Category: Good Eats

Bananas remind me of my family; especially my mom. Sliced, frozen, raw- I grew up eating them. My mom’s favorite ice cream flavor is- you guessed it- banana, and I have vivid memories of peanut butter, banana, and mayonnaise toasted sandwiches, shared with my sister as we attempted to climb up and sit cross-legged on our kitchen counter. (My sister and I always made an adventure into climbing on top of things. I have no idea why.)

For those of you whose reaction to the sentence before last was “You had what on your peanut butter and banana sandwiches?” You haven’t lived until you have had one. (However, if you do make this, please lightly toast your white bread and lightly spread a bit of mayonnaise on your slices, then a layer of peanut butter, then a layer of sliced bananas. Key word: lightly. Now enjoy your new perspective. :))

And there is something about baking during the holidays that stirs you to create extra special desserts for the ones you love- and incorporate their favorite flavors into what you serve. Wanting to move outside of just banana bread, I came across this recipe on Pinterest and immediately fell in love.

Caramelized bananas in brown sugar and butter? Yes. Baking in my favorite cast-iron skillet? Yes again.

And topping it all off with my mom’s homemade vanilla ice cream? Si; Oui, s’il vous plaît; and yes some more.

I hope this cake wows your loved ones like it did mine. It is perfect served warm out of the oven, so put it in as you sit down to your main course. Which, if you are lucky, will be a peanut butter, mayonnaise, and banana sandwich.

Banana Toffee Upside Down Cake

This recipe was taken from Foodess.com– one of my new favorite food blogs.

What You Will Need:

For the topping:

• 1/3 cup (3 ounces) butter
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 tbsp rum
• 3 large, ripe bananas, laved lengthwise and cut into 1 1/2″ pieces (I think you could even cut the bananas into rounds if you felt so inclined. I know, some days you just need to chop something.)

For the cake:

• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup (3 ounces) butter, softened
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tbsp rum
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (I use this because I am a vanilla extract snob)
• 3/4 cup whole milk

What You Will Do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in a 10-inch cast iron skillet. Add sugar and rum; stir briefly, then allow to bubble and caramelize for about 5 minutes, until it becomes a rich, golden brown. Remove from the heat and arrange bananas over toffee.

2. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. In the large bowl of a standing mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating thoroughly after each. Beat in rum and vanilla extract.

3. With the mixer speed on low, add one-third of the flour mixture, then one half of the milk. Repeat, ending with the flour mixture, mixing until just combined. I am not sure what this specific order actually does, but it made me feel very professional.

4. Pour the batter into the cast iron skillet over your banana/toffee mixture.

5. Put your skillet into the pre-heated oven and bake for 30-35 minutes, until it is golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. Watch it though; mine got pretty brown at about 28 minutes.

6. Allow the cake to cool in the pan 5 minutes before inverting it onto a plate. Then try not to climb on your kitchen counter and eat it all.

Finally, finally, biscuit success has been achieved.

I don’t know what it is about the relentless desire I have had to make these work. Maybe it’s the fact that I am the oldest of three and become a different person when competition is involved (I once kicked my sister off of my doubles team because I thought she was making us lose); maybe it’s the stigma of growing up in the South and somehow feeling I didn’t quite measure up as a cook if biscuits weren’t in my repertoire. 

Oh, and it could be the flashbacks of what happened the last time I tried to make sweet potato biscuits; you can check that post out here.

But these-this recipe-is pretty foolproof. Just make sure your butter is chilled, you have a gentle hand when stirring the buttermilk/honey mixture into the flour, and you thoroughly flour your kneading surface. As in, pile the flour up and then shake some more out just in case. I like to keep a small bowl of flour by my cutting board to dip into. And it keeps my gummy hands out of the flour bag.

I was also so intent on making these work that I literally measured out the “rectangle” shape the dough should fit into with white icing. OCD, maybe- but I was determined.

So for all you who are also biscuit-challenged, you can do it. Take heart- and proudly pull these babies out of the oven. They smell amazing. And, success is sweet.

