Friends Food Family

Wilson Farm - Cranberry Banana Nut Bread

 

Periodically, a week ends with some overly ripened bananas laying on the counter. Sometimes they make it into a banana bread, (see Banana Bread with Streusel Topping) other times, it's the compost. A few weeks ago, a friend gave us some fresh cranberries from a local bog in Carver and Jeff decided to look for a bread that might contain both bananas and cranberries.

I think I stated in one of my last banana blog posts, I am not a banana fan. It was one of those food I got sick on when I was pregnant with my daughter (should I admit it...) 24 years ago. I still can't get beyond the taste. I will eat banana bread and a few other banana creations but...I'm just not a fan. So, I was already leary of what we would be making.

Jeff found this cranberry banana recipe in The Wilson Farm Country Cookbook. I like this cookbook for two reasons:

1. It's local, Wilson Farm is located in Lexington, MA.

2. It has great New England style recipes that are easy to make and incredible to eat.

So, I was softening, this recipe could be good.

As always, simple ingredients that came together quickly and within ten minutes the bread was in the oven. The house began to smell wonderful and within and hour, we had this amazing loaf of cranberry banana nut bread. I have to admit, I fell in love with it. The banana flavor was very subtle. The balance of sour from the cranberries and nuttiness of the walnuts pulled together for a deliciously tasting bread. Nice and warm, a little bit of butter...PERFECT.

Thanksgiving is next week, think...lots of cranberries, what will I do with all the cranberries? This would be a great addition to the dinner or a great breakfast bread to serve for early guests or those running off to a football game.

Tuck this recipe away, it's a keeper!

Ingredients: (Adapted from Cranberry Banana Bread)

1/4 cup of butter
1 cup of white sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup of mashed banana
1 cup of coarsely chopped cranberries
1/4 cup of water
1 teaspoon of vanilla
1-3/4 cups of flour
1-1/2 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
1/2 cup of chopped walnuts

Preparation:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Mix together the dry ingredients of flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a small bowl and put aside.

3. Cream the butter and sugar, with an electric beater, in a large mixing bowl. Beat in the eggs. Stir in the banana, cranberries, water and vanilla.

4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet batter. Mix to incorporate and then add the nuts.

5. Pour into a greased bread pan (9 x 5 inch loaf pan) and bake for 45-55 minutes. This will make one large loaf or you can make two smaller loaves.

Note: I use aluminum foil pans because it makes them easier to freeze or give as a gift.

Mom's Zucchini Bread with Walnuts

 

Zucchini is starting to appear in our garden in dribs and drabs. One yesterday, maybe one tomorrow, but I know that within a week or two, we'll have so much zucchini that we won't know what to do with it. This is a perfect time to shred a few zucchinis and make some zucchini bread. Over the past few years, we have been covering different types of zucchini bread whether chocolate, pineapple, traditional or olive oil.

This recipe was given to us by a friend, so I looked it up on-line to make sure I could give credit and I found the recipe on Allrecipes.com. It was called Mom's Zucchini Bread. This is a very simple recipe with wonderful results. As the zucchini bread bakes, it begins to form a bit of a sugary crust. I've made it a number of different ways with walnuts, raisins and craisins. Each one tasting better than the next. The bread is moist, sweet and nutty. What I also like about this recipe is that it makes two loaves. I make them in foil pans which allows me to freeze them, share them and bring them as gifts in their pans.

I love zucchini bread recipes that make more than one loaf so that I can freeze them. I enjoy these extras on fall mornings long after our garden zucchini is gone!

Ingredients:

3 cups of all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon of salt
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of baking powder
3 teaspoons of ground cinnamon
3 eggs
1 cup of vegetable oil
2 1/4 cups of white sugar
3 teaspoons of vanilla extract
2 cups of grated zucchini
1 cup of chopped walnuts

Preparation:

Grease and flour two 8 x 4 inch pans, we use foil pans. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Sift flour, salt, baking powder, soda, and cinnamon together in a bowl.
Beat eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugar together in a large bowl. Add sifted ingredients to the creamed mixture, and beat well. Stir in zucchini and nuts until well combined. Pour batter into prepared pans.

Bake for 40 to 60 minutes, or until tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on rack for 20 minutes. Remove bread from pan, and completely cool.

