Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

-1 1/4 cups sugar
-1/2 cup margarine or butter, softened
-2 eggs
-1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (3 medium bananas)
-1/2 cups of buttermilk
-1 teaspoon vanilla
-2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
-1 teaspoon baking soda
-1/2 teaspoon salt
-3/4 C chocolate chips (or to taste)

1. Heat oven to 350. Grease a 9" x 5" x 3" pan. (Or 2 - 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 1/2 inch pans)
2. Mix together sugar and butter in large bowl. Stir in eggs until well blended. Add bananas, buttermilk and vanilla. Beat until smooth. Stir in remaining ingredients except nuts and mix until just moistened. Stir in nuts. Pour into pan.
3. Bake 8-inch loaves for about 1 hour or 9-inch loaf 1 hour 15 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 5 minutes. Loosen sides of loaf from pan and remove from pan. Cool completely before slicing. Wrap tightly and store at room temperature up to 4 days or refrigerate up to 10 days.

This was a thank-you gift for Alycia for rescuing me from the park after I locked my keys in my car... long, silly story, but let's just say I handed her my spare keys along with a loaf of this stuff so as to avoid future predicaments. Chocolate banana bread is one of my favorite treats, but hard to say no to when it's in front of you, so bake at your own risk- or make sure you have a willing recipient!

Cornbread Chicken Pot Pie

-1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Cream of Chicken Soup
-1 can (about 8 ounces) whole kernel corn, drained
-2 cups cubed cooked chicken OR turkey
-1 pkg. (8 1/2 ounces) corn muffin mix
-3/4 cup milk
-1 egg
-1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

1. Heat the oven to 400̊F. Stir the soup, corn and chicken in a 9-inch pie plate.
2. Stir the muffin mix, milk and egg with a fork in a small bowl until the ingredients are mixed. Spoon over the chicken mixture.
3. Bake for 30 minutes or until the cornbread is golden. Sprinkle with the cheese. Serves: 4

This is the first meal I hosted in my new little abode, a meal I shared with TJ and Alycia, eaten sitting on my couch with our plates balanced on our knees. Very cozy, and a yummy- and simple- Southern dish. Fresh corn would be a great addition- I also added some frozen veggies.

Baker's One Bowl Brownies

4 squares unsweetened baking chocolate (or 3 T cocoa + 1 T veggie oil)
3/4 C butter
2 C sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 C flour
1 C chocolate chips

Microwave unsweetened chocolate and butter in large bowl on high 2 minutes or until butter is melted. Stir until chocolate is completely melted.

Stir in sugar. Add eggs and vanilla; mix well. Add flour and nuts; stir until well blended. Spread into greased 13x9 inch pan.

Bake at 350 F for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out with fudgy crumbs. Cool in pan.

After graduation, I spent three weeks in Hillsdale and one in Monroe, and was able to eat a lot of good food during that time. The YoungLife team made- nay, created- the most phenomenal pizza that has ever touched my lips. Ham, pineapples, artichokes, pesto, sausage, several kinds of cheese, homemade tomato sauce... a special thanks to the Pi Phi house for unknowingly lending us much of their food. Margaret and I experimented with dishes including fish tacos (a recipe from her future mother-in-law), Thai basil ground chicken (a meal we shared with Hallie, Matt, Tony and Evan), more delicious pizza (I accidentally made about 9 times too much sauce the first time, so we had to use it up), bruschetta, and chili dogs (a great meal memory that includes Hannah, Mike, Julia Westblade, and Zach). Natalie visited for a weekend and we cranked out what was, hands-down, the best day of food I've ever experienced. That may not be true, but it is a delicious and peaceful in my mind. We made chicken tikki masala for lunch and shrimp linguine for dinner, when I may or may not have drank something close to an entire bottle of wine, plus some experimental mojitos, by myself. I think we had a taste (pun intended) that day of the lifestyle had by cultures like the Italian, Spanish and Mexican, who are so good at celebrating food, leisure and family in one fell swoop. Zach made his own concoction, a product of 18 cloves of garlic he chopped up without asking and was refused by Natalie and myself when he tried to add it to our dish. This garlic became what he calls Zach's Whiskey Chicken when combined with the leftover chicken and anything he found around the Von Sydow household (mustard, salt, whiskey... along with garlic, pretty much the staples of his diet), and then it sat and marinated in the fridge for, oh, 4 or 5 days, which probably isn't the most hygenic thing in the world but I figure between the alcohol and the heat, it's alright. The only dish I made that I have the recipe for is my last meal in Hillsdale, baked ziti, listed below. It was a good last meal.

