Recipe #92 - Frame Family's Traditional Banana Bread

_______________________________________________________________________________

Now we've been making this same Banana Bread recipe since I can remember. We've tried several throughout the years, but always seem to migrate back to this one. Probably because it's the best! Now I can't tell you how this book fell into out possession, but I can tell you that this is the only recipe we've used out of it. When you open the book it automatically drops to this page, mostly likely because it has years and years worth of dried flour and bananas layered on it. All of the other pages look like new. It's become a sort of family tradition.  

(Note: I doubled the recipe, because we had a lot of bananas going bad. For single recipe just follow the ingredients listed at the end of the post.)

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream margarin and sugar. Add eggs. 

Fold in dry ingredients.

Whip bananas until light and semi-smooth.

Add the bananas to batter.

Bake in greased 9x5x3-inch loaf pan for 1 hour (or until center is set). 

Pull out of oven and let cool. 

The top of my loafs were getting kind of dark, so I put aluminum foil over the tops for the last 10 minutes until it had finished setting. Other than that, it turned out perfect! As usual!

Rating: 10

Time: 1 hour 25 minutes

Serves: 6-8

Ingredients:

(makes one loaf)

1/2 cup margarine

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups flour

3 ripe bananas

Recipe #78 - Pumpkin Bars

_______________________________________________________________________________

Though I try to stay away from Paula Dean recipes, this one looked too good pass up! (Cook's note: double your exercise routine for the day before consuming.)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Be sure to set out the butter and cream cheese to soften. 

To make the bars:

Using an electric mixer at medium speed, combine the eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin until light and fluffy. 

Stir together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and mix at low speed until thoroughly combined and the batter is smooth. Spread the batter into a greased 13 by 10-inch baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes. 

Let cool completely before frosting. Cut into bars.

To make the icing:

Combine the cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the sugar and mix at low speed until combined. Stir in the vanilla and mix again. Spread on cooled pumpkin bar. 

It almost goes without saying that these were amazing. I mean, really, what's a good Paula recipe with out lots of butter, sugar and oil?! Yum.

Rating: 10

Time: 45 mins

Serves: 48 small bars or 24 large bars

Ingredients:

For the bars:

4 eggs

1 2/3 cups granulated sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

15-ounce can pumpkin 

2 cups sifted all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

For the icing:

8-ounce package cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Recipe #33 - Italian Easter Egg Wreath

_______________________________________________________________________________

I needed an Easter recipe, so I posted on my Facebook wall asking my friends for suggestions. It came down to two recipes: Deep Fried Coyote (suggested by my Uncle Mike) and Italian Easter Egg Wreath (suggested by my friend Amanda Loveday). Though I credit my uncle for his ballsy, creative submission, but the decision to make the Italian Easter Egg Wreath was simple.

Seeing as I have never heard of an Italian Easter Egg Wreath, I consulted my best friend: Google. After filtering through quite a few recipes, I decided to pull from a couple different ones, but mainly followed one I found on AllRecipes.com.

In a large bowl, combine 1 cup flour, sugar, salt and yeast; stir well. Combine milk and butter in a small saucepan. Heat until milk is warm and butter is softened but not melted.

Gradually add the milk and butter to the flour mixture; stirring constantly. Add two eggs and 1/2 cup flour; beat well. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring well after each addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.

Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oiil. Cover with a warm, damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until dough doubles in volume. About 1 hour and 20 minutes, depending on how warm the place you set the dough.

Deflate the dough and turn it out on at a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into two equal size rounds; cover and let rest for 20 minutes. Roll each round into a long roll about 36 inches long and 1 inch think. Using the two long pieces of dough, form a loosely braided (twisted) ring. leaving spaces for the five colored eggs. Seal the ends of the ring together and use your fingers to slide the eggs between the braids of dough.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place loaf on a buttered baking sheet and cover loosely with a damp towel. Place loaf in a warm place and let rise until doubled in bulk, about an hour. Brush risen loaf with melted butter.

Bake in preheated oven for 30-40 minutes. (Check every 5 minutes or so, because mine baked a lot faster than time mentioned in the original recipe.)

One thing the recipe didn't mention, but I found on another recipe: Do not cook the eggs before, they will bake along with the bread in the oven. I had already hard boiled and dyed mine when I found this out, so they were double cooked, and discarded after the bread was eaten. Also, you can add sprinkles to the top of the bread to bring more color in as well.

This was my very first bread that I made from scratch. I have seen my mother make them growing up, but never participated in the process. I used to braid bread all the time when I worked at Subway in high school, so that part was very simple.

I had fun making this recipe! It was very festive. I loved the sweet smell of the bread baking that filled the house. I wish they made a "Freshly Baked Bread" scented candle. Bc I'd buy it!

However, I did forget to take off my rings and bracelets while I was kneading the dough and it was almost impossible to get it out of all the crevasses. Lol. Lesson learned.

Happy Easter Everyone!!!

Rating: 6
Time: 4 hours total
Serves: 6-8
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, divided
1/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
2/3 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter
2 eggs
5 whole eggs, dyed if desired
2 tablespoons butter, melted

Recipe #32 - White Bean Dip with Pita Chips

_______________________________________________________________________________

This was another recipe recommended to me by my friend Monica. It was one of the many amazing recipes made for Lynsey's surprise birthday party back in February. I've always wanted to try making a humus and this one was so tasty.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Cute each pita half into 8 wedges. Arrange the pita wedges evenly over a large baking sheet. Brush the pita wedges with 2 tablespoons of the oil, then sprinkle with the oregano and 1 teaspoon each of the salt and pepper. Bake for 8 minutes, then turn the pita wedges over and bake until they are crisp and golden, about 8 minutes longer.

Meanwhile, in the bowl of a food processor, combine the beans, parsley, lemon juice, garlic, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon of salt and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Pulse on and off until the mixture is coarsely chopped. With the machine running, gradually mix in the remaining 1/4 cup of oil until the mixture is creamy. Season the puree with more salt and pepper to taste. Transfer the puree to a small bowl and serve the pita toasts warm or at room temperature alongside.

Side note: The pita wedges and bean puree can be made 1 day ahead. Store the pita wedges airtight at room temperature. Cover and refrigerate the bean puree.

There was a couple things I did differently. I added an extra clove of garlic and a tablespoon more lemon juice. As I was blending the puree, I was tasting it and felt that it didn't need as much oil. So I changed the 1/3 cup to 1/4 cup oil.

I actually had fun making this recipe! I am a huge humus fan and was excited to taste the end result. This one did not disappoint! And surprisingly easy to make. I'd definitely make this one again.

Rating: 10
Time: 30 mins
Serves: 6
Ingredients:
4 pita breads, split horizontally in half
2 tablespoons plus 1/3 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons salt, plus more to taste
1 1/4 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
1 (15-ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup (loosely packed) fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from about 1 lemon)
2 garlic cloves