Recipes Master 13

It's a bread....... it's a cake! Who cares, it's yummy!  It taste like cake to me...like really, really, good cake but it's cooked in a loaf pan so perhaps it's a bread?   I am not even that big of a banana bread lover but this is like 'naner bread on flavor steroids!  The brown sugar mixed with butter and topped with sliced bananas is a great start, then topped with salty caramel sauce?  A complete show stopper! NOTE: When I have over ripe bananas but no time to make something with them...I just toss the whole thing in the freezer...peel and all! Caramel Banana Upside Down Bread  - (adopted from daringourmet.com) Ingredients ½ cup packed brown sugar 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into several pieces About 2 bananas, sliced in ¼ inch rounds ½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional) 1½ cup whole wheat flour ¾ cup white granulated sugar 1 teaspoon baking power 1 teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon salt ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon 1 cu...

Summertime and the peaches are perfect!    I love fruit filled muffins and these are particularly yummy! Easy (of course, or I wouldn't be bloggin' 'em), and perfect for breakfast or top with ice cream for a lovely dessert! The recipe calls for buttermilk which I never have on hand, but you can use a mixture of milk and vinegar to get the same results! 1 tablespoon vinegar for every cup of milk should do it.  You will notice the vinegar will curdle the milk which is exactly what you want! Ingredients 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour ¾ teaspoon baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon ¾ cup granulated sugar 1 cup buttermilk (or scant 1 cup of milk with 1 tablespoon vinegar) 5 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 large egg ¾ teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1½ cups peeled, sliced,  fresh or unthawed frozen peaches Turbinado sugar for sprinkling Directions Preheat oven to 350 degrees.   ...

  Every once in awhile you run into a recipe that makes all this blogging worth it!  And this my friends is it! It is everything I want my recipes to be.    Simple, fresh, easy to make, versatile and yummy!  I can hardly wait to make them again!  And where did I run across this piece of recipe perfection?  If you have read my blog at all, you will see my pal Rob's name throughout.  Rob is my Blog Muse.   But this recipe came from Rob's partner, David!  David is an uber talented decorator...their home is simply amazing...and apparently he is working on his culinary skills as well!   Thanks for sharing David!  Couple notes:  Roll  out as thin as possible.  They transfer to a baking sheet easily, even though they are paper thin.  After topping with salt, use a rolling pin to gently press the salt into the dough before baking. Use good salt (I used Kosh...

I've been making these for years.  The recipe is from my favorite cookbook of all time.  The Complete Cooking Light Cookbook.  They are called Raspberry Filled Cinnamon  Muffins in the book but they are so tender, like a donut, I changed the name and the filling! I am not sure, but I think this was the first edition printed.  There have been several since, but none as good as this version from 2000.  I use this book more than all my cookbooks.... combined and I got a few books!  It's my moms favorite too. These are tender, very delicate and super easy to make.  I use seedless strawberry jam to mimic the filling of a jelly donut but you could use whatever you have on hand. When my daughter was little and had a bad day...we used to make muffins...because when the going gets tough, the tough make muffins! Jelly Donut Muffins Ingredients 1 1/2 Cups all purpose flour 1/2 cup sugar 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon ground...

When I first saw this recipe I was convinced it wouldn't work.  But what kind of bun lovin' woman would I be if I didn't try it!  They were not only great, they were bunalicious!  Who wouldn't want perfect buns?  Remember my recipe for Sweet Sexy Dinner Rolls?   Well these taste just like 'em only they are half the work...winning!  I don't remember where I first saw the recipe, probably Pinterest...but I finally settled on this one from Jamie Cooks It Up, a very well done blog. The wonderfulness of these are that they are basically no rise.  You put them in the oven at 170 degrees for 30 min, then turn the heat to 350 and they are done in 30 minutes.  It's a miracle...really, it really is. Ingredients 3/4 cup milk 4 tablespoons butter 3/4 cup hot water 4 tablespoons sugar 1 teaspoons salt 4 - 4 1/2 cups flour 1 package active dry yeast (3/4 oz) Directions Pour your milk into a microwave safe container, a Pyrex me...