Honey Buttermilk Biscuits

This recipe is adapted from Allrecipes.com Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits

What You Will Need:

• 2 cups  all-purpose flour (This is the best flour to make biscuits with)
  
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 5 tablespoons chilled butter, cut into small pieces (this butter tastes the best, trust me)
• 3/4 cup buttermilk (I like the full-fat version)
• 3 tablespoons honey (this is my favorite)

What You Will Do:

1. Preheat oven to 400°.
2. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl; cut in chilled butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal, or it is about in pea-sized pieces. Cover and chill 10 minutes in your fridge.
3. Combine buttermilk and honey with a whisk, stirring until well-blended. Add buttermilk mixture to flour mixture; stir just until moist. Key word: gently stir. If you are one of those people who take out your aggression on your kitchen utensils/and/or recipes, please go stir something else at this point. Then come back to your dough once your issue is resolved.
4. Turn dough out onto a floured surface (it is better to over-flour here).  Knead lightly 4 times. Roll dough into a 1/2-inch-thick, 9 x 5–inch rectangle; dust top of dough with flour.
5. Fold dough crosswise into thirds as if folding a piece of paper to fit into an envelope. You are going to fold the dough towards you like you would if a sheet of paper is in front of you and you are folding it into thirds to put into an envelope. 
   
6. Re-roll dough into a (1/2-inch-thick) 9 x 5–inch rectangle; dust top of dough with flour. Fold dough crosswise into thirds; gently roll or pat to a 3/4-inch thickness. Cut and lift dough with a 1 3/4-inch biscuit cutter (don’t twist your cutter as you cut these- that makes the edges rough) to form 14 dough rounds.
7. Place dough rounds, 1 inch apart, on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or cooking spray. Bake at 400° for 12 minutes or until golden. Remove from pan; cool 2 minutes on wire racks. Serve warm.

Combine birthdays and food together, and voila! You have the perfect recipe for a great day. Extend this equation over the course of two weeks and your (my) birthday dreams have now come true.

Of all the birthdays of my life, this past one has been the most dear, and the most special. Turning 16 was great, but let’s be honest- having the chance to eat all you want at 20 of your favorite restaurants, cheer on your favorite football team with your sister at your side, and eat two birthday cakes (chocolate and red velvet) is pretty darn amazing.

Below are some highlights from my food-themed birthday week(s). I hope it inspires you to also don your own birthday tiara, cut a large slice of cake, and count your blessings. Because my friends, birthdays and fabulous food or not- we have so, so many.

Nothing says luv like a platter of warm chocolate chip cookies, right out of the oven.

And to make these even more luv-able, this recipe uses three different types of chocolate. That’s right- dark, milk, and white chocolate, all in one cookie. Indecisive chocoholics unite! It is time for you to finally make a decision (well, sort-of).

Now, this recipe may seem groundbreaking and fancy, but I promise you it is easy. And I made it from the chocolate chips I had leftover in my pantry from my failed attempt to make homemade peanut butter cups. (Note: I do not know why I tried this. There truly is nothing better than a Reese’s or my friend Emme’s peanut butter eggs she gets in NYC. I just couldn’t make it as deliciously. I mean, the Mars corporation makes Milky Way Midnights. Enough said.)

There is even a trick to these cookies (hint: it involves dissolving baking soda in water), which gives them their crispy on the edges, chewy-on-the-inside texture.

And with dropping temperatures (It’s low 60’s today in the South! Cold front coming through!) now is the perfect time to whip out that Kitchen Aid, find all the chocolate you have, and make a cookie that requires next-to-no decision making. Because let’s be honest- when it comes to chocolate, why shouldn’t we invite everyone to the party?

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies (taken from AllRecipes.com. I just love this site.)

What You Will Need:

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons hot water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups chocolate chips (Here is where the fun comes in. I used semi-sweet (about 60% cacao), white, and milk chocolate chips.)

