Spicy Double Chocolate Banana Muffins

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I'll spare you my rousing version of "It's A Small World After All", but I must admit I was taken aback and tempted to sing a chorus or two, when I found this recipe while having coffee in my daughter's Connecticut kitchen. I just wasn't prepared to find Cathy Pollak's recipe in a Hartford newspaper. I'm sure most of you know of Cathy, but on the odd chance that you have yet to become acquainted, I can bring you up to date. Cathy owns and operates Noble Pig, a vineyard and winery here in Oregon's Willamette Valley. She is also a freelance writer who really knows food and wine and you can follow her musings, recipes and food photographs at her blog, Noble Pig. Cathy, who apparently doesn't have a lazy bone in her body, has also started to write for the Statesman Journal, a newspaper headquartered in Salem, Oregon. The recipe for these chocolate and banana muffins caught my eye on a day when I was looking for something unusual to make, and the amount of chili powder and cayenne pepper in these muffins, certainly put them in that category. The muffins are spicy and may not be to everyone's taste, but if you are adventurous and like heat I think you are in for a real treat. The recipe makes a dense, intensely chocolate muffin that will not bore you. I made half a batch of Cathy's muffins and the Silver Fox and I really enjoyed them. I think you will too. Here is how they are made.

Spicy Double Chocolate Banana Muffins...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Cathy Pollak via Noble Pig

Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour (measured by lightly spooning into a cup)
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1-1/2 teaspoons chile powder
3/4 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1 cups sugar
1 large egg
2 large very ripe bananas
1/3 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large bowl, add flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt, chile powder and cayenne. Sift together to combine. Set aside.
2) In bowl of a stand mixer, add sugar, eggs, and bananas. Blend until thoroughly combined. Add flour mixture alternating with buttermilk and ending with flour. Mix just until combined. Fold in chocolate chips.
3) Add 1/4 cup batter to each muffin liner and bake for 25 minutes or until done.
4) Cool for five minutes in the pan and remove to a wire rack to cool completely. Yield: 12 muffins.








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Sweet and Spicy Bacon Wrapped Breadsticks

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...This recipe, while new to me, was popular several years ago. I've seen it in many places but I wanted to credit the correct source before using it here. It took a bit of searching and some back -tracing but I was able to identify Bon Appetit magazine as the place it originally appeared. These breadsticks appealed to me because they are really simple to make and I thought they'd be a wonderful addition to a game day spread. If you like bacon, I suspect you'll love these. There are a couple of tricks to making this a nosh that everyone will enjoy. You'll need to use a good quality bacon and exercise some judgment when it comes to baking it. I baked my breadsticks for 10 minutes longer than the time suggested in the recipe to assure the bacon was properly cooked. Once you take them from the oven, you'll want to move and roll them around so they don't stick to the racks as they cool. This is tricky because they'll be soft, but they'll firm up again as they cool. I suggest making these several hours before you plan to serve them. We were of two minds when it came to these. The Silver Fox, who loves bacon, thought they were great. Me? Maybe not so much. If you are looking for easy snack for game day these are worth a try. Here's the recipe.

Sweet and Spicy Bacon Wrapped Breadsticks...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of Bon Appetit

Ingredients:
3/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar
3 tablespoons chili powder
Pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
12 slices thin cut bacon
24 long thin breadsticks (grissini)

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2) Combine brown sugar and chili powder and optional cayenne in a shallow pan; set aside.
3) Cut bacon in half lengthwise. Wrap 1 piece of bacon around each breadstick barber pole style. Roll each bread stick in brown-sugar mixture. Place bread sticks in a single layer on a cooling rack. Place rack on a foil-lined 15 x 10 x 1-inch jelly-roll pan.
4) Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool for 10 to 15 minutes. Serve at room temperature. Yield: 24 breadsticks.









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