Grandma Quinlan's Banana Bread

February 09, 2015 by Laura Messersmith in Cooking

There are some recipes that follow you through life and for me this banana bread is one of them. I can remember my mother mixing up a batch on a Saturday morning double-checking the measurements against the recipe card. I mashed the bananas myself in my post-college apartment(s) plural and tried to share with roommates. And now, I sift the flour in anticipation of guests, since it’s nice to have a little something freshly baked when visitors arrive.

This banana bread has a lot to recommend it – simple ingredients, no fuss process- but it’s really my favorite and the one I judge all others against because it’s the one I’ve been eating the longest. For me this recipe represents the perfect combination of a slightly salty, golden brown crust and gently sweet banana-laced crumb.

When it comes to the bananas – the riper the better – a few speckles are good, some solid freckles are better, but the ones where the peel is definitely more brown than yellow are best. I usually end up with a few good candidates through benign neglect of our banana supplies and what a heavenly way to elevate a banana just past its peak.

Grandma Quinlan’s Banana Bread (yield: 12 muffins or 1 loaf)

Ingredients:
1 cup (2 medium) mashed ripe bananas
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Non-stick spray

Instructions:
Pre-heat the oven to 325 degrees.

Peel the bananas and mash with a fork on a plate until they form a loose puree with some small pieces of banana remaining.

In a small mixing bowl, beat together the granulated sugar, vegetable oil, and eggs until frothy and pale yellow. Fold the mashed bananas into the mixture.

In a separate medium mixing bowl, sift together the all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Add the banana mixture to the dry ingredients and fold together until just mixed.

Pour the batter into a greased bread pan or spoon into greased muffin tins.

Bake bread at 325 degrees for 1 hour, muffins at 325 degrees for 30 minutes until lightly browned.

Small Kitchen Friendly?
Yes, indeed. I used a dinner plate, small mixing bowl, medium mixing bowl, dry and liquid measuring cups and spoons. A loaf pan (or two sets of muffin tins), a spatula, a fork, and a mixing spoon.

The Verdict:
This recipe has been a family favorite since I can remember and when I baked these muffins earlier this week Mike, my friend Kate, and I made short order of them in just a few days. Addictively delicious without being overly sweet. So, so good.

Scouting: SP Nuts & Candy Co.

February 06, 2015 by Laura Messersmith in Scouting

SP Nuts & Candy Co. | Image: Laura Messersmith — **SP Nuts & Candy Co.** | Image: *Laura Messersmith*

My trip to Tribeca to visit SP Nuts & Candy Co. was inspired in a round about fashion. I was watching that old Meg Ryan/Tom Hanks classic You’ve Got Mail engaging in one of my favorite past times: trying to spot the locations used in Manhattan-centric films. In this case, the scene takes place as Meg walks up Broadway passes a shop called (appropriately) the “Broadway Nut Shop.”

My eagle eye noticed a sign for W80th in the background and yet I couldn’t recall ever seeing this store on a stretch of pavement I know well, which led me to Google which led me to these two links: RIP Broadway Nut Shop on Chowhound and a piece on the New York Times entitled Plenty of Nuts for Sale, but the Roasters Are Vanishing.

I had no idea that in the early 20th Century people would regularly shop for roasted nuts in the same way they might visit a butcher or baker, or that there was a whole category of shops that have nearly disappeared from the modern street. The Times article mentioned SP Nuts as one of (if not the only) holdout in Manhattan that still roasts some of their stock on site.

I knew I had to visit and see this piece of Old New York for myself. What I found was a bright, well organized shop with a rows of nuts, legumes, candy, dried fruit, and chocolates contained in clear glass jars with a vintage roaster turning away in the front window. The sign declares "We Are Nuts About Nuts" and it's clear that their customers are too. One of the shop assistants, Gustavo, explained that many of SP’s customers come in just after Noon because the almonds and cashews will be freshly roasted and still warm. Luckily I was there at this magic hour and Gustavo was kind enough to offer a taste test. Now I understand why folks arrive right on time – a freshly roasted cashew is delicious!

I had a recipe in mind, so I had to skip the house specialties and bring home a bag of pecans instead to whip up a batch of for Sugar and Spice Candied Pecans, but my visit to SP Nuts has me pondering ways to incorporate almonds, cashews and pistachios. And, you can bet that I’ll definitely show up at Noon!

