Zucchini, baby

Full transparency, I’m very late posting this. How late? Well, the base of this yeasted bread experiment was potato leek soup which I generally only make around St. Patrick’s Day (why that is I don’t know because it’s one of my favorite soups). I think you get the idea. This year, St. Patrick’s Day was a multi day culinary adventure culminating in potato leek soup and grilled cheese made with sharp Irish Cheddar. I find myself always going to Ina Garten’s Roasted Potato Leek Soup recipe because it’s easy and delicious. Inevitably I have leftover soup which is not remotely a bad thing. I was feeling creative though and was in the midst of watching the current season of GBBO so Potato Leek Soup Bread happened. I’m very glad it did.

Potato Leek Soup Bread

Banana bread is my favorite quick bread. I’m actually a pretty big fan of almost all baked goods with banana. I’ve tried a number of recipes over the years. My biggest issue with banana breads is that a lot of times all I can taste is sugar. Don’t get me wrong, it needs to be sweet, but it also needs to have a solid banana flavor. It’s easy to overpower with other spices like cinnamon and cloves, so the perfect recipe is a delicate dance between spice and banana-ness. Last year I discovered a recipe from one of my favorite magazines, Bake, for a banana bread baked in a bundt pan. When I first made it, I was worried about the sheer volume of banana bread I was getting from making enough batter to fill a 15 cup bundt pan. Little did I know that would not be an issue. I’ve made this recipe a lot since then- usually at couple times per month. It stays incredibly moist, even after a couple of days- although it should be noted that it only lasts a couple of days in my house so I can’t speak to how long it holds beyond that. I’ve tweaked a few ingredients based on my own taste but this does not stray too far from the original.

Banana Bread Bundt

Up next in my adventures in cooking the world is Spain, chosen courtesy of my Dad. I landed on tapas, both because they are delicious and what better to make when you want to try lots of different food and not end up with an unmanageable amount of leftovers. Little did I know that leftovers would not be an issue. I had some dishes in mind right away. If you have ever had the good fortune to go to the Columbia Restaurant in Florida, you’ll know they have dishes that you cannot- and I mean cannot- skip ordering. My favorites are the 1905 Salad and the Spanish Bean Soup. I happen to have their cookbook which has recipes for both those dishes. The salad was simple enough; I had most of those ingredients on hand. The Spanish Bean Soup was another story. I don’t generally have ham bones and beef bones at the ready. I also wanted to tweak it for the slow cooker so I had ample stove and oven space for the rest of my tapas. And with that in mind, I created my own version of Spanish Bean Soup, modified from the Columbia Restaurant recipe with ingredients that were easier for me to acquire, all cooked low and slow on a Sunday afternoon.

Slow Cooker Spanish Bean Soup

I’m back, nearly three years and a master’s degree later. It’s only fitting that my first post back after my hiatus for school should be something with zucchini. And given the time of year, zucchini is in steady supply from the garden. Finding a use for all the zucchini is always a challenge. There are only so many variations of zucchini bread one can make. Zucchini are particularly challenging if allowed to grow too big because their skin gets tough, and my garden zucchini tend to be on the larger side. This recipe calls for peeling the skin from the zucchini first. If you are using smaller zucchini, you can opt to leave the skin on. You’ll just need two or three smaller zucchini instead of a larger one.

Zucchini Boats

I loves me some mac & cheese. I usually make a very traditional one with sharp yellow cheddar and sometimes bacon. This time, I decided to mix it up. I actually made this a few days ago, but I couldn’t decide what to call it. I refuse to call this “grown-up” macaroni & cheese, which you often hear similar recipes called. Complex flavors don’t make it only palatable for adults. My toddler dug it. In fact, I dare say she loved it. I also don’t care for snooty food buzz words, like “reinvented.” So I fell back to just using it’s actual name, macaroni & cheese, and called it fancy. The parenthesis are merely to easily distinguish it from my original recipe… should I ever choose to post that. It reheats fabulously for leftovers, and it if you have a small family like ours, you will have plenty left.

(Fancy) Macaroni & Cheese

Mini food time… again!  I like these sliders because they are easy, quick, and they freeze really well.  The recipe makes around 14 to 16 sliders.  For this batch, I made 12 sliders and two full size burgers because I wanted dinner and leftovers.  I wrap the leftovers individually and tightly in plastic wrap (bun, cheese, and patty) and freeze them.  They only take a minute or so to reheat in the microwave which makes them great to send with my daughter to daycare for lunch.  I have made hamburger buns before, which is definitely a preferable option, but it was Wednesday.  I am not that ambitious (or patient) after work.  I got the slider “holla” (aka challah) buns at a local market.

Turkey Sliders (Recipe)

Yesterday was birthday party mania. My husband, daughter, and I had three, yes three, birthday parties in one day. We spent the day hopping from one party to the next, but somehow still managed to get some other things done, like these Coconut Mini Pies. Admittedly, these were not a spur of the moment bake. Our closing party was my sister’s 33rd birthday party and I made these per her request. She calls them hand pies, but I find that doesn’t sound as appetizing as mini pies. Seriously, I think I have said this before, but what isn’t better when made mini? In the spirit of total honesty, I broke my own recipe rule when I made these. I altered a recipe I had never made before. Yes, it was a risky move, especially being a baked good, but thankfully they turned out great. Feliz cumpleaños de Jen!

Coconut Mini Pies (Recipe)