Tyler Florence's Store

I promised I would tell you about my visit to Tyler Florence’s shop last Sunday, so I am fulfilling my promise. The store was nicely laid out with a comfortable (as long as you don’t mind a tusked boar looming over you) reading room, and a wall full of Dean & DeLuca spices. There are vintage kitchen supplies in front of a small-scale kitchen where I can only imagine Tyler (or someone else) demonstrating the newest cooking techniques. There were plenty of kitchen gadgets and tools. I enjoyed my visit, but I doubt I will make the trip again, since I can find most of the supplies and tools I need at Williams-Sonoma or Sur La Table. If I could be assured of meeting Tyler, well, that would be different (maybe).
I did buy a copy of Tyler’s Ultimate, because, don’t tell anyone, but I didn’t own a Tyler Florence cookbook, and I never even made any of his recipes on the Food Network website. I can now say I have made one of his recipes—Chocolate Banana Bread. This recipe is delicious, but I think calling it a bread is a little deceiving. Chocolate Banana Bread is more like a cake than a bread. It is moist, rich and chocolaty. It reminded me of a Banana Royal (you know, bananas, ice cream and hot fudge) without the ice cream. I will be making this again with any banana sacrifices in my freezer.
Chocolate Banana Bread
From Tyler's Ultimate
2 cups all-purpose flour
¾ cup granulated sugar
¼ cup cocoa powder
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened, plus more to grease the pan
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted (I used 70%)
2 large eggs
3 very ripe bananas
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat the over to 350°F and butter a 9 by 5-inch loaf pan. Mix together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. In the bowl of a mixer, cream the butter until it is light and fluffy. Add the chocolate, eggs, bananas and the vanilla, and beat after each addition. Add the dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Pour the batter into the greased loaf pan and bake until a toothpick comes out clean about 50 to 60 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and wait 15 minutes before you take the bread out of the pan.