The Best Banana Bread

This is the best Banana Bread I have ever had. I have shared the recipe with friends and family for over 20 years and they all swear by it! It is easy and moist and rich. Give it a try!

Mix together the following and then let stand while you prepare the next step:

• 2 large very ripe bananas well mashed
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 5 T. milk

Mix together in another bowl:1/2 C. butter

• 1 C. white sugar
• 1 egg

Now add the banana mix to it.

Then add:

• 1 1/3 C. while flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 3/4 C. chopped walnuts or pecans

Pour into a prepared loaf pan and bake at 325 degrees for 50 - 60 minutes.

It won't last long!

Mix

Bake

Enjoy!

Mexican Cornbread by Paula Dean, Tweeked by Kittencal

This quite possibly might be the best cornbread you will ever have, it bakes out high, light and fluffy, it really should be called a corn cake lol! The jalapenos can be substituted with one small finely chopped green bell pepper, or one 4-ounce can green chilies, drained. Since I prefer the taste of olive oil I used that instead of the melted butter, this is a recipe of Paula Deen's tweeked slightly I think for the better ;-) Posted on RecipeZaar.com by KITTENCAL

My three most trusted recipe sources: Paul Dean, RecipeZaar and most of all Kittencal.

This recipe has 17 5-star ratings to date

45 min | 10 min prep

SERVES 9 -12 , 1 (8x8-in) pan

* 1 cup yellow cornmeal
* 1/2 cup flour
* 2 tablespoons white sugar
* 2 tablespoons baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (optional)
* 2/3 cup half-and-half cream (or use milk)
* 2 large eggs
* 1 1/2 teaspoons seasoning salt or 1/2 teaspoon white salt
* 1/3 cup melted butter or vegetable oil
* 1 small onion, finely chopped or green onion
* 1 (14 ounce) can creamed corn
* 1 cup frozen corn, thawed or drained canned corn niblets
* 1 1/2 cups grated cheddar cheese
* 2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and finely chopped (or to taste)

1. Set oven to 350 degrees.
2. Butter a 8 x 8-inch or a 9 x 9-inch square baking dish.
3. In a large bowl mix together cornmeal with flour, sugar baking powder, garlic powder, milk, eggs, seasoned salt and melted butter or oil until well blended.
4. Add in onion and creamed corn and thawed corn; mix to combine.
5. Pour half the batter into prepared baking dish.
6. Sprinkle the layer with grated cheese and jalapeno peppers.
7. Pour the remaining batter on top of the cheese and jalapeno peppers.
8. Bake for about 35-45 minutes or until golden on top and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean (baking time will vary slightly depending on the size of pan used).
9. Allow to cool slightly before slicing.


NOTE: Some of the reviewers said the baking time needs to be longer, so test it with a toothpick before you pull it out of the oven.

RESOURCES: Texas Cornmeal and dried Jalapeno peppers will be available soon at FoodieAffair.com

Aunt Reta's Zucchini Bread

This is truly the best Zucchini Bread I have ever eaten. Maybe even the best quick bread I have ever had! I was a newly wed when Aunt Reta gave this to me and it is now a family classic. It is rich and moist and the recipe makes 2 loaves so you can share one or put it in the freezer for later.

• 3 eggs
• 3 cups white flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup salad oil
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 2 cups grated zucchini (leave out the seeds if they are large)
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
• 3 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1 tsp. salt

1. Beat eggs until foamy. Add sugar, oil and zucchini. Mix well but not too long.
2. Add sifted flour and remaining ingredients. Mix well. Batter will be thin.
3. Pour into 2 greased and floured loaf pans. (if the pans are nonstick, you only need to use Pam spray)
   
4. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour.

Artichoke Bread

Servings: 40

• 1/4 C Butter
• 3 Clove Garlic, minced
• 2 tsps Sesame Seeds
• 14 Ozs Artichoke Hearts, drained and chopped
• 1 C Monterey Jack Cheese, grated
• 1 C Parmesan Cheese, grated
• 1 C Sour Cream
• 2 Ea Best Bread Ever
• 1/2 C Cheddar Cheese, Shredded, grated

1. Preheat over to 350 degrees.
2. Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat.
3. Add garlic and sesame seeds.
4. Saute until lightly browned.
5. Remove from heat and stir in artichoke, monterey jack, Parmesan and sour cream.
6. Cut bread in half lengthwise.
7. Scoop out center of each piece, leaving a 1 inch shell.
8. Add approximately 1/2 of the removed bread pieces to the artichoke mixture.
9. Stir to blend.
10. Spoon artichoke mixture into french bread shells and sprinkle with cheddar cheese.
11. Place on baking sheet and cover with foil.
12. Bake for 25 minutes.
13. Remove foil and bake 5 minutes more.
14. Cool slightly and cut into slices.

