Banana-Walnut Loaf

Aside from the fried/baked pork dish that I cooked, I also baked banana-walnut loaf.  There wasn't any special reason other than the fact that I had bananas that were getting too ripe for my liking.  I do not even know why I bought bananas in the first place since I am not much of banana eater.  Maybe I was thinking of making a shake or something but for some reason I got sidetracked and ended up with overripe ones...hehehe...no problem though as this dish save them.



Bananas. by the way, are great ingredients in making your smoothie a lot creamier without adding too much milk or dairy products.  It can even be used instead of the dairy products.  I slice them about an inch to a couple of inches in size and then wrap them in parchment paper and freezer bags.  Pop them in the freezer until they are frozen and use them instead of ice to make a smoother and creamier smoothie.  I believe I posted about this tip somewhere in the blog about a year ago.



Anyways, I had some overripe bananas and free time so I baked these babies.  I used a little bit of olive oil along with the butter when I made these.  The result is a very moist and slightly dense banana cake that taste really good.  They taste even better the following day...even after they have been in the fridge overnight.  To make them soft and moist after being the fridge, I usually pop a slice in the microwave and heat for about 10-15 seconds but the time will be dependent on your microwave.




This morning I had a cup of coffee with a slice of banana walnut loaf  and a very hilarious episode of a Korean drama that is currently airing entitled "A Gentleman's Dignity"  It stars Jang Dong Gun and Kim Haneul along with a bunch of other korean actors/actresses.  Jang starred in an American movie entitled "A Warrio's Way" with Kate Bosworth in 2010.  I only watched the first part of that movie but it didn't pique my interest so I didn't finish the entire movie.  A Gentleman's Dignity though is different-it is hilarious, witty, sexy, crazy, heart-warming, and heart-wretching all at the same time.  The dialogue exchanges between Haneul and Dong-gun are really good. Right now, they have about six episodes out and I cannot wait for the next installment.  I didn't think I would say this but the writer (who is also the writer for Secret Garden which I did not like)  is doing a good job and hope she will continue to do so until the end....




Ingredients:

1/4 cup butter, softened

2 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup honey

2 eggs

4 large ripe bananas, mashed

1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

a pinch of salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/3 cup walnuts, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350F


2. Spray loaf baking pan with non-stick spray or coat evenly with oil.


3. In a bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and salt.  Mix well and set aside


4. In another mixing bowl, add butter, olive oil, honey,and sugar.  Beat until light and fluffy.


5. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.


6. Stir in mashed banana and vanilla.  Mix well.


7. Add flour-baking soda mixture and mix into the batter.  Do not overmix .  


8. Stir in walnuts and transfer to a loaf baking pan and bake for 1 hour or until a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.


9. Remove from the oven and let it cool slightly before slicing and serving.

Balsamic Vinegar and White Truffle Oil Bruschetta

This is a nice starter to any meal because it is easy to make and packs great flavors. I think it only took me 15 minutes to chop, season, and assemble the entire dish. The secret to this bruschetta is the use of white truffle oil and balsamic vinegar combination which gives it an unusual earthy flavor.

Making bruschetta is very easy and takes just a few fresh ingredients such as tomatoes, basil, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, garlic, salt, and pepper. The bread is lightly toasted so that it is able to soak the liquid from the topping a little better plus it makes it taste better too. I use french baguette but you can use any bread of choice just make sure you slice it at an angle for a bigger surface area to hold the topping.

Ingredients:

1 loaf of french baguette, sliced into 1 1/2 inch thickness and then lightly toasted
5-6 Roma tomatoes, diced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
a small bunch of basil, roughly chopped
1 1/2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp white truffle oil
salt and pepper to taste

1. Lightly toast your bread in a toaster or oven.
2. In a bowl combine the rest of the ingredients and mix thoroughly.
3. Scoop the tomato mixture using a spoon and top it on you toasted bread.
4. Place on platter and serve.

