Food goodness

The whole story of how this banana bread came to be (it's adapted from another blogger's recipe) is here . I can vouch for the easiness of this -- I measured out the ingredients and Gaby stirred the whole thing up. We made three mini-loaves of this kind of bread, the first of our banana bread baking for the day. 3 to 4 ripe bananas, smashed 1/3 cup melted salted butter 3/4-1 cup light brown sugar, depending on the level of sweetness you prefer (I used a little over 3/4 cup) 1 egg, beaten 1 teaspoon vanilla 1 tablespoon bourbon 1 teaspoon baking soda Pinch of salt 1 teaspoon cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg Pinch of ground cloves 1 1/2 cup of flour No need for a mixer for this recipe. Preheat the oven to 350°F. With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, vanilla and bourbon, then the spices. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last, mix. Pour mixture into a buttered 4×8 inch loaf pan.

Hefk and I joke about Heidi Sw*nson, maven of 101 Cookbooks , because we love her and yet she mystifies us a bit. (The amazing black bean brownies... let's just say "amazing" is not the word I would have chosen, and there's a reason that recipe didn't make it to this blog.) Her recipes often sound wonderful but go inexplicably wrong, or have one or two really strange ingredients you can never find, or use 62 different kitchen implements that you have to wash afterward. That said, I love her website; although I usually have more luck with Elise 's recipes, I am a faithful reader and member of the cult of personality of 101 Cookbooks. And this garlic soba noodles recipe is the first one I've ever made that lived up to its reputation on the blog -- and how good it looked in the picture. This will absolutely become a staple for me... next time, I'll try baking the tofu to see if I can get the coating to stick a little better, but all of it was totally del

This is also from Susan Mendelson's "Mama Now Cooks Like This," which is becoming one of my favorite cookbooks. Everything I make from it is really good. The first time we made this, I followed the recipe exactly as written, and it was fantastic. Last night, I forgot a step (Ernie had the sink taken apart and I was maneuvering around him), and I improvised and it still ended up being really good. I think you should follow the recipe, though. 6 c. mixed wild mushrooms (portobello, shiitake, oyster -- I also add some button mushrooms here), sliced 3 shallots, finely chopped (I added 2 cloves of garlic, also finely chopped) 2 Tbsp. butter (last night, I used olive oil. both seemed to work just fine) 8 Tbsp. flour 6 c. vegetable or chicken stock (we usually use chicken) 1 c. half and half salt and pepper cayenne chives, freshly chopped Mix mushrooms and shallots/garlic, and divide into 4 batches. In a large pot with a wide bottom, sauté one batch of the mushrooms and shallots

I looked through the archives to see if I had ever posted this recipe and it doesn't look like I did. Which totally surprises me, because this is a go-to recipe in our house, very quick and really tasty. 1 lb. shrimp (or more, if you like) 2 c. olive oil (or enough to cover the shrimp, it might take close to 3 c., I just eyeball it) 5-6 cloves garlic, smashed 2-3 shallots, sliced thickly (don't spend a lot of time on the shallots, just break them up a little) Half an onion, sliced Salt and pepper to taste Red pepper flakes if you're feeling feisty Put the shrimp in a large bowl. Add everything else, stir to combine, let marinate for 30 minutes. (You can skip this step if you don't have time. We sometimes do, and it turns out perfectly fine) Heat deep skillet over medium heat. Add everything in the bowl, cook until shrimp is done. And that's it. It's super easy, and really good. We usually eat this with some bread on the side, to dunk in the garlicky olive oil.

A few days ago, I posted a request for a tres leches cake recipe. I ended up finding several recipes online, of varying degrees of difficulty, and chose one that wasn't too easy (used a box of cake mix) or difficult (had a meringue topping that required stovetop cooking). Here's the recipe that I used: http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1585317 I sprinkled the top with cinnamon, but I hear that fresh berries or caramel are also an acceptable garnish. To answer hefk's question, I was making this for a friend's birthday. He's originally from Mexico. We were doing steak and chorizo tacos (with homemade corn tortillas!) at another friend's house, and we were on tap for dessert. Enrique asked for something "creamy but not too sweet" and mentioned tiramisu. Since tiramisu doesn't really fit the Mexican "theme," Geoff and I decided on tres leches cake, a Latin American (I believe it's o

