Quarantine Projects - The Neely's Pineapple Upside-Down Grit Cake

Hello all! Hope everyone is doing well and staying safe an healthy! We are still safe at home, working, playing with Charlie, planting my garden and coking/baking up a storm. Markets are finally starting to get filled up again, but we shall see how long that lasts. Now on to our dessert of the week!

Last week for Easter dessert I decided to try something new recommended by one of the podcasts I subscribe to, Smart Mouth. Almost every week the host (Katherine Spiers) pairs up with an actor/chef/comedian/entertainer to speak about their favorite food and the history on the dish. It's a fascinating and educational podcast that I highly recommend. In the episode about Maraschino Cherries with  Courtney Nichols (episode 151), I learned not only the origins of my favorite overly sweet garnish, but the desserts from the past and present that use them. Now while I always try to have a jar of these bright red cherries in the house, this time around I lacked them for the recipe that I wanted to make. Katherine spoke about The Neelys'Pineapple Upside-Down Grit Cake and I was hooked (and I think my future in-laws were as well). 

I enjoy anything that has almost a cornbread quality about it and this did not disappoint. I had never made this type of cake before (we aren't cake people) let alone have never actually tried it, so I went in blind and made a few changes along the way!  With quarantine putting everyone into stockpile mode I could not find canned pineapple or maraschino cherries to save my life, so I went for fresh pineapple and omitted the cherries altogether. I'm lucky this worked out, because honestly I didn't have a backup plan when it came to dessert for that evening. Cheers!

Notes:

1. I used a fresh pineapple and cored it with this: Pineapple Corer 
2. The recipe calls for 1/2 cup of the natural juices from the can, so I used half of the pineapple and blended and strained it for the same amount of juice

Next Time:

1. Use 1/2 cup white sugar instead of 3/4 cup the recipe calls for
2. Still omit the cherries
3. Still use fresh pineapple
4. Still use sea salt instead of table salt (I love Maldon)
5. Add a pinch of salt on top of the finished product