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Save Time and Effort with Pulled Chicken Sandwiches

While the temperature and humidity around here have eased a bit today, it is typical for July around these parts of New York to be very sticky and humid, making it uncomfortable all day long and making you feel like you really do not want to put much effort into dinner. Nights like that for use are usually good for really simple meals that involve little or no cooking at all, which means making things like sandwiches, salads, hot dogs and the like for dinner. Sure you can always get take out or go out if you like, but that gets expensive to do too much and you don’t have control over the ingredients you are eating. You can always compromise somewhere in the middle and buy some pre-cooked items, such as a rotisserie chicken, and make good use of that in a meal for you and your family in a bunch of ways. One thing I recently did was use a rotisserie chicken to make some pulled chicken sandwiches for a meal. You can do this just as easily with leftover chicken and simply shred it yourself and even use your favorite bottled barbecue sauce if you like, but I decided to make my own sauce to get the flavor we really like. The basis of this recipe comes from Ellie Krieger on the Food Network site.

Pulled Chicken Sandwiches

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 (14-ounce) can tomato sauce
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/2 cup water
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
5 tablespoons molasses
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke
1 whole rotisserie chicken, skin removed, meat shredded into thin strips (about 4 to 4 1/2 cups)
6 hamburger rolls
Lettuce leaves, for garnish

Pickle slices, for garnish

Coleslaw, store-bough or homemade, for garnish

Heat the vegetable oil in a large saute pan set over medium heat. Add the onions and cook until they are soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more until the garlic is fragrant. Add the tomato sauce, tomato paste, water, cider vinegar, molasses, pepper and liquid smoke and bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the chopped chicken, return the mixture to a simmer, and cook for an additional 10 minutes.

Split the hamburger rolls. Place a leaf of lettuce on each roll, then pile on 3/4 cup of the chicken mixture onto the roll and top with pickle slices, coleslaw and additional sauce, if desired.

That’s all there is to it and it tastes great. You get a nice barbecue sauce to simmer the chicken in without a lot of work and the liquid smoke adds great aroma and flavor to the sauce. I used the pickleback slaw recipe I have made before as the coleslaw for a topping and we just had the sandwiches with some chips on the side to keep things simple, though they would go well with some potato salad, macaroni salad or even just a simple side salad. You could even make these as sliders if you wanted to use them for a buffet or party and have them done in minutes.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of you day and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on July 10, 2014 in Cooking, Dinner, Leftovers, Lunch, Poultry, Sandwiches

Tags: chicken sandwiches, Ellie Krieger, food network, pickleback slaw, pulled barbecued chicken sandwiches, pulled chicken, pulled chicken sandwiches, rotisserie chicken

A Chicken Dinner Thanks to Bobby Flay – Pan-Roasted Chicken with Mint Sauce

08 Jul

Trying to find new things to do with chicken can get tricky after a while. I am always on the lookout for new ways to try making poultry with new sauces and flavors. because we eat so much chicken, you really have to try to vary things now and then so everyone does not get bored with just he same old meal. I found this recipe from Bobby Flay listed on the New York Times Cooking site (which is a great site and resource for recipes and articles by the way) and not only did it seem really simple but looked to use some different flavors to change things up for your chicken dinner. It is a very simple recipe for pan roasted chicken with a mint sauce. Bobby Flay uses bone-in chicken breasts for the recipe, but I used a combination of breasts and thighs and it worked out just as well I think.

Bobby Flay’s Pan-Roasted Chicken with Mint Sauce

For the Chicken:

4 bone-in, skin on chicken breasts

Kosher salt

2 tablespoons paprika

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons ground mustard

2 teaspoons ground fennel seed

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

For the Mint Sauce:

1 cup fresh mint leaves

1/2 cup fresh parsley leaves

4 cloves garlic, peeled and roughly chopped

1 Serrano chile, seeds removed and roughly chopped

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Rinse the chicken well, then dry it with paper towels. Season the chicken generously with kosher salt. Combine the paprika, cumin, ground mustard, ground fennel seed and black pepper in a small bowl and rub the mixture all over the skin of the chicken.

