Banana Bread, Cream Cheese and Strawberry Open Face Sammies

We're in the middle of summer and I've been slacking as far as the blog posts go. My apologies, but I have a lame excuse, I do. There are too many delicious recipes to try and too much time to spend outdoors. Well this long over do post is one that is delish and truly not my own creation. It's a compilation of a few great bloggers out there and let's give credit where credit is due. The sour cream banana bread comes from Courtney at Neighborfoodblog.com and the strawberry sauce/compote comes from Christine who got the recipe from Aunt Missy's Kitchen.

I love a creamy banana bread and Courney hit the nail on the head with this one. Here's her recipe (with one minor change from me):

Sour Cream Banana Bread
8 slices

½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened (Courtney melted her butter)

½ cup brown sugar

½ cup white sugar

½ cup sour cream

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 large very ripe bananas

1½ cups flour

1 teaspoon. baking soda

½ teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

 

Grease an 8 inch bread pan with butter or cooking spray.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

 

In a large mixing bowl, combine the softened butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. I used my hand mixer for this stage and mixed ingredients together until smooth and no brown sugar lumps remained. Put your mixer away and whisk in the sour cream, add the eggs, one at a time, whisking well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla.

 

In a separate bowl, mash the bananas then whisk them into the sour cream/egg mixture.

 

Sprinkle the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon on top then stir it together until flour is incorporated. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs. Check the pan after about 30 minutes. If the top is getting too browned, cover with foil for the remaining baking time. I didn't have to do that the two times I made this bread.  Allow the bread to cool before removing from the pan. Wrap leftovers in saran wrap. Bread will keep for up to a week. (Mine is gobbled up in a matter of days)

 

 

Now how about some strawberries to top this moist, delicious bread? Sounds good to me!

Homemade Strawberry Sauce

12 oz fresh strawberries rinsed and hulled
3/4 cups sugar
1 tsp butter
Pinch of salt
Juice of 1 lemon (Missy uses 1/2 a lemon)
2 level teaspoons cornstarch
1 T cool water

In medium saucepan combine half the berries, sugar, butter, lemon juice and salt. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium low heat for about 7 minutes, stirring a few times to make sure the sugar is dissolved and the mixture doesn't stick to the pan. (If you forget the butter, as I did the first time I made this, the mixture WILL stick to the pan, but the easy solution is to add the butter as soon as you realize you forgot it and you should be all right). In a separate small bowl, combine cornstarch and water and stir until smooth. Pour the cornstarch slurry into the strawberry mixture and stir. Allow berries to bubble and simmer for another minute or two and remove from heat. Add the remainder of the strawberries. Cool and refrigerate for later.

As Missy says, "this makes a great sauce for cheesecake, ice cream, pancakes, French Toast etc". I took the etcetera route and made a decadent breakfast/brunch entrée or side. Open Faced Banana Bread, Cream Cheese and Strawberry Sandwiches. Yummy delish, that's all I can say. Thanks fellow bloggers for all your inspiration!

 

 

And a few days later, I came up with this idea for easy portability. Three layer banana bread with all the fixings.

 



My Magic Pan

Is there anybody besides me old enough to remember the restaurant "The Magic Pan"? It was my go-to place for lunch in the 80's. You could get crepes for lunch, dinner or dessert and salads that were fresh and innovative at the time. I got hooked on their wilted spinch and bacon salad and was so in the mood for that today. But I made it into a sandwich. I'm a hungry girl these days and I'm happy to say, "It worked!!" Here's the recipe:

Wilted Spinach and Bacon Salad Sammies
Serves 6

6 Hoagie rolls or small French bauguettes
6 eggs hard boiled and sliced
6 slices bacon (I used thick cut) cut into 1/2 inch pieces
1 pound baby spinach
1/2 onion diced
1 clove garlic chopped
1/2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp black pepper
Pinch of salt
3 T cider vinegar
Mayo (optional)

Boil eggs, cool in ice bath and set aside. In large skillet over medium heat, fry bacon until cooked (about 10 minutes). Drain on paper towel lined plate.

Pour bacon fat into a separate bowl and measure out 5 tablespoons of bacon fat back into your skillet. Add onion and cook over medium heat until softened (about 3 minutes). Now add your sugar and garlic and cook another 1/2 minute. Now add the vinegar, stir into bacon fat/onion mixture and remove from heat. Loosen brown bits with spoon and pour dressing over spinach, add bacon and toss until spinach is slightly wilted.

