Banana Pudding

I've been craving banana pudding for days now; oddly enough, I don't think I've ever eaten the classic 'Nilla wafer banana pudding before. Yet I craved it. I'd purchased a box of the aforementioned wafers on sale recently and have been amazed by how good they are-not fancy, not complicated, but full of vanilla flavor and delicious. I think that lead me into a journey that ended last night with this recipe, a hit with everyone in the family, even Mary, who dislikes bananas. The pudding takes over a rich banana flavor after being poured over the fruit while still warm. The cookies soften, and the whole dessert is reminiscent of a trifle (in fact, I found myself wondering whether it would be possible to brush the wafers with rum *while layering). It is rich and indulgent and comforting.

The recipe is modified from one in Cooking Light Magazine. I normally will only cook the "light" version of a recipe if it tastes as good as the regular version, and this one qualifies. Although the original recipe called for meringue, I substituted whipped cream instead, which I before, and which I knew would keep better for the inevitable leftovers. If you choose to use meringue, I'll throw the directions in at the end. It does save you from wasting the two egg whites you'll have left from the yolk, and it is healthier than the whipping cream.

*1/3 cup all-purpose flour
*1/8 tsp salt
*2 1/2 cups 1% low-fat milk
*1 (14-ounce) can fat-free sweetened condensed milk
*2 large egg yolks (save the whites if you want to do meringue)
*2 teaspoons vanilla extract
*3-4 ripe bananas, sliced (divided); about 3 cups
*45 vanilla wafers(divided)-low fat is fine

If topping with whipped cream:
*1/4 c whipping cream
*1/4 tsp vanilla
*1 TBS powdered sugar

If topping with meringue:
*4 large egg whites (at room temperature)
*1/4 cup sugar

*If using meringue, preheat oven to 325.
*Stir flour and salt in medium saucepan. Gradually add milk and condensed milk and yolks, whisking constantly to keep from getting lumpy.
*Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly (or else the milk will burn), until very thick-this will take anywhere form 8-15 minutes. Make your kid take turns whisking while you find the right dish, slice bananas, etc.
*When nice and thick (should coat the back of a spoon and leave a track when you draw your finger through the coating on said spoon), remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract.
*Arrange a cup of the banana slices on the bottom of a 2 Qt casserole dish. Ladle a third of pudding on top. Arrange 15 vanilla wafers on top. Repeat twice more. On final layer, poke wafers around the sides of the dish and down into the pudding.

Then, either:
*Whip cream, vanilla and powdered sugar together until firm and spread over top.
OR
*Beat egg whites at high speed until foamy; gradually add sugar, one tablespoon at a time, beating until stiff peaks form. Spread meringue over top of pudding, sealing to edges. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden.

In either case, let sit 30 minutes before eating or it will be really soupy.

Marshmallows, part 1: Vanilla With Egg Whites

Vanilla Marshmallow w-egg whites, 1, originally uploaded by stankey.

Years ago, when my oldest daughter was a baby, a group of friends and I would meet regularly for Stitch'n'Bitch nights: quilting or knitting, with gossip and wine, hopefully away from the kids. The hostess was responsible for making dessert, and this gradually became a bit of an escalating competition. I think my finest, or most pathetic, hour was when I made s'mores from scratch: homemade graham crackers, marshmallows, fudge sauce and all. I love s'mores when camping, but am not a big fan of marshmallow otherwise; however, these were pretty darn good.

Spin forward 9 years, and that baby is now old enough to help me try again. I spent a bit of time researching recipes, and ended up with a variation of one from Gourmet. Recipes can be divided into with and without eggwhites; this one is with. I'll attempt one later without, and I'd also like to experiment with the variations suggested by fellow Eugene food blogger Brownie Points, who suggest techniques for strawberry marshmallows, among others.

These marshmallows are satisfyingly light and fluffy, with a good vanilla flavor. They melt into hot chocolate in a very satisfying way, and are orgasmic in hot fudge sauce. A huge improvement over JetPuffed, and they sell for more than a buck each at Williams-Sonoma, so you can pretend you've saved lots of money by making them.

You really need to have a standing mixer, like a KitchenAid, for this recipe. It can burn out hand mixers. You'll also need a candy thermometer.

This is an easy recipe for kids to help with-especially older children who can be careful with hot syrup. Mary was really delighted to have made something this cool, though she was pretty sullen through the whole process. She'd like to try rolling them in colored sugar next time.

