Make Those Pancakes Perfect

 Nothing beats a good Father's Day breakfast tan a plate of perfectly made flapjacks. What dad doesn't love a stack oozing with melted butter and dripping wit rich maple syrup.Yet  sometimes it;s hard to create a good stack. There are so many problems that can arise. Luckily there is help.

Regular contributor Melissa Clark offered tips in a guide published in today's New York Times Wednesday Food section. The ideal pancake should be golden and fluffy wit air holes to soak in the melted butter and  syrup. However there are so many factors that can ruin that crumb.One is that old ingredients are being used.Scratch recipes call for baking powder and baking soda. This give the batter lift and creates that fluffy texture These also give pancakes their deep golden brown hue and vigorous rise. However both can go stale. Always check the expiration date before using. If it's not visible then try this test. For baking soda drop a pinch of either lemon juice on vinegar in a small pile. It should give a vigorous bubble.Baking powder just requires a mix wit a bot of hot water.A fizz means it;s still good to use. Another problem is that the batter hasn't been rested enough.A quick rest can be between ten and thirty minutes.An ideal rest would be forty-eight hours which will deepen the flavor. The buttermilk which is required in Melissa Clark's recipe will have more time to work on the batter. By morning it should be thick and perfect for griddling.

Pans can also factor in creating the perfect pancake.Pan temperature is important. Cook with a low flame and the pancakes will turn out doughy and white. Too high a flame and the exteriors will be scorched. The best bet is heating the pan over a medium sized flame for two to three minutes, Flick in a few dri=ops of water.If they sizzle and evaporate then it;s the perfect temperature.Use a mix of butter and a neutral oil to fry the cakes. Use a generous amount of butter  to create the crispest edges.There shouldn't;t be a thin sheen but enough to swirl around the pan.Test it with the first flapjack. Also the choice of pan is important too. Use either stainless steel,carbon steel or cast iron. Another important factor is how much batter is used. Don;t make those big wagon wheel ones seen on Tiktok or Instagram. Smaller ones are much better.They'll have crispier edges and will be much easier to flip.Use a large ice cream scoop to measure out the batter,DON"T touch the water once iit's in the pan .The pancakes will be ready when bubbles speckled the entire surface.Use a wide, thin spatula and flip it in a confident motion.The second side takes as long as the first to cook.Both sides should be golden and lightly springy in the middle. Mix in like blueberries and chocolate chips  should be added in when the pancake first hits the griddle,.

Dads love a good stack of golden pancakes. Follow this guide to give the man of the day a perfect breakfast. The result will be crispy and fluffy griddle cakes perfect with maple syrup and butter.

Fruity Desserts

 It's definitely time to put away all those cold weather ingredients.leave the cinnamon for the fall. It's too hot to fool with chocolate . Your best bet is fruit. There's nothing like a sweet treat loaded with the bounty of the season.

Strawberries are always a good addition to any cake, cupcake, muffin and even bread. Just keep in the mind that the berries should be pulverized then cooked down over a low flame.let this cool and you can fold into the batter. You can do the same for strawberry frosting too.(Keep in mind this is also wonderful on chocolate cake and cupcakes too. Another lovely and colorful treat is strawberry bread.This is perfect to make for Sunday teas or showers. It can be topped off with a vanilla glaze icing if you like , if not it's good on it's own,It's a quick bread so there'[s no yeast involved, just baking soda and baking powder for rise.Many home bakers low baking a strawberry and rhubarb pie. This is combining another harvest of the season, rhubarb with the berries for a sweet and tangy flavor. You can add just a teaspoon of orange juice to punctuate the other two's flavors. It's just stirring the cut rhubarb and berries with brown sugar, orange juice , cornstarch (for thickening, vanilla and salt. BAke in a traditional rolled out pie crust.

Of course the other star of the season is the blueberry. We're almost upon it here in New Jersey where it will last for three months until August. Again they're as versatile as the strawberry. Most home chefs love creating a Sunday morning stack of blueberry pancakes to start the day. Yet it can also work in another breakfast staple -  strata. Think a bread pudding scattered with the berries and then topped off with a home cooked  blueberry sauce. Use cubed French bread for this, layer it over blueberries and cream cheese. Then let it soak in an egg , milk and maple syrup overnight. While the strata is baking make the syrup. THis involves cooking down the berries with a mix of cornstarch, sugar and water.  Butter is added to this for richness and then poured on individual slices of the strata. (you could also save the syrup to pour over vanilla ice cream too).Peach season is also coming up. There are so many wonderful recipes to try with this ripe, plump fruit.They wonderful in such old fashioned desserts as buckles and crisps.A buckle is an easy egg free batter that just consists of milk ,f lower baking soda and salt.It;s wicked together and then spread in a pan .Layers of thinly sliced peaches are placed on top of it.A buckle is good with a blob of vanilla ice cream or freshly made whipped cream.

