Upside Down Banana Bread

Our friend, Claire, just joined the Peace Corps and is about to move to The Gambia for the next few years! Before her new adventure, Tony & Katie hosted a surprise going-away brunch.

I decided to try out a recipe I saw on BuzzFeed for upside down banana bread – which is more of a dessert really.  You make your standard banana bread mix, but before pouring it into the pan, you line it with a layer of bananas covered in caramel sauce.  When you flip it over at the end, it becomes a gooey treat. 

The bananas on mine slid around a bit when they were flipped and I had to clean up some of the excess caramel sauce that leaked off the plate, but overall I’d say it was a success.  Next time I’d dry adding walnuts or pecans to the recipe as well (maybe just toast some to sprinkle over the top). 

We didn’t serve ours with ice cream, but Buzzfeed suggested that you do and I’m sure it’d be amazing. 

I don’t think this will be my replacement banana bread recipe since it was a bit too sweet and dense for me, but it’s perfect for a potluck when others can help eat it!

Best of luck to Claire on her exciting journey to come!

Upside Down Banana Bread (adapted from BuzzFeed)

Ingredients:

• 4-5 ripe bananas (I had a few ripe ones in the freezer that I thawed out along with some fresher ones)
• 3 eggs
• ½ cup oil
• ½ cup sugar
• 1 T ground cinnamon
• 2 cups flour
• ½ cup butter
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2-3 fresh bananas, sliced
• Vanilla ice cream (optional)
• Toasted walnuts/pecans (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. In a large bowl (or in a stand mixer), mash the ripe bananas.

3. Add the eggs, oil, sugar, and cinnamon, mixing until evenly incorporated.

4. Add the flour and mix until the batter has no large pockets of flour. Set aside.

5. In a pot over low heat, melt the butter, then mix in the brown sugar until dissolved.

6. Bring up the heat to medium, cooking until the mixture starts bubbling.

7. Remove the caramel from heat and pour into a greased 9x9 baking pan.

8. Lay the banana slices evenly on top of the caramel.

9. Spread the banana bread batter on top.

10. Bake 40-50 minutes.

11. Cool until the bottom is barely warm and use a knife to loosen the edges from the pan.

12. Place a plate upside-down on top of the pan, then invert the pan, flipping the banana bread onto the plate.

13. Slice, then top with toasted nuts and/or vanilla ice cream. 

Ella’s Soul Food Sundays – Tampa, FL

 

I ate at Ella’s Americana Folk Art Café for the first time last month (see this post) and was blown away by the food.  Even before that, I’d heard high praise for their Soul Food Sundays.  Unfortunately Lance and I rarely have Sundays off together (downside of working retail…) so we hadn’t gotten the chance to try it out.

 

He’s been scheduled to work Thanksgiving night next week, so as compensation they gave him this Sunday off.  First time we’ve had a weekend day off together since Easter! 

Since I’ve heard that Ella’s gets packed on Sundays, we got there a half hour before they opened just to be safe.  There were already about a dozen people in line before us, and by opening time at 11am, nearly 50 people were in line!

 

 

We sat out on the patio to enjoy the nice weather and started with breakfast cocktails – I had their famous Bloody Ella, and Lance had a Mango Mimosa.  Lance’s drink was very sweet – there were so many mimosa flavors to pick from, but he seemed happy with the choice of mango. 

 

 

 

Their version of a Bloody Mary is garnished with an olive, lime, and a whole hickory smoked rib!   The drink itself was a bit spicier than I’m used to, but it was worth it just for the rib – I should have ordered a whole rack of them. 

For my meal I ordered the Funky Monkey Waffle – topped with Nutella, banana, and toasted peanuts.  I of course loved it, but Lance’s meal was really the one that stood out.  He had the Smoked & Fried Chicken and Waffles with a side of collard greens.  The chicken is marinated in buttermilk and tarragon, hickory smoked, then Corn Flake fried.  The two drumsticks and thigh were served with a Belgian waffle and bourbon maple gravy. 

 

It was the best fried chicken either of us had had in our lives.  The meat was juicy and bursting with flavor, and while most fried chicken has greasy skin, the corn flake exterior was perfectly crispy. 

 

The huge meal held us over until dinnertime.  After brunch, we stopped by Treasure Island Beach to check out their Sanding Ovations sand sculpting competition.  They’ll still be up for 3 more weeks if you have the chance to see them yourselves!

 

Ella’s Americana Folk Art Cafe is located at 5119 N Nebraska Ave, Tampa, FL 33603 and is open 5pm – 11pm Tuesday through Thursday, 5pm – 12am Fridays and Saturdays, and 11am – 8pm on Sundays.

Brew D Licious – St. Petersburg, FL

 

We both had the day off yesterday, so we went to St. Pete to check out the Chihuly Collection (we bought a deal on LivingSocial that gave us 2 tickets for $15 – you can buy them here.) We had originally planned to grab breakfast before at Central Coffee Shoppe, but a sign taped to their door said that they are closed Monday through Wednesday this week. 

So we checked Yelp to find somewhere else to eat and discovered Brew D Licious down the street.  I am so happy we discovered this place!  I love their mascot on the sign – a bumble bee hyped up on caffeine holding 6 cups of coffee (or they may be 6 espresso shots).  It is clear before walking in that they’re a bit sassy – a sign in the window says “Yes We’re Open! B*tches!”

The interior is cozy and inviting with eclectic art and furnishings.  Inspirational quotes are scattered throughout with sayings like “Don’t look back – you’re not going that way.”  The counter is made of a beautiful patchwork of different woods.  A print of the famous photo of Audrey Hepburn from Breakfast at Tiffany’s has been tweaked to add a cup of Brew D Licious coffee in her hand. 

The owner, Brigitte, is very knowledgeable about her coffees.  I got an iced mocha which was fantastic.  And when Lance requested a few ice cubes to cool down his extra hot coffee, she offered him coffee cubes to keep it from getting diluted.  

I had a ginger & lemon glazed carrot cake muffin – it was nice and moist with coconut, walnuts, pineapple, raisins, and applesauce baked in. 

A company called The Hole Donuts sells donuts at Brew D Licious on Wednesdays.  Lance had an “Elvis” donut – peanut butter filled topped with a peanut butter glaze, sliced bananas, and crumbled bacon.  Probably the best donut I’ve had in my life. 

After our sweet treats and coffees, we visited the Chilhuly Collection.  I had been a few years back when it first opened, but this time they actually allowed us to take photos!  It’s not a huge museum, but the pieces are beautiful and definitely worth seeing in person.

Brew D Licious is located at 667 Central Ave, Saint Petersburg, FL 33701 and is open 7am – 4pm Monday through Friday, 9am – 4pm Saturday, and 9am – 1pm Sunday.   

The Chihuly Collection is located at 400 Beach Dr NE, St Petersburg, FL 33701 and is open 10 – 5pm Monday through Saturday and 12 – 5pm on Sunday.