Welcoming in the new year with comfort foods





 

Treat yourself and those you love with these homey, comfort foods that are perfect for a New Year's Day Brunch or any time you want to make people happy. 

I was inspired by a Grand Prize-winning recipe, Banana-Nut Pound Cake, a variation on a classic, dense, pound cake, that was featured in the December 2012 issue of Better Homes and Gardens. In my version below, I eliminated the nuts and added sour cream & scotch for a take-off on this delicious creation with a subtle banana flavor.

*****************************************************

Butterscotch Banana Cake

3 1/4 cups flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 stick butter, softened

3 oz. cream cheese

3/4 cup sour cream

3 cups sugar

4 eggs

2 medium bananas

1/4 cup scotch

1 TB vanilla

powdered sugar

Whisk together flour, baking powder and salt.  In separate bowl, beat butter, cream cheese and sour cream. Add sugar and beat several minutes until light.  Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  In bowl, mash bananas with scotch and vanilla.  Add dry ingredients alternately with mashed bananas to creamed mixture until well-combined.  Pour into a greased and floured bundt pan.  Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour and 15 minutes until toothpick tests clean.  Let rest in pan 20 minutes, then invert onto rack to cool completely. Dust with powdered sugar.

*****************************************************

No brunch is complete without an egg dish. Easy to make, fluffy and tasty, it can be varied to your heart's content.

Omelette Homage

5 eggs

1 1/2 cups milk

1/2 tsp. dry mustard

dash of sea salt

few shakes of black pepper

8 deli slices of Virginia baked ham

2 TB diced red & green pepper

1 TB diced shallots

3 dinner rolls (regular baked rolls) - broken up into 1 inch pieces.

1 1/2 cups shredded Mexican blend cheese

Spray or grease an 11 x 7 baking dish or similar sized pan.  Mix together eggs, milk, mustard, salt & pepper. Set aside. Heat ham in microwave about 30 seconds to take the chill off.  Place 1/2 of the dinner roll pieces in bottom of prepared baking dish.  Add 1/2 of the following ingredients -ham, cheese, peppers & shallots and then repeat with a second layer.  Pour egg mixture on top.  Bake in a 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes or until eggs test done.  This recipe can be doubled for a 9 x 13 pan and baked about 15 minutes longer.

Close-up on perfection

And now for a never-fail, sour cream coffee cake, the origin of which is unknown. With brown sugar, cinnamon, and walnuts, this classic has been a family favorite of ours for more than 30 years.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake



1 cup sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/2 cup butter

1/4 tsp. salt

2 eggs

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup sour cream

2 cups flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

Topping:

1/4 cup light brown sugar

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 cup walnuts

Cream together sugars and butter.  Add eggs, salt, and vanilla and beat well.  Mix together flour, baking powder and soda and set aside.  Add sour cream and dry ingredients to egg mixture, beating well until smooth.  Mix together the topping ingredients. Grease and flour a tube pan and spoon 1/2 of the batter into pan. Sprinke with 1/2 of the topping mixture, top with the remaining batter, and add the rest of the topping.  Bake for 45-50 minutes or until tests done in a 350 degree oven.  Remove from oven and cool for 10 minutes in pan on a rack.  Loosen edges with spatula and flip cake over onto serving dish.

Happy New Year Everyone!

Let's make it a good one.