Moist Chocolate Chip Banana Nut Bread

I can’t get enough of that chocolate chip banana nut loaf from Starbucks and this tastes exactly like it…well to me. Try it and let me know what you think!

1 1/2 c. sugar
1 cup of cream cheese
½ c of butter
1 tbs. of almond paste
1 package of banana baby food
1 cup of mini chocolate chips
3/4 tsp. salt
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
3 c. flour
3 bananas, crushed
1 c. pecan, diced sm

Preheat oven to 350 degrees:

-Cream first 4 ingredients. Add banana baby food.
-Mix eggs in, one at a time. Add soda, salt, and flour while mixing at medium speed.
-Add chocolate chips and then mix in bananas and nuts.
-Bake in greased and floured 9 x 5 inch loaf pans for 1 hour until toothpick comes out clean.

Soft Scrambled Eggs

This is one of my favorite lazy Sunday brunch treats. The combo of soft eggs and pesto remind me of the Sunday brunches my husband and I use to have at Noho Star just about every weekend (I dont know why, we just love that place!). Please note: this is not an everyday egg dish since its hardly low in calories. Its a decadent and delicious way to celebrate breakfast every once and awhile.

Eggs:

4 eggs

1/4 cup of heavy cream

1 pinch of salt

1 pinch of ground black pepper

1 ts of unsalted butter

Pesto:

1 cup of fresh basil

2 tbs of pignoli nuts

1 clove of garlic

1/4 cup of olive oil

1/4 cup of parmesean

Loaf of Italian bread or baguette

goat cheese

*Make the pesto first since this can easily be made a head of  time and you dont want to get distracted while cooking the eggs.*

Grind pignoli nuts in food processor first. Add the basil, garlic, and salt to the mix and process until it  forms a paste.  Slowly drizzle in the olive oil, then add the Parmigiano 1 tablespoon at a time – until thick. Set aside covered.

 Heat up butter in a pan on low heat while whipping eggs and cream together in a bowl. Once combined and butter foams, add egg and cream mixture to the pan. Slowly stir the eggs from the outside of the pan to the center with a rubber spatula until the eggs form soft little pillows.This will take about 10 minutes.

Cut the bread up in thin slices and toast. Slather a good amount of goat cheese on each slice after toast, then pesto, then top with scrambled eggs. Delicious.

Apple and Quince Bread Pudding

There is nothing more comforting than a big bowl of warm bread pudding right out of the oven. My father generally made bread pudding with raisins, but I found the addition of apples and quinces makes this dish heartier…and dare I say more delicious?

1 loaf of Italian bread (cut into cubes)

2 cups of heavy cream

1 peeled/diced quince

1 peeled/diced gala apple

3/4 cup of sugar

4 eggs

3 tbs of butter

¼ ts of cinnamon

½ ts of vanilla

¼ cup of whiskey (Johnny Walker Black)

 

Preheat Oven to 350

Melt butter in pan with whiskey and throw apples and quince. Cook until tender. Remove and let cool

In the meanwhile cut Italian bread into bite size pieces. Mix together cream, eggs, sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon until well blended. Grease oven safe bowl. Toss in bread a fruit mixture and let sit for 10 minutes.

Cook for 45-60 minutes until golden brown. If you like it creamy, cook for only 45 minutes.

Sunchokes: An Unsung American Hero

Sunchokes, also known as Jerusalem artichokes, sunroots, earth apples, and topinambur, are actually the roots and related to sunflowers. The sunchoke has a long American history, they were cultivated by the Native Americans long before European settlers arrived. Although not as popular as some other tubers in the US (ahem..the potato) they are much more nutritious. Sunchokes have prebiotic properties which are great for intestinal health and also contain vitamin C, phosphorus and potassium. They are also a great source of iron.

Even better than all that – they taste awesome. When raw they resemble water chestnuts and when roasted they have a nutty, sweet, and slightly salty taste. The natural sweetness of the tuber makes the roots almost carmelize when you roast them, creating a delicious and healthy sidedish to any meal.

16 oz of sunchokes: washed, peeled and cut into large chunks

2 carrots diced

2 celery stalks diced

4 tbs of olive oil

salt and pepper optional

Preheat Oven to 425 degrees

- After cutting the sunchokes, rinse them, dry them, and mix them with carrots and celery. Coat in olive oil/salt/pepper.

- Roast for 45: flip every once and awhile after 30 min mark otherwise sunchokes will stick to the bottom of the pan

My Meat Sauce

My grandfather use to be very secretative when it came to his sauce, actually when it came to his food in general. Now my meat sauce isn’t really his recipe exactly but it’s close. What’s the key? Pork. Its amazing what pork can do to a red sauce.  The below is not a typical meat sauce nor is it a bolognese (no carrots or celery).

Ingredients

1 can crushed tomatoes

1 can tomato paste

1 cup of red wine

2 pork braccioles (thin pork cutlets wrapped up with parsley, cheese, and prosciutto)

2 minced shallots

1 minced garlic clove

6 links of plain sausage meat (remove casing)

1 cup of sliced mushrooms

3 tbs of extra virgin olive oil

In a pressure cooker saute shallots and garalic in olive oil until translucent. Cook sausage meat in with onions and shallots. When sausage meat is browned, add tomato paste and stir.  Then add the mushrooms, crushed tomatoes, red wine, and braccioles.

