Logan Wolfram

Enjoying Life for Dessert

What’s for Dinner?!…Fig and Sausage Pizza

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This morning I’m not feeling it.  I’m not sure what “it” is, but I just know I’m stinking worn out and not up for anything.

I did go to Whole Foods this morning after I dropped Tid Bit off at school…my little grocery oasis.  You know you’ve come a long way from the days of driving a convertible and playing til all hours when your “oasis” is a specialty grocery store.  But it is.  I even bought flowers to make me feel happy…they’re kinda working.

I’ve told you before that the Hubs is working like a dog here lately.  It is REALLY starting to catch up with the boys and me.  And it’s not like the days are that bad, it’s the nights…or rather, from 4pm-bedtime.  I miss my honey.  My boys miss him.  And we’re all pretty weary of not seeing one another.

So if you’re wondering why I haven’t posted a fabulous recipe here for a bit…it’s because we’ve been living on Tyson Chicken nuggets and Kashi microwave meals.  Really…I should buy stock in Kashi.  Their sales have increased significantly in the past month…I promise.  Me telling you that is probably a bit like insider trading….here’s to hoping it doesn’t go for me like it did for Martha.

But for real.  I have ZERO motivation to cook when my honey isn’t around to appreciate it.

The one thing I’ve been craving for months now won’t be ridiculously amazing again til it’s fig season in the summer, but I bought some dried figs today and am going to try reconstituting them (that’s done by soaking them in boiling water til they plump up again) to make this most amazing recipe.  I’ll go ahead and post it for you now, but know that I’m going to post it again this summer so that you don’t miss it when figs are in high season.

Here’s the really fun part.  Make salad one night from this and make the pizzas the next night for dinner.  So you get 2 amazing dinners from one time of real prep work…there’s a winner for the uninspired for sure!

Grilled Sausages with Figs and Mixed Greens

Ingredients
•6 fresh lamb sausages, spicy Italian sausages, or garlic sausages (i used mild Italian sausages that i crumbled and sauteed)
•4 1/2-inch-thick red onion slices
•10 tablespoons Pomegranate-Cumin Dressing, divided
•12 cups mixed greens ( i mixed spinach and arugula)
•3/4 cup crumbled soft fresh goat cheese
•6 fresh figs, halved
•1/4 cup (packed) sliced fresh mint leaves

Preparation
•There are 2 ways to do this.
Way 1) Prepare grill (medium-high heat). Brush sausages and onions with 3 tablespoons dressing; grill sausages until cooked, 15 minutes, and onions until charred, 10 minutes.
Way 2) Here’s where I did it differently.  The first time I made this I did it this way above that was suggested, but I honestly thought it harder and not as tasty.  The next time I made it and how I do it now, is to crumble and brown the sausage and caramelize the onions inside over the stove earlier in the day.  So by dinner time all I’m doing is rolling out the dough and assembling the pizza.  I think it tastes better this way too because it’s easier to bite and each bite is tastier with the crumbled sausage b/c it spreads around more easily.

Toss greens with remaining dressing; mound on plates. Slice 4 sausages (reserve 2 for pizza). Top greens with sausages, cheese, figs, and mint.

Dressing recipe

Pomegranate-Cumin Dressing
Makes about 1 cup 
Ingredients
•7 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
•4 1/2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
•3 tablespoons sliced fresh mint leaves
•1 1/2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
•1 tablespoon ground cumin
•6 tablespoons minced shallots

•INGREDIENT INFO
If you can’t find pomegranate molasses at the supermarket or a Middle Eastern store, make your own by boiling 1 cup pomegranate juice until reduced to 3 tablespoons syrup, about 15 minutes. (this is what i did and it was really easy.) And I made extra and froze it in 2 Tbsp portions in a silicone ice cube tray so I’d have the pomegranate molasses any time I wanted it.

Preparation
•Whisk first 5 ingredients in bowl. Mix in shallots; season with salt and pepper.

