Fluffernutter Banana Pie

I’ve had my eye on a recipe in a popular magazine I subscribe to, and I was disappointed as I began reading the ingredients and instructions – honestly it was convoluted, I imagine readers being discouraged as they started to pull all their ingredients and read through the steps (which weren’t in an order that made sense). So I think I fixed it or at least made it simpler. First step is to soak bananas in a cream mixture overnight – at this point you could also make your crust and the peanut butter mousse, and also refrigerate overnight. Day 2 you can complete the banana custard and toppings.

Use your favorite pie crust recipe and blind bake it – allow to cool completely. You could buy a good quality pie shell, but it’s not going to be deep enough. I also recommend you bake this and allow it to cool completely before you work on your peanut butter layer.

Fluffernuter Banana Pie – 1 9-inch pie

1 – 9inch pie crust, blind baked, completely cooled

For the Banana Custard:

4 yellow bananas, ripe

2 cups whole milk

2 cups heavy cream

1 cup Bird’s Custard Powder

3/4 cups sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Day 1: Combine heavy cream, milk and 2 sliced bananas, and place in the fridge overnight.

Day 2: Confirm you have your crust and peanut butter mouse done, assembled, and chilling in the fridge before working on this layer. Strain the banana milk, and discard the bananas. In a medium saucepan, whisk together custard powder and sugar – place over low heat, whisk in the banana milk and vanilla, and cook until it thickens. Remove from heat, and allow to cool for about 5 min.

Assemble this layer of the pie before making the meringue, spread about 1/2 cup of the custard over the peanut butter mousse. Slice the remaining 2 bananas into 1/4-inch slices, arrange over the custard in 1 layer, spread the rest of the custard in an even layer. Cover and refrigerate. Scroll down to make the meringue and candied bacon so you can assemble.

For the Peanut Butter Mousse: (you will need the prepared crust)

4 oz cream cheese, room temperature

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 cup crunch peanut butter

1/2 cup heavy cream

In the bowl of a mixer, beat the cream cheese until smooth. Add in the confectioners’ sugar, salt, and peanut butter until combined. In another bowl of a mixer, whip the cream on medium-high speed until it holds stiff peaks, about 3 minutes. Fold the whipped cream into the peanut butter mixture. Spread the mixture evenly over the bottom of the cooled crust. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Day 2, return to the banana custard instructions and put together the pie.

Maple Candied Bacon

4 slices thick-cut bacon

1 tablespoon good quality maple syrup

Line your baking sheet with parchment paper. Arrange bacon slices side by side, drizzle with maple syrup. Place in the oven, set temperature to 400 F. Once the oven reaches the set temperature, set timer for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven once golden and crispy, transfer to a plate with paper towels to drain. Once cool chop up and set aside.

Swiss Meringue

4 egg whites – room temperature

1 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Pinch of cream of tartar (optional)

Setup a bain-marie, once water is simmering, in a heatproof bowl of a mixer, combine egg whites and sugar, whisking until the sugar is dissolved, about 4 minutes. You can test whether the sugar is dissolved by feeling between your fingers.

Transfer the bowl to the electric mixer, fitted with the whisk attachment. Start on low speed, add vanilla and increase speed to the appropriate setting for meringue (on my breville bakery, that’s the highest setting). If you don’t see your meringue stiffening you could add a pinch of cream of tartar. It usually takes 10 minutes until you have stiff glossy peaks.

Final assembly for the pie:

Spread of pipe the meringue over the pie, garnish with chopped bacon. Serve to your nearest and dearest.

Bon Appétit!! Happy Cooking!!

Lasagne Sandwich

You read that right. It sounds absurd, and it is – you literally take your lasagne leftovers, and sandwich it between focaccia or ciabatta. My sister recently made a tomato-meat based lasagne and I explained to her how we had some butternut squash lasagne leftover a little while ago…and decided to make a lasagne “grilled cheese” – she followed my instructions and sent photos, which I’m sharing in this post.

