Nutella-Banana Pudding Parfait

I don't think any lengthy story about pudding, it's relatively simple to make and it goes with any season.  It's a comfort food in our house and we love creamy pudding of any flavor but I think Nutella-flavored pudding ranks high in taste and popularity.  I paired it with banana pudding, which has all-natural flavor and none of the yellow coloring.  These two puddings go well with crumbled graham crackers for added crunch.  Alternately layer the puddings in a serving dish, voila, you have a parfait.

Banana Pudding

Makes 4 cups

2 small ripe bananas, about 12 ounces

⅓ cup sugar

2 ½ cups whole milk

3 tablespoons cornstarch

½ teaspoon salt

¾ cup cream

2 large egg yolks

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a 3-quart saucepan, thoroughly mash together the bananas and sugar.  Pour in the milk.  Warm over medium heat almost to boiling (the surface of the milk should quiver and vibrate).  Turn off the heat.

Puree the banana-milk mixture in a food processor or blender.  Pour it back into the pan and warm it for 3 to 5 minutes over medium heat, until bubbles for around the edges and the center of the milk is vibrating.  Turn off the heat.

Put the cornstarch and salt in a medium bowl.  Slowly whisk in the cream, making sure there are no lumps. Whisk in the egg yolks.  It is important that this mixture be as smooth as you can make it.  (To be really sure, reach into the bowl and gently rub out any lumps.)

Pour a ladleful of the hot milk into the bowl with the slurry.  Whisk vigorously to combine.  The mixture should come together smoothly, with no lumps.  If you see any, add a little more liquid and whisk them out.  Pour this mixture back into the pan slowly, counting to 10 as you do and whisking constantly and vigorously.

Turn the heat back on to medium.  Work all the angles of the pan, and scrape the bottom.  It will take 2 to 5 minutes to bring the custard to a boil, with large bubbles that slowly pop up to the surface.  Boil, whisking constantly, for 2 minutes.  Turn off the heat and stir in the vanilla.

Immediately pour the custard into a shallow container.  Place plastic wrap or buttered wax paper directly on the surface to cover it, and refrigerate for 2 hours, or until fully chilled.  

Nutella Pudding

Makes 4 cups

3 tablespoons cornstarch

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup cream

2 egg yolks 

2 cups whole milk

¼ cup sugar

¾ cup Nutella

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Put the cornstarch and salt in a medium bowl.  Slowly whisk in the cream, making sure there are no lumps. Whisk in the egg yolks.  It is important that this mixture be as smooth as you can make it.  (To be really sure, reach into the bowl and gently rub out any lumps.)

Whisk the milk and sugar over medium heat in a 3-quart saucepan until bubbles form around the edge of the milk and the entire surface begins to quiver.  Turn off the heat.

Pour 1 cup of the hot milk into the bowl with the slurry and whisk vigorously to combine.  They should come together smoothly, with no lumps.  If you see any, add a little more liquid and whisk them out.  Pour the tempered slurry back into the pan slowly, counting to 10 as you do and whisking vigorously.

Turn the heat back on to medium.  Work all the angles of the pan, and scrape the bottom.  It will take 2 to 5 minutes to bring the custard to a boil, with large bubbles that slowly pop up to the surface.  Boil, whisking constantly, for 2 minutes.  Turn off the heat and stir in the vanilla.

Put the Nutella in a bowl and ladle in about 1 cup of the hot pudding.  Whisk until smooth, then add the Nutella mixture back to the pan.  Whisk until thoroughly combined, add the vanilla, and stir.

Immediately pour the custard into a shallow container.  Place plastic wrap or buttered wax paper directly on the surface to cover it, and refrigerate.  This pudding is firm enough to be eaten warm after 30 minutes or so in the refrigerator.  

Source:  Bakeless Sweets byt Faith Durand

Baked French Toast with Nutella

Every Sunday I try to make special breakfast for my family because Sunday morning tends to be the most relaxed morning of all mornings.  Usually there's nothing going on that we have to wake up so early, making it the perfect day to have a more elaborate breakfast dish.  Our favorites are pancakes (blueberry, banana, chocolate chip flavors are on the top list), waffles, cinnamon rolls, sticky buns, crepes, omelet, well, the list can go on.  I actually enjoy making these type of breakfast items, it seems to set the day in a good mood.  

