Banana-Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

This recipe comes from a very cool book dedicated solely to the chocolate chip. Every recipe is another approach to using chocolate chips. I love books like these that focus on one ingredient. If I'm in the mood to make something with a certain ingredient, or more pragmatically, I'm trying to use up an ingredient in my fridge, I turn to one of my ingredient-focused cookbooks. I have a whole cookbook on just squash, another on peanut butter, another on dates, or omelets, or lemons. I recently picked up this Elinor Klivans chocolate chip cookbook because chocolate chips are a staple in my cupboard; I ALWAYS have them on hand.


What appealed to me most about this chocolate chip cookie recipe is that the banana in it does not get mashed, only chopped into small cubes and stirred into the cookie batter. I like, but don't love, super soft cookies that are too cake-like, so the idea of using banana chunks instead of mashed banana is a big deal for me. The result is a cookie that, from a distance, looks a lot like a regular oatmeal chocolate chip cookie, but one bite and you know it's something different, something special, something that has banana flavor and texture, without being cake! It remains cookie all the way!


Banana-Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from a recipe by Elinor Klivans in The Essential Chocolate Chip Cookbook

1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup oatmeal (not quick-cooking)
2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
2 bananas, cut into 1/4- to 1/3-inch pieces

Position a rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and butter the paper, or just use a silicone baking mat.

In a small bowl, combine the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Set aside.

In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter with the granulated sugar and brown sugar until smooth. That shouldn't take more than a minute or two.

Add the egg and vanilla and beat until just blended. Don't worry if you see some curdling.

On low speed, add the dry ingredients and again, don't overmix! When you don't see traces of flour anymore, you can stop.

Add the oatmeal and mix briefly to combine. Then add the chocolate chips and mix once more.

Remove the beater from the bowl of dough and use a spoon to (very gently!) stir in the banana chunks. Try to keep them intact. When you are finished, about 20 seconds later, you should still see banana pieces, not mush.

Drop heaping spoonfuls of dough onto the prepared baking sheets. They will spread out a little, so leave at least 2 inches between each cookie.

Bake the cookies until the edges are light brown and the tops look dry. Each tray took me about 14 minutes, but depending on your oven, check as early as 13 minutes in, and up to 18 minutes.

Cool the cookies on the baking sheet for the first 10 minutes, then use a spatula to slide them onto a cooling rack to cool the rest of the way.

These freeze easily; just wrap well in plastic wrap and then place in a freezer bag. Out on the counter, they'll remain fresh for up to 3 days if you store in an airtight container.


Step-by-Step in Pictures
Combine flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon, and set aside...

Cream the butter with the sugars...

Add the egg and vanilla...

Add the dry ingredients...

Add the oatmeal...

Mix in the chocolate chips...

Chop the bananas into small cubes or chunks...

Add the banana chunks into the dough...

Gently stir in the banana pieces so they are mostly still intact, not mashed...

Drop heaping spoonfuls of cookie dough onto the baking sheet...

Bake for 13-18 minutes at 350 degrees F...

Let cool 10 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to cooling rack. Then eat!

Apricot Blueberry Upside-Down Cake

Apricots are in season. YIPPEE!! I have a couple sources for getting them, and whenever my stash gets low, one of the sources kicks in and replenishes it. Let's see, there's the local farmer's market, my coworker, and my mom. When the stars are aligned and I'm having a lucky day and I have so many apricots from combining my sources that I don't know what to do with them all, I turn to David Lebovitz for his fruity upside-down cake.


Ok, the original recipe, which I posted back in July of 2009, is a plum blueberry upside down cake. But Lebovitz notes that you can replace the plums with apricots. Voila. Today's post is really just a variation on the original. And I think I like it even more than the original. The skin of plums can be sour, but apricots don't seem to have that, at least not at the same high likelihood. So the resulting dessert is an almost guaranteed sweet treat, one that doesn't make you pucker, it just makes you swoon. Try to picture a brown sugar-buttery topping with cooked, sweetened apricots! I am swooning! I am in love!

Since I already posted the original recipe a year ago, I'll direct you back there for the step-by-step photos. Just use your imagination to envision apricots in every photo that shows plums.


