Banana Cupcakes with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
By · CommentsI started hoarding ripe bananas when I saw this recipe. Every time I’ve made banana cupcakes, they come out too heavy and dense, but that hasn’t stopped me from continuing the search for a great recipe. I think I’ve found it, and I’m not surprised it comes from Abby Dodge. These cupcakes are light, airy and moist. The brown butter in the cream cheese frosting is a great foil for the cupcakes.
I took the finished product to work and everyone went into a tizzy over these. The recipe says it makes 24, but I think I could have easily gotten 30 out of it.
- Banana Cupcakes with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting (Abby Dodge)
Mini Chile Relleno Casseroles
By · CommentsLarry wasn’t crazy about these little souffles, but I liked them. And the cornbread is good but really needs to be eaten only the day it’s made. I added a bit of fresh corn to it since I had it on hand.
This gelato is really fantastic. I’m crazy about it and keep sneaking a spoonful here and there. Just slightly boozy, with port-soaked chunks of dried figs throughout. I made it using the Kitchen Aid ice cream maker attachment, which has more overrun than the Cusinart, resulting in an airier, smoother ice cream.
- Mini Chile Relleno Casseroles (EatingWell, March/April 2007)
- Wholesome Cornbread (EatingWell)
- Fig & Port Gelato (The Ciao Bella Book of Gelato and Sorbetto, p. 61)
Summer Rolls
By · CommentsWe haven’t had anything close to a hot summer, but I’ve been craving something refreshing, like a summer roll. I made these just for me, since Larry doesn’t particularly like them. I didn’t boil the shrimp – roasted with olive oil and garlic because we like to have some shrimp on hand in the refrigerator. These are really good and very quick to put together if all the ingredients are ready to go.
- Summer Rolls (Fine Cooking #72, July 2005, p. 56)
Dulce de Leche Cheesecake Bars
By · CommentsI’m up for anything that has caramel, and these cheesecake bars are a terrific salty-sweet dessert. Graham cracker crust, dulce de leche cheesecake filling, and topped with a creamy dulce de leche glaze – really delicious. I brought the bars to work, and topped half of them with a bit of fleur de sel (not everyone loves salty sweets). My coworkers gave them rave reviews.
- Dulce de Leche Cheesecake Bars (Bon Appetit, June 2010 )
Gelato
By · CommentsI borrowed a friend’s ice cream maker for the weekend, this Cuisinart ICE-50BC that I’ve had my eye on for a while. My current maker is pretty good, a Cuisinart also, but with a frozen canister. I have two canisters so I can make two batches of ice cream back-to-back if I want. I’ve done it, too, on occasion. I’ve got the room in my freezer for both canisters so it’s not a big deal. But this is a monster ice cream maker, big and loud and with its own refrigeration unit. No need for wimpy canisters.
I made two batches of ice cream, the same cinnamon gelato I made recently – for comparison in quality of the ice cream, plus a Mexican chocolate, which is essentially chocolate ice cream with cinnamon. I made up both bases, chilled them overnight, and then got down to the business of making ice cream.
The cinnamon gelato turned out pretty much the same as in my little Cuisinart. Maybe more overrun, but Larry couldn’t tell the difference between the two. It took about a half hour to make – the same as my machine. The chocolate was good, too, but weird. I used a 70% chocolate so it was very chocolatey (recipe called for 60%). And then it called for 1/4 tsp. of cinnamon, which was hardly enough. I ended up adding about 2 tsp., plus a teaspoon of almond extract. And when it was mixing, the machine stopped after about a half hour – I guess it decided it was thick enough, but it really wasn’t. So the Mexican chocolate gelato, while delicious, is very rich and dense.
Conclusion? I can’t justify the cost or space needed for the ICE-50. My ice cream maker works great and I’ve never had the need to make more than two batches at once. And if I do, I’ll just borrow my friend’s machine.
- Cinnamon Gelato (The Ciao Bella Book of Gelato and Sorbetto, p. 56)
- Mexican Chocolate Gelato (The Ciao Bella Book of Gelato and Sorbetto, p. 103)
National Night Out
By · CommentsFor this year’s National Night Out, I baked up some treats for our neighborhood gathering. We live in a great neighborhood, the old-fashioned kind where many of us know each other well. Several neighbors have keys to our house. We look out for each other. We’ve vacationed with one neighbor, and one takes Coco for a walk sometimes when we’re at work.
