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. 

10th Annual Easter Cheesecake

This is year #10 that I’ve baked a cheesecake for Easter and it was one of my favorites! I try to make a different flavor each year (minus the first two years…)

For recipes, click the year: 2008 & 2009 Apple Caramel, 2010 Amaretto, 2011 Dark Chocolate Raspberry, 2012 Chocolate Peanut Butter, 2013 Pumpkin Spice Latte, 2014 Carrot Cake Cheesecake, 2015 Chocolate Baileys, 2016 Almond Joy

We went blueberry picking last weekend at Starkey Farms in New Port Richey and came home with over 2 pounds of berries. So this year, I did a white chocolate blueberry cheesecake. 

The recipe I followed used a pre-made pie crust, but I did a homemade crust instead which turned out great.  My only complaint about this cake was that I wish there was more. It was pretty thin, so if I make it again I’d double the filling for a thicker cheesecake.

Lance and I hosted Easter at our house. We had 16 people and it was amazing! We did it potluck style so we ended up with lots of food.  The cheesecake was devoured. 

Lance’s mom always makes bunny-shaped pears for Easter.  She also made a family recipe of candied bacon and a corn casserole. We also had fruit, mac & cheese, two different egg casseroles, and pineapple bread pudding.

Lance made crockpot maple sugar ham and it was so easy (recipe here).  The ham was so big we had to split it between two crock pots though. All you do is rub the outside in brown sugar, put it cut side down, and cover it in pineapple juice and maple syrup. Cook it 4 hours and every hour baste it with the juices. 

We did a DIY mimosa bar with cranberry, orange mango, and grapefruit juice along with raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries. I found cute tags for the juices from the Target dollar section.

We used the chevron runners and vases from our wedding and bought tulips & daisies from Trader Joe’s (love their flowers).

We had a really great Easter. Hope you all spent the day with people you love!

White Chocolate Blueberry Cheesecake (adapted from Cooking Classy)

Crust Ingredients:

·        10 full sheets of cinnamon graham crackers

·        6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted

·        1/3 cup granulated sugar

Filling Ingredients:

·        1 Tbsp granulated sugar

·        1 1/2 tsp cornstarch

·        1/2 cup cold water

·        1 1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries

·        2 tsp lemon juice

·        12 oz. cream cheese, softened (1 1/2 pkg.)

·        1/3 cup granulated sugar

·        1 egg

·        1 egg white

·        1 tsp vanilla extract

·        1/2 Tbsp lemon juice

·        1 cup white chocolate chips (vanilla chips)

·        1/4 cup heavy whipping cream

·        About 1/2 cup more blueberries for garnish

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 300.

2. Grind graham crackers in a food processer, Mix with the melted butter and 1/3 cup sugar. Spray the bottom of your cheesecake pan with cooking spray (I use Trader Joe’s coconut oil spray) and press the graham cracker mixture firmly to the bottom with some going up the sides of the pan.

3. Bake the crust for 8 minutes, then remove from the oven to cool.

4. Increase the oven temperature to 325 degrees.

6. In a small saucepan, whisk together 1 Tbsp sugar and cornstarch until well blended. Stir in cold water, blueberries and 2 tsp lemon juice. Cook over medium heat whisking often until mixture begins to boil lightly. Boil 30 seconds whisking constantly.

7. Remove from heat and force mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl (to remove blueberry skins), set mixture aside.

8. In a large mixing bowl, with an electric mixer, beat together cream cheese and granulated sugar until fluffy, about 1 minute. Mix in egg and egg white. Add vanilla and lemon juice. Set mixture aside.

9. Combine white chocolate chips and cream in a microwave safe bowl and microwave mixture on 50% power in 30 second intervals, stirring after each interval until chocolate is melted and smooth. Add melted chocolate mixture to cream cheese mixture and blend until smooth.

10. Pour 2/3 cup cheesecake mixture into the graham cracker crust and spread evenly over bottom. Drizzle with 2 Tbsp blueberry sauce. Slowly ladle remaining cheesecake mixture over the drizzled blueberry sauce, covering all of the blueberry sauce. Carefully giggle the pan to even out the top.

11. Drizzle 1 1/2 - 2 Tbsp blueberry sauce over top (reserve remaining blueberry sauce in refrigerator). Take a knife and swirl it through the cheesecake to marble blueberry sauce.

12. Bake cheesecake in center of the oven for 40 minutes, then turn oven off and leave cheesecake in the oven for 5 more minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool. 

Add blueberries to the top for garnish, then refrigerate cheesecake for 6 hours, until set. Serve slices with remaining blueberry sauce (we actually forgot to serve ours with the sauce).

Happy Easter!

Puff Pastry Wrapped Asparagus

I made this recipe twice last weekend – once for a Beauty and the Beast girls’ night (photos here) and then for my Grandma’s birthday dinner. This is now one of my go-to easy appetizers. It looks super fancy but it’s actually very quick and easy to make.

