Day Twenty-Three: Coconut-Pineapple Loaf Cake

Day 23 of Operation: Expand Horizons brings a tasty dessert- Coconut-Pineapple Loaf Cake from the June 2008 issue of Everyday Food.

This simple dessert comes together quickly and tastes fantastic. I've always loved the combination of coconut and pineapple, and this cake is just right. I would make one small change next time. The recipe calls for toasting all of the coconut, a portion of which is scattered on top of the batter before baking. Because it was already toasted, some of the topping coconut got a bit over-browned for my tastes. Next time, I'll toast the coconut that goes into the batter but leave the topping as is, allowing it to toast while the cake bakes.

This cake is quite tasty the next day as breakfast! :D

Liquor Cabinet: Pineapple-Cherry Rumtini

Tonight's dinner left me with some extra pineapple chunks and about a cup of juice. I love pineapple juice and have been known to drink it straight from the can, but this evening I decided to booze it up with my husband.

Over ice in a cocktail shaker, I poured the juice from a 20 oz. can of pineapple chunks (almost a full cup) and about 1/3 cup of Bacardi Silver. I shook it up well and strained it into two martini glasses, leaving some extra in the shaker. Then I carefully poured about a jigger of juice from a jar of maraschino cherries into each glass, where it settled at the bottom. I garnished with a cocktail pick of pineapple-cherry-pineapple.

The bottom of the drink was the best. I think the pineapple juice by itself is not quite sweet enough. Also, dark rum would have been a better match. Still, it was pretty to look at and it's not a bad way to use spare juice!

Day Eleven: Pineapple-Stuffed Jerk Chicken with Pineapple Rice

Day eleven of Operation: Expand Horizons was a pair of Martha Stewart recipes-Everyday Food's Pineapple-Stuffed Jerk Chicken, from June 2008, andPineapple Rice, from July/August 2007. I had made the rice before and liked it. I thought it would pair well with the new chicken recipe.

The chicken wasn't our favorite, but it was fun to try something different. There was something about the jerk seasoning we didn't like- probably the allspice. However, I may use the same idea of pineapple stuffing in chicken for another meal, using a honey-soy glaze instead. The pineapple rice recipe is paired with pork kebabs that use this flavor combination, and they are great.

I served fresh green beans on the side. Baby Chef was quite helpful during prep time. She snapped all of the beans by herself!