Smothered Banana Bread and a Farewell to Summer.

The charade is up! I tried, but this just can't be breakfast : )

A decadent dessert? Yes!

It is grilled chocolate chip banana bread, topped with carmelized bananas and brandy, whipped cream, pecans, and a brown sugar and butter caramel sauce.

Whoa.

To start, I tried a bread recipe from Emeril Legasse that I found on Food Network's website.

The recipe called for cake flour instead of all purpose, giving it a very fine, cake-like texture.

I added chocolate chips for good measure : ) It was delicious, but for this dish I think I would have preferred a denser banana bread.

I got the bananas ready...

And then browned them in butterrrrrr...mmmmmm...

lastly I swirled a little brandy in the pan.

I also put the banana bread on the skillet.

Meanwhile...

The kids were working with dad on their new projects that he bought for them... super cute.

Now it's time to assemble... warm banana bread fresh off the skillet... check.

Carmelized bananas... check...

Sweet gooey vanilla caramel sauce... check.

Whipped cream and pecans... check.

Whewf!

Now it's time to dig in!

Well, look what the tide brought in  : )

A family trip to Myrtle Beach...

And days on the lake.

But I'm sorry to say, summer won't be too missed.

Most days we are forced to get creative as we are held captive in the house by scorching temperatures of 110 degrees or more.

We call him, "Chief Squishy Squishy"... and he rules with a rubber basting brush.

Just one more, I can't resist!

Ahh life.

There are crazy moments and peaceful moments and I'm thankful for them all.

I hope you had a wonderful summer!

Banana Bread- Emeril Lagasse (from the Food Network website)

10 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon butter

1 cup mashed ripe bananas (about 2 large bananas)
1/2 cup sour cream
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups cake flour
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup toasted, chopped walnuts
(I also added chocolate chips to taste.)

Directions-
-Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
-Lightly grease a 9 1/4 by 5 1/4 by 2 1/2-inch loaf pan with 1 teaspoon of the butter.
-Puree the bananas, sour cream, eggs and vanilla in a food processor.
-Sift the cake flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer fixed with a whisk attachment. Add the remaining 10 tablespoons butter and mix on medium-low speed until blended, about 30 seconds. Add the banana mixture in 3 batches, scraping the sides of the bowl and mixing on medium speed between each addition. Fold in the nuts.
-Pour into the loaf pan. Bake until lightly browned and bread bounces back to the touch, about 1 hour 10 minutes.
-Remove from the oven and cool for 10 minutes before turning out onto wire rack to cool completely.


Caramel Sauce-
1/2 cup butter
1 cup brown sugar
2 T. water
1 tsp. vanilla

Slowly bring to a boil and reduce to desired thickness. Remove from heat and add vanilla.

Candy Bar Cupcakes!

It's a sea of cupcakes!

I used mini cupcakes and "fun size" candy bars.

So fun.

Before baking I partially filled each cup, and put half of the candy bar inside. Topped 'em off with some more batter and stuck them in the oven.

Slice them open and you have a sweet surprise!

Choose your favorite candy bars...

And voila!

Perfect for sharing with friends : )

French Toast Brulee!

Mmmmmmmm.

 I was experimenting a little with our french toast and now I have a favorite way to make it!

I start with a loaf of artisan bread which I dip in an egg, whole milk, cinnamon and sugar mixture. I then brown it on the skillet, as usual.

Next, I coat each piece in cinnamon and sugar again, and put them back on the skillet.

It makes a wonderful cinnamony, sugary crust on the french toast.

I like to keep it warming in the oven until we're ready to eat.

Lastly, I top it with fresh cinnamon whipped cream.

Looks more like whipped cream with a side of french toast. ; )

The best part is there are no special ingredients, so you can make it on a whim.

Enjoy!

Fresh Bread and Some Arizona.

Oh Bread!

Some say, "Man can't live on bread alone"... but this wo-man can! 

Warm bread, fresh out of the oven... I could eat it all day long...

And with butter... even better!

We stumbled upon this bakery on our way to pick up my husband's new bike...

he got a motorcycle, and I got two loaves of bread. Everybody was pretty happy in the end.

Safety first! 

Since our errand sent us to the boonies we decided to hang out there for a little while. It was a stormy day at the lake, my favorite.

As we pulled up my family just happened to be finishing up a day of skiing! It was meant to be. So we all had lunch at the little marina restaurant.

It turned out to be a great day.

'Til next week.  : )

Luscious Lemon Cake!

This fabulous cake is a family favorite that my mom has been making for years. It just melts in your mouth.

It's easy too! The cake is made with yellow cake mix and a packet of lemon jello. After baking it is soaked with a mixture of powdered sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest, and rum.

So simple and so delicious.

So long for now!

Lemon Cake- Source unknown.

1 pkg. Yellow Cake Mix

4 eggs

1 pkg. (small) lemon jello

3/4 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cup water

(1 T. lemon extract) optional

Mix all. Beat about 2-3 minutes. Put in a buttered bundt pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes. (40 for me.)

