Banana Peanut Butter Chip Bundt with Peanut Butter Glaze

I admit to almost doing a repeat of a cake, shock, surprise!!! for the Legion Cake Raffle.  
I like doing something different each time I bake a cake for them, with the exception of the chocolate cake, cause that's always popular.

I had made a Banana Bundt Cake last year, and while it was good, it wasn't quite right.

 So I played with the recipe.

 I changed it up a lot, well, a little.  I thought the other cake was a touch too sweet, and then there was that package of peanut butter chips I found hiding, in the corner, in the pantry.
 I had some bananas in the freezer as well. 


So...
 
I did make a couple of changes to the original recipe, but that's mainly because one of the bananas went splat onto the kitchen floor.

I swear those over ripe bananas are escape artists, but that one escaped right into the garbage can.

I also thought the original cake, while good, was a touch sweet.   So I cut down the sugar a bit, subbed out some brown sugar for part of it, and rather than top it with the toffee sauce which was good, I wanted a slightly lighter touch.  I got my inspiration here for the sauce.  Her's was vegan, mine, not so much, because I love butter.  Also I forgot to add any vanilla extract.  Next time though, I might have to try adding maybe a touch of brandy or?
I also had some real Maple Syrup a friend had given me awhile back, and there was just enough to make the sauce.

The recipe does make a large bundt cake with enough batter for a 4 inch sampler cake.

 You can see the Peanut butter chips in the crust here.

 My sampler cake, with just a drizzle of the peanut sauce on top.

I had to try some, how else can I make sure that the whole thing is edible?

 Here it is.

Yield: 12 servingsAuthor: Sid's Sea Palm Cooking (Adapted from several recipes)

Banana Peanut Butter Chip Bundt Cake with Peanut Butter Glaze

prep time: 15 minscook time: 1 hourtotal time: 1 hours and 15 mins

This cake is nothing like regular Banana Bread. It's not that dense and holds up beautifully.

ingredients:

Cake

3 cups Self-Rising Flour

1 tsp. Baking Soda

1 cup Salted Butter
1/2 cup White Sugar
1/2 cup Brown Sugar

2 tsp. Brandy

3 large eggs, separated

2 large bananas, mashed ( 3 would be better)

1 cup Buttermilk
1 cup or 2 Peanut Butter Chips

Peanut Butter Sauce

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup Maple Syrup

1/4 cup Smooth Peanut Butter

instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, grease a 12 cup bundt pan.  Set aside.

Separate the eggs, and beat the egg whites until stiff.  Set aside while you prepare the rest.   Mix the dry ingredients together, set aside  while you cream the butter, sugar and egg yolks together, until the sugar has broken down a little.  Add the mashed bananas and mix well.  Then add the buttermilk and flour in two parts, alternating each one. Add the Peanut Butter chips, fold in.   At the end, fold in the egg whites, carefully but making sure to blend them without leaving any little bits of egg.   Pour the batter into the bundt pan and smooth the top a little. 

Bake for 55 minutes and check for doneness after 50 minutes, increasing the baking time by 5 minutes at a time.  
Turn out onto a wire rack and remove the pan.  Let cool. 

 Make the peanut butter sauce while the cake is baking.    In a sauce pan or pot, add the butter, peanut butter and maple syrup together. Heat just until the butter is melted, and whisk together.  Take off of the heat and allow to cool.       

As soon as the cake is cooled, spoong the peanut butte sauce over the cake in a pleasing pattern and serve. 

Note: This makes enough batter for a large bundt cake, as well as a 4 inch 'sampler' cake.  You can cut the flour back to 2 1/2 cups and the buttermilk back to 3/4 cup to make just enough batter to fill the bundt pan.  It will still be good.

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Shrimp Bites for #FishFridayFoodies

I'm the hostess along with Wendy of  this month for Fish Friday Foodies and I have to say, I agonized over this.
Well, sorta.

I wanted to come up with a fun recipe, one that was easy to make and totally delicious and hopefully one I could incorporate in the next revision of my Simple Shrimp Recipes cookbook.

