Brown Butter Caramelized Banana Bread

I am a zombie.  Yesterday morning, Carson and I woke up, flew to LA, attended the Emmy's, and then flew home on a red-eye last night.  Essentially, we spent 12 hours in Los Angeles and another 12 hours on a plane in a 24-hour timespan.  I am a zombie.  BUT, it was allll worth it because The Voice won an Emmy!!!!  I was so proud of Carson and everyone that works so hard on the show, and it was very exciting to be there in person to cheer them on.  Tonight starts a new season, so tune in!!

Moving on to this ridiculously delicious banana bread that I made on Saturday morning in guilty preparation for leaving my children.  I think it worked, because they barely missed us and made us pretty cute "welcome home" signs.  Go, banana bread, go!  I tried out a couple of new techniques after seeing this recipe.  First, I caramelized the bananas by roasting them in the oven with a little honey and cinnamon.  Then, I browned the butter and let it cool slightly before adding it to the batter.    

By doing these two things, the banana bread tasted sinful.  Almost as if I had added rum or peanut butter.  It has a caramely, slightly nutty flavor, and it's perfectly moist and plain old delicious.  No need to bake this out of guilt, just bake this!  And watch The Voice tonight!  Ok, I'll take a nap now...

Brown Butter Caramelized Banana Bread

(Makes 1 loaf)

Printable Recipe

4 ripe bananas

Honey

Cinnamon

1 1/4 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

6 T unsalted butter

1 tsp vanilla

1/4 cup sour cream

1 cup brown sugar

2 eggs

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Peel bananas, and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.  Drizzle with honey and sprinkle with cinnamon.  Place in oven, and cook for 20 minutes, until bananas begin to caramelize.  Remove, and set aside to let cool.  Reduce oven heat to 350 degrees.

While bananas are roasting, melt butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, until it begins to brown and let off a nutty aroma.  Remove from heat, and set aside to let cool.

In a small bowl, whisk together dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and nutmeg). In a larger bowl, add the bananas and mash.  Stir in the butter, vanilla, sour cream, brown sugar and eggs, and combine until just smooth.  Add the dry ingredients, and stir to combine.  Pour batter into a greased bread pan, and bake for one hour.  

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Baby Brezza: Tropical Smoothie

You know those "first kid, second kid" commercials?  I think that perhaps I write them in my sleep and submit them to the diaper companies.  There is nothing more true than how much your parenting mentality changes from one kid to the next.  Our first kid had only age appropriate toys that I sterilized once every few weeks in a bucket of soapy water.  Our third kid plays with (and sucks on) my car keys.  It's just the way it goes!  Similarly, I made ALL of Jack's baby food.  All of it.  Down to pureed ground lamb, turkey and chicken that I called "meat paste" - oh man, did it look revolting.  Second and third baby?  Well, I definitely made a few things... but those baby food pouches are just SO convenient (enter major mom guilt!).  

However, I always say to new moms: it is SO simple to make homemade baby food.  Chop, steam, blend... it's truly that easy.  You can even make large batches of food at once and freeze individual portions.  Products like the Baby Brezza make the process foolproof.  At the touch of a button, you can steam and blend your food at desired intervals, or you can steam only, blend only, etc.  The other day, I made a smoothie for London with strawberries, mango, banana and yogurt, and with the leftovers I made frozen push-pops for the big kids.  6 thumbs up from them!  I do math!  

Tropical Baby Food Smoothie

(Makes 4 small glasses, or 4 frozen push-pops)

Printable Recipe

1/2 cup fresh or frozen strawberries, roughly chopped

1/2 cup fresh or frozen mango, roughly chopped

1/2 banana, sliced

1/2 cup whole milk yogurt

Place first 3 ingredients into the Baby Brezza.  Choose the 'Steam and Blend Only' feature for 15 minutes.  Once the fruit has been blended, add the yogurt, and choose the 'Blend Only' feature until your desired consistency is reached.  Pour into glasses and place in fridge to cool.  I poured some into push-pop molds and froze for the big kids. 

Found my "Cool Cones" at Michael's, but can also be purchased here.

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Frozen Peanut Butter Banana

Carson came home from work the other day and was raving about this easy recipe: a banana, sliced in half, smothered in peanut butter and frozen.  What a great thing to keep in your freezer for a sweet, savory, healthy snack!  I, of course, would dip it in dark chocolate, maybe roll it in coconut... but I don't know when to stop.  You should make this, thanks Joy Bauer!    

Speaking of Carson, I wrote a little something about him for Father's Day here.  If you enjoy, please share, and vote, or better yet... join the site and write your OWN!    

