Week 48: Famous Banana Bread

This isn't a new recipe.  This banana bread has been in my rotation since I met Brad 11 years ago. It is his grandma's recipe. The first time I made it was in the kitchen of the college house Brad lived in. Four college boys. One kitchen. I had to bring all the baking supplies and gear. It may have been the only thing ever cooked in the oven - besides french fries or frozen pizzas.

Prep time: less than 15 minutes

Cook time: 60 minutes

Makes 1 loaf

1 C sugar

1/2 C (2 sticks) butter, softened

1 egg

3 mashed bananas

3 Tbsp milk with 1 tsp baking soda dissolved in it

2 C flour

1 tsp baking powder

Pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 350. Line bread pan with parchment paper.

Cream butter and sugar. Add egg, banana, and milk mixture. Mix well.

Add flour, baking powder, and salt.

Pour batter into pan and bake for one hour or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

My Notes:

Listen to the part of the ingredient list that tells you to dissolve the baking soda in the milk. It, apparently, is the secret to making the bread.

Week 48: Potatoes au Gratin

Brad and I lived together in college. We used to buy ridiculous things for dinner - like potato dishes that came in boxes from the grocery store. You know what I mean, right? Dried potatoes with an envelope of mystery seasoning. Remembering those was what led me to this recipe.

Taken from Pioneer Woman Cooks
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 60 minutes
Makes 4 servings

2 whole Russet potatoes, scrubbed clean
Cooking spray
3/4 C heavy cream
1/4 C whole milk
1 Tbsp flour
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/2 tsp salt
Ground pepper, to taste
1/2 C sharp cheddar cheese, grated


Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Spray baking dish or 4 ramekins with cooking spray.

Slice potatoes in 1/4" slices, then cut each slice into fourths.

In a separate bowl, whisk together cream, milk, flour, minced garlic, salt, and plenty of freshly ground black pepper.

Place 1/3 of the potatoes in the bottom of the baking dish. Pour 1/3 of the cream mixture over the potatoes. Repeat this two more times, ending with the cream mixture.

Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for 20 minutes, or until potatoes are golden brown and really bubbling. Add grated cheese to the top of the potatoes and bake for 3 to 5 more minutes, until cheese is melted and bubbly.

Allow to stand for a few minutes before serving by the spoonful.

My notes:
These were amazing! They stayed piping hot for quite awhile after coming out of the oven. I should have timed the other food to allow time for the potatoes to cool. The potatoes also over-flowed all over my oven resulting in a hazy atmosphere for the rest of the evening. Next time, I will cook them on a tray.

Week 48: Crockpot Pulled Pork

This was a Sunday supper for us. Sunday suppers are usually something that need to cook all day, and it has just been too hot lately to have the oven on for the entire day. So, I searched for a crockpot recipe and ended up with this.

Taken from Savorysusie at Tasty Kitchen
Prep time: Less than 5 minutes + 10 minutes later
Cook time: 8 - 10 hours + 1 hour later

1 large onion, sliced
3 lb Boneless Pork Shoulder Roast
2 C (16 oz) ginger ale
16 oz BBQ sauce
1 package sandwich buns (8 count)

Place half of the onion in the crock pot. Put the meat on top of the onion layer. Layer the other half of onion on top of the meat. Pour ginger ale on top.

Cook 8-10 hours on low.

Remove meat from pot. Discard liquid and onions. On a plate, pull the pork for the sandwiches. Place the pork back into the pot and cover it with the BBQ sauce.


Let it cook on low for another 30 minutes to 1 hour to let the BBQ sauce heat.

Serve on buns.

My Notes:
This was great - officially part of our regular rotation.

Week 47: Chocolate Cobbler

I don't think I even need to explain why I picked this recipe.

Taken from Susan Hawkins for Tasty Kitchen

1 C flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
7 Tbsp cocoa powder, divided
1 1/4 C sugar, divided
1/2 C milk
1/3 C melted butter (5 1/3 Tbsp)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 C light brown sugar, packed
1 1/2 C hot tap water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Stir together the flour, baking powder, salt, 3 tablespoons of the cocoa, and 3/4 cup of the white sugar.

Stir in the milk, melted butter, and vanilla to the flour mixture. Mix until smooth.

Pour the mixture into a deep ungreased 8-inch baking dish.

In a separate small bowl, mix the remaining white sugar (it should be 1/2 cup), the brown sugar, and remaining 4 tablespoons of cocoa. Sprinkle this mixture evenly over the batter.

Pour the hot tap water over all. DO NOT STIR!

Bake for about 50 minutes or until the center is set.

Let stand for a few minutes and serve with homemade ice cream using the gooey sauce to spoon over all.

My Notes:
This was amazing hot out of the oven and again on day 2. I garnished it with fresh cherries on Day 1; the cherries weren't needed. It might also be good with sliced bananas or nuts added.

Week 47: Shrimp and Sausage Skewers

My mom makes amazing kabobs. No recipe exists. They are just a simple combination of steak, shrimp, and/or chicken with onions, green peppers, mushrooms, and canned potatoes marinaded in olive oil, rice wine vinegar, garlic, salt, and pepper. Mom's kabobs are about the only ones we ever make. They are just so good that it doesn't make sense to try something else.