Corned Beef Rolls

I have been on the roll(ha ha ha...pun intended) with baking these past few days. This is all thanks to the No-Knead Dough which allows me to make freshly baked breads without all the hard work. This time I filled the dough with sauteed corned beef and then bake it. Ah, I love the smell that permeates the whole house when the bread was done.



Ingredients:

No-Knead Dough (recipe here)
Egg Wash :
Egg yolk mixed with 1/2 tsp water

Filling:
1 can corned beef
1 small onion, finely diced
oil for sauteeing

1. Take out the prepared dough from the refrigerator and place on a lightly floured work surface. Cover with plastic wrap and let it rest for about 20-30 minutes.

2. Heat pan to medium heat. Add Oil and then sauteed the onion until transluscent. Add corned beef and sautee for about 3-4 minutes. Remove from hear and let it cool.

3. To assemble, pinch a golf ball sized dough and flatten to about an inch thick oblong shape. Place about 1 Tbsp of filling and roll. Make sure you seal the sedges to prevent your filling from oozing out.




4. After you have finished filling the dough, cover it with plastic wrap. Let it rest for an hour. By the end of 1 hour, the size should have doubled.

5. 20 minutes before baking, preheat oven to 350F.

6. Brush the top of the crescents with egg wash prior to baking.

7. Bake for about 20 minutes or until it turns golden brown. Remove and let it cool on the wire rack.

No-Knead Pig in a Blanket (Sausage Rolls)

I love sausage rolls which I often get from my favorite Korean bakeshop. Theirs taste good but the problem is that it is way too greasy...Its like someone slathered it with oil or butter. This morning I was craving for it but was too lazy to go out and buy some. Then I remembered that I still have some leftover No-Knead Dough in the Kitchen... hmmm, great idea, right? So, I rummaged through my refrigerator but couldn't find any hotdog. Otoki? Looked in my pantry and found a couple of cans of vienna sausage so I used that.






Ah, not too long after, the sweet aroma of freshly baked goodie filled the entire house. The roll turned out really good. Ayayay, how come I didn't discover this No-Knead Dough earlier? It is fantastic and could eaily be adapted into a lot of recipes.

Ingredients:

1 baseball size No-Knead Dough
1 can vienna sausage or cocktail dogs
flour for dusting
1 egg yolk with 1 tsp water (for brushing on top of roll)

1. Pinch a baseball size No Knead Dough and place on floured surface. Fold 2-3 times then cover withplastic wrap. Let it rest for 20 minutes.

2. Roll the dough into a rectangular shape. Using a floured serrated knife, cut the dough into 6 equally sized triangles.

ALTERNATIVE: you can divide the dough into 6 equal parts and roll out individually.

3. Wrap dough around the sausage or hotdog. Place in baking sheet and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Let it rest for 45 minutes to an hour or until it has doubled its size.

4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Meanwhile, paint top of the rolls with egg wash. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until it turns golden brown in color. Remove from heat, transfer to a serving dish and serve.

No-Knead Dough

This recipe is by Jeff and Zoe of Artisan Breads in Five Minutes a Day. Their recipe is found in Steamy Kitchen's blog. This is such a great dough which can be used for different bread recipes. The good news is it requires barely any work, just measure, mix and let it chill out in the fridge....easy as 1, 2, 3!

Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups lukewarm water
1 1/2 tbl instant yeast
1 1/2 tbl kosher salt (or 1 1/2 tsp table salt)
4 lg eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
7 cups unbleached all-purpose flour



1. In a large bowl, mix together the eggs, water, honey, melted butter, yeast and salt. Stir well with a wooden spoon.

2. Add in the flour. Stir until you don’t see any more dry bits of flour (about a minute). Cover (not airtight) and stick it in the refrigerator overnight, or up to 4 days. The longer you let it fart around in the refrigerator (literally!), the better tasting the dough will be.






NOTE: I left it out to rise for about two hours before I placed it in the refrigerator.

