Another Fix

When you write a food blog, you're constantly searching for inspiration.  Actually, it's not inspiration as much as it is a new take on things you've made 100 times already.  At least that's the case for me.

My family is either blessed or cursed with the fact that they rarely eat the same thing twice.  Or at least twice in a year.  Some families have the same roast chicken recipe for dinner every Friday night.  It's the old "if it's not broke, don't fix it" approach.  In our house, it might be a roast chicken, but you can bet that it's a different roast chicken every time.

I'm like an addict.  I'm constantly looking for my next score, although my drug of choice is a new take on roast chicken, or mashed potatoes, or in this case, banana bread.

Two things happened this morning.  One is that I packed a weekend bag because we are going to New York to see Charlie.  I'm very excited about this because we haven't seen him since he moved there back in early July.  A lot has happened since then -- most importantly, he's become a member of the working world.  Any parent out there will know what I mean when I say that it's one thing to talk on the phone, and quite another to actually have a face to face conversation, so I'm very happy to get to do that.  It's also his 22nd birthday and we are thrilled to get to spend it with him.

The other thing that happened was that I noticed that I had four really ripe bananas.  This, as you might imagine, is not an unusual or particularly unique occurrence in my house.  But, in a true case of serendipity, our visit to see Charlie (who loves everything I bake), and my overripe bananas combined to create... an opportunity to try another banana bread recipe!

Since I make banana bread all the time, I am always in search of new recipes for said banana bread.  I decided to consult with my good friend Google to see if there were any recipes out there that I may have missed the other 10 trillion times I looked for banana bread recipes.

Hard as is it for me to believe, I realized that I have never made Smitten Kitchen's Jacked Up Banana Bread.  This didn't seem  possible because I love, love, love Smitten Kitchen.

Of course it was divine, and of course you should all make this.  It's a fairly straightforward recipe except that it calls for bourbon in the batter.  What could be better?  What could appeal to a young 20's guy more?  Bread with booze -- all your major food groups.

Happy birthday Charlie.

Recipe:  Elise’s Friend Heidi’s Friend Mrs. Hockmeyer’s Banana Bread, As Jacked Up by Deb
Adapted from Simply Recipes and Smitten Kitchen

No need for a mixer for this recipe — need I say more?

Ingredients:

3 to 4 ripe bananas, smashed
1/3 cup melted salted butter
3/4 to 1 cup light brown sugar (depending on the level of sweetness you prefer, I always use the smaller amount)
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon bourbon (optional)
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Pinch of ground cloves
1 1/2 cup of flour

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, vanilla and bourbon, then the spices. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last, mix. Pour mixture into a buttered 4×8 inch loaf pan. Bake for 50 minutes to one hour, or until a tester comes out clean. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.