Baked Ziti

1 lb italian sausage
1 lb pasta (ziti noodles)
3 cloves garlic
olive oil
1-2 quarts sauce
1 C grated parmesan
2-3 C mozarella

Brown sausage with oil- add sundried tomatoes and garlic. Add parsley, basil and sauce, and simmer. Cook pasta al dente and strain. Add parmesean and half of the mozarella to sauce. Pour sauce and pasta into a baking dish and toss well, sprinkle the rest of the mozarella on top. Place under broiler until cheese bubbles.

Apple Butter

1 clementine orange, peeled and separated
Peels from 15 large apples, diced
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
¼ cup water

Puree orange segments until smooth. Set aside.
Place apple peels in a saucepan over medium heat with 1 tsp water. Cover and cook 30 minutes.
Add orange puree, brown sugar, vanilla and water, stir well.
Recover and cook 3 hours, stirring occasionally. Cool slightly.
Add mixture to a food processor and process until smooth.
Place into a clean jar, cover and chill.

Orange Shimp Fettucinne

12 oz fresh or frozen peeled and deveined shrimp 6 oz dried fettuccine or linguine
1 red or green sweet pepper, cut into 3/4-inch squares
1 T cooking oil
1/2 tsp finely shredded orange peel
2/3 cup orange juice
1 T cornstarch
1 tsp instant chick bouillon granules
1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground red pepper
6 oz frozen pea pods, thawed
2 oranges, peeled and sectioned

1. Thaw shwimp, if frozen. Cook fettuccine for 8 for 10 minutes or till tender but still firm. Drain well; keep warm.
2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet cook sweet pepper in hot oil for 1 to 2 minutes or till crisp-tender. Remove sweet pepper. Add shrimp to skillet; cook and stir about 2 minutes or till shrimp turn pink. Remove shrimp.
3. Combine orange peel, orange juice, cornstarch, bouillon granules, sesame oil, salt, and ground red pepper; add to skillet. Cook and stir till thickened and bubbly. Return shrimp and sweet pepper to skillet; stir to coat. Gently stir in pea pods and orange sections; heat through. Serve shrimp mixture over fettuccine. Makes 4 main-dish servings.

Tony, Matt, and I cooked this last Saturday (Matt's pick). It was a quick prep, maybe 30 minutes, and DELICIOUS! Yum yum yum. It comfortably fed the three of us (4 is a stretch). I wonder if mandarin oranges would be better? I thought the oranges were a bit overpowering but the boys didn't think so.

Red Lobster Biscuits

Ingredients:
2 cups Bisquick. baking mix
2/3 cup milk
1 cup cheddar cheese -- shredded
1/4 cup margarine or butter -- melted
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions:

Preheat oven to 450. Mix baking mix, milk and cheese until soft dough forms; beat vigorously for 30 seconds. Drop dough by spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. Bake 8-10 min. or until golden brown. Mix margarine and garlic powder; brush over warm biscuits before removing from cookie sheet. Serve warm. Makes 10-12 biscuits.

Per serving (excluding unknown items): 177 Calories; 6g Fat (32% calories from fat); 4g Protein; 27g Carbohydrate; 4mg Cholesterol; 480mg Sodium Food Exchanges: 1 1/2 Starch/Bread; 1 Fat

NOTES : Substitute several cloves of chopped garlic for the garlic powder and let stand in melted butter while preparing biscuits.