Fig and Sausage Pizza

Ingredients
•1 pound purchased fresh pizza dough
•5 tablespoons Pomegranate-Cumin Dressing, divided
•1 cup coarsely grated Fontina cheese
•Fresh arugula
•2 italian sausages, I actually remove the casing and crumble and brown them on the stove…easier and then there is sausage in every bite.
•6 fresh figs, quartered
•2 thin red onion slices, rings separated – I also caramelize onions on the stove too
•1 cup crumbled soft fresh goat cheese
Preparation
•Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Halve dough; roll to 10-inch rounds. Brush tops with some of dressing.
•Grill pizzas, seasoned side down, until golden on bottom, about 4 minutes. Turn pizzas over. Top with Fontina, arugula, sausages, figs, and onions. Drizzle with more dressing. Cover; grill until Fontina melts and pizza is cooked through, about 4 minutes. Top with goat cheese. Grill until goat cheese softens, about 1 minute.

I’ll take step by step photos when I do this this summer again, but for now you must see what you can do to try it.  I’ll let you know how reconstituting the figs goes too.

Ok…hope that whets some appetites out there.  Did mine for sure!

I’d say “thank goodness it’s Friday” here, but since it’s likely the Hubs will have to work tomorrow (making today another regular weekday for us,)  I’ll just say “happy Friday” to you instead.

– Logan

What’s for DInner?! Andouille Sausage Burgers

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I have to hurry.  Little Bit is about to wake up and our neighbors will be on their way over any minute for a cupcake picnic (and I’ve yet to ice the cupcakes!)  I have to give you this recipe though.  It’s unreal.  The next time you want to make burgers, make these!  I always double the recipe and vacuum seal all the extra burgers because they do require a bit more prep work than a standard burger. 

And they’re certainly horrible for you.  My sister and her husband don’t even make them for that reason.  Perhaps that’s part of how she stays skinner than me.  Oh well… sure am glad my hanky pankys are stretchy!

Andouille and Beef Burgers with Spicy Mayo and Caramelized Onions

Makes 6 (freeze any extras…or be really smart and double the recipe and freeze patties…you’ll be glad you did!)

Ingredients
Spicy mayonnaise
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon Cajun or Creole seasoning blend
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

Burgers
1/2 pound andouille sausage, cut into scant 1/4-inch cubes
3/4 cup pecans, toasted, chopped
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 1/2 pounds ground beef chuck or ground beef (20 percent fat)

Caramelized onions
1 1/2 pounds onions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons olive oil plus more for brushing grill rack
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon golden brown sugar

6 large hamburger buns, split
8 ounces crumbled blue cheese
12 pickled okra pods, halved lengthwise (i actually didn’t use these when i made this)
3 cups watercress tops (i used baby spinach)

Preparation
For mayonnaise
Mix all ingredients in small bowl. Cover and chill. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 days ahead. Keep chilled.

For burgers
Toss first 4 ingredients in large bowl. Add beef; blend gently. Shape mixture into six 1/2-inch-thick patties. Transfer patties to small baking sheet. Do ahead Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.

For onions
Prepare barbecue(medium-high heat). Toss onions and next 3 ingredients in large skillet. Place skillet on grill; cook until onions are golden, stirring often, about 25 minutes. Remove from grill; season with salt and pepper.

Brush grill rack with olive oil. Grill buns, cut side down, until golden, about 2 minutes. Transfer buns to work surface. Grill burgers until brown on bottom, about 3 minutes. Turn over; sprinkle with cheese. Grill until burgers are cooked to desired doneness, about 3 minutes for medium. Place some onions, then burger, on each bun bottom. Top each with okra and watercress. Spread mayonnaise on cut side of bun tops; place on burgers. Serve with remaining mayonnaise.

Happy grilling!

Love,
Logan

Filed Under: Eat

Happy Valentine’s Day! Fun at our house!

