Banana Butterscotch Scones

My mother had a tea party for her friends and family today, and it was great to see everyone after so long. Although a lot of her friends brought treats, me not baking scones for a tea is impossible. So, I got down to trying a recipe that I have been dying to try for a while. I'm proud to say that the plate was cleaned out and everyone seemed to love them. 

The combination of banana and butterscotch is pure bliss, and even more so once topped with the sweet and tangy clotted cream.

This recipe is adapted from my all-time favorite cookbook, Alice's Tea Cup. 

Makes 10–12 scones (or 36 mini scones)
Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 bananas, sliced
1/2 cup butterscotch chips, plus more for sprinkling
1 1/4 cups buttermilk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup heavy cream (for brushing)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 425F
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
3. With clean hands, work the butter into the dry mixture until it is thoroughly incorporated and has the consistency of fine breadcrumbs. Add the banana slices and butterscotch chips and combine well, so that they are evenly distributed throughout the dry mixture.
4. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and pour the buttermilk and vanilla extract into the well, little by little, until a dough is formed. Do not knead! 
5. Turn the mixture onto a floured surface and gather the dough together. Gently pat the dough to make a disk, about 1 1/2-inches thick. Using a 3 or 3 1/2-inch biscuit cutter, cut out as many scones as you can and lay them on a nonstick baking sheet. Gather the remaining dough together lightly to cut out more scones— just don't knead the dough too much.
6. Brush the top of each scone liberally with heavy cream and sprinkle with butterscotch chips.
7. Bake the scones for about 12–17 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Alice's "un-clotted" cream

Ingredients

1 quart heavy cream

3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar

2/3 cup lemon juice

Method

Pour the heavy cream into a mixer fitted with a whipping attachment. Start the mixer on medium speed and add the sugar slowly, until the entire amount is incorporated into the cream. Then add the lemon juice to the mixture in a slow stream. Turn the mixer up to high speed and whip until it forms stiff peaks— but no longer, or it will turn into butter! The cream will keep, covered, in the refrigerator for a week.

Seafood Paella

Finally! Here it is. A Seafood Paella recipe, that has been long requested for. Everyone has their own Paella recipe. There is always a debate on how a paella should be— caldoso (wet, with more broth) or on the drier side, whether it should have more rice or less rice, what combination of ingredients go in…  So make this recipe your own. Add chicken and rabbit to it, and it'll become a Paella Valenciana. Add chorizo and a meat of your choice and enjoy a Meat Paella. Or just use vegetables of your choice, and you have a Paella Vegetariana. Have fun while making it, it's one of those dishes, that once you know the basic of how-to, you can vary it and make it so many different ways. 

We have been spending the summer in Spain, the quality of the seafood here is incredible— leaving us with mostly grilling fish with salt and pepper, nada mas! With our cousins visiting us for the summer here in Spain, it has been fun re-making most of the earlier recipes in this blog with them. This morning, I missed making something new, something that wasn't a recipe I've made before. So I looked up my favorite Spanish chef ever, José Andres, and found this video on YouTube. The recipe looks delicious (after all, it is José Andres's recipe), simple and quick. The part that attracted me most to it, is that it involved minimal chopping. The comments on YouTube said otherwise, (a Paella recipe must be controversial!) but we absolutely loved the paella, and so did the rest of the people who ate it with me. 

Recipe adapted from Chef José Andres
Serves 2
Ingredients

8 mussels
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon virgin olive oil
Saffron, a generous pinch
3 cups water


1 medium onion, cut into chunks
1 medium tomato, cut into chunks
1 medium red pepper, cut into chunks
4–6 large cloves of garlic
4 guindillas, or dried red chillies (adjust to your spice level)

3 tablespoons olive oil
2 sticks thyme
1 teaspoon orange food coloring

Salt, to taste  

150 gms fish, such as sea bass, cut into 1-inch pieces
4 langostinos, shell on or 8 large shrimps, shell on
1 1/2 cups paella rice
6 sticks asparagus, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 lemon, cut into 4 wedges

