Martha Meets Lucy

Brown Butter Bourbon Banana Bread (with Streusel!)

I had a whole post written about this, but there's nothing else to tell you that the title hasn't already. Brown butter. Bourbon. Streusel. (The bananas are not the important part here).

Fine. I'll try to tell you more. Brown butter and bourbon are BFF's. They totes gave each other best friend necklaces when they were in first grade and they both still have them. Sometimes I smell bourbon and think, "hmmm...smells brown buttery".

This bread. Oh, this bread. None of the components will jump up and punch you in the face. Except maybe the streusel, but that's just the way a streusel laced with big flakes of salt is in anything. As an added bonus for people who don't like bananas (aka me), the bourbon and brown butter mask a lot of the more...unpleasant flavors. Instead, its oh so subtley banana, but a major punch of nutty caramelly-ness.

 

I decided to double the streusel after I took this picture. You can thank me later.

 

Jeeze...I'm drooling again. I tried. I can't talk about this anymore. Just do it.

Chewy No Bake Fruit and Nut Bars

I’m sorry. I thought I would be back, but honestly? There hasn’t been much around these parts to post about. Or if I did make something worth posting, I didn’t measure or photograph it. I did measure and photograph these bars, but typepad doesn't seem to want to upload them right now and it took 5 minutes to upload one picture. So look at these much prettier pictures from White On Rice couple.

A good food blogger I am not.

A new job and workout regime plus my regular dancing schedule has kept me on my toes. Which is why I am so thankful I have these fruit and nut bars to keep me going.

I have been obsessed with Kind Bars for quite some time. The fact that I could see whole almonds and cranberries reassured me that I was eating something healthy in a way my beloved Peanut Butter and Chocolate Clif Bar can not. And now I’m obsessed.

Running late for work? Grab a bar. Going for a run? Eat a bar first. Done with the run? Eat a bar. Dessert? Bar. Waiting 5 minutes for a picture of a bar to freakin upload? Eat a bar.

Seriously, I would say it needs to stop but then I think of all the possibilities. Coconut cashew with dried mango? Pecan with peach? Walnut apple? Subbing out some of the honey with pureed dates? Cookie butter instead of almond butter?

Seriously, the possibilities are endless. I think the only thing I wouldn’t change is the puffed rice cereal. The recipe calls for brown puffed rice cereal, but that requires a trip to Whole Foods and I am not going to do battle with that Real Housewife of Orange County laden parking lot for anything less than Maldon Sea Salt and my Chipotle Garlic Hot Sauce. I can only be around silicone, bleach, and spray tan for so long before I want to point out the irony of them shopping at a natural foods store. So I used the rice crispies that were hiding in the pantry.

Ok. Sometimes I’ll brave the parking lot for cheese. And their fig and nut loaf. (Sounds gross, but so freaking good. Note to self: fig and marcona almond bars)

Go make yourself some bars. I promise its cheaper than a Kind Bar habit. Oh, and if you decide to mix it up, please report back.

The Pink Egg

When I was but a wee lass (before I turned 5) I had a very firm fashion rule: NO PANTS OR SHORTS. Ever. Skirts and dresses only. I don’t think skorts were acceptable either. I wore a dress or skirt everyday until I mastered the monkey bars and realized everyone could see my Disney princess underwear.

Unfortunately, I never really "mastered" the monkeybars. I had the wrist fracture and corresponding hot pink cast to prove it.  

Pink holds a very special place in my heart. Its been usurped by blue as my favorite color, but I still love me some pink. I don’t own much of it since it clashed magnificently with the red I dyed my hair a year ago, but now that my hair is back to brown, give me a pink shirt, dress, shoes or eggs and I’m happy. Actually, the egg makes me happy no matter what my hair color.

That’s right, a pink egg. I know a one Mr. Theodor Seuss Geisel made green the color of choice for eggs, but before Green Eggs and Ham was even published, this guy was making pink eggs.

And let me tell you, this guy was kind of a badass. He grew up in rough and tumble Wyoming on a ranch and dropped out of school to help support the family during the Great Depression. When WWII came around he enlisted in the Army and was in Hawaii at Schofield Barracks when Pearl Harbor was attacked. Unfortunately, this was after he got his first and only tattoo. He then went on to serve in the South Pacific in some rather gruesome battles.

 

Look at those boxers... oh and the hula girl tattoo on his chest. I have a feeling alcohol played a large part in the decision making.

 

My Grandpa Walter, the badass, made pink eggs every morning for breakfast. I never met him, as he died two years before I was born, but my mom carried on the pink egg tradition. And you better believe that as a dress wearing, pink obsessed little girl the pink egg was my egg of choice.

And it is still one of my go to eggs. I’ve flirted with scrambled, poached, sunny side up, over easy, and soft boiled, but I always come back to the pink egg. And now its not just because I'm enamored with the light pink hue.

Now I make it because holy cow is it easy. No flipping, no hoping the whites set without over cooking the yolk (although you could cook it until the yolk is cooked if you so desire). And honestly I still like that the yolk turns out ballet pink. I'm telling you it will stun and amaze girls and boys obsessed with pink.

Note: these directions are based on the single egg I made this morning. Because there is no flipping, you can make as many eggs at a time as your pan will hold. If you’re doing more than 2, pre-crack your eggs into a bowl so you can pour them all in at the same time.

1: Preheat your pan (I use nonstick) over medium heat. Get out a lid that fits or comes close to fitting.

2: Add a teaspoon or so of bacon fat. If you don’t have a jar of bacon fat, cook some bacon and start a jar. Or use another fat. Warning: my mom will tell you they don’t taste right unless they’re made with bacon fat.

