Happy New Year & Cheesy Mushroom Pull-Apart Bread

This recipe was floating around Facebook, so I gave it a shot for our New Year's Eve party. Not too bad, it had a pretty presentation, and it tasted o.k. It was very easy to make. 

I'm not sure it was all that I thought it would be. **shrug** 

I did vary it a little by sautéing some onion with the mushrooms.

My guests ate about half of it but that could have been because we had about 6 tons of food for a dozen people... as usual! 

Cheesy Mushroom Pull-Apart Bread

Ingredients (serves 4-6)

For the Mushrooms:

12 oz. sliced mushrooms
1 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh thyme

For the Bread:

1 unsliced loaf sourdough bread
12 ounces Provolone cheese, thinly sliced
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup finely diced green onion
2 teaspoons poppy seeds

Instructions:

For the Mushrooms:

Heat a medium skillet on medium. Add the butter. Once the butter is melted, add the mushrooms. Cook 4-5 minutes until they start to sweat. Add the thyme and continue to cook another 2-3 minutes.

Set mushrooms aside and allow to cool.

For the Bread:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cut the bread lengthwise and widthwise without cutting through the bottom crust. This can be a little tricky going the second way but the bread is very forgiving.

Place loaf on a foil-lined baking sheet.

Insert cheese slices between cuts. Pour the mushrooms between the cuts. Use your fingers to push the mushrooms down into the loaf.

Combine butter, onion, and poppy seeds. Drizzle over bread. Wrap in foil; place on a baking sheet.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes.

Unwrap the bread and bake 10 more minutes, or until cheese is melted.

Not My Mama's Banana Pudding!

OK, browsing the web tonight, I found a Pinterest photo with some banana pudding raving that it was the best stuff ever!

I click the link... {had to sounds so yummy} I find a recipe that boasts it's better than my mom's:

Momma Didn’t Make It Like This! 

... Hmmm... Highly suspect, as my mom's stuff is pretty good... This recipe was a derivative of a Paula Deen recipe called Not Yo' Mama's Banana Pudding.

No kidding it's not my mom's... she doesn't use cool whip or instant pudding. Ewww.... I'm sure the addition of all the other sugary and fatty ingredients does make it yummy, but my mom's banana pudding would whip your mom's banana pudding BLINDFOLDED and CHUCK NORRIS STYLE.

I will make it my business to post Mom's recipe {Actually passed down from her grandmother} this weekend. That blogger claimed she was spoiled. That she only eats this banana pudding now... I don't think she knows spoiled. I'm spoiled. We asked for pudding and mom went in the kitchen and got out eggs, milk, sugar and vanilla.... No instant powder! eek!

I'm the spoiled one!

*disclaimer: I think I may be the only one in the family that hates "whipped topping". It just never made it onto the banana pudding. It freaks me out to think about it.

Momma's Fried Cabbage

Growing up, I didn’t have a problem eating most veggies. I think it’s because my mom gave everything a good dose of butter (OK, I’ll admit it, margarine…), microscopically diced onions, and seasoning.

This was one of her go to recipes, that’s not really a recipe. Just one of those things you throw together to feed your mob of hungry children. A quick and easy side dish.

Step One: Melt some butter in a pan … oh how much? Mom would say “A lot!” I think I used 2-3 tablespoons… Shh… don’t tell her! I’m sure she used a stick…lol

Step two: sauté a little bit of finely chopped onion. No, I don’t know how much a tablespoon or two. Depends on how much you like onion.

Step three: Add in some sliced mushrooms, and a sliced yellow squash or zucchini. Give it a stir. Cook it a minute or two before proceeding to step 4.

Step Four: Add in some chopped cabbage. Stir every now and then until it cooks down. Add some salt and pepper. Taste it. Do you need more butter?

Voilà you are ready to serve it. 

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I used to think this was the best recipe for chocolate chip cookies. I still think it's pretty darn good, and it was my "go to" for years. This year, I found a recipe that rivals it, but this one is still worth taking a look at.

Chocolate Chip Cookies
Crisp edges, chewy middles. Prep Time: approx. 20
Minutes. Cook Time: approx. 10 Minutes. Makes about 4 dozen. 

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened 1 cup white sugar 1 cup packed brown sugar 2 eggs 1 tablespoon vanilla extract 3 cups all-purpose flour

1/8 tsp. cinnamon 1 teaspoon baking soda 2 teaspoons hot water 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

Directions
1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2 Cream together the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar
until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then stir in
the vanilla. Dissolve baking soda in hot water. Add to
batter along with salt and cinnamon. Stir in flour until almost completely incorporated, then add chocolate chips. Stir gently to incorporate, but be careful not to over mix (This will make your cookies tough!) 

3 Drop by large spoonfuls onto ungreased pans about 2 inches apart. Bake for about 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until edges are nicely browned. Let cool slightly about 1 min. before removing from the cookie sheet with a spatula.

Find original recipe here. It even has a video if you would like to watch it! 

My French in-laws have asked for the recipe, so I had to get busy with a translation. I meticulously measured out each ingredient then weighed it. (Yes, I know I didn't do the minor ingredients that are measured by teaspoons and tablespoons. If someone else would like to do, you can send me the measurements!) 

