10 Dec

Date Nut Spice Bread

Posted by Michelle as Quick Breads | 16 Comments

I had been dreaming about this bread since the moment I saw Ina Garten mix it up on one of her shows. Quick breads are always a favorite of mine, but combining cold-weather spices with dates, pecans and orange? That was more than a potential favorite; that was heaven. I quickly bookmarked the recipe and plotted for a time to make it. Well, busy minds tend to forget things like the most delicious-looking bread ever. It wasn’t until a few months later when I got Ina’s Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics book and saw that the bread was in there that my infatuation with it began to swell again. And now, finally, ANOTHER month or so later, I have made the bread. Hallelujah! Being a good Pittsburgh girl, I know the Heinz ketchup mantra of “good things come to those who wait” but man oh man, this is better than good, this is indeed heavenly.

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11 Aug

Zucchini Bread

Posted by Michelle as Quick Breads | 24 Comments

We’re turning the corner into late summer (where did it go?!) and right about now is when gardens seem to be overflowing with an abundance of zucchini just begging to be used up. Perhaps you have your own garden, you were given fresh zucchini by a generous neighbor, or just couldn’t resist the mounds of beautiful squash at the grocery store or farmer’s market. However you managed to snag them, you have a stash of zucchini to use and you need a recipe. Zucchini bread is a classic and, amazingly, one that I have not made before. I never used to be a big fan of squash, but I started turning the corner with zucchini in the last couple of years and so I added zucchini bread to my ever-growing list of foods I want to tackle. The gorgeous green squash have been tempting me every time I go to the store, so I finally decided to whip up a zucchini bread.

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26 Jul

FoodBuzz 24,24,24: Could I Be the Next Food Network Star?

Posted by Michelle as Appetizers, Meat, Quick Breads, Seafood | 37 Comments

This is the fifth season of the Food Network’s dive into reality TV as they search for the network’s next big star. The show airs on Sunday evenings and contestants ranging from seasoned chefs to stay-at-home moms compete in different cooking and TV challenges to try to win a place on The Food Network’s lineup. For my FoodBuzz 24,24,24 event I decided to see how I could stack up against this season’s lot of contestants by preparing a number of the winning dishes featured on recent episodes and having my family act as the judges, rating each on a scale from 1 to 5 (5 being the best) and providing comments about each one. The dishes prepared were:

♦  Red Chili Citrus Mushrooms with Grilled Zucchini
♦  Bruschetta with Poached Egg, Truffle Oil, and Arugula
♦  Mulberry Street Burger
♦  Crispy Catfish wtih Edamame Succotash
♦  Spicy Southern Collard Greens with Sweet Maple Cornbread
♦  Chocolate Crepe with Tangerine Dried Red Chili Sauce

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09 Jul

Bananas Foster Banana Bread

Posted by Michelle as Quick Breads | 49 Comments

Moist banana bread, topped with a walnut streusel, and drenched in a butter-sugar-rum sauce. Meet Bananas Foster Banana Bread. It’s about to become your best friend. I was sifting through a huge stack of my grandma’s old recipes and came upon three copies of her banana bread and decided to whip up a loaf. As I walked into the kitchen I started thinking about how I could put some sort of twist on the recipe and make it something a little more than your typical loaf of banana bread. I started thinking of a streusel, and then my mind somehow drifted and landed on bananas foster. A few more minutes of the wheels turning and I came up with this wonderfully moist, rum-drenched banana bread with a spectacular streusel.

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04 May

Three Cheese Beer Bread

Posted by Michelle as Quick Breads | 28 Comments

As soon as I saw this bread, I was completely and hopelessly in love. There was no turning back. I couldn’t get it out of my head and plotted the soonest possible moment I could get it into the oven. For as much as I love cheese it’s almost inconceivable that I have never made a quick cheese bread, but lookout, I’m hooked. This bread is fabulously moist, as cheesy as it looks, and has the perfect hint of herbs speckled throughout.

I totally forgot that I had specifically listed “Herbed Cheese and Beer Bread” on my Top 100 list until after I had already made this bread. Bonus that I get to cross something else off of the list!

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18 Mar

Irish Soda Bread ~ Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Posted by Michelle as Quick Breads | 13 Comments

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Although I am one-quarter Irish, I am embarrassed to admit that I really am not educated on the food and traditions of the Irish culture. As a result, I thought for St. Patrick’s Day I would bake up something traditionally Irish and take a little time to learn about the background of the dish. I chose Irish Soda Bread since I have seen so many variations of it online over the years and I put it on My 100 list of things to make. Not only had I never made this bread before, but I had never tasted it either. I dove in with no real expectations and about an hour later became officially addicted to this bread. As in, devoured a large portion of the loaf. I had to practice some serious restraint and was happy to share it with some family!

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04 Aug

Black-and-White Banana Loaf

Posted by Michelle as Quick Breads | 21 Comments

Bananas and chocolate in a dense, moist bread. You really can’t go wrong with that combination, and this bread did not disappoint. My friend Amber and I were looking for something to bake together and since she is now the proud owner of Dorie Greenspan’s Baking: From My Home to Yours, we picked this recipe from her book. I have such fun baking along with others, as it’s a great time to talk my way through a recipe as it’s developing with someone else. I was excited about this recipe, as it’s been quite some time since I’ve made a banana bread, and I was also on the hunt for a chocolate fix. This bread satisfied both of my cravings, and I couldn’t stop taking little pieces as I walked in and out of the kitchen.

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10 Jul

Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread

Posted by Michelle as Quick Breads | 2 Comments

This installment of the Barefoot Bloggers comes courtesy of Sabrina and Alexander of Cooking with the Kids, who have chose Ina’s Jalepeño Cheddar Cornbread, which is featured in the Barefoot Contessa at Home cookbook. I was really excited to make this, as it came from a cookbook I already own, and cornbread sounded so good, even though it wasn’t fall and I wasn’t serving it with chili! This is only the second cornbread recipe I have made (the first was made last fall and came from Cook’s Illustrated), but I have to say, this was phenomenal. It produced a light and tender crumb, a slightly crisp crust, and the inclusion of the green onions gave it a nice zip, and really, you seriously can’t go wrong with adding cheddar to anything!

More talk about the cornbread, the recipe, and maybe another picture or two after the break.

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23 Sep

Cornbread

Posted by Michelle as Quick Breads | 8 Comments

Nothing goes better with a big bowl of chili than cornbread! This was my first attempt at making cornbread from scratch, and the result was incredible. I wouldn’t change a thing from this recipe – it developed a perfect crust and was warm and crumbly inside.

All-Purpose Cornbread
(Source: Cook’s Illustrated, Fall 2007)

1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon table salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup frozen corn kernels, thawed
1 cup buttermilk
2 large eggs
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 400 degrees. Spray 8-inch square baking dish (glass is recommended) with nonstick cooking spray. Whisk flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in medium bowl until combined; set aside.

2. In food processor or blender, process sugar, thawed corn kernels, and buttermilk until combined, about 5 seconds. Add eggs and process until well combined (corn lumps will remain), about 5 seconds longer.

3. Using rubber spatula, make well in center of dry ingredients; pour wet ingredients into well. Begin folding dry ingredients into wet, giving mixture only a few turns to barely combine; add melted butter and continue folding until dry ingredients are just moistened. Pour batter into prepared baking dish; smooth surface with rubber spatula. Bake until deep golden brown and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 25 to 35 minutes. Cool on wire rack 10 minutes; invert cornbread onto wire rack, then turn right side up and continue to cool until warm, about 10 minutes longer. Cut into pieces and serve.