 You can use this basic recipe to make homemade Panini's that are as good as any fancy sandwich shop or restaurant.  I used fresh Mozzarella, Pesto and Roasted Red Peppers for a Caprese style Panini.    I substituted  Roasted Red Peppers instead of traditional tomato because I think it adds a lot more flavor and tomato's can make  your sammie mushy.  If you use tomatoes, be sure to deseed or chop in pieces before grilling. This is more of a technique than a recipe.  You don't need a fancy Panini press to make these.  All you need is a non-stick grill pan, a heavy pan to weight it down. (like cast iron or even a dutch oven will work) and a piece of foil.  Bread - oh so important when making the perfect Panini.  I have tried several, but my favorite is sourdough.  It is crunchy, but soft enough to eat. The grill marks show up nicely too.  Some of the Artesional breads like are so tough tha...

As some of you may know, I work for Starbucks...and no, I do not have any inside information on the recipe for this bread...but what I got is a daughter who is an amazing cook and loves Pinterest!  She found this recipe yesterday and whipped it up last night, and it tastes just like the Starbucks stuff...except hers is better because she added frosting.  I just love the way that brain of hers works! Now if Starbucks sues me for plagiarism, I can only hope they sue the the gal who originally posted it on Pinterest.  Notice, I didn't mention her site...us bloggers stick together :)    Ingredients 1 ½ cups flour 1 teaspoon baking soda ½ teaspoon baking powder ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon ½ teaspoon ground ginger ¼ teaspoon ground clove ¼ teaspoon ground allspice ½ teaspoon salt 4 eggs 1 cup sugar ¼ cup dark brown sugar ½ teaspoon vanilla ¾ cup canned pumpkin ¾ cup vegetable oil 1 cup butter cream frosting (store bought works great) Directions Preheat ov...

Biscotti is so very easy to make, easier than cookies and really impressive as a gift. This particular recipe includes coffee and a little milk to give it that cappuccino flavor.     How is it that they are drizzled in chocolate bunny you ask?   I had this beautiful Dove Chocolate bunny that had been decapitated by my daughter on Easter but  never touched again. I just couldn't see chucking the poor little guy, head or no head, it was still chocolate and good chocolate at that!  So, I chopped it up, threw some in the biscotti and melted the rest for glaze.  Damn clever if you ask me!  You could certainly use chocolate chips if you don't have a decapitated bunny lounging around.   Ingredients 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 cup sugar 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon 2 teaspoons instant coffee granules (I used Starbucks VIA...du...

I tried quite a few recipes for Focaccia before landing on this one. Some were to thin, too dry, too thick...this one is perfect!  It could be because you cook it in a small pool of olive oil and who wouldn't like that?  The extra oil in the pan makes a crusty bread and the olive oil adds a deep flavor but it does not taste oily at all.    The original recipe is from Ann Burrell, (funky, spikey blonde hair lady on Food TV)  I've been told if I would sprout about 3-4 inches, I would be a an Anne Burrell look alike...I would be okay with that!  I used a Kitchen Aid and dough hook, but you could certainly just go in with your hands.  Give it a long first knead though,  you want it smooth and silky. Ingredients 1 3/4 cups warm water 1 package active dry yeast 1 tablespoon sugar 5 cups all-purpose flour, plus additional for kneading 1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus coarse sea salt, for sprinkling 1/4 cup fresh Rosemary 3/4 cup extra-virgin...

For my friend Holly who is always looking for new uses for old bread!  I used wheat, white and threw in a few stale Sweet, Sexy Dinner Rolls .  Made a nice medley! This is one of the few recipes I have that is actually better with garlic powder in lieu of fresh garlic. Fresh garlic tends to burn and just lay on the bottom of the pan when cooking at high heat. You can also add a sprinkle of Parmesan right when you take them out of the oven.  These make your usual salads really special and they are so easy to make! Ingredients 8 cups cubed stale bread 6 Tablespoons butter 6 Tablespoons olive oil 1 teaspoon garlic powder Salt and pepper to taste Directions Preheat oven to 400 degrees (use convection feature if you have it) Cube bread into 1 inch pieces. Spread bread cubes onto baking sheet. Melt butter.  Add olive oil, garlic powder, salt and pepper.  Mix well. Coat breadcrumbs with mixture and toss well. Bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes...