Chocolate Chip Banana Pound Cake

Happy Father's Day!

My Dad loves bananas and I think at this point I've worn out every banana bread recipe out there! So... I made him a pound cake! I've never made pound cake before and since I only had enough bananas to make one loaf, I didn't get to actually taste it. So, I'm not sure how it turned out. However, it smelled divine and was very heavy so I think it was a success! My mom said the term "pound cake" comes from an old recipe which literally called for one pound of butter, one pound of sugar, one pound of flour, etc... Lucky for my Dad's arteries this cake does not contain a pound of butter! Although, like I said, it was certainly heavy! I will have to wait for the reviews to see how it tastes...

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I love St. Patrick’s Day! It marks the beginning of spring and is really just a silly holiday centered around food, beer and the color green! What’s not to love? We celebrated early this year and had St. Patrick’s Day family dinner on Sunday. I am not a traditional corned beef-and-cabbage kind of girl, so dinner was another test of my culinary comprising skills! We had Irish Soda Bread, Irish Potato Soup (with corned beef) and Spring GREEN Risotto. An enjoyable feast for the meat lovers and non-meat lovers alike (I spooned out some soup before adding the corned beef)!

Irish Soda Bread

(This was the first time I made Irish Soda Bread and was thrilled it came out so good!)

Bon Appétit, October 2002

Ingredients
5 cups all purpose flour

1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into cubes, room temperature

2 1/2 cups raisins

3 tablespoons caraway seeds
2 1/2 cups buttermilk

1 large egg

Directions
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter an ovenproof 10- to 12-inch-diameter skillet with 2- to 2 1/2-inch-high sides (or cake pan, which is what I used). Whisk the first five ingredients together in a large bowl. Add the butter, using your fingertips, rubbing in until it forms coarse crumbs. Stir in the raisins and caraway seeds. Whisk the buttermilk and egg in a medium bowl to blend. Then add the wet mixture to dough. Using a wooden spoon, stir just until well incorporated (dough will be very sticky!).

Transfer the dough to the prepared pan. Smooth the top, mounding slightly in the center. Use a small sharp knife dipped into flour to cut a 1-inch-deep X in the top center of dough. Bake until the bread is cooked through and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour 15 minutes. Cool bread in pan for 10 minutes. Turn out onto rack and cool completely.

Irish Potato Soup
adapted from The Daily Green

Ingredients
4 medium potatoes, diced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 leek, chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups milk
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons butter
1 cup sour cream
1 cup corned beef, chopped (optional)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Salt and Pepper
1 teaspoon ground caraway seeds
112-ounce bottle Pale Ale

Directions

In a large saucepan sauté onion, leeks and celery in butter, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with salt and pepper. Add garlic, cook for 1 minute. Add flour and cook for 3 to 5 minutes. Then slowly add milk, and the mixture will start to thicken. Add the potatoes and half of the beer and bring to boil, reduce to simmer and cook 20 to 30 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Stir regularly to avoid scorching, and add milk as needed if soup is too thick. Add caraway, sour cream and ¾ cup of the cheddar cheese. Wisk until cheese melts and sour cream is incorporated. Add corned beef. Top with chopped parsley and remaining shredded cheddar. Serves 4-6.

Spring Green Risotto

adapted from 2008, Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics

Ingredients

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 cups chopped leeks, white and light green parts (2 leeks)

1 cup chopped fennel

1 1/2 cups Arborio rice

2/3 cup dry white wine

5 cups simmering chicken broth

1 pound thin asparagus

10 ounces frozen peas, defrosted

1 tablespoon freshly grated lemon zest (2 lemons)
Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/3 cup mascarpone cheese

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for serving

3 tablespoons minced fresh chives, plus extra for serving

Directions

Heat the olive oil and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the leeks and fennel and saute for 5 to 7 minutes, until tender. Add the rice and stir for a minute to coat with the vegetables, oil, and butter. Add the white wine and simmer over low heat, stirring constantly, until most of the wine has been absorbed. Add the chicken broth, 2 ladles at a time, stirring almost constantly and waiting for the liquid to be absorbed before adding more. This process should take 25 to 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, cut the asparagus diagonally in 1 1/2-inch lengths and discard the tough ends. Blanch in boiling salted water for 4 to 5 minutes, until al dente. Drain and cool immediately in ice water (this step is easier if done right before you begin).

When the risotto has been cooking for about 15 minutes, drain the asparagus and add it to the risotto with the peas, lemon zest, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Continue cooking and adding broth, stirring almost constantly, until the rice is tender but still firm.

