MAPLE GLAZED PUMPKIN BREAD

Posted in Breakfast & Brunch, Desserts by sallybr

Since all my requests to bring Spring back have been ignored, I resign myself to celebrate the season by baking a pumpkin loaf coated with a fantastic maple icing which found its way to a few of my fingers. First encounter was by accident. The other seven were intentional. The recipe is from Sue’s site, The View from Great Island, a blog you must visit regularly. I’d like to make pretty much everything she shares, our taste in food is quite similar. Although I must say she is a lot more daring than me, facing projects like this one that leave me in complete awe. Never in a gazillion years I could go for it. But, this pumpkin loaf? Doable and absolutely wonderful. Make it. And don’t forget to lick your fingers…

MAPLE GLAZED PUMPKIN BREAD
(from The View from Great Island)

for the pumpkin bread:
2 large eggs
1 cup pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda

for the maple glaze:
1 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar, sifted
4 tbsp maple syrup (more or less)
1/4 tsp maple extract (optional)

Set oven to 350F.

Spray a non-stick standard loaf pan with cooking spray and line the pan with a sheet of parchment paper with long ends to help remove the bread later.

Whisk the eggs in a large mixing bowl. Whisk in the pumpkin, oil, sugar, and spices. Stir in the flour, baking soda and salt and mix until combined. Turn the batter into the pan and even out.

Bake until a toothpick comes out without wet batter clinging to it, about 50 minutes. Let the loaf cool almost to room temperature before glazing.

To make the glaze, whisk together the sugar with enough maple syrup to make a thick, spreadable glaze. Keep whisking until all the little lumps are dissolved. Whisk in the extract, if using. Spread thickly onto the cooled bread.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: Guess what? I brought this loaf to our colleagues at work. I am sure you are not surprised. One of the most frequent compliments I heard was “OMG, that icing!”, which made me feel a lot better about the obsessive finger licking I went through while preparing this delicacy. But please, don’t think it’s just about the icing, the loaf itself is wonderful, I guarantee that even pumpkin haters will fall in love with it.

Sue, thank you so much for such a great recipe, I know I’ll be making it again before pumpkin season is over because one of our graduate students said it was one of the best things I shared so far. She’s been around for 2 years! How’s THAT for a compliment?

😉

ONE YEAR AGO: In My Kitchen, October 2014

TWO YEARS AGO: Grilled Steelhead Trout

THREE YEARS AGO: Brown Butter Tomato Salad

FOUR YEARS AGO: Spelt and Cornmeal Rolls

FIVE YEARS AGO: Roasted Potato and Olive Focaccia

SIX YEARS AGO: Multigrain Bread Extraordinaire

2Jun2015

CHOCOLATE TOFFEE BANANA BREAD

Posted in Breakfast & Brunch, Desserts by sallybr

I’ve been on a banana bread kick lately, trying some recipes that appeal to me because they have some unexpected twist, some intriguing component. Like this one that pairs a regular, well-behaved banana bread formula with toffee and chocolate. Banana, toffee, and chocolate. A trilogy not to be messed with. I found the recipe during a session of Pinterest surfing, saved it to my cooking board and now that it’s been tried and thoroughly enjoyed, I share it with you! Am I nice or am I nice? You decide.

CHOCOLATE TOFFEE BANANA BREAD
(recipe from The Weary Chef)

3 ripe bananas
2 eggs
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup brown sugar
1½ cup all-purpose flour
1½ tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/4 cup butterscotch chips

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan with cooking spray.

In a large mixing bowl, mash bananas. Stir in eggs, oil, and brown sugar until smooth.

Add flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt, and stir just until dry ingredients are incorporated. Stir in toffee and chocolate chips until mixed in evenly.

Pour batter into prepared pan, and bake 45-55 minutes, checking at 45 minutes. Bread is done when edges are brown and toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry.

