Cook's Illustrated "Best Banana Bread" Recipe - Mmmmm comfort!

I love making banana bread....I love it hot from the oven with cream cheese. Ben and I made some this weekend...it rises high and is very luscious.

Have fun and HAPPY SPRING!

Cook's Illustrated Best Banana Bread

I HEART Waffles!

I am not ashamed.  Really...all those carbs and butter and sugar.  Not an ounce of shame in me.  So much so that I asked for the most decadent of appliances for the wedding.  The All-Clad waffle maker.

*angels commence singing*

Now when I shot that retail gun at this waffle maker...I shook my head.  No one in their right mind would get me this.  It is too expensive....heavy....obnoxious AND its only purpose is to make ONE food.  And to top it off...that food is SUPER bad for me.

Then it arrived....a heavy box....that glorious box.  I - LOVE - IT!  My favorite uncle (you get to be my favorite uncle if you buy me outrageous culinary gifts - hint hint to my other uncle - you may usurp this coveted title for a new emulsion blender ;-)

Here is my new waffle recipe...I will now only have waffle and wine parties.  Anyone interested?

Adapted from Williams-Sonoma's recipe for Blueberry Sour Cream Waffles


The addition of sour cream enhances the flavor and texture of the waffles.  The almonds are just delightful.

Ingredients:


3 eggs, separated

3/4 cup milk

8 Tbs. (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted

3/4 cup sour cream

1 1/2 cups flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1 Tbs. sugar

1 Tb. vanilla bean paste

1tsp. almond extract (the aroma is amazing)

1/2 cup fresh blueberries, plus more for garnish

Toasted almond slivers for garnish

Confectioners’ sugar for dusting

Vermont maple syrup for serving  - I prefer Amber Grade or B


Directions:


Preheat a waffle maker.

In a large mixing bowl, using a whisk, beat the egg yolks. Beat in the milk, butter, vanilla paste, almond extract and sour cream. Sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and sugar. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and beat until smooth. Stir in the 1/2 cup blueberries.


In another large bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff peaks form. (Lift the whisk straight out of the bowl and invert; the whites should hold their shape with a slight bend at the tip.) Using a rubber spatula, fold 1/2 cup of the egg whites into the batter, then carefully fold in the remaining whites.


 Cook the waffles. Garnish with the remaining blueberries and almonds, dust with the confectioners' sugar and serve hot with maple syrup.

Date Night at Solstice - Stowe, Vermont

M and I have had date night as a standing appointment since I first moved here.  We decided post-wedding that we needed to continue the tradition.  Which frankly, I really love even when it feels like "a tradition".  And hell he is a great dancer so there. :-)

My pick last night was Solstice at the Stowe Mountation Lodge in Stowe, Vermont.  The lodge is a bit of a monster (formerly owned by the insurance company AIG). But the inside is filled with the expected wood and large roaring fireplaces.  We were early so we had a drink at the bar.  The bartender was obviously overwhelmed - made me tap my foot but we enjoyed a Switchback and a lemon drop martini (knocked me silly right off the bat) before heading in for dinner.

Solstice is committed to sustainable and local food.   One of the reasons for me picking the place - not a big fan of resorts.  But I wanted to make that winding ride to Stowe to relax.  Roadtrips put me in a zen place and if there is good food at the end all the better.

The restaurant itself felt a little hotelish - I suggest white tablecloths to match the pricepoint of the food.  The staff was helpful and full of local knowledge.  We considered the tasting menu but it was full of fish and lamb which was not my first pick for the evening.  We started with a full, fruity Pinot Noir and a cheese selection of local cheeses....I think I could just eat cheese and bread for the rest of my life.  A mix of soft rind and hard cheeses.  Local honey and lavender and raspberry compote.  Very tasty choice.

My first course was the pate.  I should know better than to order pork pate. It always is prepared as a country pate which I really don't care for...too much like potted meat in my opinion.  I want the smooth texture of goose or chicken liver....chopped shallots and dijon mustard.  So my bad.  I am sure lovers of pork country pate would have loved it. M had a seared pork belly with balsamic reduction and honey.  Not a fan of sweet with his pork - but it was cooked perfectly.  I love sweet or fruit on pork. Must be the German in me.

Main course was Boyden Farms tenderloin with a red wine reduction, potato puree and polenta cakes as a side.  M had a mushroom pasta.  The reduction on the tenderloin was thick and delicious.  I love reductions but have not been able to master them at home yet.  This reduction would coat a spoon and had a mouthfeel that was decadent and rich.  M called the server over to ask the chef the key to making it.  Answer: boil the hell out veal bones for the rich marrow and gelatin.  Mmmmmmmm.....

Dessert was coconut creme brulee and marscapone cheesecake with blueberries and a gingersnap cookie.  My cold was a bit to heavy to taste the coconut in the brulee but M loved his cheesecake.

A lovely date night but not sure I would drop that kind of money again for Solstice.  I recommend going for a lovely glass of wine and the cheese selection.

Solstice
Stowe, Vermont

Back from the Dead

And here I am....waking out of the dead of winter...and itching to cook and to eat.  Off to Solstice at the Stowe Mountain Lodge.  Will post comments tonight.  Oh and I have a wedding tale to tell you.

Do you want to hear?

Waking up wanting....

So the other night I woke up wanting.  Not necessarily for food or something tangible...just wanting.  I know this is a food blog and there is a food reference here somewhere.  I lay there a bit - a tad surprised.  I sleep pretty heavily and being awoken by a thought or dream is odd.  I brushed away this wanting and went back to sleep, but I woke with that same feeling.

Once something strikes me I tend to mull it over for a while...a few whys...some whats...and eventually an exploration for meaning.  The subject of wanting is difficult for me.  I have always equated it with something I am lacking.  I want bread with this soup because it is lacking by itself.  I want this move because the current location is lacking in itself.  Metaphors for every occasion.

But today I think wanting is just that - wanting.  I do not mean to discount wants.  I believe someone had a similar conversation with me once or twice...I seem to be 2 years behind. *thoughtful chuckle*  My wants are huge drivers.  I am currently changing my eating habits and they are all about wants.  So I guess waking up wanting in whatever sense is not surprising...food want or not.  So this is what I came to...

I want. And sometimes what I want is not available to me or good for me or...fill in blank.  So I simply can decide to want something else instead.  And because wanting is not about lacking something - it is just about wanting -  I do not have to feel badly about not fufilling it or feel the need to suffer over it, etc.

Sometimes I cannot have what I want - so I choose to want something else.

I want something I CAN have. Something I can feel good about having.