Strawberry Rhubarb Banana Bourbon Bread

I'm officially done with winter.  The weatherman promises freezing rain and a few inches of snow tomorrow, which means all the Cincinnati drivers will flip out the instant they see or even hear about a snowflake.  It's bizarre and it happens.  They also turn into morons over rain, but that's a story for another day...

The story for today is this quickbread.  It's a banana bread, so it's super moist and flavorful, especially if you use bananas completely beyond ripe.  It's flavored with the spicy warmth of bourbon (or dark rum, if that's your thing) to fight the winter chill.  And it has jammy pockets of bright, summery strawberries and tart rhubarb to sing of summer to your sleepy tastebuds.

In other words, this quickbread is exactly what you need when you are at the end of your ability to deal with winter.  Or anytime you want something delicious and impossible to resist for your midday snack or your second breakfast.  I've made this bread too many times to count in the past two years, shortly after my addiction to reading blogs took off.  The source of this recipe, Sassy Radish, is a stellar blog with lovely writing and equally lovely recipes.  But this quickbread is by far my favorite recipe of hers.

If you, like me, were wondering what exactly is a quickbread, Wikipedia has our answer (of course) (yes, I'm getting a graduate degree and still turn to Wikipedia for quick answers.  It's usually spot on.).  A quickbread is any type of bread leavened with agents other than yeast.  This includes a wide array of our favorite baked goods, such as cakes, cookies, brownies, banana bread, biscuits, cornbread, muffins, pancakes, scones, and that darling of March, soda bread.

Oh soda bread! Get ready, I'm coming for you...

Strawberry Rhubarb Banana Bourbon Bread
Barely adapted from Sassy Radish (get the original recipe here)
Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients:
1 cup (about 5 oz.) rhubarb*
1 cup (about 5 oz.) strawberries**
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar, divided into 1/2 cup and 1 cup portions
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg (Please, please, please just get whole nutmeg and grate it. It'll blow your mind)
3/4 tsp. salt
8 tbsp. (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature
3 very overripe bananas, mashed (about 1 1/2 cups)***
1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt or sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tbsp. bourbon or dark rum

*For the rhubarb, I typically use the frozen sliced rhubarb found in the grocery store.  Just thaw it to room temperature and chop smaller, if necessary.
**For the strawberries, I often use the frozen whole or sliced strawberries found in the grocery store.  Just thaw it to room temperature and chop (or, ahem, smash slightly with the masher to get smaller pieces of strawberries).
***For the bananas, I use frozen peeled bananas that I stockpile in the freezer.  When the banana is way too ripe for me to eat, I peel it and store it with other bananas in an airtight bag in the freezer.  A quick tip on that:  stack the bananas whole in a bag (quart size works best for me) so you can break an entire banana off when needed.  Again, just thaw to room temperature if using frozen bananas.

A handy note:
Feel free to use frozen rhubarb, frozen strawberries, frozen (but still very ripe) bananas here.  They work very well, especially in the dead of winter when produce is scarce and flavorless.  Speed up thawing by microwaving (usually 70% power for 45 second bursts) until just barely frozen.  Create smaller pieces of the fruits using a potato masher.  Just keep your mashing of the rhubarb and strawberries to a bare minimum - you want chunks of these in the bread.

Preparation:

If using frozen fruit, thaw to room temperature (feel free to use the microwave to speed things up, but keep your fruit slightly frozen/chilled).

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees Farenheit.  Generously butter a 9x5 loaf pan and line it with parchment paper.  I recommend forming a sling out of the parchement paper to help with removal later on.  To do this, cut a piece of paper to fit the pan...but leave extra paper on both sides, so the edges of the parchment paper extend higher than the sides of the pan.

In a medium bowl, stir together the rhubarb and strawberries with a 1/2 cup of sugar.  Set aside while you prepare the rest of the quickbread.

In a large bowl, whisk together the dry goods (flour, baking powder, baking soda, nutmeg, and salt) until well-combined and fluffy.

Use an electric or stand mixer to beat the butter and the remaining 1 cup of granulated sugar until light and creamy.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Scrape the sides of the bowl down, then add the bananas, sour cream, vanilla, and bourbon (or dark rum) and mix well.

Add the dry goods mixture to the wet goods in two parts, stirring until just barely combined after each addition.  Less mixing here = less gluten formed = more tender crumb. Gently fold the sugar-rhubarb-strawberry mixture in until evenly distributed.  Folding (instead of using the electric mixer) will help keep gluten formation to a minimum, maintaining the tender crumb you've been working towards.

