Banana Cake for Griffin's Birthday

Today is Griffin's 12th birthday! Wow....I can't believe I have a kid that old. That makes me.....OLD TOO!

We love this cake at our house....it's sooooo yummy. It's supposed to be a layer cake, but I made the two 8" pans and put one in the freezer for another day. Here's the recipe:

Banana Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting
Source: Epicurious
Serves: 10-122 c. flour

2 c. flour
3/4 t. baking soda
1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt

1/2 c. unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 large eggs
1 c. sour cream (I often substitute 1 c. vanilla yogurt)
1 1/3 mashed ripe bananas
1 c. mini chocolate chips (optional)

2/3 c. powdered sugar
1 8 oz. package cream cheese, room temperature

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly butter two 8" round cake pans. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Using electric mixer, beat butter and sugar in large bowluntil blended. Add eggs and beat until fluffy. Mix in 3/4 c. sour cream and bananas. Add dry ingredients to banana mixture and beat until well blended. Transfer to prepared pans.

Bake cakes until top is golden and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool cake completely on rack. (Can be prepared 2 weeks ahead. Cover cake and freeze. Thaw before continuing.)

Beat remaining 1/2 c. sour cream, powdered sugar, and cream cheese in a large bowl until well blended. Spread frosting over cooled cake. Garnish with extra mini chocolate chips and banana slices.

Oatmeal Cookies -- Two ways

Each day after school, my kids walk through the door and their first question is always, "Did you make any treats today?" I decided I would answer yes to that question this afternoon by making some of their favorite cookies.

Personally, I like my oatmeal cookies with raisins, but I always meet resistance from my tasters when I try to sneak something healthy in -- so I have to appease them by doing half the batch with chocolate chunks, which is what I did today. Make these for your gang sometime -- they'll love them!

OATMEAL COOKIES

Source: Gourmet Magazine, 9/1999

Makes 24 cookies.

1 3/4 c. old fashioned rolled oats

3/4 c. flour

3/4 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

1 1/4 sticks butter, softened

1/3 c. brown sugar

1/3 c. granualted sugar

1 large egg

1/2 t. vanilla

Options:

1/2 c. raisins or

1 c. chocolate chips or chunks

Preheat oven to 375 and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Stir together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt. Beat together butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar in a large bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add egg and vanilla and beat until combined well. Add oat mixture and beat until just combined. Add in optional raisins or chocolate chips and stir until combined. (I like to divide the dough in half and put raisins in one half and chocolate chips in the other).

Drop dough by heapingj tablespoons 2 inches apart onto baking sheets and flatten mounds slightly with moistened fingers. Bake cookies in upper and lower thirds of oven, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until golden, about 12 minutes total. Transfer to racks to cool.

Creamy Chicken & Rice on a Gloomy Winter Night

What was it I said earlier in the week about eating healthy and clean? Seems that idea's already been kicked to the curb, right along with our poor, pitiful, dried up Christmas tree. My kids started ski lessons today and I knew they'd need something warm and filling after a long afternoon on the slopes, and 'clean and healthy' wasn't gonna cut it.

So, here's what we're having tonight. It's one of my favorite wintry comfort dinners; a creamy chicken and rice with a toasty breadcrumb topping. Mind you, I'm NOT a casserole girl (canned soups -- eeeewwwww), but this dinner kicks some serious butt! Another bonus: it freezes beautifully, so I made a pan for tonight and put one in the freezer for another wintry day.
Back to 'clean and healthy' tomorrow. Chicken and Rice and a big green salad tonight!!

CREAMY CHICKEN AND RICE WITH PEAS, CARROTS, & CHEDDAR
Source: The Best Make-Ahead Recipe, From the Editors of Cooks Illustrated
Serves 8 (personally, I think this serves about 10)

4 T. butter
1 medium onion, minced
3 cloves garlic, minced or put through a garlic press
1/4 t. cayenne
1/4 c. flour
6 c. chicken broth
1 c. heavy cream (I use half & half with no real difference in creaminess)
2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 5 breasts)
1 1/2 c. long grain rice
1-1lb. bag of frozen peas and carrot medley (about 3 cups)
2 c. sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
2 T. fresh lemon juice
Ground black pepper
1 recipe Toasted Bread Crumb Topping (see below)
Fresh minced parsley for garnish

Melt the butter in a Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and 1 t. salt and cook until softened and lightly browned, 5-7 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cayenne and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the flour and cook, stirring constantly, until golden, about a minute. Slowly whisk in the broth and cream.

Add the chicken breasts, partially cover, and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low, cover completely, and cook 10-15 minutes, or until chicken is completely cooked through. Remove the chicken and set aside to cool.

Stir the rice into the pot, cover, and continue to cook over low heat, stirring often, until the rice has absorbed much of the liquid and is just tender, about 25 minutes. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred it into bite-sized pieces.

Remove the pot from the heat and stir in the chicken, peas and carrots, cheddar, and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour the mixture into a 9x13 pan (or, as I do, divide it between two smaller pyrex pans). Sprinkle the pan with the crumb topping.

Bake the pan in the middle of the 400 degree oven until the sauce is bubbling and the crumbs are crisp, about 25 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley before serving.

TO STORE A PAN OF CHICKEN AND RICE: Cover pan tightly with plastic wrap, the cover with foil. Freeze up to one month. (If frozen, the casserole must be thawed completely in the refrigerator, about 24 hours.) Preheat the oven to 400; remove the plastic wrap, and recover with the foil. Bake for about an hour (or until hot throughout), remove the foil, and continue to bake until crumbs are crispy, about another 15 minutes.

TOASTED BREAD CRUMB TOPPING
Makes 2 3/4 Cups, enough for one 9x13 pan.

