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Recipes, restaurants, just good eating.

Adventures in the Kitchen with Michelle, Bananas Foster Pancakes

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Last week, I posted a little ditty about Cognac Sauce. If you missed it, check it out – this is part two.  

The Finale, Cognac Sauce

Jack Johnson is big on banana pancakes and so am I. I love that song. A romantic morning with the one you love makin’ banana pancakes…ahhhh. Hey, I have some bananas and it’s a Sunday morning pancake day. Oooo, maybe those bananas are passed their date. Wait a minute, these are Organic bananas and they normally last longer than their skins reveal. Yup, still good – but they need to be either in a smoothie, or frozen for ice cream…or a warm banana topping. I can get behind that! I also love Bananas Foster….hmm, the alcohol isn’t really kid-friendly. Answer: Make the warm bananas and then add the cognac sauce for the ‘foster’ punch. Oh, yeah! 

Bananas Foster Pancakes:

Step 1: 

Get out that bowl of Cognac Sauce/Icing you’ve been hoarding in the back of the fridge since the holidays! Next get a couple of bananas (or 3), a pat of butter, and about a tablespoon or 2 of brown sugar. (I just used one)

Step 1 in Bananas Foster Pancakes

Step 2:

Get some pancakes going. My guys like them buttermilk and a bit thin with a little cinnamon and nutmeg in the batter.

Step 2 in Bananas Foster Pancakes

Step 3:

In a small pan get the ’nanas, butter, and sugar on low heat and everything will begin to ‘melt’.

 Step 3 in Bananas Foster Pancakes

 Step 4:

 Nearly done, give it a dash of vanilla. 

Step 4 in Bananas Foster Pancakes

 Step 5:

Bubbly and yummy, with larger pieces of the banana slices still intact. Now, without using an entire stick of butter and a 1/4 cup of brown sugar, it’s more healthy but won’t have that caramelized glossy look. That’s ok, I’m spending my calories on that slightly evil s a u c e.

 Step 5 in Bananas Foster Pancakes

Step 6: 

Oh – there it is, Cognac Sauce…mmmmmm.

 Congac Sauce

Step 7: 

Get a warm pancake or two. Add a dollop of sauce…look at it melt.

 Step 7 in Bananas Foster Pancakes

Finale:

Finale in Bananas Foster Pancakes

Topped with those warm and yummy bananas…OMG ! Just enough ‘liquor’ taste left in the sauce to be decadent. Now, the kids can have banana topped pancakes minus the adult sauce.

I’ll have mine with, thank you. (Of course I ate them !!) Jack Johnson would approve I’m sure…he may even need to re-write that song.

Finale, Bananas Foster Pancakes

Michelle Beal @ Badzoot

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Adventures in the Kitchen with Michelle, Cognac Sauce

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Valentines Day is right around the corner. Isn’t that nice. Now that we’ve all made these ‘get healthy’ resolutions, captain-corporate-America figures that we’ve given up by now. (we haven’t) Ads for candy and recipes for gut busting treats are popping up all over the Net (thank you Pinners!). Most of us are going to be doing some cheating thru the month of February, and I’m here to help you out with that – you’re welcome. 

Oh, no – I’m not helping you stay on track. This is a fall-off-the-wagon gracefully deal. Don’t worry, it’s not some FiveGuys double with cheese and all the fries you can eat – fall off the wagon AND ROLL INTO A DITCH deal ! No, no, in my world, if I have to crawl back up into the wagon, then I’m going to try and stay out of the mud – but it will definitely be worth the fall. 

A little back-story on this one. For Christmas, I had made English Plum Pudding. Yes, that one. I looked up what I would consider the ultimate recipe for that dish. The classic James Beard 1963 version. James Beard, if you don’t know, was pretty much the father of modern cooking. A prolific cookbook author, and friend of Julia Child’s he was a large man with an even bigger appetite for everything from food to fun to booze. So it was no surprise that this pudding was fabulous! I’ll save that post for next Christmas though. This pudding was to be topped with hard sauce (icing) or cognac sauce. Oooo, ‘cognac’ sauce? What is THAT? Sad to say that when I searched, I found a savory steak sauce with cognac – not what Mr. Beard had in mind, I’m sure. Keep looking….then I found a site called Dramatic Pancake (I like the name-lovely site too). This blog had a recipe for a ‘NOLA Bread Pudding’ topped with Cognac Sauce. My mouth was watering just reading it. After making the plum pudding, I had just enough Remy left to try it. And try it I did. So simple – so good. 

Cognac Sauce – something you could fall off all sorts of wagons with!

Step 1: Gather together:

Cognac Sauce, Step 1

1 Stick of Butter, room temp

2 Cups Powdered Sugar

1/4 Cup Cognac (or bourbon or rum…)

Step 2:

Cream, slowly, the room temp butter and sugar.

Cognac Sauce, Step 2

Step 3: 

Add in the liquor and continue to whip. Yes, I own one of those fancy schmancy stand mixers (which I love), and here I am with the ultra cheapie hand mixer! I’m just thrilled I can hold the mixer in one hand and the camera in the other – showin’ off!