 

Banana Bread with Streusel Topping

I'm not sure why but we have had quite a few rotting bananas sitting at our house. With peaches, strawberries and blueberries becoming more available, our favorite staple "the banana" hasn't made it to the breakfast table.

Last week, after another round of fruit flies and rotten bananas, Jeff took out the New England Bed and Breakfast Cookbook and found this recipe for banana bread with a streusel topping. It sounded very interesting adding a sugary topping to a basic banana nut bread. It was submitted by the Morrison House Bed & Breakfast located in Somerville, MA. It's amazing what you can do to a banana bread recipe with a little bit of leftover streusel topping.

Let's start from the smell in the house while it was cooking...HEAVENLY! The bread baked and rose over the sides of the pan. (NOTE - You can split the recipe into two loaves or use a bigger pan.) The streusel topping browned perfectly and gave the bread a wonderfully golden crust...and the bread was absolutely delicious. I am not a banana or a banana nut bread fan. I'll always try a piece but it is not something I typically eat but I will admit...I took a second slice. Whether I wanted to eat it or not, it was a huge hit at our house. Large slabs of banana bread were sliced, toasted, and microwaved before it disappeared as a breakfast favorite.

If you are a fan of banana bread, try this recipe. It's a very different twist that adds some character to an old favorite. 

Ingredients:

1-3/4 cups of all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1-1/4 teaspoons of cream of tartar
3/4 teaspoon of baking soda
5-1/3 tablespoons of butter, softened
2/3 cup of sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
2 large eggs, well beaten
3 very ripe, large bananas, mashed
1/2 cup of coarsely chopped walnuts
 
Streusel Topping:

1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup of chopped walnuts
2 tablespoons of butter, melted
1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour
For streusel topping: Combine all streusel ingredients until crumbly.

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

In a large bowl, cream together butter, sugar and vanilla. Mix in eggs, 1 at a time. Add bananas and mix well.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, salt, cream of tartar, and baking soda; add to butter mixture and mix just until moistened. Stir in nuts. Pour batter into 9x5x2¾ inch loaf pan. Sprinkle streusel topping over batter. Bake for 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Makes 1 loaf.

Boston Globe's Easter Traditions - Italian Taralli

 

I think I survived the holidays? Did you?

I do know that I did quite a bit of baking for Easter and have some interesting recipes to share. The problem is timing. I always wish I had more hours to be able to cook and blog, but sometimes life gets in the way. Or cooking dinner for 26 gets in the way.

I love to make one or two new recipes for the holidays. Last Wednesday, the Boston Globe featured a great story on Italian Easter Traditions. On the cover of the G magazine was a picture of Tarallis. Taralli is a dense bread which is similar to a pretzel or a bread stick. It is boiled and then baked and can be given a sweet or savory finish depending on the ingredients in the recipe. Sweet taralli is made with the basic dough mix and then frosted with a lemon icing. Savory taralli have onion, garlic, poppy seeds or fennel added to the basic or used as a topping before baking.

Before you decide to make taralli, check out the ingredients. (Ok, I'll give you a minute...) Yes, one of the ingredients is Brioschi. Why Brioschi? It has sodium bicarbonate in it. They use it similar to baking soda. It definitely gives the dough a rise when the taralli  is baked. You can find Brioschi at CVS.

So now, mixed reviews. We served them for breakfast and snack on and before Easter. Some family members thought they were delicious, something wonderful to dip in tea or coffee (some people dip them in wine...that works!). Others thought they were OK...a little chewy, a little dry. They are definite something that could be made again and experimented with. I'd like to try the savory type and serve them with a pasta dish or possibly as an appetizer with a dip.

It's a different type of Easter tradition that is worth trying. Grab a cup of coffee, tea or glass of wine...taralli will complement any one. You will definitely find these at my house next year!

Ingredients:

12  eggs
1/4  cup olive oil
2  teaspoons salt
2  tablespoons sugar
1  teaspoon Brioschi
About 7 cups flour, sifted
1  teaspoon vanilla extract

Preparation:

In an electric mixer, beat the eggs and oil until smooth. Beat in the salt, sugar, and Brioschi. Continue to beat at medium speed for about 5 minutes. Gradually add 4 cups of the flour, continuing to beat the mixture. Add the vanilla and beat well. The dough will be sticky.

