My first pineapple

Vicki of the Unusual Coleslaw blog calls them “Hedgehogs”, Ann calls them “Satellites” and My First Cook Book calls them “Spikes”!

My First Cook Book, Jennifer Fellows, illustrations Ann Rees; London 1980

Cheese and Pineapple Spike  

Tin of pineapple slices or chunks; a piece of cheese; cherries (glacé, tinned or fresh); 1 large potato; tin foil, cocktail sticks; knife, sieve, 2 plates

1 Wrap the potato in foil

2 Carefully open the tin of pineapple. Using the sieve, pour off the juice

3 and 4 Put the pineapple pieces onto a plate, and if they are not cubes, cut each slice into six or eight. On the other plate, cut the cheese into small pieces

5 Skewer chunks of cheese and pineapple on a cocktail stick and wedge into potato

6 Continue until the cheese and pineapple are finished

7 Add a few cherries to give a more colourful effect.

Thank you Darani and Bella for your expert cooking demonstration!

A favourite op shop find.

WIKI tells us that:

"A toothpick is a small stick of wood, plastic, bamboo, metal, bone or other substance used to remove detritus from the teeth, usually after a meal . . . The toothpick . . . is the oldest instrument for dental cleaning. The skulls of Neanderthals, as well as Homo sapiens, have shown clear signs of having teeth that were picked with a tool.

Toothpicks made of bronze have been found as burial objects in prehistoric graves in Northern Italy and in the East Alps. It was also well known in Mesopotamia. There are delicate, artistic examples made of silver in antiquity, as well as from mastic wood with the Romans.

In the 17th century toothpicks were luxury objects similar to jewellery items. They were formed from precious metal and set with expensive stones. Frequently they were artistically stylized and enamelled.

The first toothpick-manufacturing machine was developed in 1869, by Marc Signorello . Logs are first spiral cut into thin sheets, which are then cut, chopped, milled and bleached into the individual toothpicks."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toothpick

For a more detailed treatise on the subject of toothpicks check out this website

http://www.slate.com/articles/business_and_tech/design/2007/10/stick_figure.html

written by Henry Petrosk, professor of civil engineering and professor of history at Duke University. He is the author of a dozen books on engineering and design, the latest of which is The Toothpick: Technology and Culture.

Another favourite op shop find. 

Unusual Pineapple Dishes

During the last year several dishes using pineapple have been posted on the Unusual Coleslaw blog including these two, the first of which is certainly an unusual combination of ingredients! Thanks Vicki, did you try this one?  Jane tasted the “cocktail” with a blindfold and identified all the ingredients bar the vinegar and sugar. I think her expression says it all! Anne.

http://unusualcoleslaw.blogspot.com.au/

Watermelon Delight

Cut seeded watermelon into cubes, add thinly sliced onion and sliced orange and pineapple pieces - mint can be added for a refreshing taste. Sprinkle with a little sugar and vinegar.

Source: Oodnadatta Cookbook (Oodnadatta: 1986), p.11.

Pineapple and Cheese Spread

Equal quantities of grated cheddar cheese and crushed drained pineapple, a little milk (if required), crushed walnuts.

Method: Mix and melt cheese and pineapple in a small saucepan, adding a little milk if required. Add chopped walnuts.

Use as a spread on cracker biscuits or as a filling for crisp celery fingers.

Source: contributed by Tea Tree Gully Club in A Legacy of Recipes (Adelaide: Legacy Club of Adelaide, 1991), p.45.

Golden Days Salad

440g can Golden Circle Sliced Pineapple, 250g Kraft Cheddar Cheese, (cut in cubes), 1 lettuce, 4 medium tomatoes (cut in wedges), Kraft French or Italian Dressing.

Tear lettuce into bite-sized pieces and place in salad bowl. Arrange cheese cubes and tomato wedges in rings around central circle of pineapple slices. Garnish pineapple with centres of lettuce and chill. Just before serving pour over dressing and toss lightly.

Summer fare

Pineapple Tuna Spread

440g can Golden Circle Pineapple Pieces, drained, 200g can solid pack Tuna Fish, drained, ½ cup grated Cheddar Cheese, 1 tblspn grated onion or chopped eschalot, ¼ tsp dry mustard, 2 tblspns prepared mayonnaise.