Apricot Blueberry Upside-Down Cake
Adapted from a recipe by David Lebovitz in Room for Dessert
One 9-inch round cake or 10-inch square cake; 10-12 servings

The apricot blueberry topping:
3 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 cup (4 ounces) blueberries
6 to 8 medium apricots (about 1 pound)

The cake:
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk, at room temperature

Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream

1. To make the plum apricot topping: Place a 9-inch round cake pan or a 10-inch square cake pan directly on the stove top. Yes, that's totally safe to do! Melt the butter in the pan over low heat (shouldn't take more than a minute or two). Turn off the heat. Add the brown sugar and stir until the sugar is thoroughly moistened. Spread the sugar across the bottom of the pan with the back of a spoon so it is evenly distributed and covers the entire bottom. Remove from the stove top and cool briefly.

2. Sprinkle half of the blueberries evenly over the moistened brown sugar. Cut the apricots into half-inch slices. Arrange the apricot slices over the blueberries in concentric, overlapping circles, or you can be more abstract artsy and just scatter them. Try not to have any apricot-less areas of the bottom of the pan. Scatter the rest of the blueberries on top of the apricot slices.

3. To make the cake: Position the oven rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

4. Beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes in a standing electric mixer. Stop the mixer once and scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure the butter is completely incorporated. Add the vanilla.

5. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until well mixed.

6. In a separate bowl, sift together the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, and salt. Then add the dry ingredients alternately with the milk into the batter, starting with half the flour mixture, then adding the milk, and then the other half of the flour mixture. Do not overmix; only stir until incorporated. The batter will be pretty thick, but shouldn't be lumpy.

7. Carefully drop giant spoonfuls of the batter over the fruit in the cake pan, and then use an offset spatula to smooth it out so it covers the entire surface. Bake the upside-down cake for about 1 hour (but I recommend checking at around 50 minutes, since my oven tends to be faster than Lebovitz's), until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

8. Let the cake stand at least 20 minutes before unmolding. Run a metal spatula around the edge of the cake to loosen it from the pan (I prefer a metal spatula over using a knife because it won't scratch the cake pan). Invert a serving plate over the cake, shake gently to loosen the cake, and carefully flip over both cake and plate at the same time. Lift off the cake pan and you will be mesmerized by the beauty to behold! If any fruit happened to stick to the bottom of the pan, don't fret! You can easily stick it back into the cake and no one will notice. Serve with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.


Step-by-Step in Pictures
For step-by-step photos, see my original post for Plum Blueberry Upside-Down Cake (because the steps are the same, just use apricots instead of plums)

Blogger Prom 2010 Announced: Hollywood Confidential!

Yup, that's me, in true period photographer George Hurrell-style. All of the
Blogger Prom committee members had their portraits done to get into character!

Blogger Prom is the annual invite-only party for Los Angeles bloggers, a fun and exclusive way to meet fellow local bloggers. After an uberly successful Blogger Prom 2009, the Blogger Prom Committee (including myself!) is back to do it again! We are officially announcing today that Blogger Prom 2010 is a go!

Theme: Hollywood Confidential
Think 1930s, 1940s Hollywood glamour! Marlene Dietrich, Betty Davis, Joan Crawford, Greta Garbo, Maureen O'Sullivan, Barbara Stanwyck, Carole Lombard, Jean Harlow, Ava Gardner, Rita Hayworth, Lana Turner, Veronica Lake, Betty Grable, and the list goes on! And that's only the women! We're going to enforce a strict dress code that embodies this classic era. And we can't wait to see what Los Angeles bloggers do with the theme...just how far they can take it!

Venue: Yamashiro
Yamashiro is an incredible venue in Hollywood, full of history, full of personality, and the perfect place to host our glamorous event! We are so excited Yamashiro has opened its doors to Blogger Prom! Address: 1999 N. Sycamore Avenue, Hollywood, CA 90068

Date: Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010, 7-10pm
Mark your calendar now!!

More Info
We'll be regularly updating you with details of the event right up until September 22nd.

• Visit the Blogger Prom Blog here
  
• Like the Blogger Prom Facebook page here
  
• Follow Blogger Prom on Twitter here

Blogger Prom Committee
Caroline of Caroline on Crack
Esther of estarLA
H.C. of LA and OC Foodventures
Lindsay of LAist
Marni of Happy Go Marni (me!)
Maya of Shop Eat Sleep
Natalie of The Liquid Muse
Tara of When Tara Met Blog


I'm so excited! I need to find myself a gown. And marry Clark Gable!

Doughnut Muffins

Just the title alone, before I had read the list of ingredients or the preface to the recipe on King Arthur Flour, I knew I was going to have to make this. I love doughnuts. I love muffins. I love the idea of combining the two and I love the idea of baking, not frying the doughnut!

