Banana Bread

Posted by: Maggie

This is the recipe for banana bread that my Mom uses, and it's simple and delicious. I let my bananas ripen for about 6 days before making this - make sure they're pretty dark before cooking this recipe to ensure the flavor is as tasty as it should be.

What you'll need:

2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 eggs, beaten
2 1/3 cups mashed overripe bananas (about 4-5 very large bananas)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9X5 inch loaf pan.

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, cream together butter and brown sugar. Mix in eggs and mashed bananas until well blended.

Add flour mixture to banana mixture, and stir until just moistened. Pour batter into prepared loaf pan, and bake 60-65 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in loaf comes out clean. Poke several different spots, as you may hit a banana chunk and think the loaf is underdone, when it in fact isn't.

Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, and turn out on wire rack to complete cooling.

Chocolate Chip Cookies, Redux

Posted by: Maggie

This is the second chocolate chip cookie recipe I'm posting to A Bitchin' Kitchen. The first recipe I added was Alton Brown's amazing recipe for "The Chewy", and while it was delicious I decided to experiment with another recipe.

This recipe calls for the addition of instant pudding to the mix, which supposedly helps keep the cookies soft. They were delicious, and my coworkers gobbled them up.

The recipe did not call for salt, which I adhered to, but I would strongly recommend adding 1/2-1 teaspoon of salt (change noted below).

What you'll need:

2-1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 (3.4 ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together the flour, baking soda, and salt, and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar. Beat in the instant pudding mix until blended. Stir in the eggs and vanilla. Blend in the flour mixture. Finally, stir in the chocolate chips and nuts. Chill dough for 1 hour, and then roll into walnut sized balls and place on parchment lined baking sheet.

Bake for 9 minutes in preheated oven, or until golden brown.

Moroccan Grilled Salmon

Posted by: Maggie


It's time for a non-dessert recipe, since the last three I've posted have been cookies, bars, and truffles. Also, this is A Bitchin' Kitchen's first ever seafood recipe!

I changed a few things from the Food Network's version. Some of the reviewers had problems with the fish sticking to the grill, so I skipped marinating the fish and just brushed it and the grill with olive oil. (Grill for me = the Cuisinart Griddler...I LOVE it so much that I want to take it behind the middle school and get it pregnant.)

Also, I only used two salmon fillets and doubled the sauce, which I then dipped pita bread in. The sauce has a strong cumin flavor, and cumin smells like falafel. Therefore, pita dipping was the logical course of action.

Lastly, since I want to share my cooking tribulations as well as my triumphs I present the following - thou shalt not flip salmon with tongs, if thou doesn't want salmon to resemble cat food:


Thank goodness I cooked two pieces.

Here's what you'll need:

1 cup Greek Yogurt
Juice of 1 lemon
2 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil
4 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
1 T ground coriander
1 T cumin
Salt and pepper to taste
2 6-oz salmon fillets (I accidentally bought the kind with skin, and will do so again now that I know how easy it is to pull off once cooked)
Parsley for garnish

Preheat a grill pan to medium high, and cover with a generous amount of olive oil.

While the grill is heating, mix together the yogurt, lemon, oil, garlic, and spices. Put it in the fridge while you cook the salmon.

Brush oil on both sides of the salmon fillets, and cook for about 9 minutes per side, or until fish is opaque and flakes easily with a fork.

I bought cous-cous to serve with this, but ended up just having pita bread. Either one would be a delicious accompaniment.