*about 3/4 cup confectioners' sugar
*2 large egg whites
*3 1/2 envelopes (2 tablespoons plus 2 1/2 teaspoons) unflavored gelatin
*1/2 cup cold water
*2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
*5/8 cup hot water (about 115°F.)
*1/4 teaspoon salt
*3 tsp vanilla
*cornstarch

*Spray bottom and side of 9x13 inch pan with Pam. Powder with powdered sugar, tapping out excess.
*Beat egg whites until they barely hold stiff peaks. Scrape into another bowl, and rinse mixer beaters and bowl.
*Pour cold water into mixer bowl, and sprinkle gelatin over the top. Set aside so gelatin can soften.
*In medium saucepan, over low heat, stir granulated sugar, hot water, and salt until sugar has dissolved. Increase heat til boiling, and boil, without stirring, until mixture reaches 240 on candy thermometer, about 12 minutes. Remove from heat, and stir into gelatin mixture until gelatin is dissolved.
*Beat mixture at high speed (WARNING! Increase heat slowly to high and use those pouring shields if you have them-you don't want this napalm spinning all over your kitchen) until snow-white and tripled in volume, a good six minutes.
*Slowly beat whites and vanilla into this mixture just until combined.
*Scrape into pan, smoothing top, sift 1/4 cup powdered sugar over top, and refrigerate at least three hours until firm.
*Spread a piece of wax paper on counter and loosen edges of marshmallow with a sharp knife. Turn pan upside down and kind of pry on one corner until mixture plops onto wax paper. Cut into whatever size you like with a pizza cutter.
*Mix remaining sugar with an equal amount of cornstarch and sift over, getting all sticky sides covered. Keeps, airtight, at least a week. Modified from Epicurious

Double Chocolate and Orange Pudding

This is a really easy recipe and it tastes fabulously rich. We love chocolate and orange, but you can ommit the orange zest and sub 1 1/2 tsp vanilla for the Gran Marnier and it will be very, very good. It is an easy recipe for children to help with; the measuring and the whisking, even the orange zest grating can be doable by an older child (especially with a microplane, which my daughter and I both find much easier to use than a zester). Leftovers, if you have any, keep fairly well for a few days in a sealed container in the fridge. It's very good slightly warm, or chilled. With or without whipped cream (I usually don't bother). The first time I made this was as a surprise for my folks, after I stayed in their house while they were away for their anniversary. I left dinner fixings in the fridge, salmon and asparagus, I think, but this is all we remember.

Can serve six, spooned into small ramekins or wine glasses, for instance. Tonight, the three of ate it all.

*1/2 c granulated sugar
*1/3 c unsweetened cocoa powder
*2 TBS cornstarch
*1/4 tsp salt
*zest of one orange
*2 c 1/2 and 1/2, or 1 cup whipping cream and 1 cup milk
*3 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped
*1 TBS Gran Marnier, or other orange liqueur.

-Whisk sugar, cocoa, cornstarch, and salt together in medium saucepan.
*Gradually whisk in one cup of cream until completely smooth. Whisk in remaining cream and orange zest.
*Heat over medium heat, whisking constantly, until it thickens and comes to a boil, about 5 minutes. Continue to whisk for one minute. Remove from heat.
*Add chocolate and Gran Marnier and let stand until chocolate melts, about 5 minutes. Stir just until incorporated (don't stir too much or it will thin out).
*Serve warm or chilled.

Insanely Fabulous, Over the Top Ginger Cookies

"These cookies are the bomb" said husband. Coworkers agreed, and I ate at least 42 of them myself. Mary loves them as well, even though they are spicy and strong-flavored (not always a plus for kids, as we all know). The recipe is easy and kids like helping roll the cookie into balls and then into sugar (my least favorite part). I've been on a molasses and ginger sort of kick lately-due to the holidays, I'm sure. I always want to lock myself in the house and listen to Christmas carols and cook and eat and watch the snow for the month between Thanksgiving and Christmas. Of course, there is no snow, and the rain is depressing. And on December 26th, I'm so sick of carols I could happily take a sledge hammer to Christmas with the Jackson 5. But right now, this early, there still COULD be snow, and the carols are beautiful, and the lights on the house look fantastic, and there are these wonderful cookies. The chopped crystallized ginger adds great flavor but also makes the cookies moist and almost candied in the center. The large quantities of spice and the unexpected black pepper are essential. Don't be afraid.