Heat the olive oil in a large, oven-safe saute pan or skillet set over medium heat. When the oil is shimmering, put the chicken breasts into the pan skin side down and cook, unattended, until the skin is golden brown, about 6 to 8 minutes. Using tongs. turn the chicken breasts over and then place the pan in the preheated oven. Roast the chicken until it is golden brown all over and the meat is cooked entirely through, about 12 to 15 minutes. Remove the chicken to a warmed platter and allow it to rest.

Meanwhile, place the mint, parsley, garlic and Serrano chile into a food processor and pulse the mixture into a paste. Add the honey and the Dijon mustard and pulse the mixture again until it is combined. With the motor running, slowly add the olive oil until the mixture has become emulsified. Transfer the mixture to a bowl, and if necessary, whisk in a few tablespoons of water to thin the sauce. Season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste.

Spoon some of the sauce over each of the chicken breasts and serve, with the remaining sauce on the side.

The chicken turns out perfectly browned and crispy and the mint sauce is an excellent addition. It does have a little heat to it from the Serrano chile, so be aware of that if you are making it for anyone who doesn’t like a lot of heat. You could just as easily leave it out of the sauce. I served this with roasted potatoes and some roasted asparagus and it made for a perfect meal without a lot of fuss or work.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on July 8, 2014 in Cooking, Dinner, Poultry, Sauce

Tags: Bobby Flay's pan-roasted chicken with mint sauce, mint sauce, new york times, pan roasted chicken, pan-roasted chicken with mint sauce, roasted chicken

It’s Strawberry Season! Make This Strawberry-Blueberry-Rhubarb Cobbler

07 Jul

I love the selection of fresh summer fruits and vegetables. It is a great time to go to the farmer’s market or local grocery store to pick up some things like peaches, plums, corn watermelon, and of course, berries. Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries and blackberries, among others, all thrive this time of year and you can make great use of all of them in fruit salads, smoothies, parfaits and all kinds of other snacks and desserts. I had some strawberries and blueberries on hand this past weekend, along with some rhubarb, and decided to try out this recipe from America’s Test Kitchen for a strawberry-rhubarb cobbler, though I added in the blueberries for a little added flavor. This one is super easy to make and can be done in less than hour to give you a great dessert.

Strawberry-Blueberry-Rhubarb Cobbler

For the Filling:

1 quart fresh strawberries, rinsed and hulled

1 pint fresh blueberries, rinsed

10 ounces rhubarb, cut into 1/2-inch chunks

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon cornstarch

For the Topping:

1 cup all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons yellow cornmeal

1/4 cup sugar plus 2 tablespoons

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon table salt

1/3 cup buttermilk

3 tablespoons butter, melted

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 400 degrees. Toss the strawberries, blueberries and rhubarb together with the sugar, vanilla extract and cornstarch until blended and place the filling in a deep-dish pie plate. Place the pie plate on a rimmed baking sheet and bake the filling until the fruit releases its liquid and is hot and bubbling around the edges, about 20 to 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk the flour, cornmeal, 1/4 cup of the sugar, the baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. Set this bowl aside. In a separate bowl, whisk the buttermilk, melted butter and vanilla together and set it aside. In a third small bowl, mix the remaining 2 teaspoons of sugar with the ground cinnamon and set it aside.

When the filling is ready, stir in the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture with a rubber spatula until the two are just combined and no pockets of flour remain. Remove the cobbler filling from the oven and give it a stir. Pinch off pieces of the dough and sprinkle them on top of the hot filling to cover the filling to your liking. Sprinkle the tops of the filling with the cinnamon sugar.

Place the cobbler with the topping back in the oven and continue to cook the cobbler until the topping is golden brown and cooked through and the filling is once again hot and bubbling, about another 15 to 20 minutes. Cool the cobbler on a wire rack for 15 minutes before serving.

