Banana-Coconut-Nut Mini Muffins
Makes 24 mini muffins

1 cup ripe bananas, mashed
1/3 cup low-fat buttermilk
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup margarine
1 egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour (or 1 cup all purpose, 1 cup whole-wheat flour)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1/2 cup pecans (or your favorite type of nut), chopped
1 cup shredded, unsweetened coconut

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil a 24-cup mini muffin pan.
2. Combine bananas and buttermilk in a small bowl. Set aside.
3. Cream brown sugar and margarine together until light. Beat in egg and vanilla. Add banana mixture and beat well. Set aside.
4. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Add to liquid ingredients and stir until well-blended.
5. Stir in nuts and coconut.
6. Spoon 1-2 tablespoons batter into each cup in the muffin pan.
7. Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool for 5 minutes in pan. Turn muffins out onto a wire cooling rack an allow to cool completely.

Nutrition facts:
Serving size: 2 muffins
Calories: 210 kcal
Total fat: 10 g
Saturated fat: 3.2 g
Protein 4 g
Carbohydrates 27.4g
Total fiber: 2.2 g
Cholesterol 16 mg
Sodium: 216 mg

Marne (aka Alison’s mom): How fun to be guest blogging! Thanks for having me, Ali.

The holidays are over now, but I’m still enjoying the beautiful aprons that I made just in time to wear for my holiday baking. Alison gave me three cute Mary Engelbreit fabrics last year for Christmas, along with a Vanilla House pattern (Four Corners Apron – P132). I bought coordinating solid fabrics for the trim and backing, and found some fun contrasting buttons to accent the pockets.

After washing, drying and ironing the fabric so it wouldn’t shrink or bleed later, I followed the pattern directions for cutting and sewing. I made all three aprons together, which saved a little time (only had to find my scissors, remember how to turn a tube, and set up the ironing board once). The pattern was easy to follow and although I sewed off and on while doing other things, I’d estimate it took about two hours to finish one apron.

I thought I might need to adjust the size of the apron to make it small enough to fit, because aprons I’ve made from patterns before turned out way too big, but I found just shortening the neck strap did the trick. These fit nicely when tied in the back, and adjust to accommodate different sizes.

A handmade apron would make a welcome gift for someone who likes to cook or bake, and could be added to a gift bag or basket with potholders, colorful spatulas, a cookbook, some bread mix and jam – you get the idea!

Jon: Wow, thanks for that great introduction…nerd! Just kidding. I am honored and excited to be guest blogging here. I love reading new recipes and stories on the Everything in Moderation blog.

When I get a craving for some particular food, I like to just go for it and satisfy the craving — in moderation, of course! This week, for some reason, I had been fixating on having a molasses chocolate cake. So, last night we tried making one and everyone at our holiday game night party agreed: the result was a delicious success.

This recipe is adapted from Jim Bob’s blue ribbon chocolate molasses cake. It is light and fluffy, and extremely moist. We served it with powdered sugar on top, but several people mentioned that it would have been excellent with whipped cream, or cream cheese frosting, as the original recipe had. We also used coffee instead of hot water, which gave the recipe an extra flavor boost. I guarantee it will be eaten as fast as molasses. Enjoy!

Alison: Fast as molasses? What?! Jon, that doesn’t even make sense. Anyways, here is the recipe. Try it out and let us know what you think!

Fast-as-Molasses Chocolate Cake
Makes twenty squares of cake

2 cups granulated sugar
1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
1 cup milk
1/2 cup dark molasses
1/2 cup canola oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup hot, strong brewed coffee

1. Whisk together the sugar, flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
2. Add the eggs, milk, molasses, oil and vanilla and beat for 2 minutes.
3. Add the coffee and stir it into the batter by hand.
4. Pour the batter, which will be very thin, into a greased 9×13-inch baking pan and bake at 350 degrees for 35-45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
5. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack (or in the pan, like we did).

Alison: Thanks, Jon! Next up will be my mom with a post about a great baking-related Christmas or birthday gift idea.

Some friends of mine hosted a taco night the other night and I wanted to make a quick and easy dessert to share. I rifled through my pantry for inspiration and found a can of sweetened condensed milk with a recipe on it. A fudge recipe. A super easy fudge recipe, at that. The recipe had three ingredients and four steps; I was sold. I decided to spice up the recipe by adding cinnamon to it and calling it “Mexican Chocolate Fudge.” The perfect taco night dessert.

