By Donna Zitter Bordelon
Cartoon slip-and-falls and dirty jokes aside, the banana has become an integral part of our culinary culture. Although we rarely think of the banana as an exotic food, it comes from places far away. Banana lovers are lucky to live in Philadelphia, a port that handles fresh bananas. Ah yes, we have some bananas and banana bread recipes today. The Times’ readers’ submissions prove that there may be more than one “top banana” when it comes to banana bread.
There’s a lot of cooking taking place in and around Philly, judging from the recipes sent into the Northeast Times food column. The following recipes are some of the submissions not randomly drawn in the ongoing gift card contest. So many of the submitted recipes really are winners, culinarily speaking, and I plan to share them with you in future columns. If you entered a recipe, it could be published, so please check back in the months ahead.
Over the past months, there have been several really good banana recipes submitted, some different but all producing great results. Banana breads are a quick, easy way to use bananas that are very ripe. In fact, the best banana breads (or cookies, muffins or cakes) pick up more banana flavor when using very ripe bananas.
Banana breads can be served warm with butter or cream cheese. They are great just plain or dusted with confectioners’ sugar. Banana breads lend themselves to freezing, so they are good to make ahead to have on hand.
A frozen loaf of banana bread can be cut into individual slices for later use by cooling the loaf first, then cutting desired-size slices, and putting a small piece of waxed paper or Saran wrap between each slice. Freeze the slices together as a whole loaf, wrapping the loaf in foil and putting it into a freezer bag. This makes it easy to remove just a slice or two without having to defrost the whole loaf.
The following recipe was submitted by Rachel Lucera, who said, “What better than adding chocolate to a banana bread?…I didn’t have bittersweet chocolate, so I substituted with ½ cup of melted semi-sweet chips.”
AUNT RAE-RAE’S CHOCOLATE BANANA BREAD
½ cup unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pan
2 cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup sugar
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1½ tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. kosher salt
4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, melted
2 eggs
3 very ripe bananas
1 tsp. vanilla
Confectioners’ sugar, optional
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter 9×5-inch loaf pan.
Mix together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt in large bowl.
In another bowl, beat butter until creamy. Beat in melted chocolate, eggs, bananas and vanilla.
Stir in dry ingredients just until combined. Do not overbeat.
Pour batter into pan. Bake until toothpick comes out almost clean — 50–60 minutes. Cool on rack about 15 minutes before removing from pan onto rack. Dust with confectioners’ sugar, if desired.
Lisa Lee’s Banana Bread is just as she named it.
LISA LEE’S PERFECT BANANA BREAD
3–4 ripe bananas, smashed
1/3 cup melted butter
¾–1 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
Pinch of salt
1½ cups flour
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix butter and smashed banana.
Add sugar, egg and vanilla.
Add baking soda and salt.
Add flour last and mix.
Pour mixture into buttered 4×8-inch loaf pan.
Bake for 1 hour and cool on rack.
Bonnie Weinraub suggests that, “You can add pecans, raisins, coconut or chocolate chips, but the bread is good just plain.”
BONNIE WEINRAUB’S BANANA BREAD
2 ripe bananas
1½ cups flour
1¼ cups sugar
¼ cup sour cream
1 tsp. baking soda
1 stick butter, softened
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
Mix all the ingredients together and bake at 350 degrees for 60 minutes.
Eat well, live long, enjoy!
(Questions or tips can be sent to Donna Zitter Bordelon at Whats-cook-inNEPhilly@gmail.com or in care of the Times, 2 Executive Campus, Suite 400, Cherry Hill, NJ 08002)
Don’t forget:
Send in your favorite recipe for a chance to win a $100 ShopRite gift card. Mail your recipe to Readers’ Recipes, 2 Executive Campus, Suite 400, Cherry Hill, NJ 08002. Or email your recipe to WhatscookinNEPhilly@gmail.com. Please include name, address and telephone number.