Method

1. In a medium saucepan, boil the mussels with the bay leaf, olive oil, saffron, in 3 cups of water, for 5 minutes.
2. While the mussels boil, puree the onion, tomato, red pepper, garlic, and red chillies. 
3. Drain the mussels, discarding the ones that did not open. Reserve the liquid (seafood broth). Remove the meat of the mussels and discard the shells. 
4. In a paella pan (for two) heat the olive oil. When smoking hot, add the onion-tomato puree. Fry for no more than 2 minutes Add the thyme and orange food coloring. 
5. Add seafood broth, season with salt, to taste, and bring to a boil. Add water till the top of the pan. Let it boil for 5–10 minutes,until it is reduced by a quarter. After this step, you do not mix the paella, ever! 
6. Add the shelled mussels, the fish, and the langostinos or shrimp.
7. Immediately add the rice, scattered evenly through the pan. Let it cook for 10 minutes.
8. Add the asparagus, check for doneness, and serve, garnished with lemon wedges. 

Mushroom and Teleggio Turnovers

Mushroom, cheese and butter is such a beautiful combination. You cannot go wrong with it. Flavor it as you please. This recipe is yet again from one of my favorite cookbooks— American Masala, by Suvir Saran. Saran is chef and owner of Manhattan's highly acclaimed Indian restaurant, Devi. This book is a compilation of some of his favorite recipes from his home. Thank you Chef, you have brought some great recipes into our home.


I loved the idea of this recipe, because it's simple, can be made ahead in time and frozen for when you're ready to serve it and you can alter the flavoring each time and make it your own. This is his recipe, but I used a mixture of cheeses I had in the refrigerator. Swap the mushrooms for spinach or add spinach too by making it Mushroom, Spinach, and Cheese Turnovers. Have fun! And impress those last minute guests with a homemade treat. 


One of my guests didn't eat eggs, which is why I omitted the egg wash. It tasted great  without it. The egg wash will give it a beautiful glaze.


There is nothing healthy or low-fat about this. The puff pastry does enough caloric damage, so don't bother skimping on the butter. This is party food, so be sure that you keep all the yum in it.


Makes 16 turnovers
Ingredients
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1 teaspoon finely chopped rosemary
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon ground peppercorns
1 small red onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons fruity white wine or vermouth
1 1/2 pounds cremini mushrooms, trimmed and sliced
1 teaspoon kosher salt plus a pinch, for the egg wash
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1 large egg
1 tablespoon water
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
All-purpose flour, for rolling pastry
2 packages frozen puff pastry, thawed
2 ounces Taleggio cheese, cut into 16 small pieces


Method

1. Melt the butter with the rosemary, pepper flakes, and ground peppercorns in a large skillet over medium-high heat, cooking until it's fragrant, about 1 minute.
2. Add the onions, reduce the heat to medium, and cook until browned and sticky, stirring often, 5 to 7 minutes. 
3. Pour in the wine and cook 1 minute longer while scraping the onion and any browned bits off the bottom of the skillet.
4. Add the mushrooms and cook until they release their liquid and that liquid mostly evaporates, stirring occasionally, another 5 to 7 minutes.
5. Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the salt, and cook for an additional 10 minutes, stirring often to prevent burning (reduce heat to low is mushrooms begin to brown too much). 
6. Stir in the thyme, transfer the mushrooms to a bowl to cool, or refrigerate overnight.
7. Preheat the oven to 400F. Whisk the egg, water, cayenne pepper, and salt and set aside.
8. Dust your work surface with flour and place 1 sheet of puff pastry on top (if it came folded in thirds, keep folded). Roll the folded pastry sheet to an approximate 12 x 8-inch rectangle.
9. Starting 1-inch from the left edge, place a heaping 1 1/2 tablespoons of mushrooms in the center of the pastry. Repeat three times, working your way across the pastry, leaving about 1 1/2-inches between mounds and ending about 1-inch from the right edge. Place 1 piece of cheese atop each mound.
10. Using a pastry brush, lightly paint the long edge of pastry closest to you with the egg wash. Paint the left and right edges up to the midpoint of the pastry, and then paint between each of the mounds up to the middle of the pastry. Fold the top half of the pastry down over the bottom half, press the edges together to seal, and press the dough together in between each of the mounds.
11. Trim the edges and cut between each mound so you have 4 turnovers. Press the tines of an upturned fork around the turnovers' edges to crimp.
12. Brush with egg wash and place on a baking sheet. 
13. Proceed with the remaining pastry and filling, making 12 more turnovers. 
14. Bake the turnovers until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes, rotating midway through cooking. Cool 10 minutes, and serve warm or at room temparature.

