Serious EatsCelia, June 2, 2011 - So, it turns out the bar exam is kind of hard. My posts will probably be pretty sporadic these next couple of months: apologies in advance. I’m happy, however, to have fit a banana-berry bread in yesterday.
It was pretty much impossible not to make a banana bread: we had this bunch of bananas hanging around, in a state that practically screamed “Make bread from me!”
And then I found a banana-blueberry bread in The Dallas Junior League Cookbook. And then blueberries were on sale. Everything was coming into place…
I decided, though, to throw myself a curveball and play around a little with this recipe. It already replaced some flour with oats, so I started thinking in the direction of “health.” I learned some substitution tricks from a law school friend who bakes with whole grains all the time, and runs marathons nearly as frequently. He’d probably be disappointed I used white flour in this recipe (I was too lazy to go out and buy a new bag of whole wheat), but tales of his experiments inspired me to use honey in place of sugar (and reduce the amount of sweetener), and to thicken the batter with Greek yogurt instead of oil. I also used more berries than the original recipe called for. I just couldn’t resist…sorry this picture doesn’t do ‘em justice. Darn artificial light.
Getting back to business…I have a cookie recipe for you: I couldn’t do the second half of my royal wedding party a la Mrs. Beeton without some of the rich cakes she declares a “must” at any ladies’ breakfast. I was flipping through the tea cakes section when I came across a recipe for “Princess Cakes.” Pitch perfect!
Also perfect: the flavors in these light chocolate-dipped orange cream sandwiches. The cookies are kind of soft and cakey, with a texture about halfway between a black and white cookie and a butter cookie. They’re easily consumed in two bites: I loved eating the chocolate end first, then the plain end where the fresh orange flavor (perhaps I should say flavour given the occasion) was more forward. This orange flavor comes not only from the buttercream that fills these sandwiches, but from orange zest grated into the cookie dough.
SippitySup
Jay Johnson - I had a Skype interview this week with Greg Henry, the king of Food is Fun and proponent of being yourself and enjoying the skin you're in - particularly when you're in the kitchen. Greg's recipe blog is filled with his expert photography (being a former celebrity photographer doesn't hurt, and now his food subjects are much more cooperative), videos, and stories about his travels and adventures. SippitySup is the site, and you'll see features on wine (penned by Greg's brother, a CIA-trained chef - that's the "Sippity" part) and food (Greg grew up around well-prepared food, and he gives us creative, healthy twists on classic dishes - he's the "Sup" part). Our mouth waters when he prepares great dishes, like the Braised Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta and Balsamic in the following video.