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Pinon (or Puerto Rican Lasagna)

I love sweet and savory combinations, but I usually only think of them in terms of desserts.  Well, a reader sent me this main dish that combines layers of salty meat and veggies with layers of sweet, fried plantains, and I was very excited to try it.  Apparently it's very popular in Puerto Rico, and often referred to as their "lasagna."  So last weekend, with my mom in town, we decided to make a traditional lasagna as well as Pinon.  

The reader, as she will be known, sent me this recipe, as well as some very helpful tips that I completely ignored because I was running short on time.  BAD IDEA, SIRI.  We (my mom, I love you mom) cut the plantains too thick, resulting in not enough for the multiple layers.  The reader even suggested flattening them in between foil with something heavy, like a can of soup, which would have thinned them out nicely and assisted with the layers, but... we ran out of time!  Our plantains were also pretty green and unripe, hence, not sweet enough?  Does that make sense?  I know nothing about plantains.  (By the way, do you say plan-TAIN or plan-TIN?  Major topic of debate in our household.)  In general, I think I failed the reader with this otherwise marvelous recipe.  I will make it again with more time and better listening ears.  Can you tell I have small children?      

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Watermelon Three Ways!

Another guest post!  With no baby news, gah :(

The following is written by my friend, Beth: mother of 2 adorable boys, hardest-working Producer at Dr. Phil, spectacular cook and a very special friend to me.  Thank you B... and I hope you all enjoy!

When I think summer, I think watermelon!  (And cocktails, sun, sand, more cocktails...)  

But back to the watermelon.  For my son's last day of preschool in June, I was the assigned "snack mom" and wanted to help get everyone in the summer spirit.  So, rather than buying some Pirates Booty and calling it a day (why can I never make things easy on myself?!?) I bought a 14 pound child, I mean watermelon.

Way #1:

First, I cut the watermelon in big, circular slices, then I cut the slices into preschool size wedges, like a pizza.  I know, this is a hard one!

Way #2:

Next, because I can't resist giving kids sugar in school, I made a watermelon Rice Krispie Treats.  I'm not proud of the fact that I have the recipe memorized, but I do.  So here we go, it's a double recipe you make twice, you'll see... 

Watermelon Rice Krispie Treats

(This recipe is for 2 round cake pans and some leftovers, feeds appox. 20 kids, could be halved!)

Printable Recipe

2 bags marshmallows (big or mini)

6 T butter

12 cups Rice Krispies

1 pack of green lime Kool-aid

1 pack of red strawberry/cherry Kool-aid

Mini chocolate chips

In a large pan, melt 1 bag of marshmallows with 3 T of butter over medium-low heat.  Once melted, stir in a pack of green lime Kool-aid.  Pour in 6 cups of Rice Krispies and stir.  Take the mixture and make a green rind around the inside of 2 cake pans.  I always put 2 plastic baggies on my hand and spray with butter/oil so I can easily form the treats.  Repeat all steps with 2nd bag of marshmallows, butter and Rice Krispies, but this time add the red Kool-aid.  Fill in the middle of the green rinds with the red mixture.  After they've cooled, add some chocolate chips on top for seeds (I cut my chips in half).  Then cut into wedges!       

Way #3:

When you realize that you have no clue what else to do with the remaining 10 pounds of your watermelon baby, and if you're like me you have zero room in your fridge, do this!!  This "way" is by FAR my new ultimate summer treat, courtesy of an old Bon Appetit magazine I found...

Watermelon Granita

(Makes 6 small servings)

Printable Recipe

4 cups chopped watermelon, even if it's slightly under or over ripe

Juice from half a lime

1/2 cup sugar

Blend/puree all ingredients in a Vitamix or blender.  Pour in a square brownie/cake pan and put in freezer.  Set alarm and after 1 hour, take a fork and mash up any chunks.  Set alarm again for 2 hours, repeat fork mashing.  The next morning = perfection!

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Strawberry Yogurt Popsicles

According to my Facebook and Instagram feeds, school has already started for many kids.  What?!  It's August 12th!  What happened to Labor Day being the bookend of summer?  I refuse to let go of these humid, lazy days... but that's probably because I'm a whale with a tiny human camping out in my belly.  So yesterday I made popsicles, because frozen treats = summertime magic.  I recently bought these molds inspired by these pops (I mean, are you kidding me with those???) because my $1.99 Rite Aid brand just wasn't cutting it.  They worked like a charm!  And the creamy, strawberry frozen treat wasn't bad either.  Perfectly sweet and tart at the same time.  Aaaand now I'm obsessed with making popsicles.  What's next, hmm...  

If baby stays put for a few more days, I'm thinking Mint Chocolate Chip Fudge Pops sound ridiculous, don't you? 

