What to do with bananas past their prime

Here is a great recipe for banana bread that gets raves every time I make if for some A Chef of Your Own vacationing guests.

Banana Bread

3 cups flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

3 ripe bananas

3/4 cup oil

1 1/2 cups sugar

4 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups sour cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Set aside.

Mash bananas. Add sugar, vanilla, oil and sour cream. Mix well. Add eggs and thoroughly mix.

Add dry ingredients to wet and mix well so there are no dry spots or lumps.

Pour into two well greased bread pans or 12 mega muffin cups.

Place in preheated oven and bake bread 45-55 minutes and muffins about 30 minutes until tester comes out clean.

 

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New breakfast idea

This is a revised post, much better finished product.

My husband posted this to my page from something someone posted and I changed it a little bit.

Bacon, French toast and egg bake

12 slices bacon, par-cooked

6 slices bread – cut in 2-3 inch rounds

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup maple syrup

6 eggs

3 cups milk

1/2 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese

Cut bacon into 1 inch pieces. Cook bacon until crispy. Dice bread and toss with bacon pieces. Melt butter and maple syrup together and pour over bread mixture. Place eggs in greased casserole dish. Top with cheese. Combine milk and eggs. Pour egg mixture over bread and cover, let sit overnight. Bake in 350 degree oven 25-35 minutes until puffed and egg is cooked through. Remove from oven and let cool.

 

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Sangria from The Fresh Market Demo today

Here is the recipe for the sangria from the demo today, Salute!

Seven Daughters Red Sangria
1 bottle  seven daughters pinot noir

2 c  TFM sparkling Italian Mineral Water

½ c  sugar

½ c  TFM peach lemon European soda

1  orange, sliced

1  lemon, sliced

1  green apple, sliced
Combine all ingredients in a large pitcher and stir to combine. Chill sangria at least one hour or overnight before serving.
TIp: For a delicious white sangria, use seven daughters Moscato.

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New Fresh market demos

This weekend I will be at the Fresh Market in Altamonte, FL. Here are the recipes for the demo. I will be at the store from 1-4, hope you get to stop by and try something. The second recipe uses Hibiscus flowere in syrup. they were pretty amazing.  I sold out before the end of the demo.

Pan Seared Shrimp with Avocado Salad and Chianti Butter Sauce

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 c Candoni Chianti

2 tbsp Maui Maid Teriyaki Sauce

2 avocados, skin and pit removed,

and cubed

2 c arugula

1 tbsp TFM Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 lb fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 tbsp TFM Butter

Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation

In a small sauce pan, bring wine just to a boil,

then reduce heat and simmer until wine is

reduced by about half, approximately 5 minutes.

Add Maui Maid Teriyaki Sauce to the wine, stirring to combine. Return

to a simmer for 1 minute then remove from heat and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine avocado and arugula and season to taste with salt and

pepper. Heat olive oil in a sauté pan over medium high heat. Season shrimp

with salt and pepper, then sear on each side for 2 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk

butter into teriyaki wine sauce until melted. Arrange avocado salad on a large

serving platter and top with shrimp.

Use a spoon to drizzle sauce over the shrimp. Serve immediately. Pair with a

glass of Candoni Chianti, Pinot Noir or Pinot Grigio.

 

Hibiscus Greek Yogurt Sundae

Ingredients

1 jar Wild Hibiscus Flowers in Syrup

1 pint vanilla greek yogurt

1 c fresh berries of your choice, such as raspberries or strawberries

whipped cream for topping

¼cup pistacios, chopped for topping

Preparation

Drain the hibiscus flowers and reserve both syrup and flowers. Cut each

flower in half. Scoop 1/2 cup yogurt inot each of the 4 serving bowls and serve.

½ cup of yogurt into each of 4 serving bowls. Scatter

berries over yogurt and drizzle each with the reserved hibiscus syrup. Top

each sundae with whipped cream, hibiscus flowers and chopped pistachios.

Serve immediately.

scan

 

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Happy Memorial Day, thank you to all who have served

Here’s a bonus, two recipes for one post. A Chef of Your Own made these Cheesy Au Gratin Potatoes for a guest last week and they were a BIG hit. Make them tonight to go with burgers off the grill. The second recipe was the surprise of the evening. At a dinner party the other night, I had four people ask for the recipe, I call it Island rice. The inspiration was a pina colada, hope you enjoy!

Creamy, Cheesy Au Gratin Potatoes

4 russet potatoes, sliced into 1/4 inch slices

1 onion, chopped

3 Tbls butter

3 Tbls all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

2 cups milk

1 cup shredded Colby jack cheese

4 ounces american cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Saute onions in butter until translucent. Add flour and combine well. Add milk and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally until thickened. Stir in cheese and add potatos slices.

Pour into greased baking dish and cover with foil.  Bake, covered, for 1 hour. Uncover and bake an additional 1/2 hour until golden and potatoes are tender.

Makes about 4 servings.

 

Island rice

2 cup Basmatti Rice

2 Cup coconut water

2 cup water

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup large flake coconut

1 sm can crushed pineapple

Combine coconut water, water, salt and flake coconut in small pan. Bring to a boil. Add rice and reduce heat. Cover and simmer until all liquid is absorbed. Stir in crushed pineapple. Serve and enjoy.

