Cinnamon Bread

Cinnamon had been on my mind a lot and I knew that the only way ease my thoughts would be to indulge in it. I went through my bookmarks looking far a recipe that was full of cinnamon and found this one for a cinnamon loaf that sounded really good. This loaf is a plain quick bread with layers of cinnamon and a cinnamon topping. The recipe called for a full two heaping tablespoons of cinnamon which is more that I have ever used at once. This quick bread was a bit more work than most as it called for mixing the ingredients a bit at a time and pouring the ingredients into the loaf pan in layers. Despite the extra effort required it was still really easy to do. The smell of baking cinnamon is just amazing! The cinnamon bread turned out really good. It was light and fluffy and moist. The cinnamon layers were thick and full of cinnamon flavour and the cinnamon top was nice and fragrant and crumbly. Though the thoughts of cinnamon have receded for the moment, I am thinking that a rolled yeast based cinnamon bread is in my future.

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter (room temperature)
1 cup white sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup brown sugar
2 heaping tablespoons ground cinnamon

Directions:
1. Mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.
2. Cream the butter and sugar in another bowl.
3. Beat in the eggs, salt, vanilla and lemon zest.
4. Mix 1/3 of the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
5. Mix 1/2 of the buttermilk into the wet ingredients.
6. Mix 1/3 of the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
7. Mix the remaining buttermilk into the wet ingredients.
8. Mix 1/3 the remaining dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
9. Mix the brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.
10. Pour 1/3 of the batter into a greased 9x5 inch loaf pan.
11. Pour 1/3 of the cinnamon mixture on top.
12. Pour 1/3 of the batter on top.
13. Pour 1/3 of the cinnamon mixture on top.
14. Pour the remaining batter on top.
15. Pour the remaining cinnamon mixture on top.
16. Bake in a preheated 350F oven until a toothpick pushed into the center comes out clean, about an hour.

Chicken Caesar Salad

I could not experiment with anchovies without making a caesar salad. The anchovies in most caesar salad dressings had kept me from trying to make my own dressing but I was tired of using store bought. Now that I had tried the anchovies and liked them it was time to make my own caesar salad dressing. When looking for recipes I came across two main different types: those that used a raw egg yolk and those that used mayonnaise. Instead of trying to choose which one to try, I tried them both. I used the roasted garlic croutons that I had made earlier in the salad. I also decided to add some chicken to turn the caesar salad into a light meal. Both of the dressings were really easy to make. The homemade caesar salad dressing was good! Easily as good as any restaurants dressing that I have had and better than most. I liked both dressings though I thought that the one with mayonnaise had more flavour. This was the first time that I used the anchovies without cooking them. Once again they were not overpowering and they added that something special to the dressing.

Chicken Caesar Salad

Ingredients:
1 romain lettuce (cut into bite sized pieces)
1 cup chicken (cooked and shredded or grilled and sliced)
1 cup roasted garlic croutons
1/4 cup Caesar dressing
1/4 cup parmigiano reggiano (grated)
fresh ground pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Toss everything in a large bowl.

Caesar Dressing (with Egg Yolk)

Ingredients:
2 cloves garlic (chopped)
4 anchovy fillets (chopped)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon lemon juice (or white wine vinegar)
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 large egg yolk
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Directions:
1. Mix everything in a bowl.

Caesar Dressing (with mayonnaise)

Ingredients:
2 cloves garlic (chopped)
4 anchovy fillets (chopped)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon lemon juice (or white wine vinegar)
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

Directions:
1. Mix everything in a bowl.

Roasted Garlic Croutons

Now that I had made the roasted garlic oil I was ready to make the roasted garlic croutons. Up until now I have been buying croutons but they turned out to be pretty easy to make. Making croutons is a great way to use up any bread that is getting a bit too old. You can add various flavours to croutons by using flavoured oils or by tossing them with extras like herbs or grated cheese. I used some thyme and parmigiano reggiano to add a bit of flavour. The croutons turned out really good. They were nice and golden brown and crispy but not too hard. The roasted garlic oil added a ton of flavour to the croutons.

Ingredients
1 cup roasted garlic oil
6 tablespoons parmigiano reggiano (grated)
1 teaspoon thyme (chopped)
1 loaf day old bread

Directions:
1. Mix the the oil, parmigiano reggiano and thyme in a large bowl.
2. Cut the crust from the bread and cut the bread into 1 inch cubes.
3. Place the cubed bread into the bowl and mix with your hands.
4. Place the bread on a baking sheet and bake in a preheated 400F oven until lightly golden brown, about 10 minutes.

Roasted Garlic Oil

I have seen a few herb or flavoured oils on the blogsphere that have sounded pretty interesting. I recently came across a recipe that called for some roasted garlic oil and I though that it was time that I give it a try. It turned out to be pretty easy to make. It was the same as making roasted garlic except that you use a lot more oil to absorb all of the flavour. You can also add hints of other flavours like thyme and peppercorn by adding them to the oil while it roasts. The roasting garlic smelled really good and the oil retained that aroma. The oil had a really amazing roasted garlic flavour. It was well worth the effort to make. The best part might be all of the roasted garlic that is left over that you can use for other things. :)

Ingredients
3 heads garlic
2 cups olive oil
3 sprigs thyme
1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns

Directions:
1. Cut the tops off of the heads of garlic.
2. Place the garlic in a baking pan with the cut side down.
3. Add the thyme and pepper.
4. Pour the oil over the garlic, thyme and pepper.
5. Cover with foil and bake in a preheated 300F oven until the garlic is golden brown and soft, about an hour.
6. Drain the garlic oil and set aside to cool.
7. Very Important: Reserve all of the amazing roasted garlic for other uses. :)



Take a look at the Weekend Herb Blogging roundup at Mediterranean Cooking in Alaska.

