Banana Bread
23-Apr-2006
I am constantly tempted by those bags of bananas at Costco – 99¢ for 3 pounds, such a deal! Of course even if I live up to my best intentions I can never eat the entire 3 pounds before they get just a little too ripe. And more often it’s the worst case – I barely make a dent in the bag! Often, I just freeze the bananas as they start to cross the line from what I consider edible to "it’s time to cook with them". (Leave them in their skins, drop them in a ziploc and toss them in the freezer – great anytime you need to cook with bananas!)
Last week was one of those worst cases but since I was heading down to Oregon to see my family I decided to make up several loaves of bread to share with my siblings. This is an easy recipe, the main thing you need is a bit of time since these big, dense loaves take over an hour to bake. But you can just pop them in the oven while doing other little tasks around the house and soon you’ll be rewarded with a wonderful loaf of banana bread!
Banana Bread
2 ½ cups flour
1 ¼ cup mashed banana
⅓ cup milk
½ cup sugar
½ cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup shortening
2 eggs
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
½ tsp baking soda
1 cup chopped nuts
1 ¼ cup mashed banana
⅓ cup milk
½ cup sugar
½ cup packed brown sugar
¼ cup shortening
2 eggs
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
½ tsp baking soda
1 cup chopped nuts
Heat oven to 350º F. Grease bottom only of 9x5x3 inch loaf pan.
Beat all ingredients in large mixer bowl on low speed for 15 seconds. Beat on medium speed, scraping bowl occasionally for 30 seconds. Pour into pan.
Bake until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, 70 to 75 minutes.
Immediately remove from pan and cool on wire rack. Let cool completely before slicing.
Leftovers
22-Apr-2006
A couple months ago a traditional journalist from one of the more popular food magazines wrote an article expressing his opinion of blogs. Although he called out a couple of blogs that he enjoyed, I think that was more to appear to be balanced because most of the rest of the article was disdainful of food bloggers. I think that is too bad, as it seems that some traditional journalists feel the need to discredit what they think might threaten them.
While blogs are blogs, they are neither inherently good or bad and, as with so many things in life, some people will find one blog amazingly interesting while others may not find anything of redeeming value in it. In general, blogs don’t hurt anyone, although I think bloggers have a responsibility to be ethical and double check information when reporting things as fact. And I think most bloggers, although there are exceptions, should not call their write-ups of restaurants "reviews" because what most of us do is eat at a place once, then tell you about that experience. A real reviewer will visit a place several times, under varying conditions before writing a "review". And we should be careful not to put our summaries into that same category.
Having said all that, though, the thing that got me thinking (and much of the food blogging world up in arms) was the reporter’s remark about (and I’m not quoting) how he never wanted to see another grilled cheese sandwich again – or something like that. Basically saying he wasn’t interested in what anyone had for lunch on any day. Well, many food bloggers then did just that, posted their grilled cheese sandwich photos. I didn’t participate because, while the guy has a right to his opinion and food bloggers have a right to theirs, I didn’t think the whole thing was worth responding to. But it made me think about some of the things I post and why I post them.
I’ve posted grilled sandwiches before and in fact there’s one in this post. Why do I do it? Mostly because something has turned out so well or for some reason made me happy when I ate it or maybe I was just proud of it. The other thing, though, is that I hope that sometimes what I do encourages other people to try things – either the things I’m showing them or just gives them ideas of their own. And it seems a least a few of you find something redeeming in this blog as my numbers of visitors continues to grow and I actually have subscribers to the RSS feed, too. That is so cool! (And thanks so much!!)
And that was a very long way of getting to the point of this post!
All of the food/photos you see here were made from "leftovers". I was hungry, found some bits and pieces of things, put them together and ended up with an immensely satisfying meal. I just love that even more than when I plan a meal and it turns out well. Something about the MacGyver method of cooking appeals to me. :-)
The photo at the top of the page, is of mini-grilled sandwiches. I had been kind of hankering for a grilled cheese sandwich when I realized that the only bread in the house was a baguette and a very small baguette, at that! At first I was discouraged but then decided to use that bread – an experiment to see how these would work as an appetizer! They were good! Just two or three bites each, they could be the perfect savory bite at cocktail time. For these particular sandwiches I used thinly sliced Gruyère cheese, a slice of soprasotta salami, a slice of tomato and one more slice of cheese so there would be "glue" on both sides. While grilling I placed a sheet of parchment and a heavy pan on top of them to really get the cheese-glue working.