One of the most exciting things about this recipe is that all the ingredients are basic. You don't need anything fancy, and I'm referring to ingredients and appliances and tools. No deep-fryer needed!


So what is it about this recipe that makes the muffin taste like an old-fashioned cake doughnut? The nutmeg. That is the secret! And so I suggest you use more, not less. The recipe calls for 1 or 1 1/4 teaspoons nutmeg. I'd say go all the way and add the maximum recommendation.

These muffins really do taste like doughnuts. Next time, I want to play around with mix-ins, maybe adding some toasted walnuts or chopped chocolate to the batter. I also want to try replacing the cinnamon sugar topping with a glaze, just the way I remember cake doughnuts. But even the most plain version, simply following the recipe as is and not veering off to experiment, this recipe is a real winner.


Doughnut Muffins
Adapted from King Arthur Flour

Batter
1/4 cup butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 to 1 1/4 teaspoons ground nutmeg, to taste
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 2/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup milk

Topping
3 tablespoons melted butter (I used unsalted)
3 tablespoons cinnamon sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F. Lightly grease a standard muffin tin or use 12 paper liners...the cuter the better! :)

2. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, cream together the butter, vegetable oil, and sugars till smooth.

3. Beat in the eggs until well-combined.

4. Stir in the baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, salt, and vanilla. If you want, taste the batter to see if you like the flavor because now's the time to add even more nutmeg, or introduce a whole new spice, like cinnamon!

5. Stir the flour into the butter mixture alternately with the milk, beginning and ending with the flour. I did this: 1/3 of the flour, 1/2 the milk, 1/3 of the flour, last 1/2 of the milk, last 1/3 of the flour.

6. Spoon the batter evenly into the prepared pan, filling the cups nearly full. Resist the temptation to use less batter in each muffin cup so you can make more than 12 muffins. The batter is the perfect amount for 12 muffins and they grow into beautiful crowns when baked!

7. Bake the muffins for 15 to 17 minutes, or until they're a pale golden brown and a cake tester inserted into the middle of one of the center muffins comes out clean. It took my muffins exactly 15 minutes so you might want to start checking after about 13 minutes.

8. Remove them from the oven, and let them cool for a couple of minutes, or until you can handle them. While they're cooling, melt the butter for the topping in the microwave.

9. Brush melted butter on the top of each muffin using a pastry brush, then roll the muffin in a shallow bowl of cinnamon sugar to completely cover the top. Don't skimp here; be liberal with the topping! Place the muffins on a cooling rack to allow the topping to set for a few minutes.

10. Serve warm, or cool completely on a rack so you can store airtight. If you know you can't finish all the muffins in a day or two, store the extras in the freezer in an airtight freezer container.

Yield: 12 muffins.


Step-by-Step in Pictures
Cream together the butter, oil, and sugars...

Add the eggs, then the baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, salt, and vanilla...

Beat until well combined...

Add the flour and milk alternately, beginning and ending with the flour...

Adding the milk...

Your batter is ready!

Spoon the batter evenly into the 12 muffin cups...

Bake at 425 degrees F for about 15 minutes...

Let cool a few minutes, then loosen the muffin from the pan...

Brush the muffin with melted butter, then roll in a shallow bowl of cinnamon sugar...

What Do You Think of Restaurants Charging for Splitting a Dish? Or, How I Became a Troublemaker

I became a troublemaker yesterday when I started a controversial thread on Serious Eats. Anyone with a Serious Eats account can initiate a topic.

It all started when a friend emailed me the menu to a restaurant in Beverly Hills that she wanted to try with me. I immediately noticed a note at the bottom of the menu stating there'd be a $3 charge for splitting a dish. I've seen this on menus before, from low key diners and delis to high end fancy shmancy restaurants and everything in between. But for some reason, while reading this menu from a friend, I got curious. I wondered if this split dish charge was really fair. I've never liked paying it. So what did I do? I went to a community of passionate foodies - Serious Eats - and started a thread on the topic. This is what I wrote:

What is your opinion of restaurants that charge for splitting a dish? I often read on menus that there is a $2 or $3 charge for splitting. Obviously they can't charge you for splitting if you are ordering your food to go, since they have no idea what you do with the food when you get home. But it's often the case when dining in. I'm sure restaurants have their reasons, but it feels a little bit like nickel and diming to me. Is my annoyance justified? Because I really don't like this extra charge!