The fudge turned out delicious but we all agreed that it was more of a mix between fudge and truffles. But it worked for us. If you’ve ever made fudge before, you probably know that many fudges are made with more ingredients than what I’ve listed below, such as butter, marshmallows, and sugar. The fudge recipe listed here is much firmer than other fudges, which can be a bit soft or gooey, but this firmness makes the fudge very rich so you just need a small bit to feel satisfied.

Mexican Chocolate Fudge
Makes 64 small pieces of fudge

3 cups (18 oz) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
2 teaspoons Saigon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Line an 8-inch square baking pan with wax paper.

Combine chocolate chips and sweetened condensed milk in medium, heavy-duty saucepan. Warm over lowest possible heat, stirring until smooth, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in cinnamon and vanilla extract.

Spread evenly into prepared baking pan. Refrigerate for 2 hours or until firm. Lift from pan; remove wax paper. Cut into 64 pieces.
Note: The pieces of fudge will be small, but if they were any bigger the richness of the fudge would make you sick when you ate it!

So, instead of showcasing my latest Everything in Moderation baking endeavor, I’d like to try something a little different this week. This flurry of activity in the kitchen over this past week, and over these past couple of years, has, inevitably, been accompanied by many mistakes and lessons learned. In hopes that I can save you all from a few kitchen disasters, I’d like to share my top 10 lessons with you all:

1. Always read through the ENTIRE recipe before starting.
There have been many times where I’ve found a recipe, decided to make it, and jumped right in only to discover that the cookie dough needed to be refrigerated overnight before baking or the cheese cake needed to set for several hours before serving. These discoveries don’t work out very well when you are baking for an event that starts in an hour! Always read through a recipe to make sure you have the time and materials to see it through to the end.

2. Always take out all of your ingredients before starting.
I credit this lesson to my mom. She always told me this when we baked together during my childhood. As an adult, there have been a few times I decided to be a rebel and skip this step only to discover half-way through the recipe that I didn’t have a key ingredient and had to run out to the store in the middle of the baking process. Always make sure you have all of the necessary ingredients before you start – it will make the process a lot less stressful!

3. Temperature matters.
You may have noticed that some recipes specify the temperature of certain ingredients. Butter and eggs are the two ingredients that are most often specified to be at room temperature or cold. These temperatures do matter as they will affect whether or not your batter or dough is the right consistency.

4. A stand mixer is a great investment.
You might think your hand mixer works fine, but baking is so much more enjoyable when you don’t have to stand there holding a mixer for for 10 minutes. A stand mixer is definitely a worthwhile investment for anyone who likes to bake.

5. The real thing works best.
I’ve tried every substitute possible – powdered egg-replacers, light butter, oil-replacers, etc. Many of these yield baked goods that are an acquired taste, whereas others yield baked goods that are just plain bad. I’ve come to believe that it is best to use the real thing, just make smaller portions. You’ll be more satisfied with your final product, and it will likely be worth the couple of extra calories.

6. Don’t over-fill your muffin tin or cookie sheet.
You might cringe at the thought of not using up all of the batter or dough you worked so hard to create, but overfilling your baking sheets will only lead to disaster. Your cupcakes or muffins will overflow out of their tins and the tops will be more prone to break, or your cookies will run together and will look funky when you have to break them apart. In the end, you are wasting even more batter or dough by ruining your baking masterpieces. Never fill your muffin or cupcake tins more than 1/2 to 2/3 full and limit the number of cookies on your tray to 12. It is always okay to bake another round. Silicon baking cups are great for when you have just enough batter for a few muffins or cupcakes.

7. Wipe up batter than drips on the bottom of the oven before turning on or cleaning the oven.
This may be a no-brainer to some, but I thought the “let it burn off” principle would work just fine this past weekend when some of the cake batter dripped out of the cake pan (that I overfilled – see lesson 6!). I was wrong. Through the duration of the cake baking, the house smelled of burnt cake and the oven smoked like crazy. When I removed the cake and turned on the self-cleaning option of the oven the smell and smokiness was ten times worse! We had to turn off the oven, remove the batteries from our smoke detectors, and leave the house for an hour to let it all air out. A simple wiping up of the dripped batter would have prevented all of this drama!