Fruit is the star of the season. Try any Berry or peach in a sweet dessert.It;'s tasting the bounty of Spring

Versatile Roti

 Roti is the type of flatbread that can be used in traditional and non traditional dishes. It cna be sweet or savory, served with lamb or jaggery sugar. The one thing it is is tasty and can be made in any home chef's kitchen.

Regular contributor and cookbook author Priya Krishna wrote about this basic yet versatile bread in today New York Times Wednesday Food section. Roti is a staple at many Indian restaurants but thnaks to both forced and voluntary migrations is alsoa staple in such diverse cuisines as Caribbean, Malaysian and Guyanese. The name itse;f derives from Northern Indian according to Professor Krish Ray who teaches food stiduies at NYU. However the basic recipe was common. Early people made rounds of unleavend bread cooked over open fires and either eaten plain or with somekind of meat and /or veggies. You can make it at home or even buy it at any grovery store. Caribbean chef Peter Prime gets the rounds at his local Caribbean mart in Mary;and. He does create his own too  - theTrinidadian buss up shut which has butter giving the bread a smoother texture. Keep in mind that it can also be made much easier wirh the help of the Rotimatic which sells for $1299 .

However Ms Krishna also includes a recipe for it. it calls for ghee, the clarified melted butter but you can use melted unslated butter too. There is flour, usually refined white will do along with baking powder for rise. A tablespoon of light brown sugar imparts a sweet taste making it perfect for dessert recipes too.The ingredients are added to the flour and baking powder by the well method. The dough at first will be shaggy looking but as tablespoons of water are added , it should evolve into a smooth ball. when this happens cover it with either plastic wrap or a kitchen towel  and let it rest  for anywhere between one to four hours. In the meantime combine the ghee or melted butter with coconut oil. When the dough has rested them roll it out on a floured surface. Formronds, and cut a slit in the middle Add the butter coconut oil mixture, then roll the dough onto itself, It should form cone. Sealt the ends , return to a buttered pan and allow it to rest for thirty more minutes. The dough is cooked in al large skillet with the butter mix to fry it. Keep brushing it with butter and shredding it with two spatulas. Repeat until allk the pieces are cooked . Serve with curry or a sweet filling.

Roti is a delcious bread that can be served with a variety of fillings. Have it sweet or savory.It''s a delicious treat either way.

Christmas Cookies Part OneThe Making

 What is Christmas without festive cookies? That's what many are thinking as bakers of all levels pursue th tradition of making a plate. I went into the cookie fray  -

I wanted to use my new cookie cutters from Wilton . And what better than using them on WIlton cookie dough.

This is not a dough for the faint hearted.

Since I also bake vegan I had to sub in Melt for butter and used Lucerne egg whites for the egg. The rest is basic cookie dough. It does have to be mixed in two bowls. First i'ts reaming two sticks of butter with a cup of granulated sugar and one egg. Also three and a quarter cups of flour is sifted with a teaspoon of baking powder and a quarter teaspoon of salt.The flour is added to the mix one cup at a time until a sticky ball is formed. It's then dividing it into two rectangular loaves

Here comes the fun part  - rolling it out. This was a dough to be reckoned with. The rolling pin and table had to be floured over a few times

It's rolling it out to a twleve inch circle, (More square in my case) and 1/8th of an inch thick (more like half an inch in my case). It's then using the floured cutters to cut out the shapes

This is the first batch, before baking

Thye look anemic and it took twenty minutes to bake as opposed to the usual eight to ten minutes

 This is them baked. The yield is around thirty. The dough became flaky and crumbly after four or five rolling out and it was impossible to cut shapes.

You can see how it got crumbly and how it sticks to the rolling pin despite all the flour used.

                                 This is the entire batch , waiting to be iced .I did do a taste test and it is a very pleasant almond flavor

Tomorrow will be the finishing touches to turn them into holiday gems. They will be transformed into multicolored holiday treats. There are Santas, snowmen and lights waiting to be decorated.