Our family was vegetarian for Lent this year, so I've tried a bunch of new recipes, some of which were great. I'll start posting them here, starting with the most recent dinner, Molly Katzen's Spinach Kugel. 30 min. to prepare/45 to bake/4-5 servings preheat oven to 375 degrees butter a 9x13 inch pan 2 lb. fresh spinach, chopped 6 oz. (3/4 C.) cream cheese 1 lb. (2 C.) cottage cheese 4 large eggs, beaten 1 C. matzo meal 3/4 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. nutmeg lost of fresh black pepper 1 1/2 Tbs. fresh lemon juice paprika for the top 1) In a heavy skillet or put, cook the spinach quick, with no additional water, over medium heat, stirring until it just begins to wilt (about 4-5 minutes). Remove from heat and cut in the cream cheese while the spinach is still hot. Mix well, until the cheese is melted and well-distributed. 2) Add all remainig ingredients, except 1/4 C of the matzo meal, and beat well. 3) Spread into your prepared pan, and sprinkle the 1/4 C matzo meal over the top.

Does anybody have a good tres leches cake recipe? Thanks.

from Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Recipes for Two by Beth Hensperger Serves 2, with leftovers (so, probably 4) You'll need a slow cooker that holds 1-1/2 to 3 quarts. 1-1/4 pounds boneless pork tenderloin 1/2 cup store-bought plum sauce 2 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce 1-1/2 tablespoons dry sherry 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger 1 clove garlic, crushed 2 green onions (white and green parts), sliced, for serving 1. Place the tenderloin in a zipper-top plastic bag. Combine the plum sauce, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, sherry, ginger, and garlic in a small bowl; stir until smooth. Pour over the meat, seal, and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight. 2. Spray the inside of the slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray. Transfer the meat and marinade to the slow cooker and arrange the strip of pork in the bottom. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 7 hours, until the pork is fork-tender. (We let ours go for about 11 hours; it was fine, but a tad on

This is our lunch for next week. I tasted it as it was cooking, and it's really good. Recipe found at 101 Cookbooks . I used it pretty much verbatim. 2 cups black beluga lentils (or green French lentils), picked over and rinsed 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil 1 large onion, chopped 1 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt 1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes 2 cup water 3 cups of a big leafy green (chard, kale, etc), rinsed well, deveined, finely chopped (I was lazy and just bought the greens already chopped in a bag) Saffron Yogurt a pinch of saffron (30-40 threads) 1 tablespoon boiling water two pinches of salt 1/2 cup 2% Greek Yogurt Bring 6 cups of water to a boil in a large saucepan, add the lentils, and cook for about 20 minutes, or until tender. Drain and set aside. (I did this step last night, then finished up the soup today) While the lentils are cooking, make the saffron yogurt by combining the saffron threads and boiling water in a tiny cup. Let

from Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Recipes for Two by Beth Hensperger You'll need a slow cooker with a capacity of 3 quarts or so (I think ours is 3-1/2). This recipe made enough for 4 servings. 1 heaping cup of dried Great Northern beans or baby white beans, soaked overnight and drained (I used 1 can of Great Northern beans) 1 medium-sized yellow onion, finely chopped 1 carrot, diced 2 cloves garlic, chopped 1/2 cup tomato sauce 5 cups chicken broth, canned or homemade 3 oz smoked bacon, diced salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste Place the beans, onion, carrot, garlic, tomato sauce, and broth in the slow cooker. In a small frying pan, cook the bacon until golden brown and a bit crisp; drain and transfer to the crock. Cover and cook on LOW for 8 to 9 hours, until the beans are tender. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and adjust the consistency if desired with hot water or more hot broth. Serve hot. Notes: 1. The night before, I chopped the onion, carrot, and g

This is from a fantastic cookbook my friend Tara sent me for my birthday, called "Mama now cooks like this" by Susan Mendelson. It's got very nice recipes in it, and all the ones I've tried have been pretty easy, too. I made these lemon squares for Ernie because I couldn't find a box mix, and he loves lemon squares. I don't think we'll be going back to a mix, these are really good. 1 1/2 c. white flour 6 Tbsp. sugar 3/4 c. butter Mix until well blended. Press into a greased 13 x 9 inch pan, and bake at 350 for 18 to 20 minutes until golden brown. 5 large eggs 2 egg yolks 2 1/2 c. sugar 1 c. freshly squeezed lemon juice 1/4 c. flour Beat eggs, yolks and sugar. Stir in lemon juice. Add flour last. Pour over baked crust. Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes until set. Cool on rack, then chill at least 2 hours. Use a thin paring knife to cut into small squares.

