Oatmeal Banana Pancakes and the best Homemade Syrup!

In my family breakfast is a big deal. I wish I could say it is a big deal everyday but alas the weekends is when the big deal happens. Mostly on Saturday. Sometimes on Sunday but mostly Saturday. In other words, in my family breakfast is a big deal on Saturday.

Pancakes are often on the menu. We like of course the simple Buttermilk Pancakes, and really who doesn't but what I really like to make is Oatmeal Banana Pancakes. This isn't what you are thinking...that is if you are thinking of big flakes of oatmeal in your pancakes. The beauty of this recipe is that you add the liquid ingredients along with the oatmeal and banana to a blender and purée the contents. What you end up with is a nice batter that is easy to pour, not overly heavy browns perfectly.  The oatmeal adds a nice nutty flavor and a little more body than just plain flour.

Oatmeal Banana pancakes

yield 10 1oz pancakes

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup quick cooking oats

1 tablespoon white sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 egg

1 banana

Puree with immersion blender or:

Place all wet ingredients including the Oats and Banana in a blender and blend until smooth.

In another bowl mix the dry ingredients and stir until well combined.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until completely incorporated.

Put blueberry's in it. You wont be sorry. Or chocolate chips.

The second part that makes this pancake amazing is the syrup. Imagine pouring the interior of a cinnamon roll on your pancakes. That is what this is. In an effort to not put corn syrup on our pancakes and truth be told being out of syrup completely we came up with this solution.

Absolute Best Pancake Syrup

Makes 2.5 cups

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 cup buttermilk

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 tablespoon honey

1/4 - 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Put everything except the baking soda in a very large pot. Bring it to a boil whisking all the while. Then add the baking soda and whisk like crazy! It is going to want to boil over depending on the size of your pot. Cook it over the heat for 30 seconds or so and then take it off of the heat. Your done. This syrup will solidify and or congeal when cold. Simply heat it up in a hot water bath or in the microwave for burst of 20-30 seconds until it pours nicely.

Enjoy!

J.Jones

Dutch Dutch Baby… (whispered like the Vanilla Ice Song)

Whether you refer to this as a Dutch Baby, German Pancake, Puff Pancake it doesn’t matter. They are all the same thing. A Puff Pancake is essentially a sweet Pop-Over normally served for breakfast. Derived from the German Pfannkuchen made of eggs, flour, sugar and milk. The term Dutch Pancake comes from a group of German American immigrants known as the Pennsylvania Dutch. Where Dutch is a mispronunciation of the German Deutsch. Viola! Dutch Pancake.

Basic Dutch Baby

½ cup Butter

6 eggs

1 ½ cup Milk

1 ½ cup Flour

Put the butter in the pan and set it into a preheated 425° oven middle rack. Mix batter while butter melts. Put the eggs and in a blender run on high for 30 seconds. While motor is running pour the flour through the lid and blend for another 30 seconds.

Pull out the pan and swirl the butter around, pour in the batter and put it back in the oven. Cook for 30-40 minutes. Your pancake should be puffed and browned nicely, crisp on the edges.

Warning: This pancake will rise up the sides and be gigantic, it is amazing! However, it does deflate quickly. So for the best effect have your guests at the table then bring it straight from the oven to the table. Slice like a pizza and enjoy.

Serve with powdered sugar and lemon juice (classic), or whipped cream, jam and or syrup.

Variations:

Sweet: Instead of putting the pan in the oven to melt the butter put it on the stove. Medium High heat, add sliced fruit such as nectarines, peaches, apples, pears cook in the butter. Sprinkle a little brown sugar on top to help caramelize. Once cooked, arrange in a nice spiral pattern and pour in your batter. If you are going to add berries do it after the batter has been poured in, if you cook the blueberries first it will look like you have murdered Barny the Dinosaur. Then cook as directed above.

Savory: Think Brunch or Dinner - Instead of putting the pan in the oven to melt the butter put it on the stove. Medium High heat, add sliced bacon, sausage, potatoes, onions, peppers asparagus etc. Once cooked pour in the batter and cook as directed.