The second photo, was actually based on that same loaf of bread! :-) But this time, I simply did a quick sauté of beautiful Mexican shrimp in olive oil and garlic. I toasted slices of the baguette;mashed a little ripe avocado on top of the bread; sprinkled some nice chunky salt on the avocado; added a peeled shrimp to the top of the stack and then drizzled a little fresh lime juice over the whole thing. The tomatoes you see in the photo were just a little side dish.
In the final photo, you’ll see how I used some of the leftover wild rice waffles from a recent brunch. After the brunch I had frozen a bunch of the waffles. On this day I defrosted a couple squares, toasted them in my oven until the were a bit crispy on the outside but still soft inside. I cut them into quarters and then topped them with a dollop of creme fraiche, some chopped green onion, a slice of tomato and then I drizzled the whole thing with a reduced balsamic vinegar that I’d made for another dish a few days prior. Bite-sized and perfect with a glass of wine.
So I hope that looking at these photos and reading my little story encourages you to go see what you have laying around the house and put something together. And by the way – there are lots of things I try that don’t make it to the blog. Maybe the taste was okay but nothing special, maybe it wasn’t even really okay… maybe it tasted great but didn’t look all that appetizing. The point is you have some successes and some, umm, experiments but when you have one that really works it is so great!
Every year Ray’s Boathouse hosts a northwest wine competition. It’s a pretty amazing event with local judges blind tasting hundreds of wines that have been submitted for the event. This year they tasted 265 wines! Wines have to have been released the previous year and must come from Washington, Oregon, Idaho or British Columbia.The event actually took place in late January but while I was poking around on their site a few days ago, I came across the list of the top five wines in each category. If you are interested, you can also request a list of all wines entered by contacting lorimagaro@rays.com.
Pinot Gris
Benton-Lane, Oregon 2004
Sawtooth Viognier, Idaho 2002
Torii Mor Reserve, Oregon 2004
King Estate, Oregon 2004
Sawtooth, Idaho 2003Gewürztraminer-Riesling
Hogue Gewürztraminer, Washington 2005
Latah Creek Riesling, Washington 2004
Powers Riesling, Washington 2004
Claar Riesling, Washington 2005
Cathedral Ridge Riesling, Oregon 2004Chardonnay
Three Rivers Winery, Washington 2004
Valley View Anna Maria, Oregon 2004
Waterbrook, Washington 2004
L’Ecole, Washington 2004
Cave B Janine’s, Washington 2003Pinot Noir
Belle Vallée Cellars Grand Cuvee, Oregon 2004
Torii Mor, Oregon 2004
Bishop Creek, Oregon 2002
Maysara Jamsheed, Oregon 2004
Mountain Dome Pleasant Prairie, Washington 2001Syrah
Basel Cellars Estate Winery, Washington 2003<br>
Coeur D’Alene, Washington 2003
Fielding Hills, Washington 2003
Willis Hall Reserve, Washington 2003
Distefano Reserve, Washington 2002Merlot
Fort Walla Walla, Washington 2003
Jackson-Triggs Grand Reserve, British Columbia 2002 Sorenson Red Mountain, Washington 2002
Belle Vallée, Oregon 2003
L’Ecole Seven Hills, Washington 2003Bordeaux Style Reds
Powers Winery Meritage, Washington 2001
Pendulum, Washington 2003
Russel Creek Tributary, Washington 2003
Ch. Faire Le Pont Provence, Washington 2003
Woodward Canyon Walla Walla Estate, Washington 2002Cabernet Sauvignon
Basel Cellars Estate Winery, Washington 2003
Colvin, Washington 2002
Thurston Wolfe Destiny Ridge, Washington 2002
Soos Creek Ciel Du Cheval, Washington 2003
Distefano, Washington 2002Dessert
Apex Gewürztraminer Ice Wine, Washington 2004
Elk Cove Ultima, Oregon 2004
Mission Hill Riesling Ice Wine, British Columbia 2003
L’Ecole Semillon Ice Wine, Washington 2004
Eola Hills Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc, Oregon 2004
HHaH: Wine Tasting and Spicy Almonds
20-Apr-2006
I’ve just posted this week’s Happy Hour at Home over on The Spirit World. The wine tasting part won’t be anything really new for any of you who read Culinary Fool on a regular basis but there is a great, easy recipe for Spicy Almonds that you might enjoy!