A Korean Pancake That Has Everything

 It's always a good thing to clean out the fridge.Yet don't throw out those odds and ends. There's a recipe that can make good use of them. A jeon or Korean pancake is a great way to use all those bits and pieces leftover.it's also a tasty snack or lunch too.

The great chef J. Kenji Lopez-Alt wrote about this Korean staple and fun food in today's new York Times Food section.  Jeons are kind of like egg foo yung save there's a flour base instead of eggs. You can basically put any kind of add in into the batter.As Chef Lopez-Alt points out they're basically made from wheat flour and cornstarch. It's the extras that make it. They can be stuffed with squid, oysters and scallions or with mung beans and pork as in nokdu jeon.  These savory pancakes can be made of wild green onions and a thin egg batter like Busan, Korea's Dongnae pajeon. It can also be flavored with kimchi, spicy fermented cabbage and gochugaru, Korean hot pepper flakes. One of the best that Chef Lopez-Alt has eaten was at  Manhattan's Hanjan where chef Hooni Kim shallow fried scallions, ramps chives and squid in a thin batter of cornstarch, flour, egg yolk, baking powder and water. You can use this batter mixture with different ingredients like cherry tomatoes and spinach, leftover broccoli rabe and kale. You can also sub in starches for the flour. Egg whites will cause the jeon to rise like a puffy omelet while using only yolks will tenderize them, Baking soda and /or carbonated water will give them lacier edges and a puffier interior.

Chef Lopez Alt gives his recipe, born from having sauerkraut left over in fridge. It had fermented to the point where upon opening it hissed and bubbled at him. There's also a red onion for sweetness and scallions. Add cherry peppers or pepperoncini for color and bite. Use sauerkraut and also a quarter cup of its' juice. Chef Lopez-Alt says ice cold water is a must and keep mixing to a minimal. As for the oil used, use either peanut, rice bran or soybean oil for frying. A wok is preferred for frying but a skillet also works too. The sauerkraut and its' juice are mixed with the the rest of the ingredients until there is no more dry parts. The pancakes are then fried. He also gives two variations . One is a kimchi, cabbage and mushroom one , rife with stir fried or sauteed cremini or shiitake mushrooms and the gochugaru instead of the peppers. The second is garlicky zucchini and carrots. The veggies are mandolined into thin matchsticks and then placed in a fine mesh strainer set over a bowl for fifteen minutes. The liquid is a sub in for the sauerkraut juice. In place of the peppers, used four minced garlic cloves. There is a dipping sauce for all three, made with soy sauce, rice vinegar, scallions,  granulated sugar and  toasted sesame oil.

If you want to clean out your fridge, make jeon, These pancakes  are a delicious ways to use whatever odds and ends you have. You can be creative  , with a can if sauerkraut or an array of fresh veggies. Have fun with this crispy flavorful treat.

And Now Apple Cider Doughnuts

 After all the cooking it's time to look to baking - leisurely baking. Think the fall classic apple cider doughnut. They're a perfect snack and a fresh break from all that pie.

Erin Jeanne McDowell, author of Let's Bake A Pie!  and creator of the  baking blog Erin Jeanne McDowell wrote about these gems plus gave the recipe in Wednesday's New York Times Food section. what is great about her recipe is that the doughnuts are baked and not fried. They're more like little cakes, without the usual greasy doughnut aftertaste.Cinnamon lovers will love this recipe as well. Two teaspoons of cinnamon along with a half a teaspoon of freshly grated nutmeg (you can find whole nuts in your grocery's spice section) is added to the batter. You can also add other fall spices like ginger, clove and cardamon for a more flavorful bite.Cider is used but Ms. McDowell recommends boiling it first to reduce it to a maple syrup like consistency. Doing this gives the doughnuts a more concentrated apple flavor. Just use one and a half cup of cider and reduce it down to one half cup. Remember to cool it down before using. Of course doughnuts need a coating of some kind of sugar. Ms. McDowell lets the freshly baked rings settle for a minute or two in the pan before releasing them. They're  brushed with melted butter and then dredged in a mix of cinnamon and sugar. You could use powdered sugar as they do at farms. That's your decision.