Yuuuuum. They're soooo good! Taste just like the real thing. I made these for the Hilgraeve picnic and they were a big hit.

Mark and I made "bruschetta" (sort of) and bran muffins. for Lara's 'Congratulations-on-finishing-the-BAR-exam' party. For the bruschetta, we split a baguette lengthwise, then cut them into several pieces and oiled them up real good. We sauteed peppers and garlic, then layered the peppers, sliced tomatoes, fresh (AMAZING!) basil and oregano, and parmigiana cheese on the bread, then toasted them in the oven. The herbs were seriously out of this world.

Fettucine with Shrimp

1 pound linguine or fettucine
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup chopped yellow onions
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons Essence, recipe follows
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 cups heavy cream
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 pound crawfish tails (shrimp can be substituted)
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
1 cup grated Parmesan

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, about 8 minutes. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup of the cooking liquid. Return to the pot and toss with the olive oil and reserved cooking liquid. Cover to keep warm.

In a large saute pan or skillet, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring, until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, Essence, salt, and cayenne, and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the white wine and cook over high heat until nearly all evaporated. Add the cream lemon juice and cook, stirring occasionally, until slightly reduced. Add the crawfish tails and cook, stirring, to warm through. Add the onions and parsley and cook for 1 minute. Add the cooked pasta and toss to coat with the sauce. Cook until the pasta is warmed through, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat and add 1/2 cup of the cheese.
Turn out into a serving bowl and top with the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese. Serve.

[Emeril's ESSENCE Creole Seasoning: 2 1/2 tablespoons paprika 2 tablespoons salt 2 tablespoons garlic powder 1 tablespoon black pepper 1 tablespoon onion powder 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper 1 tablespoon dried oregano 1 tablespoon dried thyme
Combine all ingredients thoroughly. Yield: 2/3 cup]

I did not have the spices to make Essence, so that was out, nor did I have any cayenne or parsley, so just threw in a bunch of basil, and used lime juice instead of lemon juice (had none). I also didn't use any onions. Added a large zuchini, grated, just because I like it. Used the same Pinot Grigio (as last meal) for the sauce, and bought a 1 lb bag of 100-200 count shrimp from Korger ($5.99) - the pasta to shrimp proportion was perfect. The whole thing was very good; I really liked it. Served it with a deliiiicious loaf of bread which Vanessa tore into chunks and we broiled in the overn (at 400) for a few minutes, and a bowl of olive oil for dipping. YUM. No complaints about how this turned out except I would have liked to try it with the spices it actually called for.

Baked Wrapped Tilapia

Topping:
1-inch cube fresh gingerroot, finely chopped or grated
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped or grated
2 green onions (green part only), finely chopped
Fresh chile to taste
1 cup finely chopped cilantro
2 tbsp grapeseed (or safflower) oil
Dash of toasted sesame oil
Dash of soy sauce
Dash of fish sauce
4 tsp dark maple syrup
Tilapia:
4 fillets (4 oz each) fresh tilapia (or other firm-fleshed whitefish)
4 large banana leaves (or unbleached parchment paper)

Preheat oven to 400°F. Combine all topping ingredients in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Place afillet on each banana leaf and divide topping evenly among them, spreading it over the top. Fold each banana leaf over to form a packet around each fillet and seal the edge of each packet with a small piece of aluminum foil, crimping it tightly. Place on a baking sheet and bake 25 to 30 minutes. Nutritional analysis per serving: 213 calories, 10 g fat (1.5 g saturated), 7 g carbohydrates, 22 g protein, trace fiber. Makes 4 servings.

Well this is sort of a 'guest appearance', if you will. Matt made this on Friday night and it was so good, I wanted to remember it. I think baking it in the pouch makes the flavor totally soak through and so this whole fillet was totally seasoned. Sweet, and totally delicious. The recipe, since Matt made it, was followed pretty much down to each pinch and dash (very unlike my style).