Notes on a cooking vessel: We use a Paella Pan, that is literally 15” across. Can be picked up pretty cheap say around $20. Traditionally they would be cooked in a Cast Iron pan. Don’t be afraid to put them in a muffin pan or pop-over pan, remkin or whatever you want to cook it in.

Enjoy!

J.Jones

Carrot Chips

Carrot Chips in the microwave 

Peel one large carrot cut in half.  Hold one end and of the carrot and make a long smooth peels.  Place on plate spritzed with olive oil.  Sprinkle with kosher salt and microwave on high for 2:30-3:00 minutes.  If they are not crisp enough blast for 10 seconds.  Place in a bowl and repeat until you are done.  

Enjoy!

Get your Dog on...

Grilling Pizza Dough

Dough rested for about 24 hours in the fridge.

Portioned to about 6oz each then rolled to about a 12" round.

I make sure there is a little flour on the surface then place on hot grill.

After a few minutes turn it over.  If you grill is hot and the dough  is cooked it wont stick.

It might get a little charred but that's okay.  It's a grilled pizza.

Sometimes they puff right up!

Now that's a Hot Pocket!

 Once they are partially cooked you can stack them up and save them until you are ready to top them.  I put a stone on one side of my grill and let it heat at about medium high for 30 minutes are so.  Then you can finish your pizzas on the stone with the lid closed.  It gets pretty hot in there.  Almost like a pizza oven.

Prez Dinner

Dude! That IS a good idea!

I am not the biggest fan of Crock-Pot cooking.  It gives me the he-be-ge-bees thinking of all of that pale toned overcooked gunk most people make.  I am sorry if I am stepping on toes here but throwing a piece of meat in the crock covering it with vegetables and water and calling it stew in 12 hours is not food.  There are exceptions to the rule though, the folks at Americas Test Kitchen know how to get it done.  I can say that their slow cooker Beef Burgundy is exceptionally tasty.

Here is another great idea.  Now I am going to step on another toe and tell you that these are NOT baked potatoes.  These are STEAMED potatoes.  But it does count as a kick ass idea.  My hat is off to you Skiptomylou!

See original story here: Skiptomylou


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Enjoy!

Yes, Water for Chocolate

So I have taken some time off and have not posted in a while but here we go!  For Valentines Day I have this for you:  It seems that  another Rule that shall never be broken has yes, you guessed it...been broken.  We have always been told "DO NOT MIX WATER AND CHOCOLATE"!  Now leave it to some crazy French Chemist to do just that and would you believe it!  Something magical happened:

Here is the link to the whole article on Food52.

But here is the video:



Enjoy!

Presidents Dinner

Asparagus Bisque

Hazelnut crusted halibut with herbed burre blanc mashed potatoes with caramelized onions and green beans in brown butter.

By request, Dawn's incredible Hazelnut cheesecake.

Ruhlman's Bread App

I am a big fan of Michael Ruhlman so I had no problem forking over some cash for his bread app. Here is my first shot at making some sandwich bread, Ruhlman style.

On Demand: 10 Food Movies & TV Shows on Netflix Instant | Apartment Therapy The Kitchn

On Demand: 10 Food Movies & TV Shows on Netflix Instant | Apartment Therapy The Kitchn

Make or Buy? Tomato Ketchup

Make or Buy? Tomato Ketchup | Apartment Therapy The Kitchn

I have made my own ketchup. It's not hard and you might like the outcome. No, it wont be identical to your favorite bottle but that's the point!

COST BREAKDOWN

• Heinz Tomato Ketchup (40 oz bottle)
TOTAL: $2.50
PER SERVING (1 Tablespoon): $0.02

• Homemade Ketchup
1 28-oz. can tomato puree: $1.95
1 medium yellow onion: $1.30
1 clove garlic: $0.06
1⁄2 fresh jalapeño: $0.15
2 tbsp. dark brown sugar: $0.10
1⁄2 cup cider vinegar: $0.30
Pinch cayenne: $0.05
Pinch celery salt: $0.05
Pinch dry mustard: $0.05
Pinch ground allspice: $0.05
Pinch ground cloves: $0.05
Pinch ground ginger: $0.05
Pinch ground cinnamon: $0.05
Salt and freshly ground black pepper: $0.00
Spices are roughly calculated

TOTAL (3 cups): $4.21
PER SERVING (1 Tablespoon): $0.09

My kids would eat that...maybe!

