This may be a little late, but, just in case you needed a few ideas on maybe some different kinds of pancakes to make today.
Here are a few of my favorites from past Tuesdays.
I love making these Dutch Baby or German Pancakes, cause you can make so many things with the basic batter.
From the basic pancake to a 'Yorkshire Wrap'. It's all good. Best part about these, you can fill them with sweet stuff or maybe some leftover thinly sliced Sunday Roast.
Or maybe you want a little international touch, in which case you can make these little Dansk Pandekager aka Danish Pancakes. They're almost crepe like, but a touch more substantial.
If you happen to have an Æbleskiver pan handy, you can also make these. They're pancake like. Only more delicious, at least in my book.
But you're thinking you want something a touch more savory? Well, I've got some ideas for you.
Leek PancakesYou start these pancakes with some sauteed Leeks. So good.
Don't really feel like pulling out the flour and making a batter, but you've got a couple of very ripe banana's you need to use? And you're now trying to cook gluten free. Here's a couple of ideas.
These pancakes taste so decadent, but really aren't. And they're gluten free. My friend Tania used to order something similar when we'd go out for the occasional breakfast while we were living in Malibu.
I've even made some Gluten Free Rice Flour Crepes, and again, really good. If you happen to have some rice flour you're not too sure what you can use it for.
There's also this version, also gluten free, and again totally delicious. It's even keto friendly.
I haven't been participating in very many blogging events this past few months, but when I saw the theme for December, the little thinking cap hovered over my head and I got an idea.
The theme this month is Baked Party Appetizers. And it also happens to be the last of Baking Bloggers cause it's been retired. Something new will be happening in January though. Stay tuned.
OK, so I got this idea cause I have a small wheel of Brie Cheese in the fridge that's been giving me the 'eye' lately.
I bought it last month, and kept meaning to eat it, sliced on some good bread or with some crackers, but it's still sitting there, staring at me everytime I open the cheese drawer. And I got tired of those looks I was getting.
So I elected to make some Gougeres using the Brie.
I love Pâte à Choux pastry anyway, and honestly, I think it's about the most versatile recipe any cook should learn how to make. I use the recipe I cut out of the paper back in the '80's which is Julia Child's base recipe.
You can use the base for sweet or savory, heck, you can even make it gluten free. I've done it, and they were good.
I did go here for inspiration for these, and have to say the my high school french came in handy as well.
And I made a couple of modifications as well, cause gee, I'm the baker here.
I used Swiss cheese cause it was all I could find in our local grocery store. And really, the slightly nutty taste of the Swiss cheese married very well with my Brie.
Now Brie cheese is very soft, or at least it is if you leave it out at room temp to ripen, it becomes very soft. However, I decided to try 'stuffing' my gougere with little cubes of cold brie.
Let me show you how I cut it. I don't remember exactly where I saw this for the first time, but can I just say this, 'IT'S BRILLIANT', and guess what, it also works great for cutting layer cakes as well. Of course I'm the usually the one who actually scrapes the frosting off the cake before eating. But when you cut the cake or in my case the wheel of brie, you get a more equitable distribution of the rind per slice. In the case of a cake, you have the two ends with frosting, for the people who 'must have lots of frosting', and those who want cake with a little frosting. Use your imagination here, cause I'm just showing how to cut the brie. OOOH, that might not have come out right. 'wink'.
I did cut off the ends where there was a lot of rind, but I ate the cheese inside. I'm not fond of the rind, but I will eat it,and was wishing I still had my Mauli dog who loved the rind. She loved it when I bought Brie, cause I'd cut off the rind and feed it to her.
Whenever possible one should share food with a loved one or ones.
Here's a few pictures of the process, and my cohort in eating more than our fair share.
and
and
and
Had a lot of choux dough so thought I would play, a little more. So I piped out a base, and then placed some slices of the Brie on top of it.
Here's the Brie Gougere, piped and ready to bake.
After the bake, and it's ready to cut and enjoy.
Baked Brie Gougeres with a dab of Red Currant Jelly
Baked Brie Gougeres, see the lovely melty Brie cheese inside.
Miss First enjoying her Brie Gougere topped with a dab of Red Currant Jelly. She loves her melty cheese, she also has a bit of a sweet tooth, so this hit both her happy points.
You can see the concentration here, as she eats her treat.
Brie Gougeres
Yield: 6
Author: Sid's Sea Palm Cooking - inspired by quiveutdufromage.com
This is a fun take on traditional Gougeres, using a traditional choux paste recipe and adding Brie cheese.
Ingredients
1 cup water
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup flour, all purpose, scooped out and leveled.
