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< all recipes Corn & Tomato Panzanella It is 4:04am, only 56 minutes before my alarm will go off because I am back at my old diggs for the summer baking at Levain out in Wainscott (come visit!). It is a great reminder of just how brutal this biz is on the body and its somewhat souring effect on my usually super chipper attitude. On a beautiful summer day, especially after work, the last thing anyone wants to do is stand in front of a hot stove or slave over a million ingredients. Luckily the summer’s bountiful produce requires little to no effort to prep and that is pretty much what this panzanella recipe is all about. Corn & Tomato Panzanella Serves: 4-6 side servings Ingredients 3-4 cups of bread, cubed 1 cup olive oil 4 tbl unsalted butter 3 cloves garlic 1 bunch fresh thyme (a handful or so) 2 tbl dijon mustard ¼ cup white wine vinegar 6 ears of corn, cut off the cob 2 cups tomatoes (1 pint of cherries or a few larger ones) 4 cups greens (any kind you like really) salt and pepper (lots of it) Print Preparation Heat olive oil, butter, garlic and thyme in a small sauce pan until the butter is melted and the garlic and thyme start to smell fragrant. Turn off the heat and let steep while you prepare the other ingredients (or longer - if longer than 1 hour put into the fridge). Strain before using. Heat the oven to 400˚F. If the bread is pretty stale give it a good spritz (or even douse) in water then toss in ⅓ - ½ cup of the infused oil. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and toast for about 20 minutes, or until a deep golden brown. Set aside. Make dressing: Whisk mustard and vinegar together then slowly whisk in the infused olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss corn, tomatoes and greens in dressing (using as little or as much as you would like) then add the toasty croutons. Season generously with salt and pepper. Previous Next hungry for more?

< all recipes Muhammara I made this for my monthly potluck dinner with a group of girls from high school - well actually most of us went kindergarten through 12th grade together. In a class of 40 girls. Yes ALL girls. And yes we still like each other! We rotate apartments (I am planning on hosting the next one, once I get a real table and something other than plastic folding chairs to sit on) and everyone brings something - the non-cooks usually bring cheese, wine, or dessert. Arguably the most important elements to any meal. Given that this dinner would most likely be washed down with a healthy dose of pre-halloween candy, I thought I would offer something healthy to start. It was a hit. I believe a spoon was even used at one point when our provider of crackers and crudité arrived fashionably late. Muhammara Serves: 2 cups Ingredients 3 red bell peppers, roasted 1 cup walnuts ½ cup tomato paste juice of 1 lemon 2 tbl honey 3/4 cup water 1 tsp cayenne 1 tsp cumin 1 tsp smoked paprika 1 tsp salt ½ tsp black pepper Print Preparation Toast the walnuts and let cool. Combine all ingredients in a food processor. Puree and taste for seasoning. Serve at room temp with pita or fresh veggies - anything that can carry a nice big scoop to your mouth! Previous Next hungry for more?

< all recipes Pecan Pie I should begin by saying that this is not yo mamma’s Pecan Pie recipe. I have never been enamored with the dessert because it is always ridiculously sweet – that kind of sweet that gives you a pain in your jaw – and its pretty much all corn syrup which I generally try to avoid if I can. While I can force down a sugar bomb so as not to offend anyone on thanksgiving, knowing allllll that corn syrup goes into the filling makes me uncomfortable and slightly nauseous. But I was determined to make pie because I recently discovered the pie dough of my dreams – i know, try to contain your excitement but I am pretty sure it will be life-changing. The filling is inspired by a French walnut tart that my fave Mark Bittman suggested as an alternative to the traditional pecan pie – I thought this was brilliant and immediately did some recon on the subject and came up with a hodgepodgy sorta recipe that uses eggs to bind everything instead of syrup and a non-coma-inducing amount of sugar. The result is an almost meringue-like crust on top of gooey goodness packed with toasted pecans – all swaddled in buttery tenderness. Need I say more? No, no I didn’t think so. If you want to use the rolled dough scraps for decoration go for it – if a more elaborate top crust is your thing I would suggest doubling the dough recipe. You can also just bake the cut out scraps as cookies for snacking because