Fantasy kitchen item

Maybe Xzibit should have an interior-design show. I think he'd rock at kitchens. Your butcher block would have a built in, pop-up plasma TV, there'd be a chiller for beverages built into the wall, and the whole shebang would have a particular flair.

Not too long ago, some new, flexible displays were unveiled - computer monitors so thin you could bend them. I'd like to have a monitor like that outfitted with a wireless connection and some speakable-items technology so I could call up recipes without having to have an open cookbook lying around in the small amount of space in my kitchen (which while technically large is about half-used by a craft operation and is thus, once again, cramped).

I suppose this is just a matter of time. I hope so, anyway.

Best Banana Bread Recipe EVER

We have all been there...the last few bananas sit in the bowl and turn a little black while the week buzzes by. Everytime you pass them you think, "I really need to make banana bread." Then, just as quickly the moment passes. Yesterday I felt more inspired than usual. I called my brother for his recipe. He was happy to share it but wasn't where it was handy. I waited a few hours then I decided to crack open one of my many cookbooks.

This is what happened...

My house smells like bananas and butter right now...I am baking a Paula Deen banana bread.....

1/2 C butter, room temp
1 C sugar
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 C flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
3 ripe bananas

Preheat oven to 350.
Grease 9x5 pan.
In a mixing bowl, combine butter and sugar, mix well. Add the salt, eggs, vanilla, flour, baking soda, baking powder and bananas, and mix well.
Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 50 minutes.

At this point I don't care if it tastes good, my house smells so good I can't stand it. The dogs keep coming upstairs to tell me there is something in the oven. They usually only do that when I am baking chicken.

*************

Update: It tastes even better than it smells. I can't believe I found a recipe that doesn't need any tweak to improve upon it. Simple and delicious. Sooooo good.

Rather fond of fondue!

Okay, our kitchen isn't as cramped as it used to be but I still look for easy ways to entertain without taking too much time or space. For the Autumnal Equinox we celebrated by having ten people over for fondue! The beauty of fondue is all of the side items can be prepped ahead of time and it really is conducive to mingling groups of friends.

Here's the menu:

Traditional Swiss Cheese and White Wine Fondue with French bread, onion bagels, grapes and Granny Smith apples
Beer Fondue with Swiss & Sharp Cheddar with with French bread, onion bagels, and kielbasa. Caesar salad
Pinot Grigio Sparkling cider
Dessert: Sorbet and wafer cookies

Ahead of time: Cube the French bread, cut the bagels into 1/2" thick rounds. Rinse the grapes, stick them back in the fridge in a colander with paper towels underneath. Cube the kielbasa. Shred the cheeses. Chill the wine. Make sure you have the sterno or candles needed to keep the fondue pot on the table properly heated.

Gadget tip: A large lazy susan will make it easier to serve all the components of the fondue. The lazy susan can be turned while people are dipping their goodies in the cheese.

Etiquette tip: Some people haven't fondued (surely a verb even if spell check thinks not) before so its nice to give a few pointers on the methods of dipping and twirling and also, the golden rule of fondue...if you drop your bread in the cheese, you must kiss the person sitting next to you.

Recipes

TRADITIONAL SWISS CHEESE FONDUE
1 split clove of garlic
1 c. dry white wine
1 lb. Swiss cheese, grated
2 tsp. cornstarch
3 Tbsp. vermouth
Dash nutmeg

Rub pot with garlic, add wine and vermouth and heat on stove until bubbles begin to rise. Do not boil. Toss cheese with cornstarch and add to hot wine, a handful at a time, cooking over low heat until cheese is melted and smooth, stirring constantly with wooden spoon. Add nutmeg. Light burner, set pot on unit, spear bread with fondue fork and dip away.

BEER CHEESE FONDUE

1 sm. clove garlic, halved
3/4 c. beer (Sam Adam's Octoberfest)
8 oz. Swiss cheese, grated
8 oz. grated Sharp Cheddar cheese
1 tbsp. flour

Rub inside of saucepan with garlic. Discard garlic. Add beer, heat slowly. Coat cheese with flour. Adding slowly to beer. Stir constantly until bubbly. Transfer to fondue pot. If too thick add warm beer.

Test Kitchen Approved Shortcuts

As the mother of an eleven-month old, I have learned to compromise and that shortcuts are the only way dinner will get on the table...sometimes.

So here is my short list of short cuts:

Trader Joe's pizza dough from the fridge section (you let it rise, you roll it out, it looks homemade)
Stuffed Pork Chops from the butcher
Trader Joe's Pre-cooked Brown Rice from the freezer section, three packets to a box (nuke it in three minutes and viola)
Angel Food cake from the deli + frozen berries (thawed) + Vanilla Cool Whip (cut cake in half - diagonally, scoop out a trough around the bottom with a soup spoon, place berries in the track, replace top of cake, "frost" with Cool Whip stick in the fridge...

Know when to cheat

OK, so I don't think this really counts as cheating, but I like to make everything from scratch, so it feels that way, at least a little bit: I bought the ready-to-bake brownies, the kind that come in their own pan. They're really quite good.

I think the bottom line is this: Sometimes, in any kitchen, a shortcut is OK. This is especially true on occasions when you have far too much to do, or need two ovens, or just wish you could watch a movie instead of baking.