Ultimate Banana Bread

I'm definitely on a banana kick lately.  When I've let my bananas sit on my counter a little too long (and didn't make them into ice cream), I stick them into the freezer.  Once I have collected enough super-ripe bananas (think waaay beyond spotty...these bananas are so ripe they aren't even yellow anymore) it's time for the next best thing: banana bread!

(Image source: Cook's Illustrated)

The July issue of Cook's Illustrated had a banana bread recipe that sounded so strange, I knew I had to try it.  It involves microwaving bananas.  Weird!  But as weird and unnecessary as it sounds, this banana bread was possibly the best banana bread I have ever had!  It was really banana-y, dense and moist, but not soggy, and still fluffy.  And the smell of it while baking....mmmm my apartment has never smelled better!

The secret to this ultimate banana bread is definitely the use of more bananas than a typical recipe.  This recipe calls for 5 bananas, which would typically make a banana bread way too dense and soggy -- enter the microwaving part.  The microwaving makes the bananas release their juices.  Then you simply strain the bananas, cook the liquid on the stove until it reduces, and then add it back into the dough.  This intensifies the banana flavor, but doesn't make the bread soggy.  Voila!  Ultimate Banana Bread!

Ultimate Banana Bread
recipe from Cook's Illustrated, July 2010

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 5 very ripe bananas (plus one mostly ripe banana for garnish, if desired)
• 8 tbsp (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 cup walnuts, chopped, if desired (I omitted the walnuts)

Directions

1. Adjust oven rack to the middle position, and heat to 350 deg F.  Spray a 9x5 loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Whisk flour, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.
3. Place 5 bananas in microwave-safe bowl; cover with plastic wrap and cut several steam vents in plastic with a sharp knife. Microwave on high until bananas are soft and have released liquid, about 5 minutes. Transfer bananas to fine-mesh strainer placed over medium bowl and allow to drain, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes (you should have ½ to ¾ cup liquid). [Note - if you don't have a fine mesh strainer (like me!) you can put a paper towel into a regular strainer placed over a bowl, and it will work just as well]
   
   
   
   
   (weeeiird! microwaved bananas!!)
   
   
4. Transfer liquid to medium saucepan and cook over medium-high heat until reduced to ¼ cup, about 5 minutes. Remove pan from heat, stir reduced liquid into bananas, and mash with potato masher until fairly smooth. Whisk in butter, eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla.
   
5. Pour banana mixture into flour mixture and stir until just combined with some streaks of flour remaining. Gently fold in walnuts, if using. Scrape batter into prepared pan.
6. Slice remaining banana diagonally into ¼-inch-thick slices. Shingle banana slices on top of either side of loaf, leaving 1½-inch-wide space down center to ensure even rise. Sprinkle granulated sugar evenly over loaf.
   
   
   
   
   
   
7. Bake until toothpick inserted in center of loaf comes out clean, 55 to 75 minutes.
8. Cool bread in pan on wire rack 15 minutes, then remove loaf from pan and continue to cool on wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

One Ingredient Ice Cream

It's hot out.  Oakland hit 96 today...phew!  (before you say your city was hotter, do you have air conditioning?  On days like today, I'm so thankful for my big box fan.)

When it's hot, I don't want to cook.  I don't want to turn on my stove or oven and add heat to my top floor apartment.  I just want ice cream!  And I learned a recipe earlier this summer for a very surprising, one ingredient ice cream.  This recipe has changed my life -- be prepared: all you need is a banana!

Seriously...just one banana, a freezer and a blender or food processor.  (And if you want, peanut butter, nutella, chocolate chips, or whatever else you want to add...but then it becomes more than one ingredient, and I'm going to keep it simple for you right now...)

Honestly, when I first read this recipe, I couldn't believe it.  Ice cream out of a banana?  There is no milk!  There is no cream!  Heck, there is no ice!!  No messy rock salt, no bulky ice cream maker.  Just. A. Banana. Believe it!

And believe me, this "ice cream" is so incredibly thick and creamy, you have no idea that it's just a banana!  This recipe is the best secret weapon for ice cream that is actually guilt-free.  You're just eating a banana!

Ok, onto the recipe.  This will be very informal because there aren't any complex directions here.  Take one banana (or more, depending on how many people you want to serve).  I like bananas that are starting to get spotty, but aren't yet at banana bread ripeness.  I've also made this with plain yellow bananas and it's been good every time.

Slice the banana into slices like you would to top your cereal (about 1/4 inch thick, but really there's no precision here).  Put the slices onto a plate and then stick the whole plate into the freezer for at least an hour.  (I like to leave it in for about 2 hours, but on nights like tonight, 1 hour can't go by fast enough!!)

After the pieces are nice and frozen, take a knife and scrape them off the plate and into your blender or food processor.

