Homemade Pancakes

I was lucky enough to grow up eating homemade pancakes.  I never had frozen pancakes or ones from a box, mix, or tube.  My mom would treat us to pancakes several times a month, usually on Saturday mornings when we had friends stay the previous night.  They always impressed and were simply delicious. 

I still make pancakes for my husband (who never had homemade pancakes until me), but I make them for dinner served with a side of ham or bacon.  I like to add blueberries, cherries, strawberries, or peaches and top them with real maple syrup.  Doesn’t get better. 

Pancakes beg for variations and ways to boost flavor.  First, the butter can be substituted for unsweetened applesauce or fat free sour cream.  It makes a fluffier and lower fat pancake.  Second, you can substitute a fruity beer for the milk (a trick I learned while staying in Maine).  I have used orange and blueberry beers and it will change the flavor to a more complex and yummy version with background notes of the beer.  Feel free to use whole wheat flour, the zest of an orange or lemon or a splash of vanilla to add flavor too, but plain is perfectly fine.

Finally, don’t give me the excuse that you have no time to make homemade pancakes.  Opening a box and mixing ingredients into the “I’m not sure what’s in there” mix takes just as much time as making your own.  Trust me, you’ll never want instant pancakes again.  Only homemade will do. 

                                    My very large pancake with my favorite topping of blueberries

Favorite Pancakes (courtesy of Renee Epplin)

1 ¼ cups flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 tablespoon sugar

pinch of salt

1 egg

1 cup milk

2 tablespoons butter, softened

Combine butter, milk, and egg

Add dry ingredients

Stir just until moistened (pancakes are supposed to be lumpy)

Cook on a lightly greased skillet or griddle over medium heat

Flip pancakes when you start to see bubbles form

Keep pancakes warm in a 200 degree oven while you finish

Top with berries, chocolate chips, whipped cream, butter, or real maple syrup

Pancakes freeze really well too.  Cool them, wrap each pancake in plastic wrap, place in a freezer bag, and chill.  

Risotto

I started eating risotto when I was a teenager and have loved it ever since.  It’s an Italian rice dish that is made with Arborio rice and stirred with chicken stock to make it rich and creamy, without actually adding any cream.  Furthermore, it’s a blank slate and you can add an endless variety of seafood, meats, vegetables, herbs, and spices to it.  It’s a fast dish that is impressive to guests and it will please anyone. 

My favorite risotto recipes are the ones that use seasonal ingredients.  I use butternut squash and saffron in the fall/winter, asparagus and peas in the spring, and fresh basil and mushrooms in the summer.  I also add shredded chicken or cooked shrimp to make it a fuller meal. 

Following is a basic recipe for risotto with a list of add ins that I have tried.  Be sure to taste it for correct seasoning and doneness of the rice.  Enjoy!

                                    Risotto with shrimp, peas, asparagus, mushroom, and parsley 

Risotto

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 large shallots, chopped

1 ½ cups Arborio rice

2/3 cup dry white wine

4-5 cups simmering chicken stock (or vegetable stock if you want it vegetarian)

1 teaspoon salt

¾ teaspoon pepper

½ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for grating

Add ins: 

Blanched asparagus

Frozen peas, defrosted

Sliced mushrooms, any variety

Butternut squash, cut into bite sized pieces, and roasted

Cooked shrimp/lobster/mussels/scallops

Shredded chicken

Chopped fennel

Zest and juice of 1 lemon (add at very end)

Mascarpone cheese

Basil/chives/thyme/saffron/parsley

Anything else you think would be good in risotto

Place chicken (or vegetable) stock in a small saucepan and bring to simmer

In another medium saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat

Add the shallots and cook until tender

Add the rice and stir until it is coated in oil

Add the wine and simmer over low heat until most of the wine has been absorbed

Add the chicken stock, 2 ladles at a time, stirring almost constantly until most of the stock has been absorbed (the more you stir it, the creamier it will be)

Add more chicken stock as it’s absorbed (this usually takes 20-30 min)

Add salt and pepper, stir, and taste for seasoning

Add Parmesan cheese and stir

Add whatever add ins you like (just make sure the add ins are cooked before you add them)

Stir and taste for seasoning and doneness of the rice

Serve hot with more Parmesan cheese to grate over the top

Tips for cake

I have a favorite chocolate cake recipe that I go to every time I have a craving for it.  It has also become quite popular among my friends and a very good friend asked me to make it for her daughter's 2nd birthday.  The colors for the party were pink and yellow, so to go with the theme, I colored the icing the brightest pink and yellow I could find.  I also made white chocolate "polka dots" out of tempered chocolate to decorate it.  The result was amazing!

This cake recipe is designed for 3 tiers (4x3 in. cake pan, 6x3 in cake pan, and 8x3 in cake pan).  However, I have divided the batter up in many sizes of cake pans and it turned out great.  (the above picture used larger cake pans, so I had to 1 1/2 this recipe- easy to do and it turns out great)

A few tips for making cake:
1:  Cream the butter and sugars for at least 5 minutes.  This incorporates air into the mixture and it makes the cake light and fluffy.
2:  Add the eggs one at a time and make sure each is fully incorporated into the batter.
3:  Use room temperature ingredients.  It's ok to leave everything out overnight (and longer).  If you have contrasting temperatures among ingredients, the cake won't come together and the texture will be bad.
4:  Alternate the dry and wet ingredients.  This makes for a lighter cake.
5:  Check on your cakes in the oven.  Never go by the times in the recipe.  Everyone's oven is different, so I start checking on my cake 15 minutes before time is up.
6:  Cool the cakes completely, wrap them in plastic wrap, and refrigerate them for a few hours before frosting (if you can).  This make the frosting part so much easier.
7.  To smooth out the frosting on the cake, clean your offset spatula (or knife) and lightly dampened with the warm water.  This will make the frosting smooth and you won't see crumbs.

