Banana Bread

First, I wanted to let everyone in on a really great podcast/radio show...

Mark and Francis recently interviewed Nicholas Harary regarding the book, and what do you know, they mentioned this blog! Pretty cool huh? Here is a link to the podcast. The blog gets a mention at around minute-30. Also, if you do a search for shows on the site, Nicholas has been on the show quite a few times and they are all pretty good listens.

Oh yeah, HAPPY NEW YEAR! Most of you don't know me personally, but, I've been told on more than one occasion, I'm a bit maniacal. I'm not sure I can disagree. For example, I do make New Years resolutions, and, come hell or high water, I ALWAYS keep them and meet my goals. Always. For instance, a few years ago, the reason I started cooking was based on a resolution. Last year, my resolution was to start running. Prior to last year, I've never attempted anything athletic in my life. I never ran unless I was being chased. Well, Laurie and I ran in, and finished, the NYC Marathon on Nov. 2 2009. This years resolutions that are culinary related are as follows:

- Learn how better to use my Norton waterstones to sharpen my Chef Knives

- Learn more about wine. I'm a cocktail guy, I can taste 10 differently made martinis, and let you know the brand of gin used, the brand of vermouth used, and also the proportion of gin to vermouth! I do drink a lot of wine, but I'm afraid If I say I'm going to learn more about wine, I'll be maniacally obsessed and want to learn EVERYTHING about wine. Since it is such an extensive subject, it would consume me. I'll need to tread a little lightly (...and drink a little more!).

- Spend more time and money eating at local restaurants in town. We have a plethora of good eats in town due to it being a rather blue collar, and ethically diverse town. Click here for a cool old post I did regarding it. 

Lasty,

- Have more guests over for dinner/drinks.

The last one, that one is going to be tough. You see, my house is VERY small. Size: 818 sqft
Year built:1936. There are downfalls to being an overly ambitious 22 yr old who bought a house when real estate was at it's highest 5 years ago...and that is living with the fact that you pass by about 20 houses, double the size, for half the money on the way to work everyday! So much the the American Dream! But, I digress...I had 4 people over once for dinner, and we couldn't move. But, this year is the year. Somehow, I'm going to manage to figure it out, even if I do have to setup a table in my garage!

Speaking of which, yesterday was the first day of the year.  We played it low key this year and spent New Years eve with some good friends, eating chili and watching the Twilight Zone marathon (To Serve Man, naturally, is my favorite episode!). We kicked 2010 with a 5k Running Race. Afterward, we planned on showering, getting into PJ's and sitting on the couch all day reading. We raced, came home, showered, and sat down on the couch at around 2:30pm. 3pm rolls around and as I'm thinking about my resolutions, we get a phone call from a friend, inviting us over for a small dinner party at his place. Suddenly, sitting on the couch all day seemed not all that interesting. There was one problem though. We have to bring SOMETHING. I thought fast, grabbed my shoes, and headed out to the store for some bananas to make banana bread! Laurie has made the pumpkin bread quite a few times, so felt comfortable she can whip up a few loaves of bread, shower, and get ready before 7pm. The recipe calls for a few ingredients: Bananas, Eggs, Sugar, Flour, Salt, Baking Soda.

We got a chance to use our new blender, which performed great!...

...And our Kitchen-Aid. Every time Laurie uses it, she says how much easier it is to quickly whip up recipes like this. I'm not sure what we did before we had it.

 That's it. Simple. Laurie even had time to whip up some brownies AND change her outfit about 20 times.

And off we were to a dinner party, with fresh baked bread in hand!

Thoughts: The taste was spot on. Very moist. It's a very simple recipe that is easy to whip up in a pinch. The best part, is you can make a loaf for yourself too! Our loafs came out a little darker than the books, not sure why, but I'm betting it's probably the bananas we used.  In the book Nicholas explains how the banana bread take-home came about, and I must say, it's the perfect take-away OR 'take-to'...someones house/dinner party.

Up Next: I'd really like to do a fish dish!

 P.S. Our dinner host made a fantastic beef stew, an even better caesar salad, and opened up some great wine. A good time was had by all.