Saran's tips: The turnovers can be frozen on a baking sheet until they are hard, about 1 hour, and then transferred to a large resealable plastic bag and kept frozen for 3 months. Let turnovers thaw before baking.

Pistachio-Cardamon Cake

When I read this recipe in Suvir Saran's book American Masala I knew it had to be made immediately. My husband, who does not have a sweet tooth, was salivating over the cake and begged me to make it again. This was several years ago. So a few weeks ago when I took this to a potluck with my fabulous girlfriends (where I also took along the Spinach and Cheese Dip from Saran's book) it was a hit! I have re-made it for several occasions in the past few weeks— which made me wonder why I never shared this fantastic recipe with all of you. 


This Lebanese cake is a pound cake is wonderfully soft as the pistachios are ground to a fine powder. As Saran says; "I find that the freshly ground cardamon enhances the flavor of the pistachios, contributing an ethereal citrus essence." The lemon icing is what sends this perfect cake over the top and gives it that irreplaceable finishing touch.

Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients

For the cake

1 cup raw, shelled pistachios

1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cardamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

3 large eggs

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup whole milk

For the icing

1 cup confectioners' sugar

1 teaspoon ground cardamon

1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon heavy cream or milk

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. 
2. Butter and flour a 8 1/2 x 4 1/2-inch loaf pan with 1 tablespoon butter.
3. Pulse pistachios in a food processor until they become very fine (be careful not to over process; otherwise you'll have pistachio butter). Set aside.
4. Whisk the flour, baking powder, cardamon, and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside.
5. Crack the eggs in a liquid measuring cup, whisk in the vanilla and set aside.
6. Using an electric mixer, cream the remaining stick and a half of butter and sugar, until they are light and airy.
7. Drizzle in the eggs, a little at a time, beating between additions to incorporate and scraping the bowl as necessary.
8. Alternate adding the flour and milk, starting and ending with the flour and mixing until the batter is just nearly combined between additions, scraping the bowl as necessary.
9. Fold the pistachios into the batter by hang, then transfer to the prepared loaf pan. Bake the cake until a cake tester inserted into the cake's center comes out clean, 45 to 55 minutes. Let the cake cool for 10 minutes, then invert onto a cooling rack and turn it so that its top faces up. Let the cake cool completely.
10. While the cake cools, make the icing. Sift the confectioners' sugar and cardamon powder into a medium bowl. Whisk in the lemon juice and milk
11. Spread the icing over the cake, letting it drop over the sides. Once the icing has set, slice and serve.

Saran's tip: The lemon icing is nice finish, but the cake is delicious on its own too. Heavy cream makes the icing opaque and less gritty, but if you don't have any handy, add an extra teaspoon of lemon juice.

Parmesan Shortbread with Fennel and Smoked Sea Salt

Every few weeks Denise sends me a stuffed envelope of newspaper cuttings and recipes that she knows I would love. Without doubt I always do and this time the winner recipe (for me) was this shortbread recipe. Shortbread is a perfect cookie to bake, as we are all tea drinkers and my in-laws are strict vegetarians, making this is a nice treat to bake for them. The fennel topping goes great with their taste preferences for all things Indian along with their evening cup of Indian chai.


The credit of this recipe goes to Bon Appétit, thank you! The only change I made was to use smoked sea salt as opposed to regular sea salt. 


Any salty hard cheese, such as an aged Manchego, Grana Padano, or Mimolette, would be a fine substitute for the Parmesan. This recipe is from Caitlin Williams Freeman's upcoming cookbook, The Blue Bottle Craft of Coffee. 


Makes 18
Ingredients
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup finely grated Parmesan
1 tablespoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon Maldon smoked sea salt
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil


Method

1. Using an electric mixer, beat butter in a medium bowl on low speed until smooth, 1–2 minutes. 
2. Add powdered sugar, pepper, and kosher salt.
3. Reduce speed to medium and beat, occasionaly scraping down sides of bowl, until light and fluffy, 4–5 minutes. 
4. Add flour and cheese. Reduce mixer to low and beat mixture until dough comes together.
5. Wrap dough in plastic and flatten into a rectangle. Chill until firm, at least 2 hours. Do ahead: Dough can be made 5 days ahead. Keep chilled. Let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes before continuing.
6. Place fennel seeds in a resealable plastic freezer bag. Coarsely crush with a rolling pin or the bottom of a skillet. Alternatively, pulse in a spice mill until coarsely crushed. Transfer to a bowl; stir in sea salt. Set fennel salt aside.
7. Arrange a rack in the center of oven and preheat to 350F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 
8. Remove plastic wrap from dough. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to a 10x8-inch rectangle about 1/4-inch thick. 
9. Cut until 18 equal rectangles. Arrange cookies on the prepared baking sheet, spacing 1-inch apart. Brush cookies generously with olive oil and then sprinkle with the fennel salt.
10. Bake, rooting sheet halfway through, until cookies are golden brown (flecks of cheese will be slightly darker), 20–24 minutes. 
11. Let cool on sheets for at least 10 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature. Do ahead: Can be made 2 days ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

Mocha Chocolate Chip Cake

There is something about a classic tiered cake on a cake stand, with a ton of frosting on it, a candle in the center and a family singing "Happy Something" around the dinner table. Well, it was my aunt and uncles 18th anniversary. One of my favorite aunt and uncle ever! They've given me two fabulous cousins, and it was so good having all four of them visit us in New York. 
So when it came to baking a cake for their anniversary, I reached out for one of my favorite cookbooks– Alice's Tea Cup and decided to make the Mocha Chocolate Chip Cake that they rave about. Now I understand why— and hopefully you will soon too!


As the book says: If you like coffee (coffee to drink, coffee ice cream, iced mocha lattes, or all of the above), prepare to never make another cake again!


The recipe below is the original recipe from the book– Jean's Not-Yet-but-Soon-to-Be-Famous Mocha Chocolate Chip Cake. The only change I made was from the recipe was that I used my electric stand mixer instead of mixing it by hand. The rest remains the same.


Makes one 8-inch 2-layer cake


Ingredients
For the Cake
1 stick (1/2 cup) salted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups turbinado sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour (Alice's Tea Cup recommends Hecker's unbleached flour)
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 level teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons 2% or whole milk (I used whole milk)
3/4 cup to 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, to taste


For the Frosting
8 heaping teaspoons instant espresso powder
7 cups (two 1-pound boxes) confectioners' sugar
2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter, at room temperature
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 to 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips


Method

1. To make the cake, preheat the oven to 350F, and butter and flour two 8-inch round cake pans, and mix well. Set them aside.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream the butter and sugar by hand. Add the eggs and vanilla, and mix well. 
3. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt, also by hand. Add half the flour mixture to the wet mixture, and mix thoroughly. Then mix in half the milk,  followed by the remaining flour mixture, and then the remaining flour mixture, and then the remaining milk, mixing after each addition. 
4. Add the chocolate chips, and mix again.
5. Pour the batter into the prepared cake pans and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the cake has pulled away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Set the cake layers aside on a wire rack to cool thoroughly before removing from the pans and frosting.
6. To make the frosting, combine the espresso powder with 6 to 10 teaspoons boiling-hot water (use less water for a strong mocha flavor and more water for a milder flavor). Set aside.
7. In a large mixing bowl, thoroughly mix one-third of the confectioners' sugar with the butter, salt, and vanilla. Add the next one-third of the sugar, then the final third, mixing well after each addition. 
8. Add the espresso a little at a time, mixing well as you go, until the frosting has reached the desired consistency. 
9. Add the chocolate chips and mix again.
10. To build the cake, frost both layers and stack them; then frost the sides of the cake. (Be sure to wait until the layers have cooled fully; you don't want to melt the chocolate chips!)

Three-Cheese Spinach Dip

The very first entry I made in this blog was from Chef Suvir Saran's book, American Masala for Double Basil Spicy Mussels. This book is fabulous! I bought it when I saw it on sale at Williams Sonoma, without a clue of who Saran was. Turns out that he is the chef of Manhattan acclaimed restaurant Devi. I have used this book so much (all the cooking stains on the book are justice) and his recipes have proved yummier each round. 


This is what I took to a potluck last night with my fabulous girlfriends. Soul food, last night was definitely not about skinny-girl time (although we did talk about the Skinny Girl Diet a lot!). Mumtaz made her SPECTACULAR biryani, Amita brought yummy and spicy potatoes. To work with the fiery Pakistani and Indian flavors on the table, this Three-Cheese Spinach Dip was a great way to start the evening, as it had a great kick to it with Habañero and lots of black pepper. 


