2017 Bake Off Winning Entry - Banana Puddin'

Christine's entry this year in the Maman's Annual Bake Off was this delicious Banana Puddin' recipe prepared in individual loaf pans, which is key.  This is how it is prepared at Lillie Q's in Destin, Florida, where Christine loves to vacation.  She said she prepared the meringue topping with a container of all egg whites, which is so much easier.  Christine won the grand prize trophy for the second consecutive year!  A great dessert maker and baker!  Well deserved!  



3/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup flour
2 cups scalded milk
2 eggs, separated
1 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
Small box Nilla Wafers
3 - 4 bananas

Mix sugar, salt and flour.  Add gradually to scalded milk.  Cook 15 minutes in a double boiler, stirring constantly until thick.  Stir in egg yolks and cook 2 minutes.  Add lemon juice and cool.

Line a small casserole dish with wafers. (This is there you use the mini loaf pans).  Pour custard over layers using a knife to help custard drain to the bottom.

Top with meringue (2 stiffly beaten egg whites and 1/4 cup sugar).

Bake in 325 degree oven for 20 minutes.  


Serve after it reaches room temperature.

Christine and Olive, the 2017 Maman's BakeOff Winners!  

Olive and cousin Madison won the kids division for their Emoji Poopie Brownies, recipe to follow.  

A fun time was had by all and the desserts were enjoyed by everyone!

Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

This weeks installment of Slow Cooker Sunday is a recipe for a thick and creamy soup that i adapted from the Little Spice Jar blog.  I think that the great flavor is because of the 2 tablespoons of Trader Joe's Seasoning Salute. I cooked it for 4 hours on high.  Serve with crusty bread.  

1 cup uncooked wild rice blend (I used Lundberg Wild Blend Rice found at my  
                                               local grocery store).  
1 - 1 1/2 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup sweet onion, chopped
1 cup celery, diced
1 cup carrots, peeled and diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
8 cups chicken broth (I used Swanson's Organic Free Range Chicken Broth)
2 tablespoons Trader Joe's Seasoning Salute

Roux:
5 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup flour
2 cups half and half

salt and pepper, to taste*
     *I added 2 teaspoons and 1/2 teaspoon pepper

Rinse the rice (using a strainer) under running water.  

Place the uncooked rice, chicken breast, onions, celery, carrots, garlic, 
bay leaves, chicken broth, and the seasoning blend in a slow cooker.  Cover and cook on the high setting for 3-4 hours or on the low setting for 7-8 hours. 

Remove chicken from the slow cooker and shred with two forks.  Return chicken back to the slow cooker.

In the meantime, make the thickening roux by melting the butter in a saucepan.  
On low heat, add the flour and whisk until mixture is smooth.  Whisk in the half and half and continue to whisk allowing mixture to thicken and become creamy.

Add this creamy mixture to the slow cooker, stir to combine.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  

Remove bay leaves before serving.

New England Creamy Clam Chowder

I found this recipe on the Food Network website courtesy of Dave Lieberman and it received all rave reviews.  We like a slightly thicker chowder so I modified the flour and also opted for only vegetable broth and clam juice along with fresh, not canned, clams.  I found these clams in the frozen seafood section of Whole Foods. The results are fantastic, perfect thickness and tender potatoes and clams.  A perfect chowder for a Sunday evening, 17 degree winter day!  

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium sweet onion, finely diced
2 celery stalks sliced into 1/4 inch pieces
1/3 cup flour
1 cup vegetable broth
1 cup clam juice (8 oz. bottle) plus juice from reserved clams
1 pt. (16 oz.) Raw Chopped Sea Clams, drained, reserving
     clam juice (I purchased these at Whole Foods)
1 cup heavy cream
2 bay leaves
1 lb. (4 medium) Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into
     1/2 inch cubes
Salt and freshly ground black pepper.

Heat the butter in a large soup pot over medium high heat.  Add the onion and celery and saute until softened, mixing often.

Stir in the flour to distribute evenly.  Add the vegetable broth, clam juice and reserved juice from the clams, heavy cream, bay leaves and potatoes and stir to combine.  Add the fresh clams.  Season with salt (approximately 1 teaspoon) and freshly ground pepper (approximately 1/4 teaspoon).    

Bring to a very low simmer, stirring consistently (the mixture will thicken) and cook 20 minutes, stirring often, until the potatoes are tender.  Watch carefully, stir often, so mixture doesn't burn.  

Remove bay leaves before serving.  