I think I did it.
At least my mouth went "ERMAGARD give me more."

Edited to add:  We're a bunch of bloggers who get together the third Friday of the month to share seafood recipes.  Each month has a theme or a common ingredient for us to use or make a recipe with and we all make something in the theme or using that ingredient and post it.  I've gotten such great recipes and ideas from this group.
If you're interested in joining us you can email Wendy at wendyklik1517@gmail.com and ask to join the Fish Friday Foodies group.

Now back to the post.

I drew upon a dish a friend had brought to one of our earliest Tapas Nights and then added to it.  They called it Shrimp Butter and it was delicious.
So I grabbed some cooked shrimp, threw them into the food processor, processed them to almost mush, then added some cold butter, a teaspoon of Shrimp Scampi Seasoning from Healthy Solutions and some chives. Processed that up. Spooned some up, tasted it,  and then had to restrain myself, cause I had plans for that spread.

After all, I had a bunch of leftover Sourdough Focaccia from a recent blog challenge and while I could and will happily eat them, I wondered if I could maybe slice the focaccia up a little, toast it and then top it with the shrimp.

So I did, sliced some into cracker size and toasted them in my handy dandy toaster oven. And I had to forcibly stop myself from eating all of them.
They were that good.
But, I did restrain myself a little. The edges are dark because they were made from Focaccia bread and the EVOO on the crust and bottom made them darken during the toasting process. 

OK, so I made more, toasted crackers, that is.
And then I made the Shrimp Butter.

 After that I slathered them with the shrimp butter and placed a cooked shrimp on top, garnished with a sprinkle of chopped chives and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice and a paper thin slice of lemon.

After finishing them off, and before eating them, I took pictures.  The gorgeous tea towel I'm using was made by one of my sisters.  I love it.  She keeps telling me it's a tea towel and to use it as a tea towel, but I like using it as a back drop.

 And more pictures.

 My mouth went into overload mode and kept going GIMME MORE!!!!
So I did. 
Until they were all gone.

 BTW, these do go nicely with a glass of rosé. 

Shrimp Bites

Yield: 12+ as an appetizer

Author: Sid's Sea Palm Cooking adapted from several recipes

prep time: 10 Mcook time: total time: 10 M

These little bites of goodness will not only make your mouth sing, but it'll dance as well.

ingredients:

Shrimp Butter

• 1/2 cup whole cooked shrimp
• 4 tablespoons  cold butter
• 1 teaspoon finely chopped chives
• 1 teaspoon Healthy Solutions Shrimp Scampi Seasoning
• (if not using the seasoning mix, add 1/2 teaspoon of granulated garlic, a pinch of cayenne, some lemon juice and 1/8th teaspoon of white pepper, pinch of ginger, pinch of dried tarragon)
• 1/2 teaspoon finely minced lemon grass (young shoots)

Topping

• 1/2 cup whole cooked shrimp for topping
• Cocktail Sauce
• Lemon slices
• Chives

Cocktail Sauce

• 1/2 cup ketchup
• 1/4 cup Horseradish Sauce (add more if you like it spicy)
• 1 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce
• 1 tsp. Lemon Juice

Cocktail Sauce

• Mix the ketchup, horseradish, lemon juice and Worcestershire sauce together.  
• Serve on shrimp

instructions:

How to cook Shrimp Bites

Shrimp Butter

1. Process the shrimp in food processor until smooth.  Add the cold butter and process until mixed.  Then add the Healthy Solutions Shrimp Scampi Seasoning or your own seasoning mix, the chives and lemongrass.    Set in fridge to relax for at least 30 minutes.
2. Spread some of the Shrimp butter on either toasted baguette  slices or on crackers and top with a whole shrimp.  Dollop a little cocktail sauce, then add a very thin slice of lemon with the rind cut off, and top with a sprinkle of Chives.

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And there you have it.  I'm just calling them Shrimp Bites, but boy were they good. 