Saran says that this spinach dip may be the richest, creamiest, and most satisfying that you have ever made. It's redolent with heady cheeses like Parmigianno-Reggiano and Gouda and emerges from the oven with a golden Fontina crust. If you plan on serving the dip in a bread bowl, brush the edges of the hollowed-out bread with olive oil or melted butter prior to placing it under the broiler– and keep an eye on the bread to make sure it doesn't burn while the cheese browns (you can cover the edge with a ring of aluminum foil to protect it).


This is definitely a recipe I am going to repeat for a party. Most of it can be made ahead and that's always a plus point! 


Adapted from American Masala, Suvir Saran
Serves 8–10
Ingredients
For the dip
1 pound frozen spinach, thawed
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon ground peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon Habañero powder (or red pepper flakes)
1/2 teaspoon dried Oregano
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups heavy cream
4 ounces aged Gouda cheese, grated
4 ounces Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon kosher salt

For the topping

8 ounces Fontina cheese, grated

1/4 cup panko bread crumbs

1/4 teaspoon ground peppercorns

Tortilla chips or a bread bowl, for serving

Method

1. To make the dip, wrap the spinach in a clean kitchen towel and wring until the spinach is free of liquid.
2. Melt the butter with ground peppercorns, Habañero, and thyme in a large saucepan over medium-high heat, cooking until fragrant, about 1 1/2 minutes.
3. Add the flour, reduce heat to medium, and store for 1 1/2 minutes.
4. Whisk in the heavy cream and cook until the mixture begins to thicken and bubble, stirring occasionally, 2 to 3 minutes. 
5. Stir in the Gouda and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheeses, spinach, nutmeg, and salt and continue cooking for 2 minutes. 
6. Transfer the spinach to a shallow 1 1/2-quart oven-safe casserole or gratin dish. (At this point the dip can be refrigerated for up to 2 days; bring to room temperature before proceeding.)
7. Set an oven rack 6-inches from heating element and preheat the broiler. 
8. Make the topping: Combine all topping ingredients and sprinkle over the spinach dip.
9. Broil until the cheese is browned and bubbly, 5 to 10 minutes (watch carefully as broilers vary).

Cooks Tip: Add canned artichokes hearts to the left over dip, and serve Three-Cheese Artichoke and Spinach Dip. 

Oyster Sauce Chicken with Ginger and Mushrooms

Comfort food for me are many things, Chinese food is high up on the list. My mother grew up in Singapore, so she cooked a lot of Chinese and Singaporean foods at home (in Mumbai, India). Lately, I've been loving cooking recipes from Ching-He Huang's cookbook, Ching's Everyday Easy Chinese. The reasons: Easy, Fast and Healthy. Once you have your pantry stocked with the ingredients she recommends, then you're all set to whip up a quick Chinese meal. All the ingredients she asks for are easily available in any Chinese supermarket, none of which are expensive. 


Her top 10 essential Chinese pantry ingredients are:

1. Light soy sauce
2. Dark soy sauce
3. Shaoshing rice wine
4. Toasted sesame oil
5. Five-spice powder
6. Sichuan peppercorns
7. Chinkiang black rice vinegar
8. Clear rice vinegar
9. Chili bean sauce
10. Chili sauce

This is one of Ching's own flavor combination recipe, inspired from the southern Chinese dishes from regions such as Canton and Fujian, where the combination of meat and seafood is very common. 


You may have noticed that many Chinese recipes call for vegetables to be cut on the diagonal. It is a simple Chinese cooking technique to expose more of the vegetable's surface area to heat to help it cook quicker and to absorb more of the seasonings and sauces. In this recipe the scallions are cut on the diagonal. 


Here is the revised recipe, hope you make it and enjoy it as much as we did! 