Gourmet Asks the Toughest Critics in the World to Test Pizza--Kids! - Food on Shine

PIZZA WITH FONTINA, PROSCIUTTO, AND ARUGULA

SERVES4

• ACTIVE TIME:10 MIN
• START TO FINISH:30 MIN

DECEMBER 2006

No time to heat up a pizza stone? This easy alternative method yields a crisp crust in just minutes. Good-quality cheese, olive oil, and prosciutto go a long way toward making the pie truly memorable.

• 1 lb pizza dough, thawed if frozen
• 3/4 lb well-chilled Italian Fontina (see cooks’ note), any rind discarded
• 1 garlic clove, forced through a garlic press
• 1/4 lb loosely packed baby arugula (4 cups)
• 1/4 lb thinly sliced prosciutto
• Extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling
• Freshly ground black pepper

SPECIAL EQUIPMENT:

a 17- by 14-inch sheet of parchment paper

• Put a large heavy baking sheet (17 by 14 inches) on lowest rack of oven, then preheat oven to 500°F.
• Meanwhile, roll out dough on a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin, stretching corners with your hands to form a 16- by 13-inch rectangle. (Dough will be easier to roll out as it warms.) Transfer to a large tray lined with sheet of parchment paper. Lightly prick dough all over with a fork, then slide dough (on parchment) from tray onto hot baking sheet. Bake until top is puffed and pale golden in patches, 6 to 10 minutes. (Prick any large bubbles with a fork and flatten.)
• While crust bakes, shred cheese in a food processor fitted with medium shredding disk (you should have 3 cups).
• Remove crust from oven and brush all over with crushed garlic, then sprinkle evenly with cheese. Bake pizza until edge of crust is deep golden and cheese is bubbling and golden in patches, 8 to 10 minutes.
• Remove from oven, then scatter arugula over pizza and drape prosciutto over arugula. Drizzle with oil and coarsely grind pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

COOKS’ NOTE: In place of the Fontina, you can use 1 pound smoked mozzarella, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices.

RECIPE BY LILLIAN CHOU

PHOTOGRAPH BY ROMULO YANES

Enjoy!

Jason

Popovers for Breakfast!

Just 4 ingredients and time.

Popovers:
2 parts liquid (1cup milk)
1 part eggs (2 eggs)
1 part flour (1/2cup flour)

Pinch of salt, Cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar if you wish.

Mix together until well incorporated.  Meanwhile heat popover pans or muffin tins in a 450°.  When oven comes to temp pour a little liquid fat (melted butter) into each cup and then add the batter to each cup.

Cook for 10 minutes at 450° then reduce heat to 375° and cook for 20 more minutes.

Enjoy.

The Irish Rover, Kirkland

Great lunch today celebrating a friend and co-workers birthday.  I had Bangers and Mash.  Also on the plate a really nice braised Cabbage with Bacon and Onions.

You really ARE what you eat...

Read the article: click here

Check it out.  If you don't believe this article, there is a simple way to test it.  Don't let your kids have any soda and see how different they are after they get over the withdrawal period.  Yes I did say withdrawal period.  Get the Sugar Smacks out of the table and get a regular cereal and put the sugar bowl back on the table.  There is no way you can put as much sugar in your Cheerios as the manufacture can.

Julia Child would be very proud of this video

FW: Waffle Iron Flat Bread

With a little extra dough and the waffle iron still on my counter from
breakfast my assistant cook and I making Waffle Iron Flat Bread.

The State of foods

Doesn't always come from there but it sure reminds us of that place.  North Dekota, what the heck is Knoeplah?

Cinnamon Raisin Bread "the easy way"

Using up some stored dough I made some cinnamon bread. Using this method you could fill this bread with just about anything you want.