"The Ultimate" Banana Bread

This "ultimate" banana bread recipe comes from the Cook's Illustrated Cookbook. This recipe is different from others for banana bread because it requires you to zap the bananas in the microwave (unless you're using frozen ones like I was) in order to get the juices flowing out of them. Since frozen bananas easily release juices, it's not necessary to heat them up. You collect 1/2-3/4 of a cup of liquid and then reduce it down on the stove. This is then used with the bananas, brown sugar, butter and the dry ingredients.

I really like the touch on the top of the banana bread: two rows of sliced bananas on top of the loaf. It looks so pretty and is a nice touch. I am letting it cool now so I'll let you know how it tastes soon, but the bananas and sugar spread on top is supposed to give it a crunchy nice topping. I'm sure it will. You are supposed to leave 1 1/2 line in the middle of the loaf so the bread can rise evenly. It looks and smells delicious. (I added chocolate chips instead of walnuts) and we're gonna eat it for breakfast in the morning!

Bread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce

Bread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce is real rich Southern fare that Paula Deen would be proud of. The pudding was actually really easy to make. I used raisin challah though later I realized that the left over cinnamon bread would have been PERFECT for such a dessert. If - actually WHEN (since it was such a big hit) - I make the cinnamon bread again, I will definitely use the second loaf for a batch of bread pudding. To me, this dessert is certainly a hit. It uses NINE egg yolks so if you want to make meringues or like lots of egg white omeletes with the extra egg produce, I highly recommend planning ahead. The process was simple but it did longer than the recipe suggested for the pudding to officially set. I kept neurotically checking to see if the center was still liquidy after the time the recipe said had passed. It probably took an extra ten minutes but then everything was fine. You need to wait approximately an hour to make sure it cools down, so allot that into your serving time as well.

The bread pudding, however, would not be complete without the amazing Bourbon sauce that you pur on top of it. It takes about five minutes to make and the ingredients are simply cream, brown sugar, butter and then a tablespoon and a half of Bourbon stirred in after you remove it from the heat. It then needs to cool to room temperature. This definitely made the whole dessert. I made it for my boyfriend and brought the leftovers to my mom and grandma for Easter. The only complaint (if you can call it that) received is that the dessert is too heavy - and it is very rich - so make sure you're hungry and prepared to indulge. Definitely will make this again!

Far Away Spices: First TIme Cooking Indian

So as I type this my fingers are burning. (I de-seeded and ribbed a jalapeno pepper). Tonight was the first time I cooked Indian and I have to admit, the kitchen smelled pretty exotic with all the blended spices, chili peppers and curried vegetables. I put together: chicken tikka masala, curried vegetables and mint and onion chutney (all from the Cook's Illustrated cookbook). I didn't actually eat anything tonight because I made it for dinner tomorrow for when my boyfriend, Eric, comes over.

So, one of the cool things about this dinner was that I got to use some new equipment. My spice/coffee grinder was implemented to grind coriander:

It felt pretty fresh and authentic to grind your own spaces for the tikka masala. I didn't have the garam masala spice so, as a substitution, I ground a mix of coriander, cardamom, black pepper, cumin, salt and cinnamon. I also used curry powder, paprika and cayenne pepper at some point tonight. Before making curried vegetables I had to toast the spices to get a richer flavor:



Another exciting thing that I got to do tonight... drumroll.... USE THE BROILER! I know it might sound ridiculous that I have never actually used the broiler before... but I hadn't. After the chicken breasts marinated, I dipped them in a yogurt, garlic, oil mixture and placed them (with my new tongs) on the broiler pan. Yessss...finally!! I didn't really know how or when to use the broiler so I just avoided it all together. Anyway, as the sauce marinated, the high heat of the broiled began to cook the chicken. I turned it over once (with my trusty hot pink tongs) and then the other side got super charred (which I like but maybe wasn't supposed to happen). I then inserted by NEW instant read digital thermometer and the chicken came out to like 230 degrees when it was supposed to be 160 degrees... so that seemed too hot. It didn't matter though because the piece I tried was like AWESOME... it was charred on the outside, tender on the inside... I'm very excited about it.



Making the tikka masala sauce was a lot like cooking italian spaghetti sauce, so I felt very comfortable with that. I added some extra salt to flavor it up and added the chicken after it cooled.

