Bahama Mama Banana Rum Cake

When I saw that Blake and Bridget at Blake Makes were giving away Amano artisan chocolate, I knew I needed to snag some - not for myself, but to share with my mom and Nana, who adore dark chocolate. I was lucky enough to win three bars (thanks, Blake and Bridget!) and they arrived a few days before Mother's Day. I already decided that for our Mother's Day dessert I was going to make the Bahama Mama Banana Rum Cake from Jill O'Connor's Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey cookbook and realized that some delicious dark chocolate would be a wonderful addition to the cake. So I put aside two bars, one for Nana and one for my mom, and chopped up the third to add to my cake.

This cake was delicious! It was dense and moist with a rich banana flavor and the sweet, rum-infused glaze is the perfect compliment to the crunchy pecans on top. And the dark chocolate was the perfect addition. The only problem I had was getting the cake out of the pan. When I inverted it onto my serving platter only half the cake came out. I ended up shaking the other half out and sort of smooshing it back together with the first. A bit of the topping ended up lost so it wasn't a pretty cake, but I served it anyway. After all, moms and grandmothers love you even when you make mistakes, and both my mom and Nana adored the cake - and their Amano chocolate.

Happy Mother's Day!

Bahama Mama Banana Rum Cake

For the Dark Rum Glaze:
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter
¼ cup water
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup dark rum

For the Cake:
1 ½ cups chopped pecans, toasted
1 ½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
5 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup mashed very ripe bananas (about 3 medium bananas)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 tablespoons dark rum
3 cups bleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
¼ cup sour cream

To make the glaze: Combine the butter, water, and sugars in a saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Immediately reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for five minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the rum. Set aside and keep warm.

To make the cake: Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350. Spray a 10-cup tube pan with non-stick spray. Sprinkle the pecans in the bottom of the pan. Set aside.

In a large bowl with an electric mixer set on medium speed, beat together the butter and sugars until the mixture is light and fluffy. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Beat in the mashed bananas, vanilla and rum. Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt over the batter and fold in using a rubber spatula, just until no streaks of flour remain. Fold in the sour cream. Spoon the batter over the nuts in the pan and spread to the edge of the pan using the back of a rubber spatula.

Bake until a wooden skewer inserted in the center of the cake comes out with no more than a few moist crumbs clinging to it, 60 to 80 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and cool for 5 minutes. Use a wooden skewer to poke holes all over the cake and pour ¼ cup of the warm glaze over the cake. Let the cake cool 5 more minutes. Place a serving platter over the pan and invert to release the cake onto the platter. Spoon the remaining glaze over the cake, a little at a time, until the glaze is completely absorbed into the cake.

Let the cake cool completely before cutting into wedges and serving. This cake will last two to three days if covered well.

Morning Mini Muffin Making

I was up at the crack of dawn this morning and found myself with lots of time on my hands. After doing two loads of laundry, surfing the Internet, eating breakfast and wrapping the Mother's Day presents, it was only 8:30, I decided to pass the time by baking. I thought I would make a treat to bring to my co-workers tomorrow, so I hopped on All Recipes and began searching muffin recipes. I came across this recipe for Peanut Butter Mini Muffins and thought it sounded yummy, plus it would give me a chance to use my underutilized mini muffin pan. These are super easy to make and Joe, when he came downstairs to keep me company around 9:30, declared that they tasted like peanut butter chocolate chip cookies. Sounds like a good breakfast to me!

Peanut Butter Mini Muffins

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup packed brown sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
3/4 cup milk
2/3 cup chunky peanut butter
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2/3 cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips (I used regular sized and just eye-balled it)

In a large bowl, combine the first four ingredients. In another bowl, combine the egg, milk, peanut butter, oil and vanilla. Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened. Fold in chocolate chips. Fill greased or paper-lined miniature muffin cups two-thirds full. Bake at 350 degrees F for 15-17 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.

Cheddar-Studded Turkey Burgers

I love, love, love our grill! Everything grilled just seems to taste better. So I'm always looking for new recipes that will allow us to fire up the grill. For one reason or another I was browsing Rachael Ray's website this week and came across her arsenal of burger recipes. I printed several off, including this one for Cheddar-Studded Turkey Burgers. I made them up tonight for Joe to grill, and to quote Ms. Ray - yum-o! These were really good! They had some nice heat thanks to the spices and there was melty cheese in every bite. They were simple too, but that probably had something to do with the fact that it was on of her kid's recipes ;) I didn't have a GH ("grown-up helper" in Rachaels' world), but I did okay anyway. I didn't bother making the cilantro cream, since neither Joe or I like cilantro.

