Cookbook Review

I guess I'll have to treat my little supermarket cookbook with a little more respect now. I wanted to post the information about my "Fall Baking" cookbook just in case anyone was intrigued enough by the recipes to want one of their own. I can't find it anywhere...apparently it was a limited edition and I got the only copy produced or something. Anyway, if anyone sees a recipe in my review that they want to try, I'll be happy to give it to you. I just don't want to publish the complete recipe collection online because it is someone's book.

Apple Pecan Stuffing

Ingredients:
Butter
Onion
Apple
Chicken broth
Corn bread stuffing
Chopped pecans

Saute the onions and butter, then add the apple. Cook about a minute more, then add the broth and bring to a boil. Stir in stuffing and pecans, bake for 30 minutes, and you're done.

Review:
An easy recipe that tastes decent; I've never added an apple to my stuffing, so that was new. It was a little plainer than I'm used to, and I ended up adding the stuff we traditionally throw in---chopped olives, peas, cashews, veggie meat, that sort of thing. I also added fresh sage and thyme because that's what I always do.


Banana Nut Cake with Brown Sugar Topping

Ingredients:
Flour
Brown sugar
3 bananas
Chopped nuts
White chocolate chips
Oil
Milk
Egg
Baking soda

Topping:
Butter
Brown sugar
Chopped nuts

Mix flour, brown sugar, chopped nuts, white chocolate chips, oil, milk, egg, and baking soda with electric mixer for 2 minutes or until well blended. Pour into greased and floured round pan and bake 30 to 35 minutes. Cool and cover with brown sugar topping. To make the topping, you combine the butter and sugar in a saucepan and cook until smooth.

Review:
Quite frankly, this cake amazed me. I thought it would be a complete failure; I mixed the ingredients according to the directions and had to add almost an extra cup of milk before I could even get it to mix. Even then, it was a heavy, thick batter that I expected to form into an inedible brick. It has no salt and only 1 tsp of baking soda for leavening.

I can't say the finished product was the most delicate thing I've ever eaten, but I was just so impressed that I could eat it at all! The cake did rise, though it is on the hearty side of things, and tasted pretty good. I've been eating a little bit for breakfast each day. I would definitely make this recipe again as an alternative to banana bread if I had a bunch of bananas that needed using.