What  You Will Do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Cream together the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla. Dissolve baking soda in hot water (I just brought a kettle to boil while I was beating the butter/sugar, let it simmer a bit, then added the water). Add to batter along with salt.
3. Stir in flour, chocolate chips, and nuts. Drop by large spoonfuls onto ungreased pans. I use my Silpat mat here. This will take the nice crispy edges and chewy center to a whole-nother-level.
4. Bake for about 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are nicely browned. It took 12 in my tiny oven. And then try and not all of these.

This makes lots of cookies. About 48 to be exact. 

There is something to be said for a great recipe; one that you can go to again and again and get consistent results. This is one such recipe.

Banana bread is to the baking world what chocolate is to a pastry chef. It’s a basic- a building block that can become your signature, or unfortunately can become your downfall (cue flat piano keys here).

Due to my love of carbs and all things sweet bread,  I have made my share of banana bread. Some of the recipes I tried were good- but heavy and a bit greasy from using oil as a main ingredient. Or I would come across one that said it was “healthy” but tasted about as moist as day-old, stale toast (with the same level of flavor). Others had so much banana, it felt like I might as well have eaten the actual fruit with a box of sugar dumped on top.

Side note here: I do not understand why people put nuts in banana bread. Or in any kind of sweet bread. Or brownies. They are a distraction and take up surface area where their could be a swirl of chocolate/cinnamon/and/or fruit filling. Or just more brown butter and banana.

I came across this recipe it after I read an article by Jeffrey Steingarden in Vogue about the irresistibility of brown butter.  One more side note: why can you not access this article online? This is a travesty and something I would have linked you to.

Anyway, the questions began- what could I add brown butter to? And then Guilty Kitchen answered it for me. What about adding a basic to a basic: brown butter to banana bread? Brilliant.

This bread is the perfect texure- with a light crumble and dense, moist center. Roasting the bananas ahead of time rounds out the fruit’s sweetness, and the deep nuttinenss of the brown butter makes it smell and feel rich. Plus, it has whole wheat flour, and you can substitute Greek yogurt for the sour cream if you are feeling super, Jillian-Michaels-level healthy. I have made it that way and it was delicious.

With fall breezes in the air, it’s just about the perfect thing alongside this coffee from my wonderful friend at Feeling Full. Not so bad for a basic.

What You Need*:

3 medium bananas (fresh or frozen)
1/2 cup butter (I used unsalted)
1 cup brown sugar, packed
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup sour cream (or Greek yogurt)
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup cake flour (I used all-purpose and it worked fine)
1 cup whole wheat flour (I prefer King Arthur brand)
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla

What You Do:

1. Roast bananas whole with the peel on for 15-20 minutes in a 350°F oven. They should look almost black; if you use frozen bananas here, make sure you drain off any extra liquid after you take the peels off.

2. Grease an 8″ x 4″ loaf pan.

3. In small saucepan, melt butter over medium high heat. Do not stir, instead swirl the pan and watch until it begins to foam (I like to use a pastry brush to sweep the little brown bits off the bottom of the pan). Once the foam begins to subside, and the butter has browned sufficiently, remove from heat and set aside. Swirl the brown bits one more time to make sure they don’t stick to the pan.

4. In medium sized mixing bowl, stir together brown butter, salt and sugar. Don’t forget the salt at this stage! This may be a bit OCD, but it makes a difference, I think. Also, if you use salted butter, I wouldn’t add more salt. 

5. Stir the sour cream and vanilla into the sugar/butter mix. Mash bananas and add in as well (chunks are okay!).

6. In separate bowl, mix together the flours, cinnamon and baking soda. Stir until well combined.

7. Add the flour to the wet mix in two portions, but try not to over mix. I just stir until you can no longer see ribbons of flour.

8. Pour into greased loaf pan and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour (in the already preheated to 350°F oven). 45 minutes worked great for me.

9. Cool 5-10 minutes in pan before turning out onto cooling rack. Turn upright and allow to cool completely, although you will be able to cut into it while it’s till warm. And it’s sooo good warm.

*As is par for the course with most of my recipes, this recipe is taken from The Guilty Kitchen with my additions in italics.