Banana Bacon Dutch Baby

We have all stared deep into the dark brown spots on the skin of a decaying banana and asked "aren't you good for anything besides banana bread?" Will loves banana bread and at times will deliberately avoid eating his daily tubefruit so that I will feel compelled to convert it to a buttery, toasty snack. Such was the case this time, when he transferred two aging phalli from the counter-top to the fridge. It's actually been quite a while since I baked banana bread, but somehow I was just not in the mood, so there they sat becoming darker and softer.

By Saturday night, we were frying up bacon with some friends to top our homemade pizza, and the residual fat in the pan seemed worthy of a second frying. I didn't know how or what, so I just shoved the whole skillet into the fridge overnight. The next morning, I felt inspired. Sunday is "pancake day" - generally from mix, but at times made from scratch. Less frequently, I will try something more glamourous like a puff pancake, and that is what I decided to do with the bananas.

I added a little pat of butter to the bacon fat already in the pan (total 2 T fat), heated to melting and sliced the two otherwise rather nasty bananas in a single layer over the hot fat. Pour over the blended batter and bake.

Preheat oven to 375. Preheat 10" cast-iron skillet.

Ingredients
serves 2

2 eggs
2.38 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1/2 cup)
1 tablespoon melted butter
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup whole milk
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Blend with blender or food processor.
Pour batter over sliced bananas in 10" cast-iron skillet and bake at 375 for 30 minutes. Slice and serve immediately, dusted with powdered sugar or drizzled with maple syrup.

Parsley-Prune Salad

This was one of those concoctions that comes from staring into the fridge and knowing you need to go to the grocery store but really wanting to have dinner now. We always seem to have plenty of food to eat, but we don't always have what comprises a "well-balanced meal" but this salad came together in a nutritional bonanza even though we were disappointingly low on fresh vegetables.

Parsley Prune Salad
serves 2
parsley leaves; roughly chopped (1/2 cup)
2 inches cucumber, diced
1/2 green bell pepper, diced
5 prunes, diced
1-2 tablespoons roasted, salted sunflower seeds
fresh ground pepper
olive oil
dash of lemon juice or champagne vinegar

Pumpkin Party 2012

The fourth annual Pumpkin Party brought nice additions to the pumpkin recipe repetoire. Pumpkin party recipes must meet certain criteria, which limits to a degree the types of dishes I will offer. If you compare the menu each year, distinct patterns will be quite obvious. Nevertheless, I spend a lot of time looking for creative ways to update my basic pumpkin party theme. The recipes below were all winners, not just because they can be made in advance, require little attention to serve, and are meat-free, but also because they were delicious and a little bit different.

I guess the sign of a great party was that I didn't have time to take photos of the food. Except for the cake of course, which was not just the coup de grace for the pumpkin party, but was also my 35th birthday celebration cake.

Hors d'Ouvres
I made a dip for chips and crudites by cooking 1/2 cup of red lentils and pureeing with a cup of canned pumpkin along with salt, pepper, olive oil, garlic powder, freshly ground cumin and coriander. Mix to taste! This can be made ahead and frozen, though I needed to strain it after thawing because it released a lot of water, so that's a bit of an annoying step, but it will bring it back to a nice creamy texture.

Mixmaster Will used this recipe for a "fall leaf fizz" as inspiration for our pumpkin-pear punch. You will want - as always - to mix to taste, but his version was approximately this. It looked stunning in my mom's antique pressed-glass punch bowl, and for better or worse, many friends commented, "I can't even taste the alcohol!"
2 cups vodka
3 bottles sparkling wine
4 cups pear cider (available at Trader Joes)
1 jar (10 oz) pumpkin butter (from Trader Joes)