Lasagne Sandwich – 1 sandwich 2 servings

Leftover Lasagne slice cut to the size of bread

2 slices of focaccia or ciabatta

1 clove garlic

1 tablespoon mayonnaise (I only use Duke’s)

Warm your leftover lasagne through. Gently rub the cut side of the garlic clove on the exterior of the bread slices/ Sandwich between 2 slices of bread. Spread the tablespoon of mayonnaise on the exterior sides of the bread.

In a sauté pan over medium low heat, place the sandwich in the center. Cook until bread is golden, about 2 minutes per side.

Bon Appétit!! Happy Cooking!!

Ham, Melted Leek and Potato Pie

I don’t like leftovers – I know, it’s terrible, however hear me out: growing up my mom would literally cook for 20+, always worried that an extended family member, friend or neighbor might pop in, so instead of cooking for our family of 7, it was 20+, and if we didn’t have those pop-ins, we’d be eating whatever it was for DAYS. Now I also don’t like waste, so I try to get creative, and when John wants ham, sure frittatas and omelets work – but for how long? The smallest ham you can buy is about 4lbs, and we’re 2 people. Day 2, here comes in the pie. The ham used in this recipe was cooked the night before with a mixture of riesling, whole grain Dijon, thyme, butter and shallots.

Instructions below are for making 1 large pie, however when I made this for John and I, I actually divided the mixture and puff pastry into a few smaller baking dishes I have – I wrapped and froze 1 pie prior to putting on the egg wash (I will defrost it in the fridge overnight before putting on the egg wash and baking it), the second I delivered to a friend ready for her to bake, and the third we ate with a lovely salad, and a glass of wine by the fire.

Ham, Melted Leek and Potato Pie – 6 servings

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion, diced

3 leeks, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced

1 lb potatoes (yellow or white), peeled and cubed

2 tablespoons all purpose flour

2 cups low sodium chicken stock

5 oz crème fraîche

2 tablespoons whole grain Dijon mustard

2 cups diced cooked ham

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 sheet frozen puff pastry (such as Pepperidge Farm), defrosted per package instructions

1 egg, beaten

Fresh thyme for garnish, if desired

Heat the butter in a large sauté pan and cook the onions and leeks over low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, until tender, but not browned. Add the potatoes, and 1/4 cup of broth, cover and allow to cook until potatoes are softened, about 5-8 minutes. Increase to medium heat, stir in the flour and mix to combine, then add the remaining stock – stirring until thickened and reduced. Remove from heat.

Whisk crème fraîche and Dijon together, and stir into potato mixture along with the diced ham, mix to combine. Season to taste with salt and black pepper. Allow the mixture to cool to room temperature.

Once the mixture has cooled, spoon in to a 9×13 baking dish or deep pie dish, and place on a baking sheet. Preheat the oven to 400 F. 

Lay one sheet of puff pastry on a floured surface and lightly roll into slightly larger than the surface of your baking dish. Wet the edge of the baking dish with egg yolk, and top with the puff pastry sheet. You can trim the edges, if you like, and decorate the pastry however you want – just be sure to make a few slits so the steam can escape. Brush the top and edges with the egg yolk. Season the puff pastry with black pepper and fresh thyme. You can cover your pie with cling wrap, and refrigerate until ready to bake (up to 1 day), or bake now for 30 minutes, or until the pastry is risen and golden brown.

Allow the pie to rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Bon Appétit!! Happy Cooking!!

Smoked Salmon Tater Tot Waffles

I know, it sounds a little crazy – but it’s a great way to put that waffle iron to use – which honestly has been collecting dust for who knows how long…(not judging). You can serve each waffle topped with salmon as a breakfast item, or like I did at my last Christmas party (2020), you can make the tot waffles, cut them into quarters, top accordingly and serve as canapés.

Don’t let smoked salmon be the end of your tater tot waffle options either. You could put together a lovely eggs Benedict, or top them with last nights pot roast and gravy, or wait for it: get crazy and make a tot waffle bar.

