Chrissy Teigen's Banana Bread

The last couple of months I've had little interest in cooking. Even a sandwich or a frozen entree or scrambled eggs almost seemed like too much effort. I can't claim the spell is broken, but yesterday I made something from my dormant to-try list - Chrissy Teigen's banana bread.

I missed this recipe when it was all the rage around 2018, but it came to my attention a few months ago. Despite my long-time devotion to another banana bread recipe, I'm always willing to try something new. 

This recipe requires no creaming, which I like (and is one reason I like my usual recipe). It uses instant pudding mix, in common with some popular cake recipes. It has coconut, but shouldn't scare coconut haters. It has a LOT of sugar compared to the amount of flour, yet doesn't taste "too sweet." I'm not a fan of chocolate chips in banana bread, and I was wanting a nutty bread, so I swapped in chopped walnuts.

The top had a great very thin crackle layer day-of-baking, but after an overnight in the cake keeper that became a slightly sticky top.

It's excellent & I would make again.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/books/2018/09/17/chrissy-teigens-famous-banana-bread-recipe/1283473002/

One-Bowl Banana Bread

This one-bowl Banana Bread recipe is what I call Banana Bread Without All The Fuss. I have been making this recipe since I purchased my first cookbook, The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, in the early 1980s. Unlike most recipes, this banana bread doesn't require a mixer, as it has no butter that needs to be creamed. In fact, it has no fat at all other than that provided by the eggs. This is not a banana cake, therefore, but a banana bread that has a compact crumb that is moist purely from the power of the bananas.

As with all banana breads, though, you want to use ripe bananas. The riper, the better. One common trick is that when you are down to that last banana that's riper than you prefer, let it continue to ripen until it is spotty brown, then stick it in the freezer. The skins will turn almost black, but that's OK. When you have collected 3 or 4, let them thaw to make the banana bread. You'll want to peel them over the mixing bowl. Depending on how ripe they were when they went into the freezer, they will be very soft, and there may even be a separated liquid. That's OK.

Sweet and Salty Goldfish Crunch Mix

This party mix is great if you want something a little different than the usual Chex Mix.

Sweet and Salty Goldfish Crunch Mix

2 (6-oz.) bags salted Pepperidge Farm goldfish crackers
1 1/2 cups dark raisins
1 1/2 cups salted peanuts
1 cup butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
2 tbls. light corn syrup
2 tbls. water
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix goldfish, raisins and peanuts in a large baking pan. Place in warm oven (275F) while making syrup mixture.

Melt butter in a 2- to 3-quart saucepan. Add sugars, corn syrup and water. Boil to 270F on a candy thermometer. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Pour over warm goldfish mixture and toss gently.

Spray 3 large cookie sheets with nonstick cooking spray. Spread mixture equally on the 3 prepared cookie sheets. With a wooden spoon, separate into bite-size pieces while still warm. Cool completely, then store in an airtight container.

Makes 8 cups.

Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese Empanadas

I stumbled across a recipe for butternut squash "hand pies" a while back, and with a few tweaks it turned out to be nice choice for a potluck this past weekend. Contributing a dish to the annual Nashville Food Blogger party is a bit nerve-wracking, given that our group includes food and food writing professionals as well as extremely talented amateurs. I was very pleased with how they turned out.

I detest the term "hand pie" so I call them empanadas, given the Latin American-inspired flavors. The combination of butternut squash, goat cheese, and the seasonings work well together. The crowning glory of the empanadas is the crust; this is a standard all-butter pie crust, which I discussed in this previous post.

The directions here are for creating mini empanadas; the perfect size to provide a few bites as a snack or appetizer. You can, of course, make a larger size for a more substantial treat.

How to Make a Perfect, Easy Pie Crust

OK, "perfect, easy pie crust" is a lie; really, what I'm trying to say is that pie crust is not as difficult as you may fear, and that perfection is overrated. I get it, I've been there. I did not grow up with much homemade pie crust, even though my mother was a great baker. Like everyone else we knew, we used frozen shells most of the time. Like a lot of things I now make from scratch, I didn't start experimenting with pie crust until I was in my 20's. Even then, I wasn't happy with the results. I felt like a failure and stuck with frozen or refrigerated pie shells from the grocery store.

As I've continued to branch out with cooking and baking, I've revisited pie crust every now and then. I've tried Cook's Illustrated method that uses vodka and a combination of butter and shortening. I've reviewed (but never made) Alton Brown's various crusts. I've used Ruth Levy Beranbaum's exacting method which includes baking powder, vinegar, and precisely-sized cuts of carefully timed, partially-frozen butter. Making the recipe from Beranbaum, who I generally like and trust, feels like amateur brain surgery, and in the end, I just didn't like the crust that much.

A good pie crust shouldn't be brain surgery

I wouldn't discourage you from trying any and all methods to find your best pie crust, and Mr. Google can help you find the above and more. For me, though, I figured out that keeping it simple was the key to getting me to stay away from the freezer case and and the long red boxes in favor of superior taste and quality.

A Tale of Two Crackers, Part Two: Thin Wheats

This post highlights the second homemade cracker I made to go with the Thanksgiving Soup Bar. The method is very similar to the Black Pepper Parmesan Cream Crackers, with the added twist of whole wheat flour and no cheese or cream. Thinner and a little less rich, as well as nuttier from the whole grain, these make a great accompaniment to soup or salad or as just a stand-alone snack.

A Tale of Two Crackers, Part One: Black Pepper Parmesan Cream Crackers

This cracker is a recipe that I've made several times, but not in a while. I pulled it out of the file to include as part of the Thanksgiving Soup Bar. Crackers are one of those foods that we tend to take for granted as coming from a store. They are actually quite easy to make at home, though, if you have a reasonable amount of experience working with cookie or pie crust dough. They are lower-pressure though -- for some reason cracker dough isn't as fussy as pie crust can be, and don't have the expectations associated with Good Pie Crust.

Crackers can be simple -- flour, salt, water -- or enriched with fat, or punched up with whole wheat flours or other grain flours, or flavored with an endless variety of herbs and seasonings.

I first ran across this recipe in the fabulous, now retired, Minimalist column from Mark Bittman in The New York Times. Then Deb Perelman posted the recipe with her commentary on her blog Smitten Kitchen, and I had to make this cracker.

Of course you can use the recipe as a jumping off point and add whatever seasonings or seeds you like, either mixed in the dough or as a topping. You can also vary the liquid, switching from cream to half and half or milk (or buttermilk, or yogurt, or sour cream, or ....) Instead of cutting into squares, you can cut out shapes or even bake the sheet whole and just break apart by hand after baking.