Dragoness Eclectic's Journal

I found this recipe in my mother's cookbook collection when I was looking for something to make with a bunch of rapidly ripening bananas. It just so happened I had extra cream cheese and leftover heavy whipping cream from Christmas cooking as well, so this was just about perfect. As it was.

Banane Céleste

A delicious, rich banana dessert from Martinique.

• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1/3 c. light brown sugar, sifted
• 3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 4 Tbs butter
• 6 large, firm ripe bananas, peeled and cut in half lengthwise
• 1/4 c. heavy cream

Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a deep bowl, cream the cheese, sugar and 1/2 tsp of the cinnamon together, mashing and beating them against the sides of the bowl with a large spoon until light and fluffy. Set aside.

In a heavy 10- to 12-inch skillet, melt the butter over moderate heat. When the foam begins to subside, add 4 or 5 of the banana halves and brown them lightly on both sides, turning them over gently with a spatula and regulating the heat so that they color evenly without burning. As they brown, transfer the bananas to a plate and set them aside while you brown the remaining halves.

Lay 6 of the banana halves side by side, cut side down in a shallow baking dish large enough to hold them easily, and spread about half the cream-cheese mixture over them. Arrange the remaining bananas on top ans spread them with th rest of the cream cheese.

Pour in the cream and bake in the middle of the oven until the bananas are tender but still intact and the cream-cheese sauce is golden-brown and bubbly. Sprinkle the top with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon and serve at once, directly from the baking dish.

Note: this dish warms up well in the microwave and should always be served warm. It just doesn't taste the same when cold.

From Time-Life Books "Foods of the World" series, Recipes: The Cooking of the Caribbean Islands, p.114-115

Cinnamon Basil & Lime Icebox Cookies

A fairly tasty cookie to use my cinnamon basil with. I make it with the almonds. Also I slice the cookie a bit thicker, as I want cookies, not flavored crisps.

* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 2/3 cup unsalted butter, softened
* 1 cup granulated sugar
* 1 large egg
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
* 3 tablespoons fresh cinnamon basil leaves, chopped
* 1 tablespoon grated lime zest
* 1 cup slivered almonds or pistachios, chopped

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt and set aside.

Cream butter, sugar and egg together in mixer until light and fluffy. Add vanilla extract, nutmeg, lime zest, cinnamon basil and almonds and mix until thoroughly combine.

Add flour mixture in three or four parts, making sure that flour is completely mixed in before next addition.

Gently roll dough into an even log about 3 inches in diameter, lightly flour hands and work surface if dough is sticky. Wrap rolled dough in parchment/wax paper and chill at least 2 hours until completely firm or store for up to one week in the refrigerator. This dough can also be frozen for up to two months.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees, slice dough in roll 1/4 inch thick straight out of the refrigerator or after about 6 hours of thawing in fridge if frozen dough. Place cookies about 2 inches apart on a sheet pan and bake 8-10 minutes until edges are lightly golden brown. Remove from sheet pan immediately and cool on a wire rack.

Found on Epicurious at http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/member/views/CINNAMON-BASIL-LIME-ICEBOX-COOKIES-1271204.

I tried making cheese bread this weekend. Technically, it came out well; tastewise, we all agreed that (cheddar) cheese bread didn't do anything for us. I think I'll scratch that one off the list of "breads to make in the future".

That's the way of cooking experiments: sometimes you add a great new recipe to your repertoire, and sometimes you have to scratch it off the list of "Things I will make again". It's also necessary to have victims an understanding audience that is willing to taste-test new things that might not work out. ;-)

Yesterday, I made honey-oatmeal bread for the first time. It's the first loaf of bread that I've made that actually rose to full size and looked like a proper loaf of bread.

The honey added a nice sweetness to it that made it especially tasty. Ravyn, I used some of that Swamp Honey (I have a jar, too). I swear that's some of the tastiest honey I've ever had--I think there's something in the mix that tastes like citrus flower honey.

The fruitcakes I made two weeks ago are still curing in the fridge, of course. I soak them with rum.

Easy Fantasy Fudge is my favorite fudge recipe. It's a mod on the recipe found on the back of Kraft Marshmallow Creme.

Tollhouse Cookies is my favorite cookie. It's a mod of a very old version of the recipe on the back of Nestlé chocolate chips packages. Not the current version, which I don't like as much.

Fool-proof Pie Crust

My grandmother's pie crust recipe, makes a good pie crust that's hard to screw up. Take the usual precautions for flakiness anyway.
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