Chocolate Tiered Cake
3 1/2 cups flour
2 cups cocoa powder (I use Valrhona cocoa powder- excellent quality)
1 tablespoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/3 cups sugar
1 1/3 cups brown sugar
4 eggs, at room temperature
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups buttermilk, at room temperature
1 cup sour cream, at room temperature
1 recipe Buttercream Icing, follows

Preheat oven to 350
Butter and flour cake pans (sizes noted above) and line the bottom with parchment paper

Sift flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and set aside

In the bowl of an electric mixer (or a large bowl with a handheld mixer), cream the butter and 2 sugars for at least 5 minutes until light yellow and fluffy
Add the eggs, one at a time until incorporated
Add the vanilla
Combine the buttermilk and sour cream in a large measuring cup
On low speed, add the flour mixture and the buttermilk mixture alternately in thirds, beginning with the buttermilk and ending with the flour
Mix only until blended

Divide batter between the cake pans and smooth tops with a spatula
Bake smallest pan for about 35-45 min., medium pan for 50-60 min., and largest for 50-70 min. until a toothpick comes out clean
Cool cakes in the pans for 10 minutes, remove from pans, and cool completely on a rack
Frost cooled cakes

Buttercream Icing
3 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
3 pounds powdered sugar
8-10 tablespoons milk (depending how thick/thin you like it)
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
food coloring, optional

Place butter in the bowl of an electric mixer or a large bowl with a handheld mixer
Cream the butter for a minute
Add the powder sugar, milk, and vanilla
Mix on low until thickened
Add the food coloring
Mix fully with spatula to make sure the food coloring is fully incorporated
Frost each cake separately and stack

Baked Broccoli Ravioli

If you want a little bit of pasta with a lot of veggies (you know, so you don’t feel as guilty) then this dish is for you.  It’s lasagna meets ravioli and it is really good.

I made a filling of roasted broccoli and garlic, coarsely chopped it in the food processor, folded it between lasagna noodles, and topped it with homemade basil oil and parmesan cheese.  It’s a fairly simple meal that looks fabulous and it’s good for you.  Enjoy!

Baked Broccoli Ravioli

1 cup packed fresh basil leaves

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced

12 oz fresh broccoli, cut into florets

½-3/4 cup ricotta

¼ cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

½ pound lasagna sheets

Place basil in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until chopped

With the motor running, add the olive oil until incorporated (add more oil if the sauce isn’t smooth)

Season with salt and pepper, transfer to a bowl, and set aside

Preheat oven to 425

Place broccoli florets and garlic on a baking sheet, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roast for 12-14 minutes until tender

Place broccoli and garlic in the bowl of a food processor and coarsely chop

Transfer to a bowl and add ricotta, parmesan, salt and pepper (add more ricotta if the mixture is too loose) Taste for seasoning

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, season with salt, and add lasagna

Cook pasta according to the package directions

Drain

Place 1 pasta sheet on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper

Place filling on ½ of the pasta sheet and fold over

Continue with remaining lasagna sheets

Top with parmesan cheese and bake for 10-14 minutes until cheese is melted and filling is warm

Top with basil oil and more parmesan

My Favorite Cake (Chunky Carrot)

My favorite cake is carrot cake.  It’s super moist, has lots of flavors, and it’s a vehicle for cream cheese frosting.  However, I don’t like boring carrot cakes where the only interest is carrots and maybe a little cinnamon.  I like my carrot cake to be really chunky, full of spices, and a mixture of textures.  I found an Ina Garten recipe for carrot and pineapple cake that I tried and loved.  However, this recipe is not in any of her cookbooks and I cannot figure out why.  It is available on foodnetwork’s web site. 

I only have this particular carrot and pineapple cake on my birthday because it’s a special cake to me (not to mention it’s quite large and rich).  I was happy again this year to eat it!  Enjoy! (Thanks to my mom for making it this year!)

Carrot and Pineapple Cake

2 cups sugar

1 1/3 vegetable oil (or you can use half oil and half unsweetened applesauce)

3 eggs at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 ½ cups plus 1 tablespoon all purpose flour, divided

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 cup raisins

3 tablespoons dark rum

1 cup chopped walnuts (optional- I do not like my cake with nuts in it)

1 pound carrots, grated

½ cup diced fresh pineapple (canned is fine too)

Cream Cheese Frosting

1/2 pound cream cheese at room temperature

1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 pound powdered sugar

Butter and flour 2 (8 inch) cake pans (tap excess flour out) and line the bottoms with parchment paper

In a small bowl, combine raisins and rum

Cover with plastic wrap and microwave for 1 minute

Uncover and set aside to cool (this plumps the raisins and infuses them with flavor)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Beat sugar, oil (and applesauce if using), and eggs until light yellow

Add vanilla

In another bowl, sift 2 ½ cups flour, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt

Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients

Toss raisins and walnuts (if using) with 1 tablespoon flour

Fold in carrots, pineapple, rum soaked raisins (don’t add the liquid), and walnuts into the batter

Divide batter equally among the cake pans and smooth out the top

Bake 45-55 minutes, until a toothpick come out clean

Cool cakes completely in the pans set over a cooling rack

For the frosting:

Beat cream cheese, butter, and vanilla until combined

Add powdered sugar and mix until smooth

Place 1 layer, flat side up on a cake stand or plate and generously frost the top

Place the other layer, flat side down, on top and frost the top

Garnish with fresh pineapple

(you can double the frosting to frost the sides of the cake if you wish)