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First off, Happy Valentine’s Day friends!

I promised you finished pictures from our Valentine projects around here, so here are a few snip-its from our 2 week long soiree into all things lovey dovey (at least for a 4-year old.) For a reminder of our what game plan was, check out the post I did that includes the amazing sugar cookie recipe! HERE

We made the cookies last week, dough on Tuesday and rolled them out and baked them on Thursday.  We froze them over the weekend while we were out of town and then iced and boxed them last night.  Clearly I did the name writing and the more intricate design stuff. We nestled a name cookie and a little heart in some tissue paper in the Chinese boxes and they were accompanied by a Valentine that Tid Bit made himself.  They were all different and I LOVED them!

Above here you can see the one Tid Bit made for Chelsea.  He told me he thinks “she’s really pretty because her hair goes ‘up like this’ (it’s curly at the ends) and she always wears a bow that matches her clothes.”  Oh brother!  I thought I had YEARS before I’d hear commentary like that!  Still, it’s funny.  And hilariously enough, he spent some extra time on her Valentine!

Check out what my Main Man gave me for Valentines…yes, that’s right, Easter Candy.  You know your man loves you when he breaks out the Cadbury Cream eggs and Reeses hearts for you.  Forget flowers…my man knows what I really love! (although, I’d be good with flowers too!) Just had to throw that in there!  Kudos to the Honey you know!

 
Here is the lunch I made for my littlest Valentine’s today.  I rolled out crescent roll dough and cut it into hearts and then made mini pizzas for them. (Yeah, I know the cheese looks weird.  It’s because it is.  Vegan Cheese for Tid Bit, and Little Bit just eats it too since that’s what I was making.)  I also made some chocolate covered strawberries for them too, and a drop of food coloring to make pink soymilk! (oh, for those of your dairy avoiders reading…did you know that Ghiradelli semi-sweet chocolate chips have NO dairy in them at all?!  And all this time you thought you or your kiddos would have to go without chocolate!)


 You guys know I love presents, so above you can see the table that I set up for my kids to enjoy at lunchtime too!  LOVE IT!  And amazingly enough, there’s hardly any candy in there!  Tid Bit got some new Lightening McQueen jammies, and Little Bit scored that adorable stuffed “dog dog” as he calls them!  I think all the extra tissue paper I crammed around makes it look more fun.  And I totally pulled out some leftover balloons from Little Bit’s birthday party and hung them from the chandelier over the table.  It’s the little things you know?!  So, that’s what we’ve been up to today!

Tonight for dinner, I’m making my three Valentine’s some hamburgers for dinner!  The Hubs and I aren’t really into date night ON Valentine’s day.  Too many other people busy publicly loving one another, and we’d rather have less people around and better service at a restaurant that isn’t slammed.  In a few minutes, before our friends next door come over to join us for Valentine cupcakes on the lawn, I’ll post the recipe for the best burger I’ve ever had…EVER.  And it’s the one the Hubs and I will be having tonight.  Do you trust me yet when it comes to recipes?  Hope so, because this one will change the way you eat burgers!

More in a few!

– Logan

Take time to Stop and Smell the Rosemary…

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THIS is my favorite cookbook…EVER!

“Stop and Smell the Rosemary” from the Junior League of Houston, TX!

I’m supposed to be packing my family to visit my parentals for the weekend, but I thought you might be sad if I didn’t at least make a small effort to post today.  Plus, I’m really trying to be good about doing it regularly (although I think I’m going to take Sundays off because God says to, and also because statistics show that you’re not reading then anyways.)

Whatever…

What I wanted to tell you today though is that this cookbook is FANTASTIC!  I don’t have time to take pictures of the inside right now but I will tell you it’s pretty enough to be a coffee table book.  Both inside and out.  And more importantly it doesn’t have a bad recipe in the thing!  And I’ve tried a lot.