Glaze-

juice of 2 or 3 lemons

1 cup powdered sugar

rind of lemons

1/4 cup rum (orange rum works very well)

Drizzle while cake is still warm, first before inverted, then when taken out of the pan on top so that it soaks in well.

Mamma Mia!

Itza pizza fresh out of the oven!

Everybody helped toss the pies, it was gettin' crazy. I dropped mine in the sauce bowl... so I kneaded it some more and we had tomato pizza dough ; )

We had so much fun!

This one turned out round, and I have no idea how.

He's a pro.

We had a lot of toppings... mozzarella, goat cheese, kalamata olives, spinach, artichoke hearts, basil, tomatoes, chicken and pancetta.

This recipe is from Saveur magazine and it's a keeper. The hotter you can get your oven the better. The article instructed to put your pizza stone in the oven at 500 degrees for a full hour before putting the pizzas in. Also brush the crust with olive oil and sprinkle with salt before baking.

Magnifico!

For dessert we had chocolate chip cookies from Phoebe's french grandmother's recipe...neh-slay         

 toll-how-ze... otherwise known at Nestle Tollhouse.

Does anyone remember the episode of "Friends" when Monica spends days trying to figure out Phoebe's grandmother's chocolate chip cookie recipe? She discovers it was Nestle Tollhouse all along. So funny.

Below is the recipe for the squash blossom pizza on the cover, as well as a great pizza sauce.

Buon Appetito!

From Saveur, March 2010

This recipe, inspired by Pizzeria Mozza, yields a crisp, chewy crust.

For the dough:

9 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, plus
more for drizzling
1 tbsp. active dry yeast
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. kosher salt, plus more
to taste
6 cups flour

(For the squash blossom toppings:)
2 cups pizza sauce
60 squash blossoms, stemmed
1 lb. burrata

MAKE THE DOUGH:
 In a bowl, combine 1 tbsp. oil, yeast, sugar, salt, and 2 cups 115˚ water; let sit until foamy, 10–12 minutes. Stir in flour to make a dough. Transfer dough to a floured surface; knead until smooth, 8–10 minutes. Quarter dough; roll each portion into a ball. Put balls on a floured baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap; let sit in a warm place until soft and tripled in size, 2–3 hours.

Preheat oven and pizza stone for one hour before baking at 500 degrees (broil).

MAKE THE SAUCE:
For many of their pizzas, the cooks at Pizzeria Mozza use an uncooked sauce of puréed canned tomatoes. It has a brighter tomato flavor and a more vivid color than the sweet, thick, long-simmered sauces commonly found on American pizzas. To make the sauce, put one 28-oz. can of whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes into the bowl of a food processor, along with 1 tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil, 1 tsp. dried basil, 2 minced cloves garlic, and half a grated medium onion. Purée and season with salt and pepper.

SHAPE THE DOUGH:
Dust a 16 1⁄4" x 12 1⁄4" sheet of parchment paper with flour and lightly flour your hands. Place a ball of dough (see Squash Blossom Pizza) in the center and use your fingertips to press, pat, and stretch the dough into a 10" circle, leaving a 1" rim of thicker dough. Once you become more comfortable with the dough, try this technique: make two fists and rest the flattened dough on your knuckles; lightly bounce the dough on your fists, allowing the weight of the dough to stretch it gently. If you like, make an extra batch of dough to use just for practice, until you've found a technique that works for you.


LET THE DOUGH REST:
To make a fluffier, chewier crust, leave the shaped dough on the parchment paper, covered with a tea towel, and let it rise for 15 minutes.

TOP AND COOK:

Uncover the dough and top with the sauce and other desired ingredients. When you're ready to bake, just leave the pizza on the parchment paper, lift it by gripping the paper at opposite corners, and lay it carefully atop the preheated pizza stone; this eliminates the need for a pizza peel, the paddle-like tool used for getting pies in and out of hot ovens at restaurants. The paper will turn dark but will not burn in a 500º oven and is thin enough not to interfere with the browning of the crust. When the pizza is done, use a metal spatula to slide the pizza onto a plate or a cutting board.

Squash Blossom Variation: Prepare the dough and follow the recipe below.

 Place a pizza stone on a rack in lower third of oven. Heat oven to 500˚ for 1 hour. Transfer 1 dough ball to a floured 16 1⁄2" x 12 1⁄4" piece parchment paper. Working from center, gently flatten dough with fingertips, leaving edges thicker than middle. Stretch dough to a 10" diameter. Cover dough with a tea towel; let rest for 15 minutes. Brush edges with 2 tbsp. oil. Season dough with salt. Spread 1⁄2 cup pizza sauce over dough, leaving a 1" border. (Arrange 15 squash blossoms over sauce in concentric circles. Transfer pizza (on paper) to stone; bake until golden brown, 10–14 minutes. Remove pizza with a spatula. Top with spoonfuls of burrata; drizzle with olive oil.) Repeat to make 4 pizzas.