You can top this off with some homemade whipped cream to really make it special. America’s test Kitchen actually clumps the topping together to form a biscuit-like topping, but I thought it would be better with just spreading the topping around like I did. To me it is just an aesthetic thing unless you like the whole biscuits on top. In either case, do how you like it. The cobbler tastes great as the fruit releases all its juices and you get the flavors of the strawberries, blueberries and rhubarb. i think this would work well with just about any type of fruit, such as peaches, plums, apples, pears and the like as well, so you can experiment with it and try different things.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!.

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Posted by MikeG on July 7, 2014 in Cooking, Dessert, Fruit, Pie

Tags: America's Test Kitchen strawberry-rhubarb cobbler, americas test kitchen, blueberries, cobbler recipe, strawberries, strawberry-blueberry-rhubarb cobbler, strawberry-rhubarb cobbler

Classic Barbecued Chicken for the Fourth

04 Jul

If you are looking for a good alternative to hamburgers, hot dogs and steak for this holiday weekend, a good option is always to do something with some chicken. You have lots options of available to you as far as just making a bunch of different chicken pieces or if you know that you have a crowd that really just wants to have thighs, legs, wings or breasts you can just go with those pieces on your grill. One thing about doing chicken on the grill is that you need to really watch it so that the skin doesn’t burn before the rest of the chicken is actually cooked through. This is one of the reasons I like to make barbecued chicken in the oven more than outside, which works out really well for me since I only have the electric grill to play with anyway. This particular recipe that I used comes from Better Homes and Gardens and is for their classic barbecued chicken, though I did modify the sauce recipe a bit to fit my own tastes. I have included my modifications in the recipe itself.

Classic Barbecued Chicken

2 3 1/2 pounds whole chickens, or 7 pounds of chicken pieces

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup butter

1 cup finely chopped onion

1 tablespoon chopped fresh garlic

2 tablespoons kosher salt

1 1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper

1 tablespoon paprika

1 tablespoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 cup cold water

1 1/4 cups cider vinegar

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons Worcestershire Sauce

2 tablespoons molasses

1 cup ketchup

1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1/2 cup tomato paste

Vegetable or canola oil

Water

If you are using whole chickens, cut up the chicken, leaving the drumsticks and thighs attached. Season the chicken pieces with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Refrigerate, covered, up to 24 hours or until you are ready to use the chicken.

For the barbecue sauce, In large non-reactive saucepan set over low heat, melt the butter. Add the onion, garlic and salt and cook until the onion softens and is tender, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the crushed red pepper, paprika, chili powder and black pepper. Cook and stir the mixture for about 1 minute.

Add the water, cider vinegar, brown sugar and Worcestershire sauce and bring the mixture to a simmer. Stir in the molasses, ketchup, liquid smoke, soy sauce and Dijon mustard until it is all blended. Whisk in the tomato paste until the mixture is smooth. Bring the sauce to a simmer over low heat and cook, uncovered, for 10 to 15 minutes or until the sauce has thickened, stirring occasionally. Taste the sauce for seasoning and make any adjustments with salt and pepper as needed. Remove 1 1/2 cups of the sauce to prepare the chicken. Store the remaining sauce in the refrigerator and simply reheat it to serve.

For the chicken, preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Heat 1/4-inch of the vegetable oil in a large skillet set over medium heat. Working in batches, place the chicken, skin side down, in the skillet. Cook until the chicken is well browned, turning once, for about 5 minutes.

Transfer the browned chicken to a large roasting pan or baking dish. Place the chicken skin side up and add 2 tablespoons of water to the pan. Spoon the reserved 1 1/2 cups of barbecue sauce over the chicken. Cover the chicken with parchment paper and then cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil. Bake the chicken until all of the chicken is cooked through and an instant read thermometer inserted into one of the pieces registers 170 degrees. Depending on the pieces of chicken you are baking, this can take anywhere from 40 minutes for breast portions to 75 minutes for legs and thighs.

Increase the oven temperature to 450 degrees. Uncover the chicken, removing the foil and the parchment paper, and spoon on some additional barbecue sauce. Bake the chicken, uncovered, for an additional 10 to 15 minutes or until the chicken is well-glazed and the meat is very tender. Serve the chicken with the reserved barbecue sauce (not the sauce you used to put on the raw chicken!) and store any remaining barbecue sauce, covered, in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.

