Coconut-Rum Banana Bread with Lime Glaze

There must be a point at which quick breads cross the line into cake territory, but I'm not sure where that line is.  So I will still call this a bread, even though I know it must be inching ever so close to cake-ness. 

One thing is for certain though… this bread is dang good.  The recipe comes from the good people at Cooking Light, so in addition to being ever so tasty, it’s also a little lighter than your run of the mill banana bread.  It does call for a whole cup of sugar, which I think you could dial back a bit if you so desired.  But with only ¼ cup of butter, it’s pretty low in the fat department.

But I didn’t use butter.  I substituted virgin coconut oil, which not only adds more health benefits than butter, it also ups the coconut ante, which seemed a no-brainer in this recipe. 

Along with the bananas and coconut, the addition of rum and this incredible lime glaze, it all came together to create a tropical version of banana bread that’s just fun and perhaps different enough to be worthy of a place on the dessert table.

So just in case there’s room in your file for one more super delicious banana bread, you might want to give this one a try.  Here’s the recipe…

COCONUT-RUM BANANA BREAD WITH LIME GLAZE

Click here for a printable recipe

This banana bread was ever so good.  The only change I made was to substitute coconut oil for the butter.  I softened it ever so slightly in the microwave for about 10 seconds and it worked great.  And I must confess that I doubled the lime glaze and really soaked the bread with it.  I have no regrets.

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened (I used virgin coconut oil)
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 medium bananas)
1/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt
3 tablespoons dark rum
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup flaked sweetened coconut
Cooking spray
1 tablespoon flaked sweetened coconut
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime

Preheat oven to 350°.

Lightly spoon the flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk to combine.

Place granulated sugar and butter (or coconut oil) in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 1 minute). Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add banana, yogurt, rum, and vanilla; beat until blended. Add flour mixture; beat at low speed just until moist. Stir in 1/2 cup coconut. Spoon batter into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon coconut. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack; remove from pan. Combine powdered sugar and juice, stirring with a whisk; drizzle over warm bread. Cool bread completely on wire rack.

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Cheesy Beer Popovers

If you wanted a glimpse into the eating habits of the Circle B Kitchen, you need look no further than the plethora of recipes in the appetizers section of the recipe index.  It’s inordinately long compared to say, the soup section.  So there you have it, we do like our finger foods here… anything stuffed, topped or dipped that can be whipped up and served with a glass of wine, sangria or a cold beer on a lazy summer evening or a cozy winter night.

So in spite of the fact that my list of appetizer recipes might be rather long, it doesn’t seem complete without a beer popover, you know?  I found this on the Craft Beer website and yes, they turned out super scrumptious and qualified for a coveted spot on The Circle B list of hor d’oeuvres.

In addition to the beer in the batter, these yummy little popovers are filled with Italian sausage, mozzarella cheese, green onions and fresh basil. The recipe suggests that you use a pale ale or mild English beer in these.

I used a pale ale and it was great, but I'm sure that any beer you have on hand would work just fine.  To serve, just dip or top them with a little basil pesto, pour yourself a cold one and pay homage to the happy hour gods.

The original recipe is for a standard-sized popover, but I was convinced that they would make perfect little mini popovers for happy hour and I was not wrong.  The other variation I have not tried (yet) was to serve these as a breakfast popover doused with maple syrup. 

However you decide to serve these, you’re gonna be glad you did.  Here’s the recipe…

CHEESY BEER POPOVERS

Click here for a printable recipe

These popovers can be served drizzled with maple syrup or smothered in homemade pesto.  Use either a standard-sized popover or muffin tin, or to make bite-sized popovers, use a mini-muffin pan and cut back on the cooking time by about 5 minutes.  If you'd like a little kick to your popovers, which we did, use spicy Italian sausage or add some cayenne pepper to the batter.

Ingredients

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 sweet or spicy Italian sausage links
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup smoked (or regular) mozzarella, grated
4 large eggs, room temperature
1 cup whole milk, room temperature
1 cup oak aged pale ale or English mild, room temperature
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 green onions, green and white portions finely sliced
1/4 cup fresh basil
salt and pepper
maple syrup and/or pesto

Directions

Preheat oven to 400°F.  Spray your muffin or popover pan with cooking spray and set aside.

In a medium pan, heat olive oil. Remove sausage from casing and add to the pan. As the sausage begins to brown, add bell pepper.

Season with a pinch of salt. Add garlic and continue to cook until garlic is fragrant and sausage is cooked through.

Spoon the sausage mixture into each muffin tin and top with grated cheese.

Use a blender to mix eggs until frothy; add the milk, beer, flour, green onions and basil. Season with salt and pepper. Blend until the mixture comes together. Divide batter amongst muffin tins, filling to just below the rim.

Bake on the center rack until the popovers puff up and the tops turn golden brown, about 30 to 35 minutes.

Serve immediately with maple syrup or basil pesto.

