Sunday Brunch: German Pancake

Posted on 3 February, 2013 by wee eats

What’s better than a nice puffy pancake on a cold Sunday morning?

Nothing. That’s what.

I don’t remember exactly how the dutch pancake was introduced to our family, but I remember that I was young, and it involved a lot of melted butter, powdered sugar, and a 9×13 cake pan full of delicious.The huge, browned air bubbles were the best part. The family would grab at it from around the table and despite the huge breakfast dish served before us (did I mention mom made it in a 9-BY-13 pan!?), there was never once a single bit left over.

Not even a bite.

Back then mom called it a “German” pancake, but since then I’ve also heard it called a “dutch baby” or “dutch pancake” as well. I’m not sure which is correct. I suppose you can call it whatever you like, after all, “A rose by any other name…” right?

Something like that.

I’ve made mine a bit fancier than mom’s by cooking and serving it in a pretty skillet and sprinkling it with fresh berries. I’d love to say that it’s my favorite skillet because it cooks the best, or has some sort of magical powers of deliciousness, but really it’s just because it’s purple (what more reason do I need?)

Oh, and I give it a nice, healthy drizzle of my favorite top-secret 2-minute-berry-syrup… which will no longer be a secret by the end of this post (Lucky you).

I usually give it a dusting of powdered sugar too, but I had already made enough of a mess that morning and I didn’t want to tempt fate by carting out the powdered sugar.

Yes, that is my entire container of sugar that exploded onto the floor, in hopes of attracting every bug within a 10-mile radius. Yes, I was annoyed. Usually this would be the part where I would decide it “wasn’t meant to be” and call it a day.

But I didn’t. I trudged on.

Only to be defeated yet again when I put the pancake in the oven and thought, “Hm, that’s not really poofing much…”

And then I realized I forgot the milk, which is basically half of the batter. HALF OF THE BATTER! The batter that is basically only 3 ingredients, and I forgot one.

Clearly, I was having one of “those” days. How do I mess up the easiest recipe known to man? Who knows, but after I cleaned up my sugary mess, threw my disgrace of a “pancake” into the disposal, and debated giving up on life a second time… I went full speed ahead for round two… and succeeded.

The “pancake” itself is rather neutral in flavor, I sweetened it just a bit with a dash of vanilla and a bit of sugar, but you can add whatever you like. Though I serve mine with berries, mom always served it with a ~~stick-or-two~~ “drizzle” of melted butter and powdered sugar.

No judgment.

This is the perfect recipe for your next breakfast or brunch, or a day when you have the house all to yourself and want to make something fast, then eat it just as quickly and pretend it never existed, leaving only a blog post as evidence.

Did I mention I made this on a day when the only person in the house to eat it was me, myself, and I?

Oops…

To be fair, I think I earned it after all that work.

German Pancake

[ Printable Recipe ]

For the Pancake:

2 Tablespoon butter
3 eggs
⅔ cups flour
⅔ cups milk
1 Tablespoon sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon vanilla

2-minute Berry Syrup:

1 cup berries, fresh or frozen
2 Tablespoons powdered sugar
1 Tablespoon water
splash of lemon juice

For the pancake:

1. Put two tablespoons of butter in an oven-proof skillet and put it in the oven while it preheats to 400 degrees F

2. Put eggs in a blender and process on low until pale yellow in color. Add remaining ingredients and mix until smooth.

3. Carefully pour the batter into the hot pan and return to the oven. Bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees, then reduce the heat to 350 and continue baking another 10 minutes or until golden brown and puffed.

For the “syrup”

1. Measure one cup of berries into a two-cup measuring cup or a bowl and toss with the powdered sugar. If using fresh berries add about a tablespoon of water.

2. Microwave on high for 1 to 2 minutes until the berries are popped and the liquid has leaked out. (Keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn’t bubble over the container). Stir and allow to cool slightly before using.

* To make in a 9-x-13 pan, double the recipe

fig and prosciutto flatbread

Posted on 14 January, 2013 by wee eats

It’s Monday and I’ve got a treat for you.

It’s one of my favorites.

It combines creamy mascarpone cheese, sweet fig jam, salty prosciutto, and peppery arugula that satisfies any possible craving you could have all in one bite.