Spread the remaining 3 cups of flour on a work surface, making a circle of flour about 15 inches in diameter. Make a wide, shallow well in the middle and turn the wet dough out into it. With a large spoon, draw the flour into the dough, going around the perimeter of the flour circle and kneading in the flour with your hands as you do. When all the flour is incorporated, you will have a stiff, firm dough.

With your hands, knead the dough vigorously and thoroughly for at least 10 minutes (the longer the better); eventually, the dough will become elastic and smooth. When sliced, it will have visible air bubbles inside. Set the oven at 400 degrees. Bring a large pot of water to a boil.
Slice the dough into 12 pieces. With your hands, roll each into a thick snake about 9 inches long. Join each snake’s ends (overlap them slightly) to form a ring, pinching the ends to make a tight seal. Place 4 rings in the boiling water; they will sink to the bottom. When they rise to the surface, add 4 more dough rings to the pot. Remove the first batch of rings from the boiling water 2 to 3 minutes after they’ve surfaced, and wrap them in a dish towel to keep them warm. Repeat this process until all the dough rings are boiled. While the rings are warm, score the outside of each ring (as if you were going to slice it like a bagel, but without slicing it through) around the entire periphery.

Place the rings in the oven directly on the oven racks. Bake the taralli for 35 to 40 minutes, until they are a deep golden brown and very dry and crisp.

For icing:
Juice of 1 lemon
3 tablespoons of water
1 pound of confectioner's sugar

Mix lemon juice and water together. Add liquid mixture to the confectioner's sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time until it is of a loose frosting consistency. Spread on cooled taralli and sprinkle with colored jimmies or colored sugar.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake - My Favorite Bread!

 

Years ago, when my mother first started making zucchini bread, she found this recipe for chocolate zucchini cake. The recipe was featured in the Boston Globe newspaper under the Confidential Chat section of the paper. It was always a wonderful snack cake that disappeared quickly, especially when no one knew there was zucchini in it. She always made it as a cake, but I found it more enjoyable to make as a bread. It allowed me to split it into loaves and share some with family and friends. Plus, I was probably looking for a reason to eat it for breakfast. As a cake, it's dessert, as a bread it's breakfast!  

Even though the cake is made with cocoa and chocolate chips, there isn't an overpowering taste of chocolate. The bread is sweet with a hint of spice but the chocolate flavor comes through in the mini chocolate chips. It is delicious for breakfast, served cold or slightly warmed with raspberry jam. As a dessert, serving it warmed with vanilla ice cream and a chocolate or strawberry topping is delicious, too. 

So, what will it be? Cake or bread? The results of the last loaf I served: 3/4 was eaten at breakfast, 1/4 eaten for dessert after dinner. I'll let you decide.

For those not familiar with Confidential Chat, check out the article A sad ending for a beloved feature.

Ingredients:

1 cup of brown sugar

1/2 cup of white sugar

1/2 cup of butter

1/2 cup of vegetable  oil

3 eggs

1 teaspoons of vanilla

1/2 cup of buttermilk

2 1/2 cups of flour

1/2 teaspoon of allspice

1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon of salt

2 teaspoons of baking soda

4 tablespoons of cocoa

3 zucchini about 6 inches long (about 3 cups shredded or grated)

1/2 to 1 cup of mini chocolate chips

Preparation:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 3 small loaf pans. I use aluminum foil pans. They are easier to freeze in the pan or give away as a gift.

Cream sugars, butter and oil together in a large bowl. Add eggs, vanilla and buttermilk and mix well.

Measure dry ingredients into sifter and sift into bowl. Mix well, then add zucchini and chocolate chips. 

Bake for 40-45 minutes or until a tester comes clean. Cool completely before covering or freezing.

My Favorite Pineapple Zucchini Bread

 

July may be Blueberry Month, but zucchini is abundant in our garden. Having picked the first five zucchini, we were eager to some make zucchini bread. During the season, we will make three of our favorite zucchini bread recipes and then look for new ones. We will also make everything from stuffed zucchini to zucchini cookies and muffins. The excitement of fresh products from the garden makes creating zucchini based recipes more fun.