From Simply Recipes . This was easy to make, and it tastes fantastic. Even Gaby likes it. 1 pound asparagus 3 Tbsp plus 1 teaspoon butter 1/2 cup chopped shallots 1 cup arborio rice 1/2 cup dry white wine (or 1 Tbsp lemon juice and 1/4 cup water) About 3 1/2 cups chicken stock (or vegetable stock for vegetarian option), can substitute some of the asparagus cooking water for stock -- I used 3 c. chicken stock, 1/2 c. asparagus cooking water 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese Salt and pepper Prepare the asparagus by breaking off discarding the tough ends (about the last inch of the spear). Cut into 1 to 1 1/2-inch pieces (tips longer, base shorter). If your asparagus are especially large, cut into even smaller (bite-size) pieces. Bring a saucepan with a quart of water to a boil. Blanch the asparagus pieces for 2 minutes. At the end of two minutes, use a slotted spoon to remove the asparagus pieces to an ice water bath to shock the asparagus into a vibrant gree

The quintessential British Sunday lunch, and one which always goes down well with my husband. The closest thing to Yorkshire puddings in American cuisine is the popover, which is something I didn't grow up with. I've been trying since moving to Scotland to conquer the Yorkshire pudding, and this is the best recipe I've found so far. It is, according to the husband, almost as good as his mother's. High praise indeed. All the recipes below are by Gordon Ramsay. Serves 6 (but that's British serving sizes - I'd say it serves 4 hungry people) For the roast beef: 1 3-rib (3-4 pounds) prime beef roast, bones attached (ask your butcher to remove the bones and tie the meat back onto them for easy carving) - I was naughty and just bought the beef from the supermarket, and the bones had been removed completely. Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 2 tablespoons olive oil For the Yorkshire pudding: 4 large eggs 1 1/2 cups whole milk 1/2 teaspoon coarse salt 1 1/4 cups a

From: Simply Recipes , as usual. My favorite go-to food blog. Definitely check out her photos of this recipe - gorgeous! My future mother-in-law (who has an extremely limited food repertoire) initially turned up her nose at the idea of an onion tart, and apparently made a face when I mentioned caramelized onions (she didn't know what they were... I'm guessing she was picturing me melting yellow gooey caramel candies over the onions). However, she reluctantly agreed to try a piece of this. While I was away in another room, she finished her first piece and came back for seconds. "A big piece!" she told me. "It was fantastic!" Sigh. 1 pie crust (homemade or frozen) 3 medium sized red onions 2 Tbsp olive oil 1 Tbsp butter Salt 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar 3/4 cup (not packed) roughly grated Gruyère Swiss cheese 1 If you are making a crust from scratch, prepare the dough and let it chill in the refrigerator while you are cooking the

My mom and I made this when she was over to visit this past week, and it was amazing ! Even without the raspberries, it's a wonderful moist chocolate cake recipe. The key is to use really, really nice chocolate and cocoa. I personally love Green&Blacks, but use what works best for you. From the domestic goddess herself - Nigella Lawson (as heard on NPR but originally from Feast ). For the cake: 2/3 cup milk 1 tbsp butter 1 tbsp pure vanilla extract 3 eggs 1 cup superfine sugar (I just used normal sugar) 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour 3 tbsp best unsweetened cocoa 1 tsp baking soda For the filling: 1/2 cup heavy or whipping cream 1 cup raspberries For the icing: 2/3 cup heavy cream 5 1/2 oz dark chocolate, minimum 70% cocoa solids 1 tbsp corn syrup 1 cup raspberries Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease and line two shallowish 9 inch heart-shaped pans (or similar sized circular ones) with cut-out hearts (or circles) of parchment paper. (This is absolutely necessary because the c

I found this on a blog called baking sheet and was really, really happy with the way it came out. I find baking bread not as intuitive as I wish it were, but this recipe was very clear and ended up tasting way better than I expected, especially since all the flour is whole grain. I think the buttermilk helped in that regard -- nice chewy texture, not dense and heavy. Yay Baking Sheet. My one concern: The recipe didn't say when to put the raisins in. I did it at the end of the kneading and it seemed fine. 1 tbsp active dry yeast 1/4 cup warm water (approx 110F) 1 1/4 cups buttermilk, room temperature or a bit warmer 1/4 cup honey 2 tsp salt 2 tsp cinnamon 1 cup whole wheat flour 2 - 2 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour 2/3 cups raisins In a large bowl, combine yeast and warm water. Let stand for 5-10 minutes until foamy. Mix in buttermilk, honey, salt, cinnamon and whole wheat flour. Stir well. Gradually mix in white whole wheat flour, stirring with a wooden spoon until dough pulls a