E2 Emeril’s Eatery – Charlotte, NC {restaurant review}
Emeril Lagasse’s newest restaurant, E2, opens in Charlotte Thursday January 26th. Monday night, Vanessa, my favorite foodie friend, and I got the opportunity to check out the new restaurant space and sample the wares. For those who aren’t familiar with Emeril, he is a boisterous celebrity chef, author, and restauranteur and (most importantly) my grandma loves him. I first became acquainted with Emeril through his shows on the Food Network. I was instantly attracted to the peculiar pairing of his cheerful easygoing personality and his serious kitchen demeanor. He is, in my mind, an ultimate foodie, and I both admire and envy him for it.
I’ve always liked watching Emeril cook. He’s a burly man with a big personality who likes even BIGGER flavor. Arguably, Emeril is most known for adding spice to food. He lets you know things are about to get serious by exclaiming “let’s kick it up a notch!” or voicing a booming *BAM* at the addition of a spicy ingredient. Given this *BAM* factor and Emeril’s ties to New Orleans, I was ready for some serious flavors at E2.
Restaurant Review: E2 Emeril’s Eatery
Emeril Lagasse’s newest restaurant, E2, opens in Charlotte Thursday January 26th. Monday night, Vanessa, my favorite foodie friend, and I got the opportunity to check out the new restaurant space and sample the wares. For those who aren’t familiar with Emeril, he is a boisterous celebrity chef, author, and restauranteur and (most importantly) my grandma loves him. I first became acquainted with Emeril through his shows on the Food Network. I was instantly attracted to the peculiar pairing of his cheerful easygoing personality and his serious kitchen demeanor. He is, in my mind, an ultimate foodie, and I both admire and envy him for it.
I’ve always liked watching Emeril cook. He’s a burly man with a big personality who likes even BIGGER flavor. Arguably, Emeril is most known for adding spice to food. He lets you know things are about to get serious by exclaiming “let’s kick it up a notch!” or voicing a booming *BAM* at the addition of a spicy ingredient. Given this *BAM* factor and Emeril’s ties to New Orleans, I was ready for some serious flavors at E2.
Bananas Foster Bread
So what do these have in common? Yesterday’s guesses gave me quite a few chuckles.
Maker’s Mark and bananas happen to be two of the BF’s FAVORITE things. Since we didn’t get to spend VD together, I decided to whip up a batch of Marker’s Mark Banana Bread over the weekend. I had a Cooking Light Recipe for Bananas Foster bread that I’d been DYING to try out, and Makers Mark seemed like a terrific substitute for the Cognac called for in the recipe.
Who drinks Cognac anyway? Emeril Lagasse, that’s who.
Lucky for this banana bread recipe, I’m not dating Emeril Lagasse. I’m dating Mr. Maker’s Mark.
Seriously…
Edible.
Canoodling:
This looks quite natural, actually.
First up: get your hands on some mushy brown bananas. Hopefully you planned ahead for this, because the base of ANY good banana bread recipe is some seriously overripe bananas.
These guys are actually on the under-ripe side, but they got the job done.
Next: preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9×5 inch bread loaf pan with cooking spray.
Combine the following in a nonstick skillet:
- 1.5 cups mashed up ripe bananas
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 5 tbsp melted butter
- 3 tbsp Maker’s Mark
Can we say yum?
Heat over medium until it starts to bubble and thicken slightly
Then you’ll want to remove this banana goodness from the heat and set aside to cool.
In the meantime, combine the following in a separate bowl:
- 1.5 cups flour
- 1/4 cup ground flaxseed
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp ground allspice
Flax!
Alltogethernah:
Once the bananas are cooled off, add in:
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/3 cup fat free plain yogurt
- 2 large eggs
Beat everything together until combined, then add in your dries to wets and mix until just blended:
Yes, I licked them.
Next is the easy part — pour batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 1 hour. Then let the bread cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile mix up the icing:
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tbsp melted butter
- 1 tbsp Maker’s Mark
And dr-dr-drizzzzleeee over the warm bread:
Notice that at this point I had ALREADY cut off a small piece for sampling… That’s a key step in successful baking. Frequent and continuous testing.
Mr. Maker’s Mark said this was the best banana bread he had ever tasted because it was “delightfully moist and not overly sweet”
I agreed, it was delicious… and addicting.
Must be the alcohol.
Maker’s Mark Banana Foster Bread Ingredients List (serves 12):
- 1.5 cups mashed up ripe bananas
- 1 cup packed brown sugar, divided
- 6 tablespoons melted butter, divided
- 1/4 cup Maker’s Mark, divided
- 1/3 cup fat free plain yogurt
- 2 large eggs
- 1.5 cups flour
- 1/4 cup ground flaxseed
- 3/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp ground allspice
- 1/3 cup powdered sugar
