Chocolate Chunk Banana Bread

My boyfriend and I are big fans of chocolate and banana flavors rolled into one. So, I made chocolate banana bread that was out of this world and brought it to him as a surprise (with the turkey sandwich from below)!

You will need:

3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature,
plus more for preparing loaf pans
All-purpose flour for preparing loaf pans
3 1/4 cups cake flour
1/2 t baking soda
4 t baking powder
1/4 t kosher salt
1 1/3 cups sugar
4 large eggs
3 cups mashed ripe bananas
2/3 cup sour cream
2 cups of semisweet chocolate chunks or morsels (It isn't chocolate chunk bread without a LOT of chocolate chunks! original recipe = 1 cup)

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Butter two 9-by-5-by-3-inch loaf pans and then dust the pans with all-purpose flour, tapping out the excess.



2. In a large bowl, sift together the cake flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, using the electric mixer set on medium speed, cream together the 3/4 cup butter and sugar until light yellow and creamy.



4. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the bananas and sour cream. Beat until incorporated. Add the flour mixture in 3 batches, beating after each addition just until the flour disappears.

5. Using a rubber spatula, fold in the chocolate. Divide the batter evenly between the prepared pans.



Bake for 20 minutes, then rotate the pans 180 degrees. Continue to bake until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes longer. Remove from the oven and set on a wire rack to cool for at least 15 minutes before removing from the pan. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Makes 2 loaves


Here I am - mixing the batter!


I found this recipe from Nordstrom Friend's and Family Cookbook.

Turkey Sandwich with a Sweet Twist

I decided to surprise my boyfriend the other day with a picnic lunch. I wanted to make him something easy and portable, but still fun and different. I was looking through a few of my cook books and found the "Plymouth Turkey Sandwich" in Katie Brown's "Weekends." The recipe consisted of a spread with cranberry preserves and cream cheese.

I went to the grocery store and could find every sort of preserves EXCEPT cranberry preserves. So, I got raspberry preserves - and it was AWESOME. My boyfriend loved it too, so much that that I had to make two sandwiches for him! If you love sweet and savory together - this is a perfect recipe for you.

All you need:

4 oz. of cream cheese
1/2 cup of raspberry preserves
8 slices of Oatmeal bread (first time I tried this bread - I LOVE IT. I found it in the Bakery rather than the bread isle.)
1/2 lb. of Roasted or smoked turkey, thinly sliced
Lettuce, torn into strips (the kind of lettuce is up to you - I had Iceberg lettuce at home so that is what I used)

SERVES 4

1. In a bowl, mix the cream cheese and raspberry preserves at medium speed until smooth.
2. Take two pieces of bread and spread raspberry cream cheese spread onto both pieces.
3. Add turkey and lettuce to sandwich.
4. Enjoy!!