Or what to do with those overripe bananas. This recipe is great any time of year - put those brown bananas in the freezer and defrost them for this yummy cake.

Banana Chocolate Walnut Cake
From Epicurious.com

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 stick unsalted butter, softened, plus 2 tablespoons, melted and cooled
• 1 cup sugar, divided
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cups mashed very ripe bananas (about 3 medium)
• 2/3 cup plain whole-milk yogurt
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 (3 1/2- to 4-ounce) bar 70%-cacao bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
• 1 cup walnuts (3 ounces), toasted , cooled, and coarsely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions:

• Preheat oven to 375°F with rack in middle. Butter a 9-inch square cake pan.
• In a medium bowl, stir together flour, baking soda, and salt.
• In another bowl, toss together chocolate, nuts, cinnamon, melted butter (2 tablespoons), and remaining 1/4 cup sugar.
• In yet another medium bowl, mash bananas and stir in yogurt and vanilla.
• In an electric mixer cream butter (1 stick) and 3/4 cup sugar.
• Beat in eggs 1 at a time until blended.
  
• Beat in banana mixture (it will look curdled)
  
• With mixer at low speed, add flour mixture and mix until just incorporated.
• Use a spatula to spread half of banana batter in cake pan, covering the bottom.
• Sprinkle with chocolate mixture.
  
• Spread remaining batter evenly over filling.
  
• Bake until cake is golden and a wooden pick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 35 to 40 minutes. Cool cake in pan on a rack.

About this recipe: the ingredients are simple and combine to form a most delicious cake but I caution you to be organized in your preparation to make this cake come together without a fuss. I've amended the instructions for this recipe from those on Epicurious to help with this.

This cake consists of a cake batter made of the usual things plus banana and a layer of chocolate walnut goodness that runs through the center (I also changed this from the original which suggests two layers of chocolate, one in the middle and one on top--I encourage you to do what you like).

Once your various bowls of ingredients are prepared, this cake comes together in a snap. The batter is moist and quite thick while the middle layer of chocolate, walnuts, cinnamon, butter, and sugar is as it should be. The only trick involved is getting 1/2 the batter spread as evenly as you can over the bottom of your pan and then sprinkling it over in a pleasingly generous layer followed by dolloping and then spreading the remaining batter over the top. Just take your time and all will go well:

The Catholics, among whom I count myself, have a vast number of feast days commemorating special events as well as a coterie of Saints and holy people. Very often, there are special foods made and enjoyed on those days, a great number of which happen to be desserts. June 9, on the old calendar, celebrates St. Columba of Iona. In honor of his Irish heritage, on this make Bannock (although this is not the recipe I used).

What is a bannock? Well, there seem to be a variety of forms. The one I chose was the top result after a quick google search and I would characterize this treat as the Irish version of a sopapilla.


Bannock
From The Canadian Crafter

Ingredients

• 4 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 4 tablespoons oil
• About 1 1/2 cups water
• cinnamon sugar for dusting cooked bannock
  

Directions

• Combine dry ingredients in a mixing bowl
• Add water, enough to make an elastic dough
  
• Knead 10 minutes by hand or 5 minutes in the mixer
• Break off small pieces and roll to 1/4" rounds
• In a frying pan heat 1/4" oil to medium-high
• Place dough and fry on one side until golden brown, flip and cook on the other side
• Remove from pan, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar while still warm.
• Enjoy!

About this recipe: if you don't want to make hundreds of these things (that's probably an exaggeration) then you will gut the recipe. I cut the recipe and made only 1/4 batch and that yielded 6 - 8 crispy bannock.

I used the dough hook on my kitchenaid mixer and let it do the work of kneading my dough. I really eyed the water and overdid it a little but added maybe 1/4 cup of flour after the fact so it wasn't so sticky.

What I especially liked about this recipe was that you don't need a vat of oil to deep fry in. I just coated the bottom of my pan generously (not really even 1/4" deep) and it was enough to do the job. There was very little oil to throw away when I was done. I had to watch the heat on the oil, of course. My first bannock didn't puff up because it wasn't hot enough. Once properly heated, these simple treats cook up in under 3 minutes.

The result: an easy to make treat that really isn't all that sinful. The cinnamon sugar sweetens the plain dough just right. You could experiment with other sweet topings like lemon sugar, vanillar sugar, shaved chocolate...etc.

Now for something a little more sophisticated: cheesecake. I have eaten cheesecake but have never made one. To welcome fall I felt this pumpkin version fit the bill quite nicely. While some cheesecake recipes have you cook it in a water bath, this one didn't so it makes it a bit less complicated in terms of technique.

Pumpkin Cheesecake
From Gourmet's Best Desserts

For the crust:

• 1 1/2 cups crushed gingersnap crumbs
• 3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/4 cup confectioner's sugar

For the filling:

• 3 1/4 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
• 10 egg yolks plus 3 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons cinnamon
• 3 pieces of crystallized ginger, minced
• 1 teaspoon mace
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 pounds cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon lemon extract
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

For the crust:

• Generously butter your 12-inch springform pan.
• In a food processor, blend the ginger snaps until finely ground.
• Add the butter and confectioner's sugar and blend.
• Press the mixture into the bottom of the springform pan, tamping it down well and chill it for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 400°F
• Bake the crust for 10 minutes.
• Let cool.

For the filling:

• Increase the oven temperature to 475°F.
• In a bowl combine 2 cups of the sugar with the pumpkin puree.
• Lightly beat 6 of the egg yolks and stir them into the pumpkin puree.
• Add the cinnamon, crystallized ginger, mace and salt and blend.
• In a large bowl cream together the cream cheese and the remaining 1 1/4 cups sugar.
• Add the whole eggs and the remaining 4 egg yolks, one at a time, beating well after each addition.
• Beat in the heavy cream, cornstarch, lemon extract and vanilla.
• Fold in the pumpkin mixture and blend until smooth.
• Pour the filling into the springform pan.
• Bake in the middle of the oven for 10 minutes.
• Reduce the heat to 250°F.
• Bake for 1 1/2 hours more (the center will be slightly soft).
• Transfer to a rack and let cool for 1 hour.
• Chill, lightly covered for at least 3 hours.

About this recipe: I would say this recipe took longer to put together than most things I've attempted lately. It was nice to get into the baking zone and work on something a bit challenging and also get the feel for working in my larger kitchen. I'm having a little difficulty adjusting to so much space and I feel like my efficiency has dropped due to mistakenly going for things in their "old" spot and then having to go and get it from its "new" spot. But I won't be discouraged and nor should you.

I've never eaten a ginger snap in my life so I tried one of these dry cookies before I sent its brothers to their finely ground death in the belly of my food processor. It's mildly sweet, buttery and spicy, like pumpkin spices I would say, with a peppery finish. I didn't hate it so I decided to go ahead and use them for the crust. If that doesn't sound appealing to you or you can't find them, you can substitute the more classic graham crackers.

I put the crumbs in a medium bowl and mixed in the confectioners sugar and used a pastry cutter to incorporate the butter that was so soft it was partly melted. I think you could just melt the butter and use a fork to incorporate everything. I used a spoon to press the moistened crumbs firmly into the bottom of a 6-inch spring form pan and 2 small 3-inch ones. I tossed then in the freezer for faster chilling.

I turned my attention to the filling, which I halved, by the way, even though I made the entire amount of crust. There was more than enough filling for a 6-inch pan. If you have an 8-inch pan and half the recipe you'll be golden.

I mixed the pumpkin puree with the egg yolks and spices with a wooden spoon. I used my mixer to cream the cream cheese and sugar letting it beat until it was light and fluffy. I added the eggs one at a time and then the remaining egg yolks followed by the cream, cornstarch, lemon extract, and vanilla. I folded the pumpkin mixture in 3 batches and stirred until it was a smooth, light orange color.

I filled the 6 inch pan generously and the smaller ones to nearly the top as well. I baked the larger one at the higher temperature for the full 10 minutes and put the smaller ones in after five minutes had elapsed. After turning the temperature down, the small ones came out after only 25 minutes and the larger one came out maybe 10 or 15 minutes later.

They are still cooling and then need to be chilled so I won't be tasting this tonight. But, the workmates can look forward to something a little different from the Baking Fool tomorrow. I'll also take a photo of a slice for this entry.

The result: the cheesecakes were all a tad underdone with the centers being more liquid than solid. So, don't follow my example and take them out too soon. I should have cooked the larger cake at least another 25 minutes. I was mislead to believe they were done by the crust that forms on the top during the first 10 minutes in the really hot oven. I also did press the top in the center and it felt done, but I was wrong. In sprite of this, the cheesecake tasted really yummy. You notice the tartness and flavor of the lemon first followed by the more mellow pumpkin flavor and lastly by the spices. I would have liked a slightly more pumpkin flavor and recommend adding perhaps another 1/2 to 3/4 cup of pumpkin puree if you want that too. Also, using freshly grated lemon rind instead of the lemon extract would mellow out the intensity of the lemon, but I'm not going to say do this for sure because it does add a nice tangyness that you might loose if you use rind. Perhaps a compromise would be best with a 1/2 teaspoon extract with 1 teaspoon of rind. The gingersnap crust was quite good and complimented the pumpkin flavor nicely. I had at least one person comment on it saying that they really liked it better than a graham cracker crust.

