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!!

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!

Christmas Tree: Eggnog Cookies with Chai Latte Glaze

I can’t keep making excuses…but I’ll try! I have been busy with work, my house, my dogs unexpected surgery, Thanksgiving, Hanukkah and Christmas, work, work, and work. I have been in the kitchen, quite a bit actually, I just haven’t been keeping my notes, or taking pictures – I’m sorry!

Thank you to those who sent emails checking in, I hope you tried out the “free” recipes I shared.

In any case, it’s the holidays, both my cameras are charging – and I’m keeping my notebook on the counter.

Today I was working on edible gifts for my neighbors…Spanish peaches poached in Pinot Noir and spices..an easy one for you folks. Then there’s the tricky one, the only tricky part is stacking…you’ll see. I used this set of molds.

 Eggnog Cookies with Chai Glaze – 20 Snowflake Christmas Trees
1 cup unsalted butter, diced
2 cups confectioners sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon spiced rum
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 egg
2 tablespoons water
3 1/2 cups flour (plus more for rolling)
Chai Glaze recipe below

In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter, confectioner sugar and corn syrup until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the bowl with a rubber spatula. On low speed, add the rum, nutmeg, baking powder and salt. Scrape down the bowl again.

Add the egg and water to the butter mixture, and mix to combine. Add the flour and beat at a med-low speed until smooth.

Divide dough in half, shape into a flat rectangle, wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

Prepare baking sheets with parchment paper, and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Roll the dough 1/6-inch thick and cut into snowflake shapes with a cutter. (My method was 2 of each large mold = 4 cookies, 1 of each medium mold = 2 cookies, 2 of the smallest mold = 2 cookies – your stack will have 8 cookies) Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheets. Large snowflakes took 7 minutes of baking time – and med/small cookies took 6 minutes. Bake until lightly browned on the edges. Remove from the oven, let cool a few minutes, transfer to cookie rack to cool completely and frost.

Chai Latte Glaze – plenty for stacks
1 1/8 cups confectioner sugar (extra for dusting)
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons chai latte

Combine confection sugar, honey and chai latte. Mix until smooth. Using an icing spatula, you dab a bit of the glaze on the 2nd to largest cookie, and stack on top of the largest…repeat until you get to the smallest cookie. You should have 8 cookies stacked into a tree.

To decorate, using a fork, dip into chai latte glaze and drizzle over the tree. Top with sprinkles if desired. Dust with powdered sugar.

Serve with coffee, or package up and deliver to friends and neighbors.

Happy Christmas!

Bon Appetit!

Happy Cooking!

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!

Sweet Corn & Peach Pot de Crème

There’s a recipe for my chocolate espresso pot de crème in my cookbook, it’s very decadent, so I decided to try my hand at a “lighter” custard.

My sweet neighbors brought us peaches from Asheville – and I just have to say: I don’t know what I was eating before! I had to eat my peach over the sink, and while at the grocery store, I was totally inspired by the sweet corn…

I use these Weck canning jars as my pots, they are heat resistant, and come with a lid.

Sweet Corn & Peach Pot de Crème – 12 servings
2 ears of sweet corn 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 3/4 cups heavy cream
1 3/4 cups whole milk
1/4 cup sugar
6 egg yolks
2 peaches, peeled and diced

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

Prepare the 2 ears of corn by pulling back their husks (without removing), and pulling out the silk. Cover the corn back up with their husks, and bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, allow to cool. Discard husks, and cut away the kernels.

In a medium saucepan, over medium heat melt the butter – add the corn kernels. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring to coat in butter. Add 3/4 cup of heavy cream, and 3/4 cup of whole milk. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

Using an immersion blender or a blender, carefully blend the corn and milk mixture until fully puréed. Return puréed mixture to clean saucepan, add the remaining 1 cup of heavy cream and 1 cup of whole milk and bring to a simmer. Meanwhile in a large bowl, whisk together sugar and egg yolks until combined, set aside.

Strain cream mixture, discard corn purée, and whisk strained cream into the sugar yolk mixture. Return to saucepan over low heat, occasionally stirring, until thickened (my recommended test: draw a line through the back of a wooden spoon, if the mixture doesn’t run – it’s done!). Remove from heat, and use a fine meshed sieve to strain.

(I decided a third strain wasn’t a bad idea, so as I was dividing the mixture, I actually strained it into each pot). Divide into 12 10-ounce pots, and place in a water bath, where the hot water comes up half way up to the pots. Cover baking tray with aluminum foil – poke a few holes. Bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees F.

Remove the pots from the hot water, and place on a cooling rack. Cool completely. Cover and refrigerate over night.

To serve, dice peaches and top custards. Serve immediately.

Bon appetit! Happy Cooking!