Pecan-Cinnamon Roll

Ahhh...this is my favorite but have not made it since I had my injury and surgery because the residual pain can't handle the repetitive motion of kneading. Thanks to the no-knead dough recipes, I am able to bake goodies that I love again. The recipe for the No-Knead Dough is from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff and Zoe. The recipe for the No-Knead Dough is found here.


Ingredients:

1 cantaloupe-sized No-Knead Dough
flour for dusting

Filling:

1/4 cup butter, melted
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped pecans

Topping:
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp corn syrup
1/2 cup chopped pecans

1. Take out the dough and place on a floured surface. shape into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Leave it out for about 20 minutes




2. Filling: In a separate bowl, mix together the first three ingredients for filling then set aside.




3. Topping: Over low heat, melt butter and brown sugar. Cook until it is melted then remove from heat. Add corn syrup and mix well. Place this caramel topping at the bottom of your baking dish. Add Pecans on top.




4. On a floured surface, roll out your dough into about 1/8 inch thick. Spread your filling evenly and then sprinkle pecans on top. Roll into a log. Using a floured serrated knife cut roll into 8-12 equal pieces. Arrange on top of the topping. cover loosely with plastic wrap and let it rest for about 1 hour. It will rise into almost double its original size.

NOTE: In my excitement, I forgot to take picture when I rolled the dough out, put toppings and rolled it into a log :)





5. Baking: Preheat your oven to 350 degreesfor about 10-20 minutes. Bake your roll for about 30-35 minutes or until it turns golden brown. After it has finished cooking,remove from the oven and invert it into a serving dish immediately.




NOTE: If you wait until after it cools down to invert, your caramel topping would have hardened by then and it will be impossible to remove your roll from the pan.

Pear and Gorgonzola Flatbread with Baby Arugula and Shaved Parmesan

This recipe is also from Steamy Kitchen. I have to say that mine turned out great and the dough is fantastic. One dough portion made a huge flatbread though so I am going to use maybe a smaller portion next time so it will just be enough for me.



1 lb fresh pizza dough
2 pears, sliced thinly
1/2 cup gorgonzola cheese
a nice chunk of good quality Parmigiano Reggiano, shaved with vegetable peeler
1 cup baby arugula leaves
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
flour, for dusting




1. Dust surface of dough with flour. Divide dough into 4 equal pieces. Stretch surface of dough on each side and tuck under, creating a round, ball with a taut surface. Flatten dough ball a little. Keep the dough covered until ready to use. If using cold, refrigerated No Knead Olive Oil dough (recipe here), let the dough balls relax and warm up for 30 minutes on the counter before trying to roll or stretch out (it’s hard to stretch cold dough.) If using room-temp pizza dough, you may proceed to next step.



2. You’ll bake 2 at a time. Dust surface of dough and work surface with flour. with your hands, carefully stretch into a long, thin, oval shape, about 16″x 6″. The thinner you can get the dough without tearing, the better. You can use rolling pin (esp if your dough is still a little cold). If dough is difficult to stretch or roll, let it sit and relax for 10 minutes. Repeat with remaining. Cover loosely with towel.



MY NOTE: I left my dough out for about an hour and a half then folded it 2-3 times. It made it so pliable, easy to work with and shape. I didn't even need my rolling pin to stretch it out.

3. 20 minutes before you want to bake you’ll want to preheat your oven and your baking sheet. Crank up your oven to its highest setting (usually most ovens go up to 500F) and insert an inverted baking sheet.

MY NOTE: I turned the oven temperature up to 500F and used baking sheet covered with aluminun foil.

4. Remove the hot baking sheet from oven and set your flatbreads on top, side by side. Work quickly and carefully. Brush surface with olive oil and layer pears and gorgonzola on top. Bake in oven for 7-10 minutes (keep your eye on the flatbread!) until top and bottom of flatbread is golden brown. Remove and repeat for remaining 2 flatbreads. Top with baby arugula and shaved parmesan.



MY NOTE: I baked mine for about 17 minutes which was the time it turned golden brown in color. The flatbread came off easily from the baking pan, no sticking problem.