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Blueberry Cornmeal Pancakes with homemade syrup

Blueberry Cornmeal Pancakes with homemade syrup

by The Chubby Cook on 28. Jul, 2010 in Breakfast

This morning I awoke to a feeling of dehydration. We had sushi last night and the soy sauce must have done a number on my system. Anyhow, I wasn’t feeling the urge to be in the kitchen. My head hurt a little and the motivation just wasn’t there. It came across in my cooking- sorry to my Dad, Caroline and Jack for having that happen. My head just wasn’t in the game and it was reflected in my food.

That being said, I forgot to put the salt into my batter for the pancakes. Salt makes a huge difference between great tasting food and blah blah crapola food. I forgot the damn salt. Additionally, this morning it was pretty humid and we had the windows open. My egg whites were hit pretty hard and wouldn’t fold into the batter properly. They were way too wet feeling and there wasn’t much I could do about it. So, without salt and with wet egg whites, the cakes tasted a little flat and were too dense. I am confident, however, that if they had the appropriate ingredients and those ingredients decided to work properly that this would be a great recipe.

The blueberry and raspberry syrup was really good, however. That recipe will be made again in this house, that’s for sure. I made it with agave to keep it lower on the glycemic index, but because it is already a wet ingredient (as opposed to granulated sugar) it needs some time to reduce. It is a concentrated taste of deliciousness.

Although mine didn’t turn out quite right, this is a recipe to try at least once. Put the Bisquick back on the shelf and try something new- right?

Makes enough pancakes for 4 people

Ingredients for pancakes

1 cup ground organic yellow cornmeal
1 cup organic whole wheat flour
1 cup organic milk
1 cup organic Greek yogurt (next time I am going to try vanilla rather than plain)
1 tsp cinnamon
1.5 tsp baking soda
1 tsp good vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
Pinch of fresh grated nutmeg
3 tbsp agave syrup
1/2 lime, juiced
3 egg whites
1.5 cups fresh, rinsed blueberries

Ingredients for Homemade Syrup

1.5 cups fresh, rinsed blueberries
1/4 pint organic raspberries (remember that raspberry flavor will overpower the blueberry easily)
2/3 cup water
2/3 cup agave syrup

Let’s get the syrup going first. In a VitaMix or other high powered blender, toss in the blueberries, raspberries and water. Liquify. Pour into a sauce pan with the syrup. Place over medium heat until bubbling, then reduce to a simmer. Stir frequently to avoid burning. Reduce for 30 minutes. It’s just that easy.

Mix together all the dry ingredients. Don’t forget the salt. Add the vanilla, agave, milk and yogurt. Mix. The mixture will be thick- don’t worry about it. The egg whites will thin it out. In a separate bowl, mix the egg whites until stiff peaks form. If you put in a pinch of salt it will help. Once you have the whites ready, add them and the blueberries to the cornmeal batter. Fold the whites and blueberries into the batter.

Heat a cast iron skillet or griddle over medium heat. Butter the surface and drop 1/4 cup of batter. Spread around lightly. Cook for about a minute plus or minus on each side until the cakes feel firm. Place them in a warmed oven or toaster oven until the batter is cooked.

Serve with some fresh berries and the homemade blueberry syrup.

blueberry pancakes with blueberry syrup

The syrup really makes these pancakes. Photo by Scott Groth

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Homemade French Toast

Homemade French Toast

by The Chubby Cook on 12. Jul, 2010 in Breakfast

Every now and again, I get a request to make some french toast.  Typically it is on a lazy Sunday morning after a long night of eating, drinking and telling stories.  These are the Sunday mornings that are usually the hardest to get things into gear to make the french toast, but most often they are very rewarding as your family and friends recover by chowing down on some good food.  What better way to round out a great weekend than with some fresh, homemade french toast?  If you have the time and some bacon, make that to go with the french toast.  It just rounds out the meal and everybody loves bacon.

For my toast, I try to find a loaf of unsliced white bread.  The further away from commercially processed bread you go, typically the better.  Up at Chautauqua, we purchase our bread at the Lighthouse Grocery where it is made fresh daily.  If you hit the Lighthouse at the right time, you will be overwhelmed by the smells of fresh baked banana bread and the rotisserie chicken.  It’s a really cool place to shop.  If you don’t have a Lighthouse type of location near you, buy the stuff from the grocery that looks as fresh as possible.  When you squeeze the bread, it should feel light and airy.  Dense breads and breads with hard crusts just don’t make the best french toast. 

As I have posted up before, I think in my Lemon Ricotta Pancake posting, that the fake syrups should be avoided at all costs.  Aunt Jemima is just flavored corn syrup.  Log Cabin?  Who knows what that stuff is made from.  And what is the point of the buttery syrups?  Spend a minute and melt some butter on whatever you are eating and get the real thing.  When you are buying maple syrup, you don’t need the Grade A stuff.  The biggest maple flavor is in Grade B or C, if you can find it.  Most groceries don’t carry Grade B, but you can locate it at Trader Joe’s for a really good price as well.

A lot of people are surprised when they read that I put lime juice into the egg mixture.  I do this for my homemade pancakes as well.  It just livens up the food that you are cooking.  I really can’t explain it any other way than that.  It just tastes good, trust me on this one.  Don’t omit the lime juice.  If you don’t have lime juice, toss in some fresh squeezed lemon juice.

Let’s get to the cooking part and start enjoying the day.

Makes enough for 4 people to eat until they are full.

Ingredients for French Toast

1 loaf of fresh baked white bread
8 large eggs, preferably organic
3 tbsp cream, half & half or vitamin D milk
2 tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice
1 tsp cinnamon powder
light sprinkle of cayenne powder
grate a fresh nutmeg nut 4-5 times
3 tbsp agave syrup
Pinch of fine grain sea salt

Turn the oven or toaster oven on to 200 degrees. This will keep your cooked toast warm until service.

Cut the loaf into medium sized slices. Set aside. Break all the eggs into a 9X9 baking dish. Add remaining ingredients and beat the mixture thoroughly.

Heat a griddle or two large pans over medium heat. Coat with some butter until it just starts to bubble. Dunk the bread slices one at a time into the egg mixture, coating well. Place coated bread into the pan and cook each side until golden brown. Transfer to the heated oven to hold and cook the remaining french toast. 

When everything is complete, pour some of the maple syrup into a bowl. Heat in the microwave until hot. Serve the french toast with room temperature butter and the heated maple syrup. If you have any fresh fruit, serve that as well for a nice topping.  Some people put powdered sugar on their french toast, but the agave syrup that is used in this recipe sweetens the toast just enough.  I have made fresh maple whipped cream in the past which was really good.  It’s simple: beat 1 cup of heavy cream with 3 tbsp maple syrup until whipped cream is made.  You can add a pinch of salt if you want.  That’s a real treat if you have the ingredients on hand.

Whatever you put on it, this french toast is gonna be good so don’t anticipate any leftovers.

home made french toast

Who needs Sunday morning- eat this French Toast any day of the week. Photo by Scott Groth

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lemon ricotta pancakes

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Cinnamon Apples & Bacon

by The Chubby Cook on 08. Jun, 2010 in Breakfast

I’m not a huge fan of all things lemon. I can appreciate a lemon dessert or a good lemonade every now and again. Now, let’s put this in context with Caroline, my wife, who could probably eat anything lemon all day long. I’ve seen her eat a lemon wedge straight up- not even with any sugar- on more than one occasion.  My son now will eat lemon and lime wedges willingly. I am convinced that it is a genetic thing. Anyhow, after plenty of nudging, I will bust out the occasional lemony recipe. This particular recipe is a combination of about seven different lemon ricotta pancake recipes that I have tried over the years. I have to admit that this particular recipe is pretty darn good. Something different and special to enjoy on a Sunday morning or any other special occasion. Last time I made these was for Mother’s day. I didn’t even have to be nudged that day.

