molasses-gingerbread cake with cream

I recently made this yummy cake from Food & Wine Magazine, April 2009. Each month when I receive my subscription I immediately turn to the back page to see what delectable treats are featured. I couldn't resist trying this one. The recipe calls for whipped cream made from mascarpone cream and confit orange peel, however I just used regular whipping cream and a bit of cinnamon for mine. Enjoy! My mouth is watering just looking at this picture again...too bad mine is all gone.

(photography by: alison clayshulte)

banana bread with cinnamon crumble topping

I love banana bread, but as I strive to eat locally I have a really hard time justifying purchasing banana's from South America. With a deep craving for this wonderfully warm, fragrant and sprinkled with cinnamon sugar banana bread, I finally broke down and allowed myself one week to purchase bananas from the grocery store. It felt like betrayal to the season and to all the fabulous Northern California fruit.

I found this banana bread one of the first Sunday's we went to the market, the Bakesale Betty's booth was sampling a possible new product, banana bread. Little did I know what a treat I was about to taste. Loaded with fresh banana flavor, chewy, yet soft, and sprinkled with just enough sugar on top; it tasted indulgent and somewhat healthy, how could I resist. That was the only Sunday that I found the banana bread at the market, though I'm sure you can purchase it at Betty's store any day of the week. The following month skimming through the September issue of Bon Appetit I found the exact recipe from Bakesale Betty's featured. My lucky day! I don't know when I'll break down again, but after savoring this bread all week I think it was worth that little bit of guilt.

I've only made the bread one other time, and after this past Sunday there were a couple adjustments I would make for the next time I'm craving this yummy Sunday treat.

Recipe for Banana Bread with Cinnamon Crumble Topping
By Bakesale Betty's, makes 1 loaf of bread

1 and 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup plus 2 T sugar
2 t ground cinnamon, divided
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1 cup mashed ripe bananas (2 to 3 medium)
2 large eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil (I used canola, Walnut might also be good)
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup water
2 and 1/2 T (packed) brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350F. Butter and flour 9x5x3-inch metal baking pan. Whisk 1 1/2 cups flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 t. cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in medium bowl. Whist next 5 ingredients in large bowl until smooth. Add dry ingredients; stir to blend. Transfer batter to pan. Mix 2 T. sugar, 1 t. cinnamon, and brown sugar; sprinkle over batter.

Bake bread until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour (in my oven it took about 1.5 hours). Cool bread in pan 30 minutes. Turn pan on its side; slide out bread, being careful not to dislodge topping. Turn bread right side up and cool completely.

Alison's Notes:
The next time I make it I will probably add nuts, pecans or walnuts would both be good. Also I plan to try pouring the topping over the batter and then sticking a fork into the mix pushing it down directly into the dough, hopefully baking it right into the bread and so not losing so much of it every time I cut a slice of bread.

(photography by: alison clayshulte)

three layer enchilada's

Without any real plans on Saturday night we decided to make ourselves the party. Homemade marg's, three-layered enchilada's, and chips and we were ready. The hubby was craving ground beef enchilada's, but after walking out of the butcher with not quite enough meat we decided to improvise. It took another trip to the store, but that's the fun of planning a meal as you grocery shop. So Saturday we made three layered ground beef flour tortilla enchilada casserole filled with butternut squash, potatoes, onions, a Serrano pepper, and oodles of cheese. That's what happens when your husband is a mid-western cheese lover at heart.

Recipe for Three-layered Enchilada's

1 lb ground beef
1/2 large butternut squash, cubed
6 small butter potatoes, pealed and cubed
1/2 red onion
1 serrano pepper
Enchilada sauce
Flour tortilla's
Mexican cheese blend, grated

Fry up the ground beef, drain and place in a bowl, leaving the pan with the juice from the beef. In a separate frying pan heat just a touch of olive oil and add the butternut squash, potatoes, and enough water to cover the bottom of the pan. Cover and let cook until soft (about 10 minutes).

Chop up the onion and pepper, leaving enough seeds for your desired spiciness and saute in the beef pan. Once the onions and potato / squash mixture are done gather all the ingredients to assemble the dish. Using a glass 9 x 13 inch pan place a layer of tortillas, then add about half of all the fillings, onions and pepper, squash and potatoes.

Lightly pour enchilada sauce over the first layer (I purchased mine from Trader Joe's this weekend, I find that their Mexican Enchilada Sauce is an easy grab and go item, its not completely authentic but it does the trick in a pinch). Sprinkle the grated cheese over everything.

Then start again with the tortillas, filling, sauce and cheese. Finally add an third layer of tortilla, sauce and cheese. Cover loosely with foil and bake in a pre-heated 375 F oven for about 25 minutes. Once everything is cooked through take the foil off to finish off the cheese for a final five minutes.

(photography by: alison clayshulte)

chicken curry with gentle spices

This morning at the farmer's market I began to see the slow down of the season. There has been probably one fewer vendor each week, but it has been a natural recession. However, today, two of the vendors I normally count on were gone, probably breaking for a month or two until the next push of California fruits and veggies gets going, but it was a sharp awakening that winter is finally here. I did manage to get a few things: carrots, celery, spinach, apples, grapes and head of garlic for my chicken curry. The remaining ingredients for the week I found at either TJ's, a little market up the street from them, or the or the butcher.

I did notice lots of broccoli and artichokes at the market this morning, along with more greens, swiss chard, rapini, etc. So next week I will focus on recipes that include these items.

Tonight I made a fabulous Chicken Curry from my favorite new cook book The Splendid Table's How to Eat Supper, by Lynne Rossetto Kasper and Sally Swift. The recipe, Chicken Curry with Gentle Spices was a yummy Indian like curry, full of flavor, but not too spicy.

(photography by: alison clayshulte)

gingerbread cookies with lemon filling

Over the holidays I made several batches of these yummy treats. The gingerbread is a nice cookie by itself, spicy but not too dark. However, once the smooth lemon icing is added in the middle a whole new animal is born. I took these to several holiday parties this year to rave reviews.

The recipe came from Food and Wine's December 2008 issue which highlighted unresistable holiday desserts. One of the featured bakers was Nick Malgieri, his recipe below, director of baking at New York City's Institute of Culinary Education.

Recipe for Ginger Sandwich Cookies
Adapted from Nick Malgieri, Food and Wine: December 2008

cookies
1 & 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1& 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 stick plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 large egg, at room temperature
1/4 cup unsulfured molasses

filling
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 & 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1. Preheat the oven to 350 and position racks in the upper and lower thirds. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Make the cookies: In a bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, ginger, cinnamon and salt. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle, beat the butter and sugar at medium-high speed until fluffy, 3 minutes. Beat in the egg and molasses until just mixed. Add the dry ingredients and beat at low speed until just incorporated, scraping down the bowl.

3. Drop small spoonfuls of the dough onto the baking sheets, 3 inches apart. Bake the cookies for about 20 minutes, until risen and fallen and slightly firm; shift the sheets from top to bottom and front to back halfway through for even baking. Let cool slightly, then transfer the parchment paper to racks and let the cookies cool completely.

4. Make the filling: In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle, beat the butter with the confectioners' sugar at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Beat in the lemon juice until well mixed and a nice smooth frosting has formed.

5. Arrange the cookies in pairs on a large work surface. Spoon or pipe 1 rounded tablespoon of the lemon filling onto the flat side of half the cookies. Sandwich with the remaining cookies, pressing them together so the filling spreads to the edge.

(photography by: alison clayshulte)