why not? I am usually a pretty tidy cook (something you learn pretty darn quick in a commercial kitchen) but I thought I would give a slight glimpse into the mess that inevitably explodes in my kitchen when testing and photographing a recipe. Yikes! Its always a bit of a scramble to tidy up and scrub away any evidence before my cleanliness inspector husband gets home. Chris just avert your eyes. Pecan Pie Serves: 1 9" pie Ingredients pastry dough: 8 tbl unsalted butter, cubed and very cold ¼ cup granulated sugar 1½ cups all purpose flour ⅛ tsp kosher salt 1 egg yolk 2 tbl heavy cream pecan filling: 3 cups pecans (or walnuts), toasted and roughly chopped ½ cup granulated sugar 1 cup dark brown sugar 3 eggs, lightly beaten 2 tsp vanilla extract ⅓ cup heavy cream ¼ tsp kosher salt 4 tbl unsalted butter, melted (1 egg for egg washing the dough) Print Preparation Make the pastry dough: In a food processor with the blade attachment, pulse the butter and sugar a few times (about 3 times). Add the flour and salt and pulse again until the butter is mostly pea-sized or slightly bigger (about 5 pulses). Add the egg yolk and heavy cream, pulse a few times then let the mixer go until the dough comes together into a ball. Dump the dough out onto a clean counter and gently knead the dough a few times before forming into a flat disc. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes and up to 5 days (freeze for up to 6 months, thawing in the fridge 24hrs). Let dough sit on the counter 10-15 minutes before rolling. Rolling dough: Preheat the oven to 375˚F and take your pastry dough out of the fridge to soften (about 15 minutes). Roll out your dough to roughly a 12in circle, making sure to generously flour and rotate the dough as you roll - you can use a long offset spatula to slide under the dough as you go. Roll the dough towards you onto your rolling pin, place the tart pan where the dough was and roll the dough away from you and over the tart pan.* Gently lift the overhang so the dough tucks nicely into the pan edges and press it into the fluted sides - use the overhang scraps to patch any breaks or thin spots. Press your rolling pin along the sides of the pan to get a clean edge. Let the prepared dough chill in the fridge until firm, about 15-20 minutes (or 5-10 in the freezer if time is short). Prick the dough a few times with a fork, line with parchment and baking beans and blind bake for 20 minutes (see glossary for more info on blind baking). For the filling and assembly: In a large bowl, combine the nuts, sugars, eggs, vanilla, cream and salt, mixing to incorporate everything together before finally stirring in the melted butter. Pour the filling into your prepared tart pan and spread it gently out to the edges. Bake 30-35 minutes, rotating the pan once, until the center is just set. Let cool slightly and serve warm or room temp. Notes *Because this dough is so tender, it might not fully cooperate when you try to transfer it but DONT WORRY! You can easily patch any breaks etc as you are fitting the dough into the tart pan. If you are really having issues here, you can do one of two things: 1) reform the dough into a disc and start over (refrigerating newly formed disc first) 2) press the dough into the pan as if it were a shortbread cookie dough - this is a totally acceptable method but it is hard to get the thickness as even as rolling so I usually opt for patching but it is completely up to you! Previous Next hungry for more?

< all recipes Breakfast Farro w/ Cherries, Honey and Toasted Coconut This breakfast bowl is inspired by my Mom who is so over the whole boxed cereal thing for breakfast but has a hard time finding something as easy to have on hand that can be put together quickly in the morning. A cooked pot of grains will last you all week in the fridge and when you think about it, we eat oatmeal for breakfast so why not farro!? I LOVE this cherry, coconut combo. It has such a deep nutty warmth and yet taste wonderfully fresh. Even frozen, thawed cherries would work here, even adding a bit of a sauciness. Yum. Breakfast Farro w/ Cherries, Honey and Toasted Coconut Serves: 2 bowls Ingredients 1 cup cherries, pitted and halved a pinch of sugar 1 cup plain greek yogurt 1 tbl honey 1 cup cooked farro or barley ¼ cup coconut flakes, toasted (i used Bob's Red Mill) Print Preparation Sprinkle cherries with a touch of sugar and let sit anywhere from a few minutes to overnight in the fridge. Stir honey into greek yogurt - adding more or less according to your taste. Divide farro into two bowls, top each with a large dollop of yogurt, cherries and the toasted coconut. Previous Next hungry for more?

