Banana Ice Cream ^{0}

While looking at some other blogs a few days back, I came across a recipe for banana ice cream. Having always been a banana fan, I was eager to try this, especially because it calls for only one ingredient. Banana!

All you need need to do is peel, chop and freeze several ripe bananas. Once frozen, simply put into your food processor and blend until creamy.

You can even get a little creative by adding my personal favorites- chocolate and peanut butter!

Click on the link below to see a picture of the finished product.

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/1YrPgI/www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/stay-cool/how-to-make-creamy-ice-cream-with-just-one-ingredient-093414

By Judy Category: Uncategorized

Look what’s New! ^{1}

We’ve re-done our website! Please take a look!

www.chocolatebakery.com

By Judy Category: Uncategorized

The Complete Meal ^{0}

Although my Portuguese Easter Bread went over better than I ‘d hoped, the rest of the meal, cooked by a dear friend who also happens to be an excellent chef; was truly fantastic. Having worked in the food business for decades and owning his own gourmet grocery store, my friend is consistently producing amazing meals , and this Easter dinner was no different. Instead of making the traditional honey roasted ham, this dinner was graced with the delicious flavors of a prime rib marinated in fresh garlic and rosemary. To accompany the mouth watering meat, our chef prepared orzo mixed with Parmesan cheese, sherry marinated mushrooms and an abundance of garlic

A second side dish consisted of grilled asparagus brushed with olive oil

Thinking about it now makes my mouth water. Together, the flavors of perfectly roasted beef, garlicky orzo and grilled asparagus created a meal that was almost unparalleled.

By Judy Category: Uncategorized

Happy Easter! ^{2}

Now I realize that this is a day late- but better late than never!

This past weekend was spent in floury flurry as I baked and cooked for Sunday dinner.  As is usually the case, I was in charge of dessert and bread for our holiday gathering. Being both a professional baker and avid recipe collector, I used this weekend to try out some recipes I’d been holding on to for a while; all which were met with positive reviews. The recipe and following pictures were the result of my baking a Portugese Easter Bread. While typical Easter breads are generally made with a sweetened white bread recipe , I decided to switch things up this year and try something different. The result was a softer sweeter and more tender bread. ( Any left over bread makes GREAT French Toast),

Below you will see the most important steps in the process so that you will know just what each distinct phase of the bread making should look like.

Portuguese Easter bread  (makes 1 round braided loaf – I doubled the recipe to feed a large party)

What you will need:

2/3 C milk, warmed to 95 degrees
1 pkg. active dry yeast
3 Tbl. soft butter
1/4 C sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1/2 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 C all purpose flour (approximately)

1 egg beaten with 1 Tbl. water for egg wash

3 or 4 dyed eggs, uncooked

Directions:

1.  Stir the yeast into the warm milk.  Set aside.

2. Using the paddle attachment of a stand mixer, blend butter, sugar  and salt just to combine.

3.  Add eggs, 1 at a time, then vanilla.

4.  Add milk and yeast.

5.  Mix in half of the flour, then change to the dough hook attachment, and add the remaining flour. Mix approximately 2 minutes, then adjust the consistency of the dough with more flour or milk to make a soft, elastic, tacky dough.  Mix approximately 6 – 7 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic.

6.  Form the dough into a ball, place it in a lightly oiled bowl and turn the dough to coat it with oil.  Cover with plastic wrap, let it rise in a warm place until it has doubled in volume.  When the dough is lightly pressed with a finger, a dent will remain in the dough.  This will take 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

7.  Punch the dough down.  Divide it into 3 equal pieces.  Form the pieces into balls.  Cover with plastic wrap, and allow the dough to rest 15 minutes.

8.  Roll each piece of dough into a long strand, about 20″ long.  Loosely braid the 3 strands as you would for braiding hair.

9.  Form a ring, connect the ends of the braid by pressing the ends of the dough together.  Place on a baking pan lined with parchment paper.  Brush egg wash onto the ring.  Nestle the dyed eggs into the dough, in between the braided strands.

10.  Cover with a large inverted bowl.  Place the loaf in a warm place and let rise until  almost doubled in bulk, approximately 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hours.

11. Remove the bowl, brush the loaf again with eggwash.  Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven approximately 35 to 40 minutes, until golden, and the internal temperature registers 195 degrees when taken with an instant read thermometer.

If you want a soft crust, lightly brush melted butter immediately onto the hot bread.

Check in tomorrow for the next installment of the Sunday dinner meal!

By Judy Category: Uncategorized