Blue Ribbon Banana Bread

         This is an amazing recipe from my subscription to Cooks Illustrated All-Time Best Recipes magazine. I thought at first that all of these extra steps were pointless and time wasting, but I tried it anyway, and believe me, it was worth it!  So don't let the extra, seemingly pointless steps, scare you away, it still doesn't take long.  After making the batter, simply bake for an hour.

Blue Ribbon Banana Bread:

Servings: One loaf, about 8 slices 

Time: 20 minutes of prep, 55 minutes

    Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 6 very ripe bananas
• 8 tablespoons (1/2 cup) melted butter
• 2 large eggs
• 3/4 cup light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup pecans (optional, I don't use them)
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

    Instructions:

1. Whisk flour, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl
2. In another bowl, place five peeled bananas and microwave until juice cooks out of them (about four minutes):
   
3. Strain bananas in a fine mesh strainer over a bowl until all juice comes out:
   
4. Pour juice into a small sauce pan and boil for about five minutes, or until juice has reduced by 50%
5. Stir back into banana mash and add butter, eggs, sugar, and vanilla 
6. Pour wet ingredients into dry and stir just until combined, add pecans if using
7. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and oil one loaf pan.  Pour batter into pan 
8. Slice the remaining banana into circles and lay in two lines across the edges of the batter, then sprinkle evenly with sugar:
   
9. Bake for about 55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean,  Enjoy!
   
   
   
   

Apple Brie Rolls

    This is an incredibly easy recipe and cheats because you use pre-made crescent rolls (although, in theory, you could make your own crescent dough).  The rolls looks extremely elegant and are an easy side to bring to potlucks or to make for dinner parties 

Apple Brie Rolls:

Servings: 16 rolls

Time: 5 minute prep, 10 minutes to bake
  Ingredients:

• 16 slices of brie
• 1 apple
• 16 candied pecans 
• 2 tubes of crescent rolls

   Instructions:

1. Unwrap and separate all of the rolls and lay out on a cutting board
2. Peel, core, and slice the apple:
   
3. Cut each slice of brie in half and get the pecans out:
   
4. Stack a piece of cheese, apple, cheese, apple, and end with pecans:
   
5. Place a cheese stack on each crescent and roll it:
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   (Be sure to seal the edges)
6. Place in a preheated 350 degree oven for abou 10 minutes, or until slightly browned:
   
7. Enjoy!
   

Buttermilk Cornbread Muffins

         This is a wonderful buttermilk cornbread recipe from the Dairy Hollow House Soup & Bread cookbook by Crescent Dragonwagon, only I adapted it for muffins.  The trick in this recipe is that she pours the batter into a sizzling hot buttered skillet, then bakes in the oven.  This forms a crispy, buttery, edge to the cornbread.  To recreate that in a muffin tin, I sprayed the tin with canola oil, and baked it for 5 minutes at 425 degrees, removed it and poured the batter into it before placing it back in the oven at 350 degrees to bake them through.  Because timing is essential, its important to make the batter in a container that you can pour from to fill the tins faster.  This recipe doesn't take long, and is an easy side to serve with slow-cooker soup or beans and rice on a busy night.

Buttermilk Cornbread Muffins:
Servings: 22-24 muffins
Time: 20 minute prep, 24 minutes to bake 
  Ingredients:

• 1 cup cornmeal
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/4 cups buttermilk
• 1 large egg
• 3 tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 cup canola oil

  Instructions:

1. Combine cornmeal, flour, baking powder and salt in a bowl:
   
2. In a separate container with a pour spout, mix baking soda and buttermilk.  Then add the egg, sugar and oil
3. Spray a muffin tin with canola oil, and bake it at 425 degrees Fahrenheit for 5 minutes
4. Combine the wet and dry ingredients in the pour spout bowl:
   
5. Quickly remove muffin tin from oven and pour batter in, then place tray back in the oven at 350 degrees until baked through, 18-24 minutes
6. Remove from oven and enjoy!