Check my other blog: Southern Flavor Zone

French Bread

This recipe is inspired from a great bread book that I do not own anymore. The measurements are crucial and must be weighed. Here's hoping that you all have food scales and instant read thermometers...

• 250 grams all-purpose flour
• 250 grams bread flour
• 10 grams sea salt or 3 tsp
• 1 tsp instant yeast (for bread machines)
• 315 grams bottled water
  

1. Place flours in food processor and pulse several times to incorporate. Take temp of flour. Then either cool or heat water so that flour and water temps combined equal 130 degrees F.
2. Turn processor on and pour water through tube while machine is running for 20 seconds.
3. Let dough rest in machine for 30 minutes then process 25 seconds.
4. Dough temp should be 75-80 degrees. If it is not warm enough, pulse processor a few times and check temp again. Do this until it reaches proper temp.
5. Turn dough out into ungreased bowl and let rise covered with plastic for 2 hours.
6. Lightly flour board. Turn out dough on to board and cut into 2 pieces.
7. Cover with plastic or towel and let rest 20 minutes
8. Form loaves and place in baking pans.
9. Cover and let rest until desired height (approx 60-90 min).
10. In meantime, preheat oven to 475 degrees F.
11. Place bowl of water in bottom of oven to create steam.
12. Dust loaves with flour and slash tops on angle with very sharp knife or razor blade.
13. Spritz water on loaves until they glisten. Don't overdo it.
14. Bake loaves for 20 minutes. Internal temp should be 205 degrees F.
15. Cool on rack.

"Touch of Grace Biscuits" by Shirley Corriher

For those of you who are not familiar with Shirley Corriher, she is a biochemist and cookbook author. She has two fabulous books, Bakewise and Cookwise. She teaches you why ingredients do what they do. She is a frequent guest of Alton Brown's "Good Eats" on the Food Network.

You have never tasted biscuit so soft and tender. This recipe alone is worth the price of Bakewise.

Yield: 12-14 medium biscuits

• 2 cups spooned and leveled self-rising flour*
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup butter-flavored Crisco shortening (original - plain shortening)
  
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream (original - 2/3 cup)
  
• 2/3 cup buttermilk or enough for dough to resemble cottage cheese (original 1+ cup)
  
• 1 cup all-purpose flour for shaping
  
• 3 TBL unsalted butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 425 F (for a convection oven, 375 F) and arrange a shelf slightly below the center of the oven. Spray and 8 or 9" round cake pan with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a large mixing bowl, stir together self-rising flour, sugar, and salt. Work shortening in with your fingers until there are no large lumps. Gently stir in cream, then some buttermilk. Continue stirring in buttermilk until dough resembles cottage cheese. It should be a wet mass---not soup, but cottage cheese texture. If you are not using a low-protein flour, this may require considerably more than 1 cup buttermilk.
3. Spread all-purpose flour out on a plate or pie pan. With medium ice cream scoop (approximately 2 inches in diameter, #30) or spoon, place 3 or 4 scoops of dough well apart in flour. Sprinkle flour over each. Flour your hands. Turn dough ball in flour to coat, pick up ball, and gently shape it into a round, shaking off excess flour as you work. Place biscuit in prepared pan.
4. Coat each dough ball in the same way and place each shaped biscuit scrunched up against its neighbor so that biscuits rise up and don't spread out. Continue scooping and shaping until all dough is used.
5. Place pan on arranged shelf in oven. Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes, or until lightly browned. Brush with melted butter.
6. Invert onto 1 plate and then back onto another. With a knife or spatula, cut quickly between biscuits to make them easy to remove. Serve immediately with Cherry-Chambord Butter.
   

* For light as air biscuits, Shirley recommends using a low-protein Southern flour, such and White Lily. If it is not available in your area, she says to use 1 cup self-rising all-purpose flour and 1/2 cup instant flour, such as Shake & Blend or Wondra, or cake flour, plus 1/2 teaspoon baking powder. Shirley also notes that self-rising flour should not be used for shaping the biscuits since the leavener will cause the outside of the biscuits to taste bitter.

NOTE 02/14/09: Today, I used 100% self-rising all-purpose flour. I changed the original Heavy Cream quantity from 2/3 cup to 1/2 cup and Buttermilk from 1 cup to 1/2-2/3 cup. You will need to add the buttermilk till you get the consistency of cottage cheese. The amount differs throughout the year because of the season your flour is harvested. Also, I used Butter-flavored Crisco. I eliminated the step of dusting the dough balls in A/P flour. I simply scooped into the baking pan. These changes resulted in a little firmer biscuit, but still very tender. We like them better than the original which are so delicate, they fall apart.