Ohio Luau / Super Delicious Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Today was the celebration for the 10th anniversary of The Wings Enrichment Center. I have been volunteering at Wings since November of 2007 and have met wonderful, amazing people. At Wings "Union County residents facing mental health issues make plans, achieve goals, and have productive, happy lives. Wings provides a place to turn for groups, activities, and support." Volunteering there really has been one of the best experiences of my life. So anyhow, to celebrate, we had a luau. A luau in Ohio is an interesting affair; for starters, it was held in a Baptist church that was a former steak house/bar, and still houses a beer distillary (yes, I am aware of the irony of a distillary being in the same building as a Baptist church - I grew up Baptist). The food was great, your typical Midwestern church potluck with shredded pork and chicken sandwiches, scalloped potatoes, baked beans, and endless salads of various mayonnaise variations. There was Beach Boys music and leis and beach balls and various beach accoutrements and much hilarity and a good time had by all.


If you guessed that this isn't Ohio, you were right

I volunteered to take a pineapple upside down cake, which I had never made, but, as you may have gathered by now, I'm up for trying anything at least once (click the link for the recipe). This cake is superb. If I hadn't have been expected to share, I could have possibly eaten the whole thing myself. And it really is easy to make, once you get past the whole making caramel step (which really is simple). The only variation that I made to the recipe was that instead of using water as instructed on the cake mix box, I used the drained pineapple juice. Can you say "Yummy!?" And one other great thing; my son (who I have mentioned had a thing for cookbooks) has finally decided he wants to learn to cook and bake. So he made the large portion of the cake. My husband and I have told Collin that if he truly learns to cook, the girls will be amazingly impressed; Collin has duly noted this (he is already a ladies man).



I've been running for days; I am tired. I am going to find some mind numbing entertainment on TV (Hollywood's Most Expensive Real Estate, anyone?) and veg. Have a great weekend!