I’m moving!

Soon…like very soon…I’m bumping on over to Squarespace.

Everything will pretty much be the same.

Food, lots and lots of sweet, sweet food.

Just over there instead of here.

I want to let my subscribers know that I’ll be posting all my emails via TinyLetter.

My posts are still totally free and all that, it’s just a way for me to send out my new Squarespace updates.

You’ll receive a welcome note in your inbox from TinyLetter and then my posts will arrive via email.

Please mark my TinyLetter posts as “ok” if they get funneled to the dark side of your junk inbox.

My first post from the new site may be a bit slow to your inbox — but it will come! I promise.

Then you’ll be getting my updates sent right to your email, as usual.

I’ve been working on this new site for awhile now (I’m not into the whole site-building thing) and I’m excited to get everyone over there.

So…I’ll see you there!

That crispy sugared-almond topping right there…that’s the best part.

Sure, this banana bread is tender, moist, not too sweet, with little pops of banana in each slice.

But it’s that sugar-crisp crust that pushs this bread into nirvana-land.

The crispy, caramelized sugar crust and that bit of almond crunch is just spot on.

And I hate saying spot on.

I would rather say rock on.

Or party on.

Also, I got to use Greek yogurt in this thing. I just thought I’d throw it in there.

And it totally worked.

I was originally making this healthied-up banana bread strictly for my kids.

In fact, while making it, I was thinking there was no way I was going to post it.

The bread behaves so well, you can cut it into even the thinnest slices.

But why would you want to?

I had to go with big thick slabs. And I don’t feel a darn bit guilty about it.

Party on, Garth.

If you’re looking for more of a cake-like banana bread, chockful of butter and cinnamon chips, check out my very first post ever — banana bread on crack.

Bodacious Banana Bread with Sugar-Almond Crisp

• 1/4 cup sliced almonds
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup white whole wheat flour
• 3 tablespoons milled golden flaxseed
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• dash of nutmeg
• 1/4 cup light brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
• 3 tablespoons plain, non-fat Greek yogurt, stirred well
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 5 medium-sized ripe bananas, roughly mashed (about 2 cups mashed bananas) (see note)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9×5 loaf pan well.

In small bowl, stir together sliced almonds and granulated sugar. Set aside.

In medium bowl, whisk together both flours, flaxseed, baking soda, kosher salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Set aside.

In large bowl, whisk together brown sugar, melted butter, Greek yogurt, eggs and vanilla until well-combined.

Stir in mashed bananas. Gently stir in flour mixture until just combined (a few streaks of flour are ok).

Pour into loaf pan. Sprinkle the almond-sugar mixture evenly over top of bread.

Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then carefully remove and allow bread to cool on wire rack.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

To store, wrap cooled bread in plastic wrap and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Rewarm banana bread before serving.

Note: I like to mostly mash my bananas, leaving little chunks of banana in there for texture and flavor.

My hunt for the perfect brownie is finally over.

These dark chocolate brownies are soft and fudgy, with a crackled top and a little bite around the edge.

And that thick, gooey, coconutty middle…it just gives them a bit of Almond Joy kick that tastes — and smells — fantastic.

I know everyone gets a little choosy — me included — when it comes to “The Perfect Brownie.”

But this particular recipe just does it for me — with or without the coconut.

The brownie has that thin crust on top.

It has the fudginess, the chewiness, those slightly crispy puffed-up edges.

It’s chocolatey AND it has that awesome cocoa flavor.

I find eggs magical at times.

I love them for a lot of reasons, but I’m really loving what they did for these upside-down cakes.

The mini-Bundts are golden-edged, totally addictive and low-fat — two yolks. That’s it.

No butter. No oil.

And no crappy fat substitutes (like applesauce) to weigh the cake down.

The eggs worked their magic and turned a little bit of flour, spice and super sweet pear into addictive mini sponge cakes.

I’m not a big fan of “light” cakes and muffins.

Most of the time, they’re heavy as rocks, dry as paper and taste like nothing (or worse, something fake).

But that hasn’t kept me from trying to make one myself. One that actually tastes like cake.