Turn on your blender or food processor and blend until creamy.

Scrape the "ice cream" out and into a bowl.  At this point, you can stir in additional ingredients if you want (in addition to the list above, you could add blueberries, honey, granola...use your imagination!)

Enjoy your delicious, homemade "ice cream" mmmmmmm!

p.s. my very good friend Traci has been very active in her kitchen lately, and has agreed to share with you some of her recent cooking adventures.  She will be posting soon on Pacific Thyme, so look forward to that!

Macarons!

When you read as many food blogs as I do, you have been overwhelmed by everyone making macarons.  You've read horror stories (they didn't have feet! they cracked! they stuck to the pan!), you've been wowed by a rainbow of colors, and you have been seriously tempted to try making them yourself, but you are intimidated by how finicky they seem to be, and you also don't have a kitchen scale.  (Ok, so that last part is probably just me, but luckily I was able to borrow one quite easily).  But if you aren't totally wrapped up in the food blog community, you are probably thinking (as EVERYONE i gave these cookies to did) what the heck are macarons??

No, they are not macaroons. There is only one "o," and yes, it makes a difference :P

Macarons are a French cookie, known for their hard shells, merengue-like interiors, and of course, their variety of colors and flavors.  So, in a totally boring (yet totally delicious!) fashion, I picked chocolate for my first attempt at macarons.  They definitely didn't turn out perfectly, but I was really happy with the results anyway, and everyone thought they were delicious.  I took lots of pictures of the process so that you can follow along at home :)

Chocolate Macarons with Chocolate Ganache
recipe from Annie's Eats


Ingredients
For the macarons:

• 110 gm blanched slivered almonds
• 200 gm minus 2 tbsp. confectioners’ sugar
• 2 tbsp. cocoa powder
• 100 gm egg whites (from about 3 eggs), aged at room temperature for 12-24 hours (I aged mine for 3 hours, because I am super lazy and forgot to put them out earlier!....but they still turned out really well!)
• 50 gm granulated sugar

For the chocolate ganache:

• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1 tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 tbsp. granulated sugar
• 4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
• (you can add 1 1/2 tsp espresso powder if you are a coffee lover.  i omitted this ingredient)

Directions:
1. Weigh the almonds, then pulse them in the bowl of a food processor until finely ground. Then add the confectioner's sugar and cocoa

2. In a large bowl, whip the egg whites on medium-high speed until foamy.

3.Gradually add the granulated sugar and continue beating until a smooth, shiny meringue with stiff peaks forms.

4. Add the ground almond mixture to the bowl with the meringue and quickly but gently fold together using a rubber spatula until no streaks remain.  You want to achieve a thick batter that ribbons or flows from the spatula when lifted. You may feel like you are over-mixing, but keep going until the batter really flows.

5. Line two baking sheets with silicone baking mats (if you have them...I have only one baking sheet and one silpat, so I employed the technique: "squeeze as many macarons as possible onto one silpat!" Then I put the remaining batter onto a small baking sheet lined with parchment paper).  Transfer the batter to a piping bag fitted with a plain wide round tip.  Pipe into small rounds on the prepared baking sheets (each round should be about 1-1½ inches in diameter), spaced about 1 inch apart (unless you use my squeeze technique, then really these macarons are about 1/4 inch apart, if that!).

6. Let sit at room temperature for about an hour to develop a hard shell.  During the hour of sitting, make the ganache: put the heavy cream, butter and sugar in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Place the chopped chocolate in a small heatproof bowl. Bring the cream mixture to a simmer, remove from the heat and pour over the chocolate. Let stand 2 minutes, then whisk gently in small circular motions until the ganache forms. Let the mixture cool until it is thick.  (To speed chilling, transfer the bowl to the freezer or refrigerator and let cool, stirring every 10 minutes, until thickened.)

7. Preheat the oven to 300˚F. Bake for 8-10 minutes, depending on size [NOTE! I actually baked mine for 15 minutes, and wish I had baked them for 20, but some were starting to crack...  don't be afraid of baking them for longer than 10 minutes]. Transfer the pans to a wire cooling rack and let cool completely before moving the cookies. (get excited if your cookies have "feet" like the ones shown below!)

8. GENTLY remove the cookies from the pans. THIS IS A DIFFICULT PROCESS. Be prepared to lose a lot of cookies :( Mine stuck a LOT to the parchment paper, and many even stuck to the silpat. Here is a picture of the casualties:

Conversely, here are the cookies that were perfectly removed from the silpat (MUCH fewer! haha)

9. With a knife, spread the ganache onto one side of a cookie, and sandwich with another matching size cookie.

And guess what...those cookies with less-than-perfect bottoms...totally hidden under the layer of ganache!! Look at all of the cookies I salvaged! :)