Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 to 1.5 eggs beaten
• 1 cup milk
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 2 ripe bananas, mashed

Directions:

1. Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.
2. Mix together egg, milk, butter, and bananas into a second bowl.
3. Stir flour mixture into banana mixture. Batter will be slightly lumpy.
4. Heat a lightly buttered griddle of frying pan over medium high heat.
5. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle. Use approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake.
6. Cook until pancakes are golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes per side.
7. Serve hot.

Note:

Recipe modified from All Recipes.

Bill’s Favorite!

Ingredients:

• 1 1/4 pounds of sea scallops (preferably fresh, dry-packed scallops)
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 3 Tbsp. butter
• 1 tsp. minced garlic
• 2 tsp. lemon juice
• 2 tsp. chopped fresh herbs (plus more for garnish)
• lemon wedges for garnish

Directions:

1. Pat the scallops dry on both sides with a paper towel.
2. Season the scallops on both sides with salt and pepper.
3. Heat the olive oil in a heavy skillet over the high heat until it’s just smoking.
4. Add the scallops in a single layer and cook for 2-3 minutes per side
5. remove the scallops from the pan and melt the butter in the same, unwashed pan.
6. Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Stir in the lemon juice and herbs.
7. Return the scallops to the pan. Spoon the sauce of the top of the scallops.
8. Garnish with herbs and lemon wedges. Serve immediately.

Note:

This recipe was retrieved from Dinner at the Zoo.

Ingredients:

• 2 oz. unsalted cashews
• 1 pinch of saffron
• 1 Tbsp. mango chutney
• 1 lemon
• 2 Tbsp. plain yogurt
• 1 tsp. smoke paprika
• Salt
• Black pepper
• Olive oil
• 7 oz. paneer cheese
• 1/2 ahead of cauliflower (around 14 ounces)
• 1 knob of unsalted butter
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 3 cloves
• 3 cardamom pods
• 4 cloves of garlic
• 1 onion
• 2-inch piece of fresh ginger
• 2 Tbsp. sun dried tomato paste
• 4 sprigs of fresh cilantro

Directions:

1. Preheat the broiler to high.
2. Put the cashews, saffron, and mango chutney into a pitcher, cover with three cups of boiling water, and leave toimage one side to soak.
3. Finely grate the lemon zest into a large bowl. Add the yogurt, paprika, a pinch of sea salt and black pepper and 1 Tbsp. of oil and mix well.
4. Chop the paneer into 3/4 in. cubes.
5. Break the cauliflower into florets of roughly the same size.
6. Mix the paneer and cauliflower into the yogurt marinade.
7. Add the paneer and cauliflower to a large roasting pan and broil on the middle rack for 12 minutes or until beautifully goldened and gnarly at the edges
8. Put the butter, 1 tsp of the olive oil, cinnamon, and cloves into a large casserole pan on low heat.
9. Bash the cardamom pods and add just the seeds to the casserole pan.
10. Peel, finely slice, and add the garlic. Then cook the contents for a few minutes, stirring occasionally.
11. Peel the onion and ginger. Roughly chop them and then place the, in a blender with the tomato paste and a good splash of boiling water. Whiz to a paste.
12. Add the paste to the casserole pan and stir regularly while it cooks for 10 minutes.
13. Take the cashew mixture that has been soaking off to the side and blend it until smooth. (This might need to be done in batches).
14. Pour this mixture into the casserole pan, bring it to a boil, then leave it to tick away for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
15. Stir in the paneer and cauliflower. Season with salt and pepper to you liking.
16. Place the casserole pan into the broiler until golden and bubbling. Stir through and sprinkle cilantro over the top.

Note:

Delicious served with fluffy rice and wedges of lemon squeezed over the top

Note:

Swap the paneer for chickpeas and the cauliflower for squash for a different taste.

Ingredients (Salad):

• Kale
• Strawberries
• Goat Cheese
• Pistachios

Ingredients (Dressing):

• 1/4 cup Olive Oil
• 1/8 cup Mustard
• Lemon Juice
• Salt
• Honey
• Apple Cider Vinegar

Directions:

1. Make dressing by mixing Oil and Mustard and adding up to 1/8 cup of remaining ingredients to taste, making it snappy.
2. Chop Kale and removing stems.
3. Massage Kale with some dressing until wilted.
4. Cut up strawberries.
5. Chunk goat cheese.
6. Toss all salad ingredients and add more dressing.

Note: Julia Rose provided this recipe.

A healthy and delicious dessert!

Ingredients:

• 5 large eggs (original: 4)
• 3/8 cup granulated sugar (original: 1/2 c)
• 3/8 tsp salt (original: 1/2)
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 cups whole milk (was 2%)
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Beat eggs on medium-low speed for 30 seconds.
3. Add sugar, salt, vanilla; whisk until mixed.
4. Pour milk in microwave safe bowl, heat in one minute increments until it reaches 180 degrees F.
5. Slowly drizzle the milk into egg mixture, whisking constantly
6. Beat 30 seconds
7. Pour into ramekins, place ramekins in 10×15 baking dish in hot water (not boiling).
8. Place in preheated oven, bake 35-40 minutes. Done when an inserted knife comes out clean.
9. Serve warm or cold.

