banana-espresso crumb cake

Another crumb cake? Absolutely. When you go crumb cake you go big baby! I am on a crumb cake mission: to make as many flavor combos as I can. I love a good crumb cake. Yeah yeah I know I say it all the time, but a good crumb cake should have the following: moist cake, crunchy & thick crumbs with a hint of salt, and a higher or equal ratio of crumbs to cake. Right? Good.
So this inspiration comes from Baked. Inside that little jewel of a cookbook is a banana-espresso muffin recipe that is to die for. I took that recipe and turned it into a crumb cake. I did a bunch of tweaking and think I've found the right balance. And instead of using espresso, I used those little Starbuck Via's. I love those little guys. Have you tried them? They truly taste just like espresso, no bitterness at all. My only complaint is I wish they would come down on the price a bit for those of us that buy them in mass quantities.
This crumb cake was fabulous. I did not keep it in the house at all, I gave it away and fast. The original recipe for the banana-espresso muffins are just as fabulous too.
Note: the crumb topping makes A LOT of crumbs. Now I know my foodie friends love it that way, but I'm just warning ya. It's all good--all good.

banana-espresso crumb cake
fron vanillasugarblog.com
inspiration from Baked
print recipe

1 and ½ cups mashed, very ripe bananas (about 4)
¼ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
¼ cup half & half
1 large egg
1 and ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 and ½ packets of Starbucks Via
1 and ½ ts baking soda
1 ts sea salt
¾ cup bittersweet chocolate chips (I swear by Ghiradelli)
crumb topping (see below)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Spray a 8 ½ x 8 ½ pan (or a 9 x 9) with nonstick cooking spray. In a medium bowl, stir together the bananas, sugars, butter, half & half, and egg.
In another medium bowl, whisk together the flour, instant espresso powder, baking soda and salt.
Make a well in the middle of the dry ingredients.
Pour the wet ingredients into the well and stir just until combined. Fold in the chocolate chips.
Pour mixture into pan, then top with crumbs (see below).
Recipe by Dawn Finicane of vanillakitchen.blogspot.com Bake in the center of the oven for 35 - 45 minutes, depending on your oven. Watch them at the 35 minute mark; turn pan around midway through baking. Will be done when a toothpick inserted in the center of cake comes out clean. Let cool for 15-20 minutes before slicing in. If it’s hard to cut them, just stick it in the fridge to harden up.

crumb topping
1 and ½ cups flour
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 ts coarse salt
1 ts ground cinnamon
1 stick unsalted butter, melted & cooled
Confectioners' sugar for dusting, optional

In a medium bowl combine all dry ingredients, pour melted butter over and toss with a rubber spatula until large crumbs form. Sprinkle crumbs over batter.

raspberry buttermilk crumb cake w/ lemon crumbles

Good crumb cake, I mean good crumb cake with those crispy edges, warm moist center, a light fruit filling, and sweet GIANT crumb topping-- make that double thick crumb topping. Are you feeling me? Are you feeling the love? Good. Because you so need to make this. Are you a fan of the whole buttermilk-raspberry-lemon? Awesome. Then do me a favor? Make this. Why is this crumb cake so good? Well, I made it, hello. No, just kidding. It's so good because I put the lemon zest in the crumbles not the cake batter. So the lemon zest mixed with salt, butter and the brown sugar equals flavorlicious.
Note: I think you all know I am a crumb-freak, like my crumb cakes with a lot of crumb topping. So I made 1 and a half batches of the crumb topping and used it all.

raspberry buttermilk crumb cake w/ lemon crumbles
print recipe (recipe from vanillasugarblog.com)

cake:
2 cups AP flour
1 ts baking powder
1 ts baking soda
½ ts sea salt
1 stick unsalted butter, very soft/room temp
1 & ¼ cup granulated sugar
2 TB fresh lemon zest
1 large egg & 1 egg yolk
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup fresh raspberries

lemon crumbles:
1 cup AP flour
1 cup packed light brown sugar
½ ts sea salt
2 TB (or more if you're daring) fresh lemon zest
1 stick unsalted butter, melted & cooled

Preheat your oven to 350°F and place the rack in the middle.
Make the lemon crumb topping by melting the butter, letting it cool. In a bowl mix the flour, brown sugar, salt, lemon zest and add the cooled butter to it and stir well. Set aside till ready. Butter and flour a 9" round springform pan.
In small bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
Cream (with mixer or by hand) the butter, sugar until pale yellow and fluffy; add the zest, eggs, and beat well for an additional 2-3 minutes.
In batches, add the flour, alternating with the buttermilk until all is combined.