Now the curried vegetables were a whole production. It was like making a stew. I chose this recipe so I could make it a day ahead and (for both) the flavors will become richer and just better overall for tomorrow. The curried vegetables included cauliflower, chickpeas, potatoes, onions, spices, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, peas and coconut milk. I actually liked them A LOT but the recipe made like a lott of vegetables that we're probably never gonna get to eat.

Now, for what I believe was my crowning achievement of the evening: basmati rice pilaf! I had to try this THREE times and the first two were no good. The recipe calls for the pan to get really hot with the vegetable oil before you add spices (cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamom pods) and then onions, before adding the rice, water and salt. So, the first time, I definitely left the spices in too long and they started to burn, then I added diced onions and they started burning IMMEDIATELY. (They were supposed to only be translucent). I threw it all out. Then the second time, I didn't let the spices burn BUT the same thing happened with the onions as soon as I dropped them in. I made the rice anyway because I wanted to see if I could salvage it, but the bottom of the rice burned miserably and it was inedible.

So the third time, I finally got it right. I reread the recipe (key) and realized I was supposed to add SLICED onions, not diced ones. Apparently, this makes a huge difference. The small onions were too small and burned immediately. The other mistake I made with the second batch of rice that caused it to burn? After simmering the rice for 17 minutes, I was supposed to remove it from heat and let it stand for ten minutes. Instead of "removing" from the heat, I just turned the heat off and left it "standing" on the hot burner. This made the rice burn. The third time I moved the sauce pan (a smaller one by the way instead of using the skillet I had been)) to a completely cool oven burner. THis clealry made all the differencce. I was able to fluiff the rice and none of it stuck to the bottom. Per-fect. Though rice seems like an easy thing to make, I have consistently had trouble (as we could see again tonight) so I was happy to have a successful rice attempt.

Tomorrow I will take more pictures of the whole meal put together. For now I'd just like to say that I'm proud of myself for successfully cooking Indian, for using the broiler successfully, for making a nice batch of rice and for using my new kitchen tools. Next time I'll have to get vinyl gloves to wear while de-ribbing a jalapeno (something I used as a substitute for a serrano pepper because the store didn't have one by the way. I feel like I'm learning a few things and moving forward. I'll let you know if the food is well-received tomorrow!

Spaghetti al Vino Bianco

Tonight I tried another recipe from the April 2012 edition of Cook's Illustrated : Spaghetti al Vino Bianco. Basically, the recipe calls for you to cook the pasta in white wine and then toss it with crispy pancetta, arugula, cream, cheese and toasted pine nuts. This recipe went fairly well. Well, more than fairly well. I would definitely make it again!

I was excited because I had all the ingredients and was able to throw it together last minute for my best friend and her brother, who I invited to dinner like an hour before. I was really thankful that the recipe was so easy to put together. I do suggest, however, eating the pasta on the same day ande white it's hot. I can imagine that the arugula would taste extra wilted and water logged the next day. Also, once it gets colder (I just tasted some leftovers) the flavor of the wine is so pungent. I don't know much about wine but it definitely matters what wine you pick to do the recipe because you will taste it loud and clear. I put in a tablespoon of sugar to balance out the flavor after I made the initial white wine reduction.

Some things I would consider doing differently: 1. do a better job toasting the pine nuts. They weren't crispy enough and I think the recipe could have really used it. 2. Make sure the pasta is really hot when you add the pancetta so it heats through. I think I took too long waiting to add the pancetta (cause my friends weren't here yet) and it tasted a little chewy (just a little) when it would have been better crispy.

Anyway, the presentation looked pretty! I served with a caprese salad and some roasted artichokes (that I didn't make).

I was then so happy that I could serve some toasted cinnamon bread for dessert!! I gave one loaf to my boyfriend but I had another loaf left and it was a BIG hit... which, once again, surprised me, since I thought that the mistakes I made and step I missed would have somehow negatively affected the bread. I'm very glad that it didn't!!

Off to conquer my next recipe this week. Hopefully I'll make chicken tikka masala and curried vegetables tomorrow! I also got stuff to make bread pudding. This would have me cracking into the cookbook....not just the magazine. Very exciting. I'll have to come up with a method that will help me work through the book in some kind of orderly fashion.