Cognac Sauce, Step 3

Step 4:

Look how smooth and yummy. Oh, you thought this was an actual ‘sauce’…no it’s really an awesome icing that melts super fast and creates an incredible sauce over anything it touches.

Cognac Sauce, Step 4

Finale:

The Finale, Cognac Sauce

I wish you could smell this. Use it for whatever and then save what’s left. I had a bowl in the back of the fridge saved for ’special’ recipes (like Valentines?) Later I’ll show you what else you can use this for, besides everything. Seriously, anything that needs to be ‘adult’ can use a dollop of this. Red Velvet cupcakes (or cookie) YES! Chocolate anything, ‘oui! Melted and drizzled over butter pecan ice cream ! Bread Pudding – Plum Pudding – Bananas Foster Pancakes?!! Here’s a teaser for next week. Pancakes with Cognac Sauce

I think I just bruised my backside falling off that wagon!

Michelle Beal @ Badzoot

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Adventures in the Kitchen with Michelle, Lil’ Itly Healthier Hoagie

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Who doesn’t love street food? Or fair and flea market food? It’s all really the same hot n’ greasiness. Just what you need when you’ve gone too long without a bite, because your out running around. Not to mention the smell of grilled sausages and peppers wafting through the air calling you. Oh, it’s good – it’s really good. Maybe not necessarily good for you though. Let’s work on that.

Recently, I ran across a recipe from Mario Batali (so you know it’s gotta be great) for ‘Spicy Stewed Sausage with Three Peppers’. It was listed as a ‘healthy’ recipe and I agreed, but as I read through it I knew my guys (even my Cactus Man) wouldn’t eat 4 serranos and a habanero in anything. And they don’t really like green peppers either (I know, c r a z y!!). Before I knew it, I had marked up the printed recipe so much that I could probably call it my own. But I still have to thank Mario for the fabulous idea. So, here’s my version of a bite of Lil’Itly street food.

Lil’Itly Healthier Hoagie

 

Step 1: Gather the goods.

The Goodies

1 pk Turkey Sausage, fresh, mild or sweet Italian (ours is 1.25lb)

1 pk Sweet Italian Chicken Sausage (12 oz)

(basically, 2 pounds of a mixed turkey and chicken sausage – however yours works out best)

2 Red Peppers, chopped

1 Orange Pepper, chopped

1 Yellow Pepper, chopped

1 Jalapeño Pepper, seeded and diced fine

1 Fennel Bulb, cored, sliced thin

1 Red Onion, chopped

1 Cup Red Wine, dry

Salt & Pepper

Optional : Romano Cheese, grated and added at the end or Provolone slices on the hoagie

Step 2:

Hot Hot Jalapeno

Chop those veggies. I did a kinda large slice, as you’d find at the street vendors grill. Another tip: I use the bag the jalapeño came in to hold it down while I seed and chop it. If you’ve ever chopped one with bare hands and then rubbed your eyes, you’ll understand why this is a mistake that is only made once.

Step 3:

Chopped Veggies

Look how pretty!

Step 4:

Sausages in the Pan

Get the fresh sausages in the pan on about medium-medium/low heat, (this is a 4qt) but first prick them with a fork so they don’t pop. When they’re nearly done (and about the time the veggies are ready to go), add the chicken sausages. They already cooked so they don’t need the extra time, but prick them too. Don’t worry about the brown stuff in the pan, you’ll need that later.

Step 5:

Step 5

Once they’re all browned, remove the sausages and set aside. Then add the veggies with a pinch of salt & pepper to the pan. Oh, see that thing on the back burner – a splatter screen, it’s the best $15 you will ever spend.

Step 6:

Cooked veges

Get those veggies movin’. Have you noticed I haven’t called for even a drop of oil? Because you won’t need it. The juice from the peppers will make a liquid in the bottom of the pan that loosens the fond and gets the gravy going. (I could give you a photo, but I can’t stir AND work the camera! – I need a third hand!)

Step 7:

Pour the wine in

Now that the veggies are softened a bit, but not mushy, add in the wine, and the sausages. No, you may NOT sub beer for the wine!

Step 7a:

Sausages

Ooooo, get ‘em nestled in nice. Aaahhhh – can you smell that?! Oh, you can’t – sorry. Well, get a lid on them and let ‘em cook another 15 min or so. Then, get your buns ready.

Finale:

Finale, Yum

Wow – like straight from a food truck near you! This is some seriously good eats here – worth it to splurge on eating a real hoagie roll. The guys, who put cheese on theirs, were on their second ones when they bothered to ask, ‘ Wait, is this turkey sausage??’ They mainly asked because I was eating one – and I’d never eat ‘football food’ with them. The juice, or jus, in the bottom of the pan is fabulous. I spooned some out over my hoagie, and it soaked into the bread….OMG! The single jalapeño gives a bite without taking your head off, and even adds a ‘green’ pepper flavor. The colored peppers are so sweet and juicy along with the red onion, and the fennel gives a sausage-spice extra punch – it’s perfect. Not to mention it looks absolutely delicious. You have to try this. And I know you will, because this is big flavor for minimal calories/fat that the whole family will devour.

And the next time you make it, cut up the sausages and put it all over pasta – gasp!

Enjoy!

Michelle Beal