Now don’t get me wrong, I love a good shmear and lox – but here I like to go light and fresh. I make a lemon mint vinaigrette and serve on the side so you can top accordingly to your preference. Nothing says you can’t skip that, and whip up some sour cream and chives, have red onion and capers on the ready as a topper as well – the possibilities are endless.

Smoked Salmon Tater Tot Waffles – 4 waffles

1 bag Tater Tots, in the refrigerator overnight

0.5 lbs of your favorite fresh smoked salmon

1/2 cup mint

1 lemon, zested and juiced

1 clove of garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/4 cup olive oil

Arrange tater tots in an even layer across the waffle iron. Press down on the lid to close and lock. Heat waffle iron to the highest setting. Cook per waffle setting for dark waffles, it takes 8-12 minutes to get an extra-crispy waffle. Depending on the size of your waffle iron, you may need to keep them warm while you continue to prepare additional waffles: as waffles are cooked to desired texture, place on a baking sheet, and keep warm in the oven. Continue making waffles.

While waffles are cooking, prepare the vinaigrette. Whisk together lemon zest, juice, minced garlic, red pepper flakes and olive oil.

Once the waffles are cooked to your preferred crispiness, serve whole or cut into quarters. To serve, top each waffle with a generous serving of smoked salmon, and vinaigrette on the side if preferred.

Happy Cooking! Bon appétit! 

Nutella Gelato

With the holidays around the corner, nutella gelato is definitely a favorite in our house. We will sometimes serve it for dessert: affogato. Affogato is an Italian dessert, where you combine a scoop of gelato with a shot of espresso.

I can eat nutella every day – it’s a lovely blend of hazelnuts and chocolate that just makes you smile.

You do need an ice cream machine for this recipe.

Nutella Gelato – 4 cups
2 cups whole milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sugar, plus 1/4 cup
4 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup Nutella

In a medium-sized saucepan combine the milk, cream, and 1/2 cup sugar over medium heat. Cook until the sugar dissolves, about 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium bowl whip the egg yolks with the remaining 1/4 cup of sugar using an electric mixer until the eggs have become thick and pale yellow, about 4 minutes. While whisking constantly pour 1/2 of the warm cream mixture into the egg mixture. Add this mixture back into the saucepan. Cook over very low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture becomes thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon, about 7 to 10 minutes.

Place a strainer over a medium bowl and pour the warm custard mixture through the strainer. Stir in the vanilla and nutella until it dissolves. Chill the mixture completely before pouring into an ice cream maker and follow manufacturer’s instructions to freeze.

Lebanese Style Pizza

For John’s 40th birthday, I got him a pizza oven. My gosh, we have been loving it – our waists not so much, but it allows for impromptu pizza parties…acts as another oven for roasting chicken and Thanksgiving sides. We are loving it. Instructions in the recipe are included for baking indoors our in the pizza oven.

Below is a pizza we put together at the end of summer, it has za’atar, olives, tomatoes, cucumbers, and a salami (with Mediterranean spices) we got from a local shop called Panino.

We’re still testing different pizza dough recipes, this one, was the one we tried out for the pizza below. I delivered a nice crunchy crust.

Lebanese Style Pizza – 4 pizzas
1 recipe of pizza dough
Flour
3 tablespoons Za’atar
1 teaspoon lemon zest
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup feta
4 campari tomatoes, sliced
1 cucumber, sliced
1/4 cup kalamatas, slices
6 oz salami, sliced (about 6 slices per pizza)

Bring pizza dough to room temperature.

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees F (if you are using a pizza stone, put it in now) – for the pizza oven, get it around 700 degrees F.

Combine Za’atar, lemon zest, minced garlic, and olive oil.