20th Dinner Club: Fireside Dinner Summary
19-Apr-2006
For a little while it seemed the weather might be too warm for a Fireside Dinner on the night of our gathering. But shortly before our meeting time, the spring weather turned our way and a huge thunderstorm rolled in – rain, hail, sleet – you name it, we got it! As I walked up the sidewalk to R’s place each step was crunchy with the icy remains from the storm.
I was the last to arrive and there was already plenty of activity going on. Stewart, R’s new cat was "entertaining" in the living room. M was in the kitchen preparing her seared Foie Gras with Sautéed Apples. At least that was what she should have been doing – apparently on her way out the door she grabbed the wrong can from her pantry. On a recent trip to France she had stocked up on some supplies and didn’t look close enough at the labels. Instead of foie gras she’d grabbed rillettes! No worries. This is a dinner club – we love the new and unexpected. It’s (usually) fun when things go wrong and you have to improvise – right? Well, once you get over your disappointment it is. And once you realize you are the only one worried about it and no one else cares.
A few minutes after I arrived M flamed her dish and we started serving. We actually all liked the new version and the part we really loved was the wine she’d brought to accompany the dish. The Quarts de Chaume Domaine des Baumard, 2002 was really amazing! Very sweet, it would also make an excellent dessert wine but was heavenly with this apple-y appetizer.
Next was the Caesar Salad. M2 found a great dressing recipe and it was the perfect way to segue from the rillettes into the main meal. Crispy romaine topped with garlicky, anchovy dressing – yum!
Then it was time to move on to the main and side dishes. R brought a huge pot of cassoulet to the table. She had actually combined recipes to come up with the best of all worlds. This version of hers was savory, creamy, crusty, wild and comforting all at one time. Each bite revealed some new taste depending on what exactly you got in it. My favorites were the bites with sausage, duck or best – both together! At the end of the meal we had so much left that nearly everyone took home enough for another meal or two and R still had enough to freeze for future use!
The tian I made worked well with the cassoulet. The combination of vegetables was savory, yet sweet with the taste of the sautéed onions. The rosemary had infused all of the vegetables with that slightly wild taste that is so indicative of the herb. The one thing that I’d caution is that this is best brought right from the oven to the table. I had made the dish at home and then transported it to the dinner, planning to just reheat it for a few minutes prior to serving. While that worked okay, the olive oil from the dish had slightly separated and didn’t look quite as nice as the dish had when first pulled from the oven. Overall though it was light enough to not compete with the cassoulet, yet distinctive enough to hold its own. M2 had asked me about the word "tian" and at the time I didn’t remember the meaning. I checked it out when I returned home and remembered that tian was originally the name of the dish used to bake the vegetables and at some point became the term to represent vegetables prepared in this manner.
For our finale, K made Lemon Creme Brulee. It was light and delicate and the lemon taste was the perfect palate cleanser after all the substantial foods we had consumed. She did the final torching to caramelize the sugar at the table so we ended the evening with a little show.
This was a great soul-satisfying meal. Now that spring is here I may need to wait a couple months before trying the cassoulet but the tian will work perfectly with all the produce available at the local Farmers’ Markets. I’m looking forward to trying it again with slightly different vegetable combinations.