Note: Excellent with a hot bourbon/cherry preserve sauce.

Note: This recipe was modified from Baked Custard Recipe.

After visiting Spain in the spring of 2023, and loving the chicken paella when we were in Valencia, we modified our favorite Rosemary Chicken recipe to be sort of paella-like.

Ingredients

• 8 Boneless chicken thighs, skin on. (Bone in ok too)
• 2 Tbl Ground Rosemary
• 2 Tbl Assorted other herbs: thyme, sage, oregano, etc.
• 1 tsp Salt
• 2 cups of cooked brown rice
• 1 cup green beans, sliced into 1-inch segments, uncooked
• 1 cup mushrooms, slices, uncooked

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Mix the herbs and salt, a mortar and pestle is very helpful.
3. Prepare the chicken thighs by creating a pocket between the skin and thigh, being careful not to fully separate it. Then put some of the herb mix in the pocket.
4. In a large, flat baking dish, mix cooked rice, beans, mushrooms.
5. Place chicken thighs on top, spritz with olive oil.
6. Bake for 30-45 minutes until chicken reaches 165 F.

We often serve this in a large cast iron dutch oven which keeps it warm and moist. This is excellent as left-overs, we often chop up the chicken and mix it in before reheating to keep it moist and yummy.

Modified from Ree Drumand’s Perfect Pot Roast on the Food Network.

We love pot roast on a chilly day with some buttered rosemary toast, there is nothing more yummy!

Ingredients

• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• One 3- to 5-pound chuck roast 
• 2 or 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 medium onions, peeled and quartered (or 1 large, in eighths)
• 5 yellow potatoes, unpeeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 6 to 8 whole carrots, unpeeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 1 cup red wine
• 3 cups beef broth (freeze leftover juice from last pot roast as a starter)
• 2 or 3 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 2 or 3 sprigs fresh thyme
• 3 large cloves of garlic, minced or pressed

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F. 
2. Generously salt and pepper the chuck roast. 
3. Heat the olive oil in large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the halved onions to the pot, browning them on both sides. Remove the onions to a plate. 
4. Brown carrots and potatoes in a similar manner in the same pot, removing each to a plate when done
5. If needed, add a bit more olive oil to the very hot pot. Place the meat in the pot and sear it for about a minute on all sides until it is nice and brown all over. Remove the roast to a plate. 
6. With the burner still on high, use red wine to deglaze the pot, scraping the bottom with a whisk. Place the roast back into the pot and add enough beef stock to cover the meat halfway. 
7. Add in the onions, the carrots and the potatoes, along with the fresh herbs and raw garlic.
8. Put the lid on, then roast for 3 hours for a 3-pound roast. For a 4 to 5-pound roast, plan on 4 hours. The roast is ready when it’s fall-apart tender.

Ingredients

• 1 pound Sea Scallops (serves about 2.5 people)
• 1 Tbs Olive Oil
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 3 Tbs Butter
• 1 tsp minced Garlic
• 2 tsp Lemon Juice
• 2 tsp chopped fresh herbs (dried ok)
• lemon wedges for Garnish

Instructions

1. Pat the scallops dry on both sides with a paper towel. Season on both sides with salt and pepper
2. Heat oil in heavy skillet over high heat until it’s just smoking. Add scallops in a single layer and cook 2-3 minutes per side
3. Remove scallops from pan, melt butter in pan
4. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds, Stir in lemon juice and herbs
5. Return scallops to pan, spoon sauce over top, garnish with herbs and lemon wedges. Serve immediately!

Here are a few tips:

• Cook only one tray of cookies at a time (in the middle of the oven) since the temperature is different at top of oven than bottom and cookies on top shelf do not spread out as much.  
• It is slightly better to cook on parchment paper than directly on the tray, because you can immediately transfer the entire set off of the hot tray instead of getting impatient and ruining the cookies with a spatular.
• If you have a scale it is more accurate than use the cup measurements.
• One of the main goals of this recipe is to get the butter browned, you will need to have a light colored pan to see this happening. We also found that the CarZito stove needs to be at 6.5/10 in order to brown the butter.
• Make sure to use dark brown sugar instead of light brown sugar for flavor.
• In our CarZito home taste tests, people liked chopped semisweet Lindt chocolate better than Giradelli semisweet chocolate chips.
• We like to add an extra tsp of butter and sugar and use the higher amount of eggs so that we have the option to taste the butter/sugar/egg mixture several times.
• Making the dough days in advance and refrigerating it improves the taste.  It also works well freeze the dough and thaw it the day before cooking.

