No, it’s not more cornbread!
This is a quick bread that I made with fufu flour. Fufu flour is a very fine powdery grind of plantain, cassava, and potato. Be careful. Not all fufu flours are created equal. The ratio of plantain to cassava to potato may vary. As a matter of fact, there are fufu flours that are made of cassava exclusively. And, there are fufu flours made of oat and rice, too. Take this into consideration. The differences in that ratio will effect the bitterness (or lack thereof) in your finished product.
Even though this bread has a fairly healthy dose of sugar, there was a distinctively noticeable bitterness from the dried ground unripe plantain.
Fufu Bread
makes 1 8×8 inch baking dish
1 1/3 cups fufu flour (with plantain, cassava, and potato)
3/4 cup flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/3 cups buttermilk
2 eggs
1/4 cup peanut oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Butter baking dish. Set aside. When oven is fully heated, combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Stir vigorously and make a well. Add buttermilk, eggs, 1/4 cup peanut oil, and vanilla extract. Stir gently to combine. Pour into buttered baking dish and place in the oven.
Bake for approximately 35 minutes.
This was perfect with Jamaican Brown Stew Chicken.
Enjoy it while it’s still warm!
Baking at a high heat gives this deep golden brown crust.
Traditional Cornbread
makes 1 8×8 inch baking dish
2 cups cornmeal
2 teaspoons baking powder
3 Tablespoons finely ground sugar
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/3 cups buttermilk
2 large eggs
1/4 cup light and fruity olive oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
(Or, Substitute the scrapings of 1/4 of a vanilla bean.)
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
As the oven preheats, combine all dry ingredients. Stir vigorously. Set aside. Generously butter baking dish.
When the oven is fully heated, make a well in the dry ingredients and add buttermilk, eggs, 1/4 cup olive oil and vanilla. Stir gently to combine. Pour into buttered baking dish and gently tap on the counter to spread out the batter. Bake at 425 degrees F for 35-40 minutes. (Or, until deep golden brown and center is firm to the touch and a toothpick comes cleanly out of the center.)
Bourbon Madagascar & Tahitian Vanilla Beans
Tahitian on the Right, Bourbon Madagascar on the Left
The Tahitian beans have a distinctively floral quality that is downright perfume-y. The smell is addictive. But, at first scent, it seems the floral characteristics might not mingle as easily with other flavors. The Bourbon Madagascar are lighter and fruitier. There is the scent of raisins and other deep dark dried fruit scents lingering in the background. And, they’re super fresh, soft, and very plump.
It will be fun experimenting with these.
My Gorgeous New Solid Oak Bookshelves
Before (Oct-Nov 2011)
Cookbooks, Cookbooks, Everywhere
…and not a place to step
After & Cleaning Up
Roasted Chicken with Carrots, Onion, Celery, Potato, & Garlic
New year, busy year…. who has time for recipes?
This is an easy way to prepare a generous meal for 4 with only a bare minimum of effort. Just wash the vegetables, cut them into rustic (sloppy) pieces and toss them in a baking dish. Add chicken and broth and bake.
Roasted Chicken in Broth
makes 4 generous servings
1 chicken, cut into pieces
4 carrots, sliced
4 potatoes, diced
4 stalks of celery, sliced
4 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
2 small onions, sliced
1 small carton of crimini mushrooms, sliced
fine sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
red pepper flakes
3-4 cups freshly made chicken stock
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Mound the vegetables in the center. Place chicken pieces in the corners and along the edges. Sprinkle with sea salt, black pepper and red pepper. Add enough chicken stock to cover the baking dish to a depth of about 1 inch. Bake for 45-55 minutes.
Serve in a shallow bowl with a ladle full of broth and a good hunk of crusty Italian bread.
((If the chicken and veggies don’t get enough color by the 40 minute mark… turn up the heat to 425 degrees F and cook for another 10-15 minutes))
New Favorite Treat?
Discard all of that nasty red syrup in a standard maraschino cherry jar and fill with Luxardo. These make a deliciously decadent topping for a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream.
And, for the adults out there, here’s our first house cocktail for 2012. The original recipe on the Luxardo website is listed in awkward percentages. I’ve decide to do a loose adaptation. And, I’ve added a cherry garnish.