Transfer the batter to your prepared loaf pan, smoothing the top with a spoon or spatula.  Bake for 70 minutes, or until the top is a deep golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean (no crumbs or wet batter).  If you tap the top of the bread, it will offer a bit of resistance...meaning it won't collapse under your touch.

Allow the bread to cool for 15 minutes in the pan, but remove it to a cooling rack immediately after that.  Running a knife around the edges of the loaf will help loosen it, and now is the time to deploy the parchment paper sling were you wise enough to use it.  

Store the bread loosely wrapped in a kitchen towel or wax paper to preserve your deep golden crust.  Wrapping it tightly in plastic wrap or safely storing inside an airtight container will create a gummy and thoroughly unappealing crust.  Eat within 3-5 days, though you shouldn't have any problem with that.

Notes:

--I just can't get enough of this bread in winter.  I'm not entirely sure why I make it in winter, but I suspect it has to do with the comfort factor and the remind-me-of-summer factor.  Plus it keeps my oven on for an hour, and there are times when that helps heat my apartment.  

--Anything cooked in a loaf pan seems to require a sixth sense in knowing whether it is done or not.  In my opinion, the variability in doneness is related to:  1) quality of your loaf pan and 2) the heat of your oven.  I use a heavy non-stick loaf pan made by Baker's Secret, which I found at Target.  When I switched over from the thin, flimy, aluminum loaf pan I had been using, I saw an immediate improvement in my breads.   Likewise, knowing whether your oven runs hotter or cooler than the set temperature will help you know when to check on your bread.  And check often!

--For an irresistible extra crunch, sprinkle granulated sugar or turbinado (raw) sugar on top of the loaf immediately before baking. 

It's A Walk-Off! | Apple Cider Cocktail Battle

Two cocktails.  Both highly anticipated (by me).  One successful, one a halfhearted flop.  Here's their story...

Apple cider is my fall and winter thing.  It's the juice I choose to go with breakfast.  Warmed up, it's a comforting dessert replacement (nothing can replace chocolate and ice cream, let's be real).  With spiced rum or bourbon, its an easy seasonal cocktail.  Made into caramels, a la Deb Perelman, it's a chewy, stick-to-your-teeth bit of heaven.  So apple cider is inherently good.  Particularly when using a quality apple cider that isn't sickly sweet (my favorite? Trader Joe's. Which is apparently off the shelves for the season. Cue my cries of despair.).

When I stumbled upon two cocktail recipes using apple cider, I had to try them.  Yet more perfect and easy seasonal cocktails? Of course, I had to try them.  And I was going to make it a battle.  A cocktail walk-off, if you will.  Spiced Caramel Apple Cocktail vs. Hot Caramel Apple Cider.

Fast forward to the epic conclusion....and the Spiced Caramel Apple Cocktail won by a landslide.  It balanced adeptly between sweet and spicy, thanks to the use of ginger liqueur.  Though I'll admit the Hot Caramel Apple Cider, with just a touch less sweetness, was a strong competitor.  Either way, you won't lose.


Spiced Caramel Apple Cocktail
by Amy Tobin
Makes 1 drink

Ingredients:
2 oz. Domaine de Canton (ginger liqueur)
1 oz. caramel flavored vodka
3 oz. apple cider
dash lemon juice

Preparation:
Combine all ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice.  Shake and strain into a martini glass.

If desired, crush a few gingersnaps into crumbs.  Rim a glass with plain simple syrup or agave syrup, then dip into the crushed gingersnaps.

Notes:
--To my taste, an excellent balance of sweet (from the caramel vodka and from the cider) and spicy (from the ginger liqueur and the cider spices).  Another good thing - it wasn't pow-in-your-face alcohol, which is still a bit too much for me.  Yes, I love imbibing cocktails, but I'm still a bit of a wuss.  I'm working my way up the ladder, right?

...versus...

Hot Caramel Apple Cider

from Amy Tobin

Makes 1 drink

Ingredients:

6 oz. apple cider

1-2 tsp. ground cinnamon

3 tbsp. caramel syrup

1-2 oz. caramel flavored vodka

Preparation:

Combine cider, cinnamon, and caramel syrup in a small saucepan over medium-low heat.  Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally, until the caramel is melted into the cider.

Remove from heat and stir the vodka in.

Notes:

--For my tastes, this drink was too sweet.  Next time, I'd cut back on the caramel sauce or use plain vodka. Maybe add a pinch of fleur de sel or Maldon salt as a counterpoint.

--This would be a heck of a lot cozier served in a mug.  Bonus points for a dollop of whipped cream.