Deviled Crab by Palatable Pastime

Grilled Stuffed Squid by Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Oysters on the Half Shell by A Day in the Life on the Farm

Shrimp Bites by Sid's Sea Palm Cooking

Shrimp Rémoulade by Karen's Kitchen Stories 

Sunshine Sauce Prawns On Cucumber Salad by Sneha's Recipe 

Sourdough focaccia

I'm finally taking part in a Fantastical Food Fight again.   This time round it's Sourdough and I thought I had a slam dunk.   I made some Sourdough Focaccia.

Let me tell you a little about this event first.  We meet once a month, get an assignment, and then either choose to accept it or not. You can go here to find out more info if you like. 

I had every intention of getting this up last night but got distracted, sigh.  

I wanted to make some Schlotzky style sourdough buns, but it turns out they're not really sourdough, at least the kind with a starter and everything.

So I got my starter going, and since I'm cheap, when it came time to divide the starter in two, and discard half, I could not do it.
Just could not do it.
I mean, this poor little guy had been struggling, sorta, in my oven (constant temperature, no air conditioning for this one) for several days.
I could not throw it away.
So I used it and baked a loaf of bread.

It was going to be rolls, but I kinda got sidetracked by my novel, that I'm writing and lost track of time, and they not only over-proofed, they tried to take over the oven.  At any rate, I wrestled the dough back into submission, sorta, formed it into a boule and scored it.  I wanted to serve it with dinner so did not let it rise as much as it could have, but it still tasted good.
So...
I had kept the other half of the starter in the fridge and decided to make it into a Focaccia.
And then that little sucker decided to be shy and it would not bubble merrily along, so I fed it again, and again, and finally... It decided to wake up.  But by that time it was late Tuesday and I wanted to get it baked, photographed written about so I could post it for Wednesday.

Here it is, Wednesday and my dough has been sitting in the oven, slowly proofing all day long, and I finally got it baked, sampled and photographed.

Before baking...

 After baking...

And then I ate some alongside my 'Rustic Pot Roast'.

I used mishmash of several recipes, did some research, calculations and this is what I came up with.

I looked at King Arthur's site, and this place and then played, a lot with the starter.

I used 1 cup of starter and 4 cups of flour, oiled the pans for the focaccia and then I finished them off with a grind of fresh salt, which in retrospect was a mistake.
They were too salty for my taste.  But I have the leftovers frozen, and will use them up somewhere. 

While I've used sourdough starter before, I wasn't aware that if you dollop a spoonful of starter into a glass of water, that if it floats the starter is ready to go.  Mine floated.

Sourdough Focaccia

Yield: 16 + Servings

Author: Sid's Sea Palm Cooking adapted from several recipes

prep time: 12 hourcook time: 30 Mtotal time: 12 H & 30 M

This recipe made two full 1/4 sheet pans.

ingredients:

• 1 cup sourdough starter
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tsp. salt
• 4 cups flour + 1 cup for kneading.
• Olive oil for the pans and topping
• toppings

instructions:

How to cook Sourdough Focaccia

1. Mix the starter with the water and olive oil.  Add one cup of flour and mix in.  Add the salt and an additional cup of flour until you've added almost all the flour.  Your dough may need all four cups, depending on humidity or not.  Dump the dough out onto a board covered with the final cup of flour.   Knead together until you get a nice soft dough that is still slightly sticky.  I used the stretch and fold method to knead it.
2. Place in oiled bowl, cover with a cloth and let sit at room temp or in the oven, for at least 4-6 hours.  The dough will have done a slow rise. 
3. Take the dough out, divide into two, and plop down onto two 1/4 sheet pans (9x12) or just one pan if you want a really thick focaccia.  Which have been drizzled with olive oil (the pans that is).  Stretch the dough out to the sides of the pan.  Don't worry if you get more olive oil on top, that's a good thing.  Cover and let rise for another 4-6 hours. By the end of the rise time, the dough will have almost doubled in size again.  Dribble a little olive oil over the top, and then dimple it with your fingers.  Just poke them down into the dough at random areas.  The olive oil will catch into the little holes and that's a good thing. 
4. I cut some fresh green onions and a tomato into very thin slices and spread them over the top of one of them, then just sprinkled some Italian seasoning over both pans, and a grind of salt.  ( The salt was too much for my palate, I'm not a big salt person).  Bake at 425 degrees for about 25-30 minutes or until the tops are just browned a little. 
5. Serve immediately.