Pour your batter into the baking pan and use a spatula to smooth. Don't fill pan with batter, only fill about 1/4 full. Top batter with the raspberries, Don’t push the rasp down into the batter; the berries will sink in during baking. Now top the cake with the lemon crumb mix; use large clumps and disperse evenly.
Note: there will be extra batter and possibly crumbs leftover. I made an smaller cake with the leftovers.
Bake for approximately 30 - 35 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the middle comes out clean and the top is golden brown.
Remove from oven and let cool in pan for 10-15 minutes, before releasing the sides of the spring form and sliding off bottom to transfer to a cooling rack (with the berry/sugar side up).
Let cool completely before serving.

buffalo chicken chili

So the last few weeks have been crazy busy for me not to say stressful. After having just left a horrible rental that had a horrible kitchen I was finally ready to start cooking in my new kitchen in my new home. Then BAM, the flu hits me like a Mac truck. Literally a week after getting settled into my new home I get the stomach flu, then I get the flu. And now, as I type this I am still sick, not as sick as before, but better. I've never been this sick before for this long. Whatever bug it was called it was morphing from stomach flu to flu flu to 'I-feel-better-now-oh-wait-no-you're-not-better-flu'. Strangest flu I've ever had. I thought it was the swine flu too, but it wasn't. It was so hard to just stay in bed and do nothing, I love to keep busy. And have you ever watched daytime TV? Awful. Thank goodness for Food Network. Did you know that Barefoot Contessa is on two times during the day? Yeah, so everyday, the highlight of my day was watching Ina at 1pm then again at 4pm. I just love when she says "isn't that fabulous?" I always say "oh heavens yes!".
It feels like it has been decades since I've baked or cooked anything. I've been eating a lot of toast, ginger ale, live active cultures, chopped ginger, saltines, and other granny-foods. I just want some damn chili already--I need hot chili to open up my sinuses!! Not really having the strength or patience for 'from scratch foods', I made a quick 'everything-in-the-cupboards-must-go chili'. Yeah, I know, it's really not from scratch. Shame! I know I know. It really was good though and I have valid excuses. So if ever there is a night or two when you are strapped for time, really don't want to cook because you are recovering from the flu and are craving buffalo chicken chili, well have I got just the perfect recipe for you!

Note: while having the flu I am walking, talking and breathing, but I still have the memory of a tsetse fly, so I think I got all the ingredients down, maybe not.

buffalo chicken chili w/ blue cheese drizzle
print recipe

Chili:
3-4 chicken breasts
Salt, pepper, and olive oil (rubbing on chicken to roast)
1 large red onion, diced
3-5 cloves garlic, crushed (I can't remember how much, enough to kill a cold)
½ finely chopped carrots
A couple tablespoons chili powder
1 TB ground cumin
2 jars of Newmans Own Garden Salsa (might need a bit more)
½ cup spicy bbq sauce
Couple big squirts of ketchup (fancy eh?)
1/4 cup or so of Coca Cola
Some chipotle peppers, diced
1-2 TB honey
1 cup black beans
1 cup red kidney beans
Some fresh lime juice
(add whatever you want, it's chili, it's easy & laidback)

Creamy blue cheese topping:
½ cup or so of creme fraiche (or sour cream)
¼ - ½ cup blue cheese dressing
Chopped fresh chives

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Rub chicken breasts with olive oil and season with salt & pepper. Bake in oven until done, about 25 – 30 minutes. Let cool, then chop into chunks, set aside.
In a large pot, pour in some olive oil, then heat up the red onions, carrots, whatever else veggie you want to use up. Sautee them a bit, then add in the garlic, the chili powder, cumin, chipotle peppers, Mix a bit, then add in the salsa, bbq sauce, ketchup, Coke, honey, all the beans, and the chopped cooked chicken. Heat mixture through and taste-test; see what else it needs. I added in some lime juice, salt & pepper, and some fresh lime juice.
If you want the blue cheese topping, just mix all the ingredients and let chill in fridge a bit before using. Serve with buttered toast or corn chips. Taste even better the next day.

chocolate mousse on puff pastry w/ raspberries

Are you guilty, like me, of eating puff pastry plain? Taking strips of puff pastry rolling them in sugar and cinnamon or making them savory by sprinkling them with cheese baking till a perfect crisp and then devouring? I have all intentions of making something grand with my puff pastry (and it's not cheap to buy either), but then there are some days where I just want to make it simply for the sake of eating it for that "buttery crunch".