Step one, convert to metric:

Metric:

226 g unsalted butter, softened 182 g white sugar   200 g brown sugar   2 eggs 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

445 g all-purpose flour 1/8 tsp. cinnamon 1 teaspoon baking soda 2 teaspoons hot water 1/2 teaspoon salt 340 g semisweet chocolate chips

Step 2 translate to French:

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Environ 4 douzaine

226 g de beurre non salé, mou

182 g de sucre

200 g sucre roux

2 œufs

1 cuillère à soupe d'extrait de vanille

445 g de farine

1 cuillère à café de bicarbonate de soude

2 cuillères à café d'eau chaude

1/2 cuillère à café de sel

1/8 cuillère à café de cannelle

340 g d’éclats de chocolat noir

Instructions

1) Préchauffer le four à 175 degrés C.

2) Mélanger ensemble le beurre et les sucres jusqu'à consistance lisse. Ajouter les œufs un à la fois, puis incorporer la vanille.
3) Dissoudre le bicarbonate de soude dans l'eau chaude. Ajouter à la pâte avec le sel et la cannelle. Incorporer la farine et puis les pépites de chocolat. Attention de ne pas les mélanger trop !

4) Laisser tomber par grosses cuillerées sur une plaque à biscuits non graissée. 4-5 cm entre chaque cookie. Cuire au four pendant environ 10 minutes dans le four préchauffé, ou jusqu'à ce que les bords soient bien dorés. Laisser refroidir 1 min avant de les enlever de la plaque.

 recette originale: c'est en anglais mais il y a aussi un vidéo!  

Cake Pruneaux Lardons

 Have you ever come across a recipe so weird you just had to try it. Sounds like a really bad idea, but it could be good. I'm trying to be adventurous and think outside the box....

The recipe I speak of is a French one that I found on the internet:

Cake aux pruneaux et aux lardons

First of all, when a French person says "Cake", they are referring to what we Americans would call a "quick bread".  So this translates to: 

Bacon Prune Bread

I know, weird.... Really weird, but it has bacon so I gotta try it. It says it's great with a salad or as an appetizer... OK, let's do this!

Step 1: Fry up 150 g. of bacon. For me it was about 6 thick slices. Break into pieces.

Step 2: Weigh out your dry ingredients and place them in a bowl.You need 150 g. flour, packet of baking powder and some salt and pepper. Yes, the French get their baking powder in little cute pink packets. You can just weigh out 11 g.  (0.38 oz.). Whisk together (.... or sift if you prefer....)

Step 3: Weigh out your pitted prunes and shredded cheese (Emmental, Gruyere or Comté). You will need 100 g each. Chop your prunes into small pieces.

Step 4: Make a well in your flour mixture and add: 3 eggs, 15 cl. milk and 2 TBSP. olive oil. Stir just until combined. Add in the bacon, prunes, and cheese. Stir as little as possible.

Step 5: Butter and flour a loaf pan. Pour ingredients into pan and bake at 180°C (about 350°F) for 45 min. to 1 hour.

Oh rats! I lost my photo of the finished project, so I will just borrow one.

cake aux pruneaux et lardons

 I'm not really sure about that. The bacon took on a weird chewy texture. Which, I suppose is to be expected. Try it, if you are brave enough :) 

Cake aux pruneaux et aux lardons

Temps de préparation : 20 minutes

Temps de cuisson : 45 minutes

Ingrédients (pour 8 personnes) :

- 150 g de farine
- 1 sachet de levure chimique
- 3 œufs
- 100 g de pruneaux
- 150 g de lardons
- 2 cuillères à soupe d'huile
- 15 cl de lait

-100 g. d'emmental râpé
- sel et poivre

Préparation de la recette :

Mélanger farine, levure, œufs, battre le tout, ajouter sel, poivre, puis ajouter l'huile.

Faire griller les lardons à la poêle. Faire chauffer le lait. Couper les pruneaux en petits morceaux. Ajouter le lait chaud à la préparation, puis les lardons et les pruneaux.

Beurrez un moule à cake (y ajouter une fine couche de farine, en la répartissant dans le moule).

Cuire à four chaud (thermostat 7) pendant 45 mn.

Servir froid ou chaud.

Remarques : Idéal pour une entrée avec une salade, ou en petits morceaux à l'apéritif.

Banana Cake

To Die for Banana Cake

from ButterYum (Hey, with a name like that you know it has to be good!)
Makes one 8x8-inch pan (double recipe for a 9x13 pan)

Cake:

2/3 cup sugar
½ cup sour cream
1 egg
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
2 mashed super ripe bananas (about 3/4 cup)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup flour
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda

Frosting:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
¼  c. heavy cream
½ teaspoon vanilla bean paste (or equal amount of pure vanilla extract)
1 ¼ c. confectioner's sugar

To make cake (easily mixed by hand…really it is… I did not get out the KitchenAid! I used a wooden spoon.):

Mash the bananas with a fork then stir in. 

Preheat the oven to 375°F (350°F if using a glass pan.).  Cream together sugar, sour cream, egg, and 2 tablespoons softened butter.  Add mashed bananas and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract.  Add flour, salt, and baking soda; mix well.  Pour into greased 8x8 pan.  Bake at 375F for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.  Cool completely before frosting.

To make frosting:
Cream butter and confectioner's sugar together until smooth.  Slowly add the heavy cream; stir until smooth.  Stir in the vanilla bean paste until fully incorporated.  Spread on cooled cake. 

I wonder if the frosting is what makes it so good? So delicious and simple!

Not dense like banana bread, this cake is light and moist.

Corn chowder