Banana Bread

 

This is basic banana bread from The Joy of Cooking, but it's fab, especially if you have old, soft, ripe bananas. Jamie loves banana bread, so I tried to make a little J in a heart with chocolate chips, but forgot that loaves of banana bread rise and crack so it didn't work out as expected. Still tasty, though!

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups flour
3/4 cups sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3 large ripe bananas, mashed well
1 tsp vanilla extract

Tournedos Rossini

La Sirene is one of my favorite restaurants, so I tried to recreate their wonderful Tournedos. I made them with some frites and asparagus for Jamie for Valentine's Day, then made them again with Alice the next week. (I've been teaching her to cook, and she's been so good!) They're very impressive and not very hard to make. Jamie can't wait to serve them at a dinner party. For the french fries, I just use Trader Joe's frozen fries, serve them in a newspaper cone with some aioli, and sprinkle truffle salt on them. You have to try it! It also looks adorable.

Serves 2
Ingredients:
2 filet mignon
2 slices of French bread about the size of the filets
2 slices foie gras
2 tbsp red wine
salt and pepper
1/4 cup beef stock
1/4 tsp truffle oil
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp vegetable oil

Directions:
When you buy the filets, season them liberally with salt and pepper. If you're eating them later, wrap them up and put them in fridge.

Pea Soup (another Ina)

Another Ina recipe here. I wanted a simple but homemade lunch for us on Sunday and this looked great. It's easy and a great lunch (I've been eating leftovers for days).

Serves 6
Ingredients:
Good olive oil
2 lb frozen peas
4 cups chicken stock
2 large shallots, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
6 slices prosciutto or serrano ham

Directions:
In a big pot, heat 2 tbsp olive oil over medium and add shallots, sautéing for 3-5 minutes until soft and starting for brown. Add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add stock, peas, 2 tsp salt, and 1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Pulled Chicken Tacos

After making these nachos, I wanted to try the same method with chicken. It's cheap, pretty easy, and makes for great tacos (and quesadillas). Chicken thighs are affordable and juicy and pull apart nicely when braised - and unlike short ribs, braising takes 20-30 minutes. I topped them with some sliced avocado, sliced onion, and a dollop of tomatillo salsa.

Serves 4
Ingredients:
4 chicken thighs, bone-in and skin-on
1/2 yellow onion, peeled and cut in half lengthwise
3 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
1 dried cascobel chile, stem removed
1 seranno or jalapeno chili, halved
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp coriander
1 tbsp oregano
1 15 oz can tomatoes
1 carrot, minced
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Corn tortillas

Directions:
Take chicken thighs out, pat dry, and salt and pepper. Heat a cast iron skillet to high. Add onion, chiles, and garlic and cook, turning, until lightly charred. Add to a food processor with tomatoes, spices, and carrots and puree until smooth.

Honeycomb Candy

A girl in my office, Sarah, is Australian and every time she comes back from a visit home, she brings us Violet Crumble - thanks, Sarah! I'm obsessed. Why this is not available in the US, I have no idea. My lovely new baking book, the Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook, has a recipe for "Sorghum-Molasses Chips" which are basically homemade violet crumbles. I couldn't find sorghum, so I used a mix of honey and corn syrup, and wow - amazing! Homemade candy that is addicting. The caramel inside is crunchy and light, coated in dark chocolate. It's not that hard to make, as long as you have a candy/frying thermometer, and it's very impressive and a huge hit. This may be my new present when I'm invited to dinner/stay somewhere for the weekend.

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 tsp cream of tarter
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup honey
2 1/2 tsp baking soda
12 oz dark chocolate (they said 6, but I needed 12 to cover them all)

Directions:
Line a baking sheet with parchment. In a large, heavy saucepan combine the sugar, 1/3 cup water, the butter, and the cream of tarter and heat over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Insert a candy thermometer and bring the mixture to a boil, without stirring, then cook until it reaches 250 degrees.

NY Times Braised Short Rib Nachos

Super Bowl involved a lot of food. Wings, Bacon Explosion, and this newcomer - the amazing nachos you may have recently seen in the Times. Yum! They were so rich but the salsa verde cut through the richness, and the leftover short ribs made incredible tacos. (It makes a LOT of short ribs, but it's worth it because they're great for leftovers.) I actually (oops) forgot the beer but they worked out great. 