Carefully remove loaf from pan to cool on a wire rack before cutting.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: I think that nothing perfumes the kitchen more intensely than a banana bread baking in the oven. They say that to increase the chances of selling a home, one should bake cinnamon rolls or an apple pie right before showing it, but I suspect that banana bread would work even better. The smell is intoxicatingly delicious…

The original recipe from Andi’s site called for chocolate covered toffee bars chopped in pieces, but I went with a 50:50 mixture of butterscotch and chocolate chunks from Trader Joe’s. The butterscotch chips were barely noticeable in the crumb of the banana bread, but their flavor… definitely there. This was a very moist and tender banana loaf, well-received by our colleagues from the department. I am sure it will please all the banana bread lovers out there, so give it a try, even if your house is not in the market…

😉

ONE YEAR AGO: In My Kitchen, June 2014

TWO YEARS AGO: Strawberry Frozen Yogurt

THREE YEARS AGO: Baked Coconut and “The Brazilian Kitchen”

FOUR YEARS AGO: Honey-Glazed Chicken Legs

FIVE YEARS AGO: French-Style Rolls

25Feb2015

BISCOTTI FOR A BABY SHOWER!

Posted in Breakfast & Brunch, Cookies, Desserts, Secret Recipe Club, Sweets by sallybr

Today I have a special post for you! We are throwing a virtual baby shower for a great food blogger I got to know through the Secret Recipe Club, Tara, from Tara’s Multicultural Table. We are all baking biscotti for this party. Why biscotti, you may ask? Well, it is her second baby, and these are twice baked cookies: a natural choice! Wanna see what I came up with? Here they are:

MapleWalnutBiscotti

I was quite excited to participate, because – believe it or not – I’d never made biscotti from scratch. But first, let me share a story. My first time enjoying biscotti was in 1991, during a visit to Italy. The best possible place to get acquainted with this delicacy, if you ask me. I had given a seminar in a big vaccine biotech company, and they took me out for a fantastic dinner later that evening. After dinner, where vino was flowing freely, someone insisted that we should all head to a bar so that I could try biscotti dunked in grappa. I knew nothing about either entity, but quickly realized that they complement each other perfectly. The biscotti are hard, but the grappa softens it. And the sweetness of the biscotti masks quite well – maybe too well – the alcohol in the grappa. Of course, after dunking, you’re supposed to drink the leftover grappa with the little tiny bits of biscotti that found their way to the bottom of the glass. Great food, vino, grappa, all framed by the beauty of Tuscany! Good thing I had already given my talk at that point, and was in full “dolce far niente” mode. At any rate, it was a magical evening. I remember a complete sense of awe as I walked back to my hotel under the most amazing full moon shining over the streets of Siena. One of those perfect moments that stay with you forever. Since biscotti are so dear to my heart, I spent quite a bit of time debating which kind to bake for Tara’s baby shower. Of course, keeping it all baby-friendly, I’ll ask you to skip that dunking in grappa. Unless there’s a full moon outside, then all bets are off… 😉

MAPLE WALNUT BISCOTTI
(from Susan Russo, for NPR)

Makes about 36 biscotti

for the biscotti:
2 cups unsalted walnuts
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 large eggs, plus 1 egg, lightly beaten, for brushing tops of loaves
3 tablespoons maple extract

for the icing:
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
3 tablespoons maple syrup

Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper. Place walnuts in a single layer on a baking sheet and toast in the 350-degree oven for 10 minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and coarsely chop. Set aside.

In a large bowl, hand mix toasted walnuts, sugars, cinnamon, baking powder and flour. In a small bowl, whisk eggs. Add maple extract and whisk until well blended. Add to the flour mixture. Stir a few times. Work the batter together with lightly floured hands. Keep squeezing the batter with your hands, until a dough starts to form. Shape as a ball and divide it into 4 equal pieces.

On a lightly floured surface, place one piece of dough, and using your hands, roll into a log shape that is approximately 8 inches long, 2 inches wide, and 3/4 of an inch high. If it’s sticky, simply dust your palms with more flour. Repeat with remaining three pieces of dough. Brush loaves all over with 1 lightly beaten egg.