Cheddar-Studded Turkey Burgers

1/3 pounds ground turkey breast, the average weight of 1 package
1 medium red onion, half finely chopped, half diced
1/4 pound sharp cheddar cheese, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 rounded tablespoon chili powder, a healthy palmful
2 teaspoons cumin (2/3 of a palmful)
1 jalapeño or serrano pepper, seeded and finely chopped
2 cloves garlic chopped
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), plus some for drizzling
1/2 cup sour cream
A handful of cilantro leaves, chopped

Chop and dice onion, cheddar cheese, pepper, garlic and cilantro. Pre-heat a large nonstick skillet, indoor grill pan or tabletop grill to medium-high heat. Combine ground turkey, onion, cheddar cheese, chili powder, ground cumin, jalapeño or serrano pepper, garlic, salt and pepper in a medium bowl and mix everything together with your hands. Score the meat with the side of your hand to separate into 4 equal amounts. Form mixture into four large patties no more than one inch thick.Wash your hands after handling the raw turkey. Drizzle EVOO on the patties and place patties in a hot skillet or on a hot grill with a spatula and cook 5-6 minutes on each side or until turkey is cooked through. For the cilantro cream, combine the sour cream and chopped cilantro, salt and pepper in a small bowl.

Pizza Casserole

Who doesn't like pizza? Not us, that's for sure! Bread, cheese, greasy toppings - what's not to like! While a traditional pie will always be tops, I do enjoy trying out new ways to make pizza-like meals. I found this recipe on Melissa's blog and made it just a few days later. It could not have been easier and was delicious! This was originally a Weight Watchers recipe, but I made it more or less the same way Melissa did. I sprayed my crust with Pam before baking and sprinkled it with garlic powder and Italian herbs. As we were eating, Joe remarked that it would be even better with pepperoni on top, so next time I'll add that too!

Pizza Casserole

1 lb of extra lean ground beef

1/2 onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 jar of sliced mushrooms, drained (I used fresh)

1 jar of your favorite tomato sauce

Spray of Pam

1 10 oz can refrigerated pizza dough

6 oz of part skim mozzarella cheese, divided

Preheat oven to 425. In a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, cook onion, garlic until softened, add meat stirring until it's browned. Drain, if necessary, and return to skillet. Add mushrooms and tomato sauce, and cook until heated through and most of the sauce has been absorbed (you want your meat mixture more on the dry side then the saucy side). While meat cooks, coat a 13 x 9 inch baking dish with cooking spray. Unroll pizza crust dough, and press into bottom and halfway up sides of the baking dish. Pre-bake in the oven for 5 minutes.Remove from oven, then add a layer of cheese, then a layer of the meat mixture, then top with a layer of cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 425° for 12 minutes or until crust is browned and cheese melts. Cool 5 minutes before serving.

Margarita Cupcakes

My friend and fellow instructor at the gym, Norman, has been trying to get our little gym crew together for a party for awhile now. He finally managed to find a date that worked for all of us, so tomorrow after we work out we're partying at Norman's! I offered to bring a dessert to the get together and wanted to make something fun. Brownies and cookies are great, but I wanted something that felt fun and festive. I remembered reading about margarita cupcakes on a few of the cooking blogs I read recently, so I went hunting for the recipe. There were a few different versions out there, but I went with this one from Confections of a Foodie Bride. I liked that the base of the cupcakes was a cake mix! The only change I made was to leave out the alcohol (I didn't have it on hand and didn't want to spend the money on it) and just add additional margarita mix. I made my own makeshift piping bag with a gallon Ziploc bag to try to make the frosting look a little prettier, but as you can see my technique needs a little work. Joe said they were cute but that they looked "a little like dog doo." Hmph. I figure once my friends have enough REAL margaritas in them tomorrow, they won't take any notice of my less that professional frosting job ;)

Margarita Cupcakes
9 oz Margarita mix
3 oz tequila (I omitted)
3/4 oz Grand Marnier (or other orange liqueur) (I omitted)
White cake mix (No-pudding mix works best)
3 egg whites
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 Tbsp lime zest
1 recipe Lime Buttercream Frosting (recipe follows)

