Hand pies, pasties, whatever you want to call them are a great alternative to making a sandwich when you’re headed out on a mini-picnic (in March!), so I made these Potato Leek and Cheddar ones before heading out. Bacon would have been a lovely addition but I didn’t have any in the fridge. So yummy. So easy too — just remember to take the puff pastry out of the fridge the night before. And I am off on my mini-adventure!
While we’re wrapping up “Bread Week” here at CSPS, here is another bread-like recipe — Bacon Cheddar Chive Biscuits. OMG are these good. Absolutely phenomenal. I think the the trick to making them so flaky is to freeze the butter ahead of grating and then adding to the dough. It’s a little crumbly when you go to roll it out, but trust me, it will work. These are, hands down, the best biscuits that I have ever had. Here they are pictures as my breakfast,but they would also go great with soup or salad or as a dinner roll. Trust me, you’ll want to make them. Besides: Bacon. Cheddar. What could go wrong there!
Banana Bread returns. The quintessential baked good of the pandemic — or maybe second to sourdough. The question actually is: is banana *bread* actually a bread? Why is it not a cake?
And why the name “Go Bananas, Mr. Foster!”? Well, Bananas Foster, the dessert, often made “table side” at restaurants (how 1970s), is lots of butter, lots of sugar — which when mixed together make a caramel-like sauce — rum to flambe and bananas, served with ice cream, is pretty much wrapped up in this banana bread. Well, minus the ice cream and I didn’t set the banana bread on fire. Also, if you ever went to a University of Maine sporting event, you will know that the black bear mascot is named Bananas the Bear. There is a little jingle/cheer that goes “Go! Bananas! Go-go Bananas!” So I have had that stuck in my head for days, so I combined Bananas Foster and Bananas the Bear. Go-go Bananas!
I think Pears are woefully underrated. Apple Pies, peach cobbler, but less often do you find pears in the dessert spectrum. Well, the other day, I came across some Caramel Cardamom Honey Spread and thought it matched well with pears, so I decided to make some of my usual crumble bars. Success! These are great and I will definitely make them again.
I thought that I would go healthy this week and make some granola bars. This is my go-to recipe — not too hard that you will break your teeth, but a little soft and definitely flavorful. If you search the site, you’ll see a bunch of variations; this time I decided to go ith apples and almond slices, with a bit of cinnamon and vanilla. Great pick me up afternoon snack!