Almost Killer Banana Bread.

 With Middle Hawthorne now out of the nest,

I find myself NOT having to buy 30 pounds of bananas each week.

I found two bananas still hiding

and decided to make banana bread.

 

 Yes, I've made this banana bread a time or two.

That's the first cookbook I ever bought for myself.

Rombauer's The Joy of Cooking.

1972.

Now I ask you,

can you find the bananas in the mise en place?

Generally, bananas are the color of that lemon.

Ah!  There they are!

The Joy's Banana Bread, tweaked by Rosie

Heat oven to 350°.

Sift BEFORE measuring:

1 3/4 cup flour

Resift with:

2 1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp kosher salt

Blend until creamy:

1/3 cup shortening

2/3 cup sugar

zest of one lemon

Beat in:

2 eggs, room temperature

2 ripe bananas

Add the sifted ingredients in 3 parts,

beating the batter after each addition until smooth.

Fold in:

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

1/4 cup chopped dates

1/4 cup raisins

Pour batter into a 9 x 5 buttered loaf pan 

and bake about 60 minutes,

tenting after 40 minutes, if necessary.

  

 I peeled the banana.

It was all kinds of ripe.

In fact, it was about 40 proof ripe.

Quite potent bananas.

And that bat hanging on the side of the bowl is the peel.

 After cooling,

I turned the bread out onto a cutting board.

And yes, I tented it.

Just not quite soon enough.

Let cool thoroughly before slicing.

Mr. Hawthorne proclaimed this 

the best banana bread he's ever had.

Do you think it had something to do with the alcohol?

Delicious on its own;

double delicious when spread with butter and toasted.

So now you know.

Let your bananas ferment and then make banana bread.

Another "Trust Rosie" moment.

SNOW!!!

Mo' Oysters.

You know how the Hawthornes love their oysters.

Sadly, we're about to finish off our third bushel

and they've closed oyster season.

I had about 5 ounces of frozen spinach left over from a dip

Mr. Hawthorne made with a Knorr's vegetable dip package

that came with a jar of Hellman's.

Pretty good dip too, by the way.

And some chopped red onion and roasted red pepper.

Sauté the spinach, red onion, and pepper

in about 2 TB unsalted butter for about 2 minutes

over medium high heat.

Add in a splash of chardonnay,

reduce heat,

and let it cook away.

Add in about 1/4 cup heavy cream and heat it through.

Oysters on the half shell

Melted unsalted butter

Spinach mixture

Grated Parmesan cheese

 Panko breadcrumbs

Freshly grated nutmeg

Spoon melted butter over each oyster

and place a bit of the spinach mixture on each.

Top with grated Parmesan, Panko,

and a dusting of nutmeg.

Place under a 450° broiler for about 3-4 minutes

or until liquid is bubbly and Panko lightly browned.

Mighty good ersters!

Baby, It's Cold On The Banks!