Really good cake.

So I did a little riff on angel food cake — simplified it, left in a couple of yolks and added that yummy caramelized upside-down part.

The pear upside-down cakes have that signature golden edge similar to angel food cake, but they’re not dense like angel food can be.

They’re more like sponge cake, with an airy texture that pairs well with the moist pear topping.

Three types of sugar (but not too much of any of them) and a little spice also ratchet-up the flavor.

They work really well as a snack cake — I took to that really quickly — and can swing breakfast, too.

Delicious and addictive and so light, I didn’t feel guilty when I had…a few.

Pear Upside-Down Cakes

makes 12 mini-Bundt cakes

• 1 ripe pear, peeled and diced (about 1 cup diced pear)
• 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
• 3 tablespoons demerara sugar
• 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 1 egg white, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease or coat a mini-Bundt pan with non-stick spray well, making sure to coat inside the cups, the center “post” in each cup and the top of the pan.

In small bowl, combine brown sugar, demerara sugar and diced pear. Evenly distribute pear-sugar mixture between the 12 Bundt-cake cups, evenly placing fruit on bottom of each cup.

In small bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger and salt. Set aside.

In bowl of a standmixer, combine eggs, egg white and granulated sugar. Beat on medium for 5 minutes, then on high for another 5 minutes, until light in color and fluffy. Scrape down sides as necessary.

Add vanilla and beat 1 minute.

Gently fold in flour mixture. Do not overmix.

With an ice cream scoop or two spoons, distribute cake dough evenly between the 12 cake cups.

Bake for 13 to 15 minutes, until toothpick inserted in cake comes out clean.

Allow cakes to cool in pan for 2 to 3 minutes.

Carefully invert cakes onto baking sheet or large serving platter and allow to cool slightly. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Because there is so little fat in them, I think it’s safe to say the cakes probably don’t have much of a shelf life. They should probably be eaten right away, which didn’t prove to be a problem here.

Soft, fluffy frosting over a moist butter cake shot with blueberries and just a hint of lemon –

it’s a cloud cake for any occasion.

The cake is tender, moist and so easy to make. Like the easiest. You don’t even need a mixer.

And then there’s the frosting…

The secret to the vanilla buttercream is cream cheese — just a little.

I (finally!) found a way to add that flavor I’ve been missing in all those buttercream/confectioners’ sugar frosting recipes I’ve tried.

It’s still definitely buttercream, but that bit of cream cheese gives it a little kick.

I added a cup of fresh blueberries and a bit of lemon zest — two flavors that pair perfectly with the coconut over the top.

I exercised restraint here — only a 1/4 cup of coconut in all. And that’s all it needed.

The blueberry, lemon and coconut, the butter cake layers, the fluffy frosting — they’re an awesome match.

It’s rare when I truly enjoy every aspect of a cake, but this one has won me over.

Blueberry & Coconut Cloud Cake

For the cake -

• 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cups sugar + 1 tablespoon sugar, divided
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (heaping)
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/4 cup milk (I had 1 percent on hand, but whole or 2 percent would work well, too)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
• 1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (see note)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter or spray two 9″ cake pans well, line bottoms of pans with parchment paper, and butter or spray paper.

In small bowl, toss blueberries with 1 tablespoon flour. Set aside.

In large bowl, combine remaining flour, baking powder, 2/3 cups sugar and salt. Whisk together well.

Add melted butter, beaten eggs, milk, vanilla and lemon zest to flour mixture. Whisk until just combined. A few streaks of flour is fine — DO NOT overmix. Gently fold in blueberries.

Pour cake batter evenly between both cake pans. Sprinkle the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar evenly over the tops of the batter.

Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes (mine was ready in 23), or until toothpick inserted in center of cakes comes out clean.

Allow cakes to cool in pan on cooling rack for 10 minutes. Carefully invert cakes on to cooling racks, re-invert so the tops face up and cool completely on racks.

When ready to serve, place one cake layer on a cake server and frost with about 1/3 of the frosting. Be sure not to spread the frosting too close to the edge of the cake, as it will naturally spread out when you place the second cake layer on top.