Unfortunately, I did not remember to take a picture of the chicken when I made this one but it came out really well. you could certainly use the same idea and make this on the grill yourself, just keep a closer eye on the chicken to control the heat, cooking it on a lower heat side of a gas or charcoal grill to keep it from burning the skin easily. You should always put the sauce on towards the end of the cooking process so that the skin can get nice and crispy before the sauce goes on and you can retain the great sauce flavor that you get. Seasoning the chicken ahead of time or even brining it the night before can make a big difference here too, so if you have the time I recommend it. The sauce was great and I actually used some of the leftover chicken and remaining sauce to make some pulled chicken sandwiches, which I will post the recipe for soon as well. This goes great with any classic barbecue sides like baked beans, coleslaw, potato salad, corn bread,corn on the cob and the like.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day, enjoy your meal and have a safe, happy and festive July 4th!

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Posted by MikeG on July 4, 2014 in Cooking, Dinner, Grilling, Poultry, Sauce

Tags: barbecue sauce, barbecued chicken, BBQ chicken in the oven, Better Homes and Gardens, classic barbecued chicken, classic bbq chicken, classic BBQ chicken in the oven, homemade barbecue sauce, homemade BBQ sauce

Too Hot to Cook? Try These Easy Chicken Tostadas

03 Jul

It has been very hot, humid and sticky here the last few days, making it so that the last thing you feel like doing is standing in front of the stove or oven and cooking a detailed meal. It is days just like this that are perfect for a nice rotisserie chicken and doing something different and inventive with it, like this recipe from Marcella Valladolid of the Food Network for easy chicken tostadas. Tostadas are simply deep fried tortillas, so you can make these yourself if you like but I have also seen them available in some stores. You can use tostadas, a rotisserie chicken, a can of refried beans and your favorite store-bought salsa or make your own tomato salsa or try the recipe for a tomatillo avocado salsa included with this recipe.

Chicken Tostadas

8 tostadas

1 cup refried beans, warmed

4 cups cooked chicken, shredded

2 cups finely shredded lettuce

1 red onion, thinly sliced into rings

8 radishes, thinly sliced

1 cup crumbled queso fresco or other mild cheese

Sour cream or Mexican sour cream (crema) for drizzling

Tomatillo-Avocado Salsa:

8 ounces tomatillos, husked, rinsed and coarsely chopped

1 avocado, halved, pitted and peeled

1/2 cup packed fresh cilantro leaves

1 Serrano chile

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the tostadas, spread the tostadas with the refried beans. Top the tostadas with the shredded chicken, shredded lettuce, red onion rings, sliced radishes and the cheese. Drizzle the top of each tostada with some of the sour cream, top each with a dollop of salsa, and serve.

For the tomatillo-avocado salsa, combine the tomatillos, avocado, cilantro leaves, Serrano chile, and the lemon juice together in a blender and puree the mixture until it is smooth. Season the salsa with salt and pepper to taste. Transfer the salsa to a serving bowl, cover and refrigerate for up to 2 hours or until you are ready to use it.

This is a very easy meal that you can put together with mainly leftovers and have it ready in just a few minutes. Use leftover chicken or a rotisserie chicken and you can even just use leftover beans instead of making refried beans if you want to. you canalways include other fresh vegetables on the tostadas if you like as well and the salsa has great flavor of its own and is great for chips or as a side dish to this meal or others. We’ll be making this one again during the summer for sure.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on July 3, 2014 in Beans, Cooking, Dinner, Poultry

Tags: chicken tostadas, food network, homemade salsa, Marcella Valladolid, refried beans, rotisserie chicken, shredded chicken, tomatillo-avocado salsa, tostadas

Keep it Cool – Cold-Brew Coffee and a Dublin Iced Coffee

01 Jul

Like millions of other people around the globe, I love to have my morning coffee. There is something about the smell of coffee brewing that just helps to jump-start the morning for me. If my body would let me I would probably drink coffee all day long but I really limit myself to just one cup (okay sometimes two, but don’t tell!) so I mainly use my Keurig brewer for coffee since I am the only one in the house who drinks coffee regularly. I do have a French press however and I decided that I wanted to try making some cold-brew coffee. Seeing how everyone says it is all the rage and you get a great coffee flavor from the concentrate you develop I thought I would give this recipe from America’s Test Kitchen a try. it’s a process that takes a day so you have to put some time into it to get the final product.