An Italian In Manhattan
makes 2
4 ounces bourbon
1 ounce Amaretto
a splash of Luxardo Maraschino
2 cherries, soaked in Luxardo Maraschino
In a shaker filled with ice, add bourbon, Amaretto and a generous splash of Luxardo Maraschino. Stir. Strain and divide between two martini glasses. Garnish each glass with a Luxardo soaked cherry.
Here’s to a bright, shiny new year!!
Cheers!
It’s just not a holiday without broccoli. Usually that broccoli is roasted. But, it might be sautéed in olive oil with lemon, marinated for a cold salad, baked into a casserole, or shredded for slaw.
Every member of my family has a broccoli in one form or another on every holiday table. That’s just the way it is.
Roasted Broccoli
makes 1 baking dish
1 head of broccoli, cut into pieces or spears
1- 2 lemons, cut in half
your favorite olive oil
fine sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Place broccoli in a baking dish. Squeeze lemon over broccoli. Drizzle generously (but, not excessively) with olive oil. Sprinkle with fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Bake 20-25 minutes, or until edges just begin to char.
Leftovers?
Let’s make one of the best leftover dish you’ll ever eat.
1 box of penne
leftover roasted broccoli
1 lemon, sliced in half
butter, as needed
fine sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
Parmigiano Reggiano, shaved &/or grated
Cook pasta al dente. Drain all but 1/2 cup or so of cooking liquid. Combine pasta, cooking liquid, 3-4 Tablespoons butter. Toss gently. Add broccoli and squeeze lemon halves over pasta. Sprinkle with salt & pepper, to taste. Taste. Add more butter or lemon juice to your taste. Add a small amount of grated Parmigiano Reggiano. Plate.
Serve with Parmigiano Reggiano on the side. Let each diner add slivers or more grated cheese to their taste.
And, then.. Devour it!
Fresh Mozzarella, Provolone, Mushrooms, Sun-Dried Tomatoes & Anchovies
This was a quickie pizza we whipped up one night. We made a simple flour, water, oil and salt dough. We did a quick knead. Let it sit for 15 minutes. Press it into a 9 x 13 inch baking dish well oiled with olive oil. Then, let it rise for about 45 minutes. Top as desired.
Bake in a preheated 475 degree F oven for approximately 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Et Voila!
This was a great way to use up a rather plain chunk of cheddar.
Use all cheddar or half cheddar/half pepper jack.
Trashy Cheddar Cheese Spread
2 cups cheddar, chunked
8 oz. cream cheese, cut into chunks
1/2 cup pickle juice
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
fine sea salt, to taste
Place cheddar and cream cheese in a powerful food processor. Pulse to coarse crumbs. Add pickle juice and peppers. Pulse to a chunky puree. Taste. Add salt, if needed.
Serve with crackers, chips and pretzels.
(Or, spread on toast for a quick and easy open-faced sandwich.)
First, soak the lima beans.
All in.
Fabada Asturiana
makes 1 giant pot
1 – 1 1/2 lbs Alubia Vasca, soaked
(Here, I’m using giant white lima beans.)
2 onions, diced
olive oil
8-10 cloves of garlic, sliced
1 red pepper, roasted, diced
1 red pepper, minced
5-6 cups chicken stock
2 Tablespoons sweet paprika
1 teaspoon hot smoked paprika
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
pinch saffron
1 fresh bay leaf
2 lb chorizo sausage
1/2 – 1 lb bacon, cubed
1 lb morcillia (None on hand, I left this out.)
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 ounces sherry
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
After soaking beans overnight, drain. Cover with fresh water in a large stock pot and bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes. Then, remove from the heat and let sit for 30 minutes. After 30-40 minutes. Drain beans and remove and loose skins.
After 30 minutes, place a large stock pot on the stove. Saute onion in olive oil until light golden. Add bacon. Sauté until golden. Add peppers and garlic. Stir and sauté for another minute or two. Add chicken stock and all remaining ingredients except the sausage (but, including the beans). Simmer for 30 minutes. Test beans. If beans are firm, yet, tender enough to eat, add the sausage. Add chicken stock or additional water, as needed. Simmer beans until tender, but, not falling apart. The beans should maintain their shape.
Serve with warm, crusty bread.
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