Cooking Class!!! and Bananas!!!

Hello followers,

I am teaching a course this semester called “Books That Make You Want to Cook.” Tomorrow we are doing an experiment with our recipes. We created them spontaneously, so there really isn’t a “recipe,” but it is what we think will taste good. So that is something exciting in my life. The students are coming along and are making progress in their culinary boundaries!

Anyway, over my Spring Break, I made the most amazing banana bread. It was from Lucinda Scala Quinn’s cookbook “Mad Hungry.” It has this butter and brown sugar topping that caramelizes the top of the loaf. During cooling, I took the loaf out of the baking pan, and some of the banana bread goodness stuck to the pan. I took a spoon to it, only to discover it was a bit of caramelized banana with some cinnamon, brown sugar, and butter.

Of course, bananas in butter with brown sugar and cinnamon are fantastic enough by themselves. Take a few of your far gone bananas sitting in the corner of your kitchen that you forgot about eating last week, and slice them as you wish. I like to cut mine longwise into thin wafers of banana shape. Then melt some butter in a pan, add your sugars and spices, letting  it bubble away for a bit, to get that caramelized effect going. Your final step is to place the bananas into this wonderful bath and let them brown to your satisfaction (if you can wait that long).

Enjoy!

Experiment No. 3: BFC Part 2

Hey again! So the fourth of July always makes me think of classic American food, and therefore my thoughts go to PIE! As a theme at our last BFC dinner in May, we all did a little research and cooked a famous/historical figure’s favorite food. I chose Eleanor Roosevelt. Her favorites are hot dogs and pie, so very American of her. Once I mentioned pie to a friend of mine sitting nearby, her face went into a dream like state into some far off pleasureful memory and she sighed, “chocolate pie. Mmmmm.” So I decided to make Black Bottom Chocolate Pie.

The base is chocolate cookies and butter, sent through a food processor and pressed into the bottom of a pie dish. Then you stick it in the freezer while you make the creamy, custardy, chocolate-y inside. This doesn’t take too much effort, either, as you whisk a number of dairy products together and, with the help of a little heat here and there, you come up with a yummy chocolate filling. Once this is ready, take your pie crust from the freezer and pour your custard-y filling on top in an orderly fashion and put it back in the freezer for 2-24 hours.

Right before dinner was served, I whipped up my own whipped cream for the topping. At dinner, the pie was to die for. And you are hearing this from a person who isn’t the biggest chocolate fan, although I do appreciate it with much gusto.

It was a dreamlike revolution. Mmmmm. And you could always add fresh fruit from your neighborhood market.

Experiment No. 3: BFC Part 1: Lemon Souffle

Well hello, readers. I am terribly sorry to have left you without any notice for such a long period of time. It seems that school does take some priority over my life, and sort of consumed my time in all manners. But as I started the new semester, a new adventure in the Buffalo Food Collective (BFC) began. Our first theme was Eggs and I created a dessert souffle I had made many a time before. In fact, it was the first recipe I tackled out of Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything, so I had had a little practice. Of course, that didn’t mean it was any less fantastic.

Anyway, I found that when whipping the egg whites, the souffle comes out even better than when hand whipped. It seems that whenever I would go at it with just my arm strength, without any electrical assistance, that i miss a bit of the egg whites, which sink to the bottom of the souffle pan and create a layered, much more egg-y souffle. So when I used the hand mixer, the souffle was lighter, and less egg-y, as ALL of the egg whites had been whipped to airy soft peaks.

As I took my first bite of this souffle, I sighed at the light, soft texture, the more lemon-y than egg-y flavor I wasn’t expecting, but was delighted by, none-the-less. It was breathtaking, really fantastic, and the first thing to go of the evening’s spread.

Oh, and also, make sure to follow the directions…it seems they are there for a reason,  and in the proper order as well. I had a bit of a mishap this evening, taking a risk by trying to remember the recipe without it in front of me, and I screwed it up. I am glad my family was there to remind me that we all make mistakes, then quickly pulled a box of Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies from the from the freezer to act as an alternative dessert option.