Time to make the sandwiches. To pan that bacon was sauteed in, grill the inside of your rolls, one or two at a time.

Slather a little mayo on top and bottom halves of bread and generously place spinach/bacon mixture on the bottom of the bun. Top with sliced egg, and a little salt and pepper.

Yum. I can't think of a better way to start the work week than packing one of these tasty sammies for tomorrow's lunch. And that's exactly what I'm going to do!

Sweet and Sour

In case you're wondering, the heading of this post has everything to do with the pot roast I cooked on my stovetop last night and does not refer to my mood swings. At least once a year I make Rae Fox's sweet and sour sauce and decided it was time to mix a little of her old world genius with an inexpensive cut of meat and see what happened. The result was a fantabulous, fall-apart pot roast that took on all the flavors I was looking for- tangy, sweet, sour, oniony all in a mild tomato base. It almost reminded me of Joan Nathan's grandmother's brisket, but I think (I know) it was better. It's time consuming, but certainly not difficult to prepare. Check this out!

Sweet and Sour Pot Roast
serves about 6

The Roast:
2-1/4 pound bottom round roast
2 T flour
1-1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp crushed black pepper
2 T canola oil

The Sauce:
2 lemons juiced
1/2 tsp vinegar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 15 oz can tomato sauce
1 15 oz can of water
1/2 tsp ground black pepper (omit if you're serving children or those with mild pallettes)
1large onion sliced

Pat all moisture from your roast- paper towels work just fine for me. In shallow plate combine flour, salt, and black pepper. Dredge meat on all sides in flour mixture and set aside.

We're going to make our sweet and sour sauce now and it's so simple, there's no cooking involved. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl or measuring cup and whisk ingredients to make sure the sugar has dissolved.

Set this mixture aside and let's get back to the beef.  On stovetop in large skillet heat your oil on medium and sear meat on all sides. You want to create a nice crust that will keep the meat moist and seal the juices in.

 Now add your sliced onions and sauce.

Bring mixture to a slight boil, cover and lower heat to the lowest your stovetop can handle and cook 3 hours. I had the time to hang around the kitchen so I turned my roast over every 30-45 minutes. I'm not sure you have to do that. After 3 hours you will discover that the meat is tender, and begging you to take a taste. Please do that, just don't burn your fingers!

So how do you serve this you might be wondering? A side of mashed potatoes would be great. Egg noodles even better- anything to soak up the delicious sauce. But I took a different route and made deli sandwiches that were out of this world. I shredded (or pulled) the meat apart and served some serious comfort food. Messy, drip down your arms potato rolls stuffed with sweet and sour pot roast with and without cole slaw.

If you were wondering, my mouth was definately big enough to wrap around these little darlings and they were gone in no time. And I was wondering, if anyone has any other food additions that would work on this tasty sammie. If so let me know, I've got some left overs and would love to give your ideas a try!

Caramelized Onions, Sweet...

After running around after work yesterday in 100 degree heat, I thought for sure when I got home I'd crash and watch some stupid TV. But that wasn't the case. I've had a craving for caramelized onions lately, and with air conditioning keeping me in the comfort zone, I proceeded with the task ahead. I love the sweetness that slow cooking brings to onions. It's almost like making jam or jelly. If you haven't done this lately or ever before, it's simple, doesn't take much time and is the perfect condiment for sandwiches, salads, pizza, vegetables, soups, savory bread pudding and absolutely perfect for eating right out of the bowl.

Caramelized Onions
3 large onions- I used 2 Vidalia and 1 red
1T olive oil
1-1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar- I used Splenda no calorie sweetener
2 T water

Heat large pan on medium high and add oil. When oil is glistening, add onions and stir to coat. Lower heat to medium or medium low (my stove cooks HOT, so I use medium low). Spread onions evenly in pan and let cook, stirring occasionally. After about 8 minutes, add salt and sugar. If onions seem to be drying out snd sticking to the pan, add 2T water. Continue cooking onions about 30 minutes stirring every few minutes. You'll know the onions are done when they're dark brown, dense and a bit gooey. And when you taste them, the concentrated flavor is sweet and heady. Here's the progression:

