Tuesday, August 5, 2008

TWD: The Black and White Banana Bread

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Recipe chosen by: Ashlee of A Year in the Kitchen
Link to TWD group: Tuesdays With Dorie homepage

Alternate title of this post: How to Do Absolutely Everything Wrong and Still Succeed (Thank You Dorie!)

Okay now, here's how it goes:

Completely forget to buy bananas early enough that they're ripe when you want to make banana bread. CHECK!


DSC00944One of the tips on line to rapidly ripen bananas was a brown paper bag with ventilation holes placed on top of the fridge.


(Didn't work...)

DSC00940But I found another tip to put the bananas in the oven as it preheats - for about 15 minutes. Something about the skins blackening and the flavors and sugars concentrating.

(That one totally worked. Wasn't as great as a so-ripe-it's-black-on-the-outside banana, but it'll work in a pinch.)

Next on the bungle the recipe plan? Forget to put the butter out to soften until juuuuust about the time you need to start it. CHECK!


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One of the best parts of a 23 day record heat wave? Insta-butter softening!

(Okay, so not quite instant. But by the time I'd measured and chopped everything else, the butter was almost too soft. Way to provide the assist Mother Nature!)

Right, so this is just going swimmingly, huh? So what's next? I know, I know! How about burning yourself on the napalm hot banana as you're trying to get it out of the skin and dropping it into the bowl splattering rum and lemon juice all over everything? CHECK!

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This one is so totally my favorite. Check out the splatters up the side of the bowl - and on the measuring cup. Now imagine that over the rest of the counter and even the book. Awesome - lemony yet rummy at the same time!

After that, things worked out a little better. Mash and mix and melt and fold.

Banana Bread Mosaic


DSC00957And that's right about when I got all confident and let my guard down.

(Bad, bad idea. *sigh*)

I didn't get the whole "drop alternating spoonfuls" instruction so I went with something part way between that and the other technique with rows.

DSC00958All was good until I got to that second row. I was worried about making the chocolate portion stretch since I'd messed up dividing the batter.

So next? Next, drop a spoonful of the chocolate smack dab on top of the "white" spoonful you just dropped, then try to fix it and manage to glop everything up until it starts to look like mud. CHECK!


And for the crowning achievement? How about missing a huge section of the pan when you're greasing it so the bread breaks all to pieces when it's removed? CHECK!

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For all the messups and ugly result, this is one amazing recipe. The flavors are fantastic, and the marbling (on the good side at least) was sharp and attractive. If it came out this great when I was mucking about at the helm, I can only imagine how everyone else managed. Check out A Year in the Kitchen for the recipe and the TWD group to see the other results.

Thanks Ashlee for picking an awesome recipe!

38 comments:

Nickki said...

Your post is so funny! I'm glad your loaf turned out great, especially after what you went through :)

Sarah said...

Hysterical! Glad you enjoyed the taste of the bread...even if the process was somewhat frustrating! :)

Anonymous said...

Oh my. I can just picture it. What a couple hours of frantic fun that must have been! It was a joy reading of your mishaps, especially since you liked it in the end. :) Great work!

TeaLady said...

Murphy's Law had you in their sites with this one. Glad it turned out tho'.

CB said...

Oh man! Talk about everything not going your way! Love that splash picture. Glad everything worked out and tasted great!
Clara @ iheartfood4thought

Eleganza Strings/ The DeLadurantey Family said...

That fist pic looks great! Even if it did stick to pan. We have done that many a times:)

Anne said...

So funny, it's crazy how some days things just don't come together! Either way, I think the end result looks delicious!

Anonymous said...

Your bread looks great! Did you make a deal with the devil? ;)

Christine said...

Learned something new about sticking the bananas in the oven. Thanks for the tip your bread looks delicious!

Tammy said...

love that marbling!

Engineer Baker said...

Wow, that's why I love forgiving recipes. Every one of those things? Yeah, I've done them a hundred times over. Fantastic looking loaf though!

Heather B said...

haha! Great post! Glad you enjoyed it even though you had troubles!

Linda said...

I really like your banana ripening techniques...and kudos for getting over your hurdles and ending up with a loaf that you enjoyed!!

Anonymous said...

I loved reading your post! This looks great, and you did a great job with the marbling.

Nancy/n.o.e said...

Your post is a fun read (even if it was probably NOT so fun at the time!) The loaf looks beautiful and I'm glad you found it delicious.

Nancy

Pamela said...

Loved the alternate title. All of that and you still had a tasty little cake. Nice job! And the splatter pic was funny, too! P.S. Your header is so cute.

Anonymous said...

It turned out wonderfully even if it was a bit more harrowing than normal. :) It's beautifully and I'm sure it tasted great!

Anonymous said...

Funny post. I didn't really pay attention to the recipe as I was making it. So, there's no marbling in mine.Just all chocolate. But yours looks so pretty. Nice job.

Mari said...

Sometimes baking is like meditation and sometimes it's like racing the Indy 500. The best part is putting your feet up and sampling your goodies at the end!

marae said...

haha i loved your post...the important thing is that it tastes good right?!

Anonymous said...

I love the fact that my cookbooks get splattered occasionally. That means that I USE them. (My husband, the neat freak, wants to replace them all.)

In spite of your "challenges," your marbling turned out lovely!

Flourchild said...

Great post. I like your butter softening technique! Im glad you enjoyed the bread!

Bumblebutton said...

Oh my, but you liked it anyway! That's the great part!

Anonymous said...

Oh my gosh, too funny! The finished slices sure came out well considering all of your troubles. I guess that's how you know you're a good baker - when you can have so much go wrong and still pull it all together!

Ellen and Tom said...

Your post cracked me up! I've had a lot of baking days like that - good for you for persevering. Looks like the result worked out fine in the end.

Ellen and Tom said...

Your post cracked me up! I've had a lot of baking days like that - good for you for persevering. Looks like the result worked out fine in the end.

Cecilia said...

The marbling on the good side DID turn out beautifully! I'm glad that it worked out in the end for you; that's all that matters.

Anonymous said...

So many people seem to have had minor disasters with this recipe -- maybe it's jinxed. No matter, as long as it tastes good!

Karleen said...

Hahahaha. I love that you had problems with the loaf sticking in the pan too! I used the same marbling technique also: rows and random droppings. Our breads are testiment that the great taste is really all that matters!

Summertime said...

LOL! I can relate. I'm glad it turned out well. The picture looks delish!

Michelle H said...

I do the same thing with my butter! ha! Good ol' Arizona heat. :o)

Anonymous said...

At least it tasted good. Can you imagine if you went through all that and it was awful?

Jules Someone said...

Hehehehe. Nice looking loaf!

Jaime said...

from the first picture, i would have never known how much trouble you had with this recipe! it looks great and your marbling looks so much better than mine :)

Di said...

I'm glad you at least enjoyed the taste of the final result. The splatter picture really is great. =)

Jacque said...

LOL, sounds like at least you kept your sense of humor about it... and it turned into a cute post.

I think your marbleing looks great... it's almost like there's no wrong way to do it.

Great job!

LyB said...

Laugh out loud as I read this post... check! So glad it turned out for you. :)

Shelby said...

This was a great post! I bet we all have some "stories" to tell about how things don't go right during the baking process! Great job despite your troubles!!