1. food and drink
2. desserts and baking

C M Y
K
C2
DAILY COMMERCIAL
Wednesday, February 27, 2013
A genuine, one-and-only banana pudding recipe
ne of the advantages
of cooking at home
is that it allows you
to give full rein to your
prejudices. And I freely
admit to being hideously
prejudiced when it comes
to banana pudding.
So, if you’re content with
banana pudding made
from a pudding mix, or
without vanilla wafers, or
if you can enjoy a serving
of the stuff topped with
mere whipped topping —
or even not topped at all
— please stop reading
right now and go do
something more useful or
amusing.
And for those of you still
hanging in there, yes, I
know I’ve said more than
once that if more time is
required to prepare a dish
than to eat it, your only
excuse for making it is
that it’s a labor of love.
O
HELPFUL HINTS
K If your kitchen equipment doesn’t include a double boiler, it’s easy
enough to improvise using two saucepans, one smaller than the other.
Of course, you can get away without going the cook-over-water route,
but it’s going to mean standing right there and stirring constantly. No
— absolutely no — time outs to check on your favorite soap opera or
answer the phone.
K When you stir a pudding, keep the burner at a moderate heat and
forget about stirring in circles. Instead, use a figure-eight motion,
which covers more of the bottom area and therefore does a better job
at keeping your pudding from sticking and scorching.
Mary Ryder
PRACTICAL POTWATCHER
Mary Ryder of Mascotte can be
reached at PlainCook@aol.com, or
by regular mail at P.O. Box 460,
Mascotte, FL 34753.
When I make banana
pudding, it’s definitely a
labor by today’s standards.
My banana pudding is
made with vanilla wafers.
My banana pudding
involves pudding made
from scratch.
And my banana pudding is gloriously crowned
with airy, gold-touched
meringue.
You’ll find it well worth
the labor required
because the resulting confection isn’t just a dessert,
it’s an indulgence. You’ll
love it.
The first time it’s a
rather tedious and complex project but practice
makes all things easy,
even scratch pudding and
French-style meringue.
And you can’t imagine
how smug you’ll feel when
friends ask what brand of
mix you used, and you
admit that you cobbled up
this little gem the primitive way, no mixes
allowed.
So, here it is, perhaps
not my mother’s recipe
but it tastes like the
banana puddings she
made.
OLD-FASHIONED
BANANA PUDDING
INGREDIENTS FOR PUDDING:
K 1⁄2 cup granulated sugar
K 1⁄4 teaspoon nutmeg
K 1⁄3 cup regular flour
K Dash of salt
K 3 egg yolks
K 2 cups milk
K 3⁄4 teaspoon vanilla extract
K 1 box vanilla wafers, 12-ounce
size
K 3 or 4 medium-sized ripe
bananas, sliced
INGREDIENTS FOR MERINGUE:
K 3 egg whites
1
K ⁄4 cup granulated sugar
DIRECTIONS:
1) Separate three eggs, putting
yolks in small bowl, and whites
in mixing bowl. Do this half an
hour before you begin work on
your pudding so the whites have
time to come to room temperature and expand into a voluminous meringue.
2) Bring water to boil in bottom
of double boiler. Meanwhile, in
top of double boiler, mix half cup
of sugar, nutmeg, flour and salt.
Blend in egg yolks and milk.
Cook, uncovered and stirring
constantly, over boiling water
until thickened, about 10 to
12 minutes.
3) Remove from heat and stir in
vanilla.
4) While oven preheats to 350
degrees, butter a one and a half
quart baking dish, and arrange
vanilla wafers around the
perimeter. Next, spread a little
custard in the bottom of your
baking dish. Add a layer of vanilla wafers, a layer of banana
slices, and a third of the remaining custard. Continue with layers,
ending with the last of the custard. (A deep-dish pie plate is a
good baking dish for this.)
5) Work quickly making the
meringue; you want to spread it
over the surface of the pudding
while the pudding is still hot.
6) In mixing bowl, beat egg
whites with electric mixer at high
speed until soft peaks form.
Gradually add quarter cup of
sugar, a tablespoon at a time,
beating until stiff peaks form.
Spread evenly over custard, covering entire surface and sealing
edges well. Bake 15 to 20 minutes until meringue is lightly
browned.
7) If pudding is refrigerated, little
drops of moisture may form on
the meringue. Use a bit of paper
towel to absorb the moisture
before serving.
Don’t have time to eat breakfast? Drink it
CANDICE CHOI
AP Food Industry Writer
BOCA RATON — If you
don’t have time to sit down
for a bowl of cereal in the
morning, companies are
hoping you’ll want to drink
your breakfast.
As companies struggle to
grow cereal sales in the
U.S., Kellogg and General
Mills are preparing to roll
HOT
CONTINUED FROM C1
than heat level, is one dried
chili that different from
another once it is ground
or pureed into a sauce?
The Helpful Place
We Sell &
Service
Equipment*
out breakfast drinks.
At an industry conference Wednesday, Kellogg
CEO John Bryant said one
way the company will
redefine cereal is with its
“Breakfast To Go” milkbased drink, which will be
rolled out nationally this
year. A day before, General
Mills said it’s testing a
breakfast
dairy-based
shake called “BFast” that
has whole grains and the
nutrition of a bowl of cereal and milk, including
fiber, protein, vitamins
and whole grains. The
drink is currently being
tested in the Northeast.