8. Freezing is your friend.
Most cakes, cookies, and even frostings can be frozen! If you ever make to much of anything or have too many leftovers after a party, throw it all in the freezer (instead of trying hard to eat it up or throwing it in the trash). You can then have these leftovers on hand for single-serve treats, or for a time when you need a baked good in a pinch. Frozen baked goods will last for 3-6 months.

9. Evening-out the top and sides, and applying a crumb layer are two worthwhile steps when making a cake.
Professional bakers use a serrated or cake knife to slice thin layers off the tops and sides of their cakes to ensure the cake is smooth and symmetrical before frosting, They then apply what is called a “crumb layer.” This is when you apply a thin layer of frosting to catch and hold all of the crumbs, then place your cake in the fridge or freezer until the this layer of frosting has hardened. Remove the cake and apply a new, thicker layer of frosting on top of this; this layer will be smoother and crumb-free because you’ve both evened-out the top and sides of the cake and applied a crumb layer before frosting. Check out this YouTube video for a crumb layer demo.

10. You can always make a trifle.
Sometimes cakes or cupcakes are a flop – whether you overfilled, didn’t wait until they cooled completely, or weren’t careful enough when removing them from their pan, it’s always very sad when you put effort into making a delicious treat, only to see it crumble before your very eyes. Trifles are the perfect way to make a broken cake into a delicious dessert. Grab some pudding, fruit, whipped cream and a large glass bowl. Layer the fruit, pudding, and cake until the bowl is full, then top with whipped cream. Trifles are beautiful, tasty, and no one will ever suspect it was a quick fix!

What are the most valuable lessons you have learned in the kitchen?

What is an Iron Cupcake Challenge? This competition is loosely based on The Food Network’s Iron Chef in that a different flavor/ingredient is chosen each month and participants must bake their best cupcake based on the given flavor, then bring their cupcakes to the competition to be judged by a panel of three expert bakers/foodies. Additionally, a portion of the proceeds from each challenge go to a different charity every month. I was so happy to spend a night tasting cupcakes for a good cause – who wouldn’t have fun at an event like this!

The theme this month was “Thanksgiving.” There were 15 creative and delicious entries, which ranged from a sweet potato casserole cupcake to a pumpkin spice cupcake to a chocolate cupcake sculpted to look like a roasted turkey. I created a cupcake that was a sweet twist on stuffing with gravy. I, unfortunately, did not win this time, but am already excited to participate in the next!

A Sweet Twist on Stuffing with Gravy – Cupcake Style
Makes 24 cupcakes

Cupcakes:
¼ cup butter
1 cup pecans
1 cup cranberries
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 granny smith apple, diced into small pieces
1 angel food cake (store-bought or homemade), cut into ½ inch cubes
1 cup heavy cream
3 eggs

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line two 12-inch cupcake tins with silicone (preferred) or paper cupcake liners.
2. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
3. Add pecans, cranberries, and spices; sauté lightly for 3-4 minutes.
4. Add apple and sauté until tender, 5 more minutes.
5. In a small bowl, whisk together heavy cream and eggs. Set aside.
6. Transfer pecan, cranberry, apple mixture to a large bowl. Add ½ of the angel food cake cubes and stir gently to combine.
7. Add cream and egg mixture, stir to combine, and then add the remaining angel food crumbs. Stir a few times to combine, but do not over-mix.
8. Gently press stuffing mixture into cupcake tins. Fill cupcake liners to brim.
9. Bake for 15-17 minutes, or until tops of cupcakes are golden.
10. Let cupcakes cool in tins for 10 minutes; transfer to a cooling rack. Let cupcakes cool completely before frosting with Brown Sugar Icing (below).

Brown Sugar Icing:
½ cup packed light brown sugar
4 tablespoons milk
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups sifted powdered sugar

1. Combine brown sugar, milk, and butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.
2. Heat until butter is melted and brown sugar is dissolved.
3. Remove from heat and whisk in vanilla and powdered sugar.
4. Let cool slightly (but not all of the way) before using.

Thanksgiving may be over, but the good eats don’t have to be. Give the recipe a try and let me know what you think!