Flake the tuna fish and blend with the pineapple pieces and cheese. Stir onion and mustard into mayonnaise and combine with pineapple mixture. Spread on buttered toast and serve with salad vegetables.

The Salad Bowl

440g can Golden Circle Sliced Pineapple, 1 lettuce, 1 cucumber, 1 onion (optional), 3 tomatoes, salad dressing.

Drain pineapple slices and cut in halves. Wash and crisp lettuce, break into thumb-sized pieces. Peel and cut cucumber into finger-lengths. Cut tomatoes in quarters. Slice onion finely. Wipe wooden salad bowl with warm olive oil then rub with cut garlic. At serving time arrange prepared vegetables in bowl. Toss and add dressing.

I enjoyed reading Ruby’s measurements in this recipe and half expected her to continue the body part lengths with ear-sized tomatoes and toe-nail sized chopped onions! Anne.

Take a dip

Neither Ann nor I have been able to buy any Golden Circle Sweet-Sour Sauce so I’m guessing it’s not on the market anymore. So this is another brand. The beetroot and sweet potato crisps were totally yum! Anne.

Sweet-Sour Savoury Dip

Place contents of jar Golden Circle Sweet-Sour Sauce in one or two small bowls in centre of savoury tray. Surround with potato flakes, cracker biscuits, toast points and cubes of cheese on sticks.

Over the hill? Over the moon? Over the rainbow!

Ruby advised “Plan your salads with colour in mind”.

Rainbow Salad.

440g can Golden Circle Pineapple Pieces, 440g can Golden Circle Sliced Beetroot, tomatoes, cucumber, celery, shredded carrot.

Rice-cheese mould: 1 cup cooked rice, ½ cup grated tasty cheese, 2 chopped hard-cooked eggs, 1 tblspn prepared mayonnaise, 1 tspn gelatine, 1 tblspn boiling water. Salt.

Blend together rice, cheese, eggs, mayonnaise, gelatine dissolved in boiling water and salt to taste. Pack into wet mould. Chill until firm.

Cut celery into short pieces, slit lengthwise and place in iced water to curl. Shred carrot. Slice cucumber. Cut tomato in wedge shapes. Arrange sliced beetroot, tomato, carrot, pineapple pieces, celery and cucumber in neat rings around chilled mould and serve.

Old favourite with a new twist.

Macaroni  Tropical from Ruby Borrowdale's Golden Circle Tropical Recipe Book.

440g can Golden Circle Sliced Pineapple, 250g macaroni, 1 ½ cups grated tasty cheese, 1 tblsp butter, ½ cup each cooked green peas, chopped onion, chopped red capsicum and chopped celery, 475ml thin white sauce, 4 rashers crisply-fried bacon, salt and cayenne pepper.

Drain pineapple slices. Chop 1 slice and add to white sauce. Lightly fry onion, capsicum and celery in butter, add to white sauce together with the peas, 1 cup of the grated cheese and chopped bacon. Cook macaroni according to directions but do not rinse. Add white sauce mixture to macaroni, stirring to blend. Turn into buttered casserole. Top with remaining cheese, bake in moderate oven (180° C) till bubbling hot. Top with remaining pineapple slices during last 5 minutes of cooking time. Serve immediately.

Instead of using one casserole I dished out the Macaroni Tropical between individual ramekins, Anne.

A hearty dinner.

I think I used every pot and pan in the kitchen to create tonight’s dinner, but it was worth all the dishwashing as both dishes were very tasty. The pineapple, mustard and raisins were a great addition to the usual corned beef/cloves flavours. Although my Tropical Checkers didn’t have quite the look of Ruby’s I was pleased with the combination of ingredients. I’m looking forward to the leftovers for tomorrow’s lunch, Anne.

Corned Beef-Pineapple Glaze.

44-0g can Golden Circle Pineapple Pieces, 1 1/2 kilo to 2 1/2 kilo corned silverside, 1 dozen whole cloves, ½ cup brown sugar, ½ cup vinegar, 2 tsp mustard, ¼ tsp pepper, 2 tblsp chopped raisins.

