Idea Alley

Cake, onion dish seasonal surprises

Recipes that appear in Idea Alley have not been tested by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.

If you're looking for a cake to add to your Thanksgiving spread, this seasonal twist on the poke cake is easy and tasty.

Pumpkin Spice Poke Cake

1 (15- to 18-ounce) box spice cake mix

1 (15-ounce) can pure pumpkin puree (don't use pie filling)

3 eggs

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 (3.4-ounce) packages caramel-flavored instant pudding

4 cups milk

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9-by-13-inch pan with butter or baking spray. Set aside.

In a large bowl, beat cake mix, pumpkin, eggs and oil with an electric mixer until well combined. Pour batter into the prepared pan. Bake 30 minutes, or until a wooden pick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool 20 minutes. Using the handle of a wooden spoon or wooden dowel, poke holes evenly in cake every 1/2- to 1-inch.

In a mixing bowl, combine pudding mix and milk and blend 2 minutes or until mixture is smooth and beginning to thicken. Pour pudding over cake, making sure to let it fill the holes. Cover and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight.

Whip cream and cinnamon to stiff peaks. Top each serving with a dollop of whipped cream.

Keep refrigerated.

It's not often green onions are the star of a dish. But this braise adapted from Food52.com elevates the humble allium from garnish to show stealer. Our co-worker who made it recently added beet greens to the mix with excellent results.

Braised Green Onions

2 1/2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature, divided use

1 pound green onions (about 5 bunches, or 3 dozen onions)

Water

1 1/2 teaspoons coarsely chopped fresh tarragon (do not substitute dried) OR 1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley

Coarse salt and ground black pepper

1/2 lemon

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Using about 1 1/2 teaspoons of butter, generously butter a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.

Trim the root ends and 1 1/2 inches off the green tops of the onions. Arrange half of the onions in the baking dish so the bulb ends are lined up at one end and the greens are toward the middle. Place the other half of the onions in the opposite direction, so you end up with a double layer of onions greens across the center of the dish and a single layer of bulbs and each end of the dish.

Pour in 1/2 cup water. Cut the remaining butter into slivers and dot it over the top of the onions. Season with the tarragon or parsley, salt and pepper. Cover the dish tightly with foil, and slide onto the middle rack in the oven. Braise undisturbed until fragrant and tender, 35 to 40 minutes.

Remove the foil from the dish, and increase the oven heat to 450 degrees. Roast the onions for 10 minutes, then shake the pan back and forth to coat the onions with the glaze that will have formed. Continue roasting until the liquid evaporates and the edges of the onions are beginning to brown, another 5 minutes or so. Squeeze over a few drops of lemon juice to taste, and serve hot or warm.

Makes 4 servings.

Send recipe contributions, requests and culinary questions to Kelly Brant, Idea Alley, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, P.O. Box 2221, Little Rock, Ark. 72203; email:

kbrant@arkansasonline.com

Please include a daytime phone number.

Food on 11/15/2017

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