      

Strawberry Yogurt Popsicles

(Makes 6, depending on size of mold)

Printable recipe

2 cups fresh or frozen strawberries, roughly chopped

1/3 cup greek yogurt

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 tsp fresh lemon juice

1/8 cup sugar

Place strawberries in a bowl and coat with sugar.  Stir.  Place all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth.  Pour into popsicle molds and freeze. 

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Burrata and White Peach Crostini

Hamptons, I can't quit you and your quaint farm stands everywhere you turn.  We went back for a quick weekend trip, and this time I picked up some freshly baked bread, homemade Burrata cheese, juicy white peaches, locally made honey and some fresh basil.  And then I turned it all into a delicious appetizer!  Carson, who is not usually one for the sweet and savory combination, LOVED this.  Everything just came together perfectly.  White peaches aren't overly sweet, but drizzled with a little honey, on top of creamy, salty cheese, on top of crispy bread... it was perfect.  A little earthiness from the basil and a sprinkle of coarse sea salt topped it all off.  I want more.

(**Which isn't saying much, because I want EVERYTHING right now.  Only 4 more weeks left in this pregnancy and I want to eat and sleep the days away... healthy, huh?  Don't worry, though, that's not happening because I'm constantly running after my 22 month-old and there is no more room left in this belly for food.  Move over baby!  Mama wants a thousand cookies.)  

Burrata and White Peach Crostini 

Printable Recipe

Loaf of french bread, thinly sliced on a diagonal

Burrata cheese (ricotta or goat cheese would work well too, me thinks)

Extra virgin olive oil

White peaches, thinly sliced

Honey

Fresh basil, cut into thin strips

Coarse sea salt

Preheat oven to 350.  Brush both sides of bread with olive oil, and place on a baking sheet.  Bake for roughly 15 minutes, flipping bread halfway through cooking process.  Remove from oven when top of bread is lightly golden.  Spread cheese on toast and top with peach slices and basil strips.  Drizzle a small amount of honey and extra virgin olive oil over each and sprinkle with a small amount of coarse sea salt.   

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Strawberry Chocolate Chip Muffins

Yesterday, I was all set to make Strawberry Muffins, and then this happened...

Oh, hello chocolate chips!  Listen, I could blame being almost 34 weeks pregnant all day long, but the truth is, I would add chocolate chips to almost anything, pregnant or not.  You guys know that.  You know me.  You get me.  You read my blog, even though I have a chocolate problem.  I love you.

While Etta and I were in MN, the boys hit up an eastern Long Island farmers market and got 2 pints of delicious, sweet, juicy strawberries.  We've been munching on them daily, but I wanted to make something with the majority of them so I turned to an eastern Long Islander, Ina, and her Strawberry Muffin recipe.  Makes sense, right?  They were wonderful, and I only made a few alterations.  Adding 1 cup of mini chocolate chips, of course, and omitting the cinnamon (I was out) and adding the zest of 1 lemon instead.  Then I sent all of them to work with Carson because otherwise they would all end up in my gigantic belly.          

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Rhubarb Crisp

I took one last quick trip over the weekend to Minnesota (technically I think you shouldn't be flying at 33 weeks, shhh).  Etta came with me and we spent a few days reconnecting with friends and family (and many, many babies), playing with grandma and eating.  Always eating.  A trip to Bruegger's Bagels, a Bacon & Scallop appetizer at Manny's Steak House, Sautéed Walleye at Jensens Supper Club, my mom's famous Chalupas and her Rhubarb Crisp were some of the food highlights.  Sounds like I was there for a week, huh?  Nope, just 2 days.  We eat lots.  

    My mom has made this Rhubarb Crisp for as long as I can remember.  As a kid, I wanted nothing to do with it.  Rhubarb looked funny to me and the name alone sounded icky.  I mean, call it rhubarb-berry or something if you want a kid to eat it.  But as I've grown older and wiser, I now know how delicious it is and perfect in the summertime, especially when my mom picks the rhubarb straight from her garden.  Thank you for sharing the recipe, mama! 

Rhubarb Crisp

Printable Recipe

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup oats

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

3 T corn starch

1 tsp vanilla

4 cups rhubarb, chopped

1 cup strawberries (chopped) or blueberries

Preheat oven to 350.  Combine flour, oats, cinnamon, brown sugar, butter and nuts.  Press half of mixture into an 8x8 pan (it is not necessary to spray pan).  Cook sugar, water, corn starch and vanilla on stove over medium-high heat until very thick.  Add rhubarb (and any other fruit you want) and mix thoroughly.  Spread on top of pan and top with remaining oat mixture.  Bake for 1 hour.  Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.  

