Monthly Archives: December 2017

Moist & Delicious Banana Bread

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Everybody family has a favourite banana bread, but you may want to give this one a try!  So moist and delicious, and to seal the deal, it is super easy and quick.  If you are in a hurry, just make the recipe into muffins and they will be ready in 20 minutes.

 

  1. 1/2 cup butter, room temperature
  2. 1/2 cup white sugar
  3. 1/2 cup brown sugar
  4. 2 eggs,  lightly beaten
  5. 1 tsp vanilla
  6. 3 bananas, mashed (4 if they are small)
  7. 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
  8. 1 tsp baking soda  
  9. 1/2 tsp salt
  10. 1/2 tsp cinnamon

 

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 350º.
  2. Cream together butter and sugar.
  3. Add eggs, vanilla and crushed bananas.
  4. Combine well.
  5. Sift together flour, cinnamon, soda and salt. Add to creamed mixture.
  6. Mix just until combined. Do not overmix.
  7. Pour into greased and floured loaf pan.
  8. Sprinkle raw sugar mixed with cinnamon over top.
  9. Bake at 350 degrees for 55 minutes.

Variations:  (add at the end)

chopped walnuts, or chocolate chips, or (even better) a few chocolate chips and a few Skor bits

Fresh Cranberry Lemon Drop Cookies

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These buttery little morsels are a great combination of shortbread richness with the tart hint of cranberry and lemon.  When I had the first one I thought …. Hmmmm, okay, they are good but maybe not my favourite cookie  –  however, next thing I knew I was reaching for a second cookie and now I just can’t stop.

Cranberry Lemon cookies 1

INGREDIENTS

  • 2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 3/4 cup white sugar
  • 2 Tbsp lemon zest
  • 1 cup unsalted butter at room temperature
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 cup fresh cranberries, diced finely

LEMON GLAZE

  • 1/3 cup powdered icing sugar
  • 1 Tbsp lemon juice

In a medium size bowl combine the flour, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.

In a large bowl rub the lemon zest into the sugar until moist and fragrant.  Add the butter to the lemon sugar and beat until light and fluffy, go for at least 3-5 minutes.  Add the egg and vanilla, mixing until smooth and creamy.

Add the flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated.  Fold in the cranberries by hand.

Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Gently form the dough into small balls and bake for 13-15 minutes on parchment lined cookie sheets.  They spread out a little but not too much so you can put quite a few on each cookie sheet.

Cranberry Lemon 2

Diced fresh cranberries give these little lemon balls a pretty pop of colour.

Let cookies cool slightly before moving them to a rack to cool completely.

To make the glaze, mix the powdered sugar and lemon juice together and drizzle over completely cooled cookies.  I used a pastry brush for this step to allow the whole top to get a shiny finish.  Watch your glaze mixture carefully, you just want it loose enough to brush or drizzle with either clumping or just running off the cookie.

Pretzel Bark

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You might want to call this pretzel crack, because it is totally addictive!!  We make it for a Christmas treat to share with family and friends, but I’d advise you to make enough to keep for yourself too …

Pretzel bark

INGREDIENTS:

  • About 8 ounces (half of a 1-pound bag) mini pretzels, broken into smaller pieces, more or less to cover the pan
  • 1 cup (2 sticks) butter
  • 1 cup packed light brown sugar
  • 2 cups (one 12-ounce bag) semisweet chocolate chips
  • Sea salt
  1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Line an 11X17-inch rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Cover the bottom of the pan in a layer of broken mini pretzels. Set aside.
  2. In a small or medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the butter and brown sugar. When the mixture starts to gently simmer and bubble, let it cook for 3 minutes without stirring. Immediately pour the hot caramel mixture over the pretzels in a back and forth motion to cover most of the pretzels (a few empty/dry spots are ok as the caramel will fuse together during baking).
  3. Bake for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and place the pan on a cooling rack. Immediately sprinkle chocolate chips evenly over the top of the hot caramel and pretzels. Let the chocolate chips sit for 2-3 minutes until they melt. Use an offset spatula or rubber spatula to gently spread the melted chocolate over the toffee. Lightly sprinkle with sea salt.
  4. Let the toffee cool completely at room temperature then refrigerate if needed to help the chocolate set up. Break the toffee into pieces and try not to eat the whole batch.