More posts to come. Stay tuned. Thanks for reading!

Experiment No. 2: Cookies Part 3

Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip

It smells like banana bread in my room. The mixture of rolled oats, bananas, and chocolate chips is irresistable. Each cookie is like an individual banana bread serving, crunchy on the outside, gooey and warm inside. Mmmm.

These are my Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chips. I made the rest of them for my dear friend’s birthday. I feel like they are somewhat legendary. They have definitely changed people’s perspectives on different cookie types. I see them as a sort of bridge to newer flavors.

Think of yourself in a cold winter’s day, curled up with a blanket and a book, maybe a candle on the end table next to you. Steam rises steadily from your tea cup and the smell of bananas, nutmeg, cinnamon, and oatmeal caress your senses. You reach for the cookie resting against your tea cup, and take that exploratory step into the unknown. Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip? I wonder what that tastes like….you crunch into the outer crust, into a nutty, homey feel. The oatmeal and banana stick to the rough of your mouth in a good way, and the chocolate is a little satisfactory surprise waiting to dress up your experience. Now you can’t get enough, you are an addict of the infamous Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip cookies.

Experiment No. 2: Cookies Part 2

Peanut Butter Cookies

While thinking about blue food ideas for a recipe this Friday night’s cooking session, I decided to use up the rest of my peanut butter by making peanut butter cookies. 1 cup peanut butter, 1 cup sugar, and 1 egg (I learned this recipe from one of Emeril’s kid cook books). It is the most simple, pure, and delicious recipe for peanut butter cookies I have come across yet. It makes about 2 dozen.

The peanut-y scents really overwhelm my hall, and I have the guys across the hall salavating, waiting for the beep of my toaster oven to summon them. One of my friends mischieviously dipped his finger into the batter and proclaimed it an orgasmically delicious creation. I love baking in my dorm.

I pass my time by writing to you all, watching faces go by, and studying for my Nutrition test tomorrow. I am focusing on the section on glycogenesis…

They came out in perfect rounds, although I burnt the last batch. It had more of a roasted nut flavor than the smooth peanut-y flavor of the previous batches. If I had not run out of chocolate chips by making my Banana Oatmeal Cookies, I would have probably added them to the peanut butter dough…Enjoy!

Experiment No. 2: Cookies Part 1

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Good day friends! I have just finished the last batch of cookies – chocolate chip, to be exact – and people are really enjoying my room. One guy asked me last night if I could make a specific kind of cookie for him, and he would pay me for ingredients and time. Oh yeah.

So I got my recipe from my awesome, yet old fashioned Betty Crocker Cooky Book. It is straight up chocolate chip cookies, no twists. I thought you would all like to know about my new cooking experiences in my toaster oven, food porn included. One thing I have discovered is that is doesn’t take much for the cookies (or whatever you are making) to burn at a high temperature. I left a batch in the oven for a couple minutes longer than my alarm indicated, and I may regret it. Maybe not. Someone will eat them.

I took a bag full to my Buddhism and the West class, and they were a big hit, especially with my professor. My hall mates are also really enjoying the scents I am creating. I like to watch as they sniff the air in front of my door and try to guess what I am up to.

Addendum: I am really sorry, that was a terrible post. But I am going to ellaborate now! (sorry for the delay, this has been on my mind since I submitted this post….). Here are my cookies. They are gorgeous. Straight from the oven they are bursting with warmth, scent, and chocolate. As I broke one in half to split with my roommate (who particularly enjoys my baking skills), the outside of the cookie gave a crunch and the chocolate melted into a heavenly gooey mess on my fingers. The best part of homemade cookies is the ability to add what you want, and make them your own. This time I added more chocolate chips than the recipe called for….I usually do this. Perhaps I find most recipes lacking in their chocolate goodness. Like the Banana Oatmeal Cookies, which I will be making soon…mmmm.

I love that cookies can make just about anyone smile. It is one thing that I have learned with this recipe. Whether it is the smell, the taste, or the chocolate, an excellent feeling wafts through me when I see that smile crack across my friend’s face. I hope you can experience that joy as well when you make cookies, whether it is for yourself or friends.