3: Crack an egg(s) into the pan. The bottom part of the white should immediately start to set.

 

Instantly set white on the bottom

4: Add a splash of water to the pan and cover. Its takes a little trial and error to figure out the exact amount, but I usually use about a tablespoon. You want enough water to steam the top of the egg white, but not so much that when you take the lid off there is still water in the pan.

 

 

Taking a picture while pouring water=blurry picture.The Pioneer Woman I am not.

 

5: Cook with the lid on for 30 seconds to 1 minute. The yolk should be soft to the touch and the whites should be completely set. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

 

See? Ballet pink yolk

 

Oh, you're probably wondering about the avocado. I'm a touch obsessed with the avocado/egg combination so what we have here is toasted sour dough bread with 1/2 avocado smushed and salted on it.

Then I added some Chipotle Garlic Hot Sauce (its seriously amazing).

Put it all together.

And made my very favorite messy egg sandwich.

Yeasted Waffles and Other Obsessions

Things I’m obsessed with this week:

Finding an Irish dessert that doesn’t involve Guinness. Do the Irish people just not eat dessert? Do they drink it instead? For the love of all that is good and Irish I need to know.

Draw Something. Best thing to happen to procrastination since Words with Friends. (Play me! User name for both: notdeana).

The fact that this girl is going to be in the same country STATE as me very, very soon. There are big plans that revolve around eating.

Corned beef. I’m cooking another one as we speak. There were no leftovers from the last one and I NEED LEFTOVERS. Or you know, a freshly cooked corned beef to use as leftover.

The smell of homemade pickling spice. It smells like Christmas, but better. I need a pickling spice scented candle.

Learning how to curse in Polish so my dance teacher understands my swearing.

This face scrub. I bought it at Whole Foods for $16.It makes your skin all soft and smooth, but its not mean to your face like an apricot scrub. If you love the smell of Tea Tree Oil like I do, it smells amazing. And a jar lasts forever. 

My sister gave me this face mask (also from Whole Foods) for my birthday and I love it. Its super smooth and creamy. It looks and smells like chocolate pudding. (And I still don’t know if I should eat it or put it on my face.)

One product to detangle, repair, shine, seal, and smooth hair? Who doesn’t want that?

The Hunger Games Trilogy. I read them all in under 24 hours. And I want the cookbook.

And last but definitely not least,

Not pictured: lots of maple syrup

 WAFFLES!

Specifically, Marion Cunningham’s yeast risen waffles. They are the lightest, crispiest waffles to ever come out of my waffle iron. They’re yeasty, barely sweetened and begging for some Grade B maple syrup (or sliced local strawberries). And as good as the batter was on the first day, I actually liked it better on days 2 and 3. The batter got more complex, and ever so slightly sourdough-ish. I wanted to use is as the bread for a sandwich, but by the time I was done with breakfast it was gone. Oh well, maybe next time. (Brain Blast: Yeasted Rye Waffle Rueben. If you make it, please invite me over. I’d do the same for you.)

Pancetta Crusted Mini Quiche

You would think that after telling you about the party, then giving you a dessert from the party (which was the first to vanish), you would think I would give you a picture of the food at the party.

But I can’t. Because I didn’t take any. Not a single solitary picture.

You might also think that I would be so well stocked in recipes to post, but you would be wrong. So very, very wrong. Because again, I took no pictures.

Technically, I took some pictures but none of them turned out l because I was in a hurry and I need to take time if I want an appealingish picture (so you get blurry pictures instead. Yay you!). And there’s no picture of the final product because by the time I was done getting ready (looking pretty takes time, which is why it's not normally in my repertoire), I threw everything in the car and drove to the hotel. I’m lucky there weren’t curlers in my hair when I got there. 

 Then the party started. And I got to stand there and get showered with compliments all night long. And we all know how much that sucks.

Just kidding. It was amazing. And I totally took the modest “thank you” route instead of my usual “I know” response.

I am so classy sometimes it just kills me.

And the dish that got me the most compliments? The mini-quiche. I was expecting the meatballs to get all the praise. And I think if more people had eaten dessert, the blondies would have gotten the praise they so very rightly deserve.

Bran Muffins

So...I was asked today to cater a cocktail party for 30 on Saturday. Normally, a party for 30 is no big deal, BUT I will be making all the food at my house then transporting it to a hotel where I will have no access to stoves, ovens, or refrigerators. All by myself.

So now I am racking my brains trying to think of what to make and still stay under budget. And I would like the added bonus of impressing everyone. It’s how I roll.

So far my tentative menu looks like this:

Hummus and Crudite
Cheese and Crackers
Mini Quiche (with proscuitto crust)
Caprese sticks
Ginger Scallion Meatballs
Cheese Puffs

I don’t know if they want dessert too, but if They do my plans are Salted Caramel Brownies and Lemongrass Bars.

Basically, in the last 3 hours, my week has grown exponentially busier*. Thankfully, the one meal I will not be worrying about this week is breakfast. Because I made a batch of the only bran muffin you will ever need. (I know I say that a lot. But try the hummus and tell me its not fabulous.)

I don’t know when it was decided that bran muffins should taste like cardboard, but I am taking a stand against it. Why can’t a bran muffin be light like a blueberry muffin? Since when did a good for you muffin have to taste like crap? (Trust me...there's a good amount of fiber going on. Keeps you regular...if you know what I mean. And nothing says "I love you" giving the gift of regularity. Not incentive? How about 125 calories FTW?)

 

The very best part? The batter keeps for several weeks AT LEAST 3 WEEKS in the fridge. That’s right, you can have a fresh baked muffin every morning.