Here’s a tip upfront: this recipe is not a quick fix pancake recipe. It involves folding egg whites and dealing with a batter that is temperamental. This means that you can’t leave the batter near the stove as it will change the consistency. Also, you can’t cook these like you would regular pancakes. You have to have a lot of patience and cook them over very low heat, otherwise you will end up with a gooey mess and nobody wants to eat that.

The apples are optional, but man do they really make the dish. The sweet of the apple with the zing of the lemon and delicious bacon really make for a delicious bite. I really do suggest making the apples to go along with this dish if you have the time! You can also bake some prosciutto if you don’t want to make the bacon. Let’s throw down on this bad boy.

Pancake Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups ricotta
1 tbsp lemon juice 
2 tbsp lemon zest (make sure you scrub the lemon before zesting)
4 large eggs, separated
2.5 tbsp agave syrup
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup water (or less!)

Apple Ingredients:

2-4 Golden Delicious apples, peeled, cored & sliced
4 tbsp agave syrup
3 tbsp butter
1/2 tsp cinnamon
touch of ground nutmeg (optional)
1/2 tsp lemon zest
1 squeeze lemon juice

As much bacon as you want, cooked how you like it.

Take a glass bowl and put it in the freezer.  Put the beaters from your electric mixer in the freezer as well.  This will make beating the egg whites very easy.  Preheat your oven to 200 degrees to hold over the pancakes.  If you haven’t made your bacon, get crackin!

I make the apples first because they hold longer and will get softer over time. Take out a big sautee pan and melt the butter.  Toss in the apples and cook for 4-5 minutes over medium-high heat.  Add in the agave, cinnamon and nutmeg.  Cook for another 5-7 minutes (you can be making pancakes while this is cooking!)  At the end, toss in the lemon zest and lemon juice.  Cook for another minute.  Cover and hold until serving, keeping the apples warm.

Take out a big mixing bowl and add in the egg yolks, agave, zest, lemon juice, ricotta, flour and baking powder.  Stir the ingredients completely, but do not overwork.  If the batter looks too thick, add in water. Be careful adding in the water. The batter should be thick, you are going to fold in egg whites. Soupy batter will make flat pancakes!  Take the bowl out of the freezer.  Toss the whites in with just a pinch of sea salt and beat with the mixer until it has stiff peaks.  Take the whites and mix 1/4 of them into the batter thoroughly.  Next, fold in the whites with a spatula.  Be careful when you do this- slow and easy is the best way to get this done.  You now have everything ready for go-time.  Let’s do it.

Heat up your skillet or griddle until butter just melts on it.  If it is too hot, you will have gloppy pancakes.  Sizzle is no good here!  Add the batter in 1/2 cup batches or whatever size makes you happy.  Spread the mixture out, trying not to leave a huge heaping in the middle.  Cook and flip.   When it is done, toss in the oven to hold over. 

Heat up some maple syrup.  Put the cakes on a plate, top with apples and a touch of maple syrup.  I like B Grade syrup as it has a better flavor to it.  Don’t let the grades fool you- Grade A is the most pure, but doesn’t have the fullest flavor.  Ditch the fake syrups- they’re not good for you and really don’t do this meal justice.

For some alternatives, use blueberries instead of the apples.  Ditch the cinnamon with blueberries.  Raspberry coulis is always a delicious option as well.  Or, make a cherry topping when they come into season.  Keep it simple and fresh!

Bam.  Even Emeril would think this is good.

lemon ricotta pancakes with apple chutney

Light and airy, these pancakes melt in your mouth. Photo by Scott Groth

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Sweet Grits

by The Chubby Cook on 05. Feb, 2010 in Breakfast

This morning I awoke to a hankerin’ for some grits.  Doesn’t hit me every morning, but when it does, I know better than to ignore said hankerin’.  That’s a great word.  Anyhow, I slow cooked my grits and accidentally over salted them.  Bummer- I don’t have 20 more minutes to cook a new batch.