In one day, there are already 31 comments! And some of them are heated, where I can see the fire under their tuchus, enraged at a fellow commenter, or the concept of charging for splitting a dish at all. Who knew this would spark such controversy!

I have to admit, when I posted my topic, I did not really think there were good reasons for the charge. But after reading some of the comments, I do understand a little bit better why restaurants choose to charge. Does that mean I have to like and support it? No. But I'm less in the dark about it. And yeah, maybe even a little more supportive.

Here are some of the arguments in favor of this charge:

• When the restaurant splits the dish, they have to plate the dish twice and break up a beautiful plate presentation, which can be a challenge, require skill, and take extra time
• Splitting dirties an extra dish
• The restaurant needs to make money and your table of two is taking up space but only ordering food for one
• Splitting a dish is no different than a corkage fee or cutting-a-cake fee
• The restaurant might give you extra food on each of the two plates so you're actually getting more food than the original single dish
  
• The waiter is serving two people, not one, and so you are being charged because the waiter is still attending to you, even if there is only one dish shared between two people

I'm sure there are plenty more arguments in favor of the charge that I forgot to mention. And there are tons of people on the other side of the coin who can't stand the charge.

One statement that's been made a couple of times in the comments is that those people (myself included) who do not like the charge are just cheap. I take offense at that. I am not cheap. If I don't want to pay the charge, it is because I do not think I am receiving anything of monetary value for the charge. If I am receiving a service, or using valuable restaurant resources in order to split a dish, then it should be more clear and I'd be just fine paying the fee.

To the argument that when you split a dish, each of the two plates is given extra food so that you are, in sum, getting more than the quantity of a single dish, I just don't find that a strong argument in favor of the charge. Yes, I'm getting more food than I asked for, but that's exactly the problem: I didn't ask for more. It's certainly generous of the restaurant to give me extra, but it's unsolicited and I do not want to pay the restaurant for freebies. They're not exactly "gifts," then. I am a generous tipper at restaurants when I think the service was sufficient, so my extra charge should be my prerogative and it should come in the form of a tip.

But at the end of the day, it's only $2 or $3 we're talking about and I'll survive. I just like to stir up trouble. Thank you, Serious Eats, for putting up with me.

Orange Poppy Seed Challah

I was in the mood to bake bread. On a weeknight. On a night when I didn't get home from work until 7:30pm. The baking project probably wouldn't start until 8pm. So I wasn't feeling too adventurous; I mean, if the bread got challenging and had unexpected fancy technique involved, I might be up really late...on a work night.

Enter: challah. Challah is something I can practically do in my sleep. So all that was left was choosing a challah recipe. I decided on a challah from Marlene Sorosky's Jewish holidays cookbook. And I was inspired by a note she had at the end of the recipe for alternative flavors to traditional challah. I tweaked the orange date alternative she had listed there, and the same old tried and true plain jane loaf quickly became orange poppy seed challah! It just so happened I had orange juice and an orange in my fridge.

The little flecks of orange peeking out of the shaped, risen, ready-to-bake dough got me excited. The aroma of baking bread combined with the citrus in this special version made my place smell amazing. Slicing through the cooled, baked bread, the orange flecks are still apparent. The taste is definitely citrusy, but not over the top in any way. The crumb is perfect, and I'd describe it as feathery rather than chewy or gummy bread. My mom had the brilliant idea to take slices of this orange poppy seed loaf and make french toast sandwiches with a layer of cream cheese and a layer of orange marmalade in between. The thought of that makes me salivate.

To turn a conventional challah into something extra special, try this orange poppy seed version. It will be even better if you knead in a cup of chopped semi-sweet chocolate. I think I'll do that next time.


Orange Poppy Seed Challah
Adapted from a recipe by Marlene Sorosky in Fast & Festive Meals for the Jewish Holidays

1 package active dry yeast
1 teaspoon plus 1 tablespoon sugar, divided
1/4 cup warm water (105 to 115 degrees F)
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus about 1/2 cup more
2 teaspoons salt
2 large eggs, beaten then divided
1/2 cup boiling water
1/4 cup orange juice, preferably pulp-free
Zest of one medium-size orange, grated
1/4 cup vegetable oil
Poppy seeds for topping

To make the dough, in a small bowl, combine yeast, 1 teaspoon sugar, and warm water. Set aside for 5 minutes, or until foamy.

In a large mixing bowl with beaters, mix 3 1/2 cups flour, salt, and 1 tablespoon sugar on low speed until combined.