Cold-Brew Coffee

3 1/2 cups finely ground medium roast coffee

3 1/2 cups room temperature water

Kosher salt (optional)

Stir together the ground coffee and the room temperature water in a large French press. Allow a raft of ground coffee to form, about 10 minutes, and then stir the coffee together again to incorporate it into the water. Cover the French press with plastic wrap and let the coffee sit at room temperature for 24 hours.

Using the French press plunger, press firmly on the coffee grinds to separate them from the coffee concentrate. Pour the coffee concentrate into a coffee filter-lined fine-mesh strainer that is set over a large measuring cup. Let the coffee sit still until the concentrate filters through, up to 30 minutes. You should have about 2 cups of coffee concentrate when it is complete. The concentrate can be covered and kept in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.

Combine 1/2 cup of the coffee concentrate, 1/2 cup of cold water and a pinch of kosher salt (if desired) and pour the mixture into a glass with ice. Serve.

You certainly get a rich, strong coffee flavor this way, so if that is what you are looking for in an iced coffee this is a good way to go. Since it is basically a 1 to 1 ratio of coffee to water, you could make this in any amount you want to fit whatever type of French press you may have to give it a try.

I decided to take some of this cold-brew coffee and try making a Dublin iced coffee using this recipe I got from Bon Appetit. This is an adult beverage and very easy to make.

Dublin Iced Coffee

2 ounces strong cold-brew coffee

2 ounces stout, such as Guinness

1 1/2 ounces Irish whiskey

3/4 ounce simple syrup

1/2 ounce heavy cream

Freshly grated cinnamon stick, for serving

Mix the cold-brew coffee, stout, Irish whiskey and the simple syrup in a highball glass. Add ice to fill the glass. Gently pour in the heavy cream so it gradually sinks into the coffee. Sprinkle the top with cinnamon and serve.

This coffee was incredibly refreshing and delicious. The combination of the coffee, stout and whiskey gives great flavor and the cream just tops it off. I actually ended up drinking two of these because they tasted so good and I will definitely make this one again.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on July 1, 2014 in Beverages

Tags: America's Test Kitchen cold-brew coffee, Bon Appetit Dublin iced coffee, cold-brew coffee, cold-brew coffee method, Dublin iced coffee, French press, iced coffee

Simple and Sweet – Skillet Chicken with Rhubarb

30 Jun

When most people hear rhubarb their thoughts immediately turn to strawberry rhubarb pie (which I love by the way). You probably see a lot of rhubarb around the produce departments of markets this time of year since strawberries are in season now, but there are lots of other things you can do with rhubarb besides making great desserts like sorbet, compote or pie. I came across this recipe in the New York Times recently for a simple way to jazz up a chicken dinner with some rhubarb, scallions and honey for a bit of a different flavor. While this recipe uses a whole chicken cut into pieces, I made just chicken thighs instead but you could use any chicken pieces you like for this recipe.

Skillet Chicken with Rhubarb

1 (5 1/2-pound) whole chicken, cut into eight pieces, or various chicken parts (thighs, breasts, drumsticks)

1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, more as needed

1 teaspoon black pepper, more as needed

5 sprigs thyme

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

1 bunch spring onions or scallions, white and light green stalks thinly sliced (slice and reserve greens for garnish)

2 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 cup dry white wine, chicken broth or water

3/4 pound fresh rhubarb, cut into 1/2-inch dice (about 3 cups)

1 tablespoon honey, or to taste

2 tablespoons butter, cut into pieces

Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and season the chicken with 1 tablespoon of the kosher salt and 1 teaspoon of the black pepper. Place the chicken in a bowl with the thyme sprigs and cover it with plastic wrap. Refrigerate the chicken for at least 1 hour and up to overnight.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Remove the thyme from the bowl with the chicken and reserve the thyme sprigs. Add the chicken pieces to the skillet and sear, turning them occasionally, until the chicken is golden brown all over, about 10 minutes. Transfer the chicken pieces to a platter and set them aside.

