happiness is...

Fresh braeburn apple, apricot compote, and creamy pierre robert cheese as a late-night snack.

http://www.artisanalcheese.com/prodinfo.asp?number=PC-10407

Banana Bread

Banana bread is one of my all time favorite comfort foods. My parents have been making it for me since I was tiny, and every time I smell it baking, it reminds me of waiting expectantly for a hot slice fresh out of the oven. When I was pondering what to bring to a housewarming party this evening, I decided that banana bread would be the perfect thing to create a warm, homey feel in a new home. A friend's recent experimentation with her recipe lead me to tweak my old faithful recipe, and my banana bread baking may never be the same! This is my grandma's banana bread recipe, or the gold standard in my book.


1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup chopped nuts
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
3 very ripe bananas, crushed


I swapped out 2/3 of a cup of flour for almond meal, which can be found at your local Trader Joe's, and probably other places as well. I also used 4 bananas, instead of 3.

I wanted to add chocolate chips, and realized I didn't have any on hand. Instead I took a block of Scharffen Berger 99% cacao chocolate, chopped it up with a big knife, and added it to the batter. I liked that the chocolate wouldn't overpower my bread by adding too much sweetness, and the roughhewn look of the chopped bits.



I added walnuts to this bread, but I have used pecans in the past and really enjoyed that.
The process is fairly simple. Cream the butter and sugar well, then add eggs and cream thoroughly. Next, add/smash bananas (I like to leave some chunks, but will sometimes use an immersion blender to smooth out the batter a little), and mix in dry ingredients.




Bake at 350F for approximately 1 hour.
The batter was gorgeous with the addition of the almond meal and the chocolate, and the smell of the bread as it was baking was intoxicating. The finished loaf was rapidly consumed, and enjoyed by many--which is a delightfully satisfying result for any baker.

Cafe Presse

I wasn't sure what to expect of Cafe Presse, having heard mixed reviews, but after last night... I'm in love. Their wine by the glass is affordable and delicious. I tried about three different wines and they were all lovely. The Cotes du Rhone was a favorite. We had their assiette de fromage, and I enjoyed all of the cheses on the plate, which I feel is not always the case with cheese plates. Next, we had their gâteau au foie de volaille with cherry compote... oh my god. SO good. The cherries were perfect. The terrine was smooth and creamy and the best I've ever had. Then, for the main course, we had the quail.... and we weren't disappointed. The quail is nearly boneless (save for the leg and wing) and served with sautéed potatoes, apples, sweet onions and a creamy sage-white wine sauce. I read that on the menu, thought it sounded good, but then was totally blown away by how delicious it was. It was an explosion of flavor. They truly did an excellent job on this dish. To finish the meal, I had an aperitif-- a glass of their tawny port. It was the perfect end to the meal, and left me feeling warm and happy. Cafe Presse is a really cute little space. You will be close to your neighbors, but it wasn't something that bothered me or that I really noticed much. The service was friendly, informative (we got some good recommendations on wines) and quite pleasant. On a rainy winter evening, the cozy, muted lighting lent a good atmosphere to the room. I wold love to return for a coffee and breakfast sometime, but I know I will be back soon for dinner or drinks!

(photos taken from yelp.com)

simple pleasures

I've been cooking quite a lot these days. Plenty of soup, of course, because it's the time of year that makes me yearn for a big bowl of hearty soup. Many repeats from last year--I made the cauliflower red lentil soup I wrote about last winter and it was better than I remembered it! This time I also took a couple of pictures.