Our gathering was a little last-minute, so I threw together a few things that are quick and reliable.
- Vanilla Bean-Coconut Cupcakes with Coconut Frosting (Bon Appetit, April 2009)
- Chocolate Cupcakes with Dark Chocolate Frosting (Fine Cooking #21, July 1997, p. 35)
- Chocolate-Chip Brownie Double Deckers (The Weekend Baker, p. 263)
Country Gourmet’s Whole Wheat Pancakes
By · CommentsI’m not a big breakfast person, but I do like pancakes. I prefer them unadorned, eaten plain out of hand. Larry likes them with some maple syrup. He found this recipe online – Country Gourmet is a nice little restaurant in Sunnyvale so I prepped everything the night before so they’d be quick to make the next morning.
This recipe says it makes 8-10 pancakes. I’d say that’s accurate, if the pancakes are plate-sized. It made 26 smaller pancakes. Way too many for both of us, so I froze the extras. We liked these, they’ve got a great flavor and a nice texture. Hearty.
- Country Gourmet’s Whole Wheat Pancakes (Seattle Times, July 27, 2010)
Millet Salad Mexicano
By · CommentsI wavered on making dinner tonight, then decided to go ahead with it because we have a ton of tomatoes from our CSA. Tonight’s dinner turned out to be all vegan from Peter Berley’s cookbooks – an author I really like. I particularly love The Modern Vegetarian Kitchen. I’ve got all three of his books.
As I do much of the time when cooking a meatless meal, I turned to grains. Because I’m a grain fanatic. Millet is pretty bland, but takes on flavors really nicely. This salad is really terrific, all of those great summery flavors – corn, avocado, tomatoes. And the potatoes have just the right amount of spice and went well with the millet salad.
The ice cream is good, too – taking advantage of the last of the blueberries and lavender, which is beginning to dry up. I prefer the lavender paired with honey, but the blueberry is nice.
- Millet Salad Mexicano (The Modern Vegetarian Kitchen, p. 187)
- Chipotle Roasted Potatoes (Fresh Food Fast, p. 195)
- Lavender-Blueberry Ice Cream (The New York Times Dessert Cookbook, p. 451)
Blackberry-Apple Turnovers
By · CommentsGreat summery dinner tonight for Larry, Jay and I – chicken off the grill, my most favorite bread salad and roasted green beans, fresh from our CSA this week. I picked up blackberries from the farmer’s market and made these easy, terrific hand pies. Larry’s in heaven – not just because of the hand pies, but also because of the gelato I made to go alongside. A simple custard-based gelato, with cinnamon mixed in just before it went into the ice cream maker. Cinnamon is definitely Larry’s favorite ice cream flavor, and this is probably one of the best I’ve made. Ranks right up there with the honey lavender.
- Caribbean Spice-Rubbed Grilled Chicken Thighs (Fine Cooking #79, July 2006., p. 42)
- Bread Salad with Corn, Cherry Tomatoes & Basil (Fine Cooking #52, September 2002, p. 43)
- Roasted Green Beans with Shallots
- Blackberry-Apple Turnovers (Fine Cooking #106, August/September 2010, p. 72)
- Cinnamon Gelato (The Ciao Bella Book of Gelato and Sorbetto, p. 56)
For Jay’s birthday dinner, I made up a simple Mediterranean-inspired vegetarian dinner. I love this cookbook and haven’t found anything bad in it, although these little chickpea patties probably aren’t something I’d make again. Not bad, but not outstanding.
I’ve had these cupcakes tagged for a long time and kept putting off making them because I got distracted by something else. Ever since I made the Lemon Luxury Cake from Rose’s Heavenly Cakes, I’ve been intrigued by the use of white chocolate in baking. I’m definitely a white chocolate convert. It’s not something I particularly like eating on its own, but I really love using a high-quality white chocolate in cakes and in buttercream.
I brought the leftover cupcakes to work and they were a big hit. Super moist thanks to a bit of coconut milk in the batter. The batter is odd, a thick slurry that is lightened with some whipped egg whites. The frosting is terrific, but doesn’t make enough to create pretty swirls on top – it would need to be doubled for that. However, the portion was enough to allow a generous portion to be spread on each cupcake.
- Herbed Chickpea Patties with Israeli Salad (A Year in a Vegetarian Kitchen, p. 148)
- White Chocolate Cupcakes with Which Chocolate Cream Cheese Buttercream (The Craft of Baking, p. 168)