< all recipes Potato Pizza I love the snackiness of this pizza. It feels elevated without being fussy and with steps that can all be done in advance it can come together easily within your schedule. Potato Pizza Serves: 1 13"x17" pizza Ingredients pizza dough: 2 cups (250 grams) all-purpose or bread flour 1 1/4 teaspoons (5 grams) instant or active dry yeast 1/4 teaspoon fine sea or table salt 1/4 teaspoon granulated sugar 2/3 cups (150 grams) room temperature water 4 teaspoons fine sea or table salt 6 to 8 (1 kilo) small to medium Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled 1 medium yellow onion, diced 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 4 to 5 tablespoons olive oil About 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves Print Preparation pizza dough: In a medium bowl, stir together the flour, yeast, salt, and sugar. Add the water and, using a wooden spoon or your hand, mix until well blended, about 30 seconds. Cover the bowl and let sit at room temperature until the dough has more than doubled in volume, about 2 hours. Continue on with making pizza or put dough in the fridge for up to 3 days. In a medium bowl, combine the 1 quart lukewarm water with salt, stirring until the salt has dissolved. Use a mandoline or your best sharpest knife to slice the potatoes very thin (1/16 inch thick), and put the sliced directly into the salted water, which prevents oxidation and also helps soften them so they cook up nicely. Lahey says to let them soak for 1 1/2 hours or up to 12 in the fridge overnight, but I was quite happy with my results after a 25 to 30 minute soak. Heat your oven to 500°F with a rack in the center. Brush either 1 13×18-inch rimmed half-sheet pan or 2 9×13-inch quarter-sheet pans (shown) with olive oil. Divide your risen dough in half and use your fingertips, oiled or dusted with flour, to pull, stretch, nudge and press the dough across the bottom of the pan. The dough will be thin and imperfect. If holes form, just pinch them together. It’s all going to work out, promise. Drain the potatoes in a colander and use your hands to press out as much water as possible, then pat dry on paper towels. In a medium bowl, toss the potato slices with the onion, pepper, and olive oil. Spread this potato mixture over your dough, going all the way to the edges so that there’s no uncovered edge; put a bit more topping around the edges of the pie, as the outside tends to cook more quickly. Sprinkle evenly with rosemary. Usually the salt the potatoes were soaked in is enough, but you can sprinkle more on if desired. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the topping is starting to turn golden brown and the crust is nicely bronzed underneath. Serve pizza hot or at room temperature. Previous Next hungry for more?

< all recipes Chocolate Swirl Meringues Meringue has gotten a bad rap for being unnecessarily complicated to make, something only French pastry masters would dare to attempt, and the ones you often find in stores taste like chalk. These meringues will convince you otherwise. The swirls of chocolate are not only beautiful but they also help make these meringues super moist and just a little bit decadent. Chocolate Swirl Meringues Serves: 8-10 meringues Ingredients 3 egg whites 1 ½ cups granulated sugar ½ tsp vanilla extract ½ tsp white vinegar 2 tbl espresso (optional) 2 ½ oz dark chocolate Print Preparation Preheat oven to 250˚F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Melt chocolate in a heatproof bowl over simmering water. Once melted, add the espresso and remove from heat. Put egg whites into bowl of electric stand mixer, fitted with whisk attachment and whisk on medium speed until frothy. With the mixer still on medium speed, slowly add the sugar, then vanilla and vinegar. Whisk until stiff peaks form and the meringue looks glossy (about 2 minutes). Fold in melted chocolate – do not mix too much so you keep those beautiful swirls. Spoon golf ball-sized dollops onto prepared baking sheets. Put the meringues into the oven and immediately lower the temperature to 225˚F. Bake for 1 hour or until meringues no longer stick to parchment. Turn the oven off and leave meringues in another 20 minutes then let them cool on a wire rack. Previous Next hungry for more?

