Chanana Balls (Cheese-Banana Balls). You heard me.

Really more blobular than ball-like, this is the culinary creation of my 7-year-old daughter Madeline. She announced one morning that she had an idea for a recipe and wanted to make it into a blog post. Not wanting to be a dream squasher, I said okay, braced myself and hoped for the best. Actually, I really just hoped for not gross (since I knew I'd be required to taste this concoction). I didn't get really nervous until I saw her reach for a banana and put it down next to the cheddar cheese. But it wasn't as nasty as it sounds. And that's all I'm going to say about it (she's seven, she can read).

CHANANA BALLS

 Yield: 6 blobules

1 banana, peeled

1 7-year-old size fistful of shredded cheddar cheese

1 slice american cheese, ripped into pieces

pinch of salt

1.      Have your mom preheat the oven to 375º F.

2.      Have your mom slice the banana in half lengthwise and then thinly slice into half circles.

3.      Mash everything together in a bowl.

4.      Try to eat the salt directly out of the salt bowl until your mom tells you for the fiftieth time not to eat salt and puts it away. Glare at her.

5.      Mold banana abomination mixture into 6 “balls” and place them on a sheetpan.

6.      Have your mom put them in the oven. Bake until the cheese starts to melt, about 5-7 minutes.

7.      Let cool for a few minutes. Eat immediately, before the banana starts to turn grayish-brown (you wouldn’t want them to look unappetizing). 

Copyright © by Madeline Cleland. No rights reserved.

raw chanana balls

raw chanana ball up close

baked chanana balls

Covered in dinosaur tattoos and sporting an mp3 player & headphones,
our young chef couldn't be more proud (or fearless, if you ask me).

She's really doing it.

The first taste of the first ever chanana
ball (I'm just assuming here).

thumbs up

Actually, she loved them so much that she made a second
batch a few days later. And I would like to point out that I
ate one from the second batch too, which I believe gives me
another check in the good mother column (I need those to counter
balance the all those checks I racked up in the insanely-irritable-
sleep-deprived-bitch column when she was younger).

.

Bieber Fever Wonton Skeevers (Nutella Banana Dumplings)

One day my daughter asked me why she didn't have anything with Justin Bieber on it. And not in a fun, lighthearted way either. She was genuinely irritated at the lack of JB merchandise in the house. I think I replied "why would you have anything with Justin Bieber on it?" Then, while she glared at me, I asked "do you even know who Justin Bieber is?" To her credit, she did. She even started singing that song baby. Which she still sings frequently, crowbarring it into my head. And for that, Biebs should rot in hell (what? - he's 18 now - all bets are off). So when she needed a new folder for school, I got her a JB folder, which I figured was harmless enough. When I surprised her with it, she hugged and kissed it and said she was going to marry JB. When I told her he was dating Selena Gomez, she was undeterred (let's hope that's not the start of a pattern). Since then she's developed a pretty acute case of Bieber fever (not to be confused with a cute case, although kissing her folder was a little cute).

Biebs tasting a Bieber fever wonton skeever.
Fun fact: JB's favorite food is spaghetti.
Eh - it's actually not all that fun.

Fast forward a few weeks...I had wonton wrappers leftover from making pork potstickers, so I thought it would be tasty to make a dessert dumpling. I asked Maddie what we should call them and big shock, she said we should name them after Justin Beiber. Then when I told my husband I was putting banana in there, he was reminded of the aebleskivers we made. So we tacked on the skiver (but spelled it so people would rhyme it with fever). And that's my way too long explanation of the inception of the Bieber Fever Wonton Skeever. Sorry about the two minutes of your life that you'll never get back.

    

BIEBER FEVER WONTON SKEEVERS

(Nutella Banana Dumplings)

Yield: 24

24 square wonton wrappers

1/2 cup nutella, or as needed

2 large (ripe) bananas, each sliced into 12 rounds

coconut oil (or canola oil or other no-taste oil) as needed

1/4 cup cinnamon-sugar, or as needed

1.      Lay a few wonton wrappers out on a dry surface; keep remaining wrappers covered. Place roughly a teaspoon of nutella in the center of each square. Top nutella dollops with banana slices (or you can do it the other way around, banana then nutella).

2.      Keep a small bowl of water next to you for moistening your fingertips. Using a wet finger, moisten the border of each wonton square. Fold one corner into the center, then fold in the opposite corner. Then fold the remaining two corners in (sealing with water as you go). Pinch any openings so all edges are sealed. Continue with the remaining wontons and filling, setting the folded ones on a large plate or parchment lined baking sheet.

3.      Heat a large nonstick skillet with about 1/4” oil over high heat. Pan fry the dumplings until golden on both sides, about 2-3 minutes per side.

4.      Drain hot dumplings on paper towels and roll each dumpling in the cinnamon-sugar while still hot.

5.      Allow to cool for about 5 minutes. Serve warm.

putting the nutella in a ziploc bag

Piping it was way easier than using a spoon. When you're doing
this alone, do yourself a favor and use a glass to hold the bag.

sliced banana

piping nutella on a banana slice (on a wonton wrapper)

two corners folded in

three corners folded in

four corners folded in (of course now,
you've got yourself four new corners)

pinching the new corners so the filling doesn't ooze out

I also made some into triangles and then
folded in those corners to make this shape.

pan frying

flipped

ready to be sprinkled with cinnamon-sugar

adding cinnamon to sugar

I didn't measure, but if I had to guess,
I would say I used between 1/4 to 1/2
teaspoon per 1/4 cup (I like it very cinnamony).

cinnamon sugar mixed

Don't wait until your dumplings are cooked 
to mix the cinnamon-sugar (it should be ready
while the dumplings are still hot).

sprinkled with cinnamon-sugar

Next time, instead of sprinkling, I would roll the hot
dumplings in a bowl of cinnamon-sugar so more
of it sticks (I already updated that in the recipe).

the sweet, warm, gooey inside...so good!