(I found this recipe on Mel’s Kitchen Cafe)

Orange Gingerbread Cookies

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The first time I tasted these orange ginger cookies, I knew we needed the recipe!  Thanks Courtney for supplying that courtesy of Nana Patti Collins ….. just wait until you try these.

Orange Ginger 1

Preheat oven to 365 F.

  • 1 cup soft butter
  • 1 1/2 cups sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 4 tsp orange peel
  • 2 tbsp corn syrup
  • 3 cups all purpose flour
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ginger
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp cloves

Cream butter & sugar until light and fluffy, add egg, orange peel & corn syrup.

Sift dry ingredients together and add gradually to creamed mixture.

Orange Ginger 2

Wrap and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Orange Ginger 3

Roll between sheets of parchment paper (to 1/4″ thickness”) and cut.  (or form into a log and chill to slice and bake) These cookies do spread out quite a bit so leave lots of room between each one.

Bake at 365 for 9 minutes.

Beer Batter Fish & Chips

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It took me long enough to perfect my batter recipe.   Finally discovered the secret (well, for me anyway) and it was to add some rice flour to the batter.  This created a lighter batter that was bursting with flavour, and had a very satisfying crunch when you bite into it.  This may be a treat that we only indulge in once in a long while, but when we do we want it to be totally satisfying.

Another hint …… make sure you fry your potatoes twice to get a nice crunch on them.  Once you have slivered them, fry initially at 325 degrees, just until soft – barely cooked through.  Remove from the fry oil and allow to cool, on a drain rack.

Fries

Something so satisfying about home fries, fresh out of the deep fry and crispy.  Make sure to season with salt & pepper as soon as they are tumbled onto the draining paper.

My trick is to do the first fry, and while the fish is frying they cool down – then the oil will already be at your higher temperature and they can pop into the fryer for the final few minutes, which makes them golden brown and crunchy.  Keep your fish warm in a 225 F oven while the second fry takes place.

Ketchup is the usual French fry dip I think, but not for me – I like an aioli, super easy and tastes way better!

lemon basil aioli

Only takes a few ingredients, and a few minutes to make, and this Lemon Basil Aioli is an amazing dip for fries, raw vegetables, or pretty much anything you have a mind to dip into it.

LEMON BASIL AIOLI

  • 1/4 cup plain yogurt
  • 1/4 cup good mayonnaise
  • 1 tsp lemon zest
  • 1/2 tsp minced garlic
  • 1 tsp basil (minced)
  • 1/4 tsp each salt and pepper
  • squeeze of lemon juice

Give it all a good mix up and you’re done.  Keeps in the fridge really well too.

 

BEER BATTER

INGREDIENTS

Serves 4

Beer battered cod fillets:

  • 4  thick cod fillets
  • 1 cup all purpose white flour
  • 3/4 cup rice flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 cup soda water
  • 3/4 cup lager (or your favourite beer)
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp sugar
  1. In a large bowl, mix both flours, baking powder, salt and sugar.
  2. Add soda water & beer. (if not a fan of beer (?) just use all soda water)
  3. Mix together only until the batter binds together and is smooth. Be careful not to over-mix. (you may need to add a bit more liquid)
  4. Cover your fish with salt & pepper, as well as a dusting of plain flour, then drop into the batter and coat completely.
  5. Pre-heat vegetable oil in deep fryer to 350 F.
  6. Once fish is coated with batter, gently place into the deep fryer and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until golden and crispy.
  7. Remove from fat and drain.

TARTAR SAUCE

  • 1/2 cup good mayonnaise
  • 2 tablespoons small-diced pickles or cornichons
  • 1 tablespoon Champagne or white wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon capers
  • 1 teaspoon coarse-grained mustard
  • Pinch kosher salt & freshly ground pepper

Tartar Sauce

Combine all ingredients in small food processor and whir it all up.  Done.  Of course, if you don’t have a food processor, just chop up the pickles and stir it all together.  Either way, it’s delicious.  I got this from Ina Garten’s recipe collection, so of course it is good!

Tartar Sauce 1

Just looking at it makes you want to dip some freshly fried fish in, right?