< all recipes Mushroom Farro As cooler weather approaches, I start to get excited about all of the delicious foods of fall. I started making this four or five years ago from a recipe by Tyler Florence. It has morphed many times over the years as a certain sister had it on request repeat - but I never seemed to have the recipe, or all the ingredients i needed (I have since figured out that organization and planning can be quite helpful when cooking). It was really this recipe (or lack thereof) that taught me how to experiment and improvise with what I had, and making that part of the fun of being in a kitchen. I finally taught my (slightly kitchen-averse) sister, Lauren, how to make this and I think she saw that something so tasty was also easy to make. She has been a cookin' fiend ever since and has taught me a thing or two recently! Lauren introduced me to farro pasta, which so is amazing, I dont think I will ever make whole wheat pasta again. I was making it recently for the two of us, when she swooped in and suggested caramelizing some diced onion, mixing the pesto into that, perhaps tossing in some tomatoes, and then adding the cooked farro. Let me tell you, it was so good I have made it three times since then (then being about a month ago). I find this dish much more interesting than your average risotto because the farro retains its nutty texture and compliments the rich creaminess of the mushrooms...this is a particular favorite of mine, if you hadn't noticed. I love using a few different kinds of mushrooms, but feel free to do your own thing. With the stems of the mushrooms you can make a simple mushroom stock that will really enhance the flavor and shroominess of the dish. The longer this simmers, the more concentrated the flavor will be, but any amount of time is better than nothing. To make the stock: heat up a large pot, toss the stems in (and onions if you have them on hand), and brown slightly. Fill the pot with at least 10 cups of water and let boil away for as long as possible, strain when ready to use. Farro is an ancient cousin of wheat that is usually sold in its “semi-pearled” state, meaning some of the bran has been removed during an abrasive polishing process. It should be relatively easy to find, but if you have trouble, here are some excellent substitutions (just make sure you look at the packaging for cooking time – they all work, you just need to plan accordingly): Barley: like farro is has a nice nutty flavor as well as being a good source of protein, vitamins and minerals, and is a heart-healthy soluble fiber. It comes in three forms: whole kernels (40-50min), hull-less (35-40), and pearled (30min). Wheat Berries: whole kernels of wheat that vary in type (hard, soft, winter, spring, red, and white) but taste pretty much the same. They take 50-60min to cook and will always remain slightly chewy. Mushroom Farro Serves: serves 4-6 Ingredients 2-3 shallots 2 tbl fresh thyme 1 lb mushrooms ½ cup white wine 8-10 cups stock or water 2 cups farro Print Preparation Dice the shallots and remove thyme leaves from stem (this can be quite labor intensive so an alternative would be to tie the thyme with cooking twine and to remove at the end – don’t just throw the time in or you will have little twigs on your dinner plate). Clean and slice the mushrooms. Heat some oil in a large sauté pan (with straight sides), add in the shallots and thyme, and season with salt to get the shallots sweating. Once shallots are translucent, about 5 minutes, add in the mushrooms and cook until they have released their moisture, about 10 minutes. Pour in the wine and scrape up all the brown bits from the bottom of the pan, then stir in the farro. Start adding your liquid, 2 cups at a time, stirring often, and when most of the liquid has been absorbed, add in the next 2 cups. After about 30 minutes you want to decrease each liquid addition to 1 cup and before you pour it in, taste the farro for doneness. Previous Next hungry for more?

< all recipes Caramelized Onion Dip Onion Dip Throwdown. This is the sort of thing that happens in my family. Ok really just between my Mom and myself, this time I was trying to revamp her (slightly retro) onion dip made from Lipton's onion soup spice mix. Yes, we are slightly competitive. But since we were the only ones around yesterday to do the taste-testing and judging (and we both voted for our own) we will have to wait until Superbowl Sunday for the winner to be crowned. Stay tuned (I know you are all on the edge of your seats in anticipation). In the meantime, I will give you my recipe (I believe my Mom's can be found on the back of the spice packet). Prep Tip 1: if your cutting board moves around at all, place a damp paper towel or dish towel underneath it. Prep Tip 2: having worked alongside the prep guys at Locanda, I learned to work by task and not by vegetable - meaning peel and remove the stems of all the onions (or other vegetable), then move on to slicing all of them. What I like about this method is that it allows you to keep a tidy work area. I used more greek yogurt than sour cream because I prefer the taste (and like when I can go ham on the dip and not feel too bad about it), but feel free to adjust the ratio to your liking. Caramelized Onion Dip Serves: 1 party dip (serves 10ish) Ingredients 2 pounds large yellow or white onions (2-3 large onions) 4 shallots fresh thyme olive oil 1 cup white wine 2 cups plain greek yogurt 1/4 cup sour cream 2 tsp onion powder salt and pepper fresh chives, minced Print Preparation Preheat oven to 450°. Slice onions and shallots thinly and spread out on a sheet pan or roasting pan with some sprigs of thyme. Drizzle with olive oil, toss to coat, and season generously with salt and pepper. Roast for an hour, stirring every 20 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately pour the white wine into the pan, scrapping up anything stuck to the bottom. Roast another 15 minutes. Cool completely and remove the thyme. Place onions in a food processor and pulse to chop finely (you can also do this the old fashion way with a knife). Mix together yogurt, sour cream and onion powder. Stir in onions. Season with salt and pepper. This can be made a few days in advance. When ready to serve, garnish with fresh chives. Previous Next hungry for more?