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Check out the link below for some more great ideas. And recipes.


Inlinkz Link Party

Flour tortillas from scratch

I make a lot of Mexican food, but had never made flour tortilla's from scratch.  I used to buy a mix by Quaker but can no longer get it, and in fact the only place I seem to find it is online, in rather large quantities.
So, I'm been making flour tortillas from scratch for a few weeks now, I've experimented and played with several recipes and I now have one that I think is as close to the mix as possible.
And this time round I had a happy accident.

Actually I think it was rather fortuitous.

I grabbed the bread flour and measured out a cup first, realized it, but then decided to go ahead and use it anyway, and then added the AP flour.

And it worked very well.
So well in fact, that I figured the recipe was ready to share here.
The dough.

 It should be fairly soft, but still hold together.

 After the first roll out, I cover them and let them rest, this lets the gluten relax. 

 If you don't do it, the tortilla will go "OOOOOH" and shrink up a little when it's placed in the pan.

 That little piece to the side, is for the cook for tasting purposes.

And this one was rolled out very thin, and not allowed to rest, so it shrunk into itself a little.
Still tasted good though.

Flour Tortilla

Yield: 6-12 tortillas, depending on size and thickness

Author: Sid's Sea Palm Cooking adapted from several recipes

prep time: 45 Mcook time: total time: 45 M

We like a thicker tortilla and these cook up very nicely. Leftovers can be frozen if desired, but we usually eat most of them.

ingredients:

• 1 cup bread flour
• 1 1/4 cup AP flour (plus more if needed)
• 1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup + 1 tablespoon  vegetable oil (generic brand works great)
• 3/4 cup + 1-2 tablespoons warm water

instructions:

How to cook Flour Tortilla

1. Using a stand mixer, combine all the ingredients. If the dough looks a little dry, add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time. If it looks a little wet, add more flour, a tablespoon at a time. Honestly, you sometimes need more of one or the other, depending on the humidity level, and age of the flour.
2. Using the dough hook, mix all the ingredients for about 5 minutes. The dough will be soft, but will not cling to the sides of the bowl. Take out of the bowl and wrap tightly with cling wrap or place into a bowl with a tight fitting lid. Let it rest on the counter for at least 45 minutes. 
3. When ready to make the tortillas, divide the dough into equal amounts. I get at least 6-8 tortillas out of each batch. Roll them into a ball and then flatten out into a round using your fingers. Set aside, to rest a few minutes. 
4. Preheat a well seasoned cast iron pan ( or other heavy bottomed pan) over medium heat. You can also add a spritz or a little teeny bit of oil to the pan if desired.  I do, but then end up having to scrub it afterwards, but it helps with the cooking.
5. Roll each round of dough into a circle and set aside.  It needs a minute to itself here and recover from its exertions. 
6. Place the first tortilla into the pan, and let cook for about 1 -11/2 minutes then turn over. It will bubble up a little.  The bottom should have some light brown spots. Flip over, and  let the second side cook for an additional 15-30 seconds, depending on the thickness of the tortilla. As soon as it is cooked, take off of the heat, and either wrap in a flour sack towel or place into a sealed container and smear with butter. This softens the tortilla as it cools. We like them with a touch of butter on each one. Continue to cook each tortilla until all are cooked. Serve immediately.

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Chicken Cheezy Soup for #SoupSaturdaySwappers

The theme this month, should you choose to accept it, for Soup Saturday Swappers that is, is a soup using Cheese. We're celebrating Dairy Month and Ashley of Cheese Curd in Paradise is our hostess.
I was conflicted, torn, beside myself.

It's hot outside so I needed something that could be made fast, and of course it had to taste good as well.

I wavered between my beloved Mexican style soups, and the dim, faint memory I had of a used to be famous beer cheese soup from the now defunct Baby Doe's Matchless Mine in Dallas. Which apparently was based on Cheese Whiz.

