Once again working with the formula of geek getting the  popular kid (or this case girlfriends), Weird Science still makes me laugh out loud to this day.

In some ways it was highly educational. It came out in 1985. I was a naive teenager. I had to do a lot of asking around as to find out why anyone would want to put candle wax on their nipples. This is where having the Internet back then would have been helpful and way less embarrassing. So embarrassing but again, educational, as I learned much about the world of S and M. Special.

The movie sparked many a conversation with my guy friends about is it true that “anything bigger than a handful, you’re risking a sprained thumb”. Most of them told me they were willing to risk the sprained thumb. Darn. Since I am still waiting on my 16 year old boobs, that was disappointing to hear.

I learned that bras really only should be worn on the chest, and not on the head. And taking your clothes off while showering is probably a good idea.

Kelly LeBrock probably would not have been cast if that movie was made today…she would have been too “fat”.

Though ultimately the theme of the movie was not about how to trash your parents house while they are gone for the weekend. Or how to make a woman using a computer, a doll, bras, and Life magazine. No, the the real lesson was to stand up for yourself. This lesson was sadly lost on me. As, and this may come as a surprise to you, but I have never had much trouble speaking my own mind.

In honour of the scene when they try to make another “woman” for the two asshole guys (but forget the doll and end up with a missile in the middle of the house instead of a woman). When going through the house one of the rooms, everyone is upside down. Hence, today’s Not so Upside Down (since the fruit is in the cupcakes and on top) Pineapple Cupcakes.

It’s your basic yellow cake with a little fresh pureed pineapple. Topped with a little brown sugar glaze and fresh pineapple. Simple but good. The way Mr. Hughes made his movies.

Pineapple Not so Upside Down Cupcakes

Pineapple Yellow Cake

2 cups all-purpose flour, stirred before measuring
1 TBSP baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 ¼  cups sugar
2 eggs
1/3 cup pineapple puree*
½ cup milk
1 tsp vanilla

Mix flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.
Cream sugar and butter in a large mixing bowl, beating until light and fluffy.
Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
Combine the milk and the pineapple puree together.
Add half of the flour mixture then half of the milk/pineapple mixture.
Add vanilla. Mix until blended; add remaining flour and milk and beat until smooth.
Fill 2 greased and floured cupcake pans with the batter. Bake at 375° for 15-20 minutes, or until cupcakes springs back when lightly touched near center.
Remove from pan and let cool on rack.

*To make pineapple puree, take fresh pineapple and blend in blender or food processor. Measure out 1/3 cup.

Source: Adapted from About.com

Top cupcakes with a few piece of fresh pineapple and top with brown sugar glaze.

Brown Sugar Glaze

4 TBSP unsalted butter
½ cup water
1 cup brown sugar

In a saucepan combine all three ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat slightly but you still want it to be boiling, just a low boil. Let boil until it becomes syrupy. Don’t let it over cook. When it starts to look syrupy it’s done, about 3-4 minutes.

So Farrah Faucet died and that was a bummer, but really, that didn’t upset my world. Michael Jackson died, and though he was a highly influential musician, I didn’t care that he passed. I mean I don’t even own one album or have one song downloaded on my Ipod.

But then the news that John Hughes died….that one finally got me. The man pretty much made every movie that I loved and related to as a teenager. Plus he gave me one liners that to this day I still love and use.

So I feel that the next few posts will be dedicated to the movies that John Hughes brought to me and touched me in some way.

We will start with Sixteen Candles.

Oh the movie that gave every teenage girl hope. Hope that the hottest guy in school would leave his well endowed, hot girlfriend for geeky, no body you. Did I mention he is not only hot, but rich and drives a Porsche? Oh yes, this was the modern day Cinderella story that every female teeny bop was waiting to happen. Unless of course, you were the well endowed, hot chic at school…then it was already happening to you (bitch).

That being said, I would never give my undies to a geek. Or anyone for that matter. Now perhaps back then, when my undies were bought by my mother and were ugly (probably the 20 pack from Costco) I might not have cared as much. But gosh darn it, now a days, good looking undies just cost too much to be giving away. Or ripped off for that matter. Granted this did not happen in Sixteen Candles, but it happens in a lot of movies. Sure it isn’t sexy to have to stop to take off your undies, but really, it probably hurts to have them ripped off. And hurts even more if they are La Perla and you paid $45 for them. Now, that hurts. So girls, keep your undies. Or if you do give them to a geek, work out a payment plan with them, and charge interest.

Boobs. Now I am a reasonable person. But for whatever reason, I thought for sure I would wake up on my 13th birthday with boobs. When that didn’t happen, I knew for sure it would be my 16th. For sure. There is a part in the movie where the main character Sam is standing in front of the mirror  checking out her lack of bod. Oh how I related to this. When I woke up on my 16th birthday rationally knowing boobs did not grow over night, I still had to look. And look I did, all day. Thank goodness my birthday is in the Summer, I would have hate to have been caught starring at my own chest in school. That would have been cool. Not.

Alas I am still waiting on my boobs. Oh sure, from time to time if I gain enough weight I can get some bigger boobs, but then I just get bigger me and so they don’t really look all that hot. So in honour of the boobs I never got and only get when I gain pounds…I made pound cake.
This Brown Sugar Almond Pound Cake is nice and simple…and loaded with calories…3 sticks of butter and 3 cups of sugar. Surely you can pack on some boobs (and stomach, thigh and butt) with this yummy treat….after all “the Donger needs food”.

This cake is moist and all things right in a cake. I ate SOOO many pieces of this stuff. You don’t need the apples and caramel but it just puts it over the top. And in case you were wondering…all of my Fall baking has tricked the weather. We went from 100 plus temps last week to low 60′s this week! One happy Peabody!