Whisk the lemon juice and mascarpone together in a small bowl. When the risotto is done, turn off the heat and stir in the mascarpone mixture plus the Parmesan cheese and chives. Set aside, off the heat, for a few minutes, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and serve hot with a sprinkling of chives and more Parmesan cheese.

Banana Bread

Our family dog Shadow recently passed away. He was 13 years old and lived a great life. However, that doesn't make it any easier. We all loved him and he was a member of our family. So I decided to make a Banana Bread for my parents and mail it up to them. However, my first attempt failed miserably. I used a recipe from Joy of Cooking and it came out terribly. Maybe it was because I used frozen bananas? Either way, my second attempt: I went to my tried and true Martha Stewart for a recipe. This one came out great!

Comforting Banana Bread

from Martha Stewart Living

Ingredients
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature, plus more for pan
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups unbleached flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup mashed very ripe bananas
1/2 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pan; set aside. In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, and beat to incorporate. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to the butter mixture, and mix until just combined. Add bananas, sour cream, and vanilla; mix to combine. Stir in nuts, and pour into prepared pan. Bake until a cake tester inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Let rest in pan for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool.

Blueberry Buckle

(adapted from http://www.marthastewart.com/)

What is a buckle? Well, not only is it delicious but it was a perfect solution for the heaping pile of blueberries in my fridge. It is also basically the same thing as a crumb cake. It was excellent! The blueberries stayed plump and the cake was moist and not at all soggy.

Ingredients

1 9X9 inch pan
10 tablespoons (about 1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
½ teaspoon lemon zest
4 cups blueberries
Streusel Topping

Streusel Topping

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Using a pastry blender or fork, cut in the butter until fine crumbs form. Using hands, squeeze together most of the mixture to form large clumps.

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Butter baking pan, and dust with flour, tapping out excess. Set aside.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

4. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar and lemon zest on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

5. Reduce mixer speed to low, and add egg and vanilla, beating until fully combined. 6. With mixer running at low speed, gradually add in flour mixture; beat until flour is incorporated, about 20 seconds.

6. Remove bowl from mixer. Using a rubber spatula gently fold in blueberries.

7. Pour batter into prepared pan.

8. Sprinkle streusel topping over cake.

9. Bake until toothpick comes out batter-free, about 60 minutes.

10. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes.

11. Remove from pan; cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Pear Gingerbread

adapted from Annie's Green Living at www.care2.com

I made this recipe twice over the Holiday season- once for friends and again for Christmas with family. Each time it came out great- it's the perfect holiday bread that you can eat for breakfast or dessert!

Ingredients

2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup granulated sugar

2 firm but ripe, large pears (Bosc, Comice or Anjou) peeled, cored, thinly sliced

1 cup dark brown sugar
3 eggs
1/2 cup molasses

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons ground ginger
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1 1/4 tablespoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Pinch of salt
1 1/4 cups boiling water

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

1. Melt 4 tablespoons of the butter in a 9-inch square cake pan (flameproof) over medium heat. Add ½ cup granulated sugar and cook, stirring occasionally, until the sugar melts and turns light brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the pear slices in a decorative pattern and remove the pan or skillet from the heat.

2. In a large bowl using an electric mixer, cream together the remaining 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter and 1 cup brown sugar until light. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then the molasses.

3. In another bowl, sift together the flour, ginger, cinnamon, baking soda, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. Fold the dry mixture into the creamed mixture, along with the boiling water, stirring only until all the ingredients are combined. Be careful not to overmix.

4. Smooth batter evenly over the decoratively-arranged pears and bake in preheated oven around 35 to 40 minutes. Cake should feel springy to the touch when done. Allow to cool for 10 minutes.

5. Run a table knife around the edge of the pan and shake it to make sure the cake is not sticking. (If it is, set the pan over low heat and heat for 1 to 2 minutes, gently shaking it until the cake is free.)

6. Place a serving plate upside down on the pan. Wearing oven mitts, invert the plate and pan together. Lift off the pan. Cut into squares and serve, with whipped cream.

Serves 8 to 10.

Autumn Harvest Bread

adapted from Recipezaar

Ingredients

1 and ½ cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¾ teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
¼ cup brown sugar
1 cup pumpkin puree
¼ cup unsweetened apple sauce
¼ cup apple cider
2 eggs
1 apple, peeled and chopped

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray 9x5 inch loaf pan with cooking spray.

In a large bowl combine 4 ingredients. In another bowl combine sugar, pumpkin, apple sauce, cider and eggs. Add pumpkin mixture to dry mixture and stir until combined. Fold in chopped apple. Pour batter into loaf pan. I sprinkled some toasted pumpkin seeds on top!

Bake for one hour.