Son Remembers Mom’S Pineapple Upside-Down Cake Using Packaged Cake Mix Will Save Time

Dear Merri Lou: I remember the Pineapple Upside-Down Cake my mother used to make. Do you have a good recipe? Billy, Spokane

Dear Billy: Here’s one that saves time with a packaged cake mix. Eliminate the pecans if you don’t like them.

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

From “Simple Pleasures, Recipes To Nourish Body and Soul” by Jenny Craig (Oxmoor House, 1998).

1/3 cup reduced-calorie margarine

3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/3 cup chopped pecans

1 (15-1/4-ounce) can sliced pineapple in juice

1/2 (18.25-ounce) package reduced-fat yellow cake mix

1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons egg substitute

1/3 cup water

7 maraschino cherries with stems

Melt margarine in a 10-inch cast-iron skillet; reserve 1 tablespoon. Add sugar and pecans to skillet, stirring well. Drain pineapple, reserving 1/3 cup juice. Arrange pineapple over sugar mixture in skillet.

Combine reserved 1 tablespoon melted margarine, 1/3 cup pineapple juice, cake mix, egg substitute and water. Beat at low speed of an electric mixer 30 seconds. Beat at medium speed 2 minutes.

Pour batter over pineapple in skillet. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Immediately invert cake onto a serving platter. Place cherries in centers of pineapple rings.

Yield: 10 servings.

Nutrition information per serving: 254 calories, 8 grams fat (28 percent fat calories), 45 grams carbohydrate, 2 grams protein, no cholesterol, 1 gram dietary fiber, 244 milligrams sodium.

Dear Merri Lou: With all the Mongolian restaurants in business in our area, would you have any recipes for the dozen or so sauces that are used in this type of barbecue so we can incorporate this method of cooking in our own home? Thanks ahead for any help you might be able to offer as far as recipes or Mongolian cookbooks that are available. - Don and Ann, Veradale

Dear Don and Ann: I could not locate any cookbooks that have specifically Mongolian food, but you’ll find a sprinkling of recipes in other Asian cookbooks. Here are two recipes from the World Wide Web, always a good source.

Mongolian Grill

From tne Neon Wok Web site (www.neonwok.com).

2 pounds thinly sliced beef strips

2 teaspoons minced garlic

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon Asian chili sauce

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

1 cup water

Hamburger buns or dinner rolls

Green onions, bean sprouts, thin strips bok choy, optional

Combine garlic, soy sauce, chili sauce, sesame oil and water. Pour over beef and toss to coat. Divide into 4 small bowls. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

Heat a gas or charcoal grill until very hot. Place an oiled wire mesh screen on the grill. For each sandwich, place a small amount of marinated meat on the screen, quickly turning the meat slices back and forth with chopsticks or tongs until meat is slightly crisp (watch carefully, as the meat cooks quickly). Serve hot in buns, adding condiments of your choice.

Yield: 4 servings.

Nutrition information per serving, (using lean top sirloin steak): 567 calories, 18.5 grams fat (29 percent fat calories), 22 grams carbohydrate, 73 grams protein, 202 milligrams cholesterol, 1 gram dietary fiber, 1,293 milligrams sodium.

Mongolian Dipping Sauce

From the Web site cash.cs.stir.ac.uk/scu/Recipes/Sauces/mongolian.html

6 tablespoons soy sauce

3 tablespoons smooth peanut butter

2 tablespoons rice wine or dry sherry

Pinch of chili powder

3 tablespoons hot water

1 shallot, finely chopped

Combine ingredients. Serve cold with hot food to dip.

Yield: 4 servings.

Nutrition information per serving: 83 calories, 6 grams fat (65 percent fat calories), 3 grams carbohydrate, 3 grams protein, no cholesterol, 1 gram dietary fiber, 1,407 milligrams sodium.

Note to readers: In response to a reader who asked about obtaining a cookbook for the George Foreman Grill, a book comes with the deluxe-size grill but not the smaller model. However, a book is available in local stores called “George Foreman’s Knock-Out-The-Fat Barbecue & Grilling Cookbook” by George Foreman and Cherie Calbom (Villard Books, 1996) that retails for $13.95. Happy grilling weather to you!