Modified from a recipe from epicurious.com.

Makes about 70.

*4 cups all purpose flour
*2 TBS ground ginger
*1 TBS + 1 tsp baking soda
*2 tsp ground cinnamon
*2 (scant) tsp ground cloves
*10 "turns" of fresh ground black pepper.
*1 1/4 tsp salt
* 1 1/2 cup chopped crystallized ginger (the Baker's Cut from Trader Joe's is perfect-and cheap)
*2 cups dark brown sugar
*1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
*2 large eggs
*1/2 cup molasses

*White sugar (to roll cookies in; can substitute raw sugar)

*Mix first seven ingredients in large bowl to blend.
*Whirl chopped ginger in food processor til it's a mix of powdery ginger goodness and some larger chunks. Add to dry ingredients and blend.
*Using mixer, beat butter and brown sugar til creamy. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Add molasses and beat to combine. Gradually mix in dry ingredients and crystallized ginger, beating only until combined.
*Chill dough for about an hour in the fridge.
*Heat oven to 350. Grease cookie sheet or line with parchment paper or Silpat.
*Roll cookies into balls of about 1". Roll balls into sugar. Place a couple inches apart.
*Bake 10-11 minutes. Cookies will be cracked when done but will look raw between cracks. That's good! Cool for a minute on pan then remove to cool on racks.

Chicken Diablo (Honey Mustard Chicken)

This is one of my go-to recipes for company (especially picky eaters or folks who I don't know well) and for bringing to people with a new baby or sick family members. It's easy and very flavorful. Kids like it (it's fairly sweet and not too spicy) and it would be a great first dinner recipe for a child to cook. It's wonderful on potatoes or rice. I usually double the sauce to have enough to pour over the potatoes. Thanks to my mom for this recipe.

1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
1-2 tsp curry powder (I'll use a TBS when doubling)
1 tsp salt
6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, approximately (however many you can fit in a single layer in your 9"x13" pan. Which reminds me that I'll usually use an 8"x8" pan and the above amount of sauce when making for new parents or another household of two or so).

*Preheat oven to 375.
*Mix above ingredients.
*Arrange chicken breasts in a 9"x13" pan. Pour sauce over.
*Bake, uncovered, for about an hour, turning and basting occasionally.

Buttery Noodles

Courtesy of our fabulous friends, Scott and Jean and Emma. Emma is 9, Mary's age, and we take her camping with us every Memorial Day weekend while her folks hit the wineries and drink themselves silly. Thank God that WE are responsible :). Emma contributed this dish for dinner one night-it was a big hit with our girl, and it's surprisingly comforting and yummy. Easy for children to cook, as well. Open to much enhancement, but do so at the risk of losing your child-fans.

Elbow noodles, enough for 2 or 3 people
4 TBS butter
2-3 oz light cream cheese
1/4 cup milk
a bunch of finely grated parmesan
dash of salt (and pepper, if you can sneak it by the kids).

Cook the elbow noodles in salted water and drain. Put empty pot back on burner, turn heat to medium low, add butter and melt. Add noodles and toss with butter. Add cream cheese, cut into chunks, and stir over heat until melted. Add milk and parmesan and continue to stir until melty and hot. Enjoy!

Gateau au Yaourt (Yogurt Cake)

This is an amazingly easy, flavorful cake. Mary and I are about to make our second of the week-this time for a dinner party. We've added about 3/4 cup of frozen blueberries and it's wonderful-nice for breakfast, too. As part of my effort to get my daughter engaged in cooking, I let her pick a country's cuisine this week, and thus we ended up cooking French food Tuesday night. We made a Quiche Lorraine that was superbly, artery-cloggingly good (from Cooks Illustrated; I'll post the recipe soon) and this cake, from the wonderful French cooking blog Chocolate&Zucchini. Mary loves this cake, and it's so simple she could probably bake it by herself (a good kids' first cake). We made it with thick Greek yogurt, but I think it would be fine with a yogurt that was less-rich. I'd like to try it with almond extract. Maybe tonight.

Gateau au Yaort

Update: Didn't have quite enough yogurt tonight so added a couple of tablespoons of peach yogurt, and substituted almond extract for the rum. It was good, didn't take much different. I forgot to sprinkle the top of the the cake with raw sugar before baking, which I did last time, and missed the sweet caramel crunchiness. It was a hit with our guests, nonetheless.