And then my attention went to a soup my niece made for us about ten years ago, which was basically a potato cheese soup.

I tell you my mind was confused looking at all my options, so I went sorta mexican, sorta beer cheese soup and kinda potato cheese.

Confused?
Not when you taste this you won't.  I'm just calling it Chicken Cheezy Soup.
It's also a sippable soup.  I know, but having a soup I can sip while working at my computer, is a good thing.

I think this one hits most of the right notes as well. 

To start with, I used some of my home made stock.  You can use packaged stock as well. I did amp up the flavor using some Herb Ox chicken seasoning as well. It's salt free, but adds a nice note.

   And there is plenty of salt in the cheese sauce. Yes, I said cheese sauce, I used some Velveeta Cheese sauce in here. I don't use a lot of prepackaged stuff, but DH likes his mashed taters with the addition of instant garlic potato flakes and you can't beat the meltability (is that a word?) of Velveeta.  I chose to use the cheese sauce in this recipe.

Cheezy Chicken Soup

Yield: 4 servings

Author: Sid's Sea Palm Cooking

prep time: 10 Mcook time: 15 Mtotal time: 25 M

Full of cheese flavor, it's perfect with a slice of home made bread.

ingredients:

Cheezy Chicken Soup

• 4 cups Chicken Broth
• 1 packet Herb Ox chicken base (no salt)
• 2- 4 oz. Pouches Velveeta Cheese Sauce
• 1 cup beer- I used Corona
• ½ cup instant garlic potato flakes
• 2 cloves roasted garlic- minced
• Chives for garnish
• Sliced Radish for garnish if desired
• Leftover cooked chicken, minced if desired.

instructions:

How to cook Cheezy Chicken Soup

1. Simmer the soup stock, roasted garlic and beer together for 5 minutes. Whisk in the instant potato flakes and let cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the cheese sauce and heat through. Serve with some chopped chives on top and some leftover chicken. This also goes well with toasted sourdough buns.

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• Ashley, Cheese Curd In Paradise: Pepper Jack Potato and Bacon Soup
• Karen, Karen's Kitchen Stories: Sopa de Queso - Cheese Soup with Chiles and Potato
• Cindy, Cindy's Recipes and Writings: Cheesy Broccoli Pesto Noodle Soup
• Wendy, A Day in the Life on the Farm: Caramelized Onion and Gruyere Soup
• Camilla , Culinary Adventures with Camilla: Chilled Watermelon and Rosé Soup
• Juli, Pandemonium Noshery: German Cheese and Leek Soup
• Sneha, Sneha's Recipe: Vegetable Garlicky Cottage Cheese Soup
• Sid , Sid's Sea Palm Cooking: Chicken Cheezy Soup
• Barrie, Hardly A Goddess: Weeknight Cheeseburger Soup with RealCheese!

Community Potluck for June

We had our monthly potluck the other day, and while there weren't a lot of people there, there was still a lot of great food. 

We had some ham and roast beef sandwiches,

I made a little pot roast using some Perfect Steak Seasoning from Healthy Solutions Spice Blends, and it's not the last time I use that in a roast.  It was so good.

We also had some Lasagna, very tasty

Along with some Coleslaw, which was really good

And a lovely Pasta Salad.

I was very happy, not only Lasagna, but Coleslaw and Pasta Salad and ... 
there was even some Pickled Beets. 

And, be still my heart, a Vidalia Onion Cornbread,

It was a great combination of foods, and even though we were fewer in number than usual, I got to visit with people.  

Great food, great company and we even had desserts.

This Zucchini Banana Bread was so tasty, 

There was a Fudge cake

and finally, I brought some Mixed Berry Bubbly Pies, which I'd made with some wild blackberries I'd foraged along with blueberries.

And there you have it.  
Just a lovely variety of food.  I got to try a little of all of it, but didn't end up feeling too stuffed. 
Perfection.

Mixed Berry 'Bubbly' Pies for #BakingBloggers

I love being part of this group, Baking Bloggers.  Sue of Palatable Pastimes is our hostess and we all vote every month on upcoming themes.   Which is fun. This month is no exception. 