This cover recipe was on the cover of Bon Appetite. It really caught my eye. The photo persuaded me to try a new kabob. I wasn't sorry.

Taken from Bon Appetite, June 2010 (p. 82)

3/4 C olive oil
4 large garlic cloves, pressed
2 tsp dried thyme
5 tsp smoked paprika
4 tsp Sherry wine vinegar
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 tsp dried crushed red pepper
1 pound (about 16 - 20 per pound) uncooked shrimp
1 pound fully cooked andouille sausage, sliced in 1-inch long pieces
12 cherry tomatoes
12 2-layer sections of red onion wedges

Whisk oil, garlic, thyme, smoked paprika, Sherry wine vinegar, salt, black pepper, and crushed red pepper in medium bowl to blend for glaze. Transfer half of glaze to small bowl and reserve for serving.

Alternately thread shrimp, sausage, cherry tomatoes, and sections of onion onto long metal skewers. Arrange on rimmed baking sheet.

Coat grill rack with nonstick spray and heat grill to medium-high. Brush skewers on both sides with glaze from one bowl. Grill until shrimp are opaque in center, turning and brushing occasionally with more glaze, 6 to 8 minutes.

Arrange skewers on platter and serve with extra glaze.

My Notes:
This made for about the easiest dinner ever because it requires absolutely no marinading. The final product had plenty of flavor, too. We served it with crusted bread heated on the grill and a fresh salad.


A fabulous summer supper.

Week 47: Greek Panzanella

My life was not complete until I made this salad. I found the recipe through Barefoot Bloggers, and it it turned out to be the perfect summer meal. I did decide to serve it with some chicken breasts marinaded in Penzey's Greek seasoning.

Taken from Ina Garten
Prep time: 10 minutes
Marinading time: 30 minutes
Makes 6 servings

For the salad:
Olive Oil
1 small loaf of French bread, cut into 1" cubes (about 6 C)
Salt
1 hothouse cucumber, unpeeled, seeded, and sliced 1/4" thick
1 red bell pepper, large diced
1 yellow bell pepper, large diced
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 red onion, sliced in half rounds
1/2 lb feta cheese, cut in 1/2" cubes
1/2 C calamata olives, pitted

For the vinaigrette:
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 C red wine vinegar
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 C olive oil

Heat 3 Tbsp olive oil in a large saute pan. Add the bread cubes and sprinkle with salt; cook over low to medium heat, tossing frequently for 5 to 10 minutes until nicely browned. Add more olive oil as needed.

Place the cucumber, red pepper, yellow pepper, tomatoes and red onion in a large bowl.


For the vinaigrette, whisk together the garlic, oregano, mustard, vinegar, 1 teaspoon salt, and the pepper in a small bowl. While still whisking, add the olive oil and make an emulsion. Pour the vinaigrette over the vegetables. Add the feta, olives, and bread cubes and mix together lightly.

Set aside for 30 minutes for the flavors to blend.

Serve at room temperature.

My Notes:
No notes needed. Absolutely delicious.

Week 46: Red Velvet Cheesecake Cupcakes

I tried a red velvet cheesecake cupcake at Just Baked! in Ann Arbor.  It was delicious and needed to be re-created in my own kitchen.

Taken from My Baking Adventures

Makes 8 cupcakes

Filling:
8 oz cream cheese, softened
4 Tbsp granulated sugar
1 1/2  Tbsp lightly beaten egg (break egg, mix with fork, measure)
1/4 tsp vanilla

Batter:
1 C + plus 2 Tbsp all purpose flour (5 oz)
2 tsp unsweetened natural cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 C vegetable oil
2/3 C granulated sugar
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 large egg
1 Tbsp red food coloring
3/4 tsp vanilla
3 Tbsp sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 8 muffin cups with paper liners.

Prepare filling first. Beat together softened cream cheese and sugar. Add egg and vanilla and stir until smooth. Set aside.

In a mixing bowl, thoroughly stir together flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt.

In a second mixing bowl, stir together oil, sugar, vinegar, egg, red food coloring, vanilla, and sour cream. Mix very well, then add flour mixture and stir just until blended.

Measure out approximately 1/3 C red mixture and set aside.

Fill each muffin cup about 1/3 full. Spoon cream cheese mixture over red mixture, dividing evently between all cups. Drop small spoonfuls of reserved red batter on top of cream cheese mixture.

Bake for 20-23 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack. Carefully lift muffins from cups.

Best serve slightly chilled.

My Notes:
The proportions in my recipe above are actually a doubling of the cream cheese mixture in the original recipe. This was great because it added to the cheesecake-y flavor of the finished product. It did make really giant cupcakes, though. Cupcakes with hugely deformed tops. Tops that had to be chopped off to make the dessert look more like a cupcake and less like a mushroom. Tops that looked totally ugly after being chopped off. Ugly tops that were covered with cream cheese frosting from a can (gasp!) that was piped on top.

Next time, I would only fill the cupcake liner about 1/4 of the way full of the red velvet mixture, making 10 cupcakes instead of eight.