Skillet Fried Banana Bread

This is what happens when I leave my husband alone in the kitchen.

Really I should know better. Jeremy has the demented superpower of being able to take something reasonable like low fat banana bread and turn it into complete decadence. Diets are ruined, whipped cream stores are depleted, and sweet sweet awesomeness always ensues.

This banana bread recipe is like a regular banana bread recipe except instead of using butter I used more banana and a little coconut milk I had left over from another recipe. I replace butter with pureed fruit/vegetables a lot in quick breads and I think they come out better for it. They taste fruitier and are moister too. My pumpkin spice bread recipe doesn't use any butter either. If you don't have any coconut milk just add a few more ounces of mashed banana. I didn't use enough for the bread to have a coconut flavor anyway. As with most fruity quick breads, this tastes way better day two. So bake your bread the day before you want to fry it.

The frying is basically the technique we use for grilled cheese sandwiches. Butter both sides and brown in a skillet.  Then Jeremy went totally bananas (har har) and made some sweetened whipped cream spiked with bourbon. The whipped cream gets all melty and the boozy taste soaks into the bread. The taste is bananas foster meets bread pudding. If I'm confessing all the sugary sins we committed with this bread than I have to tell you on a couple of pieces I also added a little cider syrup I canned around the holidays. A little drizzle of caramel or butterscotch would be equally excellent.

Skillet Fried Banana Bread
Yields 1 Loaf (About 12-16 slices)
Cooking Time: For the bread: 80 minutes (20 active) Make a day ahead. To serve: 10 minutes or less
Adapted from this recipe on joyofbaking.com

Ingredients

For the bread:

1 cup (115 grams) walnuts or pecans, coarsely chopped

1 3/4 cups (230 grams) all-purpose flour

3/4 cup (150 grams) granulated white sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

3 ripe large bananas (approximately 20 ounces or 567 grams), mashed with a fork 

1/4 cup coconut milk

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

For the whipped cream: 

a few tablespoons heavy cream

bourbon or rum, optional

a few teaspoons sugar 

butter, for frying

Directions

Make the bread:

1. Grease a loaf pan. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Stir all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl and all the wet ingredients together in another bowl.

3. Pour the wet into the dry and stir just until all the flour is moistened. 

4. Pour into the loaf pan and bake for 55 to 60 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center.

5. Cool in the pan on a rack.

To serve:

1. Using an electric mixer, whip a few tablespoons of heavy cream to soft peaks.

2. Add sugar and bourbon to taste. Start with just a teaspoon or less of alcohol because it can easily become overpowering. Whip to stiff peaks.

 

3. Slice the bread 1/4 to a 1/2 inch thick depending on how many slices you want.

4. Spread both sides of slices with a very thin layer of butter. 

5. Fry in a skillet over medium heat until golden brown, about 1 minute per side.

6. Serve hot with dollops of whipped cream on top. And if you want to be really bad, add a drizzle of caramel, butterscotch, or even maple syrup.

Chicken with Peach Bourbon Barbeque Sauce

Let me start by saying that homemade barbeque sauce is where it's at! This sauce is an adaptation from a Williams-Sonoma cookbook and it's reeealllllyyyy good. The first few days it's too peachy almost like seasoned peach butter. It really needs at least 2 or 3 days for the flavors to meld, then it tastes awesome. Smooth. Complex. Mellow peach flavor. Hint of bourbon and molasses. If you want the best flavor, can it and let it mature for a week or two. This would be a perfect use for overripe, bruised peaches. I used peaches that I had frozen and weren't fit for anything else.

Although this is a canning recipe, it doesn't have to be. There is enough sugar and acid in this homemade sauce that it will keep at least a couple of weeks in the fridge. You could also scale this back to a quarter batch for a single 16 ounce jar. Be warned: this is a sweet thick sauce, so if your into the runny vinegary Carolina stuff, this is not for you.

This is also my favorite way to make chicken in pieces. It's quick, easy, doesn't require a grill, and produces moist meat every time. While your oven preheats to 450 degrees, you brown the chicken skin side down for a few minutes in a cast iron skillet over medium heat. No need to oil the skillet since the fat of the skin will render and the chicken will release from the pan. Flip and brown on the other side. Usually I brown chicken to a darker bronze, but since we're adding a sweet sauce that will caramelize some, go for a lighter golden brown (unless you want to set off your smoke detectors. Twice. Not that that ever happens in my perfectly organized kitchen. Riiiiiiight.)

Then you baste them with a coat of the sauce:

And throw them in your preheated oven for about 15-20 minutes. And voila, you're done!

You can make as many chicken pieces as you can cram in your skillet. The beauty of this method though is that it's quick so I usually make just enough for that night since leftovers won't have the crisp skin like chicken straight out of the skillet.

Peach Bourbon Barbeque Sauce
Yields about 4 Pint (16 ounce) Jars
Cooking Time: Approx. 90 min. (including hot water bath canning)
Adapted from Williams-Sonoma's The Art of Preserving

4 lbs peaches
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

olive oil, for sauteing
8 ounces (about 2 cups) onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic, chopped

2 cups packed dark brown sugar
1 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup bourbon

2 Tablespoons molasses
1 cup Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
2 Tablespoons peeled and grated fresh ginger
2 Tablespoons chili powder
salt and pepper, to taste


1. Pit and slice the peaches, no need to remove the skin. Toss them with the lemon juice in a bowl and set aside.

2. In a sauce pan, saute the onions in a little olive oil until tender.

3. Add the garlic and cook for another minute.

4. Add the peaches, sugar, vinegar, and bourbon. Bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer. Simmer until peaches and onion are very tender, about 30 minutes.

5. Remove from heat and puree with a hand blender.

6. Stir in the rest of the ingredients. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Simmer about 10 minutes to let the flavors meld a little. Adjust seasoning if necessary.

7. Ladle the hot sauce into hot clean jars leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Remove any air bubbles, wipe rims, and apply lids. Process for 15 minutes in a hot water bath.