Hummingbird Cake

I made a most delicious cake this weekend. I had 3 bananas sitting in my freezer waiting to be used in some sort of baked treat, so I decided this cake would be the one. Oh...I left out the nuts...not a fan.

Unsalted butter, for greasing

2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

3 ripe bananas, chopped

1/2 cup finely chopped fresh pineapple

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg

1/2 tsp. ground ginger

1-1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

3 large eggs, at room temperature

1-3/4 cups granulated sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

For the frosting:

2 pkgs. cream cheese (8 oz. each), at room temperature

12 tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed, at room temperature

2 cups confectioners' sugar

1 tbsp. finely grated lemon zest

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Make the cake: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter two 8-inch round cake pans (I used 9-inch) and line with parchment paper. Butter the parchment and dust with flour.

Toss together the bananas, pineapple and 1/2 cup flour in a small bowl.

Whisk the remaining 2-1/4 cups flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Beat the eggs and granulated sugar in a separate bowl with a mixer on high speed until thick and light, 5 minutes. Gradually beat in the vegetable oil.

Sprinkle the flour mixture over the egg mixture, then gently fold to make a thick batter. Fold in the fruit mixture, then transfer the batter to the prepared pans. Bake until the cakes are firm and a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean, 50-55 minutes (45 minutes for my 9-inch pans). Cool in the pans on a rack, 25 minutes, then invert the cakes onto the rack to cool completely.

Make the frosting: Beat the cream cheese in a large bowl with a mixer until fluffy, then gradually beat in the butter until combined. Sift the confectioners' sugar over the cream cheese mixture and beat until smooth. Add the lemon zest and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy.

Place one cake layer on a serving plate. Spread about half of the frosting on top, then cover with the other cake layer. Spread the remaining frosting over the top and sides of the cake. Enjoy!

Sprinkles' Strawberry Cupcakes

I've been in the mood to make cupcakes lately and decided to try this delicious strawberry cupcake recipe. It certainly did not disappoint and I could totally eat the frosting with a spoon! They were a hit at work!

Cupcake:

2/3 cup whole fresh or frozen strawberries, thawed

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted

1 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. coarse salt

1/4 cup whole milk, room temperature

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 large egg, room temperature

2 large egg whites, room temperature

Frosting:

1/2 cup whole frozen strawberries, thawed

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, firm and slightly cold

pinch of coarse salt

3-1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted

1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcake liners; set aside.

Place strawberries in a small food processor; process until pureed. You should have about 1/3 cup of puree, add a few more strawberries if necessary or save any extra puree for frosting; set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In a small bowl, mix together milk, vanilla, and strawberry puree; set aside.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter on medium-high speed, until light and fluffy. Gradually add sugar and continue to beat until well combined and fluffy. Reduce the mixer speed to medium and slowly add egg and egg whites until just blended. With the mixer on low, slowly add half the flour mixture; mix until just blended. Add the milk mixture; mix until just blended. Slowly add remaining flour mixture, scraping down sides of the bowl with a spatula, as necessary, until just blended.

Divide batter evenly among prepared muffin cups. Transfer muffin tin to oven and bake until tops are just dry to the touch, 22 to 25 minutes. Transfer muffin tin to a wire rack and let cupcakes cool completely in tin before icing.

For the frosting:

Place strawberries in the bowl of a small food processor; process until pureed. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together butter and salt on medium speed until light and fluffy. Reduce mixer speed and slowly add confectioners' sugar; beat until well combined. Add vanilla and 3 tablespoons strawberry puree (save any remaining strawberry puree for another use); mix until just blended. Do not overmix or frosting will incorporate too much air. Frosting consistency should be dense and creamy, like ice cream.

Roasted Salmon Nicoise Platter (sort of)

While on vacation at our cottage a few weeks ago, I saw Ina Garten whip up this tasty salmon platter on her show. It looked simple enough and oh so delicious. I didn't quite have all the fixings on hand so I made do with what I had. I didn't have the haricots verts, tomatoes, watercress or olives. Lol, so why even bother calling this salmon nicoise? Because I can and it was delicious. I also cut the recipes in half. I added some radishes to the plate and used spinach in place of the watercress. I guess I could have thrown some capers on the plate to add the saltiness that was missing from the olives/anchovies, but obviously I didn't. The salmon marinade was excellent as was the dressing. Maybe one day I'll try making this again the correct way. But for now, below is what I did.