< Back Organizing Your Spice Cabinet I run a pretty tight ship when it comes to kitchen organization but the spice cabinet was my dirty little secret. I blame some of the disfunction on the cabinet itself but the truth is I moved this mess from my old apartment. I bought those adorable little jars thinking they would magically beautify my cabinet and keep themselves tidy but soon realized they only add to the chaos by forcing you to either buy extra (which you have to store somewhere) or go out and buy more every time you add to your spices . These ones in particular were not even big enough to fit the standard spice jar amount of 3oz – so it was just complete and utter failure. It is stressing me out just thinking about how it was. I have needed to do this for a long time and I hope to inspire anyone else who has been avoiding it too. My method is nothing revolutionary which I hope makes it easier to jump in and just get organized – i mean all you need are some labels and a marker. SPICE ORGANIZATION GUIDELINES ASSESS YOUR STOCK Take all of your spices out of the cabinet and determine what (if anything) needs to be thrown out. There are varying opinions on the exact shelf life of spices – if you are talking about safety its up to 4 years but if you want them to have flavor its more like every 12 months. To help keep them fresh always close the top fully for an airtight seal, make sure the spoon you dip into a spice bottle is dry and never pour directly from the container over a steaming pot – basically moisture is the enemy here so act accordingly. MAKE A PLAN First think about the space: is it a tall or deep cabinet? Is it high up? Unless it is a space specifically designed for spices, you will likely need an organizing aid (stacking shelves, a lazy susan, etc). I went with a tiered exapndo-shelf but use what works with your space. Second think about how to organize – alphabetical? frequency of use? Alphabetical is great is you can see all of the labels at once and can easily return the spice to its proper place. I am going with frequency of use until I have my perfectly made custom cabinet. LABEL IT The only way I am going to realistically label every spice as it goes into the cabinet is to make labels part of the organizational strategy (and ocd aesthetic) but more importantly to keep a stash of labels and a sharpie right there in the cabinet. I know myself and in that 3 seconds it takes to find the marker, I will have moved on to something else. I used packaging labels (2×2¾” to be exact). KEEP INVENTORY It can be quite useful to keep a list of the spices you have if you can’t see them all at once – and so other, less orderly folks wont go rummaging through your spices to find the one in the way back. And when you are out of a spice, make a note so you remember for your next grocery run. Previous Next

< all recipes Roasted Sesame Green Bean Salad Our first few meals in Myanmar were uninspired, to say the least; the first problem being that we were the only people in the dining room…literally. The second was the completely western menu. I ended up getting some sort of fish steamed in foil and presented on the plate, in the foil, with no sauce or sides. Not exactly what we traveled over 8,000 miles to eat. You can thus imagine the awkwardness when the chef came out to see how we liked the meal, and after we gave some rave reviews she continued to stand there smiling as if waiting for more praise. Our last lunch at Inle Lake, however, was traditional Myanmar food and, not surprisingly, was spectacular. I ordered steamed spring onions that were combined with ground rice to make something similar to a tamale. We ended up just sharing everything we ordered and my favorite dish was the green bean salad with sesame seeds. I set about recreating it as soon as I got home, with a few alterations: the original was quite oily so I reduced the oil and used toasted sesame oil for an extra punch of flavor, and I went with sliced almonds instead of ground peanuts for a crunchier texture (feel free to try peanuts if you like). Roasted Sesame Green Bean Salad Serves: 4 side servings Ingredients 16oz green beans, cut into ½” segments (about the size of the edamame) 8oz edamame (i usually buy frozen) 2-3 tbl toasted sesame oil 2 tbl fish sauce ¼ cup soy sauce ¼ cup white sesame seeds ¼ cup black sesame seeds ½ cup sliced almonds, toasted salt and pepper Print Preparation Blanch the green beans – Get a pot of water boiling and prepare a bowl with plenty of ice and cold water. Add the green beans and edamame to the boiling water and cook for 2-3 minutes, strain and immediately add to the ice water. Let sit for a few minutes and then strain. Heat up a tbl or two of sesame oil in a large sauté pan. Add edamame and green beans and cook, stirring occasionally, until nicely charred (about 10 minutes). Pour in the fish sauce and soy sauce, scraping up any bits stuck to the pan, and remove from heat. Combine beans with sesame seeds and almonds - add salt and pepper if necessary. This dish can be served hot or room temperature - but is also delicious cold a few days later! Previous Next hungry for more?