Reduce the heat of the skillet to medium. Stir in the scallions (the white and light green parts) and cook until the scallions have softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and the reserved thyme sprigs. and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute more. Stir in the wine and bring the mixture to a simmer, scraping up any browned bits in the bottom of the pan. Add the rhubarb, honey, 1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt and a few grinds of black pepper.

Return the chicken pieces to the skillet in a single layer. Cover the skillet and reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer until the chicken is cooked through, about 15 to 20 minutes for breasts and 20 to 25 minutes for the thighs and drumsticks. Transfer the chicken pieces to a platter as they finish cooking so they can rest.

Whisk the butter into the rhubarb sauce. Taste the sauce and adjust the seasoning if needed or desired. Spoon the rhubarb sauce over the chicken pieces and garnish the dish with the sliced scallion greens and serve.

It is a very simple dish that is perfect for a weeknight or a weekend meal. The rhubarb tastes great with the chicken and we all loved the sauce. It was ideal to spoon over the chicken and also with the rice that I had served with the meal, but it would also be great with mashed potatoes or other grains as well. I apologize for the picture as it didn’t turn out that great since there was still steam coming up off the dish when I took it, but trust me it tastes great and looks good too!

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on June 30, 2014 in Cooking, Dinner, Poultry, Sauce

Tags: chicken and rhubarb recipe, new york times, New York Times skillet chicken with rhubarb, skillet chicken, skillet chicken with rhubarb, strawberry rhubarb pie

An All-American Cookout | SAVEUR

26 Jun

An All-American Cookout | SAVEUR.

As Independence draws closer, you may be having a cookout or party of your own and want to make the event as All-American as possible. Saveur magazine has some great menu ideas for you that cover all the basics for you with burger, salad, dessert and more. Check it out!

I am taking a long weekend to visit some family so I will be back to blogging on Monday, June 30th with more recipe to share. There’s always lots going on, so check back and see what comes up next. Enjoy your weekend!

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Posted by MikeG on June 26, 2014 in Cooking, Cooking Websites, Grilling, Holidays

Tags: all-american cookout, Independence day menu, July 4th cookout ideas, July 4th menu, Saveur Magazine all-american cookout

Going Bananas for Banana Upside Down Cake

24 Jun

Michelle had asked me what I wanted for a Father’s Day dinner last week and I knew what I wanted for dessert right away. I love desserts that make use of bananas (see the Bananas Foster cake Michelle made for my past birthday) and I had just recently seen this recipe on the Food Republic website for an awesome looking banana upside down cake. I have tried pineapple upside down cake and peach upside down cake so this one seemed like it would be just as good and was not going to be hard to make. I was really looking forward to it and was not disappointed with the results.

Banana Upside Down Cake

For the Banana Caramel:

1 1/2 cups sugar

4-5 bananas, ripened

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

For the Cake:

2/3 cup butter, plus extra for greasing

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

11/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

4 eggs, separated

3/4 cup sugar

2 large ripe bananas, peeled and mashed

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Generously butter the bottom and sides of a 9-inch diameter springform cake pan then line the pan with parchment paper.

To make the banana caramel, put the sugar and 2/3 cup of water in a heavy saucepan and cook the mixture over high heat until the sugar has dissolved. Let the mixture boil until it has thickened to a golden-brown caramel, taking care not to burn it. Remove the caramel immediately from the stove and pour it into the prepared cake pan, tipping the pan slightly from side to side until the pan is evenly coated. Peel the bananas and halve them lengthwise. Arrange the bananas over the caramel in a neat pattern, trimming the bananas as necessary, then dust the bananas with the ground cinnamon.

For the cake batter, sift together the flour, baking powder and cinnamon in a large bowl. Put the egg whites in a separate clean bowl and whisk the egg whites using an electric hand mixer until stiff peaks have formed. Put the butter and the sugar in another large bowl and whisk them together until the mixture is light and fluffy. Slowly whisk in the egg yolks into the butter-sugar mixture one at a time until combined. Fold in the mashed bananas, followed by the dry ingredients in the flour mixture. Fold in the egg whites into the entire mixture and gently mix to form the batter.