Even though my son likes most of my breakfast dishes, he is still reluctant to eat French toast.  His reasoning is that it's weird to eat bread with syrup.  Syrup is for pancakes and waffles according to his taste.  But he likes this baked French toast (yay!).  Powdered sugar is a good enough topping for him.  I didn't use store bought white bread because I happen to have made homemade bread earlier in the week.  My bread is usually quite sturdy and didn't fall apart when the filling was spread.   It's not a fancy breakfast and I just have to serve this alongside a cold glass of chocolate milk and everyone is happy with a full tummy.

A variation of this French toast is to use jam instead of Nutella with the cream cheese.  I haven't tried it yet, but will do since Sunday is coming soon! :)

Baked French Toast with Nutella 

Makes 4 to 8 servings

Toast:

4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

6 tablespoons Nutella, at room temperature

8 slices white bread

Custard:

4 eggs

1 cup milk

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Powdered sugar

Maple syrup

To make sandwich:  Mix cream cheese and Nutella until combined.  Spoon mixture on 4 bread slices and spread all the way to outside edges, then top with remaining slices to make sandwiches.  Place in resealable plastic bag and refrigerate until ready to bake.

To make custard:  In flat container with an airtight lid large enough to hold a bread slice, beat together eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla, and nutmeg.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

To assemble:  Preheat oven to 350F.  Mist a 9-by-13-inch baking pan with sides with nonstick cooking spray.  Dip sandwiches into custard, turning once, for 2 minutes on first side and 1 on the second to soak up as much of the custard as possible.  Lay drained slices on pan and bake for 15 minutes, then turn them over and bake for 20 minutes more, or until toast is golden brown on both sides.  Sprinkle lightly with sifted powdered sugar and serve with syrup.  Recipe can easily be doubled.

Source:  FoodDay The Oregonian

A new home and peanut butter cookies

This blog is finally ready.  Since I started keeping a blog in 2005, I've moved my blog twice before to new address and I'm hoping this will be the last time that it moved.  I don't lose many posts when I moved this time, but still, it's a lot of tinkering to do with the layout.  I'm gonna let it be this simple for a while until I've time and energy to make it, maybe, better.  My blog is always meant for me to write recipes, post food photos, and have fun with the process of making food; it's never meant to be the most popular blog in the Internet.  I don't have the energy anymore, I'm getting old!  :D

With that, I'm going to start with this Peanut Butter Icebox Cookies.  I love this recipe because the cookies stay crisp and crunchy after many days, and it's a good medium to eat with other staple pantry foods, like Nutella and strawberry jam.  It's like a shortbread really.  The jam is homemade, made from my fresh picked Hood strawberries last month.  Easy to make, easy to eat.  And I think this goodies are just perfect things to have after the stress of moving.

I hope you'll enjoy your time as was before.  Thank you!

Peanut Butter Icebox Cookies

Makes about 40 to 48 cookies

2 cups all-purpose flour

¼ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon cinnamon

4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter

⅓ cup smooth peanut butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

⅛ teaspoon almond extract

⅓ cup granulated sugar

⅓ cup dark brown sugar, firmly packed

1 egg

Sift together the flour, baking soda, and cinnamon, and set aside.  In the large bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter and peanut butter until soft and smooth.  Add the vanilla and almond extracts and both sugars and beat until incorporated.  Beat in the egg.  Then, on low speed, add the dry ingredients and beat until thoroughly mixed.

Turn the mixture out onto a work surface, knead it a bit, and then "push off" the dough as follows:  Form the dough into a ball; start at the far end of the dough and, using the heel of your hand, push off small pieces (the size of about 2 tablespoons) against the work surface and away from you.  Continue until all the dough has been pushed off.  Re-from the dough and push it off (or "break" it) again; re-form the dough (it will feel like clay).

Form the dough into a long round shape or a long oblong.  Either way, the shape should be 10 to 12 inches log and 1 ¾ to 2 inches in diameter.

Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours until firm, or place the wrapped dough in the freezer for 45 to 60 minutes until firm.

When you are ready to bake, adjust two racks to divide the oven into thirds and preheat the oven to 350F.  Line cookie sheets with aluminum foil or parchment paper.  Slice the firm dough into ¼-inch slices.  Place them ½ to 1 inch apart on the lined sheets.

Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until lightly colored (darker on the rims), reversing the sheets top to bottom and front to back once during baking to ensure even browning.

With a wide metal spatula, transfer the cookies to racks to cool.