Usually I would make this as a crostini on sliced and toasted baguette. Unfortunately, it can become very tedious when you have to spread and layer ingredients onto a bajillion little pieces of bread. So when I was planning Christmas Brunch, it occurred to me that I could save a lot of time if I just made one giant crostini… I briefly thought about slicing a baguette in half, toasting the halves and going from there, similar to my cheesy artichoke bread recipe.

Then, as I was scanning the fridge to find something for dinner, my eyes stopped on a package of pizza dough from Trader Joe’s. It came to me all at once, it was so simple I couldn’t believe I hadn’t figured it out before: flatbread!

Flatbread was the solution to my problem. (How many people can say that?)

I could make one large flatbread and just cut it into a bunch of bite-size appetizers for people to snack on. Just grill your pizza dough until it’s cooked through, add your toppings, slice and serve. The result was the perfect super fast, super easy way to make my favorite appetizer.

Prosciutto Flatbread

[ Printable Recipe ]

1 pound pizza dough
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
1/2 cup fig jam
8 ounces prosciutto
4 cups arugula

Divide your dough into two equal portions and roll into a ball, set on a lightly-floured surface and cover with a towel. Bring to room temperature for about 1 hour prior to cooking.

Heat griddle or grill to high heat (or heat the oven to 500 degrees and put the rack on the lowest rung). If you’re using the oven here, you’ll want to start pre-heating it at least 30 minutes early.

Shape your dough, I just stretched mine out into an oblong shape. You can try for a circle or rectangle if it suits you, but don’t drive yourself crazy over it. Sometimes I prick it with a fork to make it slightly less bubbly, but I’m not convinced that it makes a huge difference.

Grill your bread until poofed and browned on one side, then flip and cook the other side. If you’re using the oven, it’s pretty much the same concept, you can leave it in there un-flipped just keep cooking until both sides are browned and the dough is cooked through. You’ll have to do this twice, because there are two pieces of dough. If you’re using the grill it only takes a few minutes per side, super easy!

Let it cool slightly, then when you can handle it comfortably, spread a layer of mascarpone on the flatbread (I find this is easier for some reason to do with the back of a spoon, maybe because the flatbread isn’t totally flat). Then spread a layer of fig jam over the layer of mascarpone. They’re going to mix together, it’ll be okay. You’re halfway there.

Now you have two options, prosciutto and then arugula, or arugula and then prosciutto. I prefer the latter, I find that putting the prosciutto on top helps to hold the arugula onto the flatbread. If I put the arugula on top I end up chasing it around as it falls off of every bite I take.

Then, that’s it! You’re done! Slice it up and eat it.

chicken cheesesteaks

Posted on 26 November, 2012 by wee eats

Ok, let’s take a brief recess here from the sugar and the sweets and all of those desserts that I love so much. Just the thought of pie is making me a little… uncomfortable. Let’s flip the “savory” switch.

And let’s lighten it up a bit… I need something with some substance to it.

Steak? No, something light… chicken maybe… but not too light… let’s put it on some bread.

There we go… swap out fatty rib-eye steak for lean, healthy boneless-skinless chicken breasta healthy(er) alternative to your sinful cheesesteak sandwich, .

Or, at this time of year, it may even be a resourceful way to use up the last of that dreaded leftover Thanksgiving turkey… ugh… turkey… let’s not use that word again for… at least a week or two.

Even though I have several cheese sauce recipes lurking in my “to do” lists, I can never actually bring myself to make them, especially not with the amount of food I’ve devoured in the past week… so I opted for sliced provolone cheese instead.

I’m not trying to claim that these are “authentic”, in fact I wouldn’t even call them “cheesesteak” if I had a better name for them…

Philly Chicken-Cheesesteaks?

Philly cheese-chickens? Nah…

Phoenix Chicken-Steaks?

Ooh, I like that, maybe add some hatch chiles and monterey jack cheese… oh man. Just thinking out loud here. I’ve definitely smeared some leftover chipotle aioli on these babies and it was pretty amazing…

Chicken “Cheesesteaks”

[ Printable Recipe ]

1 lb thin-sliced boneless skinless chicken breast
1 green bell pepper, seeded and sliced
1 sweet onion, sliced
6 slices provolone (or cheese of your choice)
6 french rolls, halved lengthwise
salt and pepper, to taste

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees, or heat your broiler (high or low, whatever you prefer). Meanwhile, heat a sauté pan over medium/medium-high heat.