It has the best banana pudding of all times (which I’ll post one day for those of you who aren’t cookbook collectors), the spicy meatloaf recipe takes a once boring and frightful dish to new heights, Parmesan crusted catfish is melt in your mouth good and easy to boot, chicken curry that will turn your tastebuds upside down…I mean, seriously the list goes on and on.  If you ever wanted any cookbook that you know you can trust, this is the one. 

So if you still can’t bring yourself to stuff your chubby tootsie in a pair of these —————————————->

Then stuff your face with some amazing recipes from this book!  I promise, your husband won’t be disappointed with this acquisition either (unless you just let it collect dust on a shelf.)  Imagine the reaction though if you cook a meal from here IN a pair of hanky pankys! (Well, not serve the meal in the undies…but you wear them to serve the meal….whatever, you know what I mean!) Beware of spontaneous combustion!

Anyways, you can pick up the book on Amazon for the best price.  HERE is a link for you!

Thank you to the Junior League of Houston for this gorgeous book that’s big on flavor!  They do say everything is bigger in Texas anyways huh?

Enjoy! And happy Friday!

– Logan

Filed Under: Eat

The Man Party

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Ever since my husband and a band of his buddies decided to have their own “Man Party” for the Super Bowl last night, I’ve been salivating over a blog post idea.  I can’t imagine that I’ll do my idea justice because as is often the case with ideas, the execution can fall short indeed.  Like re-telling a funny story where mid-way through you already feel stupid because you’ve ruined it…I worry that this will be the same.  So if mid-way through I feel like a dolt, you’ll understand why I may sound incomplete….just stop while you’re ahead you know?!

So the Man party was the first idea thrown out there.  Then another friend sent out an invite for a couples party…to the same group of people.

None of us wanted to reply to either because who wants to pick between awesome people?!  Not us!  I think the overlap was a total case of the accidents, but still….several of us caught in the in between and noone wanting to decide for sure.

Party number 2 conceded to party # Man, and thus the Woman party was birthed.

I think I don’t even need to delve into all the reasons that God made Eve.  Seriously, Adam needed some help.  God himself said so…”it is not good for man to be alone.”  And I have been giggling inside for a couple of weeks now over what it looks like at a man party where wives make ZERO effort to help out….we had our own party to plan after all.

And check out the spread at our party…I really should have taken more pictures, because this only shows a little bit of it all.  There were 2 tables, and the counter taken up by goodies.  We had bacon and cheddar potato skins, spinach pastry puffs, fried mozarella sticks, veggie trays, fruit trays, hot cheese dip, hummus, chicken salad croissants, boneless hot wings, jalapeno pimento cheese, homemade fruit pizza, cheesecake, homemade brownies, real Spanish sangria, sodas, herbed pita chips…and that’s not even all of it.  And notice the lovely serving dishes too?!  It was quite the effort made by about 10 women.  But that’s all…just about 10 of us.  This picture really doesn’t even do the spread justice.  I promise.

Here’s a taste of the men’s party below. Yeah…that’s what MY man took.  I know you wish you had an airbrushed cookie cake at your Super Bowl party!  Maybe you did…maybe you had a Man Party too.


So when The Hubs got home and I asked him about the Man party, of course they had fun.  They always have fun.  But when I asked him about the food, he laughed and said “there were a lot of chips and salsa.”

One guy brought some pizza.  Another brought some frozen wings that they then had to cook there.  (My girlfriend who’s husband hosted the party, told me today that the mess she’s cleaning up from the wing cooking is unbelievable!)  And there was this amazing cookie cake of course.

The Hubs told me he was getting hungry when I was describing our spread and even conceded a little jealousy.  Apparently the goal for the next man party would be that there is NOT a counter party for the women at the same time so that we can make sure their party is well fed.

HA!

I guess God knows what he’s talking about huh?  Not good for man to be alone.  And I think the men will all have the diarrhea over the next couple of days to remind them.