Source:  Maida Heatter's Cookies

Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread

I found these zucchini in my parents' garden Monday afternoon.  Two plants grew healthy this summer in the sunny patch and they're starting to produce yields big enough to enjoy.  My mom couldn't contain her excitement when she saw these babies in her garden, she could hardly wait to pick more of them.

The day I picked those zucchini, I saw a post from King Arthur Flour's Facebook page about the double chocolate zucchini bread.  I was salivating looking at the picture that I determined I would make that the next day.  Even I couldn't contain my excitement about making a zucchini bread!

There're a lot of recipes using zucchini and chocolate but I have to say that this one is one of the best.  The amount of zucchini needed isn't outrageous (I hate grating zucchini), the chocolate flavor is really there, the bread isn't overly dry or wet, the crumb was tight, and the level of moistness is just right.  What I did differently were using half bittersweet chocolate and semisweet chocolate in the bread and save 1/4 cup to sprinkle on top of the bread; otherwise everything stayed the same.  Baking time was slightly reduced for my oven, it was around 60 minutes that the bread was done.  And I smeared some Nutella on my bread, mmm....

A bread like this makes me smile; it makes me think of a wonderful summer weather, the harvest from our own garden, and how connected we are to the food we grow ourselves.

Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread

Yield one 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf



2 large eggs

1/3 cup honey

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon espresso powder, optional

1/3 cup cocoa powder or Dutch-process cocoa

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups shredded, unpeeled zucchini, gently pressed on a colander over a bowl or sink to release some of its moisture

1 1/4 cups chocolate chips (a combination of bittersweet and semisweet), save the 1/4 cup for sprinkling on top of bread



Preheat the oven to 350°F; lightly grease an 8 1/2" x 4 1/2" loaf pan.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the eggs, honey, oil, sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Add the salt, baking soda, baking powder, espresso powder, cocoa, and flour, mixing until well combined. Stir in the zucchini and chocolate chips. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.  Scatter the reserved 1/4 cup of chocolate chips on top of the batter.

Bake the bread for 65 to 75 minutes, until the loaf tests done (a toothpick or cake tester inserted into the center will come out clean, save for perhaps a light smear of chocolate from the melted chips).

Remove the bread from the oven, and let it cool for 10 to 15 minutes before turning it out of the pan onto a rack.  Cool completely before slicing; store well-wrapped, at room temperature.

Nutella Brownies--Bake sale #2

Who doesn't like brownies?  There are people who like them fudgy, then there are who like them cakey.  I like my brownies kind of in between, because when it gets too fudgy it has become a fudge instead of a brownie :)

Who doesn't like Nutella?  Though it's not the healthiest food on earth, it has become a favorite in the US recently.  I've eaten Nutella since I was young so nothing could take away my habit of eating it.  Slather it on toasted bread or bagel, it's a perfect after work snack for me.

This brownies recipe combine the best of the two flavors together.  Add chopped hazelnuts in it, you may find it more irresistible to eat just one bar.  Good luck keeping it intact in whole!

Nutella Brownies

Makes 16 brownies



3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cups hazelnuts

1/2 cup unsalted butter

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped

1/4 cup Nutella

2/3 cup sugar

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 tablespoon hazelnut liqueur (Frangelico), optional



Preheat oven to 350 degree F.  Line an 8-inch square pan with foil, leave extra foil overhanging on two sides of pan, grease the foil and set aside.  Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a small bowl.

Toast hazelnuts in the oven until fragrant, about 10 minutes.  Immediately dump them in a clean kitchen, let cool for 10 to 15 minutes.  Rub hazelnuts vigorously with towels to remove skins.  Some skins will still stick to the nuts, which is fine.  Roughly chop, and set aside.

Fill the bottom of a double boiler with 1 inch of water and bring to a simmer over medium heat.  Combine the butter, chocolate, and Nutella in the top double boiler.  Whisk the mixture occasionally until it's completely melted.  Set aside to cool slightly.

Whisk together the sugar and egg in a large bowl.  Using a wooden spoon, stir in the chocolate mixture and the vanilla, then stir in the flour mixture until just incorporated.  Stir in the chopped hazelnuts.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan.  Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, or until just set.  Cool completely in the pan on  a wire rack.  Lift brownies out by the foil and cut into 16 squares.



Source:  adapted from The Only Bake Sale Cookbook You'll Ever Need by Laurie Goldrich Wolf and Pam Abrams