If you weren't already aware, cauliflower is actually a very nutritious vegetable. I have, in the past, thought of it as one of those things that I just enjoy eating that has no special benefit to my health, but I was wrong. It's high in dietary fiber, folate, and vitamin C, and comes in other colors besides white (orange! purple!). It is part of the same family as broccoli, kale, brussels sprouts, and cabbage! Basically, it is delicious and good for you, and so are its bretheren. That is the end of my "cauliflower is wonderful!" lecture. The recipe for this soup can be found here: http://thingswinonahaseaten.blogspot.com/2009/03/la-dolce-vegan.html

Sometime last year, I discovered that I did not, in fact, know how to successfully make an omelette. Every time I tried, I got impatient (hunger will do that to you) and it ended up being a scramble. I like a good scramble, but there is something so satisfying to me about food that is actually wrapped in other food (dumplings, burritos, pie.... you get the picture) and besides, omelettes that have been properly executed are such a pretty thing to have for breakfast! I had a small amount of exceptionally tasty gruyere in my fridge recently that I wanted to put on or in something, and remembering my successful foray into omelette making, I whipped up a simple 2-egg omelette with the remainder of the cheese. Basically, the "secret" to making omelettes is patience, and a large enough (and well buttered) pan. Gruyere is a great cheese for omelettes, as it melts well and is flavorful. I didn't have any fresh veggies to toss in, but cheese and eggs are delicious enough on their own, I think!

Thanksgiving

I love Thanksgiving. It is my favorite fall holiday, as it incorporates cooking, eating, drinking, and spending time with loved ones, but without the near-obligatory gift giving of Christmas. I like giving and recieving presents, but don't like the idea that one has to buy many and often pricey gifts to show their love. Bake me a nice pie instead.

Anyway, this year I was able to get off work, but my relatives were all out of town except my Mom, who was terribly ill and not up to getting together. Love and togetherness prevailed, and I spent my Thanksgiving with friends, who got together to eat, drink, cook, and play Super Mario for Nintendo Wii. Alice's excellent idea was to roast two chickens which had been first stuffed with herbs, kosher salt, fresh ground black pepper, lemons, shallots, and garlic--butter stuffed under the skin of the breast, fresh chopped herbs sprinkled over the bird, and lastly, the entire thing covered with pancetta. It was pretty amazing, and the resulting chickens were delicious and tasted faintly of bacon.

In addition, we had a green salad with chevre, orange bell pepper, anjou pear, spicy/sweet roasted pecans, and a sesame vinagrette dressing. Carbohydrates were not lacking. Jon made sweet potatoes mashed lightly with pumpkin spice soy milk, which made the potatoes taste faintly of christmas. I used a recipe recently featured on my friend Aubrey's blog for sage and garlic mashed potatoes, and they were smooth, creamy, and flavorful. The recipe can be found at the following link, along with some beautiful pictures.

http://drumbeets.blogspot.com/2009/11/sage-and-garlic-mashed-potatoes.html

Of course, there was a pumpkin pie with plenty of freshly grated ginger and my dad's famous pie crust recipe--all of which disappeared by the end of the evening.

(Pictures from friends' iphones)

Roasted

I have been eating so many tasty things.

It is winter now, and I have been craving veggies! Yesterday I roasted a bunch of organic beets in the oven with olive oil and salt, then ate them with much lip-smacking delight.

Today I cut up two small yams, french fry style, and again, roasted with olive oil and salt. Both vegetables are sweet enough that it felt almost as though I was eating dessert.

Things I love: prosciutto.

This week has kind of turned into a "can I put prosciutto on that?" sort of week. This is something that I am very happy about. I ate a pizza with prosciutto, fig, and basil (delicious), but perhaps the most exciting was yesterday's prosciutto extravaganza. Is there anything that isn't improved by being wrapped in prosciutto? Probably not. After buying 1/4 pound of prosciutto di Parma at Whole Foods, my partner in the appreciation of cured Italian meats and I proceeded to pair it with not one, but two delicious cheeses: mimolette (which caught my eye because of its bright orange color), a semi-hard, aged French cheese, and Mt. Townsend Creamery's trailhead tomme, which was softer than the mimolette, mild, and tasty. Also, there was a perfectly ripened plum and pear, half a loaf of Campagne bread, and a 74% cacao Theo chocolate bar. We tried every configuration of these items, all while enjoying a surprisingly good bottle of rose (Belleruche cotes-du-rhone m. chaputier rose, 2007) that we had chilled previously. It was probably the best snack I have had in weeks, not only because of the excellent food, but because of the delightful company.