SP Nuts & Candy Co. | 166 Church St; New York, NY | Mon – Fri 9:00 am – 7:00 pm; Sat 10:00 am – 6:00 pm

Grilled Tuna Rolls

February 04, 2015 by Laura Messersmith in Cooking with the Contessa

Each week I follow along with Ina Garten (aka the Barefoot Contessa) and attempt to recreate one of her dishes in my tiny New York City kitchen. The catch? This is my version of cooking school and I’m making these recipes for the first time. I’ll share both my successes and um, challenges, along the way and we’ll see if I can keep up with the Contessa!

Episode: “Barefoot to Go”

The Set-up: Ina is bringing a day’s worth of meals to her friends Rob Marshall and John DeLuca who are holed up in the Hamptons editing their movie, Nine. Alas DD-L does not make an appearance.

The Menu: Grilled Tuna Rolls, Lentil Vegetable Soup, Homemade Granola Bars

0:55 – Ina says she offered to bring Rob and John “take-out” but she suspects they won’t call, so she’s surprising them with breakfast and lunch.

1:06 – First up: Homemade Granola Bars and Ina is toasting the oatmeal, shredded coconut and slivered almonds. I bet the kitchen smells fantastic…

2:19 – Granola is such a tricky thing – it seems like it should be so healthy and yet these bars have honey, butter, AND brown sugar. Not that I’m complaining exactly.

3:41 – Ina always uses the most enormous glass mixing bowls and I’m jealous that she must never worry about whether there’s enough mixing space.

4:22 – I am 100% on board with the dried apricots and cranberries in this mix, but dates – not so much.

5:03 – These granola bars look crazy sticky and delicious. May need to make a batch.

5:50 – We flash over to an adorable cedar shake cottage that we will from now on call The Editing Bunker and Rob seems to be playing “Bad Cop” insisting that they power through without breakfast. Mean!

6:34 – Back to Ina as she cuts the granola bars and individually wraps them. Because she’s perfect.

9:25 – Ina has arrived with her breakfast basket to surprise Rob “Bad Cop” Marshall and John “Good Cop” DeLuca, who actually let their crew stop for a moment to eat.

11:37 – Back to the barn to make the Lentil Vegetable Soup for lunch in their “Day of Barefoot.”

12:02 – What is it about anything that starts with a base of sautéed onions, garlic, and leeks? Sign me up!

13:28 – If I’m not mistaken this is the same base as the recipe for French Lentils with just a lot more chicken stock to turn it into soup. Very tricky, Ina.

14:33 - Ina is using her favorite French green lentils (aka lentils de Puy) and I 100% agree with her on their texture being better – maybe because they’re smaller they seem less mushy?

19:44 – Onward to the Grilled Tuna Rolls which actually aren’t grilled, but cooked in a really hot sauté pan.

20:13 – Pro Tip #1: Use a dry sauté pan, any oil put in the pan will burn before it’s hot enough to sear the tuna.

21:47 – Now for the dressing, which is soy, sesame, and lime based. I love limes, but juicing them is the worst.

22:50 – Ina is so right about avocados I always have to buy them a little under-ripe a few days in advance and they are prone to “schmut[zing], a technical term.”

23:32 – Salad assembly time and this looks so, so delicious.

27:10 – Can I tell you a secret? When she first started making this I was expecting sushi, but it’s definitely a variation on the classic lobster roll. Should I be embarrassed?

28:09 – The soup is done and Ina has arrived at The Editing Bunker, which curiously involves some sort of soothing infinity pool in the backyard, for an al fresco lunch.

29:28 – Rob “Bad Cop” Marshall has switched hats to “Good Cop” and tells Ina that he is surprising her with a sneak peek of the movie trailer. She is adorably excited to have such a treat further endearing her to me forever. Love!

Final Thoughts:

Having a seriously hard time deciding which of these recipes to try – so many good ones!

Granola Bars seem so simple to make; I think I’m going to challenge myself to develop my own recipe.

I know I’ve said this before, but Ina has the coolest friends.

Lessons Learned:
I had never cooked a tuna steak before, so I was a little nervous, but all the more reason to make Grilled Tuna Rolls. As it turns out it’s actually pretty simple and the rest of the recipe is just prepping a few vegetables and mixing the dressing. That said, I have a confession to make: I completely forgot to put in the sesame seeds. So lesson learned, review the ingredient list carefully so you don’t leave something out! Thankfully the sesame seeds aren’t totally essential. Can we chalk it up to brain freeze? Whoops!