The Christmas Cookie Extravaganza of 2012

When I was a young one, I distinctly remember helping my mother bake Christmas cookies.  We'd bake the family favorites - sugar cookies rolled around Hershey kisses or maraschino cherries, buckeyes (peanut butter balls dipped in chocolate), date bars, lemon bars, and a seemingly endless supply of butter cookies.  Those butter cookies were the star of the show, cut in a variety of holiday shapes and iced/sprinkled with care.  A few years, we even made divinity, a traditional Southern candy made with very hot sugar syrup and jello mix.  The divinity was quite memorable, since some of the sugar syrup leaped out of the bowl and onto my hand, instantly blistering skin and instilling in me a healthy respect for sugar work.  

I love the tradition of baking Christmas cookies with my mother.  Even though we've adjusted our routine, making smaller batches and swapping in new recipes for our older ones, it just doesn't feel like the holidays without a flurry of cookie baking and sharing.  

I've extended the tradition to include my coworkers, gifting them with boxes of each year's Christmas cookie offerings.  This year, I was responsible for choosing all of my family's holiday treats, and I wanted to include the familiar flavors of the season.  

Here's what we made...

Chewy Chocolate Mint Cookies

from Baked Elements: Our 10 Favorite Ingredients by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito

This is their most recent cookbook, separated into sections by their 10 favorite ingredients.  While I've enjoyed their two previous books, this volume is definitely my favorite.  It has a whole section on pumpkin! And chocolate!

About the cookie:  Chewy texture, with a slightly crunchy exterior thanks to a roll in some granulated sugar.  Studded with chocolate chunks.  A rich dark chocolate and strong peppermint flavor

Ginger Rum Molasses Cookies (or Joe Froggers)

from Baked Explorations: Classic American Desserts Reinvented by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito

Their gingersnap recipe won out over the more crunchy version of David Leibovitz and the chocolate-gingerbread version of Martha Stewart.  I suspect the winning factor was the rum...

About the cookie:  Chewy, with a very mild crunch from the demarara sugar we dipped them in before baking.  Uses A LOT of molasses, so that's the major flavor you'll get from these, with a bit of gingerbread spice (ginger, clove, nutmeg....no cinnamon, which was interesting).  My mother claims to clearly taste the rum, but all I can taste is molasses.  Since we used dark rum, which has a strong molasses flavor, maybe we're both tasting the same thing.

Swedish Christmas Cookies

(aka Cardamom Shortbread Cookies)

from the Food Network Kitchens

Last year, we wanted to make traditional holiday cookies from around the world.  In our search for recipes, I stumbled across these shortbread cookies, laden with cardamom and lemon zest.  We didn't make them last year, but, oh boy, are we happy we did this year.  They're such a wonderful change from the other cookies and from more common butter cookies.

About the cookie:  Crumbly and tender shortbread cookies with the barest hint of crunch from the granulated sugar rolled around its edges (you could use colored sugar or chopped nuts to be more festive).  The smell of these cookies baking was marvelous, filling the house with a rich, exotic, spicy scent.  When you bite into one of these, you taste warm and comforting spice - that's the cardamom taking you to the fireside and filling you with warmth.  The lemon zest seems to get lost in the glory of cardamom, but I suspect it's supporting the cardamom's flavor more than I can taste. 

North-by-Far-East Brittle

(aka Spiced Pecan Chews)

from Sugar Baby: Confections, Candies, Cakes, and Other Delicious Recipes for Cooking with Sugar by Gesine Bullock-Prado

This book tempted me into the finicky land of playing with sugar.  While it has excellent explanations and creative (but do-able) recipes, I've run into problems with making some of the recipes.  I'm not sure if it is the recipe's fault or my own, but I followed this recipe and emerged with a not-so-brittle treat.  I love this cookbook, I'm just baffled about the results. 

About the cookie (err...candy?):  This candy was supposed to result in brittle, which means sheets of candy that snap and break easily into beautiful and irregular shards.  Even though I followed the recipe precisely, my product dried to a thick and chewy candy.  And by chewy, I mean this could sticks to and pulls on your teeth like those caramel apple lollipops you see around Halloween.  Since it was still quite tasty and I hated to see so much food go to waste, I decided to roll with my much chewier than brittle candy.   It's delicious, redolent with flavors of maple syrup, ras-al-hanout spice mix, and toasted pecan pieces.  A welcome change from the toffee so often seen around the holidays.  Eric and I combined our muscles to wrangle cut the "chews" into pieces as small as we could manage.  I'd like to try this recipe again, perhaps with a new and improved thermometer (though I genuinely thought my current thermometer--the third of its ilk in my home--was alright).