Pour the batter into the cake pan and spread the batter evenly with a spatula. Bake the cake in the oven for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean. Remove the cake from the oven and allow it to cool for 5 minutes in the pan before unmolding it. The cake is easier to unmold while it is still warm before the caramel has had a chance to cool and harden. Run a thin knife around the inside of the pan. Put a large flat plate over the top of the cake pan and, holding the pan and the plate, invert it and gently lift off the pan and peel off the parchment paper. Serve the cake warm.

Wow, this cake tasted really good! It was kind of a mix of really moist banana bread with the caramel you have on a typical upside down cake except it is chock full of banana flavor. Put some homemade whipped cream on top of the cake and you have yourself a masterpiece. I loved every bite of it and the cake stayed moist for a couple of days afterward to provide a wonderful snack each night. We will definitely be making this one again and I think it would be great to make to bring to a party, housewarming or summer barbecue.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!

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Posted by MikeG on June 24, 2014 in Cakes, Cooking, Dessert

Tags: banana upside down cake, banana upside down cake recipe, Food Republic, Food Republic banana upside down cake, peach upside down cake, pineapple upside-down cake, upside down cake

Take Your Burgers to Pretzel Heaven with These Pretzel Bread Rolls

23 Jun

One of the things I always seem to buy when I go to the farmer’s market is pretzel rolls. There is just something about these rolls with their great pretzel flavor, crusty top and the pretzel salt that just make them fantastic for all kinds of sandwiches and burgers. That being said, I decided that they shouldn’t be that hard to make on my own and wanted to give it a shot for when we were having burgers the other night. I found this recipe on Food Republic that was a pretty easy recipe, only used a few ingredients and looked pretty easy to do, so I thought I would give it a shot. This recipe actually makes 35 small dinner rolls, but I halved the recipe and made larger rolls and got 9 good-sized rolls out of it. This is the original recipe posted on Food Republic, so you can adjust it to fit your needs if you want.

Pretzel Bread Rolls

6 teaspoons active dry yeast

2 1/2 cups warm water

3/4 cup plus 1 teaspoon granulated sugar

7 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt, plus more for sprinkling

2 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil

1/4 cup baking soda

2 cups warm water

In a mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment, briefly blend the yeast, warm water and 1 teaspoon of the granulated sugar. Let the mixture rest about 10 minutes so it can bloom to activate the yeast.

After the yeast has activated, add the flour, the remaining sugar, the kosher salt and the oil. Mix for 5 minutes or until a smooth, dense dough has formed. Remove the dough from the mixer and transfer it to a greased medium-sized bowl. Let the dough rise in a warm place for 2 hours or until the dough has just about doubled in size.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and spray it with some nonstick cooking spray. Divide the dough into 3 equal pieces and roll out each piece into a rope that is about 2 inches in diameter. Cut each rope into 1-inch pieces (larger if you are looking for bigger rolls). This should give you roughly about 35 small dinner rolls. Place the rolls on the prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart. Cover the rolls with a clean dishcloth and let them rise again for about 30 minutes.

Heat the oven to 425 degrees. in another bowl, combine the baking soda and the 2 cups of warm water. Transfer the baking soda solution to a spray bottle and spray the rolls generously with the solution. Sprinkle the rolls with some extra kosher salt if desired. Bake the rolls for 15 minutes until the rolls are a dark brown all over. Remove the rolls from the oven and allow them to cool on the baking sheet before serving.

It is a very easy recipe, easier than some of the pretzel recipes I have seen, and it yields great results. The rolls were nice and crunchy on the outside and warm and sweet on the inside, just like a pretzel. They were perfect for the burgers that night and we used the extras for sandwiches for the rest of the week as well. I will certainly make this one again since it was so easy to do.

That’s all I have for today. Check back next time for another recipe. Until then, enjoy the rest of your day and enjoy your meal!