Ingredients:

4 pounds bone-in beef short ribs, patted dry

5 teaspoons coarse kosher salt, more to taste

1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper

5 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled

2 jalapeño or serrano peppers, halved lengthwise, seeded if desired

1 onion, peeled and quartered lengthwise

1 (28-ounce) can chopped tomatoes

Ina's Easy Sole Meuniere

This Ina recipe is from her cookbook "Back to Basics," another Christmas present (this one from my lovely sister-in-law, Katie - everyone seems to know the way to my heart). It's easy enough that I'm going to teach it to my novice-cook friend Alice, and it's so rich and tart and great. It serves two, but with some hearty sides it can serve four.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup flour
Kosher salt and black pepper
4 fresh sole fillets, 3-4 oz each
1 tsp lemon zest
6 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tbsp fresh parsley
6 tbsp butter

Directions:
Preheat oven to 200 and have 2 heat-proof plates ready.

Lobster Corn Fritters

...or the Best Hors d'Oeuvres Ever. Yum! These are amazing. I made them for Jamie to start out a special dinner. They taste like summer. The lobster is rich, the corn is sweet, and the spicy mayo is the perfect accompaniment. They're definitely a treat and a little pricey, but tooootally worth it! Ina is just the best. (These are from her new cookbook, Foolproof, a wonderful Christmas present from my mother-in-law - thanks, Cindy!)

I halved the recipe because there were just two of us, but I will definitely be making it again another time in full force. This recipe makes 12-14 fritters and served 4-6.

Ingredients:
6-8 tablespoons unsalted butter
5 scallions, thinly sliced
1 1/4 cups fresh corn (I used frozen)
12 oz freshly cooked lobster meat, 1/4-inch diced
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp paprika
3/4 tbsp Old Bay
Kosher salt
2 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup half and half

Bacon-Jam Empanadas

Amazing. How could I not try this recipe? Bacon jam is an incredible condiment, and these tasty, flaky little empanadas make an impressive breakfast, or a light lunch with some salad. They're salt and smoky and sweet and totally irresistible. Austen gave me this cookbook for Christmas. Isn't the cover so cute? I can't wait to try more recipes, but this one is definitely a keeper!

Ingredients:
For Jam
1 lb applewood-smoked bacon
1 medium Vidalia onion, sliced
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp dried rosemary
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup strong brewed coffee
2 tbsp Coca Cola
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 tbsp Bourbon

Cider-Glazed Lamb Chops and Buttery Cauliflower Puree

When Jamie started eating these lamb chops, he immediately demanded, "Are you going to put this on the blog? Will this be on the blog?" Needless to say, he loved them. They were so tender and tangy and just delicious. The reduced ginger-garlic-cider-soy-vinegar glaze is complex and sweet and salty and has a great zip from the vinegar. The cauliflower puree is a little sinful, but wow is it good. It's light and fluffy and rich.

Lamb Chops (from this recipe) it's supposed to serve 4 people, but Jamie and I ate it all
Ingredients:

1 cup apple cider

2 tablespoons minced peeled ginger

2 tablespoons minced garlic

3 tablespoons soy sauce

3 tablespoons rice vinegar (not seasoned)

1 tablespoon honey

8 rib lamb chops (3/4 inch thick), cut from 1 rack

1 scallion, finely chopped

Directions:

In a small sauce pan, boil cider, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, vinegar, and honey until reduced to about 1/4 cup, 10 to 12 minutes, and cool. Preheat broiler.

February!

Rabbit rabbit!

This has been a hectic month! We had our big annual showcase event at work, I hosted a Mad Men birthday party, and most of all, Jamie and I are in the process of buying an apartment! We're so excited and will probably be relocating across the river in the spring. More on that to come!

I promise I will post more ASAP, including some Bacon-Jam Empanadas from the Back in the Day Bakery cookbook, a Christmas present from my wonderful brother-in-law, Austen. (He always gets me the best cookbooks for Christmas!)