dorie greenspan's corn muffins

Warm, out of the oven, and drizzled with honey. I have a certain weakness for corny baked things, especially when stone ground cornmeal is used...the grittiness that turns sweet and full of texture when cooked. Imagine such a muffin that crumbles when split, and soaks up a pat of sweet butter when gently plied. Excuse me while I step away from my computer to wipe the drool off my face.

This is Dorie Greenspan's recipe, which calls for all the usual suspects, buttermilk, melted butter, a 50/50 mix of cornmeal and all-purpose flour. I particulary appreciate her addition of freshly grated nutmeg, and an extra egg yolk for a bit of richness. I would suggest baking these babies in a well seasoned muffin pan, cast-iron, if you can get your hands on one. This will produce a crispy, buttery, golden crust that ascends the height of each muffin. Otherwise, they will still turn out fine, just with a softer crust.

I eat these with practically everything, with fried eggs for breakfast yesterday, and with a big bowl of chipotle turkey chili tonight. Such great cold weather food...

whole wheat banana walnut bread

Not another teen movie! What? Oh, I mean, not another banana bread recipe! We've seen so many, from Grandma so-and-so's to this bed and breakfast's to vegan versions to chocolate chip and nut versions.

I'm sure the world can benefit from another banana bread recipe. Especially one that's whole wheat, but still moist and dense. I've baked this bread twice in the past two weeks already, one for my parents' and mine camping trip, and another for Mr. S this week, as I'm away on vacation in sunny VA Beach.

Lots of fiber, lots of potassium, and lots of good-for-you carbs. What's not to love?


Whole Wheat Banana Walnut Bread
adapted from America's Test Kitchen
makes one 9"x5"x3" loaf

DRY INGREDIENTS:
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup chopped, toasted walnuts (optional)

WET INGREDIENTS:
3 ripe bananas, mashed
1/4 cup plain yogurt
2 eggs
6 Tbsp melted butter
1 tsp vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease and flour the sides and bottom of a 9"x5"x3" loaf pan.

2. Mix together dry ingredients. In another bowl, mix together wet ingredients. Add the dry to the wet and mix until just blended. The batter will be thick and lumpy.

3. Pour into the prepared loaf pan. Bake for 55 minutes or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.

avocado pound cake

If you think about it, the avocado is a fruit. Its intense creaminess lends it to be the perfect nonpartisan player in the great divide between savory and sweet. Sure it is best known for its leading role in guacamole as well as in California rolls and salads, but in many South American and South Asian cultures, avocado is used in dessert dishes. The batidos of Brazil incorporate creamy fruits like avocado with milk to make silky shakes. A popular treat in Indonesia combines avocado, condensed milk and chocolate syrup to yield a decadent smoothie. In last month's Saveur, contributor Andrea Nguyen wrote about the her love of fresh avocado drizzled with condensed milk, fresh from he farmer's market. In the U.S., Californians, by far, treasure the avocado, one of their native fruits. There is even an annual avocado festival held in Carpinteria where delightful dishes like avocado ice cream and avocado pie abound. There is also avocado pound cake, of which I have yet to find a recipe for, so I decided to create my own.

I forgot that avocado can act like butter due to its high fat content, so I basically added twice the amount fat that a pound cake needs. Not that that's a bad thing. The cake did turn out super moist and almost gooey. So if you are looking for more of a cake-like poundcake, keep the same amount of avocado, just reduce the amount of butter and add a bit more flour. What you will bring forth from your oven is a loaf of sweet, nutty complex flavors. The combination of the creamy pastel green and the buttery carbo-goodness will make your heart lift oh-so-high.