Experiment No. 1: Bread Part 3

Experiment No.1: Bread Part 3

Hi again! I haven’t baked since last week, and I was due, especially as my Buddhism class tomorrow want chocolate chip cookies, so I needed the bowl my dough was occupying. So this is my last loaf of this particular round (don’t worry, I will make another batch soon enough).

This past Friday, I spent a good deal of time on my hands and knees weeding a row of scallions at Three Sisters Farm. It was a wonderful day, and a gorgeous farm. They are helping the UofR set up a garden, and I am very excited to help out with the project.

Anyway, back to baking. This was my mast loaf, and it came out beautifully. I folded in about a 2 teaspoons worth of cinnamon, 1.5 teaspoons of chili powder, and 1/4 teaspoon of cumin. Once I had shaped my loaf around those seasons (which made a nice swirl through the middle), I smoothed some olive oil over the top, then sprinkled a good helping of cumin, chili powder, cinnamon, crushed pepper flakes, and salt. I cut the top with an X, and baked it for about 40 minutes.

The crust came out the best, all crisp and covered in flavor. I really love the salt alone on the crust; it gives it the definitive crunch when you bite into it. The middle was gooey with warmth and chewy gluten, and the swirl caught some of my eaters with a delicious surprise in their normally plain-flavored bread insides.

Now the bread is gone, leaving only a few crumbs and the delicious scent of cinnamon and bread baked in a wonderful limbo, leaving everyone yearning for more.

Experiment No.1: Bread Part 3

Experiment No. 1: Bread Part 2

  

Bread Part 2

Hello everyone. It is a Wednesday, one of my favorite days, because 1) I don’t have class to worry about and can concentrate on work, and 2) the LA Times and New York Times have their Food and Dining sections, respectfully. I have now cut out all the recipes from those papers, and plan to keep a little notebook with them for inspiration. 

And as this is part 2, I just made another batch of bread from the left over dough in my fridge. It is the same recipe as last time, from Artisan Bread in 5 minutes. But this time my dough didn’t conform to my pan, but stayed in the circular loaf shape I wanted. I smeared olive oil all over the top,  and then sprinkled garlic powder, parsley flakes, basil flakes, kosher salt and chili powder on top of the olive oil. This top crust came out wonderfully crunchy and flavorful, and you could sprinkle any number of spices to get the flavor of your preference. The inside was gooey and contrasted  the outer crust really well. 

I also got a picture of it before we started devouring it, as well.

Experiment No. 1: Bread Part 1

Today I started this blog. I have been meaning to for a while. Like the beginning of last semester when I started all this cooking. But I never did get around to it. Now V.V. has helped me, fantastic lady, that one, and I have begun the experiments.

So I made a recipe that my mom recommended from the book Artisian Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. Mark Bittman, the author of How to Cook Everything, wrote an article that described the uses of such recipes that are found in this book. The ratio of 6-3-3-13 (water-yeast-salt-flour) is really going to come in handy. I downsized this ratio, of course. Especially as I am only starting out. So this is why this is blog part 1. The bread experiments have begun. I hope it won’t explode in my fridge from yeast gases….

I mixed up a batch of this dough between classes today, and let it rise (which may have been a bad, explosive, overflowing idea) and then globbed a hunch of the dough into my eight-by-eight pan. The recipe calls for a 450 degree oven, but all I have is a toaster oven that can reach up to 400 degrees within the vicinity of my room. 30 minutes in the “oven” and out popped a wonderful, aroma effusing square of bread (as it conformed to my pan during its resting/warming( from being in the fridge)/rising period).

Of course, the yeasty smell of baking bread attracted the noses of many of my hall and dorm mates, but I only chose a couple to feed my experiment to. The verdict:  AMAZING! It doesn’t even need butter, it is so flavorful and good. But I didn’t even put flavoring in, just straight up yeast and salt.

Experiment for next time:  Adding spices to the mix…

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