Overall, I'd have to say that making this cheese cake was only an advanced-beginner effort. If you're careful to avoid the pitfall of not cooking it long enough, you will have a great tasting cheesecake that will surely be enjoyed by everyone who doesn't hate pumpkin or cheesecake.

On a side note, bringing my new oven up to 475°F for the fast cook part of the recipe took no time at all. I'm not sure my old oven would have made it up that high and I'm certain it would have taken at least 30 minutes for it to get there if it managed to in the first place. So hooray for my new oven!

I've decided that my first post in my new kitchen will be an homage to the staple of my dinner diet while my kitchen was being remodeled: cereal. The obvious choice is the classic rice crispy treat. The problem--I don't like rice crispy treats, mostly due to the marshmallows involved. However, I do love holly wreaths and they are basically the same thing but with corn flakes. So I found this fancy recipe online and followed it to the letter, except that I used corn flakes.

Crispy Chocolate Marshmallow Squares
From Epicurious.com

For ganache:

• 5 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (no more than 60% cacao if marked), chopped
• 3 oz fine-quality bittersweet chocolate (70% cacao), chopped
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons Tía Maria, Kahlúa, or other coffee–flavored liqueur
• 1 tablespoon instant-espresso powder or instant-coffee granules

For marshmallow squares:

• 1/4 lb marshmallows (15 individual large marshmallows or 2 cups small)
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups puffed-rice cereal such as Rice Krispies
  

Directions:

Make ganache:

• Melt chocolates with cream, liqueur, and espresso powder in a metal bowl set over a saucepan of barely simmering water or in top of a double boiler, whisking occasionally, until smooth, 6 to 8 minutes.
• Remove from heat and let stand at room temperature until thickened, about 2 hours.

Make marshmallow squares:

• Line a 13- by 9-inch baking pan with a long sheet of foil, leaving a 1-inch overhang on each end.
• Melt marshmallows and butter with sugar, cocoa powder, and salt in a 2 1/2- to 3-quart heavy saucepan over low heat, stirring frequently, until smooth, 3 to 5 minutes.
• Remove from heat and gently stir in puffed-rice cereal.
• Transfer to lined baking pan, pressing mixture evenly onto bottom with dampened fingertips.
• Cool to room temperature, about 20 minutes, then carefully lift from pan by grasping both ends of foil.
• Peel off and discard foil, then cut into 1-inch squares.
• Spread some of ganache on half of squares, using about 1/2 teaspoon ganache each, then top with remaining squares.
• Reheat remaining ganache in metal bowl over barely simmering water, whisking occasionally, until loosened, then drizzle over tops of squares.
• Let squares stand until set, about 15 minutes.

About this recipe: Okay, I lied when I said I followed this recipe to the letter. I hardly followed it at all. I used a good 60% cocoa bitter sweet chocolate and Kahlua for the liqueur. If you want to go through all the trouble to mix a 60% with a 70% go right ahead. I made the ganache first and used a double boiler as instructed to heat the cream, chocolate, liqueur, and espresso powder (instant coffee grounds in my case) until the chocolate melted into a shiny and smooth delight. I set it aside and made the crispy part.

You can heat the marshmallows and butter on the stove if you want to but I suggest a quick 1 to 1 minute 30 second trip in the microwave to melt the butter and heat the marshmallows. It's really fun to watch because the marshmallows puff up really big before they collapse. Remove and quickly stir in the cocoa powder, sugar, etc. so that it incorporates smoothly, then stir in your rice crispies until they are evenly coated. I didn't do it in exactly this order so my corn flakes turned out rather dirty looking from the uneven way the cocoa powder stuck to everything. Ah well, nothing a coating of ganache won't cure.

I spread the mixture out into a 1 inch thick layer in a greased baking sheet and got a roughly 8 X 11 inch sheet which isn't a lot especially if you decide to make the sandwiches. 2 hours is too long to wait for the ganache to set up so I simply drizzled a thin layer of it over the top and will cut them into bite sized squares. Yay for impatience!

I have about a cup of ganache left over and now have the difficult task of decided what to do with it.