Happy Monday friends!

– Logan

What’s Cooking?! Dead Lady’s Dip

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I should have posted this Friday…but it was just one of those days where the baby didn’t nap, and in the end I was so tired that us grown-ups got take-out for dinner once the kids were asleep.  I didn’t have it in me to post anything else beyond the recipe that I did manage to upload.  Then I’d hoped to post yesterday (Saturday) but we had such torrential downpours overnight that it flooded our septic tank and as a result our house smelled like raw sewage yesterday. As I’m sure you can imagine, it was awful and we did all that we could to avoid being here for too much time.  So, if you’re checking here just one last time before you head to a Super Bowl party tonight…then you’re in luck.  If you’re reading this Monday morning before I have time to do a proper Monday post, then tuck this one away for the next time you need a quick, easy, yummy take-along for a party!

The story for this dip I think goes something like this.

There was this old lady who always made this most amazing hot cheese dip to take to parties.  She was NOT like me at all in that she was what I’d like to call a “Recipe hoarder.”  (You know the people…the recipe secret keepers.  What is up with that?!  I don’t want to steal your sunshine, and I promise I won’t make your most famous dish if you’re going to be there too…but for the love, realize that if I ask you for a recipe, then it’s because I’m paying you the highest compliment that I know how…I want to copy you!!!  Anyways…enough about my feelings on Recipe Hoarders.  I am not one and therefore will always give you all recipes.  I’ll even let you make them for something if I’m going to be there!)

Any-whooo, this lady was a Recipe Hoarder of the most severe kind.  She was going to take her recipe with her to the grave.  And I don’t know if she had a moment of weakness on her deathbed, or if it was some fanciful combination of narcotics that made her do it, but she shared the recipe with one friend, and then she died.  My grandmother was friends with the “one friend” who of course shared the recipe with anyone who ever asked, and THAT friends is how I can now share the recipe with you.  We call it “Dead Lady’s Dip” in my family because the broad had to croak before anyone could have it!

So without further ado…I give you Dead Lady’s Dip!

1 bar monterey jack peppered cheese (jalapeno jack)
1 bar sharp cheddar cheese
2 eggs slightly beaten
1 can rotele tomatoes(or about 1 c. salsa)

Grate all the cheese.  Grease a shallow casserole dish and put in grated cheese.  Pour eggs over cheese, and then can of rotele (or salsa) over top of that.  Bake at 350 for 20 minutes or until bubbly.  Stir it up to serve.  Serve with a heavy tortilla style chip (I really like Tostitos Bite Sized Gold for this because they’re sturdy enough to scoop out the cheese without breaking!)

Enjoy!!  (Sorry I don’t have a picture here…I’m not actually making this one tonight b/c another friend is making her famous hot cheese dip for the party I’m going to.  She shares recipes too!  Thank heavens!)

PS. I’m hoping to convince The Hubs to take pictures at the Super Bowl party he’s going to tonight because it’s an All-Man party.  I’m going to the All-Wives of the All-Man party in a separate location, and i can’t wait to just see the difference in food spread.  The men have been left to their own devices…Lawd help them!

How to Make Homemade Chicken Stock

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I wrote “How to Make Homemade Chicken Stock” in a post a couple of weeks ago, but decided it’s important enough to deserve it’s own post.  Yesterday, I needed to make some more and had just bought a rotisserie chicken, so I thought I’d document the process for you in photos.  My friend Amy tried this for the first time the other day (Woo Hoo Ames!) and had some questions along the way…so in an effort to serve you all better, I hope all these pictures help!

PS. I just copied below what I’d written in the post before.  But now, I’m adding pictures!!!

First I’m going to tell you how to make homemade chicken stock…the cheater’s way!  Step 1. Go to Sams or Costco or the grocery store and get a rotisserie chicken. Step 2. Eat the chicken for lunch or dinner with simple sides. Step 3. SAVE every single piece of that carcass and the juice in the bottom of the pan. Even fill the bottom dish from the chicken with water to add to your pot and get every last flavorful dripping you can out of that thing!