2 lemons, zested and juiced

1/8 cup olive oil

1/8 cup Dijon mustard

2 garlic cloves, minced

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 lbs. skin-on fresh salmon fillets

1.5 lbs. small Yukon gold potatoes

3-4 hard-cooked eggs, peeled and cut in half

1 bunch spinach

6-7 radishes

Vinaigrette

1/8 cup champagne vinegar (I used rice wine vinegar)

1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard

1/2 tsp. Kosher salt

1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup good olive oil

Preheat oven to 500 degrees F.

For the marinade, whisk together the lemon juice, lemon zest, olive oil, mustard, garlic, 2 teaspoons salt and 3/4 teaspoon of pepper in a small bowl and set aside. Place the salmon on a sheet pan that has been covered in aluminum foil, and drizzle the marinade over the salmon. Allow the salmon to sit for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, place the potatoes and 2 tablespoons of salt in a large pot of water. Bring the water to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes, until the potatoes are barely tender when pierced with a knife. Drain the potatoes in a colander, then place the colander with the potatoes over the empty pot off the heat and cover with a clean, dry kitchen towel. Leave the potatoes to steam for 15-20 minutes, until tender but firm. When the potatoes are cool enough to handle, slice them in thick slices and set aside.

Place the salmon in the oven and cook for 12-15 minutes, or until it is almost cooked through. Remove to a plate and allow to rest for 15 minutes. Remove the skin and break into large pieces.

For the vinaigrette, combine the vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper. Slowly whisk in the olive oil to make an emulsion. Set aside.

Arrange the salmon, potatoes, radishes, spinach and eggs on a large platter. Drizzle some vinaigrette over the fish and vegetables and serve the rest in a pitcher on the side.

Blueberry Cream Muffins with Streusel Topping

Jim loves blueberry muffins and since I was in the mood to bake the other day, I decided to pick up some fresh blueberries and make muffins. I found this lovely recipe that adds sour cream to the mix and had to try it! I made a few slight changes/additions so below is what I did. Enjoy!

4 eggs

1 cup white sugar

1 cup light brown sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp. vanilla extract

zest of one lemon

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. baking soda

2 cups sour cream

2 cups blueberries, divided

For streusel:

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp. white sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

4 tbsp. cold butter

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease 24 muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.

In a large bowl, beat eggs. Gradually add sugars while beating. Continue beating while slowly pouring in oil. Stir in vanilla and lemon zest. In a separate bowl, combine the flours, salt and baking soda.

Stir dry ingredients into egg mixture alternately with sour cream. Gently fold in 1-1/2 cups of the blueberries. Scoop batter into prepared muffin cups. Place remaining blueberries on top of muffins and press them in slightly.

For the topping, combine the flour, sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Cut in the butter with a fork or pastry blender until the mixture forms coarse crumbs. Sprinkle on top of muffins before baking.

Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes.

Creamy Rice Pudding

For some reason, I have been thinking about making rice pudding for like the past month. So the other day, I finally made some. This recipe said to add raisins, but I left them out. For one, I'm not a HUGE fan of raisins and two, I didn't have any. I know most recipes say to serve it warm, but I actually prefer it cold. And don't forget the nutmeg on top...or cinnamon...or honey. Mmmm, rice pudding.

3/4 cup uncooked white rice
2 cups milk, divided
1/3 cup white sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp. butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

In a medium saucepan, bring 1-1/2 cups water to a boil. Add rice and stir. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.

To the cooked rice, add 1-1/2 cups milk, the sugar and salt. Cook over medium heat until thick and creamy, 15-20 minutes. Stir in the remaining 1/2 cup milk and beaten egg. Cook 2 more minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in butter and vanilla.

Blueberry Crumb Cake

Once again I was in a baking mood, but I didn't want anything really super sweet. We had a bunch of blueberries and I came across this recipe on the Food Network and thought it was perfect. It's really good too!

