Ina Garten's Deviled Eggs!

First let me say that I am really glad I joined this club. This week’s recipe was chosen by A Year In The Kitchen by Ashlee. I was really glad I named my blog Pantry Revisited because my first loaf was a disaster and I was quite sure everyone would know for certain that I had not baked in a while once they viewed my pictures. Maybe baking is like exercising and you do need to visit your pantry often to keep in good baking shape! I did not have dark rum so I substituted spiced rum. By the time I removed the loaf from the oven, I felt as though I would have been better off just drinking the rum than wasting it in the loaf itself. Even though I baked it an hour and a half, and used the foil teepee on it, the loaf itself was very dense and rubbery. My husband says he likes dense and rubbery so it did not stop him from devouring it. Of course we are talking about a man who could eat a piece of firewood if it had some ketchup or pesto rubbed on it and a dark beer to help flush it down. In the world of smells and tastes, there are some seriously great ones and rum does not seem to be one of them to me.

Then, in a forehead slapping moment, and because I do not respond well to failure, I was challenged to try again and make this loaf work. I mean, I was not going to let a little banana loaf get the best of me. After all, I’m bigger, I’m stronger, I’m smarter than that! So it was back to the store to buy more staples and start all over again. Remembering Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither are great bakers, was also a great comfort to me.
I figured since Love is Lovelier, the Second Time Around maybe banana loafs are too? So the flour, the sugar, the bananas, the chocolate, and me decided to go at it again together. The first picture above is the disaster loaf complete with its friend the bottle of spiced rum which I am going to permanently retire to the liquor cabinet.
This time, I followed the recipe’s instructions I 'thought' to the letter and was very happy when I placed it in the oven. While the texture turned out much better, the chocolate seemed to overpower the banana taste. I did not realize until I got here this morning that I had made one giant mistake yet again! I had not mixed some of the batter in with the chocolate before filling my loaf pan.
Let's just end this with, it's back to the pantry for me. . .. . .