Banana Bread

I had some old bananas (I buy food, hubs doesn't eat it, I make dessert) so I figured why not. Pulled out the old (and by old, I mean I went to my mom's and photocopied her circa-1970 Betty Crocker) cookbook and found a recipe for nut bread. Now, the recipe I used had several different variations on nut bread, and the one for banana said to lower the milk amount to 1/3 cup, which I thought was preposterous so I just dumped the rest of my milk in. I'm thinking it might have been 2/3 cup total. Or 3/4, like the recipe I found online says.

Nut Bread with a variation: Banana Nut Bread with a variation: Banana Bread
courtesy mom's old old old BC cookbook, recipe found online at recipelink.com

BETTY CROCKER NUT BREAD
(Variations such as Banana Bread are listed after this basic recipe for Nut Bread.)

2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar (my recipe called for 1/2 c reg sugar and 1/2 cup brown sugar)
3 1/2 tsp. baking powder (I thought my recipe said 2 1/2??)
1 tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. oil
1 1/4 cups milk (reduce for Banana Bread as instructed in variations)
1 egg
1 cup finely chopped nuts (obviously, I omitted these)

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour 9 X 5 X 3-inch loaf pan or two 8 1/2 X 4 1/2 X 2 1/2-inch loaf pans.

Measure all ingredients into large mixer bowl; beat on medium speed 1/2 minute, scraping side and bottom of bowl constantly. Pour into pan(s).

Bake 55 to 65 minutes or until a pick inserted in center comes out clean. Remove from pan; cool thoroughly before slicing.

*If using Self-Rising Flour, omit baking powder and salt.

VARIATIONS:

Apricot Nut Bread:
Decrease milk to 1/2 cup; add 4 tsp. grated orange peel, 3/4 cup orange juice and 1 cup fienly chopped dried apricots.

Banana Nut Bread:
Decrease milk to 3/4 cup; add 1 cup mashed ripe bananas (2 to 3 medium).

Date Nut Bread:
Add 1 cup cut-up dates.

Orange Nut Bread:
Decrease milk to 1/2 cup; add 4 tsp. grated orange peel and 3/4 cup orange juice.

Prune Nut Bread:
Decrease milk to 1/2 cup; add 3/4 cup prune juice and 1 cup drained chopped cooked prunes.

picture to follow!

Black Forest Cookies

Part of my Tuesday List last week, these were cookies I made for the cookie exchange at work. I must say, Ghirardelli chocolate is FANTASTIC in cookie form. Just the cookie itself would have been heaven.

Original Recipe is at Martha's website. It was either these or the Chocolate Sable Cookies from Food Network's 12 days of cookies, but that called for Dutch Process cocoa, and though I am in Dutch Country (PA to be exact) there is no Dutch Process cocoa to be found. And I'm not brave enough yet to mess with the extra stuff needed to sub.

Pappardelle with Chicken Cutlets in Vodka Cream Sauce

I wasn't sure what I was hungry for last night, but I knew I wanted something tomato-ey and cream-ey. So I stopped at Russo's (Italian heaven) and picked up some stuff.

1) saw the chicken cutlets, thought, ok I can do that.
2) got myself some vodka cream sauce
3) saw pappardelle sitting next to the sauce... DONE

I sauteed the chicken in EVOO after I spiced it with some salt, pepper, and garlic powder (too much garlic powder as I later found out, but not a problem for the hubs). I cooked the pappardelle and because I still can't judge cooking times, had to put a lil EVOO on it and let it sit until the chicken/sauce was finished.
After the chicken was fully cooked I added the sauce to my ginormous Emeril pan. I ♥ Emeril. After it bubbled, dinner was ready.
The chicken was excellent and very moist, too much garlic, but oh well. This is one of the hubs' favorite dinners now. He ate half of it. I had 1/4 and took 1/4 today for lunch. Yum, pasta.

Tuesday List

items about which I have yet to blog

admittedly, this list will slowly dwindle down as I use the pics for the other posts!

1) homemade hamburger helper, that's right. I make the easy dishes more complicated.


2) Christmas cookies. The only ones I actually made are the chocolate ones (Black Forest Cookies) and the white chocolate chip macadamia ones.



3) SPAGHETTI-Os! (ok they're really called anelli or anelletti)

Monday Random

One of my mom's first text messages (in response to my asking if the puppy could have cheese):
Yes cheese ican text, iam sopmebody

so cute. and then she proceeded to overextend my texting limits. you owe me $2.50, mom.

Martha Stewart Basic Buttercream

Basic Buttercream
this one is from the Living magazine, but I couldn't find it on the website.
(makes about 4 cups)
12 oz (3 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 pound confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Beat butter with a mixer on medium-high speed until pale and creamy, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to medium.
Add sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, beating after each addition, about 5 minutes (after every 2 additions, increase speed to high, and beat for 10 seconds, then reduce speed to medium-high).
Add vanilla, and beat until buttercream is smooth. Use immediately, or cover and refrigerate for up to 3 days (bring to room temperature, and beat on low speed until smooth before using).

Betty Crocker's Silver White Cake

Silver White Cake
from the Betty Crocker Cookbook
prep: 10 min bake: 45 min cool: 1 hr 10 min; 12 servings
(I doubled the recipe and made 24 cupcakes and an overflowing round cake, so judge for yourself)

2 1/4 cups all-purpose (not self-rising) or 2 1/2 cups cake flour (I use cake flour because I'm cool like that)
1 2/3 cups sugar
2/3 cup shortening (I use butter, same amount)
1 1/4 cups milk
3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract
5 large egg whites

The recommended frosting is White Mountain or Chocolate Buttercream. Go buy the book for those recipes.

Directions:
1. Heat oven to 350. Grease bottom and sides of 13x9", 2 round 9", or 3 round 8" pans with shortening; lightly flour.
2. Beat all ingredients except egg whites and frosting in large bowl with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds, scraping bowl constantly. Beat on high speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally.
3. Beat in egg whites on high speed 2 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally. Pour into pan(s).
4. Bake rectangle 40-45 mins, 9" 30-35 mins, 8" 23-28 mins, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean or until cake springs back when touched lightly or when your smoke alarm goes off. Cool rectangle in pan on wire rack. Cool rounds 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour.
5. Frost and enjoy. I made this last one up.

Nutrition Info:
1 serving 310 cal, 12g fat, 0 chol, 370mg sodium, 47g carbs, 5g protein, 10% DV calcium