I've visited my culinary heritage with a couple of the recipes, I've stretched my baking knowledge, and have just plain had fun playing with food.

And...

If I can't have fun in the kitchen, I don't want to play.

All that being said, this month we're Baking with Summer Berries. 

Coincidentally, I've also been re-reading my Dragon Riders of Pern series again, and while reading about Piemur, an apprentice in the Harper Hall, and his finagling of 'Bubbly Pies', I decided to try my hand at what I imagine a Bubbly Pie might taste like on Pern.

They're described as a hand pie with a berry filling which tastes amazing, straight out of the oven, and if Piermur can get one that fresh, he loves biting into it and burning his mouth a little on the filling.  And as he describes it, after biting into the pie, the filling should burst out and drip onto the hands and the face. And it has to be small enough to be able to fit the whole thing into his mouth. 

Well gee...
The wild blackberries are ripe now and I've been picking and freezing them, handful by scant handful, and I had a few blueberries in the freezer as well, so I combined the two. There is just something soul-satisfying about foraging and using what you foraged in a recipe.
  I would have gotten some raspberries as well. but didn't want to take out a second mortgage.
In our neck of the woods, they're just a tad on the pricey side.
Both blackberries and blueberries are summer berries.

I used my Tarteletter shell recipe, for two reasons.   One, it's such an easy and forgiving and stretchable pastry, and two, I liked the slight tang of the cream cheese in it, which I thought complimented the berries.  And the lemon zest I added to the dough helped as well.

Since both the berries I used were frozen, I kept them in that state until I was ready to build my hand pies.

Bubbly Pies

Yield: 16-20 mini pies

Author: Sid's Sea Palm Cooking

prep time: 10 Mcook time: 30 Mtotal time: 40 M

These are great straight out of the oven, or with a dollop of ice cream on top or whipped or just because.

ingredients:

Filling

•  2 cups frozen blackberries
• 2 cups frozen blueberries
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/2-3/4 cup sugar

Crust

• 4 oz. Cream Cheese
• 4 oz. Butter
• 2 cups AP flour
• 1/2 tsp. lemon zest
• 1-2 tablespoons ice water

instructions:

How to cook Bubbly Pies

1. Mix the sugar, cornstarch together and then add to the frozen berries. Let sit for at least a half hour to let the berries start to thaw a little. Mix together until evenly combined.
2. In the bowl of a food processor, mix the cream cheese and butter into the flour and lemon zest until evenly combined. Turn out onto the counter and form into a ball. If it does not come together add 1 tablespoon of ice water and try again. Add more water as needed. Form into two flat disks and place in fridge for at least 1 hour to cool down.
3. When ready to bake, turn oven to 375-400 degrees and remove the dough from the fridge. Roll out into a thin sheet. Cut out rounds for either individual tarts or freeform tarts. Place the dough into the pan or tart pans, and then add the fruit mixture, mounding it up slightly. Add another round of pie dough on top. You can either crimp the edges together or float a slightly small disk of dough on top.
4. Bake for about 30 minutes or until the crust is brown and the filling is bubbling out.

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Baking Bloggers

Baking with Summer Berries

• Bora Berry Tart by Sneha's Recipe
• Lattice Top Blackberry Pie by Palatable Pastime
• Brownie Berry Dessert Pizza by Simply Inspired Meals
• Make-Ahead Mixed Berries Baked Oatmeal by Hardly A Goddess
• Mini Fruit-topped Pavlovas by Food Lust People Love
• Mixed Berry Bubbly Pies by Sid's Sea Palm Cooking
• Mixed Berry Cheese Danish by Cookaholic Wife
• No Churn Roasted Strawberry Ice Cream by Caroline's Cooking
• Roasted Blackberry-Cherry Tomato Chutney On Venison Medallions by Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Strawberry Crisp with Pepita & Chia Seed Topping by Faith, Hope, Love, & Luck Survive Despite a Whiskered Accomplice
• Strawberry Shortcake Bars by A Day in the Life on the Farm