Grilled Fontina and Caramelized Onion Sandwich

2 slices Italian bread

2 T caramelized onions

Shaved Fontina cheese- I buy a wedge and shave it for excellent meltability

Cooking spray

Mist stove top grill pan or griddle with cooking spray. Heat to medium/medium high. You can guess by now I use medium. Place caramelized onions on one side of bread. Top onions with shaved Fontina (use as much as you like). Cover with second piece of bread and place on grill. Cook about 3-4 minutes per side. I sometimes add pressure to my sandwich by placing a heavy saucepan on top of the sandwich and pretend I have a pannini press and that works great. When you've got nice grill marks on the bread and the cheese is oozy and hot, your sandwich is done. Eat, enjoy and get ready to make some more. They're that good!

Feel free to add cold cuts like turkey breast or roast beef, additional vegetables such as roasted peppers or tomatoes, or omit the Fontina completely and substitute with a mixture of mayo and blue cheese. Or really, just enjoy the intensity of the onions alone on a crisp cracker. This is a great condiment that needs nothing but a little imagination.

California Road Trip: Food and Scenery

I just returned from another fabulous trip to Southern California. This time Lori and I began our adventure in Marina Del Rey and Santa Monica.


We then headed south to San Diego and west to Coronado Bay to enjoy the scenery and magnificent sunsets, not to mention the long awaited late afternoon and dinner reunion with 2 of my favorite cousins Peter and Jane in their fabulous (I want to live there) town of Ocean Beach.

And then we were off to Murrietta Hot Springs (slightly north and most definately east of San Diego) to the desert and valley of the SoCal wine country where we took in the surrounding mountains and experienced the pleasant, dry heat of the dessert. We enjoyed another reunion with extra-special friends we hadn't seen in over 15 years, dining outdoors at Ponte winery. We indulged in Ponte wine, great conversation, belly laughs and tears (mostly mine), fabulous food and a marvelous fine-mist spritzing devise that kept us cool in the desert heat. Heavenly. Just heavenly.

But this is a cooking blog right? So let's get down to business. I'd like to talk about the one constant I experienced at just about every meal I enjoyed- the Avocado. It first appeared in a guacamole as a garnish in some fish tacos I ate (at 2 separate times), then in a vinaigrette on my lobster and crab cobb salad and later as an olive oil infused dipping sauce for the freshly baked bread at the winery. This is some versatile fruit I'm talking about. So when I got home I pulled out my food benefits chart and checked out what this baby has to offer. So after you read the next sentence, fasten your seat belts and run right out and get yourself some of this healthy goodness. Here are the benefits: Avocados battle diabetes, lower cholesterol, help stop strokes, control blood pressure and smooth your skin. Not bad for a bumpy, alien-looking little piece of fruit!

A while ago I came up with an avocado cream cheese spread that works beautifully on toasted or grilled bruscetta. Or as a dip for chips or raw veggies and a sandwich spread (instead of mayo or mustard or ketchup).

Avocado Cream Cheese Spread
Serve on 1 loaf (1 lb) French baguette sliced and toasted

1 avocado sliced
1 tsp Dijon mjustard
Juice of one lemon
8 oz pkg Philadelphia reduced fat cream cheese softened to room temp
2 cloves garlic chopped
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Garnish
1/4 cup fresh tomatoes small dice
1/4 cup red onion small dice or substitute 2 T fresh chives chopped

Put all ingredients (except garnish) in food processor or blender and mix until combined. Refrigerate an hour or two to let the mixture set up and the flavors meld. Meanwhile chop garnish ingredients and set aside. Top toasted bruscetta with avocado spread and garnish with 1/2 tsp of tomato mixture.

Now let's tackle the sandwich spread I mentioned a minute ago. The sandwich I love with this spread I call an ABLT: Avocado Spread, Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato. Omit the mayo you usually slather on since you're getting a lot more flavor from the avocado spread. Avocado tastes great with bacon. And tomato. And lettuce. And bread. And remember there's some cheese in this spread which also tastes great with all of the above. And if you want to really take it over the top, sprinkle on some crumbled blue cheese, which ALSO tastes great with everything on this sandwich. I can go on and on about the use of avocados and cheese, but it's late and I'm once again on east coast time. So for now, goodnight and enjoy!

