bread
Instead of throwing out leftover bananas, they are best used up in banana bread. If you don't have 3 large ones sufficient for this recipe, freeze them until your stock is adequate. This is a tweaked version of a recipe that I enjoy ever time. It has a
dessert
Chocolate chip cookies are great, but there is something about M&M cookies (the colors, the candy crunch) that adds another dimension, especially for kids. I adapted my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe for these cookies. While I prefer the chocolate chip version in larger form and slightly under
bread
Homemade bagels are never perfected. They can always be tweaked and improved upon. The goal posts shift. Tastes evolve. New ingredients and techniques highlight different strengths and weaknesses.My current recipe is based off of this recipe by Bruce Ezzell. The main difference from my initial forays into home bagel
dessert
Cinnamon rolls are almost unversally loved, but also subject to strong personal preferences. The most controversial aspect is the dough: some prefer a rich, brioche-like bread while others like to contrast of a leaner dough with the sweet filling. My family falls somewhere in the middle. After trying a range
bread
The New York Times recently had a piece about baking bagels with lye. Given my predilection for homemade bagels (and strong support of the use of lye) I took a look at their recipe for Baron bagels. While I've had good success with Peter Reinhart's recipe
Summer is a bountiful time for fruit, but there's only so much plain fruit I can eat. Jam is a great way to store fruit for year-round use, but there are times when I need more immediate satisfaction. Pie is the obvious solution. For summer, I've
dessert
It would be fantastic if one could just melt chocolate wihtout much attention and mold it into whatever use came to mind, but that's not the case. Chocolate that has been simply heated without regard to temperature can form a streaky mess with off flavors. The right way
vegetables
Falafel are great to make at home, because they are at their best when fresh and crispy. If I am going to make falafel, I might as well make hummus as well. It's easy to make, lasts reasonably well, and rounds out a Middle Eastern meal. Homemade hummus
poultry
For the past several years, I've eschewed boneless, skinless chicken breasts (BSCB) for their moister, more flavorful, and probably less-health cousins: boneless, skinless chicken thighs (BSCT). Though some will surely critque the absence of flavor-supplying bones and skin, the reality is that even the....BS variety requires a