2. Generously salt and pepper both sides of the chicken breasts. A shake or two of garlic powder never hurt anyone either, just sayin. Cook with a teaspoon or two of olive oil over medium high until cooked through, set aside.

3. Add another teaspoon of oil to the pan, and sauté peppers and onions until just tender-crisp. Salt and pepper onions and peppers to taste. Set aside.

4. Line a baking pan with foil. Slice chicken breast into thin strips, toss with peppers and onions, and put into six “piles” on the baking sheet. Place one slice of cheese on top of each pile, and broil until cheese is melted and bubbly. (If you have an oven-safe pan, and the ability to remember NOT TO GRAB A SUPER HOT HANDLE, you could just use your pan… but some of us aren’t that skilled).

5. Once cheese is melted, carefully remove pan from oven, and mix the chicken, peppers, onions, and cheese and pile each onto a French roll. You can eat as is, or tightly wrap the whole sandwich in foil (with another piece of cheese, if you’re feeling naughty) and return to the oven for a few minutes to heat the bread through.

Thursday Things

Posted on 2 August, 2012 by wee eats

Monsoon season in Arizona is still going strong. Although I absolutely can’t stand the heat or humidity, I am enjoying having epic sunsets pretty much every night. It’s the one benefit of living here: pretty skies. Oh, and never having to walk through snow.

Also, IT’S AUGUST which doesn’t seem like that big of a deal until you realize that next month is September. Once we hit September, the year will quickly be lost in a spiral of planning, prepping for, and celebrating holidays. It doesn’t help that Costco already has a corner dedicated to Christmas set up… I’m going to blink and then it will be 2013 and another year is gone… but I didn’t even do anything with 2012 yet!!!

I started off the morning a little rough yesterday and needed to cheer myself up stat. I used to turn to one of my favorite bloggers: Hyperbole and a Half. Since her last post was a million years ago, I selected one at random, which totally fit my sentiment at that exact moment, further proving that she and I are one in the same. If you are in need of some laughter today, you can click the picture below to be magically teleported to Allie’s amazing comic, aptly named ‘Why I’ll Never Be An Adult’ – perhaps a more accurate name would be “Why I’ll Never Be a Responsible Adult”

This week, I made the round two recipe in the collaborative quest for the ULTIMATE CHOCOLATE CUPCAKE RECIPE with Cupcake Project and it seems pretty promising. Is it possible that we’ve achieved the ultimate chocolate cupcake in just two rounds???

The answer is: Maybe. I don’t know yet.

In recent news, Sophie has grown increasingly distrustful of her water dish…

She doesn’t trust that thing at all… not one bit… lately she’s even been chirping at it and hitting it, scooting it around the floor with her tiny little paws. BF says it’s because of the bubbles, but I’m not so sure.

Also, thanks to BF, I have a new favorite snack. A deadly combination of addictive and delicious. Thank god he purchased tiny packs so that I don’t eat pounds and pounds of them. Not all at once at least. It helps that I only allow myself to take one pack a day to work, which means I can’t just tear through pack after pack eating my way to shame.

Over the weekend BF and I enjoyed homemade pizzas from our very own grill. And then we promptly Instagram-ed the heck out of them.

If you’ve never made your own pizza, YOU MUST! In fact, I have an easy to follow tutorial RIGHT HERE!!! If you’re too lazy to make your own pizza dough, many grocery stores carry pre-made dough. If you don’t have a pizza stone, you can just grill one side, flip, and then add your toppings while the other side cooks. Easy peasy.

Although I did not waffleize my hashbrowns this weekend, I did, however, make crepes… and it made me wonder why I don’t make them more often. They’re pretty easy to make, and definitely delicious. As an added bonus: you can make the batter the night before! Then all you have to do is wake up, stumble into the kitchen, and heat the pan while you make your coffee.

The only downside was that it made me smell like butter, which made my morning work out exceptionally difficult. It’s hard to take your workout seriously when you are emanating the delicious aroma of butter out of your pores. Just sayin.