Place second cake layer over frosting and pile the remaining frosting on top (there will be a lot! I had a couple of tablespoons extra that I didn’t put on the cake). Carefully spread it out near the edges, allowing it to spill over the edges naturally.

Chill cake, covered, until ready to serve. Allow cake to sit at room temperature for about 20 to 30 minutes before serving.

For buttercream frosting -

• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temp.
• 4 oz. cream cheese, at room temp.
• 4 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon almond extract

In large bowl, beat butter and cream cheese together until light and creamy, about 5 minutes with a handmixer.

Sift in about half of the confectioners’ sugar and beat until well-combined. Slowly beat in about half of the milk. Sift in remaining sugar and beat. Add almost all of the remaining milk — enough to get that desired fluffy frosting consistency.

Add vanilla and almond extracts and beat until frosting is fluffy, 3 to 4 minutes.

If frosting becomes too soft, refrigerate for about 10 to 15 minutes to firm it up a bit.

Note: I used fresh blueberries. If using frozen, do not thaw. When thawed, the berries tend to water-down the batter and turn it blue.

This casserole is made for dipping.

It’s spicy with a bit of Spanish rice flair and falls on the healthy-ish side.

I know it’s not the prettiest meal, but it tastes so good.

Usually, my healthy experiments don’t go so well.

However, this casserole is an exception.

I was able to use brown rice, nonfat sour cream and less oil than the original and it still tastes fab.

The cheese is the one caveat to this mostly healthy dish.

It’s optional, though, if you have a no-cheese eater in the fam like we do.

The salsa you pick has everything to do with the “heat” of the casserole.

I always go for the hot type, which makes for a spicy dish.

The sauteed chicken makes it a main meal, but I swear, this casserole is a dippable dinner.

Tortilla chips are almost required.

Mexican Chicken Casserole

adapted from Allrecipes

• 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
• 2 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2-3 large breasts), cut into bite-sized pieces
• 2 1/2 cups fresh mushrooms
• 4 cups cooked rice (I use brown but white works just fine)
• 3/4 cup non-fat sour cream
• 16 oz (about 2 cups) prepared salsa (I use the hot stuff)
• 1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, optional – see note
• Taco seasoning (I use a blend of cumin, chili powder, black pepper, garlic powder and red pepper flake)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9×13 baking pan with cooking spray.

If you haven’t done so already, prepare rice according to package directions. (I prefer the slow-cook kind, which takes about 45 minutes, but instant works just fine.) You will need 4 cups of cooked rice. Set aside.

Place 1 teaspoon olive oil in large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken breast pieces and season with taco seasoning or your own Mexican season blend. Stir and cook until chicken is no longer pink in the middle. Set aside.

Place 2 teaspoons olive oil in a small saute pan over medium heat. Saute mushrooms until they release their liquid and darken in color. Set aside.

Add cooked chicken, mushrooms, cooked rice, sour cream, salsa, black beans and cheddar cheese to the baking pan. Stir everything together until all of the ingredients are well-combined and the casserole is a fairly uniform color.

Bake for about 25 minutes, or until casserole bubbles around the edges. Allow to cool for a few minutes. Serve with tortilla chips, sour cream and salsa, if desired.

Note: If you’re looking to avoid cheese, you can decrease it or skip it altogether. I’ve made it without the cheese and found that it wasn’t as creamy, but it still had good flavor. Also, on a veggie note, the recipe is versatile. I’ve added steamed corn and red bell pepper to mix in the past.

Sometimes I dread dinner. Figuring out what I’m going to make, cooking it, cleaning up. It can suck.

But, other days, dinner prep isn’t so bad.

Me and the kids talk about food, Julia pulls a chair up to the counter and Jack lifts the heavy stuff we need out of the refrigerator.

Sometimes dinner can be fun.

Here’s five of our favorite main dishes — yummy, no-fail, go-to dinner ideas for you and your fam.

5 - Parmesan-Crusted Pork Chops - Juicy pork crusted with Panko and parm. My husband’s favorite way to eat a pork chop. 