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#VoiceTailgate: Maroon 5-Ingredient Macaroons

Um, if cookies were alive?  Just go with it.

  So what is tonight's #VoiceTailgate all about?  Well, from my wildly hilarious sense of humor (and the not-so-subtle title of this post), you've probably already guessed that we're talking about Adam.  Talented, competitive, silly Adam, who loves to make fun of Blake, has a thousand hit songs I know by heart and a rack full of vintage t-shirts backstage I want to steal.  I made these cookies in his honor, because the word "macaroon" is basically the word "maroon" with a couple extra letters.      

This Ina Garten recipe produces the perfect coconut macaroon with just 5 simple ingredients, but I adapted it slightly by adding 2 more: raspberries and chocolate.  Because what's sexier than raspberries and chocolate??  I mean, other than Victoria's Secret models and rockstar musicians. 

Chocolate Raspberry Coconut Macaroons

(Makes 18 cookies)

Printable Recipe

14 ounces sweetened shredded coconut

14 ounces sweetened condensed milk

6 ounces raspberries

1 tsp vanilla

2 large egg whites, at room temp

1/4 tsp salt

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Using a blender or food processor, blend the raspberries until pureed (it's okay if small chunks remain).  In a large bowl, stir together coconut, sweetened condensed milk, pureed raspberries and vanilla.  

In another large bowl, add the egg whites and salt.  Using an electric mixer (or a standing mixer with the whisk attachment), beat egg whites and salt on high until medium-firm peaks appear.  Fold the egg white mixture into the coconut mixture, being careful not to over mix (it's okay if you can still see parts of the egg whites).  Using an ice scream scoop, drop the batter onto parchment-lined baking sheets (about 2 tablespoons worth).  Bake for 30 minutes.  

While cookies are cooling, melt chocolate chips in the microwave at 30-second intervals, stirring in between, until chocolate is melted.  Either dip half of each cookie in chocolate, or place melted chocolate in plastic bag, snipping the very end of one corner, and drizzle atop each cookie.  Let chocolate harden and then enjoy!  

So, who do you think is going home tonight??

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Brown Sugar Apple Cookies

I have been ignoring you.  I'm sorry, you don't need to yell!  Listen up, my little brother is GETTING MARRIED this weekend!  The little brother of Sirious Sips, by the way, whatever happened to those?  Anyway, my focus has been elsewhere.  But yesterday, my focus was on making a scrumptious fall cookie, and you should totally use the word "scrumptious" more often.  No seriously, try saying it out loud, right now.  Scrumptious!  Doesn't it make you feel joyful?  I found this recipe for Brown Sugar Cookies and I thought, why not add some apples?!  Two peeled, diced Honeycrisp apples to be specific.  I also added 1/2 tsp of vanilla to the recipe and a cup of oatmeal.  I had EVERY intention of drizzling caramel on top and sprinkling them with sea salt (Salted Caramel Apple Cookie anyone??) but my focus faltered.  YOU'RE YELLING AT ME AGAIN.  They were delicious on their own.  

Scrumptious!  

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Speedy Strawberry Ice Cream

It's hot.  It's hot everywhere.  The country is on fire.  The mosquitos are having a field day.  I moved away from the Midwest 10 years ago and haven't had a mosquito bite until this summer.  What, is, going, ON Southern California?!?  I wake up every morning with bites in the most god forsaken places.  Like, the tip of my toe????  Or this morning... in between two fingers.  Thanks for that mosquito.  It's hot.  And no one wants to cook.  So when a friend sent me this recipe for a quick and easy strawberry ice cream, I knew it was something I had to share with you people.  My method doesn't even require an ice cream maker!  Just a quick stir every hour or so in front of the freezer, which is where you want to be anywhere, isn't it?  FREEZE TO DEATH MOSQUITOS!

p.s. This ice cream is creamy, refreshing and delicious.    

Speedy Strawberry Ice Cream

Makes 1 1/2 quarts

Source: Star Tribune

(Printable Recipe)

1 lb. strawberry - washed, trimmed and halved (or quartered if strawberries are big)

1 cup powdered sugar

1 1/3 cup heavy cream

1 T lime zest  

Place strawberries, sugar, cream and lime zest in a blender.  Blend until well combined.  Transfer mixture to a freezer-safe bowl.  Cover with plastic wrap and place in freezer.  Stir with spatula, scraping down sides, every hour until ice cream reaches desired consistency - usually about 4 hours later.

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Blueberries + Goat Cheese

Take a log of goat cheese, top with a jar of blueberry jam, serve with crackers.  You fancy.  You tasty.  

Shortest.  Post.  Ever.  

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