For the streusel:
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp. ground nutmeg
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour

For the cake:
6 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature (3/4 stick)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. grated lemon zest
2/3 cup sour cream
1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 cup fresh blueberries
Confectioners' sugar for sprinkling

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour a 9-inch round baking pan.

For the streusel:
Combine the granulated sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a bowl. Stir in the melted butter and then the flour. Mix well and set aside.

For the cake:
Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment on high speed for 4 to 5 minutes, until light. Reduce the speed to low and add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla, lemon zest, and sour cream. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour mixture to the batter until just combined. Fold in the blueberries and stir with a spatula to be sure the batter is completely mixed.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread it out with a knife. With your fingers, crumble the topping evenly over the batter. Bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool completely and serve sprinkled with confectioners' sugar.

Grilled Chicken Salad

I love this salad! It's basically just a massive amount of veggies on top of some lettuce with a grilled chicken breast on top, but it's fantastic! Oh and use whatever dressing you want. I think I went with Raspberry Vinaigrette this time.

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
smoked paprika
salt & pepper
lettuce of your choice - we used Romaine and Spinach
2 slices American cheese
2 slices provolone cheese
2 hard boiled eggs
veggies
dressing

Coat the chicken breasts with salt & pepper and smoked paprika and grill; let sit 5 minutes then slice. Arrange the lettuce on 2 plates. Place 1 slice of the American cheese and 1 slice of the provolone cheese in the middle of each plate of lettuce; place warm chicken breast on top of cheese so it begins to melt. Then add the sliced hard boiled egg and veggies of your choice. We had carrots, cucumber, beets and bell peppers. Top with dressing of your choice.

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

I was in the mood for baking and had some pretty sad looking, really ripe bananas hanging out in my kitchen, so something with banana in it was what I was going to make! I found this recipe and thought it would be perfect. A little banana, a little chocolate, what could be bad about that? Mine turned out a little darker than I would have liked, so I probably didn't need the full hour of baking time, but it's still delicious! The only slight changes I made was that I used half white flour and half whole wheat flour, and I only used 2 bananas instead of three, since that was all I had.

1-3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp. all purpose flour
1-1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 package instant vanilla pudding mix
1 heaping c. chocolate chips
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup shortening
2 eggs
2 tbsp. milk
1 tbsp. vanilla extract
3 large extra ripe bananas, mashed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare loaf pan. In medium bowl, combine all flour but 2 Tbsp, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and pudding mix. Whisk to combine and set aside. In small bowl, combine remaining flour and chocolate chips, tossing well to combine and set aside. In bowl of stand mixer, combine shortening and sugar. Beat on high until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time until thoroughly combined. Add milk and vanilla, then banana to mixture and combine well. With mixer on low, add flour mixture until just combined then fold in chocolate chips. Spread into loaf pan, tap to remove air pockets, and place in oven to bake. Bake loaf in oven for 1hr or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Let loaf cool in pan for 5 minutes, then turn out onto wire rack to cool completely.

Chicken Florentine Artichoke Bake

This is definitely a grown-up casserole. I know there's a lot of people that hate casseroles, but I would definitely give this one a try. This is a recipe I clipped from my Better Homes and Gardens magazine (who know how long ago) that we finally decided to make. We will definitely be making this again. The only change I made was using roasted red peppers instead of the tomatoes because a) Jim couldn't find them at the store and b) Jim isn't a HUGE fan of tomatoes.

8 oz dried bow tie pasta
1 small onion, chopped
1 tbsp. butter
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups milk
1 tsp. dried Italian seasoning
1/4 to 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
2 cups chopped cooked chicken
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese (8 oz)
14 oz can artichoke hearts, drained and quartered
10 oz package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
1/2 cup oil-packed dried tomatoes, drained and chopped - this is where I used roasted red peppers instead
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup soft bread crumbs
1/2 tsp. paprika
1 tbsp. butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. In medium skillet cook onion in 1 tbsp butter over medium heat about 5 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; set aside. In a bowl whisk together eggs, milk, seasoning, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp black pepper, and crushed red pepper. Stir in chicken, Monterey Jack cheese, artichokes, spinach, tomatoes, half of the Parmesan, cooked pasta, and onion. Transfer to 3-quart rectangular baking dish. Bake, covered, 20 minutes. In small bowl combine remaining Parmesan, bread crumbs, paprika, and melted butter. Sprinkle mixture over pasta. Bake, uncovered, 10 minutes more or until golden.