4 slices good quality white sandwich bread, quartered
2 T. butter, melted
2 T minced fresh parsley leaves
Salt and pepper
Preheat oven to 325. Pulse the bread and butter in a food processor to coarse crumbs, about 6 pulses. Spread out over a rimmed baking sheet. Bake, stirring occasionally, until golden and dry, 20-20 minutes. Let the crumbs cool, then toss with the parsley; season with salt and pepper to taste.

Something Fresh: Minestrone with Basil

Here's an 'original' idea: fresh, clean, and healthy eating for the New Year! I'm sick of the heavy foods from the Holidays (although they were great going down), and my liver is flat out exhausted (the cocktails were good going down too)! So this week it's time for a new leaf. Today I'm making one of my favorite soups: Minestrone with Basil. I pulled this recipe off of Epicurious about a year ago, and I think I've probably made it 10 times. It's fresh, lowfat, filling and healthy all at the same time.

Served alongside the soup are some yummy Cheddar Scallion Scones (also from Epicurious). No, these aren't light, "clean", or nutritious, but we're being so well behaved with our healthy soup that we're allowed to have something just slightly naughty to dunk.

Minestrone with Basil

Serves 6

1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained

6 c. chicken stock, plus an additional cup if needed to thin

2 c. shredded green cabbage

1 can diced tomatoes, drained

1 small onion, diced

1 stalk celery, diced

1 carrot, diced

1 small zucchini, diced

1 medium potato, peeled and left whole

1 small potato, peeled and diced

1 T. good olive oil

1 1/2 T. minced garlic

1 t. salt

1/2 c. small shell pasta

1/2 c. chopped fresh basil, plus additional sprigs for garnish if desired

Freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Place beans in a large Dutch oven. Add stock and next 11 ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer until all vegetables are tender, about an hour.

Transfer 2 cups of soup and the whole potato to blender and puree. Return puree to soup in pot. Add pasta and 1/4 c. basil; simmer uncovered until pasta is cooked through and flavors blend, stirring occasionally, about 25 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Mix in remaining basil, serve with Parmesan sprinkled on top.

Cheddar Scallion Scones

Makes 12

**Note: As originally written, these were supposed to be drop biscuits. After seeing a tip for "no roll" biscuits in Cooks Country Magazine, I've used that method ever since. It's explained in my modified version of the recipe below.

2 1/4 c. all-purpose flour

2 1/2 t. baking powder

2 t. sugar

3/4 t. baking soda

1 t. salt

6 T. (3/4 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

6 oz. shredded Cheddar (about 1 1/2 c.)

3 scallions, finely chopped

1 c. well shaken buttermilk

Preheat oven to 450. Line a baking sheet with parchment and set aside.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, sugar, baking soda, and salt in a bowl, then blend in butter with your fingertips until mixture resembles coarse meal. Stir in Cheddar and scallions. Add buttermilk and stir until just combined.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into two equal balls. Press each ball into a 6" round. Using sharp knife, slice each round three times, to create six scone shaped wedges out of each round. Transfer to prepared baking sheet and bake in the middle of oven until golden, about 15-20 minutes.

Happy New Year!

We hosted a New Years Eve party last night for some of our favorite neighborhood friends. Everyone had a blast -- they must have; we still had familes here at 1:30 this morning! I can't believe some of the youngest of the Kenilworth (our neighborhood) Clan managed to rally that long -- this cul-de-sac is gonna be filled with some sleepy headed kiddos later on today!

I wish I had taken pictures of everything we served, but I only managed to snag one of the tartare. Between handing out the party hats, serving up cocktails, and pulling hors deourves out of the oven, things were a little hectic. Here's what was on the menu:

Tenderloin Sandwiches with Rosemary Horseradish Aoili
Pizzettas with Fontina, Tomato, Proscuitto, and Basil
Tuna Tartare with Wasabi on Sesame Crackers (as pictured above)

My neighbors chipped in and brought Artichoke & Crab Dip, Spanakopita, Mini Quiches, and Lettuce Wraps with Peanut Sauce. Everything was so delicious and suffice it to say - no one went hungry!

Soooooo happy we have leftovers and I don't need to cook tonight -- I've spent the better part of the day so far sweeping up "2008" confetti and picking streamers out of my carpet...but that goes with the partythrowing territory.

Back to cooking tomorrow.

Chocolate Fondue on Christmas....

My daughter Olivia got a camera from Santa and she was trying her hand at a little food photography while we were having Christmas dessert; here's a slightly messy shot of the best chocolate fondue I've ever had! Definitely worth the extra expense for the Valrohna cocoa and semi-sweet chocolate. I never realized the difference between the regular grocery store chocolates and the premiums, but I'm a convert.

I might make this again when we have the neighborhood over for New Years Eve!

CHOCOLATE FONDUE

1 c. premium cocoa powder (such as Valrohna or Scharffen Berger), sifted
1 1/4 c. water
1 1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/4 c. light corn syrup
1/2 c. plus 5 T. heavy cream
5 oz. 62% semi-sweet chocolate, chopped

Angel food cake, pretzel rods, strawberries, bananas, shortbread cookies

Sift the cocoa into mixing bowl and set aside. Place the water, sugar, and corn syrup into a pot and bring to a boil. Allow to simmer for 10-15 minutes until sugar solution has reduced by about 30%. Pour the cocoa powder into the solution and blend with a whisk until smooth. Return the chocolate mixture to the stove and continue cooking over medium heat. Add cream, bring to boil and allow to simmer for five minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in chopped chocolate. Pour into fondue pot and keep warm.

Makes 4-6 servings.
Source: Epicurious.com

Just beneath this post is one of Olivia's first pictures, it's Garlic Mashed Potatoes!

Garlic Mashed Potatoes