You can use a six doughnut baking pan but you can also use a twelve cup muffin tin that can be converted into a doughnut pan. Take a four by four piece of aluminum foil and bend gently around your middle finger. Remove your finger and press the foil in the muffin cup.Use a non stick cooking spray (and not butter or margarine) to grease the pan and then flour it.It's then sifting all the dry ingredients including the cinnamon and baking powder given for lift.. One stick of butter is also used, mixed with light brown and granulated sugars. Two large eggs are also added along with one teaspoon of vanilla extract. Dry and wet ingredients are mixed together then carefully spooned into the doughnut pan about two thirds full. Ms McDowell also suggests using a disposable piping bag or a reusable plastic bag  with a half inch opening cut from one corner). Bake until evenly golden or until a toothpick inserted in the thickest portion of one comes out clean, twelve to fifteen minutes baking in a 350 degree F oven.Muffin tin doughnuts takes longer , about fifteen to twenty minutes. Rotate the pan halfway through. It's then letting the doughnuts settle and brushing them with melted butter before dredging. Again you can use the cinnamon sugar or powdered sugar. 

Apple cider doughnuts are a nice alternative to all the holiday pies and sweets. Even better they baked for a fluffy flavor. Make them today for a tasty snack with a hot cup of coffee and tea.

A Spoonful Of Strawberry

This is strawberry season and although we can't pick them like we used to, we can still make yummy and comforting desserts with them. Add to the classic dessert spoon cake and you have a wonderful dessert.

Jerrelle Guy, creator of the blog Chocolate For Basil gave this delicious recipe in Wednesday's New York Times Food section. She takes spoon bread, a classic Southern dish and pairs it with the fruit of the moment, strawberries. The name comes from spooning it up, especially the crusty edges and the soft, squishy middle. Anyone can make it , including beginner bakers. It's a quick batter pushed into a buttered dish and then covered with muddled strawberries. You could use any fresh fruit from now, subbing in blueberries or peaches for a different spin. The liquid from the muddled fruit keeps the cake steaming as it bakes. Ms. Guy also recommends a dusting of ginger or cardamon for a warmer, spicy taste or  add ribboned basil and a drizzled balsamic vinegar. The strawberries are muddled with brown sugar for an earthy flavor, Of course it's also good with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, perfect after a dinner of barbecued chicken or steak,

Again this is an easy bake and novice bakers will appreciate that. Muddle the strawberries first. This is done either with your hands or the back of the fork. Brown sugar is stirred in for sweetening and then the mixture is set aside.It is a buttery dish with one stick melted with brown sugar , milk and salt. Flour and baking powder are whisked in  and then spread into a buttered baking dish. It doesn't matter whether it's a round or square one.Make sure the batter is  smooth and spread into the corners. The muddled strawberries and their juices are then spooned over it. Place in a preheated 350 degree F oven and bake for twenty to twenty-five minutes or  until a toothpick is inserted and comes out clean. Remove from the oven  and allow to cool for three to five minutes before spooning into bowls. Serve with vanilla ice cream but if you want to gild the lily, then freshly whipped cream. A sprinkle of more brown sugar wouldn't go amiss here. It would add some crunch.

This is strawberry season. Use them to make this delicious and comforting spoon cake. It's a perfect dessert for a summery night.

Happy Pig Snout Day

I thought I would have a tray of delicate pink heart cookies for this Valentine's Day. They would be pretty little gems , perfect with a cup of tea.Was I wrong.What I wound up with was seventy -something pig snouts. (cute in their own way).Blame it on my Wilton Cookie Press.

 It all started with looking at my Wilton Cookie press and realizing I've never used it in the whole year I have it.

It looked like it could be fun. This is what it is, a plastic barrel that is filled with a very gummy kind of dough. You put those little circular discs in the ring and attach everything. Simple right? Yeah.

I made the dough first, using the Wilton spritz cookie recipe. For an easy dough , it was hard to make.

It starts out with 

four cups of flour sifted with 1 teaspoon of baking powder.

Then it's mixing butter  and you have to use butter NOT margarine.

It's then mixing it with one egg,  one cup of sugar and two tablespoons of of milk.

It calls for both vanilla and almond extract. I didn't have the second so I subbed in more vanilla for the almond. The butter is cut in pieces and then basically riced with an electric mixer.

The flour and baking powder blend is added to this. Since it was for Valentine's Day I add two scant drops of red food coloring.

This was a gooey pasty dough. It was impossible to load into the cookie press.(which by the way doesn''t come with instructions)I had to watch videos on how to do it.

