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Wicked coffee cake

In Kenosha, for Sunday breakfast, Bill, assisted by Andrew (the biscuit smasher) and Caitlin (the sugar roller) made a coffee cake he got from Paula Deen’s show on The Food Network. It is superior kid food, for kids up to 63 years old.

For 4-6 people, you need two cans of refrigerated biscuits, some cream cheese, melted butter, orange zest, sugar, and chopped pecans.

Mix a cup of sugar, the zest off a large orange, and a cup of chopped pecans in a bowl. Melt a stick of butter in a small saucepan.

Pop the biscuit cans (these were large biscuits) and separate the biscuits. Flatten each biscuit, as if you were going to make pizza. Place a teaspoon of cream cheese into the center of the disc and fold over to seal. Manipulate it into a ball.

Roll the balls first in the melted butter, then in the sugar mixture. Position the balls in a bundt pan, in a single layer, then stacking if necessary. Pour excess butter and sugar mixture over, then bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes. While it was warm, Bill drizzled a basic sugar glaze over, and it would also be good without.

Serve it by itself, or with eggs and bacon or sausage, or just with the bacon or sausage (nice balance to the sweetness), or with fresh strawberries or peaches. Coffee, of course. And champagne would be great with it.

It is also good left over, either at room temperature or warmed. It would lose too much flavor if it were cold. I had some with red wine on the plane back to San Diego Monday night, and it was super.

I am also thinking about variations. Cook some good sausage, drain, and roll it into the biscuit discs with just half a teaspoon of the cream cheese. Season the melted butter with a teaspoon of Tabasco, roll the biscuit balls in the butter, and stack as before. Sprinkle lightly with oregano, then sprinkle with grated Cheddar cheese and top with grilled onions. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.

Or follow the basic recipe (plenty of pecans), and at the end pour over some canned cherry pie filling, or chopped canned peaches that have been stirred into a quarter-cup of Grand Marnier. Like they say, a recipe is just a place to start.

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  • I am a journalist, educator, writing consultant and author, living in La Mesa, CA. I am a native of Texas, which shows in most of my work. I believe that anything is possible. When I was 35, I realized that the ideal life would be to have the imagination of a six-year-old, and the wisdom of a 65-year-old. I can still get to the imagination (as you can, simply by cutting away all the data you’ve learned from first grade on) and I now possess the wisdom of a 65-year-old. Being 65 can be unsettling – too late to plant trees and enjoy the shade – but the wisdom that comes with it is terrific compensation. I learned in 50th grade that, no matter how bad things get, there is always compensation. Now I am in the 60th grade, and I am learning things that I didn’t know in 59th. This September, I’ll start 61st grade, and learn things I don’t know now. To find what grade you’re in, start with the year you started 12th grade, and count up. My newest book is “Warbirds – How They Played the Game.” My new company is The Write Outsource, quality media writing on deadline, at www.writeoutsource.com. I am working on a book about the media, and I am about to revise my cookbook about home cooking on a tight budget, such as so many of us face at this time.
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