Chocolate Pistachio Quickbread

I'm a recovering picky eater. I used to have very strong biases against foods I'd never tried based purely on ridiculous standards, like the sound of its name. This doesn't really work very well when one is in the food industry, so I've been making a conscious effort to get past that.

That doesn't mean I'll eat everything - animal organs are kinda squicky, and excluding the occasional one all by itself, raisins are right out.

This post is about what changed my mind on pistachios. Not a complete 180, since I'd already conceded that pistachios themselves are a decent snackfood, but on other foods with pistachio in them.

Chocolate Pistachio Quickbread

(Note: It's called a quick bread, because like muffins and scones, it has no yeast and is chemically leavened. It is similar to a muffin in texture, perhaps a bit moister, but I want to call it a cake because it's really a dessert.)

Ingredients:
12 oz butter (This is three sticks for the average home baker)
12 oz sugar
2 oz pistachio paste
5 eggs
12 oz flour
1.5 T baking powder
1-2 T cocoa powder

Preheat your oven to 350.

In a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed - for those not familiar with creaming, use the paddle attachment (not the whisk or the dough hook) and let it smack the butter and sugar around for a while until they become light and fluffy. Once light and fluffy, add the pistachio paste and continue creaming until well mixed. Add the eggs, one by one, allowing each to be incorporated before adding the next.

Sift together the flour and the baking powder, reduce the mixer speed (so that flour doesn't ploof up everywhere), and gradually add the flour mix. Allow to mix until completely incorporated, but to avoid tunnelling, do not overmix.

Remove 1/3 of the batter to another bowl and mix it with the cocoa powder.

Grease loaf pans and line with parchment paper (or wax, if you can't get or don't have parchment). Fill about half full with the pistachio batter, then top with chocolate batter to bring it to about 3/4 full. Run a knife through the batter for squiggles.

Bake about 40 to 45 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean or the internal temperature measures 190 degrees. Remove from the pan immediately and cool on a cooling rack to prevent the cake from getting soggy. Try to avoid eating all at once.