< all recipes Banana Cake w/ Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting I usually have mixed emotions about Valentine’s Day. Yes, it is a lovely idea to celebrate love and all that but why do I have to do it on a particular day, in a particular way and with every other couple in nyc trying to have the most romantical evening over drawn out and outrageously over priced love-themed tasting menu. There are almost always flowers which, if we are being honest here, stress me out. First, a really beautiful bouquet is not cheap and was mostly likely flown in from halfway across the world (we will save that whole discussion for a rainy day). But what I really stress about is having so few precious moments with my flowers and not being able to appreciate them fully. So, because I am slightly neurotic, I end up carrying the vase around the apartment, from bedside table, to desk, to kitchen – to be able to soak up all that flowery beauty at every possible moment. In spite of such devotion, I inevitably forget to refresh the poor plant’s water, completely oblivious to its desperate cries until that smell sets in – it is slightly musty, like a damp trail through the woods, but mostly it is just rot and decay. Sooo. Yeah. I thought you should all know just in case you were hoping I would plant sit your ficus over the long weekend. BUUUUUUT the other, non-debbie downer, pastry chef side of me gets pretty darn excited about the over-the-topness of it all. Mostly because it means I get to bring out my extensive sprinkle collection and have some serious fun. The little hearts are made of marzipan and are stupid easy to make I don’t know why I ever made a cake without them. All the necessary deets are outlined at the end of the post. What makes this banana cake unique is how sturdy it is – most recipes I have made are way to delicate to layer and dry out so fast. This recipe is more like a banana bread all gussied up for Valentine’s Day. And the Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting is unbelievably good – the nuttiness of brown butter gives great depth of flavor without overpowering that cream cheesy goodness. How To Scale a Recipe – Knowing how to scale a recipe is an extremely handy thing when it comes to baking. It is something I am asked about constantly so I have put together a visual guide on scaling a recipe based on pan size – I mean how often do you have your heart set on making a cake only to realize you need the one pan size you don’t own!? Given my teeny-tiny nyc apt, that happens to me all the time. Below is just a teaser because the real deal is quite large and so I have given it a permanent home page that you can find in the “ kitchen guide ” tab up top (or just click the image!). Happy scaling!! If you want to make the hearts: Marzipan Hearts Ingredients marzipan gel food color ziploc parchment paper rolling pin heart-shaped cookie cutters (or whatever shape you want!) Instructions Divide marzipan into the number of colors you are going to make. Put one piece into a large ziploc with a few drops of gel color and knead the color into the marzipan. Add more color as needed. Between two sheets of parchment, roll marzipan to about ¼ - ⅛ of an inch thick. Cut out as many shapes as you can and reroll the marzipan. Repeat with other pieces and colors. Allow marzipan shapes to dry out overnight or a few days for best results. Banana Cake w/ Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting Serves: 2 6" cakes Ingredients For the Cake: 5 oz (136g) unsalted butter, at room temp 1¼ cups (240g) granulated sugar 3 (192g) eggs 3 (270g) very ripe bananas, mashed 2 cups (270g) cake flour, sifted ½ tsp kosher salt 2 tsp baking powder ½ tsp baking soda ¾ cup (180g) buttermilk 1 tsp vanilla extract For the Frosting: 8 oz (227g) unsalted butter, at room temp 16 oz (454g) cream cheese, at room temp 1 lb (454g) confectioner's sugar, sifted ¼ cup (56g) heavy cream pinch of salt 1 tsp vanilla extract (leave out if you want whiter icing) Print Preparation To Make the Cake: Preheat the oven to 325˚F, grease and line two 6" cake pans. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes). Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping the sides of the bowl. Add the bananas and mix just to combine - the batter will look like it has separated but don't worry. In a separate bowl, sift together cake flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture in three additions, alternating with the buttermilk and vanilla. Mix just until incorporated. Divide batter between the two cake pans and bake 30-40 minutes, rotating halfway through and testing the cakes towards the end. Allow cakes to cool completely before doing any trimming or icing. To Make the Frosting: Place butter in a small pot set over medium heat. It will pretty quickly start to make a lot of noise (this is ok). Let it boil rapidly until you start to see brown bits around the sides and the butter starts to smell slightly nutty (about 5 minutes). Strain the butter and let cool to a room temp solid form (about 30min-1hr but you can do this several days in advance and keep the butter in the fridge until ready to bring to room temp). Cream brown butter and cream cheese in an electric mixer with the paddle attachment, until light and fluffy (about 3 minutes). Turn the speed down and slowly add the sifted confectioners sugar, scraping the sides and bottom of the bowl. Once all the sugar is in, turn the speed back up to medium and beat until fluffy and a little glossy (3-4 minutes). Finally add the cream, vanilla and salt. Beat to combine. Notes The frosting recipe is generous for 6" cakes, you will likely have some left over - it should definitely cover and 8" cake but bigger than that I would start to increase the recipe (or have ingredient to make more if needed!). The frosting will keep in the fridge for 3-4 days or 6 months in the freezer. Previous Next hungry for more?

< all recipes PB & J Ice Cream Sandwiches I ended up at this delectable ice cream sandwich recipe because despite my best efforts to hide it, in my heart i am still a pudgy butterball tween…rockin JNCOs and Steve Maddens. Good times. The idea started with a batch of oatmeal raisin cookies (aka the “healthy person’s cookie”) but since it has been hot as you-know-what this week, ice cream just seemed like a necessary addition. I feel like the rest is pretty self explanatory and I don’t have much else to say except that these are just outta this world – full disclosure, as soon as I took the above pic, that sucker was in my belly (and on my face). Ice cream sandwiches are always a bit messy so I might recommend eating these al fresco, perhaps in a bathing suit – i mean its essentially a pb&j so its toooootally acceptable as an afternoon snack by the pool. Right? I have to give a shoutout here my photography and sandwich assembly assistant because taking pictures of very melty things in 90+ heat with a nice camera is just a bad idea by yourself. Thanks Mom!! You’re the best summer intern I’ve ever had ;) PB & J Ice Cream Sandwiches Serves: 16 cookies / 8 sandwiches Ingredients Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies 4oz (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temp 1½ cups creamy peanut butter 1 cup brown sugar 1 egg ⅓ cup maple syrup 2 tsp vanilla extract 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 tsp kosher salt 1 tsp baking soda 3 cups rolled oats for the sandwiches 2 pints raspberry sorbet (Talenti is my personal favorite) or 2 pints vanilla and some jam Print Preparation Preheat oven to 350˚F and line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Cream the butter, peanut butter, and brown sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the egg, maple syrup and vanilla, scrape down the sides of the bowl and beat until fully incorporated. Combine the flour, salt and baking soda and add to the batter, mixing just until combined. Add the oats and again mix just until combined. Scoop cookies onto prepared baking sheet - the size here is really up to you, they wont spread much but i recommend pressing them pretty flat. Bake 18-20 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through. Meanwhile prepare the sorbet/ice cream. Scoop ice cream onto a parchment lined sheet (one that will fit in the freezer so be creative if you don't have a mini sheet pan). Using another piece of parchment or plastic wrap, press the scoops to flatten - you want them about the size of your cookies. Freeze until ready to assemble. To assemble: Once cookies have cooled completely, place an ice cream disc onto half of the cookies and press another on top - if you are going with vanilla ice cream spoon a little jam on top before putting on the top cookie. Serve immediately or freeze until ready (i dont recommend longer than a few hours, you dont want people breaking their teeth on the cookies!). Notes Make Ahead Tips:Make the cookies days or weeks in advance (even months!!), scoop the dough onto parchment as if you were about to bake them and put in the freezer - once frozen toss em into a ziploc! No thawing necessary but they might take a minute or two longer to cook.Scoop and flatten ice cream days in advance as well, you can put the discs in a ziploc too but separate each with some parchment.Cookie dough will keep 6 months in the freezer and baked cookies will keep several days in an airtight container at room temp. Previous Next hungry for more?