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Nacho CheeseBurger

Because life is short and summer is coming and you can never have too many burgers in your grilling repertoire, I’m following up last week’s stellar salmon burger with this week’s stunning Nacho CheeseBurger.  Yes, it’s a burger encore, folks, and I’m pretty excited about this one.

All credit here goes to Bobby Flay for its invention, and it’s nothing short of genius.  Boy howdy were these ever good.  I did end up having to make a couple of refinements to the recipe that I’ve noted in the recipe headnote.   But every component of this burger, including pickled jalapenos (do not leave these out!), blue corn tortilla chips, nacho cheese sauce and a delicious salsa contributes something special and combine beautifully to create this southwestern nacho-esque burger extravaganza.

If I didn’t know it before, I am completely convinced now that Mr. Flay is a master of creating extraordinary balance of flavors and textures.  The creaminess of the cheese sauce serves as a perfect foil for the spicy salsa which is offset superbly by the pickled jalapenos.  Adding the crunch of blue corn tortilla chips is just, like I said, genius.  I have to admit that I cut back on the amount of heat in the salsa recipe, but if you’re one of those who prefers to have your hair explode in flames, go ahead and add the full chipotle in adobo called for.

At first glance, these burgers may look like a bit of work to put together, but both the salsa and cheese sauce can be made a day or two ahead, leaving you with just the grilling and assemblage on the day of.

So once you have your components all ready, here’s how to assemble these puppies…

Place your burger on the bottom bun, top with the nacho cheese sauce, that yummy salsa, pickled jalapenos (do not leave these out!) and then some blue corn tortilla chips and the bun topper.  Then grab a whole bunch of napkins; you’re gonna need ‘em.  Here’s the recipe...

Nacho CheeseBurger

This is simply one of the best burgers around.  Each component brings something special to the party.  The only problem I encountered with the original recipe was that the cheese sauce turned out too thin.  I have reduced the amount of milk to 1 cup instead of 1 ½ and it comes out just right.  I made a few other changes which I’ve noted in the recipe below.  Oh, and here’s a little tip for working with chipotles in adobo that a reader shared with me.  After opening the can, I run the whole thing through the blender (well, not the can), and place in a sealed container and back into the fridge.  To use, 1 tablespoon equals about 1 chipotle pepper.

Click here for a printable recipe

Salsa:
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 chipotle chile in adobo, minced (I used ½)
3 plum tomatoes, finely diced
2 tablespoons red onion, finely diced
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
Salt

Nacho Cheese Sauce:
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1  cup milk
6-8 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
2 tablespoons freshly grated pecorino cheese
Salt freshly ground
pepper

Burgers:
1 1/2 pounds ground beef chuck (I used ground turkey)
Vegetable oil, for brushing
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
4 hamburger buns, split and toasted
Sliced pickled jalapeños and blue corn tortilla chips, for topping

MAKE THE SALSA
In a bowl, combine all of the ingredients and season with salt.

MAKE THE CHEESE SAUCE
 In a saucepan, melt the butter. Stir in the flour and cook over moderate heat for 30 seconds. Whisk in the milk and cook, whisking, until thickened, 5 minutes. Stir in the Jack cheese until melted, then stir in the pecorino; season with salt and pepper. Let cool until spreadable.

MAKE THE BURGERS
Light a grill. Form the ground meat into 4 patties and brush with oil; season with salt and pepper. Grill over moderately high heat until browned outside and medium within, 4 minutes per side. Place the burgers on the buns, top with the cheese sauce, salsa, jalapeños and chips, and serve.

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Bacon-Guacamole Salmon Burgers

The weather here has finally warmed up, the trees are leafing out and I’m happy to say that after 7 long months, we’ve at last been reunited with  our grill.  To celebrate, I decided to grill up some burgers, but got it in my head to throw some salmon on there instead.  (I may or may not have been feeling too lazy to thaw out the ground meat and form them into burgers). 

Well, folks, don’t let people tell you that laziness doesn’t pay off sometimes, cuz this “burger”, while a cinch to make, is better than any I’ve had in a while.  Oh, wait, no, there was  that bison burger my son made for us last summer that totally knocked my socks off.  But not counting that one, this is my new reference point for burger deliciousness.

Now, before you burger purists get your panties all in a twist, I DO know that technically this is not a burger.  But it’s just too good to simply be called a sandwich.  No, it’s grilled, it’s on a hamburger bun, it’s ludicrously delicious and I’m callin’ it a burger.

So here’s the easy part… grill up some skin-on salmon filets; mix up some guacamole, cook up some bacon so it’s crispy; heat up some burger buns (preferably on the grill).

Then just layer it all up on those slightly charred burger buns, slathering on as much guacamole and bacon as you’d like, and place the other bun on top of it all.  Admire your handiwork… and then I think you can take it from there.  Here’s the recipe…

 Bacon-Guacamole Salmon Burgers

Click here for a printable recipe

When grilling salmon, I always keep the skin on so it doesn’t dry out on the grill.  It makes a ton of difference in the flavor too.  After you grill the salmon, the skin will just slide right off.   You can use your favorite guacamole recipe for this, adding as much heat to it as you like.  I think a little heat is great with the salmon.  Your call.