Bake for 40 minutes, rotating pans halfway through, or until the tops of the loaves are shiny and deep golden. Cool on a rack for about 20 minutes before slicing, using a large serrated knife. Cut 3/4-inch-thick slices, using a sawing motion to prevent crumbling. Each loaf should yield 9 to 11 cookies.

Place slices on their sides back on to the baking sheets; place in the still warm oven with the temperature off and the door closed for 30 to 60 minutes. The longer they stay in the oven, the harder they will become. Remove from oven and cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

To make the maple icing, mix the confectioners’ sugar and maple syrup in a small bowl and whisk briskly until the icing is smooth and opaque and clings to the back of a spoon. Dip a teaspoon into the icing and drizzle the spoon back-and-forth over the biscotti. Allow to dry completely before storing. Store biscotti in an airtight container, preferably a tin, which helps keep them crisp.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: I was a bit nervous about this baking adventure, because I know that biscotti can be tricky to make, and that very few things are worse than bad biscotti, right? I fell in love with the flavors of this recipe because anything with maple makes me all warm inside, and walnuts only make it better. I suppose most people go crazy for chocolate, but I usually opt for other flavors in sweets. The recipe called for maple extract, because it has a more concentrated flavor, so I was “forced” to place an order for some. It smells amazing!

One of the tricky things about biscotti is slicing them after the first bake. You are supposed to wait for 20 minutes, and use a good quality serrated knife for the job. Worked great, I had no problems. By the way, I made half the recipe, and ended up with 18 biscotti, some quite small, cut from the edges. They are also called “sacrificial biscotti”. Honest. Not making that up.

I went for a double type of icing, the maple called for in the recipe, and then a drizzle of chocolate for cosmetic purposes. But, after tasting them, I do think the chocolate drizzle did more than beautify them. The taste complements the maple and walnuts quite well.

Now that I am older, not necessarily wiser, I dunk my biscotti into a steaming hot cup of cappuccino… Great way to start any day!

Tara, I hope this virtual Baby Shower brought a big smile to your face, we certainly had a great time planning and making sure it was kept secret until today…

And here I share the collection of biscotti from all virtual secreters who joined this party:

Biscotti Bites from Nicole at I am a Honey Bee

Blueberry Pecan Biscotti from Renee at Magnolia Days

Cinnamon Biscotti from Lauren at Sew You Think You Can Cook

Cranberry Pistachio biscotti from Stacy at Food Lust People Love

Dark Chocolate Orange Biscotti from Amy at Amy’s Cooking Adventures

Green Tea Biscotti Cookies from Rebekah at Making Miracles

Jam-Filled Mandelbrot from Kelly at Passion Kneaded

Maple Walnut Biscotti from Sally at Bewitching Kitchen

Nut-Free Anise Biscotti with Chocolate Chips from Susan at The Wimpy Vegetarian

Orange and Dark Chocolate Biscotti from Lynsey at Lynsey Lou’s

Orange, Date, and Almond Biscotti from Karen at Karen’s Kitchen Stories

Parmesan-Peppercorn Biscotti from Camilla at Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Spa Water from of Dorothy at Shockingly Delicious