I have been making pineapple zucchini bread for many years. I can't remember where it came from but if they are on my 5 x 7 index cards that means they are at least 20 years old. (Am I dating myself again?)

This zucchini bread recipe is sweet and very moist, it's great with raisins as well as nuts. At our house, raisins rule. It's great when you can combine your ingredients to get both a fruit and vegetable into one product. We love serving this to company as everyone enjoys their first slice and then proceed to fight over the remaining pieces. When you bake as much as we do, having a product that everyone enjoys is rewarding.

As we blog three to four zucchini bread recipes this month, we would love to hear from you! Which is your favorite bread? And why?

Ingredients:

3 eggs

3 teaspoons of vanilla

1 cup of vegetable oil

2 cups of white sugar

3 cups of flour

1 teaspoon of baking soda

1 teaspoon of salt

1 teaspoon of baking powder

2 cups of shredded zucchini

1 small can (8 ounces) of crushed pineapple, drained

1/2 cup of raisins or nuts

Preparation:

Beat the eggs, vanilla, sugar and oil until well blended (2-3 minutes). Add the dry ingredients of flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Stir until well incorporated. Add the zucchini, pineapple and raisins or nuts. Place into 3 loaf pans (or two if you like large loaves, I find three cooks faster and more evenly). Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to one hour. Bread is done when slightly golden and a toothpick tests clean.

NOTE: I use disposable aluminum foil loaf pans, I find they are easier to freeze and travel as a gift. 

Cafe Nola's French Toast (with orange and cinnamon)

 
We have a great breakfast idea for tomorrow morning. Doesn't french toast, made with Portuguese Sweet Bread, orange and cinnamon sound delicious? Get your grocery list out because there are a few ingredients you may need and what better way to make grumpy people happy when they get up in the morning.  

We were introduced to this recipe a few years ago on Giada DeLaurentiis' show, Giada's Weekend Getaways when she was traveling in Seattle, WA. She had brunch at Cafe Nola and ordered Chef Kevin Warren's French Toast. Having served many a brunch, we figured this would be a great addition to our list of breakfast items.

To date the responses have been amazing. We have served it for Mother's Day Brunch, our Archie Girls Breakfast and lazy Sundays when we have a full house of kids. The french toast is delicious with a hint of orange and cinnamon. It's sweet and melts in your mouth. I can actually say, this is the best french toast you will ever eat.

Ingredients

• 1 loaf Challah Bread
• Melted butter, to oil griddle
• 6 eggs
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 orange, zested and juiced
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
• Orange Bourbon Butter, recipe follows

Note: When we make this recipe we have always like to change it up. We use Portuguese Sweet Bread if we can't find Challah Bread. We also love cinnamon, so we put about 1-1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon in our mix and also add a teaspoon of vanilla. Both recipes work well. We have also made it with half and half when we haven't had heavy cream and it is equally as good.

Directions

Cut challah bread in 1-inch thick slices. Allow to sit out for awhile to dry out.

Heat griddle to 350 degrees F and lightly brush with a butter soaked piece of paper towel.

Combine eggs, heavy cream, orange zest and juice, cinnamon and ground nutmeg in a shallow wide dish. Dip the slices of bread into the egg mixture allowing it to soak in on both sides. Transfer to each piece to the hot griddle and cook until golden brown on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Try to flip only once.

Serve with Orange Bourbon Butter.

For the Orange Bourbon Butter:

• 1 pound unsalted butter, softened
• 2 tablespoons orange flavored liqueur (recommended: Cointreau)
• 2 tablespoons bourbon
• 3 tablespoons orange zest

Cream the butter in a mixer. Add the bourbon and orange zest and mix well. Leave at room temperature and serve with the French toast.

Jasper White's Anadama Bread

 
Today was a bread making day. We had some great bread recipes from Irish Soda to Anadama and Pain Rustique. We decided to spend some time baking since a few of the breads were made with yeast and demanded a time commitment. I took on a traditional Irish soda bread, which I will cover later this week. Jeff decided to make the Anadama Bread.

