thanksgiving pumpkin pie or any other custard pie, brush a little of the beaten egg over the pie shell and set it in the freezer for 10 minutes. This helps seal the crust and keeps it crisp.

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I’ve been pulling out and putting up the Halloween decorations these past two days and since we were in Canada last Halloween, the storage boxes were literally buried in the shed. It was a chore to get them out of there… I’ve got the cuts and bruises to prove it.

The motivation was our weather. The last couple of days have been gorgeous; windows are open, air is off, and life is good! Well, at least for now, because it is  going to be 93 degrees on Tuesday, 97 degrees on Wednesday, and 99 on Thursday! What is up with that!?! Ninety-nine degrees on October 13th… that is not right! Not. Right.

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Inspiration for this recipe came to me after enjoying a white chocolate and limoncello cupcake while visiting my daughter in San Francisco. Limoncello and white chocolate are a match made in heaven. You may use store-bought limoncello or make your own with THIS RECIPE.

I brought these sweeties to a neighborhood luncheon last week to test them out, and since they were a hit, I will be making them tomorrow, along with this puff pastry appetizer, on Channel 3-  Your Life A to Z.          I hope you can tune in at 10:00 AM Tuesday morning.

Oh, and please note, there are only six ingredients – seriously, these are “easy-breezy”!

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