Classic Banana Bread

I think just about everyone has a recipe for banana bread, but even if you do you should give this one a try. It is just perfect: dense, banana-y, sweet but not overpowering, and packed with pecans. Also, it takes all of 15 minutes to mix everything together and presto you have a sweet treat to eat or give away.

As always this is a great way to use up blackened overripe bananas (which I usually toss in the freezer to preserve if I don't feel like making banana bread). I bake mine in a tube pan because I have never gotten around to buying a loaf pan. I am sure this would turn out just fine in a bread pan but it might take a little longer to bake.

Classic Banana Bread
1 3/4 cups Flour
1 1/2 cups Sugar
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Salt
2 Eggs
2 blackened (overripe) bananas mashed
1/2 cup Vegetable Oil
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon Buttermilk (you can easily substitute curdled regular milk by adding in a tablespoon or less of vinegar to plain milk)
1 teaspoon Vanilla
1 cup Pecans chopped
In a bowl mix together dry ingredients and set aside. 

Dry ingredients

Combine mashed bananas, eggs, oil, vanilla, and buttermilk.

Wet ingredients

Add in the dry ingredients and mix until all is combined. Stir in the pecans.

Pour into a greased tube pan.

In the tube pan

Bake at 325 degrees for about 1 hour and 10 minutes checking on the hour to make sure it doesn't get overdone (bread is done when a knife inserted into the middle comes out mostly clean - with only a few sticky crumbs).

Final product

Fresh Salsa

I made salsa for the first time a few weeks ago and the results were ok but not great. This time around I added in another tomato, used more peppers, and took out the cilantro (I still don't like the flavor it imparts) and I am quite pleased with the results. Very simple to make but it does taste a lot better if it sits and marinates for a day.

Having sampled it again a few more days later - it is really excellent. The hotness and flavor from the peppers really come out.

Enjoy the heat!

Fresh Salsa
3 Tomatoes finely chopped
1 Onion finely chopped
4-5 Serrano Peppers finely chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons minced Garlic
1 teaspoon Salt
1/2 Lime juiced
Mix together all ingredients and chill for a day (if possible) before serving. Makes a huge bowl that would be perfect for a party.

Curried Chicken Salad

All the tasty ingredients!

This chicken salad is the bomb. I was inspired by a curried chicken salad I had years ago in Chicago at a restaurant/non-profit called First Slice. They have a small restaurant that also serves food to homeless people and others who are experiencing hard times.

The chicken salad there was delicious, but it took me this long to get around to recreating it. The addition of yogurt helps keep the salad from being to sweet and also harkens back to cooked curries, where yogurt is a frequent ingredient. This is really a simple salad to through together and is great to take on picnics, make sandwiches with, or just to snack on plain. I made it a few weeks ago when my partner's folks were in town - we went to the everglades and picnicked - and they really loved it.

Enjoy!

Curried Chicken Salad
3 cooked Chicken Breasts chopped
4 Carrots grated
3 Celery Sticks chopped
4-5 teaspoons Curry Powder
1/2 - 3/4 cup dried Cranberries
3/4 cup Greek Yogurt
3/4 cup Miracle Whip
Salt
Pepper

Sprinkle raw chicken breasts with salt and pepper and bake at 350 for about 30 minutes until chicken is done. Once chicken is done, chill the chicken breasts and then chop them up.

Ingredients assembled

Mix together the chopped up chicken with the carrots, celery, curry powder, cranberries, yogurt, and miracle whip.

Finished product on a sandwich

Store the chicken salad in the fridge and spread on your sandwiches at will. Makes about 8-10 sandwiches.

Sweet Potato Salad

Went for a long ride out to Key Biscayne, about 45 miles total, on Saturday with Emerge (a Miami cycling group) and we had a picnic so I made this salad to take. Everyone loved the taste of sweet and tangy, and the sweet potatoes were the perfect vehicle for the flavors. I made it the night before because I wanted it to chill and marinate, but you could probably make it just a few hours ahead of time too.

The original recipe called for boiling the sweet potatoes, but I baked them instead because I have tried that before. Word to the wise: boiled sweet potatoes are gross. The texture is off and the flavor is weird; overly starchy and still kind of "raw" tasting.

I actually forgot to put in the pecans before I was out the door but am sure they would be a nice addition to the salad.

Sweet Potato Salad (adapted from a Taste of Home recipe)
2 lb. Sweet Potatoes (about 3-4) cubed
1/3 cup dried Cranberries
2-3 tablespoons Orange Juice (use a fresh orange)
1-2 teaspoons Orange Peel
3 Celery Stalks diced
1/2 teaspoon ground Ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground Nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground Cinnamon
1 tablespoon Brown Sugar
1/2-3/4 cup Mayonnaise
1/2 cup Pecans chopped
Note: Spices are approximate - I just sprinkled them on the sweet potatoes

Toss cubed sweet potatoes with ginger, nutmeg, and cinnamon and bake on a large ungreased pan at 410 degrees (turning over potatoes about 2-3 times so they don't stick) for about 20 minutes or just until the potatoes become slightly soft (not super soft though or they won't hold up in the salad).

Celery and orange peel

While potatoes are cooking mix together orange peel, orange juice, brown sugar, dried cranberries, and celery.

Orange after peel has been grated off

Once potatoes are done toss in with all the other pre-mixed ingredients and add in the mayonnaise. Chill for at least a few hours. Add in the pecans right before serving. Makes about 6 servings as a side dish.

