I've grown up, like everybody else, eating banana bread, also known as that great savior of overripe bananas. I mean, banana bread is ok, but I've always seen it as kind of...eh. My sister Ashley gave me a recipe a few years ago that was definitely the best yet (probably due to the fact that it relies heavily on a buttery, nutty streusel topping), but it still just has never really been something I crave. The other day, I had the requisite black, semi-rotten bananas on hand, and I've developed a virtuous, non-wasteful streak, so I dutifully pulled out my mixing bowl and whipped up a batch. As I went to bake it, though, I had an epiphany. Figuring I had nothing to lose, I tried it out. Voila! At long last, craveable banana bread! (And yes, it's easy and extremely low-maintenance.)
Behold...
Banana Bread Unplugged
A Joint Collaboration
2 eggs
3/4 cup - vegetable oil (no wonder it's so moist...)
2 teaspoons - vanilla
3/4 cup - sugar
2 or 3 overripe bananas, mashed
2 cups - flour
1 teaspoon - salt
1 teaspoon - baking soda
1/2 teaspoon - baking powder
Streusel Topping:
1 cup - brown sugar
1/4 cup - butter, melted
1/2 cup (or more) - chopped pecans or walnuts (if you want to rock this, lightly toast them)
1/4 teaspoon - nutmeg (or you can use cinnamon. I get bored with cinnamon after awhile.)
A good shake or two of salt, preferably kosher
Combine eggs, oil, vanilla, sugar and bananas and whisk until combined. Stir in flour, salt, baking soda and baking powder and mix well. In a separate bowl, combine the streusel ingredients and set them aside.
NOW for the fun part. Heat your oven to 350, grab a 10" cast-iron skillet (no need to get too picky, a little bigger or a little smaller is no big deal) and toss two tablespoons of butter in it. Stick it in the oven while it's preheating and get it nice and hot. Pull it out, spread half of your batter in it, then sprinkle half of your streusel over that. Repeat with your remaining batter and remaining streusel, and stick it back in the oven. Bake it for, oh, 20 to 30 minutes, depending on your oven. The center should be firm, and the edges dark, golden brown. When it comes out of the oven, you can tip it out of the pan onto a plate. Good luck, then, not burning your fingers, snitching. All that streusel gets all melty and oozes down into the bottom of the bread, where it caramelizes against the hot pan... Gosh.
Side note, I've developed a crush on soft-boiled eggs. All I do is boil a little saucepan of water, stick an egg in it and let it boil for five minutes. Then I run it under cold water so I can peel it without burning my fingers. Sprinkled with salt and coarsely ground pepper and eaten with a toasted and buttered slice of good bread, accompanied by a glass of orange juice or a cup of fresh, French-press coffee, it's seriously one of the most comforting breakfasts (or lunches or dinners, especially when recovering from the flu) around. Plus, it's totally the sort of breakfast I imagine someone like Amelie (as in the movie), dressed in a cute little skirt and cardigan combo, eating in her chic little flat before she saunters outside into the Paris morning light and sails off on her adorable bike (probably with fresh flowers in her basket). Me, I eat it dressed in button-down and jeans, at my living room coffee table or desk, surrounded by textbooks and half-read magazines before flying out the door to work, but still. Such a lovely little dose of Continental-ness. Plus, I never get tired of the minimalist artistic quality of the plate...
Side, side note. (Obviously, I feel chatty this morning.) Nicole has developed a baking bee in her bonnet. She went and invested in a couple of Thomas Keller's cookbooks (Ad Hoc and Bouchon, I believe), among other things, and has been experimenting in her kitchen. This is, like, SERIOUSLY the best development. Why, you ask?
THIS is why. Buttery homemade croissant, soaked in almond syrup, slathered with almond butter, and topped with sliced almonds. One of the best things that has ever entered my mouth. (And anyone who reads this blog has a rough idea of the sheer amount of good food that has entered this mouth.)
I think she needs way more practice. Wink, wink.
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