In a small bowl, whisk eggs until frothy and then measure out 1 tablespoon to place in a separate tiny bowl to reserve for the egg wash when it comes time to bake the challah. Add the egg (all but the 1 tablespoon reserved) to the flour mixture. Then add the foamy yeast mixture to the flour. Add the boiling water, orange juice, grated orange peel, and oil, and mix for a few minutes on medium-low speed. Scrape down sides of bowl.

Switch to the dough hook and add flour, a tablespoon at a time, until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl and is smooth and elastic. You shouldn't need more than about a half a cup of flour for this. You can also do this by hand; just be sure the board and your hands are well-floured and try not to touch the dough with your fingers. Kneading in the mixer will take about 8 minutes but watch it closely because you don't want to overmix it thereby introducing too much gluten into the dough. Transfer the kneaded dough from the mixer onto the dough board and gently knead it for another minute so it forms a nice ball. Kneading by hand will take about 12 minutes.

For the first rise, spray a large bowl with Pam, place dough inside so the bottom of the dough is greased, and then flip the dough so the other side is greased, too. Cover with a lightly dampened towel and place in a warm, draft-free place until double in bulk, 60 to 90 minutes. When you poke the dough with your finger, an imprint should remain. Punch dough down, remove to a lightly floured board, and knead until smooth and shiny, about 2 minutes.

To shape into a long braid, divide dough into 3 pieces. With your hands, roll each piece into a long, smooth rope, about 20 inches long by 3/4 inch wide. Place on a greased baking sheet or silicone baking mat. To braid, bring left rope under center rope and lay it down. Bring right rope under new center rope and lay it down. Repeat to end. Pinch ends and tuck under to seal. If you want to finish the challah tomorrow, you can refrigerate the loaf overnight at this point. If chilled, the second rising will take at least twice as long.

For second rising, let loaf rise at room temperature, covered, in a draft-free place until double in bulk; about 45 minutes if at room temperature, at least 1 1/2 hours if chilled overnight.

To bake, preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Brush loaf with the 1 tablespoon beaten egg you had reserved (you can use a pastry brush or your finger) and sprinkle poppy seeds on top right away (the egg wash will dry quickly and then the seeds won't stick). Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until golden brown and bread sounds hollow when tapped. If crust starts to get dark before the bread is done baking, cover loosely with foil for remainder of baking time. With a giant spatula, remove from baking sheet and cool on wire rack. Cooled bread may be stored at room temperature, sealed in a plastic bag overnight, or frozen.

Makes 1 loaf.


Step-by-Step in Pictures
Combine the yeast, 1 teaspoon sugar, and warm water and let stand a few minutes until foamy...

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, salt, and the one tablespoon sugar, then add the eggs...

Then add the foamy yeast mixture to the flour...

Zest the orange...

Add the zest, orange juice, boiling water, and oil to the flour...

Switch to the dough hook and add a tablespoon at a time of flour until the dough starts to pull away from the bowl and becomes smooth and elastic...

Knead on a dough board to form a ball...

Place in a greased bowl, then turn dough over to grease other side...

Let rise, covered, about 60 to 90 minutes, until doubled in size...

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and divide into three pieces...

Roll each piece into a log and place all three strands on a baking sheet...

Shape into a braid on the baking sheet (I started in the center and worked outward in one direction and reverse braid in the other, in order to create a more even-looking loaf)...

Tuck the ends under and pinch to seal...

Cover and let double in size, about 45 minutes...

Brush with the reserved beaten egg, then sprinkle with poppy seeds...

Bake at 375 degrees F for 35 to 45 minutes. Cover with foil during baking if the loaf gets dark too quickly...

Let cool completely, then slice and serve!

The Iguana Cookbook and Other Weird Cookbooks I Admittedly Do Not Own...YET

At various times, I've mentioned my extensive collection of cookbooks. Hundreds and hundreds of them. But not until today have I seen a list of cookbooks where I do not own a single one. That's because The Huffington Post has compiled quite the list! A list they call "The Most WTF Cookbooks of All Time."

You have got to take a look at their slideshow of cookbook covers! From a serial killer's cookbook to trailer park down home cooking to cooking with iguanas and a book dedicated exclusively to testicles. And lots of other random, unusual cookbooks.

Now my cookbook collection, as large as it is, feels a bit boring! Maybe I should start eating iguana. Where does one purchase a cooking iguana? And are they kosher?