Crepes

[ Printable Recipe ]

2 large eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1 cup flour
3 tablespoons melted butter
Butter, for coating the pan

In a blender, combine all of the ingredients and pulse for 10 seconds. Place the crepe batter in the refrigerator for 1 hour. This allows the bubbles to subside so the crepes will be less likely to tear during cooking. The batter will keep for up to 48 hours.

Heat a small non-stick pan. Add butter to coat. Pour 1 ounce of batter into the center of the pan and swirl to spread evenly. Cook for 30 seconds and flip. Cook for another 10 seconds and remove to the cutting board. Lay them out flat so they can cool. Continue until all batter is gone.

After they have cooled you can stack them and store in sealable plastic bags in the refrigerator for several days or in the freezer for up to two months. When using frozen crepes, thaw on a rack before gently peeling apart.

*Savory Variation Add 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs, spinach or sun-dried tomatoes to the egg mixture.

*Sweet Variation Add 21/2 tablespoons sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 2 tablespoons of your favorite liqueur to the egg mixture.

[ crepe recipe from the one and only Alton Brown ]

summery chicken pasta

Posted on 19 June, 2012 by wee eats

I AM BACK! Well, I’ve been back, but have still been recovering from vacation. You know how vacation just makes you more tired than you were before you went on vacation? Not only that, but it also sucked all the joy out of my regular life, as I don’t want to do anything except keep being on vacation.

Where you get to hang out on boats…

enjoy scenic views…

and hike through colorful canyons…

Anyway, since it is summer, and I had to be in a bikini, I decided to take a break from the sweeter things in life for a day and post this [ relative-to-what-i-usually-post ] healthful pasta recipe instead. Just a simple pasta filled with fresh veggies, lean chicken, and garlic. Lots and lots of garlic.

I do variations of this pasta all the time with different veggies … no real measurements. But this should serve as a good “jumping off point” for you. It’s actually one of BF’s favorite dinners, depending on what I throw in, of course. A splash of cream and a bit of butter never hurt anyone, though you may want to skip those depending on how far away your bikini date is.

Summery Chicken Pasta

[ Printable Recipe ]

1 (1-lb) box pasta, whole wheat if you want to feel a little better about it
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts (thin cut will cook faster)
4 cloves garlic
½ cup white wine (optional)
½ cup (1 cup if you skip the wine), low-sodium chicken broth
1 onion, chopped
1 bag baby spinach (~ 6 oz)
2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes, I like to halve some and leave some whole
½ cup loosely-packed basil, torn, plus more for garnish (if desired)
Splash of heavy cream (optional, but recommended)
Salt and Pepper
Olive oil
1 – 2 Tablespoons butter
Italian cheese – Parmesan, Pecorino, Asiago, whatever you’ve got.

Cook pasta in salted water per package directions. Drain and set aside.

Season chicken breasts with salt and pepper on both sides. Bash your garlic cloves with your hand or a knife, you want them to be “broken” but not chopped or separated.

Preheat pan over medium-high heat. Drizzle oil to coat the bottom and add chicken, cooking in batches if necessary. Cook until done and transfer to a plate; tent with foil while you cook the veggies.

Add another drizzle of oil if necessary. Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until lightly browned. DO NOT let the garlic burn. Once the garlic is lightly browned remove the cloves of garlic and add your onion. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Sauté until translucent, then add your wine and cook until almost evaporated, scraping up the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Add your broth and bring to a boil. (Sometimes I throw my garlic cloves back in, just remember to fish them out again before you serve it).

Chop chicken to desired size pieces and return chicken, with any accumulated juices, to the pan.

Reduce heat to low and add spinach, basil, tomatoes, and cooked pasta to the skillet. Add a healthy dose of grated parmesan to the pasta. Throw in a tablespoon of butter and a dash of cream if you’re feeling saucy, taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. Toss until the spinach is wilted to your liking.

Serve sprinkled with extra parmesan and basil.

TIPS

You can also sauté bell peppers with your onion for an extra ‘punch’ of flavor
I like to drop a few strands of saffron into the broth while it boils as well
I also like to add half of my tomatoes while the broth is boiling so they burst and flavor the sauce, then the other half at the end so they are more “fresh”.

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