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Monday, May 9, 2011

A Weekend of Food


Another weekend has come and gone, and it's back to the grind here in Little Rock. Hopefully everyone got a chance to show love and respect to the mothers/mother figures in their lives. I see the imprint my mom has had on my life more and more as I grow older. She continues to be a source of inspiration and wisdom for me today. Thanks, mom. I love you.

I spent a whole lot of time manning the stove (and grill) this weekend. We celebrated Mother's Day with the Parris family at Casa Summitt, and I had the honor of making dinner. The menu featured jalapeno poppers (jalapenos were on sale), corn casserole, fried okra, potato salad, rolls, slaw, and BBQed chicken breast.  Everything was made from scratch.  I came away with a vastly increased level of respect for the meals my granny used to throw down for the family.  We'd do Sunday dinners at her house, and she would have an unbelievable spread prepared.  I now understand the amount of work that went into those meals  Everything came out great and we all had a great time. Also, chicken breasts should be cooked with smoked wood. Always. 

I had some spare time Saturday, so I made up a quick bread for our Sunday church class. Quick breads are fun because they are fairly versatile, which allows the cook to try different combinations of ingredients. I made a chocolate quick bread with coffee (from Guillermo's - www.g3coffee.com) left over from that morning. It came out so moist, complex, and flavorful that Sandra Oliver told me it was the best she'd had and that I should blog it. So, here it is. Enjoy!

Coffee-Chocolate Quick Bread 

Ingredients
  • 1 1/2 cups AP Flour (I use King Arthur)
  • 1/2 cup cocoa
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs, room temperature
  • 2/3 cup buttermilk
  • 1/3 cup strong coffee
  • 2 tbsp coffee grounds (I used leftover grounds from that morning)
  • 1 cup chocolate chunks
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sift the flour, cocoa, salt, baking soda, and baking powder together in a bowl and set aside.

Combine butter and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Cream butter and sugar together until the mixture resembles mashed potatoes. Add eggs, one at a time, and mix thoroughly. Add coffee grounds and allow to mix thoroughly. Combine coffee and buttermilk in a glass or measuring cup. With the mixer on low, alternatively add flour mixture and buttermilk mixture to the bowl, making sure to stop and scrape the sides of the bowl periodically. Once all the flour and buttermilk are combined, stir in chocolate chunks.

Pour into a greased 8x5 bread pan and bake for 50-60 minutes or until internal temperature is at 200 degrees. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack before serving. This bread is best when made the night before and wrapped in plastic overnight.

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