“To counteract salt, add sweet you big dummy,” my brain told me.  My first thought was maple syrup which I have had in grits before.  It’s good.  But then I thought, why not try agave this morning.  A squirt later and I knew why I hadn’t heard of Agave Grits.  Really not a good combination.  Almost sickly sweet.  Bummer- I still don’t have 20 more minutes to cook a new batch.  “Just add the maple syrup, can’t screw it up any more than you already have you big dummy,” said my brain.  My hand followed the thought and poured in the syrup.  So much for free will.

The result?  A deliciously sweet combination.  The agave softened the maple edge and elevated the sweetness just enough to make every bite a winner.  If my head wasn’t so big and the bowl so deep, I would have stuck my face in the bowl and licked it out.  Yes, it is that kind of morning.

Sweet Grits

Slow cooked grits:

Bring 2 cups water to a boil. Add salt and 1 count oil.
Add 6 Tbsp grits.
Reduce heat to low, cover and cook for about 20 mins. Stir every 4-5 mins.

When thickened, add:

1 Tbsp butter
More salt- the salt in this dish really counteracts the sweetness.
2-3 Tbsp agave syrup
2 Tbsp maple syrup

Mix it all up, pour into a bowl. Make sure that you wash your pan right away. The grits will turn into cement if you don’t.

It’s just that good.

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Tiger Breakfast (Breakfast Casserole)

by The Chubby Cook on 17. Jan, 2010 in Breakfast

I woke up late this morning after a long night of no sleep. Typically, I get up with our dogs at 6A to feed them and get them ready for the day. Then I take care of our son and get my day started. This morning, I rolled over at 9:45 which is highly unusual. The reason for no sleep is that I have a real hard time with caffeine. Last night I foolishly had a couple chocolate chip cookies before bed. They were good, but probably not worth the price of admission.  The good news is that I have taken to eating dessert in the mornings sometime, which is how I think everyday should start.

After I wiped the sleep out of my eyes, I realized that something smelled good in the house. Normally I am the one making things smell good, so it was a nice surprise. Our guests had browned off the sausage to make the Tiger Breakfast. When I walked out into the kitchen, there was a huge sheetpan with what looked like a breakfast strata, but different. Needless to say, I was intrigued.

The story behind the Tiger Breakfast is a family story. Hailey’s grandma (Hailey is one of our house guests) started to make this way back in the day for her ten children. Seven boys and three girls. It’s quick, delicious and easy- which when you think about ten children is just the way it needed to be. Supposedly this recipe is enough to serve 12 people, but the four of us polished off about three quarters of it this morning. It is just that good. If you are looking to spice it up a bit, I bet that some sauteed poblano peppers would really add some depth of flavor.

Ingredients

2 cans crescent rolls
1 lb of mild breakfast sausage
8 eggs
1 2/3 cup of milk
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
4 cups of grated cheese- 2 cups of monterey jack and 2 cups of Swiss
1 jar of salsa- temperature to your liking

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees

Brown sausage and break up into small chunks, drain

Spray 15X10 sheet pan with pam

Line pan with cresent roll dough- make sure to go up the side of the pan. Place the sausage over the dough
sprinkle cheese over sausage.

Beat the eggs, add milk, salt, pepper

Add to the dish and bake for 20 minutes or until eggs are golden brown- make sure they are cooked in the center. You can do this by using a toothpick- if it comes out clean, it is cooked.

Serve with salsa on the side- or smother it- it’s pretty darn good no matter which way you eat it.

To spice it up, add sauteed onions, bell peppers or jalapeno- or poblano. Might be interesting with some red pepper flakes as well.

If you are looking for a morning drink to go with this breakfast, I would suggest a bloody mary. I’m going to try to get the best bloody mary recipe from our friend Pete and post up in another entry. Man, that is one good bloody mary.

Enjoy-

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