Next up: Puget Sound Crab Feed
Seattle Times Food Section Focus Groups
19-Apr-2006
From Friday’s Seattle Times:
Call to readers: Help create a new way to dish online
Dear Food & Wine readers:
Have you ever wanted to share your favorite tips and tricks in the Food section? Wanted to add your own opinions on the latest restaurants, movies, music and performances around town? Do you have a little bit or a lot to add to our Entertainment and Living sections on seattletimes.com?What: You’re invited to participate in a special reader group that will help guide a new way of reading and participating in seattletimes.com. What is it? We won’t know until you show up and get involved.
How: Once in person, at a reader focus group. Then online, as part of a beta design group.
Where: Near downtown Seattle (but with convenient parking).
When: In the month of May, on a weeknight, 5-7p.m.
OK, now what?
Email: metoo@seattletimes.com. You’ll be sent a questionnaire (e-mail attachment) to confirm your participation in the focus group session and as part of the beta design group. Interested parties only, but please invite friends to respond too.
20th Dinner Club: Fireside Dinner Menu & Recipes
19-Apr-2006
Well, I’m a little late writing up our last dinner club meeting – in fact so late that this Friday is our next one! Thought I’d better hurry up and get this posted!
R was our March host. She had selected the theme "Fireside Dinner". This was to be a meal that was cozy and filled with comfort foods – the things you want to enjoy while the wind and rain storm outside but you are safe with friends in the warmth of your home.
As the main course she selected cassoulet! Something we all love to eat but normally that would be at a littl French bistro. R had decided it was time to tackle this dish at home.
Here was our full menu:
Appetizer: Seared Foie Gras with Sautéed ApplesSalad: Caesar SaladMain: CassouletSide: Tian de Legumes (recipe below)Dessert: Lemon Cream Brulee
Tian de Légumes
1 medium eggplant
Salt
2 medium yellow onions, peeled and chopped
3 cloves garlic peeled and minced
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper
2 medium zucchini sliced diagonally
6 medium ripe tomatoes, sliced
Leaves from 3 – 4 sprigs of fresh herbs, such as, thyme, rosemary or oregano
½ cup grated parmigiano-reggiano
Cut eggplant in to 1” cubes, sprinkle with the salt and place in a colander. Drain for 30 minutes, then pat dry with paper towels.
Cook onions and garlic in 3 tbsp. olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a medium baking dish. Add 2-3 tbsp olive oil to the same skillet, then add eggplant and cook until tender and slightly browned, about 10 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and stir into onion mixture.
Preheat oven to 400°F. Arrange zucchini and tomatoes in alternating layers over eggplant mixture. Top with herbs, drizzle with remaining 2-3 tbsp oil, season to taste with salt and pepper, and bake 30-40 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese just before serving.
From, “Saveur Cooks: Authentic French”
I Want My Dinner Now!
15-Apr-2006
A few weeks ago I was contacted by a local cookbook author, asking if she could send me her cookbook. I told her that if she sent it to me and if I wrote about it I would express my true opinion. She agreed to those conditions and sent me a complimentary copy of her book, "I Want My Dinner Now!" I’ve finally had the opportunity to take a look at the book. The author, Renee Pottle, is a Home Economist – we hardly ever hear that designation today. Her premise is that making good, healthy family meals doesn’t have to take a ton of time and there are lots of tricks you can employ to get dinner on the table quickly and with a minimum amount of prep work.
Looking through the book many of the recipes reminded me of things we made while I was growing up, although there are also many more contemporary dishes. Each recipe lists measurements for 2 servings or 6, which is nice since you don’t always need to triple your ingredients when tripling your servings. And at the end of each recipe there are suggestions for things to serve along with the dish and sometimes there are little tips. The beginning of the book talks about common pantry items you should have on hand and the recipes also call out what should come from the pantry and what you’ll need to shop for.
I think the whole concept is very interesting and the recipes sound good. There are no photos and I always prefer books with photos although I do buy them without from time to time.