Flourless Chocolate Cake

Whether you're on a gluten-free diet or not, if you're a chocolate lover, this cake is for you! This is definitely NOT cake-like, but more fudgey and dense and delicious. Make this for the chocolate lovers in your life!

1/2 cup water
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup white sugar
18 (1 ounce) squares bittersweet chocolate
1 cup unsalted butter
6 eggs

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Grease one 10 inch round cake pan (I used a 9-inch cake pan and added 5 minutes to the cooking time) and set aside.

In a small saucepan over medium heat combine the water, salt and sugar. Stir until completely dissolved and set aside. Either in the top half of a double boiler or in a microwave oven melt the bittersweet chocolate. Pour the chocolate into the bowl of an electric mixer.

Cut the butter into pieces and beat the butter into the chocolate, 1 piece at a time. Beat in the hot sugar-water. Slowly beat in the eggs, one at a time.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Have a pan larger than the cake pan ready, put the cake pan in the larger pan and fill the pan with boiling water halfway up the sides of the cake pan. Bake cake in the water bath at 300 degrees Fahrenheit for 45 minutes. The center will still look wet. Chill cake overnight in the pan. To unmold, dip the bottom of the cake pan in hot water for 10 seconds and invert onto a serving plate.

Ginger Pumpkin Meringue Pie

I found this in my BH&G magazine and just HAD to make it. I still had a pre-made crust in my freezer so I used that instead of making the gingersnap-graham crust. It was still really good though!

1 pre-made crust or 1 gingersnap-graham crust, below
1 15-oz. can pumpkin
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
3 eggs, lightly beaten
2/3 cup milk
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 Recipe Brown Sugar Meringue, below

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Prepare Gingersnap-Graham Crust; bake 4 minutes. Cool on wire rack. For filling, in bowl combine pumpkin, sugar, ginger, salt and cinnamon. Add eggs.; lightly beat with fork to combine. Gradually stir in milk and maple syrup. Pour filling into pastry shell. To prevent overbrowning, cover edge of pie with foil. Bake 50 to 55 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Uncover edges. Reduce oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Carefully spread Brown Sugar Meringue over hot filling; seal to edge. Bake 15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack. Loosely cover and refrigerate within 2 hours.

Gingersnap-Graham Crust:In large bowl combine 3/4 cup finely crushed gingersnaps (12 cookies), 1/2 cup finely crushed graham crackers (7 squares), and 2 tablespoons granulated sugar. Stir in 1/4 cup melted butter. Spread evenly on bottom and up the sides of 9-inch pie plate.

Brown Sugar Meringue:In large mixing bowl let 3 egg whites stand at room temperature 30 minutes. Add 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar, and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Beat on medium until soft peaks form. Gradually add 1/3 cup packed brown sugar, 1 tablespoon at a time, beating on high speed until mixture forms stiff peaks (tips stand straight).

This isn't the greatest picture, but you get the idea. And it was strange...it seems like the brown sugar sort of beaded up on top of the meringue once it cooled.

Zucchini Frittata

I was getting kind of bored of scrambled eggs for breakfast, or just a bowl of cereal. It's zucchini season, so I wanted to use it somehow in the breakfast. I decided to make a frittata. I found a few recipes and just kind of combined them into something that would work for me.

1-2 tbsp. olive oil

1 small zucchini, cubed

1 small red onion, chopped

5-6 cremini mushrooms, sliced

4-5 eggs, beaten

1 cup shredded cheese of your choice, cheddar was used here

salt and pepper to taste

In an 8-in. ovenproof skillet over medium heat, saute onion, zucchini and mushrooms in oil until tender. Pour the eggs over the top and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Cook until almost set, 8-10 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 350 degrees F for 8-12 minutes until eggs are set and cheese is melted. Use a toothpick to check when the eggs are set