Serves 4

4 6-oz salmon filets (skin on, pin bones removed)
8 slices of cooked, crispy bacon, cut in half
Guacamole (recipe follows)
4 hamburger buns

Guacamole:2 ripe avocados
¼ cup finely minced red onion
1/3 cup tomatillo salsa
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro (optional)
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Chopped jalapenos to taste (optional)

Remove the seeds from the avocados and mash, leaving a few little chunks.  Stir in the remaining ingredients and taste for salt, adding more salsa or lime juice if needed.

Set the grill to medium high heat and brush with oil.  Brush the tops of the salmon filets with olive oil and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper.

Grill the salmon skin-side down for 5 minutes and then turn over and grill skin side down for another 4 or 5 minutes, depending on how thick your fillets are.  You really don’t want to overcook them!  When the salmon is just cooked through, remove from the grill.  The skin will just slip right off.

Heat the buns, cut side down on the grill for a couple of minutes.

Schmear a generous amount of guacamole on each bottom bun.  Top that with two halves of the crispy bacon.  Place a salmon filet on top of the bacon and then a little more guacamole on top of the salmon.  Top that with a couple more bacon halves and then the top bun. 

Serve with lots of napkins.

Enjoy!

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Circle B Coconut Pudding

Like most people, I’m all about ethereal desserts redolent with salted caramel or exotic fruits, speculoos-infused pastries or French macarons layered with some decadent ganache, but you know, sometimes you just want a bowl of pudding.  And here's one classy little pudding that isn’t so hip that it can’t deliver a truly comforting spoonful of homey deliciousness. 

A few weeks back I had a craving (yes, another one of those) that I just couldn’t put my finger on.  I absolutely knew I wanted pudding, but I so seldom indulge my sweet tooth, that I seemed to have lost the art of interpreting its signals.  OK, yes, I get it, you want pudding, but what KIND of pudding??  After numerous attempts to point out just about every pudding recipe I had and repeatedly receiving the negative head nod, I pulled out my recipe for coconut pudding and finally got it.  The big YES!  Coconut pudding was definitely IT!

I love this recipe. And I love this pudding.  I love it plain with just a bit of toasted coconut on top, but I also love it with a little layer of chocolate inside and maybe a few chocolate shavings mixed on top with the toasted coconut.

The big question when I went to make it was whether or not to put coconut IN the pudding.  In the end, I opted to keep the pudding smooth and creamy and just add coconut on top, and I think it’s best that way.  But if you prefer, you can stir a little coconut into the pudding itself for an extra boost of coconut flavor and texture.

The added bonus is for those who might be lactose intolerant… we’re making this entirely with coconut milk – no dairy.  There are eggs, so we can’t claim to be vegan here.  But if you would like to use a vegan egg substitute and leave out the butter, you’re good to go.

So just in case your sweet tooth cravings are trying to lead you to something creamy, luscious, simple and homey with just a bit of sophistication, here’s just the thing….

CIRCLE B COCONUT PUDDING

Click here for a printable recipe

This pudding comes out super luscious and creamy.  I've combined a couple of recipes to create it, but there are a couple of options for you to consider.  The first is whether or not to add shredded coconut to the pudding.  I prefer to keep the pudding smooth and creamy, but if you'd like to add a little more coconut flavor and texture, you can stir some into the pudding.  I've also added a layer of chocolate, which, of course, makes this yummy and decadent.  A few chocolate shavings on top makes it pretty speical.  Coconut extract really boosts the coconut quotient, but try not to use coconut flavoring which has a more artificial flavor to it.

Serves 4

2/3  cup sugar
1/4  cup cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2  cups lite coconut milk (about 1 1/3 cans)
4  large egg yolks
2  tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon coconut extract (not flavoring)
1/2 cup coconut flakes, divided

1.   In a medium saucepan, off heat, whisk together sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Very gradually whisk in cocnut milk,taking care to dissolve cornstarch. Whisk in egg yolks. 

2.   Whisking constantly, cook over medium heat until the first large bubble forms and sputters. Reduce heat to low; still whisking, cook 1 minute. Remove from the heat and s tir the butter, coconut extract, and vanilla into the hot pudding. 

3.   Pour the pudding into individual ramekins or dessert cups, or you pour it into one large bowl.  Place plastic wrap directly on surface of pudding (to prevent skin from forming); chill at least 3 hours and up to 3 days.

Toast the coconut on a small sheet pan in a 375 degree oven for about 5-6 minutes.  Keep a close eye on it because it can burn quickly.  Stir once or twice if it starts to get too brown around the edges.

If using the one-bowl method, before serving, whisk the pudding until smooth; divide among four serving dishes.  Top with toasted coconut.

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