Recipe:

Cakes:
3/4 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup cake flour (not self-rising)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons milk

Simple Chocolate Glaze:
1/3 cup confectioner’s sugar
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a miniature muffin pan with cooking spray. Sift together flours, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.

Beat butter and sugar with a mixer on medium speed. Scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed, until pale and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Beat in vanilla. Reduce speed to low, and add flour mixture in three additions, alternating with milk. Begin with the flour mixture and mix well after each addition.

Fill pan halfway and bake until golden around edges, about 15-17 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool in pan for 15 minutes. Transfer cakes from pan to a wire rack.

To make glaze, shift together sugar and cocoa powder in a small bowl. Whisk together sugar, cocoa powder, and milk until smooth.

When cupcakes are completely cool, drizzle with chocolate glaze.

Dessert was definitely the most interesting course of the night because we all had to be extremely creative to be able to come up with a dish that incorporated asparagus but also tasted like dessert. Here’s what we came up with:

Team Spargel went with a light and fresh dessert: Asparagus Mint Fruit Cups. The dessert was definitely a refreshing end to their delicious Italian themed meal.

Team Asparagus stole the dessert round with their sweet and rich Asparagus Panna Cotta with a Raspberry Reduction Sauce. It was amazing that a that tasted dessert so good could have asparagus as a main ingredient!

Team LAM Chop was deemed by the judges as “taking the biggest risk” with their Asparagus Berry Crisp and Asparagus Pistachio Ice Cream. The ice cream was garnished with Candied Asparagus.

After an intense deliberation, the judges finally settled on a winner our competition: Team Asparagus. Their dessert helped put them over the edge, but throughout the competition Team Asparagus made some truly delicious dishes that expertly highlighted the secret ingredient.

All teams did a fantastic job and we all left the party feeling pleasantly sated and happy. Stay tuned for the next competition, scheduled for December 12th!

Ready to hear what entrees followed Team Spargel’s Bruchetta with Roasted Asparagus and Shaved Parmesan, Team Asparagus’ Shaved Asparagus and Fennel Salad with Pomegranate Dressing and Team LAM Chops’ Asparagus Guacamole?

Here you go:

Team Spargel started the entree round off with Asparagus Prosciutto Ravioli topped with Goat Cheese:

Team Asparagus followed with Pan Seared Sea Bass over a Stir-fry of White and Green Asparagus and Mushrooms:

Team LAM Chops ended the entree round with their version of “Fish and Chips” – Salmon Asparagus Cakes and Beer Battered Asparagus Spears with two aioli dipping sauces:

As you can see, the three teams took three very different approaches to an asparagus themed entree – Team Spargel decided to incorporate asparagus into a classic Italian dish, while Team Asparagus really highlighted the asparagus by pairing it with a light fish. Team LAM Chops knew the judges had all gone out drinking before the competition, so they catered to the men doling out the points by asparagus-ing up a traditional pub dish.

Stay tuned for the Asparagus-themed desserts and the winners!!

Three teams of three Monellians got together this past Sunday for the friendly competition. Here was the set-up:

We met Sunday afternoon at our respective cooking houses and anxiously awaited for an email from the director of our center with the secret ingredient. We then had 4 hours to plan, shop, cook, and transport an appetizer, entree, and dessert, all of which featured the secret ingredient, to the judging house. The judges, our husbands, entertained themselves with site-seeing and beer while we frantically prepared a meal that would make them swoon. Lucky guys.

The secret ingredient? Asparagus, green or white.

Our reactions?

- Asparagus Appetizer? No problem.

- Asparagus Entree? Easy.

- Asparagus Dessert? What?!? Gross! How???

So, how did everything turn out? Let’s start with the Appetizers. Entrees and Desserts will be featured in the next two posts, so stay tuned…

Team Spargel (German for asparagus) made a delicious Bruchetta with Roasted Asparagus and Shaved Parmesan.

Team Asparagus dished up a beautifully plated Shaved Asparagus and Fennel Salad with Pomegranate Dressing.

Team LAM Chops created a unique Asparagus Guacamole.

All of these dishes were very different, and each was a unique take on Asparagus as an appetizer. Above all, they were a great start to the phenomenal meal to follow…