Serves 2–4 to share
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 9 minutes


Ingredients
1 lb boneless skinless chicken, thinly sliced
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp peanut oil
1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
1 tbsp Shaoshing rice wine, or dry sherry
5–7 shiitake mushrooms (I used button mushrooms)
2 large scallions, sliced on the diagonal


For the sauce
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tbsp chili sauce
7 tbsp cold vegetable stock


Method

1. Place the chicken in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Add the cornstarch and mix well to coat the chicken.
2. Pour all ingredients of the sauce in another bowl and stir together to combine.
3. Heat a wok over high heat until it starts to smoke and add the peanut oil. 
4. Add the ginger and fry for a few seconds, then add the chicken pieces and stir-fry another 4 minutes, stirring constantly. 
5. As the chicken starts to turn opaque, add the rice wine or dry sherry and cook for an additional 2 minutes, then add the sauce and bring to a boil. 
6. Add the mushrooms and cook for 1 minute, then stir in the scallions. 
7. Remove from heat and serve immediately.

Low-Fat Banana Bread

As you all must know by now, I love to bake. It sometimes becomes an obsession, a need to sift flour and measure exactly. But… alas, my metabolic rates requests otherwise. And so does my husband, who doesn't have a sweet tooth and a not-so-great metabolic rate either. 


So when I found this recipe from Bon Appétit 1997 on Epicurious.com via their Epi App on the iPhone, I knew I had to bake it. 


Banana bread can be moist or on the drier-side like bread is. This recipe is a good balance between the two. It also isn't too sweet and that perfect slice to accompany your cup of tea. And my husband had two slices too! 


Now, comes my 17-month old son Ishaan, a.k.a Monkey. He's a monkey because he's all over the place all the time (!) but he is also a serious banana-eater. He runs to the kitchen and screams "BANNN" every morning, after his afternoon nap, and any time he wants a snack! God forbid he sees one while we are in the grocery store. 


So when I saw this recipe, I hid two bananas from Monkey and let them ripen. I added some cinnamon and nutmeg powder to compliment the cup of Indian-chai I was having that evening. Add walnuts or chocolate chips if you'd like. 


Makes 15 slices
Ingredients
2 large eggs, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup smashed ripe bananas (about 2 large)
1/3 cup 1% buttermilk
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg

1. Preheat oven to 325F.
2. Lightly butter and flour a standard loaf pan (8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 1/2-inch pan).
3. Using an electric mixer beat eggs and sugar in large bowl until thick and light, about 5 minutes.
4. Mix in smashed bananas, buttermilk, oil and vanilla.
5. Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg over mixture; beat until just blended (do not over mix!).
6. Transfer batter to prepared pan and bake bread until golden brown on top and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour.
7. Turn bread out onto rack and cool.

For those following the Weight Watchers diet, 1 slice is 3 points! 

Chai & Honey Cupcakes with Cinnamon Buttercream Frosting

My little 17-month old made his second trip to the hospital this past week. Unfortunately this has been his second stint there and the doctors and nurses at NYU Medical Center have been beyond excellent, warm, understanding and supportive. So as a gesture to thank them, I baked these cupcakes.
The sweet tooth in me didn't survive too long and I ate the slightly broken cupcake (hmm… or maybe I broke it subconsciously to be able to eat it!). 


When I read this recipe in my cupcake book (Cupcakes, by Shelley Kaldunski) I made note that this would definitely be the next cupcake recipe that I baked. It was definitely worth the wait! 


The buttermilk makes these cupcakes moist and delicious! But let's face it, half way through recipes you realize that you're out of, or don't have enough buttermilk in the refrigerator or you don't want to buy a carton of it for just 1/4 cup as this recipe calls for. You can substitute it with the 5 minute recipe below.


Add one tablespoon of lemon juice to a liquid measuring cup. Then, add whole milk until the amount reaches the one cup mark. Let the mixture stand at room temperature for 5–10 minutes. The milk should look curdled. Stir and you have homemade buttermilk!


This recipe also calls for chai-spiced tea bags. The Indian girl in me will never use one of those! So I brewed my own chai, and sipped on a cup while baking and used the rest in the recipe. 


This is my very classic chai recipe:
Bring 2 cups water to boil. 
Add 3 of your favorite black tea teabags with 1/2-inch ginger grated, 1 cinnamon stick, 2 cloves, whole black pepper and 4 cardamon pods (crushed).
Let it brew for 3–5 minutes.
Set aside 2/3 cup for this recipe and then add 1 cup milk and sugar (to your liking) for your remaining 2 cups of tea. 