Serve with oyster crackers.

Triple Berry Crisp

A new recipe that Kerry made yesterday for her family that she found on "The Baking Fairy Blog."  Her version, she doubled the crust as she does with almost all of her crisp recipes.  She used strawberries, blueberries, blackberry and raspberries and baked it in a 9 x 13 baking dish.  

From the last photo, it looks like it was a big hit with her family.

Streusel Topping:

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour
1 cup old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup pecans
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Filling:

1 pint blueberries
1 pint blackberry
1 pound strawberries, diced
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup flour
juice of 1/2 lemon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Spray an 9 inch pie dish or 9x9 baking dish with nonstick spray and set aside.  

In a large bowl, mix together the berries, sugar, flour and lemon juice.  Pour into the pie dish and set aside for now.

In a small nonstick saucepan, heat the butter over medium high heat until completely melted.  Turn the heat down to medium low and start whisking as the butter bubbles and fizzes.  As soon as it turns to medium to dark golden and starts to smell nutty, take it off the heat.  You don't want it to burn.

Whisk in the brown sugar and cinnamon, then add in the flour, pecans and oats. Mixture should be clumpy.

Sprinkle the streusel on top of the berry mixture and place in the oven.  Bake for 45-50 minutes until golden brown and bubbly.  

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Honey Salmon in Foil

A super easy weeknight meal that we served with steamed Haricots Verts from Trader Joe's.  Our variation is that we grilled it in a homemade foil baking sheet, sprayed with olive oil to keep the fish from sticking rather than baking it.  Grill on medium high heat for 10 minutes or until cooked through.  

1/4 cup honey
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 pounds salmon fillets  (1 pound is enough for 2 people)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with foil.

In a small bowls, whisk together honey, garlic, olive oil, white wine vinegar, thyme, salt and pepper, to taste.

Place salmon onto prepared baking sheet and fold up all four sides of the foil.  Spoon the honey mixture over the salmon.  Fold the sides of the foil over the salmon, covering completely and sealing the packet closed.

Place into oven and bake until cooked through, about 15-20 minutes.

Serve immediately.

Candied Cashews

Kerry made these today and sent me the recipe from the blog "Sweet As A Cookie."  She said she wanted to try a recipe with cashews after making the Cinnamon Sugar Candied Nuts which were made with pecans and almonds. After making them she said that "I need to make them for Dad."  So, that's what I will do this weekend as his favorite nuts are cashews and he will love the sweetness and crunch of them.  Kerry said they were "amazing."

1 large egg white
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups whole raw cashews (unsalted)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Cover a baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a medium bowl beat egg white until stiff.

In another small bowl combine sugar, salt and cinnamon.

Add your cashews to the stiff egg whites and toss to coat.

Once coated, add in your sugar mixture and mix until evenly coated.

Spread out the cashews evenly onto the parchment paper.

Bake for 15 minutes and turn cashews over (to bake evenly).   Bake for another 15 minutes.

Let nuts cool on the pan.

Slow Cooker Chicken Teriyaki Bowls

Slow Cooker Sunday has returned for the first day of 2017.  I saw this recipe on one of my favorite food blogs "Gimme Some Oven" and made it today.  I love a good Teriyaki Chicken over sticky rice (Wow Bao Chicago) and this is a perfect homemade recipe using a homemade teriyaki sauce. 

I made Jasmati rice and molded it to serve in an individual bowl topped with the 
teriyaki chicken. 

2 lbs. boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup chopped white onion (I used sweet)
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1 Tablespoon fresh grated ginger
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup cold water
3 tablespoons cornstarch
(Optional toppings:  sliced scallions and toasted sesame seeds)

Add the chicken to the bottom of your slow cooker in a single layer.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the garlic, onion, honey, soy, rice wine vinegar, ginger and black pepper until combined.  Pour the mixture on top of the chicken breasts.

.

Cover slow cooker and cook on high for 4-5 hours.

Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon to a separate bowl and shred it using two forks.  Transfer the remaining teriyaki sauce from the slow cooker to a medium saucepan (I used my wok).  

Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, whisk together the cold water and cornstarch until the cornstarch is dissolved and no longer lumpy.  Pour the cornstarch mixture into the teriyaki sauce mixture, and whisk to combine.  Bring the mixture to a boil over medium high heat, and let boil for about 1-2 minutes or until thickened.  

Remove from heat and add the shredded chicken to the teriyaki sauce.  Toss to combine.  Keep on very low heat.  Serve over rice.