 Step 4. Put all of that in a stockpot. (The one I’ve used here is an 8qt pot.) Quarter an onion. Cut some celery into about 3 inch lengths (I’d say maybe 3 stalks, and yes, the leaves can stay on the celery…they’re flavorful!) Put some carrots in too…maybe a cup or so. These can be cut big as well, or you can really cheat and use baby carrots. Put a couple Tbsp minced garlic, salt, pepper, I put some Lawry’s seasoned salt, maybe a tsp of thyme, and a Tbsp parsley flakes..

 Fill the pot up with lots of water, a  Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer a long time UNCOVERED…at least 3 hours, and up to about 8 makes it really great!

 This is how my pot looked when I started at about noon. I even measured the water line so you can see what will happen over time.

This was after about 3 hours.  The stock had evaporated over an inch worth of liquid.

And then below after 6 hours it’d lost another inch!  The longer you cook it, the more concentrated it gets!

Concentration = loads of flavor!

The darker the color, the richer the broth.  When you’re done, strain out all the bones and veggies and store the stock.  I normally just freeze mine in about 6 cup (that’s 1 1/2 qts) containers, so I can use it whenever I want. Also if you’ve made it really concentrated, then when you make soup or something with it, you can usually add as much water as you have stock to make more.  So if you have 4c. stock, then add 4 c. water and your broth will still taste super rich.

This is what my finished product looked like after about 7 hours simmering once I ran it through a strainer to get all the bones and things out.

Make sure that you say things like “oui, oui” and “bon appetit” when you make this, you’ll be very European now making your own stock and all.

How to Make Homemade Chicken Stock

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I wrote “How to Make Homemade Chicken Stock” in a post a couple of weeks ago, but decided it’s important enough to deserve it’s own post.  Yesterday, I needed to make some more and had just bought a rotisserie chicken, so I thought I’d document the process for you in photos.  My friend Amy tried this for the first time the other day (Woo Hoo Ames!) and had some questions along the way…so in an effort to serve you all better, I hope all these pictures help!

PS. I just copied below what I’d written in the post before.  But now, I’m adding pictures!!!

First I’m going to tell you how to make homemade chicken stock…the cheater’s way!  Step 1. Go to Sams or Costco or the grocery store and get a rotisserie chicken. Step 2. Eat the chicken for lunch or dinner with simple sides. Step 3. SAVE every single piece of that carcass and the juice in the bottom of the pan. Even fill the bottom dish from the chicken with water to add to your pot and get every last flavorful dripping you can out of that thing!

 Step 4. Put all of that in a stockpot. (The one I’ve used here is an 8qt pot.) Quarter an onion. Cut some celery into about 3 inch lengths (I’d say maybe 3 stalks, and yes, the leaves can stay on the celery…they’re flavorful!) Put some carrots in too…maybe a cup or so. These can be cut big as well, or you can really cheat and use baby carrots. Put a couple Tbsp minced garlic, salt, pepper, I put some Lawry’s seasoned salt, maybe a tsp of thyme, and a Tbsp parsley flakes..

 Fill the pot up with lots of water, a  Bring to a boil and then reduce heat and simmer a long time UNCOVERED…at least 3 hours, and up to about 8 makes it really great!

 This is how my pot looked when I started at about noon. I even measured the water line so you can see what will happen over time.

This was after about 3 hours.  The stock had evaporated over an inch worth of liquid.

And then below after 6 hours it’d lost another inch!  The longer you cook it, the more concentrated it gets!

Concentration = loads of flavor!

