Banana Bread with Pecans for Tyler Florence Fridays

We've had a busy couple of weeks lately. A lot of rushing around getting ready for vacation. Somewhere along the way I have managed to misplace my copy of Stirring the Pot. I usually keep it in my car so that if I stop at the store I know what to buy. I know that I didn't lose it, but I just can't find it. In addition to that I havent' really been to the grocery and didn't have too many ingredients on hand for this week's post on Tyler Florence Fridays. I decided on this banana bread with pecans because it received raved reviews on the food network website. I halved the recipe and baked baby banana breads in little ramekins.

I have made and ate the same banana bread recipe for my whole life. It is the classic recipe from the red and white checkered Better Homes cookbook. I felt very safe to make Tyler's recipe because his baking recipes are really spot on and delicious. The difference in Tyler's recipe is that he whips the banana with sugar for 3 minutes in a mixer and makes a banana creme. All other ingredients are mixed into this mixture. I was curious how the final product would be and I have to say it was good. I may have overbaked mine slightly. They were a tad on the dry side. Maybe what I need to do is add butter!!

There is usually a debate on whether or not to add nuts to baked goods. Some people enjoy them and some do not. I have to say that I enjoy nuts on their own. (Yes, Donna....I enjoy nuts on their own!!) I don't usually like them in quick breads or muffins. I'm wondering if the additon of the nuts contributed to making the banana bread a little drier?? So, I would say that if you are not a fan of nuts in your quick breads, then just leave them out. I had never added pecans before so I thought I'd give it a try. I would make this recipe again without the nuts in a regular sized loaf pan.

Here is a link to the banana bread recipe: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/banana-bread-with-pecans-recipe/index.html. Someone please help me about this link I just posted. In other blogs when people post a link to a recipe or webpage, they might say Here is the recipe. Then the word here or recipe might be highlighted in purple or some other color and when you click on that one word you are redirected to correct site. I have tried to figures this out and just can't do it. I'm so computer challenged over here! If someone could explain that to me I would be very grateful. I've been wanting to do a special post to forward a blog award and would love to be able to make links to other blogs this way.