Would I buy this book? Well, no and yes. I would not buy it for myself. Most of the dishes are very close to what I consider the "basics", things I make without really thinking about it. They don’t exactly challenge my imagination or skills. There isn’t enough new in the book to get me excited. I might, however, purchase this for a young person just starting out, or someone who has decided they want to focus more on cooking but doesn’t have a ton of experience or an older person who is maybe adjusting to the changes that come about as we age – someone who is no longer cooking for a crowd and might need to refocus on just themselves or a much smaller family unit. I can easily see this being a useful reference in that context.
In fact, I’m so sure of that, this copy of the book will be heading to Oregon with me this weekend. I’ll be giving it to my nephew, a college freshman, still in the dorms this year but I believe next year he’ll be out in his own place. I think this will be a fun reference for him.
So while I can’t give this a strong recommendation, I will say I think this book has a place in the cookbook world. And, at the Amazon price of $9.97 you really can’t go too wrong!
Cascade Cliffs Vineyards and Winery
14-Apr-2006
Last Saturday I had the opportunity to work at Taste Washington, the Washington wine industry’s premier wine tasting event. I had contacted a couple friends in the industry to see if I could trade my time for entry into the $125 event. A friend hooked me up with one of the owners and winemaker of Cascade Cliffs Vineyard and Winery, Bob Lorkowski. This was a winery I knew nothing about. This was actually a good reset for me as I tend to think that I am familiar with most of the wineries in the state. Now how silly is that? The current number of winemakers in Washington is over 400 and continues to grow.
We are the second largest producer of the states; we have nine major appellations; and produce over 20 varietals.
Cascade Cliffs is one of the producers helping expand that number of varietals with their focus on Barbera and Nebbiolo. Barbera is grown in very few places outside of Italy – mainly because, according to some sources, the Italians have been holding on to it pretty tightly. There is also relatively low demand for it outside of Italy. California has a few producers and the grape seems to have found a home in Argentina. Within Washington there are only a few producers, including David Lake who has been experimenting with the grape.
When I got to my station last Saturday, I set up the table opened a bottle and took my inaugural sip of the wine I’d be pouring and talking about the rest of the day. It was their 2004 Estate Grown Barbera. It caught me a bit by surprise with its high acidity, low tannins and big fruit. I liked it. I wished someone would deliver a pizza or a big bowl of pasta and red sauce! Yet, after my second and third sip I liked this wine on its own. I won’t provide actual tasting notes since I spent the rest of the day (5+ hours!) stealing sips of this and other wines in between my pouring duties. I will tell you that I will be looking for this wine from now on.
With a limited production of around 200 cases, I’m most likely to find it at the winery or in restaurants. The same for Cascade Cliff’s Nebbiolo which we technically weren’t pouring but had a few bottles stashed to share tastes with "special" tasters – basically the trade. You may be more familiar with Nebbiolo if I tell you it is the grape of Barolo and Barbaresco. These wines are much more famous than their cousin Barbera, yet in Piedmont Barbera production is about ten times greater than Nebbiolo – marketing!
This winery also produces a blend that is more readily available at wine shops and grocery stores. It is called Goat Head Red and is a blend of Merlot, Pinot Noir, Cabernet, Nebbiolo, Zinfandel and Barbera. It was named after a goat that used to wander the cliffs above the vineyard. I haven’t tasted it but it has been described as a lighter, less serious wine – don’t take less serious as meaning lower quality, just a wine that can be enjoyed without examining its characteristics.
I encourage you to look for and check out the wines from Cascade Cliffs. After tasting the wine and spending several hours with the winemaker, I am sure we will continue to see good things come out of this winery.
Located in the Columbia Gorge in Washington but just across the river from The Dalles, Oregon it would make a fun road trip this summer. Especially since the number of wineries in that area has been steadily increasing.
Cascade Cliffs Vineyard and Winery
8866 Hwy 14
Wishram, WA
HHaH: Citron Martini and Deviled Eggs
13-Apr-2006
This week’s Happy Hour at Home has an Easter theme with a lemon flavored cocktail and a way to use those leftover hardboiled eggs! Check out my recommendation for a Citron Martini and Deviled Eggs. And you can make the eggs as basic or as gourmet as you’d like!
Culinary Fool 