Brown Sugar Almond Pound Cake with Sauted Spiced Apples

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 ¼ cup almond meal
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp salt
1 ½ cups unsalted butter, at room temperature
8 ounce cream cheese, at room temperature
2 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
1 cup powdered sugar, sifted
1 TBSP pure vanilla extract
1 tsp pure almond extract
6 large eggs, at room temperature

Spray a Bundt pan, 10-inch tube pan, or two 8 ½ by 4 ½  inch loaf pans with non stick cooking spray (I used a loaf pan spring form and two mini loaf pans).
Preheat oven to 325F.

In a bowl, sift together the flour, almond meal, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer set on medium speed, cream together the butter and cream cheese, about 3 minutes. Gradually beat in the brown sugar and powdered sugar and continue beating until pale and fluffy.

Beat in the vanilla and almond extract.

Add eggs, one at a time, scraping down the bowl after each addition.

Switch over to using your hand and a spatula. Add the flour mixture and fold into the batter. Do this until no flour can be seen and batter is smooth.

Spoon batter into prepared pans. Bake until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, 75-90 minutes. For my mini loaves, it took 55 minutes. For the spring form loaf pan it took 70 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack.

Cake recipe from Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey by Jill O’Conner (if you don’t own this yet, you should!)

While cooling, make the apples.

Sauted Spiced Apples

½ cup granulated sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground nutmeg
3 large apples, I used Pink Ladies, peeled, cored, and sliced
1 TBSP unsalted butter

Place the sugar and spices into a medium sized bowl and mix till completely combined.

Dredge the apples in the sugar mixture, turning to make sure they are coated well.

Heat butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Place apples in saute pan and cook until apples become soft.

To prepare:
Slice piece of pound cake. Top with spiced apples. Spoon homemade or store bought caramel sauce.

So I did something today that I had never done before.
I went to the bookstore ( no, I’ve done that before) and picked up a book. Big deal, right? Maybe not to you. But seeing my name in the acknowledgments section as well as my recipe along with my name and blogs name in that book was awfully fun for me!

What seems like ages ago, author Mia King, contacted me and asked me if she could use a recipe from my blog for her book. It’s Seattle based, and though fiction, had recipes in the back.
I immediately looked for the book that this was the sequel to, Good Things. It was a fun and light read, taking place in Seattle, so that made it even more cool to me. I finished it in a day (I tend to consume books) and looked forward to reading her new book when it came out.

Then life happened and I totally forgot about it. I was going through my Amazon.com recommendations (evil) and there was this book, Table Manners. Gosh, why did that sound familiar? I clicked on it and my brain started working again. And if that didn’t remind me, seeing my name down in the description under “includes King’s trademark recipes from prominent chefs, chocolatiers, restaurateurs and food bloggers from Washington state”, definitely jolted my memory.

Now I get a copy, but there is something about going to the book store and seeing it in there. It was fun. I bought a copy…for my In-Laws, they come next month and I figure it’s something they need, right?

Having nothing to do with this book, other than that they were baked by me the food blogger, are these little experiments I made. It’s still too warm for me to bake during the day, so I thought I would make some ice box cookies. That way when I had more time during the day I could make the dough, and the bake them off in the cool of the night. That idea worked well.

These are a combo of two separate cookies actually, so if you only want to make one kind to make it easier, you totally can. It’s a Graham Cracker Cookie center that is surrounded by a Key Lime Cookie…portable pie flavors, none of the mess!

Key Lime-Graham Cracker Ice Box Cookies

Key Lime Ice Box Cookie
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
¼  tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
2/3 cups granulated sugar
zest of one lime
3 ounces unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 large egg yolk
¼ cup key lime juice

In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and salt.
In a small bowl place the sugar and lime zest together. Using your hands, rub the lime zest into the sugar to release the lime oil into it. Run sugar through a sifter to remove lime zest pieces.
Using a standing mixer, with paddle attachment, cream together sugar and butter until light and fluffy.
Beat on medium high speed  the egg yolk and key lime juice. Scrape down bowl.
Switch to low speed and add flour mixture. Blend until mixture comes together. It will look a little crumble but will stick together when you press it.

Graham Cracker Ice Box Cookie
¾ cup graham flour (use whole wheat if can’t find, but does make a difference)
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp ground cinnamon
pinch of salt
3 ounces unsalted butter, at room temperature
½ cup lightly packed dark brown sugar
1 egg yolk
2 TBSP honey

In a medium bowl, sift together the flours, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt.
Using a stand mixer, with paddle attachment, cream together the butter, honey, and brown sugar, until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
Add egg yolk, and beat until fully incorporated.
Reduce speed to low and add flour mixture. Blend until mixture comes together in a ball.

To assemble the cookies:
Start with the key lime layer. Set out a long piece of wax paper. Pat out the dough into a long rectangle, about 18-inches long and 6-8 inches wide.
Roll the graham cracker dough into a long tube and place it down the center of the key lime dough. Kind of like a hot dog.
Using the wax paper to help you, roll the key lime dough over the graham cracker dough, so that the graham cracker dough will be in the middle of the cookie.
Once graham cracker dough is completely covered, roll cookie dough into desired shape…round, square, somewhere in between like what I have.
Roll up in wax paper and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Preheat the oven to 375°.
Unwrap the cookie dough and cut into slices about ¼-inch thick and bake on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.
Bake until lightly browned around the edges, about 12 minutes. Cool the cookies on a rack and store in an airtight container.

Makes about 30 cookies.