Some of you must be thinking, what is Anadama Bread? According to the storyline from Yankee Magazine, There are loads of stories about how this bread got its name and where it originated. Most people agree it's either Rockport or Gloucester, Massachusetts, and that the name is a derivative of "Anna, damn her." Some say Anna was the "lazy" wife of a fisherman (as if a fisherman's wife could be lazy), who simply mixed molasses and cornmeal together for her husband's meals. One day, sick of the mush, he added flour and yeast, baked it, and created a new concoction. Others say the name comes from a woman who was a gifted baker, and when she passed away, her gravestone read, "Anna was a lovely bride, but Anna, damn 'er, up and died."

This recipe comes from Jasper White who uses more cornmeal and less molasses than the traditional Anadama Bread. It is wonderfully moist and reminds me of cornbread with an English muffin toast twist. It's a perfect bread for breakfast and tastes delicious with jam or butter. For those who have not taken on yeast recipes, it was fairly easy to make.

Ingredients

• 1 package active dry yeast
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1-1/4 cups (approx.) warm water (105-115 degrees), divided
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, cooled to room temperature
• 2 tablespoons dark molasses
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 3-1/2 cups bread flour, plus extra for work surface
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• Vegetable oil or butter
• 1 large egg, beaten with 2 tablespoons water (egg wash)

Preparation

In a medium-size bowl (or the bowl of a standing mixer with hook attachment), combine yeast, sugar, and 1/4 cup warm water; mix well. Add melted butter, molasses, salt, flour, and cornmeal. Slowly add up to 1 cup more warm water; mix to form a soft, but not sticky, dough. Add more water if necessary. Knead by machine about 10 minutes, or by hand about 15 minutes, until dough is smooth and elastic.

Oil (or butter) a large bowl lightly. Shape dough into a ball and place in the bowl; turn it once so it's lightly greased all over. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp cloth and place in a warm, draft-free spot. Let dough rise until volume doubles, about 1 hour.

Grease two 9-1/2x5-inch loaf pans. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Cut in half and shape each half into a loaf. Place each loaf in a pan, return to a warm spot, and let rise until volume doubles, about 20 to 30 minutes.

Heat your oven to 350 degrees. Brush the tops of the loaves with egg wash and bake 1 hour, or until deep golden brown. To test for doneness, remove one hot loaf from its pan and tap the bottom of the bread; you'll hear a hollow sound if it's done. If it's not done, return it to the oven for 5 to 10 minutes. When loaves are done, turn them out of their pans and cool on a rack for at least 20 minutes.

 

The BEST Irish Soda Bread

 
I can't say much about this Irish soda bread other than it is the BEST Irish soda bread you will ever eat. For years, I have been making my grandmother's recipe to rave review. The best is when I can convert an individual who doesn't like Irish Soda Bread, "because it's too dry", to an individual who is looking for a second helping. This bread is moist and very flavorful and the trick of mixing the raisins in the flour mixture keeps them evenly distributed within the loaf.

When I make this bread, I always bake it in a large aluminum frying pan. Once it is done, I can cut it in half or in quarters giving me more pieces to share with neighbors and friends. And with all the people who ask for seconds, it disappears very quickly.

Lá Fhéile Pádraig Sona Daoibh - Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Ingredients:

4 cups of flour

3/4 cup of white sugar + 1/4 cup to sprinkle on top

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

4 teaspoons of baking powder 

2 cups of raisins

1 pint of sour cream

2 eggs

1 cup of milk

Preparation:

Mix all ingredients together in one bowl, once blended, add the raisins. Mix together eggs, milk and sour cream. Once they are well blended, add the dry ingredients. The mixture will look a little wet but as it begins to set, the batter becomes thicker. Pour into (3) slightly greased loaf/bread pans, or you can use a frying pan. (SEE NOTE at bottom) Sprinkle top with 1/4 cup of sugar.

Bake in 350 degree oven for 1 hour. Bread is done when a toothpick comes out clean. If the top get dark too fast, place a sheet of foil over the top (only resting on the top of the bread). Allow bread to cool for 20-30 minutes before removing from pans.

 
NOTE - I use an old aluminum frying pan. If you choose to use a frying pan check two things:

1. Can your frying pan be placed in the oven at 350 degrees?

2. Cover any handle with foil to protect it from melting. 

Finally, does my oven need to be cleaned?