Fresh Basil Stuffed Chicken Breasts (in a Mushroom Sauce)

Tastiness

Finally got around to purchasing a fresh basil plant yesterday and after I was done potting it I decided that I must make something with my newly acquired herb.

the chopped up basil

As luck would have it chicken breasts were on sale at Publix's (something that almost never happens) so I thought I would make stuffed chicken breasts; a dish that looks fancy but is actually quite easy to put together. These chicken breasts were phenomenal - fresh basil absolutely rocks! I put a lot in because I like the flavor of basil but if you want you could put less in for a more subtle effect.

A note on cooking chicken: When making chicken breasts I never cook them as long as the government recommends (till they are 170) because if you do your chicken will be tough, dry, and nasty. Once the chicken looks done (i.e. no pinkness when cut into) and the juices coming from it are clear it is done and I have never gotten sick from eating it that way.

Enjoy!

Fresh Basil, Cream Cheese, and Garlic Stuffed Chicken Breasts
3 Chicken Breasts
3 oz. Cream Cheese
Small hand full of Fresh Basil (about 3 tablespoons chopped)
2 teaspoons minced Garlic
1/4 cup fresh Spinach chopped
Salt and freshly ground Pepper to taste
Butter
In a small bowl mix together the cream cheese, basil, garlic, and spinach with a dash of salt and set aside.

Cream cheese filling

Cut a deep slit in the chicken breasts (big enough to stuff the cream cheese mixture into) but don't cut all the way down from one side to the other or all of the filling will ooze out.

Exhibit A: slit in chicken breast

Exhibit B: slit chicken breast

Chicken breast laying flat after being slit

Then fill the chicken breasts with the cream cheese mixture and place in a large buttered skillet over medium heat and brown on both sides. After both sides are browned turn heat down to medium-low and cook covered for about 20 minutes, flipping once.

Chicken cooking

Take lid off of skillet and continue cooking for about another 10-20 minutes (until chicken juices run clear or a meat thermometer registers around 155).

Note: If the chicken starts to dry out while cooking uncovers just replace the lid so that everything steams up again. Also, it is normal and in my experience unavoidable for some of the filling to leak out of the chicken; it's not really a problem and just ends up making a natural "sauce" for the chicken. Let the chicken rest (covered) for about 10 minutes before serving.

Done Chicken

While chicken is in its final stages of cooking you can prepare the sauce that goes over it:

Mushroom Onion Sauce
1 6 oz. container Sliced Portabella Mushrooms coarsely sliced
1/2 of an Onion diced
1 tablespoon Flour
Approximately 1 1/2 cups Chicken broth
Salt and freshly ground Pepper to taste
Olive Oil
In a large oiled skillet over medium heat saute mushrooms and onions for about 7 minutes or until onions are translucent and mushrooms are starting to brown.

Then turn heat down to medium-low and sprinkle flour, salt, and pepper over the pan and mix in with the mushrooms and onions. Slowly pour in the chicken broth until you had enough for a sauce (this is up to you - depends on how much sauce you want) and cook until thickened; about 3-4 minutes.

After broth is added

Egg in Toast

Nom nom!

It really doesn't get much simpler than this breakfast. The name aptly describes it. You literally cut a hole in the bread (I use a shot glass) and crack an egg into it so that there is an egg in the toast. If you have ever seen V for Vendetta, one of my favorite movies, you will remember the scene when V is making Evey breakfast and he makes her egg in toast.

That is where I got the idea to make this meal. As I understand it it is a standard English breakfast dish and after making it the first time I can see why. There is something about having the toast cook in the frying pan in the butter with the egg that makes it taste so much better than normal toast. I added the shredded cheese and salsa to contribute that extra zip I love so much.

Anyway, aside from a bowl of cereal it doesn't get much simpler or tastier than this for a breakfast dish!

Enjoy!

Egg in Toast

2 Eggs
2 pieces of Bread
Salsa
Cheddar Cheese shredded
Salt
Fresh ground Pepper
Butter
Cut the center out of the bread with a large shot glass. Then place bread in a buttered and hot frying pan over medium heat. Crack an egg into the center of both pieces of bread and sprinkle with salt and pepper then cook on one side for a few minutes then flip over and cook on the other side until egg has set. While egg is setting sprinkle cheese on the top of the bread so that it melts. Once egg is done take the egg in toast out of the pan and top with salsa if you wish.

Simple Frittata

This frittata, really a glorified omelette, is based off of a recipe I found on The Sensitive Epicure and it is super tasty! It makes a nice and quick breakfast or light dinner. Also, it is a handy way to dispose of veggies that need to be used up. I put spinach in this one because I had half a bag sitting in my fridge and wanted to make sure it was used up before it went bad, but any number of veggies would go well in this frittata.

You can easily make this into a meatless dish by leaving out the sausage and adding in some other vegetable or some tofu.

Simple Frittata

9 Eggs beaten
1 1/2 cup Jalapeno or Habanero Cheese shredded
1/4 cup Milk
3 cups fresh Spinach coarsely chopped
5 Jalapenos chopped
1 Onion minced
1 tablespoon minced Garlic
2 Tomatoes sliced
3 Colombian Sausage links
Salt
Pepper
Oil

In a large cast iron frying pan saute the onions, garlic, and jalapenos in a bit of oil on medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add in the sausage, chopping it up as it cooks.

chopping up the sausage

Once sausage is cooked through add in the spinach and saute for about a minute then add in the eggs, milk, cheese, salt, and pepper and mix together thoroughly.

everything all mixed in

Cook on medium low for about 7-9 minutes then top with tomato slices and put in the oven to broil for about 5 minutes, until the top gets puffy and lightly browned (also eggs should be completely cooked). Let set for a few minutes then serve.