4 - Chicken Adobo - Caramelized, crispy, meaty. I just made these again last night. Fabulous.

3 - Cuban Sandwiches - Perfect panini-style vehicle for slow-roasted pork loin.

2 - Lentil Soup - A few basic ingredients simmered into a yummy and healthy soup I can eat meal after meal.

1 - Maple Salmon - My all-time favorite. The maple definitely suits the salmon.

Supper suggestions? Feel free to comment! My recipe box is always open.

I’m especially on the lookout for new twists on the lovely stand-by — good old chicken breast.

I’m kind of addicted to cornmeal things.

So when I made these warm, honey-buttered cornmeal drop biscuits, I had a few more than a couple.

These are based on a Dorie Greenspan’s recipe, which called for maple syrup (the real stuff). I tried them with the maple and really liked them, but found that the maple flavor didn’t shine through.

So I opted to bake in a bit of honey this time, brushing a little honey-butter over the biscuits when they came out of the oven, too.

Yummy. Kind of crumbly like cornbread, but better, more flavorful with the honey-butter.

Totally breakfast-worthy.

And these came together so easily.

I made a homemade biscuit mix by throwing all the dry ingredients into a Tupperware container about a month-and-half ago.

Then Jack and I just had to cut in the butter and mix in the milk and honey.

My husband says spun honey — like a whipped, spreadable honey — would be great on these.

I’ll have to hunt some down and try it next time.

Honey Cornmeal Drop Biscuits

adapted from Dorie Greenspan’s Maple-Cornmeal Drop Biscuits from Baking: From My Home to Yours

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup yellow cornmeal, preferably stone-ground (reg. cornmeal in pics, although stone-ground was great, too)
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 heaping teaspoon kosher salt
• 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, cold, cut into 12 pieces
• 1/2 cup whole milk, cold
• 1/4 cup honey

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.

In measuring cup, whisk together milk and honey. Place the milk-honey mixture and butter pieces  in freezer while oven preheats.

Meanwhile, in large bowl, whisk together flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Add butter pieces to flour mixture, toss butter in dry ingredients to cover, then cut in butter with fingers until mixture is crumbly. Butter should be about pea-sized.

Stir in milk-honey mixture gently, until dry ingredients are wet (it may look under-mixed).

Scoop out  12 mounds and space evenly across lined baking sheet.

Bake biscuits for about 15 minutes, until lightly golden brown.

While biscuits bake, prepare honey-butter. Melt the butter and whisk in the honey until evenly combined.

As soon as you pull the biscuits from the oven, brush the honey-butter generously over each.

Serve hot, warm or at room temperature.

Note: For homemade biscuit mix — just combine the dry ingredients in an air-tight container. I wrote the remaining ingredient list and directions on a note that I attached to the container for easy reference when I was ready to bake. Quick and easy!

These crispy, Heineken-battered fish were totally my husband’s idea.

He says it reminds him of the fish you get at those little seafood places on the coast.

It’s the combination of beer and fish –

The batter fries up light and crispy.

It’s the beer’s carbonation, mostly.

We tried other beers — Becks’ (my husband’s favorite) flavor wasn’t quite right in the batter, while Miller got totally lost in there somewhere.

Heineken just works here.

It’s a simple recipe — flour, a little spice, beer…

Beer-Battered Fish

adapted from Allrecipes

• 10 to 12 flounder or cod filets (our favorites, but other white fish work, too)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour, plus 1/2 cup flour for dredging
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• salt, pepper and cayenne pepper, to taste
• 1 egg
• 1 cup beer — I strongly suggest Heineken!
• Vegetable or canola oil, for frying

Pat dry fish filets and set aside.

Fill a large skillet or frying pan about half-full with oil (you need enough oil in pan so fish does not touch the bottom). Heat until a bit of flour sizzles in the oil.

Meanwhile, pour 1/2 cup flour in pie plate. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, to taste, a pinch of cayenne, and combine.

