Banana Bread with Chocolate

This is a very majestic banana bread. The photo may not encapsulate that as well as I hoped -- perhaps due to my continued bad habit of smothering every baked good with Greek yogurt and Sarabeth preserves, then taking the picture. But believe me, it's good. I was hoping the entire cake would last me a week of breakfast but I only got by on a few days. Still, not bad for having passed a half of it on to Kat, my baking partner, and a slice stolen here and there from a boy on his way out early in the morning.

Recipe notes:

Instead of chocolate chips Kat cut up a bar of dark chocolate. I don't like too-sweet baked goods, so the bitterness of the dark chocolate was perfectly off-set against the bread. We discovered that a good way to cut a bar of chocolate up without it crumbling is by heating the bar slightly so that it's just a tad soft, then proceed to cut into pieces.

Instead of regular yogurt, I used Greek yogurt since that's all I had. It turned out just fine, but I noticed the bread was very dense, perhaps denser than the author of this recipe may have intended.

Banana Bread with Chocolate
Adapted from A Homemade Life's "Banana Bread with Chocolate and Crystallized Ginger" as posted here. I did not use the crystallized ginger because I didn't have any on hand, and also because I wanted a more traditional banana bread this time.

6	tablespoons unsalted butter
2	cups all-purpose flour
3/4	cup sugar
3/4	teaspoon baking soda
1/2	teaspoon salt
3/4	cup semisweet chocolate chips
2	large eggs
3	large ripe bananas, mashed
1/4	cup well-stirred whole-milk plain yogurt (not low or nonfat)
1	teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Set a rack in the center of the oven, and preheat to 350F. Grease a 9- by 5-inch loaf pan or an 8-inch round cake pan with cooking spray or butter. (note: I used a round cake pan. It was my first time baking banana bread in a round cake pan and it was truly great. I will do it this way from now on. I cannot explain why.)

2. Melt the butter on the stove or in a microwave and set aside to cool slightly.

3. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. Add the chocolate chips and whisk well to combine. Set aside.

4. In a medium bowl, lightly beat the eggs with a fork. Add the mashed banana, yogurt, melted butter, and vanilla and stir to mix well. Pour the banana mixture into the dry ingredients, and stir gently with a rubber spatula, scraping down the sides as needed, until just combined. Do not overmix. The batter with be thick and somewhat lumpy, just make sure all the flour has been incorporated. Scrape the batter into the loaf pan and smooth the top.

5. Bake into the loaf is a deep shade of golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, 50 mins to an hour. If the loaf seems to be browning too quickly, tent with foil.

6. Cool the loaf in the pan on a wire rack for 5 minutes. Then tip out onto the rack, and let it cool completely before slicing. The loaf freezes well wrapped in plastic wrap and again in foil to protect from freezer burn.

Cinnamon-Raisin Oatmeal Scones

Divine scone recipe from Cook's Illustrated.

P.S. I'm eating my home-baked goods these days with a heaping spoonful of Fage Greek yogurt and a dollop of Sarabeth's Strawberry Raspberry preserves.

Cinnamon-Raisin Oatmeal Scones
From Cook's Illustrated, September 2003

This recipe was developed using Gold Medal unbleached all-purpose flour; best results will be achieved if you use the same or a similar flour, such as Pillsbury unbleached. King Arthur flour has more protein; if you use it, add an additional 1 to 2 tablespoons milk. Half-and-half is a suitable substitute for the milk/cream combination.

1 1/2	cups rolled oats (4 1/2 ounces) or quick oats
1/4	cup whole milk
1/4	cup heavy cream
1	large egg
1 1/2	cups unbleached all-purpose flour (7 1/2 ounces)
1/4	teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3	cup granulated sugar (2 1/4 ounces)
2	teaspoons baking powder
1/2	teaspoon table salt
10	tablespoons unsalted butter , cold, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2	cup raisins
1	tablespoon granulated sugar for sprinkling

Adjust oven rack to middle position; heat oven to 375 degrees. Spread oats evenly on baking sheet and toast in oven until fragrant and lightly browned, 7 to 9 minutes; cool on wire rack. Increase oven temperature to 450 degrees. Line second baking sheet with parchment paper. When oats are cooled, measure out 2 tablespoons and set aside.

Whisk milk, cream, and egg in large measuring cup until incorporated; remove 1 tablespoon to small bowl and reserve for glazing.