Mix together the margarita mix, tequila, and Grand Marnier in a large glass or spouted bowl. You will use 1 1/4 cup of this in the cupcake mix. Put the remainder in the fridge to chill and then consume how you see fit. (I just use 1 1/4 cup of the margarita mix.)
In a stand mixer, add the cake mix, egg whites, vegetable oil, lime zest, and 1 1/4 cup of the margarita mixture. Mix on low for about 30 seconds and then increase to medium speed for two minutes (the batter will still be a bit lumpy).
Spoon the batter into a prepared muffin pan (fill the cups somewhere between 2/3 and 3/4 full) and bake at 350 for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick registers “done” in the center cupcake. Remove the pan from the oven and cool 5 minutes. Remove the cupcakes and cool completely on a baking rack.
Once the cupcakes have cooled, make the frosting for the cupcakes.

Lime Buttercream Frosting
3 cups + 3 Tbsp cups confectioner’s sugar
1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature
1/8 tsp salt
3 Tbsp lime juice
green food color (optional)

Add the butter, confectioner’s sugar, salt, food coloring, and lime juice to the stand mixer and mix on low using the paddle attachment until combined. Turn the speed to med-high until the icing is fluffy. Add the icing to a pastry bag or use a spatula/knife to frost the cupcakes.
Note: Use additional lime juice or water to thin the frosting, if necessary. (I needed several additional squirts of lime juice to make them lime-y enough!)

Parmesan Crusted Chicken and Lemon Spaghetti

I love when I find recipes that sound tasty and contain basic ingredients that I always have on hand. That's one of the reasons this recipe, from Lovestoeat's blog caught my eye. I had a lot of chicken in my freezer and several boxes of pasta, so this was a perfect fit. And I'm so glad I tried it out - it's great! The chicken was fantastic - full of flavor and nice and crispy! I did make several changes to the original recipe though. I cut my chicken into tenders-sized pieces and sprayed them with butter-flavored cooking spray instead of pouring melted butter over them. I also only baked the chicken, uncovered, for 35 minutes and that was plenty of time. For the lemon spaghetti, I followed the recipe but also added in some black pepper and garlic powder. I was definitely happy with meal!

Parmesan Crusted Chicken

2 large eggs
1 cup dried plain-style bread crumbs
2 tbsp Italian seasoning
1 tsp garlic powder
3/4 cups freshly grated Parmesan-
4boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Butter-flavored cooking spray

Whisk the eggs in a pie plate to blend. Mix the bread crumbs, garlic powder, and Italian seasonings in another pie plate. Place the cheese in a third pie plate. Sprinkle the chicken generously with salt and pepper. Coat the chicken completely with the cheese, patting to adhere, then dip into the eggs. Coat completely with the bread crumbs, patting to adhere. Add to greased 9×13 pan and spray chicken with cooking spray.

Bake at 375 for 35 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and crispy. Serve on top of lemon spaghetti.

Lemon Spaghetti

1/2 box spaghetti
2/3 cup lemon juice
2/3 cup olive oil
2 tbsp dried basil
1 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp garlic powder

Prepare pasta according to package directions. Whisk all other ingredients together. Toss pasta with the lemon sauce and serve immediately.

Muffins for Dinner

As I've said before, I love having bread with dinner and I'm always looking for new options, so I was excited to find this savory muffin recipe on Amber's blog. These sounded delicious and easy, so I gave them a whirl last night. I used the basic muffin recipe as my base, then added my own touches. I put in about 1/4 cup of grated pecorino romano cheese and 2 tablespoons Italian herbs. Then I tasted the dough and thought it was too sweet and not cheesy enough, so I added some black pepper and a handful of grated Italian cheese blend. That seemed to do the trick! These muffins were delicious! I'm posting the basic savory muffin recipe below - I would recommend you add your favorite cheeses and spices and make them your own!

Savory Muffins

1 3/4 cups AP flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 beaten egg
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup cooking oil

Grease twelve 2 1/2" muffin cups or line with paper baking cups; set aside. In a medium bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Make a well in center of flour mixture; set aside. In another bowl combine egg, milk, and oil. Add egg mixture all at once to flour mixture. Stir just until moistened (batter should be lumpy). Scoop batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each two-thirds full. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 18 to 20 minutes or until golden and a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in muffin cups on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Remove from muffin cups; serve warm.