The result: well my ode to cereal was a bust. My roomie put it well when he said it was almost really satisfying. There were a couple problems but the biggest was that it wasn't sweet enough, neither the ganache nor the crispy part. It was a very big surprise. In addition, it was too salty. I guess the bitter sweet chocolate chips I chose were not sweet enough and the marshmallows and additional sugar didn't quite cut it. In spite of this failure, I think this could be really good. I suggest at least a tablespoon more sugar to the crispy part and no more than 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Taste your ganache and if it's too bitter, stir in a bit of sugar to taste. Since I've got more than 1/2 a bag of marshmallows left I may give this another shot. I need to get more cornflakes, though.

I decided to make you wait to see the final result because I felt like though things were done in each of the last 3 days, there wasn't much to show for it in the photos. So here, without further ado, is my new kitchen!

The faucet arches up nice and high and the new sink is deep which will give me ample room to wash cookie and baking sheets of all kinds. The faucet set features a hand held sprayer and a matching soap dispenser. I just ran the dishwasher for the first time last nice and my dishes came out looking shiny and new. Removing the cabinet that was above dishwasher and lowering the bar to counter top height has made my kitchen seem acres larger and much, much brighter.



The matching tile back splash really brings the look together and I couldn't be happier with the way it turned out. I especially love that the back splash tiles are set on the diagonal--you know what they say, "diamonds are a girls best friend". And how.



I'm glad I went with the lighter, natural looking wood cabinets to offset the dark floor, granite, and appliances. I'm also happy I went with the black appliances as opposed to the stainless steel that are so in vogue today. First of all, I think stainless gives the kitchen a cold, inhospitable look, exactly what I don't want, and secondly, you pay a premium for the stainless version of any appliance. I think the black looks just as nice, or better, than stainless.



Ah, the new corner! A joy to behold and a greater joy to use! Can you see my KitchenAid here in its happy new home?



I went ahead and splurged on the matching fridge after initially planning to just keep the old one for a while longer. I'm glad I did. I've always wanted a freezer drawer on the bottom and now my dream has come true.



This photo shows that my ceiling fan and light fixture made it back in after moving the electrical box to a more central location. From this side of my condo I'm not kidding when I tell you that my kitchen looks about 3 times bigger t



Here's a closer view of the completed back splash behind the counter I never had:



And just because you can't see it too well, a shot highlighting my new tile floor that looks like hardwood. I love it! Now that everything is done I'm surprised that I actually find that it looks a lot lighter in color than I expected.



I have to say this has been one of the most pleasant experiences of my entire life. If you have the means and a kitchen you'd like to remodel, I encourage you to do it. If you are in the Denver-metro area then I highly recommend Debruyne Custom Renovation for the job:

Dan Debruyne
9046 Morton Rd.
Niwot, CO 80503
303-579-6231

Thanks everyone for keeping tabs on the progress--it was so much fun to share with you all!

Many, many people keeping up with the progress of my kitchen remodel have expressed grave concern about the back splash. I appreciate that everyone was looking out for me. It's with great pleasure that I tell you that I had a vision for my kitchen, and it included a back splash. You can see it in its nascent form in the turn around the kitchen and in close ups afterward.













And now, I give you, the back splash:



My new sink with my new faucet. What do you think?



A few other things to mention: I got my matching black microwave and you can see it installed in the photos above. The water in the sink has been hooked up, as has my dishwasher, the ice maker for the fridge and I have a shiny new disposal as well.

I am already ecstatic about my kitchen and it's not even done. It's so close! The only sad part about the remodel coming to an end is that I don't get to come home to find some new feature or fixture or appliance. However, that is a very small price to pay for the years of enjoyment I have ahead of me.

The overall look of the kitchen didn't change since yesterday, but that doesn't mean that things haven't been done. The counter was grouted with a lovely charcoal grey grout. I tried to take a closeup to show you both the grout and the grain and color of the marble.



Sometimes, it's the littlest things that can make all the difference. I don't have a photo showing the old stove like this, but due to a misplaced outlet for the stove, it always sat out from the edge of the counter a couple of inches. Here's the new stove showing the problem:



Today, the outlet was moved and the stove now sits like it should and it no longer sticks out:



This improvement I class along with the two recessed lights in the sofit--not a glamorous upgrade but one that I will enjoy every time I use the stove or turn the lights on. Here's another one--I live in a condo and there was a button on this wall in the kitchen to buzz people into the building. It hasn't worked since 1985, well before I even lived here. This hole will be patched and the buzz-in button will be gone!



Each cabinet has under mounted lighting that will illuminate my counter tops. The are working I just thought I'd take the picture with them off.



Here's another detail--the bullnose detailing along the edge of the counter tops.