Please Pass the Butter - Fennel-Olive Oil Quick Bread

Nothing says thank you quite like a homemade hostess gift - something delicious from the kitchen. When the hostess in question also happens to be a famous cookbook author and teacher, the stakes are pretty high. So when Bonnie Stern invited us to a Friday night dinner, it seemed only fitting to bring a loaf of freshly baked bread, packaged with two pounds of homemade butter. It might seem like carrying coals to Newcastle but who can resist fresh bread and butter?

Fennel-Olive Oil Quick Bread
from Olive Oil: From Tree to Table

It`s likely you have all the ingredients on hands for this easy three-step quick bread, and if not, it`s worth making sure you do. Simple, and simply scrumpcious, the bread can be made and baking in the oven while your guests are nibbling on appetizers.

Makes one loaf (can easily be doubled)

3 c self-rising flour
3 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp crushed fennel seeds
2 tbsp chopped fresh fennel tops, (or fresh dill tops); use 1 tbsp dried dill if fresh herbs are unavailable
1 can (12 oz) light beer
2 to 3 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil

1.  Preheat an oven to 375°F.  Oil a 9- by 5-inch loaf pan with olive oil.

2. Combine flour, sugar, fennel seeds and fennel (or dill) tops in a medium bowl.  Add the beer and beat vigorously with a wooden spoon until well mixed. 

3.  Pour the batter into prepared loaf pan and pour the olive oil evenly over the top.  Bake until the top is golden, 50 to 55 minutes.  Slip loaf carefully out of pan and tap it on the bottom; if it sounds hollow and is also a nice golden colour, the bread is ready.  Cool on a wire rack until barely warm and break out the homemade butter.

Don't be alarmed at what seems like a lot of oil; it will get absorbed by the dough and won't result in oily bread

Whenever I bring a hostess gift to someone's house, especially something homemade, I like to think of creative ways to package everything up.  The homemade butter was easy: natural parchment paper and twine gave it the right rustic feeling.

I took advantage of Easter to stock up on cute bags and colourful grass that, taken out of context, would not be construed as particularly Easter-like, and could be used year-round.  This adorable bag was actually from Pottery Barn Kids, re-purposed here into a nifty "butter basket".  I wrapped the bread in a pretty napkin, easy to be reused by the hostess as a bread basket liner.

I added a bottle of Bottlegreen Elderflower Cordial for Ray, who creates the fabulous cocktails in the house

Yummy!

Go Bananas - Cranberry-Banana Quick Bread

I love quick breads.  The kind that use up random ingredients, that don't require hours of rising time and that can be made on the spur of the moment.  I especially love banana bread, because that moment  of optimal ripeness for a banana is so fleeting.  All too quickly, it seems, the yellow becomes brown, the skin beginning to wizen and pucker.  If time and patience permit, let the bananas be.  Let them go until they are deep coffee brown, barely recognisable.  Remember that half bag of cranberries you threw in the freezer?  Take them out and let's begin.

Cranberry-Banana Quick Bread*
makes one large loaf, or two medium size loaves

1½ c. all purpose flour
1¼  tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
1 c. frozen cranberries, plus a handful more (can use fresh)
2 very ripe bananas, mashed
½ c. sugar
¼ c. vegetable oil
1 large egg, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla

1.  Preheat oven to 350°F.  Spray a 9" x 5" loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray. You can also use two 8" x 4" pans to make two loaves.

2.  In a medium bowl, sift flour, baking powder and baking soda.  Stir in 1 cup of cranberries.

3.  In another medium bowl, whisk remaining ingredients together until smooth.  With a wooden spoon, stir dry ingredients into banana mixture until just blended. 

4.  Scrape evenly into prepared pan(s).  Take the reserved cranberries and stud the top of the batter with them.  Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean.

5.  While the bread is cooling completely, put a kettle on for some soothing tea and put on your favourite CD.  Cut a generous slice or two, curl up on the couch and enjoy!

*The recipe can easily be doubled.  Either that or throw those brown bananas in the freezer for future baking

Nutty about Nutella - Zucchini Nutella Bread

I know, I know, I'm late.  The foodie blogosphere has been rife with Nutella recipes, in celebration of World Nutella Day (yes, really). I spread the gospel according to Ferraro and bought everyone at the office a jar of Nutella on February 5 to honour the day. 

And of course I rifled through the dozens of recipes on the official World Nutella Day site. It's been years since I bought Nutella, and truth be told, the easiest recipe I know is: take spoon; dip in jar; lick. To get a little more complex, one can also peel a banana and spread copious amounts of Nutella on that.

I’ve progressed on the culinary front since those days, and so I thought I’d try something new. A recipe for chocolate zucchini bread caught my eye, and it seemed like a good cross between delicious and nutritious. I dug out my own tattered recipe card with my zucchini bread recipe, compared notes and came up with this creation.  I may be late for World Nutella Day, but this would make a pretty spiffy Valentine's Day breakfast on Sunday morning...

Liz’s Zucchini Nutella Bread
makes two loaves

3 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tbsp cinnamon
3 eggs
1½ cup granulated sugar
1 c. vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla
2 cups shredded zucchini
1 tbsp grated lemon zest (use Meyer lemons if available)
½ cup (or more) Nutella chocolate chips (see Notes)
⅓ cup toasted hazelnuts, chopped (see Notes)
6 tsp Nutella

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon and set aside. Grate the zucchini and set aside.

3. Beat eggs lightly in a large bowl; stir in sugar, oil, zucchini, lemon rind and vanilla.

4. Using a wooden spoon, fold in flour mixture until just combined. Stir in hazelnuts.

5. Divide batter between 2 greased loaf pans. Push several Nutella chips into the batter randomly (see Note).  Place 3 tsp of Nutella on top of the batter in each pan, and swirl across the top with a fork. Place into a 350 degree oven.

8. Bake for 50-60 minutes until top is spring and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool before slicing.

Notes

Nutella Chocolate Chips: No, you haven’t missed a newsflash. Nutella doesn’t make chocolate chips. But I wanted that creamy Nutella taste throughout the bread and not just on top. So I put dabs of Nutella on waxed paper on a baking sheet, popped the sheet into the oven until I needed them and – voila – Nutella "chocolate chips"!

Hazelnuts: Toasting hazelnuts is not a straightforward thing.  It's made complicated by the fact that you need to rub the skins off after toasting, and that isn't always easy. You may need to toast more than you'll need; depending on the freshness of the nuts, the skins can be pesky, but don't give up!

Variation: Zucchini Walnut Bread with Pineapple
makes two loaves

Follow the recipe above and substitute ½ c. coarsely chopped walnuts instead of the hazelnuts.  Add one can of drained crushed pineapple and stir gently just before transferring batter to the pans. This recipe does not use Nutella.

If all else fails, you don't need a recipe to grab a spoon…