Banana Nut Bread

This is a banana nut bread recipe from our friend Danielle.  It's really good. 

.75 c   butter
1.5 c  sugar
2-3ripe bananas
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 c sifted flour
1 tsp baking soda
3/8 tsp salt
1/2 c buttermilk
3/4 c walnuts

Cream butter and sugar together.
Then mix the rest of the ingredients.
Divide into 2 9x5x5 pan or muffins (just adjust the time).
Bake for 1 hour at 325 degrees.

No-Knead Quick Bread

 I like this bread and am making it for dinner.

3 cups bread flour
3/4 teaspoon regular yeast (not instant)
1 1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups water
Mix all the ingredients.
Cover with a towel or some plastic wrap and leave it in the warmest spot in your kitchen. It should get a 6 to 8-hour rise.
Lightly mist a counter or baking sheet with spray oil and turn dough out on it. Shape it roughly into a ball, mist with oil again, and cover with a towel or plastic wrap.
Let proof for about an hour.
Heat the oven to 450°F. Put a Dutch oven in the oven to heat. When the dough has doubled in size, put it in the pan.
Cover the pot with a lid and bake for 30 minutes.
Remove lid and bake for another 15 minutes to let it brown.


http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/baked-good/noknead-bread-in-a-hurry-035556

Chicken Tikka Masala, Sticky Rice with Mango

Chicken Tikka Masala

Classic indian dish that Stephanie and I had at curry boyz in SF and had to figure out how to make.  We buy some pizza dough and bake it on our pizza stone at 550F and it tastes just like naan.  You could also make rice to go with it.

http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/chicken-tikka-masala/Detail.aspx

• 1 cup yogurt
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces
• 4 long skewers (soak them in water so they don't burn)
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons paprika
• 1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1. In a large bowl, combine yogurt, lemon juice, 2 teaspoons cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, black pepper, and ginger. Stir in chicken, cover, and refrigerate for 1 hour.
2. Preheat a grill for high heat.
3. Lightly oil the grill grate. Thread chicken onto skewers, and discard marinade. Grill until juices run clear, about 5 minutes on each side.
4. Melt butter in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic and jalapeno for 1 minute. Season with 2 teaspoons cumin, and paprika. Stir in tomato sauce and cream. Simmer on low heat until sauce thickens, about 20 minutes. Add grilled chicken, and simmer for 10 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter, and garnish with fresh cilantro. 

Sticky Rice with Mango

This recipe is from our friend Danielle.  It's really good.
1      Mango
4       tablespoons     sugar (add more to taste)
2       cups    sticky rice
2       pinches salt
1 13.5 oz can coconut milk
Cook jasmine rice in a rice cooker.
Heat the coconut milk in a pot over medium heat. Stir constantly and
let the coconut milk simmer. Hard boiled coconut milk will curdle. Add
sugar and salt. Remove from heat. Pour 3/4 of the hot coconut milk
over the hot sticky rice. Let it sit for 5 minutes. The sticky rice
will absorb all the coconut milk. The rice should be a little mushy.
Spoon the rest of the coconut milk on top of the rice at serving time. 

Enjoy!

Breakfast Potatoes, Eggplant Parmesan

Awesome breakfast potatoes
http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/side-dish/side-dish-recipe-extracrispy-tossed-potatoes-121218
2 pounds waxy or all-purpose potatoes, like red skinned or Yukon Golds
2 tablespoons olive oil
Kosher salt
Preheat the oven to 450°.
Scrub your potatoes clean (or peel them) and cut them into your desired shape. Place them in a sauce pan with a tablespoon of kosher salt and cover them with about an inch of cold water. Bring this to a boil over high heat and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook 4-5 minutes, just until the edges are softened but the centers are still hard.
Drain the potatoes and put them in a large mixing bowl. Drizzle the potatoes with the olive oil and sprinkle them with one teaspoon of kosher salt. Place a dinner plate over the bowl, and holding it tight like a lid, give the potatoes a few good shakes to roughen up the sides and edges.
Spread the potatoes in a single layer over a baking sheet. Bake for 35-40 minutes, flipping the potatoes every 15 minutes until they’re evenly browned and crispy. Allow to cool slightly and serve immediately.

Pizza Dough, except thinner

So we make pizza quite a bit.  Just discovered a new recipe.  The key is after you make the dough, roll it super super thin (with a rolling pin).  Then transfer the crust to a pizza crisper (no cornmeal needed), add toppings.  Preheat the oven to 550F with the pizza stone, then when you put the pizza in, turn the oven to broil low (then after a minute, switch it to high).  Pizza should be done in 3-4 minutes

Thin crust pizza dough recipe

3/4 cups (6 ounces) of warm water
1/2 teaspoon of active-dry yeast (if using instant yeast, you don't need to dissolve it during the first step)
2 cups (10 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt

Dissolve the yeast in water.  Combine ingredients, knead until it's smooth.

Meatloaf

Hey-

So I know I haven't used this blog too much lately (the wedding was a bit all-consuming for 2010 so far).  Today I'm going to try to get some good recent recipes in, just so they're saved.  Get ready.

Meatloaf

• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/3 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup lemon juice, divided
• 1 teaspoon mustard powder
• 2 pounds ground beef
• 3 slices bread, broken up into small pieces
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 teaspoon beef bouillon granules

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees 
2. In a small bowl, combine the ketchup, brown sugar, 1 tablespoon lemon juice and mustard powder.
3. In a separate large bowl, combine the ground beef, bread, onion, egg, bouillon, remaining lemon juice and 1/3 of the ketchup mixture from the small bowl. Mix this well and place in a 5x9 inch loaf pan.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 1 hour, drain any excess fat, coat with remaining ketchup mixture and bake for 10 more minutes.

Caramel Sauce

Hi Ya'll-

Sorry I've been a bit lax recently.  We're deep in the throws of wedding planning.  Our recipe of the day is caramel sauce.  It's great on ice cream, cheesecake, or just on a spoon.  Here's how you make it:

1. Warm 2 cups of heavy cream in a pot
2. In a separate pan (a heavy pan, preferably) boil 1.5 cups of sugar with .25 cups water.  You'll want to stir this until the sugar dissolves, then don't touch it as it caramelizes (turns medium brown).  Don't let it burn
3. Take the caramelized sugar off the burner, and slowly add in the cream while stirring vigorously
4. Add a bit of salt, and .25 cups of butter.  Let this whole mixture simmer down until it's the right thickness
5. That's it!