Bonkers Banana Bread

I have yet to come across someone who loves banana bread as much as M does- this guy is a serious die-hard fan! Consequently, every time we see each other (which is usually a few times a year) there's a somewhat unspoken rule -which now feels like an unspoken expectation- that I'll make him banana bread. Throughout the years I've played around with base recipes so that each bread is a bit different then the prior one (you know, so things don't get boring) and this year was no exception. The only exception is that I feel I've made my best version of banana bread to date. It's an absolutely naughty bonkers one full of mashed up ripe bananas, extra crunchy peanut butter and whiskey soaked golden raisins! Fragrant, moist and with a fruity sweetness, it becomes even more delicious if you can give it an extra day (after having it baked) to enjoy a first slice. My personal thing has been to wrap up the baked, cooled down cake and leave it overnight on the lower-most shelf of my fridge, allowing the flavours to ripen up and do their magic...   

Chocolate Crinkles

In continuation with the holiday baking madness, here is a recipe I make year after year without fail- they are just too damn good to miss a year of! Chocolate Crinkles: a cheerful chewy gooey chocolate cookie with an almost brownie-like texture. Or alternatively, in my imaginary world,  chocolate confetti that has fallen from the sky to merrily roll in sugar dusted snow. Yes, this cookie does trigger whimsical thoughts in mysterious ways...

Caramelized Coconut & Ginger

Listen up people. In December, everything is very straight forward. There's no rocket science here and no need to complicate life more then it already is. For that in the festive month of December, thou shall bake, eat, share and blog about cookies 

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(goodness that came out like something straight out of a religious book now didn't it )

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Anyway. The truth of the matter is that you just need to take a look at all the culinary magazines and websites out there and you'll come to realize there is one item that hijacks the food pyramid and indeed you guessed right, it is cookies- "holiday cookies" to be precise. 

Classics: Gingerbread

It's that time of the year again. Time to be merry, jolly, shimmer in silver and gold...Whatever it is you make "that" time for, I'd like to think that cravings for the taste of gingerbread is one of them. However the real question is: are you team bread or cookies? I have a theory that us humans fall into two camps when it comes to this gingery delight -bread or cookies- with a third deviation of both. Me? I am some odd statistic of team bread, with fluctuating drifts to cookies. Either way, gingerbread is a tradition that fortunately just doesn't get boring, year after year. So to kick off the holiday baking season (and to use that bottle of molasses!), what better then a recipe for this sweet spiced classic! 

Oreos & Milk Cookie

"Oreo, Milk's Favorite Cookie". Damn right it is, at least we can all agree on that one. So what's this post about? Let me explain the context to you. So lately I've been hooked on the awesome new food show Mind of a Chef, narrated by Anthony Bourdain and featuring the very cool David Chang (he does indeed come off as very cool) and some of his crazy gang at Momofuku along with other personalities from the culinary scene. 

For those of you who have been watching the show, you know there is along with all the interesting food talk and insights, a refreshing dash of madness which probably explains Chang's genius. Anyway, so what happens when you overdose on the show? You end up having wacky dreams that involve pots, pans, flavours, textures....all sorts of stuff. With that said, the secondary effect that I experienced was dreaming of trying to capture something so nostalgic, so quintessential and relatable to most people's childhood: the sweet memory of dunking Oreos in milk. When you have a dream like that, it's one where you want to wake up and remember every detail of it! 

Blackberry & Rosemary Infused Vinegar

Homemade always results in a good feeling. Cakes and cookies and stuff, ya, that's nice and all. But some homemade things make you feel extra special, as if you were suddenly granted some superpower and thus automatically becoming the coolest cat on this planet. Know what I mean? I'm talking about homemade yoghurt, cheese (does labneh count?), jam, Nutella, or your favourite grocery store biscuits for instance. Or take a look at the courageous Matt over at Wrightfood, who has made all sorts of charcuterie (chorizo, hello!) Someday, I'll give prosciutto a try... but until then, I've got more homemade tricks up my sleeve. Vinegar for instance.  Something that always comes in handy in the kitchen.