Tuna – As it turns out the skills needed to cook a filet mignon are the same for a tuna steak. Really hot sauté pan - I let it heat over a high flame for 4-5 minutes – a seasoned piece of fish and just a little patience. The major difference is the length of time per side: you will literally need 1 minute on each to have a perfectly seared tuna steak. Crunchy and golden on the outside and beautifully crimson on the inside. If you watch carefully while it’s searing you can actually see the cooked part creep toward the inside, so no excuses for over cooking!

Small Kitchen Friendly?
Yes, definitely. I used a medium (8”) stainless steel sauté pan, a large cutting board, chef’s knife, medium mixing bowl, microplane grater, mixing spoon, pastry brush and measuring spoons. That’s it!

The Verdict:
The Grilled Tuna Rolls (technically seared, but who’s counting?) sounded so good that I skipped the hotdog buns and just went with it as a plated salad. The flavors straddle a really cool crossroad between a sushi roll (tuna, avocado, wasabi) and guacamole (lime, red onion, avocado again) and successfully balance richness, spice, and acid. Normally I’m suspicious of so-called “entrée salads” but this one really is a meal. I can’t wait to make this again soon!

Sugar and Spice Candied Pecans

February 02, 2015 by Laura Messersmith in Cooking

Sugar & Spice Candied Pecans | Image: Laura Messersmith — **Sugar & Spice Candied Pecans** | Image: *Laura Messersmith*

Over the holidays Mike and I were given an amazing gift basket from Zingerman’s in Ann Arbor, MI – famously portrayed as Jason Segal’s sandwich making domain in The Five Year Engagement. The basket had brownies, cheddar cheese, smoked sausage and a ton of other dangerously delicious goodies, but the unexpected gem of the basket was the small bag of Spiced Pecans.

Normally chocolate is my jam but these were addictive. Each pecan was generously encased in a sweet and surprisingly spicy mixture of ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and black pepper – all the better if you could find a cluster that had a little extra coating. We had to consciously ration them to keep from inhaling the entire contents. I mean, ridiculous. So, I resolved to figure out the recipe and recreate these amazing treats so we wouldn’t have to wait for next year’s basket.

I read a ton of recipes, including Zingerman’s, and taste-tested until I got just the right balance of sugar and spice – a hard job right? The heat is layered, the coating is crunchy, and the mellow nutty flavor of the pecans still comes through. I hope you’ll try these and let me know how you like them.

Sugar & Spice Candied Pecans (yield: 3 cups)

Ingredients:
5 tablespoons room temperature butter
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 ¼ teaspoons ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 large egg white
1 pound (3 cups) pecan halves

Instructions:
In a medium mixing bowl, combine the granulated sugar, salt, black pepper, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, cardamom, ginger and nutmeg. Mix until the spices are evenly distributed through the sugar.

Add the butter – very soft room temperature, but not melted – is key. Use a fork to mash together until the butter is totally combined with the sugar and spice mixture and resembles dark, wet sand.

In a small bowl separate the egg and beat the egg white until frothy. Add the egg white to the sugar and spice mixture and mix well until pale brown and opaque.

Stir the pecan halves into the sugar and spice mixture until well coated.

Pre-heat the oven to 300 degrees. Line a baking sheets with aluminum foil (this is essential!) and spread the coated pecans out evenly. Bake for 18-20 minutes, checking and using a rubber spatula to gently move the nuts around at the 10, 7, and finally 3 minute mark until deep golden brown. Watch carefully especially during the final 3 minutes of baking to prevent the nuts from burning.

Slide the aluminum foil off the baking sheet and onto a wire rack. Allow the pecans to cool completely before serving.

Adapted and rewritten from Zingerman’s and Trisha’s Southern Kitchen.

Small Kitchen Friendly?
Yes! I used a medium mixing bowl, two small bowls, one baking sheet, a wire rack, a rubber spatula, table fork, and measuring cups and spoons.

The Verdict:
I put out some for our SuperBowl “Don’t Call it a Party” Hang-out last night and was pleased to see that these Sugar & Spice Candied Pecans were as popular as I hoped they’d be. Mike declared the flavor spot on, and since a bowl of these babies is in serious danger when I’m around they’re a good thing to make when we have guests! I could also see sprinkling a few on a salad, maybe along side some slices of pear or with a small wedge of gorgonzola?