Ingredients:

• 1.75 cups (8.75 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 14 Tbsp (1.75 sticks) unsalted butter  (if you use salted butter reduce the salt by 1/3 tsp).
• 1/2 cups (3.5 ounces) granulated sugar
• 3/4 cups (5.25 ounces) packed dark brown sugar 
• 1 tsp table salt
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1 large egg yolk
• 1.25 cups semisweet chocolate chips or chunks
• 3/4 cups chopped pecans or walnuts – toasted (optional)

Directions: 

1. Adjust oven rack to middle of oven and preheat to 375 degrees.
2. Line 2 large (18″ by 12″ trays) with parchment paper, or three smaller trays.
3. In medium bowl: whisk flour and baking soda together, and set aside.
4. Browning Butter: In large skillet or pan that is not dark bottomed, heat 10 Tbsp of butter over medium-high heat until melted, about 2 minutes. Continue cooking (1-6 minutes) while swirling the pan (continuously) until the butter is dark golden brown and has a nutty aroma.  (On our stove, need 6.5 setting to turn brown) Remove the skillet from the heat and transfer the butter to a large heatproof bowl.  Stir remaining 4 Tbsp butter into hot butter until completely melted.
5. Into bowl with melted butter, add both sugars, the salt, and the vanilla and whisk until fully combined.  Add the egg and the yolk and whisk until the mixture is smooth with no sugar lumps remaining.  
6. Repeat the following procedure 3 times on the butter mixture.  Let mixture stand for 3 minutes, then whisk 30 seconds. After this process the mixture should be thick, smooth, and shiny.
7. Use a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to stir the flour mixture into the large bowl with the butter mixture.  Just stir until barely combined (about 1 minute.)
8. Stir in the chocolate chips (and the nuts if you are using nuts).  Give the dough a final stir to check for unmixed portions.
9. For large cookies divide the dough into 16 portions, each about 3 Tbsps.  Arrange 2 inches apart on parchment covered baking sheets (8 dough balls per large sheet). For medium cookies divide dough into about 24 portions, each about 2 Tbsps.
10. Bake cookies 1 tray at a time until the cookies are golden brown and still puffy, and edges have begun to set but centers are still soft (about 10-14 minutes).  You can rotate the sheets about halfway through baking if you like.  When you are done you can cool the cookies on a wire rack, or at least take the parchment with cookies on it, off the hot baking sheet.
11. The cookies freeze well with layers of parchment paper between layers of cookies.Dry-fry the cinnamon stick, cardamom seeds, star anise, and cloves in a skillet or a wok over low heat. Stir all the ingredients around for 2-3 minutes or until fragrant. Remove from pan.

Source:

Michelle Snider from work gave Jenny an article by Charles Kelsey “The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie” describing his attempts on variations on “Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookies” to see if he could get a buttery toffee flavor.  He found from interviewing chiefs and by trying things that the best two options to make the cookies have this flavor are: try refrigerating the dough for a day or two before cooking, or browning the butter and letting it sit.  He liked the browning best. We did some testing of our own at home and made a few modifications (such as the type of chips used).

This recipe gives a choice of chicken, beef, or lamb. It is a large recipe and will have lots of left-overs. We usually serve it over brown rice, but it could be treated like a stew. The smell of this is incredible, and like many stews and breads the flavors become even more complex and fragrant by the second day.

Ingredients:

• 4 cinnamon sticks
• 20 cardamom seeds
• 8 star anise (or 1 tsp anise seeds)
• 10 cloves
• 3 Tbsp canola oil
• 3-4 oz Massaman curry paste
• 3 lbs of meat (chicken thigh, beef flank, or lamb rump) cut large chunks
• 1 13.5 oz can coconut milk
• 3 cups stock (chicken, beef, or vegetable broth)
• 3 onions (peeled and quartered)
• 4 Tbsp fish sauce
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 6 Tbsp tamarind puree or lemon juice
• 1 cup roasted peanuts
• roughly a pound of potatoes cut into 1″ cubes, or 6 chopped chopped bell peppers (red, yellow, orange)

Directions: 

1. Dry-fry the cinnamon stick, cardamom seeds, star anise, and cloves in a skillet or a wok over low heat. Stir all the ingredients around for 2-3 minutes or until fragrant. Remove from pan.
2. Heat the oil in the wok or skillet and stir in the massaman paste, then stir over medium heat for 2 minutes or until fragrant.
3. Add the meat and cook for 3-5 minutes until somewhat cooked.
4. Add the coconut milk, stock, onions, fish sauce, sugar, tamarind puree or lemon juice, the dry-fried spices, and the roasted peanuts. Gently simmer over medium heat for 20 minutes.
5. Add the potatoes or bell peppers and continue to simmer, uncovered over low heat for another 30 minutes.
6. Serve with brown rice.

Note: This recipe was modified from a recipe in the “Fresh Thai” cookbook.