Archive for November, 2007

Cardamom Banana Bread with Toasted Hazelnuts

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Regular banana bread is good, sure, but don’t you want to spice it up sometimes? Give it a twist? Embellish it for the holidays without a lot of fuss? Then I have an easy solution for you. With the addition of cardamom, and the swapping of walnuts for toasted hazelnuts, you have a different—fancier—version of the favorite stand-by. Moist and heady with taste, this bread is perfect for holiday breakfasts or homemade gift baskets. Best of all, it will literally only take you three minutes longer to prepare. You can’t go wrong.

If you have a favorite banana bread recipe, try substituting (or adding) the spice and nuts it includes for cardamom and hazelnuts. Otherwise try the basic recipe below, which I’ve adapted from The Joy of Cooking.

Ingredients:

1 1/3 cups unbleached white flour
¾ tsp. salt
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cardamom
5 ½ tbsp. butter + a sliver for greasing the loaf pan
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 large bananas, overly ripe to the point of blackened
½ cup hazelnuts

Let the butter stand at room temperature until softened. Remove the eggs from the refrigerator about 15 minutes before you begin.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Lightly butter a glass loaf pan.

Whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and ground cardamom.

In another bowl, cream the butter and sugar. Add the two eggs and beat until smooth. Add the flour mixture and stir until well blended.

Squeeze the bananas out of their peels directly into the batter. Squish into the mixture with the back of a fork, leaving small chunks of banana.

Spread the hazelnuts on a small baking sheet and put them in the oven for 2-3 minutes, until just warm and aromatic. Chop and add to mixture, folding until just combined.

Bake for 50-55 minutes. Remember, the key to moist bread is to not let it dry out in the oven!

My Thanksgiving Wine

justincab.jpgI wanted to get past the traditional roasted turkey this coming Thanksgiving and in particular was craving a roasted leg of lamb. Having had the 2005 Justin Cab about a month ago at Randy’s, a Durango, CO restaurant, with grilled Colorado lamb chops, I knew I had found the perfect pairing.

The 2005 Justin Cab (about $26) not only fits my budget but will pair perfectly with the lamb. With plenty of dark cherry, plum and oak on the nose, a lush palate of dark fruit, some spice and a little earth on the palate, and a soft velvety finish this one is sure to be a hit for family and guests.

Barbeque Chicken Pizza

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I’ve almost perfected my dough making skills. Granted, I often cheat and let the bread maker do most of the work for me, but there is still the task of forming the dough into that perfect pie shape. Which is no easy task, if you ask me. When I first started making my own pizza, I often resorted to the rolling pin to try and work the dough. I’m not sure why this doesn’t work, but I think it has something to do with the elasticity of pizza dough, and the size of the pin. I’d roll in one direction, start going in another, and the dough would spring right back. Infuriating. Eventually, I’d get it stretched, but the dough wouldn’t be round, and it was often full of holes. Sure, it may have tasted the same, but I wanted beauty for goodness sake!

I began thinking about how they stretch the dough in the pizza places. I wasn’t going to throw it in the air like they did (and I’m still not), but I borrowed a few concepts from them. First, when you take you dough to your (floured) workspace, punch the round ball flat. Then, pick up the dough and toss it from hand to hand. You will start to feel it extend. Once the edges of the dough are overlapping your fingertips, grab the dough by the edges with both hands and work the dough while turning it clockwise. It will start to stretch significantly. At this point, I put it back on my floured work surface. It should be relatively circle-like. If not, practice, practice! From here, I work the excess dough in the center toward the edge, using my fist. Again work in a clockwise rotation. This will give you a nice, thick crust all the way around the edge of your pizza, with the classic thinner crust in the middle.

It took me a dozen or two pizzas to figure out this technique, and I was thrilled when I went to make Barbeque Chicken Pizza the other night and my dough came out perfectly. (Fine. Relatively perfect.) There are still a few things I need to do differently, however. I need to use 1.5 lbs. of dough for 1 large pizza. Not 1 lb. Not two. 1.5. I think that’s the magic number. And I need to cook the pizza on the bottom rack of my oven, so I get that crispy crust I like. Then, it truly will be perfect. ;)

Now, go make Barbeque Chicken Pizza, and try your hand and making your own dough.

Barbeque Chicken Pizza

You will need:

1.5 lbs. of your favorite pizza dough
½ bottle of your favorite barbeque sauce
1 lb. cooked chicken, cut into chunks
1 lb. Monterey jack or fontina cheese, grated
2 medium tomatoes, diced
1 small red onion, thinly sliced

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and set oven rack to the bottom. Roll out dough as specified above and place on a large pizza pan. (This particular recipe was made using a metal pizza pan. Adjust your baking time and temperature accordingly if you use stone.) Prebake it for 2-3 minutes, just to help set the crust. Remove dough from oven. Punch down the middle if it rose.

Spread the crust with barbeque sauce. Top with grated cheese.

Toss the chicken chunks with remaining barbeque sauce and spread evenly on top of cheese.

Add diced tomatoes and sliced onions.

Bake for 10-15 minutes until cheese is bubbly and the crust is beginning to brown.

Chanterelle Frittata

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The best part about fall in the Pacific Northwest is the proliferation of mushrooms. Among the many species that grow in these damp woods is the chanterelle, which is by far my favorite mushroom. Its smell is rich and fruity. Its taste is graceful yet substantive, buttery and peppery. To wander through the forest and harvest chanterelles on an autumn day when the rain is light or the sun is shining–knowing it may well be the last outdoor outing of the year– is bittersweet. It’s a privilege to find these uncultivable mushrooms, and yet they are reminders that it’s that time of year, that once again you will have to endure six months of gray skies and rain before the sun returns. I take what I can get.

If you’re unfamiliar with mushroom species, I suggest taking a guide with you on your hunt. There are several mushrooms that resemble chanterelles but aren’t. It’s important to know what you’re picking and eating, as mushrooms can be poisonous! Also, check to see if you need a permit to harvest mushrooms in the area you plan on searching.

Chanterelles are especially delicious in egg dishes. Their flavor compliments the egg, and more importantly, holds up to it. For a quick breakfast, slice the chanterelles, cook them in a dab of olive oil or butter, and add to scrambled eggs. If you’re looking for something fancier, for brunch for example, try this frittata. It’s easy, takes about twenty minutes to prepare, and looks and tastes gorgeous.

frittata.jpgChanterelle Frittata

Ingredients:

1 cup diced chanterelles
1 medium shallot
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
¼ cup Parmesan cheese
5 eggs
olive oil or butter
salt and pepper

Preheat broiler.

Brush the dirt off the chanterelles and dice enough to make 1 cup. Dice one medium shallot, and one tablespoon of fresh basil.

Heat a tablespoon of olive oil or butter in a small sauté pan. When hot, add shallots and cook until nearly translucent. Add chanterelles and cook until soft. Remove from heat. Let cool. (Don’t skip this step and try to cook everything together, or add the eggs directly on top of the chanterelles and shallots. Neither way produces desirable results, trust me!)

In a medium bowl, beat 5 eggs with a dash of salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. Add ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese, the chopped fresh basil, and the cooled shallot and chanterelle mixture. Mix to combine.

In a large, *ovenproof * skillet, heat 1 tbsp. olive oil or butter over medium heat. When hot, add egg mixture and cook until bottom is set and the edges are firm. Transfer skillet to broiler and broil until top is cooked and beginning to brown, about one or two minutes. Remove from heat, transfer to a plate, cut into wedges, and serve.