The darker the color, the richer the broth.  When you’re done, strain out all the bones and veggies and store the stock.  I normally just freeze mine in about 6 cup (that’s 1 1/2 qts) containers, so I can use it whenever I want. Also if you’ve made it really concentrated, then when you make soup or something with it, you can usually add as much water as you have stock to make more.  So if you have 4c. stock, then add 4 c. water and your broth will still taste super rich.

This is what my finished product looked like after about 7 hours simmering once I ran it through a strainer to get all the bones and things out.

Make sure that you say things like “oui, oui” and “bon appetit” when you make this, you’ll be very European now making your own stock and all.

What’s Cooking?! Best Banana Bread EVER!

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Lucky for you it’s raining in SC today.  And when it rains, all I want to do is cook.  So today, I’m unearthing the rotten bananas that I put in my freezer to keep til I was ready and I’m making my favorite banana bread. (side note here…If you’re always throwing away rotten bananas because you don’t have time to make banana bread right when they get rotten, STOP IT!  Put those suckers in the freezer and then just microwave them to thaw them out…cut the end off and they squeeze right out, perfectly mushy and great!)

I love banana bread.  But I have been on a hunt for an amazing banana bread recipe since college.  I’m not kidding you.  I bet I have made 20 different banana bread recipes over the years trying to find one that knocked my socks off.  I have at least 4 pretty good ones that I have on recipe cards in my recipe book, and I have mixed up even those 4 countless times trying to create the perfect combination of ingredients.

I think banana bread needs to be moist, flavorful, kinda chewy, super banana-ey…just good.  And after years of searching, I’m done looking.  I’m not kidding you…I am done.  This recipe is HANDS DOWN the BEST banana bread that I have ever had.  I could eat my weight in it.  My whole family loves it so much that I normally double or triple it every time I make it.  I make it in big loaves, little loaves, and muffins.  It’s just incredible. It even has dark rum in it…are you kidding me?!  Unreal!  Why didn’t I ever think of that?!  And now, you have to try it and let me know how much you love it now too.

I will say though, that since I have a dairy allergic kid, I omit the buttermilk powder it calls for.  Also Tid Bit showed up for years allergic to tree nuts and while he’s supposedly not allergic to them anymore, we haven’t done a food challenge on it, so I still omit the nuts too….but I can’t imagine how it’d increase the total incredibleness quotient of this recipe to add them.  So if you put them, then gush for me on how amazing it was in the comments section.

Here you go…

Makes 1 large loaf.
1 1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1/4 c. dark rum (I use Captain Morgans)
2 large ripe bananas
2 eggs
1 Tbsp milk (I use soymilk here)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 c. unbleached flour
2 Tbsp dry buttermilk blend (I leave this out since we have the dairy allergy)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c. finely chopped walnuts
1/2 c. coarsely chopped pecans
1/4 c. sweetened coconut

Rum Glaze (I am usually too lazy to do this part, but it sure is good if you do!)
1/4 c. sugar
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp water
1/4 c. dark rum

For Banana Bread

Preheat oven to 325F.  Grease a large loaf pan. (I always use cooking spray and line the bottom with parchment paper so that my loaves come out perfectly.)

Combine sugar, oil, rum, bananas, eggs, milk, and vanilla in a mixing bowl.  Beat until blended, scraping bowl occasionally.  Mix the flour, buttermilk blend, baking soda, and salt in another bowl.  Add to the banana mixture, stirring just until moistened: do not overmix.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan.  Sprinkle with the walnuts, pecans, and coconut over the top.  Bake about 45 minutes or until the edges pull away from the sides of the pan. (You can also make sure a toothpick comes out clean…I tend to think it takes longer than this to bake, but I have a crappy oven as you all know.)  Let cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then remove bread from the pan (pecans and coconut should be on top.)  Drizzle with the warm rum glaze.  Serve warm or chill for later use.  This also freezes beautifully!

To make the rum glaze:
Combine the sugar, butter and water in a microwave safe bowl.  Microwave until boiling and boil for 1-2 minutes.  Stir in the rum.  (Or you may boil in a saucepan for 5 minutes, then add the rum.)