Avocado Pound Cake
makes a 9-inch loaf

DRY INGREDIENTS:
3/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup cake flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder

WET INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp lemon zest
1/2 cup sour cream
2 ripe avocado, cubed

1. Preheat oven to 325F. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9x5x3 loaf pan.

2. In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. Set aside.

3. In another bowl, cream the butter and sugar until pale and light in texture. Add vanilla, and one egg at a time, while still mixing. Beat in the avocado until batter is smooth. Mix in sour cream and lemon zest. Wih a spatula, gently fold in the dry ingredients, without overworking the batter. The batter will be slightly dry. Pour it into the prepared pan.

4. Bake about 1 hour or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean, and top of cake is golden.

banana peanut butter bread

Banana bread may sound mundane and commonplace in today's world of decadent and triple-tiered desserts, but do not doubt the power of the mighty banana as it emerges sweet and caramelized embedded in a buttery loaf.

In my kitchen, fresh baked banana bread does not last long. And it's not meant to. The ripe bits of banana make this bread intensely moist and dense, perfect for eating warm, straight out of the oven, with a spoon. Chocolate chips are always great, but I prefer PB chips as they remind me of many a smushed brown-bag sandwich in elementary school.

I had some leftover batter that I spooned into small brioche molds which baked up nicely. Maybe not enough for a single serving, but definitely endearing.

Sigh...no words or pictures can do this justice...


Banana Peanut Butter Bread
adapted from Better Homes and Garden Cookbook

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 egg
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 3)
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
(generous) 1/2 cup PB baking chips

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease the bottom and sides of a 8x4x2-in loaf pan. In a bowl, mix together the first 4 dry ingredients.
2. In a seperate bowl, mix together the egg, bananas, sugar, and oil. Add this egg mixture to the dry ingredients, and stir just until moistened. The batter should be lumpy. Fold in the chips.
3. Spoon batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 50-55 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes, but don't wait too long to dig in!

cherry cornmeal muffins

I love corn muffins. Well, I really just love muffins in general. No need to discriminate. The passion many people have toward cupcakes is how I feel about muffins. Simply speaking, muffins are basically just naked cupcakes, with a lot more going on inside than on top of their heads.
We all need a bit of whimsy in our lives every now and then. I made these muffins with a surprise in the middle: a sweet juicy cherry. The recipe is from Joy of Baking, in which I substituted bing cherries for the recommended berries. A snap of the wrist and a final dusting of powdered sugar always does the trick...Enjoy!

on clafoutis, crumb cakes, & other such matters

I'm going through a phase in which my sweet tooth seems to have a hollow center! Let's call it a dessert baking binge of gargantuan proportions. Maybe it's that it is summer and with the hot humid temps, we tend to crave more for nibbling on sweets than on eating large savory meals. Summer cooking is super inspired by the freshness and locality of ingredients. Some of my favorites are strawberries, cherries, peaches, watermelon, heirloom tomatoes, ohh I just love them all!

I bought this pint of fresh strawberries from a local farmer who brings his produce to a retirement community every weekend. Beautiful, and many still with their long stems.

It was actually more than a pint, as I had enough to make a sweet puree for my homemade strawberry ice-cream (will post later about this), and with the remaining, a strawberry clafoutis, a dense buttery thick fruit pancake baked in the oven. I used this recipe from the Barefoot Contessa, in which I substituted the pears for strawberries. I found it to be more custard-like than cakelike. Then again, the recipe calls for a shockingly large measure of heavy cream! But, who's complaining? It turned out beautiful, and was relatively quick and easy.

Peaches have a greatly intoxicating aroma. I've always loved them, and have a particular weakness for big juicy white peaches, a relic of my childhood. I had about 2 hours time yesterday at home in between work and lsat class, and thought, what could I prep and bake up in such time? All day I was craving sinking my teeth into a soft coffeecake, so I incorporated the peaches on my counter into my recipe.

The cake has 3 layers: the buttery cake base, sliced peaches tossed in apricot jam, and the sugary walnut crumb topping. What an indulgent way to end a hecticly busy day with a big piece of this cake, a glass of milk, and watching a rerun of Tony Bourdain's No Reservations.

I will post the recipe later tonite, as I am running late for work!! :)