On a lightly floured surface, prepare your dough by rolling out to around 8 inches. Distribute Za’atar mixture among the 4 pizzas, and spread leaving a 1/2 inch border. Place on a pizza directly on pizza stone, or on a baking sheet and place in the oven. Bake 9 minutes. If you have a prepared wood fired oven, this will only take about 75-90 seconds to bake, turn twice. Remove from oven, and immediately sprinkle each pizza with some feta. Then top each pizza with 6 slices of salami, olives, tomato, and cucumber. Serve!

Happy Cooking!
Bon Appetit!

Banana Espresso Upside-Down Cake

Sometimes you don’t want to make banana bread…and sometimes you only have 2 ripe bananas, and the rest are, well, firm.

I highly recommend serving these about 20 minutes after baking, they will still be hot, and it give the caramel enough time to soak into the cake.

You can bake these in muffin tins, make sure to grease the tin well, then just divide the caramel evenly and slice bananas for each muffin well.

Banana Espresso Upside-Down Cake – Make 2 loaves
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed, at room temperature
2 large eggs
2 medium ripe bananas, peeled and mashed; about 1 cup
3/4 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 tablespoon instant espresso powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 recipe “Caramel” topping (recipe and ingredients below)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Prepare 2 baking loaf pans by greasing and set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle, beat the sugars and butter at medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs one at a time until combined, then the mashed bananas, sour cream, and vanilla, scraping down the bowl as needed.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, espresso powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the banana mixture by the spoonful, mixing until thoroughly combined. Set aside and make “caramel”.

To make the “caramel” topping:
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 firm bananas, peeled

Melt the butter in a saute pan. Stir in the brown sugar and salt and cook over medium heat, stirring until evenly combined, and most of the sugar is melted, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat. Divide mixture among loaf pans.

Cut the bananas in half crosswise. Arrange the slices, cut side down, on top of the caramel.

Divide batter among both loaf pans – pour evenly over the bananas, use an offset spatula to smooth over the batter.

Place the loaf pan (baking 1 at a time) on a rimmed baking sheet and bake until lightly browned and a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool for 20 minutes.
Invert onto serving platter.

Serve immediately or refrigerate up to 5 days. Warm before serving.

Happy Cooking

Bon Appetit!

Giant Toasted Pecan Bourbon Chocolate Chunk Cookies

I prefer putting together a bag of goodies to give to friends, versus buying something I’m not entirely sure they will like.

My friend Callie is a bourbon lover. So while I put together a tin of bourbon balls, I thought some cookies would never hurt.

Tip: I used the cookie scoop linked to below, 2 scoops dough per cookie made 24 evenly sized cookies.

Toasted Pecan Bourbon Chocolate Chunk Cookies – 24 giant cookies
1 1/2 cups pecan, finely chopped
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour (unpacked)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons bourbon
2 large eggs (room temperature)
10 ounces semi-sweet or dark chocolate chunks
24 pecan halves for decoration

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Roast finely chopped pecans for 6 minutes, remove from oven and allow time to cool. Prepare two large baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.

In a large bowl combine flour, salt, cinnamon, and baking soda mix to combine and set aside.

In the bowl of a mixer, fitted with a paddle, combine butter and sugars and beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add in vanilla and bourbon and beat until combined.

Add in the eggs, one at a time, until well combined. Add half the flour and half the sour cream mixture, stirring only until the flour begins to look incorporated, add remaining flour and sour cream, chocolate chunks and chopped pecans. Mix until combined.

Using a medium cookie scoop, drop 2 scoops per cookie on the baking sheet. Press a pecan on top of each cookie dough mound. (I fit 8 cookies onto a sheet, keep space, the cookies will spread).

Bake 10 minutes, or until the cookies are golden at the edges, they will still be soft in the middle. Allow to cool for 2 minutes, then move to a cookie rack to continue cooling.

Repeat baking with remaining cookie dough.

Happy Cooking!

Bon Appetit!

Roquefort Spread

Hello Summer!

