Pineapple Upside-down Cupcakes and “Thank You” Notes

First off, wow! Its amazing how much virtual support there is out there.

My dad and I have been through the ringer.

Before I begin today’s post, I just want to quickly update you and tell you what’s going on. My dad indeed has some sort of mass in his brain. I’m nervous as hell that its an agressive malignant tumor, but we don’t know until the do a biopsy. He will likely go into surgery on Monday to remove it. In the meantime, his brain is swollen and since the mass is in the speech and language area of the brain, he has “word finding” problems. He knows what he wants to say but some of his words come out like gibberish. Yes, its freaky and scary, but it could be worse.

Anyhow, I don’t want to dump on you my problems. I don’t want to hide anything about my life, but I still want to keep the “refreshing” spirit of the blog.

So I’m gonna give you a recipe I’ve had on standby and a few “Thank You” notes:

In no particular order thank you to…..

My dad’s two BFFs: They live in Israel, but they know my father better than me I think and have been my rock when my dad couldn’t. They calmed me down when I thought I was about to loose it yesterday. You know, middle aged men dont have to be creepy.

Janetha: Janehta has checked in on my continuously since this all went down. Reminding me that there is love out there and hold my hand “virtually” through all this. I know this must be difficult for her too since her life has not been so kind to her family either, but she still texted me lots of hugs that I swear I could feel.

Abby: What would I do without Abby? She was there actually CALLING (yep, on rare and special occasions, she’ll actually call as opposed to text) when my dad’s first ordeal went down and was still there texting me, reassuring I have people that care about me out there.

My dad’s nurse: In the ICU, every patient pretty gets their own nurse. My dad’s nurse was so kind and professional. She was so impressed with me being a chef and even about my recipes from the blog. I wrote down my blog address for her and if she’s reading this, thank you.

Susan: Susan wrote me the kindest email and we got an oppertunity to gchat a little bit. She kind of “gets it” because her uncle went through a similar ordeal. I’m so lucky I have genuine people like her as friends.

Ice Cream: you are just always so tasty and comforting. Everything feels shitty right now, but eating you doesn’t. You are just so yummy.

My Boss: The family I work for as a personal chef practically bought out a magazine stand and brought to my dad today! Did I mention, I love my job?

YOU: Seriously, I know I named some bloggers but every single one of you that commented and showed your support. I am SO touched , it made me cry!

I know this is a pet peeve of many, but I’m sorry if I have not commented or read your blog. Nothing personal, but I don’t care about what marathon you run or your newest protein shake. I just want to be with my dad and maybe some these days.

So I want to hear, has someone helped you out lately? Thank them, even if they never read my blog.

I said something about a recipe? But of course. A twist on pineapple upsidedown cake (minus that gross cherry).

• FOR THE BATTER:
• 1/2 stick of butter or 4 tbs melted butter
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 cup flour
• 1 1/2teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs

• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• FOR THE TOPPING:
• 6 tbs coconut or regular butter
• 1/4 cup light or dark brown sugar, tightly packed
• about 1 cup diced pineapple (I used fresh but canned is fine)

1. Heat the oven to 350º. Place the butter and milk for the batter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Warm the mixture, stirring occasionally, until the butter melts, then transfer the mixture to a small bowl to cool.
2. Meanwhile, prepare the pine-apple topping. Into each cup of a 12-cup muffin pan, add 1/2 tablespoon of unmelted butter then evenly sprinkle 1 tablespoon of brown sugar over the bottom. Place the pan in the oven until the butter melts, about 3 minutes.
3. Press the fruit gently down into the butter-sugar mixture, then set the prepared pan aside.
4. Finish making the batter. In a medium-size bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt, and stir the ingredients with a fork until they’re evenly blended. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, sugar, and vanilla extract until smooth. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and stir until the flour is fully incorporated. Add the milk-butter mixture and stir well to combine the ingredients into a smooth batter.
5. Pour the batter into the muffin pan, dividing it evenly among all the cups. Bake the cupcakes until they’re lightly browned, dry around the edges, and pulling away from the pan a little, about 25 minutes.
6. Transfer the pan to a rack to cool for 5 minutes. Use a butter knife to carefully loosen each cupcake from the edges and bottom of the pan, then place a cookie sheet over the top. Invert the pan, turning the cupcakes out onto the cookie sheet, then transfer them back to the rack to cool completely. Serve the cupcakes at room temperature.