ONE YEAR AGO: Barley Risotto with Peas

TWO YEARS AGO: Oatmeal Fudge Bars

THREE YEARS AGO: Cauliflower Steaks

FOUR YEARS AGO: Soft Spot for Chevre

FIVE YEARS AGO: Quick sun-dried Tomato Crostini

25Jan2015

SECRET RECIPE CLUB: MINI-QUICHES WITH DUXELLES AND BABY BROCCOLI

Posted in Breakfast & Brunch, Secret Recipe Club, Small Dishes by sallybr

It seems like FOREVER since we’ve had a Reveal Day of The Secret Recipe Club, but finally here we are, having the greatest time together… My assigned blog for the first month of 2015 has such a cute name, makes me smile: A Calculated Whisk… Becky, the cook behind the blog is a teacher of English to young Spanish-speaking kids, and next year will be starting to work on her master’s degree in Speech and Language Pathology. Impressive! Her site focuses on Paleo-friendly recipes, but is not restricted to them. For those interested in the Paleo life-style, I recommend reading her series of posts starting in January 1st, 2014, in which she shares her experience doing the Whole30 thing and blogging daily about it. That is endurance on several levels! 😉 Becky has two incredibly cute cats, Cupcake (a butter-addict) and Furpaws (prefers to hang inside the kitchen sink hoping for a sip of water straight from the faucet). I say we pet lovers have our share of idiosyncratic creatures to deal with… I am quite fond of Paleo recipes because they are usually moderate in carbs and high in protein, which is my preferred way to eat, so I had no problem finding stuff in her blog that pleased me. In fact, I intend to enjoy in the near future her Chicken Meatballs with Garlic Kale Marinara, her Chickpea Mushroom Spread (this one not Paleo), her Pumpkin and Pecorino Souffle (pretty intriguing gluten-free version), and her Spicy Cocoa Chili. But this recipe won my heart to share with you today: Mini-Quiches with Duxelles and Broccoli. As I expected, they were cute and absolutely delicious!

MINI-QUICHES WITH DUXELLES AND BROCCOLI
(slightly adapted from A Calculated Whisk)

makes 12 mini-quiches

for the duxelles:
2 tablespoons ghee
1 large shallot, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 cup minced mushrooms
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

for the mini quiches:
2 cups finely chopped broccoli florets
4 whole eggs
2 egg whites
1/2 cup coconut milk, full fat
1/2 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
olive oil, for greasing the pan

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F, and grease a 12-cup muffin pan with olive oil.

To make the duxelles, melt the ghee in a medium skillet over low heat. Add the shallots and garlic and saute, stirring frequently, until softened but not browned, 3-4 minutes. Add the mushrooms and raise the heat to medium. Cook, stirring frequently, until the mushrooms have released their liquid and most of it is gone, about 10 minutes. Season the duxelles liberally with salt and pepper, then set aside on a plate to cool.

Return the skillet to medium and add the chopped broccoli. Cook, stirring frequently, until bright green and crisp tender, about five minutes. Set aside to cool.

In a large bowl, whisk together the remaining ingredients. Stir in the duxelles and broccoli. Divide the mixture among the 12 greased muffin cups, filling each one about 3/4 full. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until just set in the middle.

Gently run a knife around the edge of each quiche, and carefully scoop them out with a spoon. Enjoy hot or warm. Leftover quiches can be stored in the fridge for 3-4 days and reheated.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Comments: I turned this recipe into a Neolithic version by adding feta cheese, my apologies to all modern cave men out there. But some pieces of leftover feta were staring at me from the fridge JUST as I was grabbing the eggs, and they actually screamed when left behind: “Please, take us, take us!”. I could not ignore them, I’m sure Becky will forgive me for the tweak. Those of you on a strict Paleo kick, simply omit the feta, but adjust the salt accordingly.

These were so tasty and convenient both as a side-dish at dinner or as a snack. Of course, you can think of all types of goodies to add to the mixture, keeping it Paleo with diced roasted butternut squash, shredded zucchini, or stretching a bit its limits with a little Roquefort or other yummy cheese. However, this version joining broccoli with mushrooms is going to be hard to beat.

Becky, as soon as this post is public, I am going to subscribe to your blog, as I don’t want to miss any of your future recipes. I truly enjoyed secretively exploring your site, and look forward to more…

As usual, my readers are all invited to go poke a blue frog. There is one waiting for you at the end of the post, and once poked, you will be able to see what all my fellow Secreters have been up to in the first month of 2015! And if you are curious about who had my blog, take a look at this beautiful post by Tara. She made brigadeiros! Clever girl!