Drain pineapple. Simmer corned beef slowly until tender, adding syrup drained from pineapple during last hour of cooking time. Place corned beef in casserole. Stick surface with cloves. Mix together half of pineapple pieces, brown sugar, vinegar, mustard, pepper and raisins. Pour over meat. Bake 30 minutes in moderate oven, basting with syrup from bottom of dish. After last basting, sprinkle with fine browned breadcrumbs. Remove corned beef to serving dish. Heat pineapple pieces in hot syrup in dish, pierce with toothpicks and insert in beef as a garnish. The corned beef can be served hot or cold. Ham can be prepared in the same way.

Tropical Checkers.

440g can Golden Circle Pineapple Pieces, 3 cups mashed potato, ½ grated tasty cheese, ¼ cup each chopped onion, parsley and celery, 1 bunch silverbeet or spinach, required number of fried or poached eggs.

Drain pineapple pieces. Reserve liquid. Add half pineapple to mashed potato together with the grated cheese, chopped onion, parsley and celery. Season to taste. Wash silverbeet or spinach. Slice off white stems, steam til tender and place in bottom if buttered casserole. Top with potato mixture and bake in moderate oven until browned. Top with the required number of fried or poached eggs and steamed green tops of the silverbeet. Garnish with the remaining pineapple pieces heated in their own liquid.

Act One. Scene One.

Ruby Borrowdale says in the Golden Circle Tropical Recipe book that “Your meal table is a stage” and there are “many parts pineapple can play”. We kept this in mind planning a dinner party for our friend, Ric, and Anne’s daughter, Ella. The evening’s performance began with a refreshing punch and a Sputnik created by Ann in celebration of entertaining during our 1950s/1960s childhoods. This was followed by a delicious Fish ‘n’ Pineapple Loaf with green beans and carrots. The finale was a fabulous Brown Velvet Pudding with cream.

Orange-Pineapple Punch Bowl

Empty 2 litres Golden Circle Pineapple and Orange Juice into punch bowl. Add large bottle chilled Ginger Ale and a cup of cold tea. Float thin slices of banana, seedless orange and a couple of sprigs of slightly crushed mint leaves on top. At serving time add large tray of ice cubes. Garnish each serving glass with half a slice of orange.

Sputnik

Cut a thin slice off the bottom of an orange and place it on a dish. Into the orange insert toothpicks threaded with a slice of cabanossi, a pickled cocktail onion and a small square of cheddar cheese.

Fish ‘n’ Pineapple Loaf

440g can Golden Circle Sliced Pineapple, 2 cups cooked fish or large can fish fillets, 2 eggs, salt and pepper to taste, 4 boiled potatoes.

Drain pineapple, set three sliced aside for top of loaf, and chop remaining slices. Hard cook one egg and chop fine. Flake fish, blend together all ingredients except the three whole pineapple slices. Place these in a buttered loaf pan and pack fish mixture on top. Bake in moderate oven about 45 minutes. Invert onto serving plate and garnish with peas and rice.

Brown Velvet Pudding

440g can Golden Circle Pineapple Thins, 1 tblsp butter, 2 tblsp dark brown sugar, 1 ½ cups plain flour, ¼ tspn salt, 1 tspn baking soda, 1 tspn ground ginger, 1 tsp cocoa, ½ tspn cinnamon, 60g butter, ½ cup sugar, 2 tblspn Golden Syrup, 1 egg, ¼ cup pineapple syrup drained from thins.

Spread the tblsp butter over bottom and sides of the pudding mould, sprinkle with dark brown sugar, then arrange drained pineapple thins around sides and on bottom of mould. Sift flour, salt, soda and spices. Cream the 60g butter with sugar, beat in egg. Blend in golden syrup. Add flour mixture alternatively with pineapple syrup. Beat smooth. Spoon into mould, cover with lid and steam for 2 hours. Serve with custard or cream.

I followed this recipe even though I thought it was wrong. I was pleased with the result although  the texture was a little dense. The subtlety of the 1 tspn of cocoa complemented the cinnamon and ginger, Ann.