This was the first try.

It looks like wads of chewed bubble gum.

then the second try

These actually came out OK and the first taken when done. Mostly they looked like this. Each tray was baked for ten minutes at 350 degrees F.

Pig snouts, pile upon pile of pig snouts.

If you want a true Valentine's Day cookie go to Melissa Clark's A Good Appetite in yesterday's New York Times Food section. She has actual heart shaped chocolate shortbread dipped in more chocolate and dusted with raspberry powder. I don't recommend this recipe or the cookie press. Sorry, Wilton. (It was also a pain to clean too)

Anyway, Happy Pig Snout Day , everyone. Kiss the snout of your heart.

The Poppy Seed Lemon Cake

I had poppy seeds and I had lemons. What could I do with them? Make a refreshing cake , free of any pumpkin spices. The recipe was from OH Sweet Basil blog, from the writer/baker, Fiona. I have to admit , it is labor intensive. Have one or two people around to help.

  The first step is grating the zest.The recipes needs three tablespoons.

Then it was juicing them both for the cake and the icing. This is where you want to call in your kitchen cavalry. Juicing is hard work.

The cake needs 1/4 cup while the icing uses a tablespoon. Next time I'll just use lemon juice.

Then it 's mixing all the dry stuff

Flour, cornstarch, baking powder and baking soda.

Also butter and flour a 9 by 13 inch pan. I used a metal sugar shaker for an even coat

Then it's mixing the wet. The eggs - three of them

The butter about 3/4 cup

I used the good Neisen Massey vanilla, about one tablespoon

Then it's adding the sour cream and flour and mixing in with the wet ingredients.

The recipe called for two to three tablespoons of poppy seeds.I used Pereg's.

And this is what it look's like all mixed together.

This it it baked.

Onto the icing. Mix the cream cheese and butter first.

Keep these at room temp and cut into pieces for easy mixing.

Then it's the confectioner's sugar  - about three cups along with a tablespoon

 of vanilla and three tablespoons of lemon juice.

Then it's a quick blend with a hand mixer.

It's very gooey and sticky for an icing.

This is a very light , summery kind of cake, I love that the poppy seeds add color and crunch.The crumb is very crumbly, but normal for a scratch cake.

It's a labor intensive cake and icing  but worth it.

Heirloom Recipes From The Brass Sisters

Sheila and Marilynn Brass are the cooks with the books.The stars of the popular PBS show Food Flirts wrote two great books Heirloom Cooking With The Brass Sisters and Baking With The Brass Sisters (both published by St. Marten's Press). I tried their corn fritters and had an instant hit  - and an empty plate. The recipe is a tad labor intensive but worth it,.The recipe originated in 1910 from a woman the Brass Sisters called The Church Lady of Mansfield,Ohio. This recipe is one of her earliest, with her recipes cards spanning forty years of cooking.

Ingredients:

1 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
2 eggs separated
1/2 cup milk ( I used Soy Good's coconut milk. It worked in perfectly)
1 tablespoon butter melted (this was subbed in with Miyoko's Vegan Butter)
1 cup canned or cooked corn (for more color and flavor I used Green Giant's Fiesta Corn
2 tablespoons butter softened at room temperature (again Miyoko's was used here)

1 cup sour cream
1/4 cup cooked chives

Place flour, baking powder, salt and pepper in a mixing bowl and set aside.(the combined dry ingredients below)

Beat egg yolks in a separate bowl.

Beat in milk and melted butter.

Add dry ingredients and gently stir to combine. 

Gently fold in corn.

Beat egg whites until stiff in a bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment.

Fold egg whites into batter.

Melt two tablespoons butter in a large frying pan over medium heat.

Spoon one tablespoon batter into pan for each pancake, pressing down gently on them,once they are formed to make them thinner.

Cook pancakes until tops begin to bubble around the edges about two minutes. Turn and cook until the undersides are golden brown , about two minutes more.

 Serve immediately, topped with sour cream and chives. They can be kept warm in a 200 degree F oven for no more than 15 minutes. Store any leftovers in a cover container in the fridge. They can be refried.

I didn't  have any leftovers because they were a huge hit and eaten as they landed on the draining towel. This old classic is our new family favorite.

Recipe , page 56 in Heirloom Cooking With The Brass Sisters (St Martin's Press,2008)