Dinner

Black Eyed Pea and Pumpkin Salad
Serves 20
This recipe was my flavor template, but I wanted a more fall, earthy palette than the bright flavors this recipe uses with lime and basil.
DressingI made my own walnut-flavored oil (because it seemed like a worthy experiment and given the expense of actual oil from walnuts). I used black walnuts because I had them leftover and they have a strong walnut flavor, but a bitterness that I don't enjoy in baked goods but thought might be tempered by this process. I toasted 5 tablespoons of chopped black walnuts, then added in 6 tablespoons olive oil and heated over medium, then transfer to jar to steep overnight. Strain before using and mix with 1 1/2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, 2 teaspoons mustard, and salt and pepper to taste.
Salad
one sugar-pie pumpkin
1 cucumber, seeded and chopped
2 cups cooked or canned black-eyed peas
1 1/2 green bell peppers, seeded and diced
1/2 cup parsley
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1 pound baby spinach or mixed greens
Roast pumpkin by cutting in half, seeding, and baking cut-side down on an oiled baking sheet at 450 for 40 minutes. Cut into dice and toss with remaining ingredients when cool.

Butternut Squash Bread Pudding
Serves 20
This could be understood as an odd concept if you think of bread pudding with raisins and rum sauce. It certainly doesn't seem like something for a cocktail party. And the reviews of the original recipe or terribly mixed, so I was probably unwise to test this out as the main course for 16 friends. But it received huge compliments, enough so that I decided to serve it to my parents, in-laws, and grandmothers the next day as leftovers and they all raved.

1 pound day-old french bread, cut in 1" cubes
1/2 cup cream; 1/2 cup skim milk
5 eggs
freshly ground nutmeg and black pepper to taste
2 teaspoons stone ground mustard
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 pound kale (I used "baby kale" from Costco)
3/4 cups shallot
2 small cloves garlic
1 1/2 pounds butternut squash cubes (available refridgerated at Costco, or Trader Joes - cutting your own is dangerous because the squash rind is very tough, and will take forever!)
8 ounces grated sharp cheddar cheese
olive oil
Mix cream, milk, eggs, seasonings, mustard, and wine. Soak bread cubes in this mixture about 30 minutes.
Toss squash cubes with just enough oil to coat, and roast at 400 for 20-25 minutes.
Saute shallot in olive oil until tender. Add kale and stir over medium until wilted. Allow to cool slightly.
Layer 1/2 soaked bread cubes in 9x13 buttered baking dish, top with 1/2 squash, 1/2 kale, and 1/2 cheese, then repeat layers, ending with cheese.  Bake at 350 for 20 minutes covered, then 20 minutes uncovered. Broil at end for two minutes to make a bubbling cheese crust if desired.
Can be refrigerated covered overnight before baking if desired.



For this version (in November, 2012) I used a 1/2 recipe based on above,
with acorn instead of butternut squash, walnuts instead of hazelnuts,
and spinach instead of kale. Both are yum!

Kabocha Squash and Shitake Rigatoni
This is a dense, rich dish which could easily stand alone as a main course. I made a number of substitions from this version which had mixed-reviews. I made my sauce the day before. I cooked the pasta the morning of my party and tossed with the sauce, then refrigerated until I was ready to serve and reheated on the stove. It made so much that we were eating it for days and it held up very well.
1 pound rigatoni
5 ounces dehyrated shitake mushrooms, reconstituted in boiling water
2 pounds kabocha squash, roasted at 400 degrees until tender
8 ounces goat cheese
1/2 cup chopped toasted hazelnuts
4 cups stock
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
Puree squash with goat cheese and stock to desired consistency. You may want less squash or less broth. Add seasonings.
Saute mushrooms in butter until tender. Toss with sauce and cooked pasta. Sprinkle with hazelnuts to serve.

Dessert

To make this adorable pumpkin cake, I used this pumpkin spice bundt cake recipe. You will need two cakes to build the pumpkin. I do not recommend doubling the recipe, because it was too full for my stand mixer, so make the recipe twice. I also like my cake spicy, so I added an additional teaspoon of freshly grated ginger and 1/4 teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg to each batch.

Place one cooled cake flat-side up on a platter. Stack the other cake flat-side down on top. I used cream-cheese frosting died orange. My favorite recipe is from Joy of Cooking; 8 ounces of cream cheese, 5 ounces softened butter, 4 cups of powdered sugar, and 1 teaspoon vanilla.