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Yummy sides

“You were the best part of my vacation” was told to A Chef of Your Own chef, Linda after cooking for a vacationing family this week. Great food and company, the guests are returning home this weekend, but asked me to share two recipes from the side dishes eaten this week.

Creamed Spinach

4 Tbls butter, plus more for pan

1/2 onion, chopped

salt and black pepper

2 garlic cloves

2 tsp red chili flakes

1 3/4 cups heavy cream

1 cup parmesan

1/2 cup sour cream

1 lb organic spinach

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter 8×8 baking dish. Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and a pinch of salt. Saute for 3 minutes, add garlic and red chili flakes and saute for 2 additional minutes. Add  cream and parmesan. Heat until just beginning to bubble. Stir in sour cream and spinach. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Pour into prepared baking dish and bake 15-20 minutes until bubbly.

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Happy Easter

A Chef of Your Own worked with a Rabbi this week to create some meals for Passover. My aunt sent me an article on “the new Kosher Foods” they had some Red Velvet Macaroons in the article, but no recipe. I went looking and found one to adapt for these. As an homage to Passover, I didn’t use any flour but you can substitute flour for the ground almonds I used.

Red Velvet Coconut Macaroons

11 oz sweetened flake coconut

2/3 cup sugar

4 tsp coconut

tsp red food color jel

10 Tbls ground almonds

1/4 tsp salt

4 egg whites

1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Combine egg whites and sugar in a bowl and place over boiling water. Whip on high until merengue forms, about 15 minutes. Stir in remaining ingredients and drop onto parchment lined cookie sheets. Bake 15 minutes or so, until lightly browned. let cool, Enjoy

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Happy St Patrick’s Day

Here’s a recipe for a good friend in honor of the green.

Irish Soda Bread

5 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1 cup sugar

1 Tbls caraway seeds

1 cup raisins

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 cup buttermilk

2 whole eggs

1/2 cup melted butter

Mix together first 7 ingredients (I omit caraway seeds, because I don’t like them). Beat together wet ingredients and add to dry. Kneed 1 minutes. Dough will be sticky. Place in greased cast iron pan (10inch) (I have also baked this on a cookie sheet, the crust doesn’t get as thick) Cut a cross in dough before baking. Bake in 350 degree oven for 35-35 minutes until straw inserted comes out clean.

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These look really yummy!

A Chef of Your Own found this recipe on Facebook, on Living the Country Life page. They looked so yummy, I couldn’t resist making them for breakfast. They were a little messy, but I added plenty of love to make up for it.

Cinnamon Roll Pancakes~~Southern Mama~~

Ingredients:

for the Pancakes:   4 cups all-purpose flour …  8 tsps baking powder   2 tsp. salt   4 cups milk   4 tbsps vegetable oil   4 large eggs, lightly beaten

for the Cinnamon Filling   1 cup butter, melted   1 1/2 cup brown sugar, packed   2 tbsp ground cinnamon

for the Cream Cheese Glaze   1/2 cup butter   4 oz. cream cheese   1 1/2 cups powdered sugar   1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:   To make the Cinnamon Filling:   Mix the three ingredients together. Place in a disposable piping bag and snip the end off or put in a Ziploc bag and snip the corner off.   To make the Pancakes:   Mix the dry ingredients in one bowl and the wet ingredients in another bowl. Stir them together until everything is moistened leaving a few lumps.   Heat your griddle to exactly 325 degrees. You don’t want these to cook too quickly, and you won’t want your cinnamon to burn.   Make desired size pancake on greased griddle and then using the piping bag and starting at the center of the pancake, create a cinnamon swirl. Wait until the pancake has lots of bubble before you try to turn it. You will find that when you turn it the cinnamon swirl will melt. The cinnamon will melt out and create the craters which the cream cheese glaze will fill.   To make the Cream Cheese Glaze:   In a microwave safe bowl melt the butter and cream cheese and then stir together. Whisk in the powdered sugar and vanilla. Add a little milk if needed to make   it a glaze consistency.   Place pancake on plate, then cover with cream cheese glaze.

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Chocolate Wine Fondue!

A Chef of Your Own will be at The Fresh Market in Dr Phillips this Saturday for two demos. I will be making and sharing Chocolate Shop Wine Sauce Fondue and Shaved Fennel and Grapefruit Salad from 11-2 and Shrimp Scampi from 3-6. Please stop by for a taste and a chat, I will have the Chocolate Shop Wine and Alamos Chardonnay out for a taste as well. Hope to see you there.

Chocolate Shop Wine Sauce Fondue

Ingredients:

6  ounces  semi-sweet chocolate, chopped 3  tablespoons  TFM Unsalted Butter, at room temperature 3  tablespoons  TFM Heavy Whipping Cream 1  tablespoon  Chocolate Shop Wine 2  quarts  strawberries, washed and dried

Preparation:

Place first 4 ingredients into a saucepan on low heat. Stir constantly until melted and thoroughly combined. Keep warm on very low heat or pour into fondue pot.   Enjoy by dipping strawberries and pound cake cubes in sauce using long toothpicks or fondue forks.

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