Makes 12 cupcakes
Ingredients
3 chai-spice tea bags (or 2/3 cup chai from the above recipe)
2/3 cup boiling water
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup honey
4 tbsp unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 large egg, at room temperature


4 sticks (2 cups) unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 pounds confectioners' sugar
4 tablespoons whole milk, at room temperature
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 tablespoon cinnamon powder


Method

1. Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350F. Line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with paper or foil liners.
2. In a small bowl, steep the chai-spiced tea bags in 2/3 cup boiling water or alternatively make your own cup of spiced chai. Discards the bags (and spices), let the tea cool.
3. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, brown sugar, baking soda and salt.
4. In a large bowl, combine the honey, melt butter, buttermilk and egg. 
5. Add the flour mixture and using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat until just combined, about 2 minutes. 
6. Add the cooled tea and beat until just combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
7. Divide the batter evenly among the prepared muffin cups, filling each about three-fourths full. 
8. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean, 18–20 minutes.
9. Let the cupcakes cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Transfer the cupcakes to the wire rack and let cool completely, about 1 hour. (The unfrosted cupcakes can be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 3 days; bring to room temperature before frosting and garnishing).
10. While the cupcakes bake and cool make the buttercream (or defrost leftover buttercream like I did, and flavor it with cinnamon powder).
11. With a mixer on medium speed, cream the butter in a large mixing bowl. Reduce the speed to low and add the cinnamon confectioners' sugar a little bit at a time, alternating with splashes of the milk and and the vanilla. Mix until frosting is smooth. 

Asian Sliders

I absolutely love any recipe from Ching He-Huang. Simple & Delicious seems to be her mantra. Most of the ingredients she uses in her recipes are easy to find. The only ingredient that she uses often and was difficult for me to find was Shaoshing rice wine, which I eventually found easily in Chinese supermarkets. However, Ching recommends using dry sherry as a substitute. She says that it adds a 'sweet-bitterness' to the dish, but I also think that it adds that Chinese food aroma, making it feel authentic! 


The main reason I started writing this blog is because many of my friends would exclaim when I told them I cooked almost every day, that it didn't mean spending many laborious hours in the kitchen and nor was it a chore for me. Not that I am against eating out or ordering in, but I am for cooking most of your meals (at least week day meals). It's usually healthier and definitely healthier on the wallet ;-)


The best tip I can give any new home cook is to have your basics in your kitchen prepped as much as possible. Once I week I mince onions, ginger and garlic and store them in the refrigerator in airtight containers. You can use a food processor to help you quickly chop. I also wash cilantro and store it tightly wrapped in paper towels in a ziploc bag. These are my basic ingredients that I use all the time in most of my home cooking. So if you look at the ingredient list below, the only chopping I had to do for this recipe was to finely slice the spring onions.


These sliders are what we had for dinner tonight, and they were simply incredible! Hmm… maybe a new recipe to save for those Fourth of July barbecue's coming up?

Adapted from Ching He-Huang's Chinese Sliders recipe
Makes 8 sliders


Ingredients
For the patties
1 pound ground chicken or ground lean pork
2 spring onions, finely sliced
1-inch ginger, grated
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon Shaoshing rice wine, or dry Sherry
1 large egg
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon soya sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon Sriracha, or any Asian chili sauce
Salt and pepper, to taste


2 tablespoons vegetable oil


For the sauce
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1-inch ginger, minced
1 cup hoisin sauce
3 tablespoons honey


8 English muffins, very slightly toasted
Cucumber, sliced
8 slices of onion
Jalapeño slices (optional)


Method

1. In a large mixing bowl, mix the ground chicken or pork with the next nine ingredients for the patties. Mix with clean hands and form into 8 mini-patties, slightly larger than a golf ball. Let it marinate for two hours.
2. Preheat the oven to 450F.
3. Preheat a large cast-iron skillet over medium-low heat for 5 minutes. Raise the heat to high and add 2 tablespoons vegetable oil. Add the chicken burgers and cook, turning once, until well-browned, about 3 minutes each side.
4. Transfer the cast-iron skillet to the preheated oven and continue to cook, about 10–15 minutes. Alternatively, cook entirely on the stove top and avoid the oven entirely. 
5. Using a spatula, remove the burgers onto a plate and return the cast-iron skillet to the stove top. Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil over medium-high heat and add the ginger, hoisin sauce and honey. 
6. Add the chicken burgers and coat in the sauce.
7. Assemble the sandwiches, layered with cucumber slices and onion.