This time I made something fun out of the puff pastry.
Taking a perfect chocolate mousse, adding it to a baked crispy puff pastry, then drizzling it with some chocolate ganache and fresh raspberries.
Heavenly. Puff pastry and chocolate will always be a match made in heaven.
This is fairly easy to make too, the only downside is that it does not keep. Pretty much has to be eaten right away--no problem right? We all know puff pastry does not keep it's crunch after about four or so hours, maybe longer. But can I just say the crispy puff pastry teamed up with the chocolate mousse, the fresh raspberries and a int of chocolate ganache is just heavenly. I mean I know I always say this, but really all those flavors in one bite...oh baby! So good. See the photo below, two bites.
And should you not want to make chocolate mousse from scratch?
Use pudding!  So easy.



chocolate mousse on puff pastry w/ ganache & raspberries
print recipe

Chocolate mousse (from epicurious.com):
2 cups chilled heavy cream
4 large egg yolks
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
7 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), chopped

Cook Notes:
you might want to do the ganache first as it needs a bit of time to cool.
Don't have time to make the mousse? Use instant pudding in a pinch.

for the custard: Heat 3/4 cup cream in a 1-quart heavy saucepan until hot. Whisk together yolks, sugar, and a pinch of salt in a metal bowl until combined well, then add hot cream in a slow stream, whisking until combined. Transfer mixture to saucepan and cook over moderately low heat, stirring constantly, until it registers 160°F on thermometer. Pour custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl and stir in vanilla.
Melt chocolate in a double boiler or a metal bowl set over a pan of simmering water (or in a glass bowl in a microwave at 50 percent power 3 to 5 minutes), stirring frequently.
Whisk custard into chocolate until smooth, then cool.
Beat remaining 1 1/4 cups cream in a bowl with an electric mixer until it just holds stiff peaks.
Whisk one fourth of cream into chocolate custard to lighten, then fold in remaining cream gently but thoroughly.
I then chilled my mousse in a glass bowl, covering the mousse with plastic wrap until ready to use.

puff pastry: Unroll the puff pastry and shape into whatever size you like. I did a long rectangle.
Bake according to package directions. Let cool a bit, and then fill with ready chocolate mousse.

chocolate ganache strips:
If you want to decorate the pastry with chocolate ganache strips then:

6 ounces 70% cacao bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
¼ cup heavy cream
2 TB unsalted butter, room temp

Melt the chopped chocolate with the heavy cream in a double-boiler. Make sure to stir occasionally until fully melted. Once melted, take off the heat and add in the butter bits. Make sure to whisk this up good. The better you whisk the glossier and smoother the ganache. I waited about an hour and a half for it to cool then poured it into a plastic bag to pipe onto chocolate pastry.
Just before the Ganache strips set up, decorate with raspberries.
Let set up about 15 minutes and sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar, optional.

thai noodle soup

Alright, it's time for winter to move along now. I'm tired of the snow, I'm tired of the cold. I need a second mortgage for my heating bill this year. Last year us New Englanders had a pretty rough winter and we all promised, rather comforted ourselves with the fact that we would be blessed with a warm, sunny spring and easy summer. Did that happen? No. We got a rainy cold spring and an even rainier (is this a word?) summer. So basically it feels as if we've been through one very lonnnnnnng double winter. I know the sales at our local tanning salons are up, way up. People are craving that heat and sun, myself included. My bones are just so cold this winter. Soups and tanning salons do help a lot to warm them up. So does a whirlpool tub, but I have to wait a while before I have the money to re-do my bathroom.
I stole this recipe from Kevin over at Closet Cooking. When I saw this I instantly knew it would warm up the bones. Plus this soup is filled with a a lot of healthy ingredients. Serve this baby hot and you will feel renewed! This is a terrific soup for cold ass freezing winter.
I made a few slight changes to the recipe.

thai chicken noodle soup
From closet cooking (makes 4-6 servings; served 3 in my house)

1/2 pound rice noodles
6 cups chicken stock (I used 5 cups)
1 pound chicken breast (cut into bit sized pieces)
1 carrot, sliced thinly on an angle (I used 2 carrots)
2 stalks lemongrass, peeled & chopped
2 kaffir lime leaves, thinly sliced (couldn’t find these)
2 birds eye chilies, sliced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 thumb sized piece galangal or ginger, grated
1/2 pound baby bok choy, separated
4 ounces shiitake mushrooms, de-stemmed & sliced (I used 6 oz. as I LOVE these)
1/4 cup coconut milk (I used 1 cup)
2 tablespoons fish sauce (I used 3 TB)
1 lime, juice & zest
pepper to taste (I added salt too)
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
2 green onions, sliced

Bring a pot of water to a boil and remove from heat.
Add the noodles, cover and let sit until cooked al dente, about 5-8 minutes.
Drain and rinse in cold water.
Meanwhile, bring the chicken stock to a boil in a large pot.
Add the chicken, carrots, lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves, chillies, garlic, galangal and simmer until cooked, about 5-8 minutes.
Add the bok choy, and shiitake mushrooms and simmer until the bok choy just wilts, about 1-2 minutes.
Reduce the heat and mix in the coconut milk, fish sauce, lime juice & zest, salt and pepper.
Taste and adjust the seasoning as required.
Remove from heat and mix in the noodles, cilantro and green onions