To decorate, I saved the pumpkin stem from the sugar pie pumpkin I used in the salad - wrap in plastic and store in the fridge if you aren't going to use it for the cake right away. It fit perfectly in the bundt cake hole, and I just frosted over to the base of the stem. I also used piped green frosting and some licorice ropes and gumdrops for leaves and vines. Obviously, this makes a ton. I only used half the cake for my party, but instead of cutting slices through the whole pumpkin, I cut slices just through one layer of cake, and we only ate the top half. The next day, I flipped the bottom layer right-side up and had an entire uncut bundt cake which I refrosted and served to family. Gross, or clever? You decide. But it was most definitely delicious. This cake stays moist and fresh for days.

Vanilla Cake with Strawberry Sauce

This assignment came for a new friend's birthday whose tastes I don't know very well. She is pregnant with a baby girl, and apparently "everything sweet" is on her list right now, but I had no other guidance. So I decided to use her baby as inspiration, and went with pink strawberry. A dense, firm vanilla cake layer sandwiched around strawberry whipped cream and frosted with white chocolate cream cheese frosting was a delightful celebration cake. For the size of the party, I used a 10" layer pan and 1 1/2 times the recipe.  

 

 

The cake layer was really nice to work with and pronounced vanilla flavor, even without using the vanilla bean or vanilla powder called for in the recipe. I had been curious to try one of Warren Brown's recipes with potato starch, not knowing exactly what that would contribute to the texture. This recipe was firm and easy to slice. It was perhaps just a bit more dense than I generally prefer. It did not bake at all evenly in my oven, and I'm not sure if that is a factor of my not getting the whites sufficiently incorporated, or if it is the recipe itself, but either way that could have contributed to the density.

 

For the filling, I fussed and fussed to get a consistency that was thick enough to hold itself but flavorful enough to be easily recognized as strawberry. Rose says that her fruit conserve is perfect for stirring into creams because the flavor is so concentrated. I didn't necessarily find this to be the case, but it may have been that I needed heavy cream instead of whipping cream. Nevertheless, the flavor ultimately was delicious and enjoyed by all.

Amazing Vanilla Cake
by Warren Brown from United Cakes of America
8 ounces (1 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour
1 ounce potato starch
2 pinches salt
1 tablespoon vanilla powder (I didn't have any of this - frankly I don't really even know what it is, so I just increased the amount of vanilla extract)
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter
2 tablespoons run
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
6 eggs, separated
12 ounces (1 1/2 cups) sugar
1/2 vanilla bean, seeds only (I do know what this is, but again I just increased the amount of extract - it's not the same, but it is good enough for a cake that is going to be smothered in frosting)

Preheat oven to 325. LIne two 9" round pans with parchment.
Whisk together dry ingredients.
Melt butter in small saucepan until browned, then remove from heat. Stir in rum and vanilla.
In bowl of a stand mixer, beat egg whites on high until fluffy. Slowly pour 2 ounces of sugar in and whip for 20 seconds. Transfer to a clean bowl.
Beat egg yolks vanilla seeds (if using) and remaining 10 ounces sugar until mixture is pale yellow.
Whip in dry ingredients in three additions on slow. Fold in egg whites with a spatula, followed by browned butter. Divide batter between pans and bake 18-20 minutes until tester comes out clean.

Nectarine Cheesecake with Gingersnap Crust

This recipe copied the version of mango cheesecake but substituted nectarine puree. I also stirred in one small nectarine, diced, to the batter for extra bursts of fruit flavor.  This is a perfect summer dessert because it makes use of whatever fruit is most in season. It is also cool and creamy for a hot summer evening.

Zucchini Ginger Cake



The beauty of always trying new recipes (apart from pineapple upside-down cake for my grandmother's birthday every August) is never getting bored. The downside is that if I want to make something for someone else, I have to be creative in how I get to actually taste the recipe. Even though I'm basically fad-averse, and particularly so for the cupcake craze because I generally feel that cupcakes have a sub-optimal ratio of surface area to interior, and similarly so with cake:frosting. The thing I love about them though is that it allows me to make a full recipe and give away samples that appear to be individual gift packages in their own right. Even better than cupcakes are my mini-bundt and mini-springform pans that actually make a generous 2-person serving size, while still allowing me to hold back some cake for home while I share.