Spaghetti alla Puttanesca

I have been wanting to try making a puttanesca sauce for a while but the anchovies had been holding me back. I recently came across this post for spaghetti alla puttanesca which served as a reminder and was part of the inspiration to pick up some anchovies. The primary ingredients of a puttanesca, the anchovies, garlic, capers and olives are all tasty by themselves and promised to make a really tasty sauce. The sauce came together in very little time and it was really good! I enjoyed the heat added by the chili pepper flakes and it went well in a sauce that was packed full of flavour. Once again the anchovies melted into the sauce adding that bit of something not quite definable and yet very good. One of the great things about sauces is that they can be used for more than just pastas. I served some of my leftover puttanesca on some pan seared tillapia for a quick meal. The leftover puttanesca sauce was even tastier the second day.

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon red chili pepper flakes
1 onion (chopped)
2 cloves (chopped)
1 tablespoon anchovy fillets (chopped)
1 tablespoon capers (rinsed and chopped)
1 handful black olives (pitted and chopped)
1 28 ounce can diced tomatoes
salt and pepper to taste
1 pound spaghetti
1 handful parsley (chopped)
1 handful pecorino romano (grated, optional)

Directions:
1. Heat the oil in a pan.
2. Add the chili pepper flakes and saute for 1 minute.
3. Add the onion and sauted until tender, about 5-7 minutes.
4. Add the garlic and anchovies and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute.
5. Add the capers, olives, tomatoes, salt and pepper and simmer for 10 minutes.
6. Cook the spaghetti.
7. Remove the sauce from the heat and stir in the parsley.
7. Plate the spaghetti and top with puttanesca sauce and garnish with pecorino romano.



Similar Recipes:
Spaghetti alla Marinara
Calabresi alla Arrabiata

Take a look at the Presto Pasta Nights roundup at Once Upon a Feast.

Curried Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

I have made a few banana breads lately and they were all leading up to this one. A while ago I came across the concept of using curried flavoured chocolate chips in a banana bread which sounded really good. I was not able to find any curried flavoured chocolate chips so I decided to go with just adding curry powder to the banana bread. I wanted to find a banana bread recipe that I liked before attempting the version with curry powder though. After making a few banana breads I was pleased with this recipe for a sour cream banana bread and so I was ready to try making the curried version. I was still a bit worried that I would be ruining a good loaf of banana bread but my curiosity pushed me forward.

I was not sure how much curry powder to use so I decided to start with one tablespoon. The curried banana bread smelled really good while baking and I could hardly wait for the bread to cool down before trying it. The chocolate chips were still slightly melted when I cut into the loaf. The curried chocolate chip banana bread was pretty good!! Even with a tablespoon of curry powder the flavour was subtle and did not overpower the flavour of the bananas or the chocolate. The curry added a nice layer of spiciness, but not heat, that made the bread nice and exotic. The next time that I make this curried chocolate chip banana bread I think I might try increasing the amount of curry a bit to see how it works

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon curry powder
1/2 cup butter (room temperature)
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs (beaten)
1/2 cup sour cream
3 overripe bananas (mashed)
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup walnuts (chopped)

Directions:
1. Mix the flour, baking soda, salt and curry powder in a large bowl.
2. Cream the butter and brown sugar in another bowl.
3. Stir the eggs, sour cream and banana into the butter and sugar.
4. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture.
5. Stir in the chocolate chips and walnuts.
6. Pour the batter into a 9x5 inch loaf pan.
7. Bake in a preheated 350F oven until a tooth pick pushed into the center comes out clean, about 60-70 minutes.

Similar Recipes:
Chocolate Chip and Sour Cream Banana Bread
Banana Bread
Strawberry Sour Cream Bread
Sweet Potato Bread with Praline Sauce





Take a look at the Banana Bread Bake Off roundup at Not Quite Nigella.

Tapenade

My next stop in exploring anchovies was a tapenade. A tapenade is a dish that is made from chopped olives, capers and olive oil at its base. Tapenade can also include other ingredients like garlic, herbs, lemon and of course anchovies. It is generally made from black olives and I took the opportunity to try some nicoise olives. The nicoise olives were smaller than the kalamata black olives which I am more familiar with. The tapenade was so full of flavour! Once again the anchovies melded into the dish and added a nice saltiness without making the tapenade taste like fish. The tapenade reminds me of a hummus or a pesto except that it is based on olives. Though I simply served if on crostini I wonder in what other ways it can be used. Maybe in pasta, or a sandwich or on fish...

Ingredients:
1 cup black olives (pitted)
1 tablespoon capers (rinsed)
2 anchovy fillets (rinsed)
2 cloves garlic (chopped)
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 cup black olives (pitted)
1 tablespoon parsley (chopped)
juice of half a lemon
pepper to taste

Directions:
1. Pulse the olives, capers, anchovies, garlic and olive oil in a food processor.
2. Chop the olives.
3. Mix the chopped olives, parsley, lemon juice and pepper into the tapenade.