Puff Pastry Wrapped Asparagus (adapted from Dash of Savory)

Ingredients:

• 1 bunch asparagus, trimmed and cleaned
• 1 sheet puff pastry
• Salt & Pepper
• 1 egg, beaten
• Toasted Sesame Seeds, for garnish

Directions:

1.    Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper, set aside.

2.    Season the trimmed asparagus with salt and pepper. Slice the puff pastry into 16 even strands, about ½ inch wide.

3.    Begin wrapping the asparagus with the puff pastry with one side to the other. Line the sheet pan evenly with the wrapped asparagus.

4.    Brush the egg wash onto the puff pastry and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake for 20 minutes until the pastry is golden. Remove and serve immediately. 

Valentine's Day Garlic Shrimp Alfredo Dinner for Two

I love Buzzfeed Tasty’s video recipes.  They always make the meal look so simple. Luckily, this one was actually as easy as it looked.

When we were trying to decide what to cook for Valentine’s Day, I stumbled upon this menu for two with bruschetta, garlic shrimp alfredo pasta, and chocolate mousse for dessert. 

While it says “for two,” it really should have said “for two for a week” because we could have fed ten.  Which was fine because the meal was delicious and we wanted leftovers. 

We didn’t follow the mousse recipe from Buzzfeed.  I actually had found a recipe that used coconut cream instead of whipping cream, but it didn’t work at all. No matter how long I whipped the coconut cream, it just wouldn’t fluff up.  We ended up adding normal cream and saving the dessert (I would still include the coconut cream because I liked the slight coconut taste it added). 

We enjoyed the meal with wine from one of our new favorite restaurants, Cooper’s Hawk.  Their Barbera is an amazing deep red wine that we received with our Cooper’s Hawk “Wine of the Month” club. We aren’t connoisseurs of wine by any means (we are happy with our “Two Buck Chuck” Shiraz from Trader Joe’s), but this wine is really fantastic.  My friend James gave us a wine aerator that attaches to the bottle so there's no need for a separate decanter to enhance the wine's flavor.  

The wine of the month club costs $18.99 to sign up, and they give you and your significant other $15 gift cards the month of your birthday. Since Lance and I both have January birthdays, we received a bottle of wine plus a $30 Cooper’s Hawk gift card for only $18.99 (you can cancel the card anytime…)  

Below is the full dinner recipe if you’d like to recreate this dinner!

Tomato Basil Bruschetta  (adapted from Buzzfeed Tasty)

Ingredients:

·        1 6-inch baguette

·        ¼ cup olive oil

·        3 medium tomatoes, diced

·        1 clove garlic, minced

·        1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

·        1 tablespoon basil, chopped

·        ½ teaspoon salt

·        ½ teaspoon pepper

·        1 clove garlic, whole

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450°F
2. Slice the baguette into ½-inch rounds and place on a baking sheet.
3. Brush both sides of the baguette slices with olive oil.

4. Bake for 6 minutes until slightly crispy.
5. In a medium bowl, combine the tomatoes, minced garlic, balsamic vinegar, basil, salt, and pepper.

6. Rub the garlic into one side of the baguette slices, then spoon the tomato mixture evenly across the slices.

Garlic Bacon Shrimp Alfredo  (adapted from Buzzfeed Tasty)

Ingredients:

·        6 slices bacon, chopped

·        1 pound shrimp, deveined and peeled

·        1 teaspoon salt

·        ½ teaspoon black pepper

·        ½ onion, diced

·        1 medium tomato, diced

·        3 cloves garlic, minced

·        2 cups heavy cream

·        1 pound fettuccine, cooked

·        1 cup parmesan cheese, grated

·        ½ parsley, chopped

Directions:

1. Cook the bacon in a large pot until crispy.

2. Add the shrimp, salt, and pepper, cooking until the shrimp is pink throughout.

3. Remove the shrimp and bacon.
4. Add the onions, tomatoes, and garlic, cooking until the garlic is slightly starting to brown.

5. Add the cream and bring to a boil.

6. Toss in the fettuccine with the shrimp, bacon, parmesan cheese, and parsley, stirring until the cheese has completely melted and the sauce coats the shrimp and pasta nicely.

Chocolate Coconut Mousse  (adapted from Cafe Delites)

Ingredients:

·        1 can full fat coconut cream

·        1 cup heavy whipping cream (not shown below, but the coconut cream did not fluff as expected...) 

·        2 T confectioners’ sugar

·        3 T unsweetened cocoa powder

·        2 squares dark chocolate, shaved

·        Strawberries, raspberries and/or mint to garnish

Directions:

1. Place sealed can of coconut cream in the refrigerator overnight.  Without shaking the can, open and scoop out the thick cream sitting on top of the water.  Discard the liquid.

2. Add the heavy whipping cream and confectioners’ sugar, then beat on high with either a hand mixer or stand mixer (I used my KitchenAid).  When thick and creamy, reserve 4 T of the plain whipped cream to the side to use as a topping.

3. Fold in the cocoa powder and beat until smooth. 

4. Serve the chocolate mousse in a glass topped with the plain whipped cream.  Garnish with the fruit, mint, and shaved dark chocolate.