That's just what I did for a coworker recently who was celebrating her birthday. We weren't planning any particular celebration at work, so it was perfect to package up a little cream-cheese-frosted cake for her and a glazed bundt for her dairy-free boyfriend. You might be able to tell from my photo below that the nut-topped bundt in the mid-ground already has a taste-test missing...

The birthday girl's favorite course is the egg-course, so dessert isn't at the top of her list. So I choose this spiced zucchini cake because the strong flavor of crystallized ginger gives it a great bite and not too much sweetness. Plus, shopping baskets brimming with garden-fresh zucchini seemed totally appropriate for an August birthday. A lot of zucchini cakes and breads call for walnuts in the batter. I don't like randomly biting into a chunk of nut in my cake, but I do love nuts, so they make a great garnish on the frosting or glaze, and add additional decoration.

Zucchini-Ginger Cake
adapted from Gourmet magazine, June 2006
1/3 cup crystallized ginger (1 3/4 oz), coarsely chopped
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground ginger 
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
1 teaspoon finely grated fresh lemon zest
1 teaspoon salt 
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 medium grated zucchini, coarsely grated (about 1 ½ cups)
1/2 cup mild olive oil
1/4 cup mild honey
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Prepare pans with grease and flour (or line cupcake tins with paper or foil liners). I used mini bundt pans (4) and a 4-inch springform pan. Can also be baked as a loaf, bundt, or two 8 or 9-inch rounds. Preheat oven to 350°F.

Pulse crystallized ginger in food processor until finely ground, then add flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, zest, salt, baking soda, and baking powder and pulse until combined. 

Whisk together zucchini, oil, honey, eggs, and vanilla in a medium bowl, then stir in flour mixture until just combined. 
Pour into prepared pans and bake until golden and a wooden pick or skewer inserted in center comes out clean, 20 to 30 minutes.

Cool in pan on a rack 10 minutes. Remove and cool completely before glazing or frosting. Glaze with a mixture of powdered sugar and grand marnier or orange juice, or frost with cream cheese frosting. Garnish with chopped toasted walnuts if desired.

One Ingredient Wonder

Generally, a news article with "healthy" in the headline isn't going to be at the top of my reading list. But since I've been making some yummy ice creams this summer, I went ahead and clicked through to The Washington Post to read "For healthy homemade ice cream, go bananas" and I'm so glad I did! This experiment with simply blending frozen sliced bananas to create a creamy, sweet "ice cream" is exactly what I imagine it must be like to be a chef at El Bulli or The French Laundry, where pure, uncomplicated, fresh ingredients are transformed into culinary gastronomy by using unusual or unexpected techniques.

This is a smoothy without the milk or ice. How different can it be? When you want a milkshake, are you satisfied with a smoothy? I'm not. But if I want Italian gelato, I fully suspect that this recipe will tickle the appropriate tastebud (minus the glorious Italian Riveria or charming Roman streetscapes of course.) 

It's one of those things where you truly have to try it to believe it, because it just doesn't seem possible that simply blending a frozen banana chunk could render a doppleganger for fat-laden calorie-busting ice cream. Will objects to my characterization that this is "as good as" ice cream, but nevertheless, we both consumed our frigid fruit with great satisfaction. (And still had room for dessert!)

Frozen Fruit Gelato
The article says to use a blender. We used an immersion blender which did the trick, but it was helpful to soften the fruit a little bit after taking it out of the freezer. I don't want to push it too hard, because it's intended to be used with a little more liquid, but that would destroy the great texture of the plain pureed fruit.

Start with one banana, sliced, and frozen on a tray so the pieces stay separate. Puree until smooth. Return to freezer briefly if desired, to get it really chilled, but don't let it freeze solid.
Experiment with add-ins. We tried cocoa powder (yum!), mango (yum!). Peanut butter and shaved chocolate are also good ideas, as are berries.

Then I decided to try just plain mango. It was fantastic - I would have believed it was Haagen Daz sorbet. It was just a little more difficult to blend. I'm sure strawberries or peaches would similarly come out like a sorbet. Try extract flavorings like almond or coconut or rum. This is a summer staple!