In separate remarks,
both companies noted
that a similar drink called
“Up & Go” by Sanitarium
Health and Wellbeing Co.
is performing strongly in
Australia, with about 10
percent to 20 percent of
the cereal business.
The broader idea of
turning meals into drinks
is getting more attention
as people look for convenient ways to eat on the go.
Even though it doesn’t take
Only one way to find out.
We tasted seven mild to
medium-hot dried chilies
easily
available.
We
stemmed and seeded the
pods and removed as
much of the interior veins
as possible, then soaked
seven grams of the chili
pieces in a half cup of hot
water for one hour, then
1
pureed them with ⁄4 teaspoon salt.
After tasting them this
way, we made a simple
batch of enchilada sauce
with browned flour and
oil, chicken stock, cinnamon, honey, lemon juice
and cocoa, and combined
sauce with the chili purees,
each in equal parts.
chilies with the hot water; set a
small plate over the chilies to
keep them submerged. Let soak
until softened, about 20 minutes.
Strain and reserve the soaking
liquid. Stem, seed and coarsely
chop the chilies.
2) Preheat the oven to 400
degrees. In a large saucepan,
heat 2 tablespoons of the oil. Add
the onion and garlic and cook
over moderate heat until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the
chopped chilies and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the tomato, oregano, a pinch of salt and
the strained-chili soaking liquid
and bring to a boil. Cover the
soup and simmer gently over low
heat for 20 minutes.
3) Meanwhile, in a cake pan, toss
the diced baguette with the
remaining 1 tablespoon of olive
oil and spread in an even layer.
Bake until golden brown, about
8 minutes.
4) Working in batches, puree the
soup in a blender (or use an
immersion blender). Return the
soup to the saucepan, bring to a
simmer and season with salt.
Ladle the soup into bowls. Top
with the creme fraiche, avocado,
cilantro leaves and croutons and
serve.
K 2 tablespoons red wine
vinegar
1
K 1 ⁄2 tablespoons honey
K Salt and freshly ground black
pepper
1
K ⁄4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
leaves
GARLIC AND
PASILLA CHILI SOUP
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27649 U.S. Highway 27 (352) 787-5446
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M-Sat 7:30-7, Sun 9-5
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M-Sat 7-7:00, Sun 9-5
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS:
K 3 large dried pasilla chilies
K 1 quart hot water
K 3 tablespoons olive oil
K 1 medium onion, coarsely
chopped
K 1 head garlic, cloves peeled
and coarsely chopped
K 1 large tomato, cut into 1-inch
dice
K 1⁄2 teaspoon dried oregano,
preferably Mexican
K Pinch of salt
K 1 cup country bread or
baguette in 1⁄2inch dice
K 1⁄4 cup creme fraiche or sour
cream
K 1 Hass avocado, cut into
1
⁄2inch dice
K 1⁄4 cup cilantro leaves
DIRECTIONS:
1) In a large bowl, cover the
BOBBY FLAY’S
ANCHO CHILI
SAUCE
Serves 4
INGREDIENTS:
K 3 ancho chili pods
K 2 tablespoons canola oil
K 1 large red onion, coarsely
chopped
K 3 cloves garlic, coarsely
chopped
K 2 cups plum tomatoes, and
their juices
K 3 roasted red peppers, coarsely chopped
SEE DRINK | C5
DIRECTIONS:
1) Put the ancho pods in a bowl
and cover with boiling water.
Let sit for 30 minutes, then
remove the stems and seeds and
coarsely chop. Reserve the soaking liquid.
2) Heat the oil in a medium
saucepan over high heat. Add the
onions and cook until soft. Add
the garlic and cook for 1 minute.
Add the tomatoes, peppers and
ancho chilies and cook until the
tomatoes soften and break down
and the liquid thickens, 20 to
30 minutes.
3) Let cool and carefully transfer
the mixture to a food processor
and process until smooth. Add
the vinegar, honey, salt, pepper,
to taste, add cilantro and pulse a
few times just to combine.
Transfer to a covered container
and refrigerate until ready to use.
CHILIED PEANUTS
AND PUMPKIN
SEEDS
Makes 3 cups
INGREDIENTS:
K 2 cups roasted peanuts
(preferably without salt)
K 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
K 2 teaspoons ancho (or guajillo)
chili powder (available at
Hispanic markets), plus a little
arbol chili powder if you like it
spicy
K Salt
K 1 cup hulled pumpkin (pepita)
seeds
DIRECTIONS:
1) Turn on the oven to 250
degrees and position a rack in
the middle. In a medium bowl,
toss the peanuts with the lime
juice until all have been moistened. Sprinkle evenly with chili,
then toss until the chili evenly
coats the nuts. Spread the nuts
into a shallow layer on a baking
sheet. Slide into the oven and
bake 20 to 30 minutes, until the
chili has formed a light crust on
the nuts. Remove from the oven
and sprinkle generously with
salt, usually about 1 teaspoon.
2) In a large skillet over medium
heat, toast the pumpkin seeds:
spread the seeds into the skillet
and, when the first one pops, stir
constantly until all have popped
from flat to round, about 5 minutes. Scoop on top of the
peanuts, toss the two together,
then scoop the mixture into a
serving bowl.