Roasted

When I waste food I get a case of the guilties. It's most likely generational since I grew up being constantly reminded of the "starving children in China" and my mom was often referred to as "thrifty". As you can imagine, I'm a proud member of the clean plate club and a sympathetic cooker of anything in my fridge that looks like it's on it's last legs. That was the case last week when I noticed my once crisp eggplant and zucchini had almost surpassed their shelf life, and half a Spanish onion was suffocating in the saran wrap it was covered in. I had to put these babies out of their (or my) misery and decided to roast them. Roasted veggies are a great snack and make an interesting accompaniment with sandwiches or AS sandwiches.


Roasted Eggplant, Zucchini and Onion


Pre heat oven to 400 degrees
Line 2 baking sheets with aluminum foil


Peel and slice medium size eggplant into 1/4 inch rounds
Slice zucchini into 1/4 inch rounds
Slice 1/2 of a large sweet onion into 1/4 inch half moons


Prep baking sheets with cooking spray and lay vegetables in a single layer on top. I used one sheet for the eggplant and one for the onions and zucchini. Spritz the top of the vegetables with additional cooking spray and season liberally with kosher salt and lemon pepper. Place in the pre heated oven for 20 minutes. At this point the zucchini and onions should be done. Remove to a dish to cool. The eggplant will need another 10 minutes to finish cooking. Turn eggplant rounds over, to ensure browness on both sides. No need to season the eggplant again. When they are soft, yet browned, remove them to the dish with the zucchini and onion to cool.





The next morning when I was putting together my feed bag for work (that line's for you Carol) I decided to make a sandwich with these good looking vegetables. I took half a slice of lavash (I told you you'd be hearing a lot about this bread), and spread about 1 T of Alouette Light garlic and herb cheese on the bread. Then I layered the vegetables to cover about 2/3 of the bread. When you're making roll ups, you don't want to cover the entire surface with your filling, because as you roll it up, the filling rolls out the back end.





Roll the lavash up, and the creamy cheese acts as a glue on the edges. Now doesn't this look yummy? It was a delicious little snack for me and could easily become a meal with a bowl of soup or a crunchy salad.





And speaking of crunchy, that was the one thing that was missing on this lovely little roll up. Not that it wasn't fabulous as is, but a little crunch would have been nice. So next time I'll try some fresh red pepper slices or a few crisp lettuce leaves. If you have any crunchy ideas, please pass them along.


After tasting and enjoying the flavors of the 3 veggies and the garlic cheese, the next thing to morph out of this combo might to be a roasted vegetable cheese dip or spread. I'll keep you posted.

Fast Food

On Friday night I'm never in the mood for fussy cooking and rely on my spur-of-the-moment, creative side to come up with something quick and tasty that won't dirty a lot of pots and pans, and will make use of some of last weeks' perishables lurking in my fridge. One of my favorite quickies is flat bread grilled cheese packages. No more than 5 minutes and you're there.

Here's what I did tonight:

I took half a slice of Joseph's Lavash Bread, slathered one side with chipotle salsa, placed 3 slices of Alpine Lace Swiss cheese over the salsa, then added 2 strips of cooked turkey bacon (that I never got to use during the week). I folded the naked (empty) side of the bread over the bacon, put the flat little package into a saute pan with 1/2 T melted butter and a spritz of cooking spray and browned it over medium heat.

I grilled the sandwich for about 3 minutes per side, if that long, and that was it. Done. I sliced the package in half, garnished with additional salsa, low fat sour cream and 1/2 an avocado.

It was delish. Plus, cleanup is a quick wash of the saute pan and cutting board. Silverware and plate enjoy the dishwasher. And I'm full, and free to enjoy my evening.

The Re-Mix is fun because anything goes. 1. Start with my cheese and bacon and omit the salsa. Instead, use Dijon mustard and pickles inside. 2. I've tried lean roast beef and roasted red peppers with a slathering of boursin cheese and a slice or two of mozzarella. 3. A tuna melt is always good. I liven mine up with a layer of sriracha sauce and low fat mayo plus a cool Monterey jack slice. A few greens on the side or in the package would be nice too. And last but not least... 4. Peanut butter, Nutella. and sliced strawberries. I believe this one deserves a garnish of powdered sugar on the top. yum