.

Banana Crumb Muffins

When I woke up yesterday morning, one of the first things I noticed was a bunch of bananas in the kitchen - all ripe with speckles at the same time (I'm sure you've had this experience). I know I could have peeled and frozen them and made smoothies some other time, but this day I had a rare pre-coffee burst of energy that led me to muffin making. (I don't know about you, but I'm bound not to have another one of those for quite some time, so I seized the moment). I even tried to make healthier muffins so I could justify having cake for breakfast (come on, who are we kidding?). They came out great (a bit darker from the whole wheat flour and coconut sugar, but still, sweet, banana-y and moist with some nice crunch on top). I wonder if I baked cookie dough in a waffle iron if I could get everyone to agree that's okay for breakfast? I could call them wookies. On second thought, I don't think I have the resources to take on George Lucas.

BANANA CRUMB MUFFINS

Yield: 10 muffins

1 1/2 cups flour (I used 1 cup whole wheat pastry + 1/2 cup all-purpose)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon fine salt

3 medium ripe bananas, mashed

3/4 cup sugar (I used coconut sugar)

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/3 cup melted butter or oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Crumb Topping:

1/3 cup packed brown sugar (I used coconut sugar)

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon butter

1.      Preheat oven to 375º F. Lightly grease 10 muffin cups, or line with muffin papers.

2.      In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt.

3.      In another bowl, beat together bananas, sugar, egg, melted butter (or oil), vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg.

4.      Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.

5.      In a small bowl, mix together brown sugar, 2 tablespoons flour and cinnamon. Cut in 1 tablespoon butter until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Sprinkle topping over muffins.

6.      Bake for 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center comes out clean.

slightly adapted from allrecipes.com by Lisa Kreft

ripe bananas
(If they don't have speckles yet, I throw them back.)

mashing the bananas

mashed bananas

adding coconut sugar

It doesn't take anything like coconut, more like brown sugar.

It's lower on the glycemic index than white sugar, so
you might not have to take that post-breakfast,
pre-lunch nap you usually have after your pancakes.

mashed bananas, wet ingredients, sugar and spices

adding the banana mixture to the flour mixture
(Obviously if you use regular sugar, yours won't be so dark.)

banana batter

filling the muffin cups (about 80% full)

crumb topping ingredients

crumb topping ready to sprinkle

sprinkling crumb topping on top of the muffins

ready to bake

baked

.

Grilled Pineapple and Banana with Honey-Lime Sauce

I'm going to have to go ahead and declare the scrumptious honey-lime sauce as the undisputed superstar of this dish. As much as I enjoyed grilling the fruit, which was definitely fun and delicious, the sauce made me utter an audible "mmm" (and I think my eyes may have rolled back in my head a little).

At that moment, I was thrilled I'd had the foresight to double the sauce. I was serving the grilled fruit with vanilla ice cream and thought it would be nice to have plenty of extra sauce to drizzle over the top. It was. Turns out it's also nice downed straight from a shot glass (or so I've heard).

GRILLED PINEAPPLE AND BANANA
WITH HONEY-LIME SAUCE

Yield: about 3 cups

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons light brown sugar

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise (or 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract)

4 pineapple rings, peeled and cored (1/2-inch-thick)

4 large bananas (ripe, but still firm), peeled and left whole or sliced in half lengthwise

_________________________________________________________________________

1.     Place butter, honey, brown sugar, and lime juice in small saucepan. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add seeds and bean (or vanilla extract). Bring to simmer over medium heat, whisking until smooth. Can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Remove vanilla bean and rewarm sauce before using.

2.     Preheat barbecue (medium-high heat). Brush both sides of pineapple and banana with sauce. Grill about 1-2 minutes per side.

3.     Transfer pineapple to plate; cut into 1/2-inch cubes and place in large bowl (leaving juices behind). Cut the grilled bananas into 1-inch chunks and add to bowl with pineapple. Mix in the remaining sauce.

adapted from Dede Wilson

limes ready for juicing
(the zest was for making lime-cilantro butter)

pouring in the honey

Remember, this is a double batch.

melted and ready

I didn't have a vanilla bean, so I used homemade vanilla extract
(which I love because the vanilla seeds are still in there).

pineapple rings & sliced banana, coated with a little honey-lime sauce

pineapple rings and sliced bananas on the grill

The bananas do cook faster than the pineapple, so keep your
eye on them. It's normal for them to get a little mushy (but in
a good way) when mixed with the sauce. Make sure they're firm
to begin with (otherwise they'll be extremely difficult to turn
over and remove from the grill. Come to think of it, maybe it
would be smarter to keep them whole (I'll try that next time).

pineapple rings just about done

pineapple rings off the grill and on a plate (to catch the juices)

cut grilled pineapple

served with vanilla ice cream

The grilled, hot fruit makes the ice cream get all melty
and then sauce commingles with all of it. Fabulous.

.