Now set your pressure cooker on low and cook for the appropriate times on your pressure cooker (mine is about 15-20 minutes). Let your pressure cooker cool and when it is ready, remove the lid. Bring the sauce to a boil and cook for an additional 30 minutes to thicken the sauce.

Roasted Cauliflower and Feta

I love cauliflower and I love feta. This dish was bound to happen in my kitchen.

 

2 cups of cauliflower florets

2 tbs. of fresh chopped chives

1/4 cup of chicken broth

1/4 cup of chopped feta (not the crumbled feta)

2 tbs of olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

chili powder (optional)

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

- If cauliflower is not in floret form, cut into smaller pieces and place in baking dish.

- Drizzle olive oil, salt, pepper, and chives onto the florets and cook for 30 minutes

- Take cauliflower out of the oven and toss to make sure they arent burning. Add in cheese and cook for an addtional 15 minutes.

- Dust with chili powder when done if desired

Chicken Soup

I love soup – especially chicken soup. You can make it from the scraps of your last dinner and can keep it in the frig for a week or more. I usually make this the day after I make a roasted chicken -nothing goes to waste!

 1 chicken carcass

1/2 cup of chopped carrots

1/2 cup of chopped celery

1/2 cup of sliced onions

1/4 cup of leeks

1 cup of white wine

1 cup of water

1 8oz. can of chicken broth

1/4 cup of chopped parsnips

 sprigs of sage, thyme, rosemary, and marjoram in a bouquet garni (tie them together and cheese cloth so you can pull it out afterwards)

2 tbs. of salt

pepper to taste

 

- Remove whatever chicken is left on the carcass and set aside.

- Put chicken carcass in a large pot with water, wine, herbs, salt, and chicken broth. Simmer for an hour. Remove chicken carcass and set aside.

- Put carrots, celery, onions, and leeks in the soup pot and simmer for another hour.

Roasted Chicken Zucchini Boats

I love zucchini boats – my father made them all the time growing up. We would generally make them with sausage but this one made with leftover chicken is just fantastic. Never throw leftover chicken away!

2 large zucchinis
1 cup of roasted chicken meat
1/4 cup of finely diced carrots
1/4 cup of finely diced celery
1/4 cup of finely diced onions
1/4 cup of white wine
1/3 cup of parmesean cheese
3 tbs of butter
salt and pepper

Preheat Oven to 350

Dice veggies and saute in pan with butter. After translucent add wine and chicken meat and cheese. Cook until mixed together and some of the wine has evaporated. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Cut zucchinis in half and hollow them out. Put zucchini flesh aside (you can cook this with wine and put back in the zucchini if you run out of filling.)

Bake in a for 45-60 minutes (depending on size of zucchinis – make sure foil and/or pan is greased properly)

Tomato Tarts

There is nothing simpler than a tomato tart in the summer.  If you grow tomatoes and never know what to do with your leftovers, this is a great way to use them.

4 lbs of tomatoes

4 tbs of Dijon Mustard

2/3 cup of shredded swiss cheese

1 ts. garlic powder

1/4 cup of finely chopped herbs (sage, rosemary, thyme)

1 pie crust (make your own or buy a Pillsbury pre-made)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees

- Bake crust for 10 minutes, remove, and let cool

- While pie crust is cooling, slice tomatoes into slices and drain excess juice in a collander

- After crust is cool, then spread the mustard on the bottom. Evenly sprinkle the cheese top of mustard and then arrange the tomato slices in one layer (like dominos)

- Sprinkle garlic powder and herbs ontop of tomatoes and bake for 15-20 minutes

Easy Fruit Crumbles

When you’re cooking for a large group of people dessert can sometimes take a backseat. If you didnt bake a cake or make a pie the day before – you’re generally too tired to make something after your finished with the savories (unless you’re serving cheese and honey…which is one of the best desserts ever). This fruit crumble could NOT be simpler. Try it!

Fruit:

4 cups of seasonal fruit (i.e. a mix of blueberries, cherries, strawberries, and raspberries – Frozen Fruit can also work)3 tbs. of strawberry/raspberry jam

Crumble:

2/3 cup of sugar

7 tbs of butter

3/4 cup of flour

Pinch of salt

Preheat Oven to 375 degrees

- Combine flour, sugar, and salt - mix in melted butter.

- In separate bowl combine fruit and jam

- Grease 8 small ramekins and arrange on a baking sheet. Divide fruit into ramekins and then sprinkle the flour mixture ontop. NOTE: you will need to put more crumble ontop of the ramekins than you might think. Flour mixture tends to seep into the fruit and can disappear into it completely

- Bake about 35 minutes and serve warm – with ice cream if you’d like.

(VARIATION: use diced apples for fruit and caramel sauce instead of jam. If using caramel sauce add an additional 2 tbs.)

 

 

 

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