Chef John's Banana Bread

 3 ripe bananas (mashed & set aside), 2 cups flour, 1 t. salt, 1 t. baking soda, 1 t. baking powder, 1/2 cup butter (softened), 1 cup sugar, 3 large eggs, 1/4 t. vanilla, 1 T. milk, 1 cup walnuts (chopped), 1/3 - 1/2 cup chocolate chips (amount can vary depending on how much you like)

In a medium bowl mash bananas and set aside. In a large bowl combine flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder.  Mix butter and sugar until smooth, beat in eggs and milk.  Add vanilla and mashed bananas and beat to blend.  Empty into the large bowl of dry ingredients and stir to blend.  Stir in chocolate chips and walnuts.  

Grease a 9 x 4 loaf pan and sprinkle some flour in it to lightly coat.  Empty combined mixture into loaf pan and bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour 10 minutes.(Depending on oven temperature)  Remove from oven and set on stove top or counter to cool 15 minutes and remove from pan.  

Tip:  To keep moist and fresh wrap in waxed paper and then wrap with foil sealing in freshness right after removing from pan.  Refrigerate any leftovers.

Homemade Butter Pie Crust

 Single pie crust:

1 1/2 cups flour, 1 T. sugar, 1/2 cup butter (softened), 1/4 cup cold water, 1 T white vinegar, 1/2 t. salt.

Double recipe for 2 pie crusts or for a thin crust use one recipe and cut it 2/3 bottom crust and 1/3 top.  

I found rolling it into a ball and wrapping it up in plastic wrap and refrigerating it for an hour or until ready to roll out is best.  

I use parchment paper with flour when rolling out to exact size needed.

Family Favorite Deep Dish Apple Pie

Prepare your favorite double crust pastry. Place one pastry in bottom of deep dish pie plate with about 3/4" overhang on edge of pie plate. In a large mixing bowl place 6 - 7 large peeled, cored, and thinly sliced apples with 2 t.fresh lemon juice. (Cortland apples are my favorite). In a small mixing bowl combine 1 cup sugar, 1 T. cinnamon, 1/2 t. salt, and 1 heaping T. cornstarch. Once combined, empty into the large mixing bowl of sliced apples and stir to evenly coat. Add 1 t. melted butter, and 1 T. honey and continue stirring. Once thoroughly combined emptying into prepared pastry in deep dish pie plate. Pack apples in bottom taking care to finish with apples mounded high in the center. Place top pastry on evenly and pinch edges together to seal. Brush 1 T. melted butter over top of pastry. Polk top with a fork several time for venting. Place pie dish on cookie sheet and place in a preheated 375 degree oven and bake for 55 minutes to 1 hour. After baking let rest on counter top for at least 2 hours before serving. Refrigerate leftovers. Note: I love using granulated maple sugar so if you have access to this you can substitute it for the sugar. I have tried using Splenda in place of the sugar and it just is not the same. If you do use Splenda then you will have to use 2 T. cornstarch to avoid a runny pie.

CHICKEN POT PIE STROMBOLI

2 Tbsp unsalted butter

1/2 yellow onion diced

1 celery stalk diced

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 clove garlic minced

2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

1 cup low-sodium chicken broth

1 Tbsp heavy cream or milk

1 cup peas and carrot mix still frozen

1 cup rotisserie chicken cooled and shredded

1/2 cup cheddar cheese (or jack or mozzarella), shredded

salt and pepper to taste

1 sheet puff pastry defrosted

1 egg well beaten

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place a large skillet over medium heat and melt the butter. Add the onion, celery salt and pepper and cook for about 4 minutes until the veggies begin to soften. Add garlic and cook an additional 30 seconds.

Sprinkle flour over the veggies and stir to dissolve the flour. Allow the mixture to cook for about 30 seconds before adding the chicken broth. Stir to dissolve the flour in the chicken broth and bring the mixture to a bubble. Cook the filling on medium heat for about 3 minutes stirring constantly until nicely thickened. Remove from heat and stir in cream or milk. Add the frozen vegetables and stir to incorporate. Once the veggies have been mixed in, fold in the chicken and taste for seasoning. At this point, the filling mixture should be at least room temperature if not slightly cool. If the mixture is still even slightly warm, place it in the refrigerator to cool while you roll out the pastry. It is imperative that the filling be cool before filling the pastry!

On a lightly-floured surface, roll the puff pastry into a rectangle about 14" wide by 10" deep. With the wide end toward you, spread the filling evenly over the dough, leaving a 1" border along the sides and a 2" border on top and bottom. Sprinkle the filling with shredded cheese, brush the edges with egg wash and roll the dough into a cylinder. Transfer the roll to the prepared baking dish with the seam on the bottom. Press the sides of the roll together and tuck them under the cylinder. Brush the exterior with the remaining egg wash and bake for 30–35 minutes until deep golden brown all the way around. Allow the stromboli to cool for 10 minutes before slicing.

 

Best Ever Southern Pie

 Ingredients:

½ cup of buttermilk.
1 ¾ cups of sugar.
2 large eggs.
3 tbsps of flour.
A pinch of salt.
1 stick of butter.
1 tsp of vanilla.

In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients together until blended then pour the mixture in an unbaked 9 inch pie shell.

Sprinkle the top with some nutmeg then bake for 15 minutes in a preheated oven to 400 degrees. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees and bake for an additional 45 minutes.

Let set and cool completely before serving.

Thanks to my friend Pam C. for sharing this recipe.

Tall and Creamy New York Cheesecake

 

Ingredients

• 32 oz cream cheese (4 packages) room temperature
• 5 large eggs room temperature
• 2 cups sour cream room temperature
• 8 tbsp butter room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 2 vanilla beans can substitute 1 ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 tsp fresh lemon juice

Instructions

• Tightly wrap 2 layers of aluminum foil around the outside of a 10 inch springform pan covering bottom and sides.
• Generously coat inside of pan with butter.
• Preheat oven to 300º F.
• Using an electric mixer with paddle attachment, beat cream cheese and butter until smooth.
• Add eggs one at a time until blended.
• Add sour cream and mix until smooth.
• Add sugar, cornstarch, vanilla and lemon juice, beat until smooth, about 2 minutes.
• Pour into springform pan and place in a roasting pan large enough to prevent sides from touching.
• Place into oven and carefully pour boiling water into roasting pan to reach halfway up sides of springform pan. (be careful not to splash any water onto cake)
• Bake for 2 hours, or until cake is lightly browned on top. My oven is a convection oven, so bake time in regular oven may be longer.
• Remove from water bath (bain-marie), remove foil and cool completely at room temperature before unlatching and removing rim.
• Cover and refrigerate until well chilled (best to leave chill overnight). Cake must be well chilled to set properly.
• Serve plain or with berries and whipped cream or even caramel sauce.

Notes

* because this cheesecake is crustless, I don't remove it from the lower part of the cake pan.* be sure to use 10 inch springform pan. Cake will raise while baking and will spill over in smaller cake pan.

Apple Ginger Green Smothie

 

 I use my Vitamix  You need a powerful machine to blend a perfectly smooth beverage.

Ingredients:

1 cup cold unsweetened coconut milk

1/4 avocado

1 scoop vanilla protein powder

1/2 medium Apple (I used a Fuji)

4” Persian cucumber (Trader Joe’s)

1/4 “ piece fresh ginger

Pinch of cinnamon

Pinch of pink Himalayan salt

2 handfuls of spinach (recipe called for 1)

5 ice cubes or a cup of crushed ice