Now that you’re done…call a friend to come over for coffee and really enjoy your amazing bread!

– Logan

Filed Under: Eat

What’s Cooking?! Best Banana Bread EVER!

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Lucky for you it’s raining in SC today.  And when it rains, all I want to do is cook.  So today, I’m unearthing the rotten bananas that I put in my freezer to keep til I was ready and I’m making my favorite banana bread. (side note here…If you’re always throwing away rotten bananas because you don’t have time to make banana bread right when they get rotten, STOP IT!  Put those suckers in the freezer and then just microwave them to thaw them out…cut the end off and they squeeze right out, perfectly mushy and great!)

I love banana bread.  But I have been on a hunt for an amazing banana bread recipe since college.  I’m not kidding you.  I bet I have made 20 different banana bread recipes over the years trying to find one that knocked my socks off.  I have at least 4 pretty good ones that I have on recipe cards in my recipe book, and I have mixed up even those 4 countless times trying to create the perfect combination of ingredients.

I think banana bread needs to be moist, flavorful, kinda chewy, super banana-ey…just good.  And after years of searching, I’m done looking.  I’m not kidding you…I am done.  This recipe is HANDS DOWN the BEST banana bread that I have ever had.  I could eat my weight in it.  My whole family loves it so much that I normally double or triple it every time I make it.  I make it in big loaves, little loaves, and muffins.  It’s just incredible. It even has dark rum in it…are you kidding me?!  Unreal!  Why didn’t I ever think of that?!  And now, you have to try it and let me know how much you love it now too.

I will say though, that since I have a dairy allergic kid, I omit the buttermilk powder it calls for.  Also Tid Bit showed up for years allergic to tree nuts and while he’s supposedly not allergic to them anymore, we haven’t done a food challenge on it, so I still omit the nuts too….but I can’t imagine how it’d increase the total incredibleness quotient of this recipe to add them.  So if you put them, then gush for me on how amazing it was in the comments section.

Here you go…

Makes 1 large loaf.
1 1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1/4 c. dark rum (I use Captain Morgans)
2 large ripe bananas
2 eggs
1 Tbsp milk (I use soymilk here)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 3/4 c. unbleached flour
2 Tbsp dry buttermilk blend (I leave this out since we have the dairy allergy)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c. finely chopped walnuts
1/2 c. coarsely chopped pecans
1/4 c. sweetened coconut

Rum Glaze (I am usually too lazy to do this part, but it sure is good if you do!)
1/4 c. sugar
2 Tbsp butter
2 Tbsp water
1/4 c. dark rum

For Banana Bread

Preheat oven to 325F.  Grease a large loaf pan. (I always use cooking spray and line the bottom with parchment paper so that my loaves come out perfectly.)

Combine sugar, oil, rum, bananas, eggs, milk, and vanilla in a mixing bowl.  Beat until blended, scraping bowl occasionally.  Mix the flour, buttermilk blend, baking soda, and salt in another bowl.  Add to the banana mixture, stirring just until moistened: do not overmix.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan.  Sprinkle with the walnuts, pecans, and coconut over the top.  Bake about 45 minutes or until the edges pull away from the sides of the pan. (You can also make sure a toothpick comes out clean…I tend to think it takes longer than this to bake, but I have a crappy oven as you all know.)  Let cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then remove bread from the pan (pecans and coconut should be on top.)  Drizzle with the warm rum glaze.  Serve warm or chill for later use.  This also freezes beautifully!

To make the rum glaze:
Combine the sugar, butter and water in a microwave safe bowl.  Microwave until boiling and boil for 1-2 minutes.  Stir in the rum.  (Or you may boil in a saucepan for 5 minutes, then add the rum.)

Now that you’re done…call a friend to come over for coffee and really enjoy your amazing bread!

– Logan

Filed Under: Eat