I’m sorry I’ve been MIA for a while, our house isn’t quite done, and I’ve always got at least 1 contractor buzzing around. And somehow we skipped Spring and went straight into Summer, so I wanted to share a fun app we put together for a night on the patio with a bottle of chilled white wine.

Roquefort Spread – 24 crostinis
Olive oil
2 onions, minced
Freshly ground white pepper
1/2 cup walnuts
8 oz Roquefort, crumbled
6 oz crème fraîche
Baguette, sliced

 

Crostinis + Walnuts:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Place sliced baguette rounds on a baking sheet, brush with olive oil, season with freshly ground white pepper. Bake 8 minutes or until golden brown, remove from oven and set aside while working on the walnuts. Spread walnuts on a separate baking sheet, bake 5 minutes, stir, and bake another 5 minutes, remove from oven and set aside to cool. Continue with remaining recipe.

Roquefort Spread:
Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat, add onion, cook, covered and stirring occasionally, until onion is soft and transparent, about 15 minutes. Uncover and stir occasionally until caramelized, about 25 minutes. Season with freshly ground white pepper, transfer onion to a bowl and cool.

Coarsely chop cooled toasted walnuts.

Combine Roquefort, crème fraîche, caramelized onion and chopped walnuts. Mix to combine and season to taste with freshly ground white pepper

Serve with a cheese knife and crostini. (It’s also excellent on celery hearts!)

Happy Cooking! Bon Appetit!

Ratatouille Vol-Au-Vents

I wanted to serve ratatouille in an hors d’oeuvres type fashion, and I think I have it down however I believe the next step is going to be to slice the zucchini and squash thinner, and fan them out once roasted – according to John though, I definitely have the concept and flavor down. We will be serving the vol-au-vents at our annual Christmas party.

Be sure to purchase similarly sized squash and zucchini.

Ratatouille Vol-Au-Vents – 20 servings
1 zucchini, thinly sliced rounds
1 summer squash, thinly slice rounds
2 sprigs fresh thyme
1 onion, diced
2 tomatoes
1 clove garlic, minced
Olive oil
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Red pepper flakes, to taste
1 sheet Puff Pastry, chilled
1 egg, lightly whisked
1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Prepare a baking sheet with parchment. Roll out the puff pastry on a floured surface to 1/4 inch thick. Cut 20 rounds (or more) using a 2 1/4 inch-diameter fluted pastry cutter, then using a 2 inch-diameter press two-thirds of the way through each round, leaving 1/4 inch edge (the picture to the side is an example). Place on prepared baking sheet, and refrigerate for 1 hour. Prepare vegetables.

In a large bowl combine zucchini, summer squash, thyme leaves, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper, and 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Mix to coat. Prepare an 8×8 baking pan, alternating between zucchini and squash overlap the slices until pan is full. Bake for 30 minutes, or until vegetables have softened and slightly browned. Meanwhile prepare a very quick soffrito.

Over medium heat, warm 1 tablespoon olive oil in a saute pan. Add onions, and lower heat to soften. Meanwhile blanch 2 tomatoes, peel skin and discard, chop tomatoes. Once the onions have softened, add tomatoes, and cook down for about 30 minutes, until there is no longer any juice in the pan and tomatoes have broken down. Add garlic, and red pepper flakes to taste, combine and remove from heat.

Once vegetables and soffrito have cooled, turn oven temperate to 425 degrees.

Top center of the puff pastry rounds (stay within the 2 inch ring) with cooled 1/2 teasppon soffrito, lay a slice of zucchini and squash on top of soffrito. Sprinkle with Parmesan, and repeat on the other rounds. Brush exposed pastry with eggwash, and bake for 12 minutes until golden.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

TIP: You can prepare every step, and prior to brushing the pastry with eggwash, place the baking sheet in the freezer, freeze overnight, then stack and store in an airtight container in the freezer. To defrost, place in the refrigerator overnight, and continue with the steps by brushing with eggwash, etc.

Happy Cooking! Bon Appetit!