Apple Cider Caramels

from The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook by Deb Perelman

From one of my favorite blogs, Smitten Kitchen, this newly released cookbook is not only gorgeous, informative, and incredibly approachable, it's totally my new favorite cookbook.  It'll stay in the favorite category for, well, forever.  It's got everything, and Deb does her typical excellent job of breaking it down and making it work for everyone.  She previewed this recipe on her blog the day the book was released and I vowed to make them immediately.  Immediately came and went, but I still had to make them.  Cider and the promise of all the flavors of fall on your tongue?  How could I resist?

About the candy:  Deb's instructions are easy and clear to follow, but my caramels came out a bit harder than she intended.  Instead of cutting into pliable squares, they shattered along fault lines into pieces of their own choosing.  Oh well. I rolled with this as well.  They're insanely delicious, with a strong taste apple cider (make sure you use a good quality cider, like Trader Joe's!) and a delightful salty counterpoint from fleur de sel.   While these are rather hard in your hand, they soften up quite a bit in your mouth, becoming the stick-to-your-teeth-in-a-dangerous fashion for a bit before settling down to small pieces you can savor.

All these treats were wrapped in wax paper to keep them separate and carefully stowed inside of Martha Stewart's lovely cookie boxes.  They're the easiest and most lovely way I've found to package cookies for gifting.

So far, it seems that my coworkers love all their treats.  Most have declared the apple cider caramels their favorite, though Eric is quite enamored of the chewy chocolate mint cookies, especially once he realized they were chewy and not crispy, like the first cookie he'd sneaked for a taste (serves him right, stealing a cookie and snagging one of the few that didn't turn out properly!).  I'm hard pressed to choose a favorite, since my tastes change with my mood.  I can confidently say, though, that all three cookies are quite delicious in their unbaked form as well.

Oh, and one of the fantastic features of the cookies is how easy they are to make, compared to the usual production of butter cookies (mix dough, chill, roll out sheets, chill, cut shapes, chill, re-roll dough, chill, bake, cool, ice, cool).  My mother and I made all of the doughs the day before, allowing them to chill overnight.  We baked everything in a single day, which was fairly easy with the cardamom shortbreads being a slice-and-bake and the two other cookies being drop/roll into a ball cookies.  

And I promised to give major credit to Eric for his photography in some of these photos.  He was quite artistic in arranging the boxes and the cookie list.  He also snapped several action shots of the candy making process, but I didn't include them here (sorry!).  If he's not careful, he's going to become Hops' official photographer...

It finally feels like Christmas is coming!

What treats do you make for the holiday?

Do you have any family holiday traditions in the kitchen?

Cider and Spiced Rum

It's finally decided to settle into winter here in Ohio.  Temperatures dropped to 40s and below.  The wind is bitingly brisk and the sky is an uninspiring pale grey.  Ugh.  If I had my druthers, I'd spend winter in a charmingly cozy ski chalet, where none of my interactions with winter would involve driving through snow and ice to go to work and I'd never be chilled to the bone.  Of course, I'd grow tired of being cooped up in a single building, but the thought is quite picturesque, isn't it?

Until I'm whisked away to my dream ski chalet or until I no longer have to drive through snow, I'll settle for wrapping my hands around a tasty adult beverage. Whether it is hot or cold, I don't mind, as long as its flavors sing of comfort against fall and winter's biting chill.

Cider and Spiced Rum

Makes 1 drink

Serve hot or cold, your choice

Ingredients:

6-9 oz. apple cider

3 oz. spiced rum

Preparation:

For a cold drink (sometimes you need a change from all the hot beverages you're warming up with):  Combine cider and spiced rum in a glass.  Stir and enjoy.  Add more rum or cider, to taste.

For a hot drink:  Heat cider in a small saucepan on your stove, stirring occasionally, until you see steam rising but before you hit a boil.  I've noticed some ciders (though not Trader Joe's most amazing spiced cider) separate into spices and juice when heated too much.  Remove from heat and stir in the spiced rum.  Enjoy, and adjust to taste with more rum or cider.

Easy, right?  You could also use bourbon, if that is more to your taste, though I've found hot bourbon and apple cider is like an easier version of a hot toddy.  Add a strip of lemon peel and some honey for full hot toddy effect.

And I can't recommend Trader Joe's Spiced Cider enough.  By far my favorite cider in flavor - not too sweet, tastes like apples, and a strong dose of spice.  I'm inconsolable when it disappears for the year.