Blackberry Crumb Bars

I made this last night for a small dinner party. It was my first try and the dessert was a hit. Once again, all praise for the lovely Ms. Martha Stewart.

6 tbsp unsalted butter, melted, and 1/2 cup (1 stick), room temperature, plus more for pan
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for pan
1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
2 large eggs
2 containers (5 oz each) blackberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan. Line bottom with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on two sides; butter and flour paper, tapping out excess.

Make topping: In a medium bowl, whisk together melted butter, brown sugar, and teaspoon salt; add 1 cup flour, and mix with a fork until large moist crumbs form. Refrigerate topping until ready to use.

In a medium bowl, whisk together remaining 3/4 cup flour, baking powder, and remaining teaspoon salt; set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat room-temperature butter, confectioners' sugar, and vanilla until light and fluffy; add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Reduce speed to low; mix in flour mixture. Spread batter evenly in pan; sprinkle with blackberries, then chilled topping.

Bake until golden and a toothpick inserted in center comes out with moist crumbs attached, 40 to 45 minutes. Cool completely in pan. Using paper overhang, lift cake onto a work surface; cut into 16 squares.

Banana-Walnut Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Martha Stewart makes my mouth water.

Ahem. I mean, her recipe makes my mouth water. Hee.

I received this recipe in the mail as a housewarming gift when I notified several of her magazines I was moving. I managed to pawn off two dozen on the neighbors or I would have eaten all of them myself. I think next time I'll add a little more banana--it's very subtle in the recipe and I'd like to be able to taste it a bit more.

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 large egg
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup mashed banana (about 1 large)
1 cup old-fashioned oats
8 oz semisweet chocolate, coarsely cut into 1/4-inch chunks
1/2 cup coarsely chopped walnuts (the recipe calls for them to be toasted, but they taste just fine untoasted)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Combine flours, salt and baking soda in a small bowl. Set aside.

Put butter and sugars into bowl of electric mixer fitted with paddle. Mix on medium speed until pale and fluffy. Reduce speed to low. Add egg and vanilla; mix until combined. Mix in banana. Add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Stir in oats, chocolate chunks and walnuts.

Using 1-1/2-inch ice cream scoop, drop dough onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper, spacing about 2 inches apart.

Bake cookies until golden brown and just set, 12 to 13 minutes. Cool on sheets 5 minutes and transfer to wire rack to complete cooling.

Can be stored in airtight containers up to 2 days if not all eaten immediately.

Orzo with Artichokes and Pine Nuts

I found this one on epicurious.com (it was also published in Gourmet in May 2006). Really nice quick dinner--I made it tonight and added sun-dried tomatoes (in oil) and goat cheese crumbles (but left out the parsley). Other epicurious.com readers suggest adding capers, olives, peeled shrimp, roasted garlic cloves, cherry tomatoes or feta.

1 1/2 cups orzo
3 tbsp pine nuts
1 (14-oz) can whole artichoke hearts (not marinated)
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tbsp red-wine vinegar
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 tsp finely grated fresh lemon zest (this is such an important ingredient!)

Cook orzo in a 4- to 5-quart pot of boiling salted water until al dente. Drain in a colander.

While orzo cooks, lightly toast pine nuts in a dry small skillet over moderate heat, stirring, until pale golden, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and cool 1 minute, then coarsely chop.

Drain artichoke hearts in a large sieve and rinse well. Pull off leaves from bases of hearts and quarter bases. Rinse leaves and bases well, then drain thoroughly.

Stir together oil, vinegar, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Add orzo, pine nuts, artichokes (leaves and bases), parsley, and zest and toss to combine.

Cranberry-Maple Pudding Cake

I found this recipe in Bon Appetit and, while I haven't tried it yet, YUM--it sounds fantastic! Can't wait to give it a whirl.

2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
1 cup pure maple syrup (grade B or grade A dark amber)
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
3/4 tsp finely grated orange peel
Pinch plus 1/2 tsp salt
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup yellow cornmeal (preferably stone-ground)
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 large egg
3 tbsp sugar
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract
Creme fraiche, softly whipped cream or vanilla ice cream

Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 400 degrees. Combine first 4 ingredients and pinch of salt in medium saucepan. Bring to boil, stirring occasionally. Reduce heat and simmer 1 minute. Remove from heat.

Whisk flour, cornmeal, baking powder and 1/2 teaspoon salt in medium bowl. Whisk egg and sugar in another medium bowl. Whisk milk, melted butter and vanilla into egg mixture. Add flour mixture to egg mixture; whisk to blend. Pour warm cranberry mixture into 11x7x2-inch or 8x8x2-inch glass or ceramic baking dish. Pour batter over.

Bake cake until golden and cranberry mixture bubbles at edges, about 28 minutes. Cool 15 minutes. Serve cake warm topped with creme fraiche, whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Goat Cheese and Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta

This one is from marthastewart.com. It's good for a quick weeknight dinner. I made it last night, but halved the recipe for the two of us. To make it extra spicy, I used the full amount of olive oil and red pepper flakes, plus three cloves of garlic.

Serves 4

Coarse salt and ground pepper
12 oz rigatoni, penne or other short tubular pasta (I used pipette)
1 cup sun-dried tomatoes (not oil-packed), thinly sliced
1/4 cup slivered almonds
1 tbsp olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 tsp red-pepper flakes
5 oz soft goat cheese, crumbled, plus more for topping (optional--but in my opinion, you can never have too much goat cheese)
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley (the recipe doesn't say it's optional, but I left out the parsley and the dish still tasted very good)

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta 3 minutes less than package instructions. Add sun-dried tomatoes and cook 3 minutes. Remove 2 cups pasta water; reserve. Drain and return pasta mixture to pot.

Meanwhile, heat a small skillet over medium heat. Add almonds and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned and fragrant, 2 to 4 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl; reserve. Return skillet to medium heat; add oil, garlic and red-pepper flakes. Cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, 20 to 30 seconds. Remove from heat.

To pasta mixture in pot, add garlic mixture, reserved pasta water, cheese and parsley. Season with salt and pepper; stir to combine. Let stand until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Divide pasta among four shallow dishes; sprinkle with almonds and, if desired, additional cheese.

Mom's Kickass Banana Bread

1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup mashed banana
1 tsp lemon juice
2 cups flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup raspberry or strawberry jam

Cream together shortening and sugar. Add in eggs. Mix in bananas and lemon juice. Add remaining dry ingredients. Add jam. Grease and flour tube pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.

Notes:

*I use Crisco as my vegetable shortening
*I always use a regular loaf pan instead of a tube pan. The bread turns out just as well.
*Use raspberry jam! You'll be glad you did.