In another pie plate, combine 1 cup flour and the cornstarch, baking powder, and salt, pepper and cayenne to taste (I use a healthy shot of salt, four or five cracks of freshly ground pepper and about four dashes of cayenne pepper).

Pour 1 cup of the beer into a measuring cup and lightly whisk in egg. Add beer mixture to flour-cornstarch mixture and combine quickly — do not overstir! A few lumps are fine.

Dredge each filet lightly in the seasoned flour, then coat in beer batter. Carefully place fish in oil (do not overcrowd pan) and fry until the bottom is golden-brown. Carefully turn fish over and cook until golden-brown and fish flakes easily with a fork.

Serve hot with tartar sauce, if desired.

To reheat — Place fish on a foil-lined baking sheet and cook in a 400 degree oven for about 12 to 15 minutes, flipping the fish halfway through the cooktime. They come out of the oven crispy and delicious.

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This is one killer granola bar.

It’s chewy, bound together with caramel and tastes like a buttered Rice Krispies treat all grown-up with toasted nuts and oats and a little kick of salt.

And it’s only 120 calories a bar. 

I’ve tried SO MANY granola recipes — all of which were either too hard, too crunchy or just fell apart. I even made a spongy batch once with pumpkin puree.

The first time I bit into these chewy granola bars, I did a happy dance, which the kids found pretty funny.

I knew right away…this recipe is THE ONE. The best. The granola bar I’ve been searching for.

I’ve made these bars at least a dozen times since.

It’s not a throw-everything-into-a-pan type bar. You toast the nuts and then the oats with a little butter – only 3 tablespoons in the whole batch.

Then you make caramel.

Making caramel – it’s nothing.

Easy. You don’t even need a candy thermometer.

It’s all in the color.

Also, they’re super versatile.

You can add cinnamon and dried apples or coconut and dried papaya, along with pretty much any kind of nut you like.

They also pack a punch of flavor — buttery and somehow marshmallowy and still fairly low in calories.

So much better than those dry, itty-bitty low-cal bars from the store with the strange bits of “fruit” in them.

I wrap them up individually, good for on-the-go breakfasts and snacks.

And just straight-up tasty shots of energy.

Chewy Granola Bars

adapted from America’s Test Kitchen Healthy Family Cookbook

• 1/2 cup chopped nuts
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 1 1/2 cups Rice Krispies or whole grain Cheerios (I used the crisped rice)
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup half and half
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Line a 9X13 pan with foil, allowing extra to hang over the sides (to act as a sling for easy removal). Spray foil lightly with canola spray.

In a large bowl, combine cereal and salt. Set aside.

In large skillet over medium heat, roast nuts, stirring frequently, until fragrant and slightly browned, about 4 to 5 minutes. Combine nuts with cereal in large bowl.

In same pan over medium heat, melt the butter. Stir rolled oats into melted butter and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until fragrant and lightly browned, about 6 to 8 minutes. Stir oats into nut-cereal mixture. Set aside.

Pour water into a medium saucepan. Carefully pour the sugar into the center of the water in the saucepan (it will mound). The sugar should naturally absorb the water, but you may press down lightly on sugar if necessary so that all of the sugar is moistened.

DO NOT STIR. Cook sugar mixture over medium-high heat, without stirring, until sugar dissolves and the caramel becomes light gold in color, about 8 to 12 minutes. Turn heat to down to medium-low and continue to cook until caramel turns a dark amber color, carefully swirling pan to ensure even caramelization. Remove from heat.

Carefully whisk the half and half into the caramel. Continue to whisk for about 20 seconds, until caramel barely bubbles, then add vanilla.

Pour caramel over oat-nut mixture and, working quickly, mix the caramel evenly into the oat mixture.

Pour granola into the lined pan and press evenly across the bottom. Press mixture down firmly against the bottom. (I use my hands, which I spray with a bit of canola spray, but it’s HOT! You can use a wooden spoon or the bottom of another pan to press mixture into pan.)

Allow granola bars to cool completely in pan on cooling rack.

Once cool, remove bars from pan with foil sling. Cut into 18 bars. Wrap each individually in plastic wrap, if desired, and store in airtight container at room temperature.