Pulse flour, cinnamon, 1/3 cup sugar, baking powder, and salt in food processor until combined, about four 1-second pulses. Scatter cold butter evenly over dry ingredients and pulse until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal, twelve to fourteen 1-second pulses. Transfer mixture to medium bowl; stir in cooled oats and raisins. Using rubber spatula, fold in liquid ingredients until large clumps form. Mix dough by hand in bowl until dough forms cohesive mass.

Dust work surface with half of reserved oats (note: I also dusted with some flour as the dough was a bit sticky), turn dough out onto work surface, and dust top with remaining oats. Gently pat into 7-inch circle about 1 inch thick. Using bench scraper or chef’s knife, cut dough into 8 wedges and set on parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing them about 2 inches apart. Brush surfaces with reserved egg mixture and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon sugar. Bake until golden brown, 12 to 14 minutes (note: they baked fast in my oven and needed no more than 12 minutes); cool scones on baking sheet on wire rack 5 minutes, then remove scones to cooling rack and cool to room temperature, about 30 minutes. Serve.

Wednesday luxuries

Accompanying Sophia (of the fabulous Kitchen Caravan) on a research trip in Williamsburg, we went to Marlow & Sons for lunch yesterday, which really is a luxury - not because the food is anything short of amazing, but because it is such a calm and cozy place to eat midday. I'd only been at night where it's frantic and packed and the wait is usually an hour, even on a weekday. For lunch, you can take your time, which gives you a whole new appreciation for this very special restaurant.

After a couple pit stops gawking at cheese and chocolate, there was Saltie for dessert. After this second visit, it's safe to say that their ice cream menu is probably one of the best I've encountered, ever. I got the Eton Mess ice cream and Sophia got the Anise Hyssop ice cream sandwich. Heaven. But I won't forget that Salted Caramel ice cream from last time. P.S. their lavender shortbread does not taste like aromatherapy candles.

Later in the evening, I biked with the usual boy to DUMBO for a book launch party, finishing with a late dinner at nearby Superfine with the usual suspects.

The transition from Summer to Fall is kind of drastic. The change in weather is a given, but there's also being back in that ambitious, New York head-space where hustlin' is in full swing again after months of ADD due to travel and good weather - something I need to be eased out of, slowly. Indulging in luxuries midweek is not a bad vehicle for this transition.

Last Friday

With Ally (the NY stowaway) in Williamsburg...

Anorak from Built By Wendy on sale from their spring line. Due to a footwear malfunction (thanks to my $1 thrift store shoes), I also bought Minnetonka moccasins which are absolutely not overrated; they make your feet as happy as papooses.

Lunch at Saltie, which is a new favorite. Everything was divine; I'm going back this week to try more things.

(Photos of Saltie's food are by Kathy, who also has a cool food blog. In the meantime, I'm trying to be better with by own visual documentation.)

Seriously contemplating getting a subscription. Of course we're big fans of Marlow & Sons.

John McCann's Steel Cut Irish Oatmeal is so amazing and good. It'll change any reservations you ever had about oatmeal...

Go-to remedy for an imminent cold:

LEMON & HONEY
1 mug hot water
Juice from half a lemon
1 overflowing tablespoon of honey

Combine. Mix well. Sip slowly. Repeat every few hours.

Sandwich & salad

Bought the below on separate occasions for approx. $8 each but won't be making the same mistake twice. Luscious combinations with very simple and affordable ingredients...

Sandwich (from a deli in Greenpoint)
On whole grain ciabatta
Roast beef - quality is everything
Avocado
Alfalfa
Apples
Brie
Dijon mustard

Salad (from Le Pain Quotidien)
On a bed of mesclun greens
Red quinoa
Cherry tomatoes
Enoki mushrooms (have never eaten those raw until now - yum!)
Alfalfa
Radishes
Fat wedge of lemon
Pesto dressing

Mashed potatoes for breakfast

That's what I succumbed to this first morning of chilly, rainy weather, which I'm pretty sure determined my fate for the rest of autumn and winter in the comfort-foods-consumption department.

Other ways to feed yourself some insta-comfort:
- Put a bit of half-and-half in your coffee
- Roast a chicken with garlic, lemon and herbs
- Eat trail mix with more chocolate and yogurt chunks than nuts and raisins