ONE YEAR AGO: Quinoa and Sweet Potato Cakes

TWO YEARS AGO: Pumpkin Bolo de Fuba’ Cremoso

THREE YEARS AGO: Citrus-crusted Tilapia Filets

FOUR YEARS AGO: Bran Muffins, not just for Hippies

FIVE YEARS AGO: Flourless Chocolate Cake

21Sep2014

SECRET RECIPE CLUB: BUTTERMILK-BLUEBERRY BREAKFAST CAKE

Posted in Breakfast & Brunch, Desserts, Sweets, Secret Recipe Club by sallybr

This semester is shaping up as one of the busiest for us. I even flirted with the idea of sitting out of the Secret Recipe Club for a month, but I would be miserable watching everyone else posting their tasty recipes and not joining the party. No, not skipping it. My approach then is to jump on the assignment pretty much the day I get the email, on a rapid-fire stalking mode. The blog I got this month was “Making Miracles“, hosted by Rebekah. I urge you to read her About page, she has lived in many places in the US, including Alaska, but also spent a little over two years in Senegal back in 1995. A fascinating experience, even if at times not easy. If the subject of surrogacy interests you, she has a lot of experience with it as a surrogate mom herself, and also from helping families reach their dream of having a baby. That’s what the title of her blog, “Making Miracles” is all about.

I decided to go back to sweets for this month’s assignment, and had blueberries on my mind. Two recipes were begging to be featured, her Blueberry Coffee Cake Muffins, and her Buttermilk-Blueberry Breakfast Cake. The husband spoke. Breakfast cake won. So here it is!

BUTTERMILK-BLUEBERRY BREAKFAST CAKE
(from Rebekah’s Making Miracles)

½ cup butter, room temperature
2 tsp lemon zest
3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons sugar, separated
1 egg, room temperature
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour, separated
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
2 cups blueberries
½ cup buttermilk

Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter, lemon zest, and 3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon of the sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat until combined.

Meanwhile, toss the blueberries with ¼ cup of flour. In a separate bowl whisk together the remaining 1 + 3/4 cup of flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the batter a little at a time, alternating with the buttermilk. Remove excess flour from the blueberries, then fold the blueberries gently into the batter. Batter will be thick.

Grease a 9-inch square baking pan with non-stick spray. Spread batter into pan. Sprinkle batter with remaining tablespoon of sugar. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes. Check with a toothpick to make sure is cooked through. If necessary, return pan to oven for as long as 10 more minutes. Let cool at for 10-15 minutes before serving.

ENJOY!

to print the recipe, click here

Did I mention we’ve been overly busy these days? At the risk of boring you to death with trivia about growing bacteria, I will share some of the sordid details. For some experiments, we need to start cultures growing around 11pm, and then take care of them again before 5:30am. Usually Phil goes late at night, and I play the early bird. It’s not that bad, these late night and early morning visits to the lab are short, we prepare everything beforehand to make it easier. I can quickly drive back home, swallow a much-needed cappuccino, take a shower and we go back to work on our regular schedule. Soooo, back to food. I decided to bake this breakfast cake in of those hectic mornings and take to the department still warm from the oven.

Knowing I would be sleepy and prone to making mistakes, I lined up all ingredients the night before (the blueberries slept in the fridge, together with the buttermilk). Mis-en-place, mes amis. Mis-en-place.

Before I left for the lab, I turned the oven on. Arriving back, Phil had my cappuccino ready, all I had to do was drink the batter, mix the cappuccino… ooops, I guess it was the other way around… What matters is that our department got a freshly baked blueberry cake. Mission accomplished!

Lots of blueberries make this cake moist and quite crumbly. Make sure to bake it long enough so that pieces will be easy to cut.

Rebekah, I hope you are having a wonderful Reveal Day, I loved cooking from your site!

For all my readers, have fun checking out what the other members of my group prepared for today’s Reveal Day by clicking on the blue frog at the end of my post.

ONE YEAR AGO: Silky Cauliflower Puree with Almond Milk

TWO YEARS AGO: Beef and Broccoli Stir-fr

THREE YEARS AGO: Wheat Germ and Sage Sourdough Bread

FOUR YEARS AGO: Popeye-Pleasing Salad

FIVE YEARS AGO: Summer’s Finale