1 cup eggs, (stirred together with a fork and measured into the cup, about 4-5 large eggs)
2 oz. Camembert Cheese, cut into small pieces - look at the picture.
4oz. Swiss Cheese - grated
Instructions
Preheat oven 425 degrees.
Heat water and butter together, bring to a boil. Take off of heat and dump the flour in and begin to beat it together. It will be rather lumpy at first but keep beating vigorously. It does come together. Keep beating it until it forms a large ball, then place back on medium heat and keep beating it, until it stays together and leaves a thin film of dough on the bottom of the pan. This tells you that a lot of moisture has evaporated, and it will accept more of the egg. Take off of the heat now. Add about 1/4 of the eggs to the dough and beat together. It will look very strange at this point, cause it separates and looks rather nasty, but keep beating and as soon as the egg has incorporated into the dough, dribble a little more in, and work your arm vigorously again, beating the egg in. (at this point you can use a mixer bowl and beat it in with that, but I don't like the dough as well when it is done this way, I find it softens it too much, but then again, if you can't beat the egg in by hand, use your KitchenAid, but dribble the egg in a very little bit at a time). Add the egg, a dribble at a time, beating vigorously with each addition. As soon as the egg is incorporated, add the grated Swiss cheese and combine. If the humidity is high, you may not need all the eggs, but if it's dry you will. I've been making this for many years and can tell from the feel of the dough if I need all the eggs or not. The pastry should just hold its shape when lifted with a spoon.
Now, you're ready to bake your cream puffs. You can spoon them onto a lightly greased baking sheet or parchment covered baking sheet. My personal preference is for Parchment paper, but then again, it's up to you. I pipe the pastry onto the sheet, filling a piping bag with the dough, and cutting a hole in the bag. Pipe a small amount of the choux paste onto the parchment paper and then place a small piece of the Brie on top, pushing it in a little. Pipe another circle of choux paste on top, and using a wet finger (I kept a cup of water beside me for this step), seal the top and bottom of the dough together. Space them about an inch apart on the baking sheet. They will not spread, but will instead puff upwards as they bake.
DO NOT open the oven to check the progress of the bake, you'll just doom those little puffs of golden deliciousness to a flattened doom. Instead, turn the light on in the oven and watch through the glass door. They are done when they are a lovely golden brown color. And if you have trouble seeing the color through the door, you probably need to clean the glass off.
This is the final installment of Baking Bloggers before it is retired this month.
Join us in January on the first Saturday as we begin a new recipe endeavor called “Supper Club Saturday” featuring a variety of favorite recipes from many of our same bloggers, and some new friends. We will also be posting on the last Saturdays of the month for a similar event called “Potluck Party”. See you there!
It's time for Baking Bloggers again. I've not participated in many online blogging events, cause I just haven't felt like making or baking food the past few months. I had an excuse.
However the event this month for Baking Bloggers was for Quick Breads and Tea Loaves.
I love making a quick bread or Tea Bread. Most of the time, they satisfy my sweet tooth, without having to make and frost a cake.
And they can be frozen and brought out when you want a 'little' something to accompany a cuppa.
Bara Brith is a Welsh Tea Bread, which means speckled bread. And not only do you eat it alongside a cuppa, but you put the tea in the bread as well.
Would that make it a double tea bread?
Simple right? Well, not exactly. You see like most recipes that are tried and true and that are region specific, there are variations. Lots and lots of variations.
One story I read said that bakeries in Wales would gather all the leftover bread dough at the end of the day, add dried fruits to it and bake it. Which would explain the recipes out there that use yeast to leaven the bread. Some recipes use self rising flour and all have dried fruits. Many of the recipes also incorporate candied citron. Which I didn't have on hand, and quite frankly, didn't feel like making. I usually make my own, but...
And then as I read the recipes I'd googled online, and also looked up in my cookbooks, discovered that many of the authentic recipes called for mixed spice. OK, I got that, but did not want to sub in pumpkin spice or apple spices as some recommended, I instead decided to make up my own little jar of mixed spice. I wanted to make it taste proper, and that meant using the right spices. And I'm glad I did.
You do need to plan a little ahead with this bread though, cause you soak the dried fruits in tea overnight. Many recipes just call for strong black tea, but some variations call for Earl Grey Tea, however I used some Lady Grey Tea I had in the cupboard. The slight citrus tang of the tea was wonderful with the fruits.
Also, I used a combo of three dried fruits I had on hand, but you can use any combo you like. I had prunes, golden raisins, and dried cranberries. I chopped the prunes up a little so that they were roughly the same size as the raisins and cranberries. I also used the organic dried Cranberries from Trader Joe's so they weren't as vibrantly colored as most dried cranberries.
I do want to say that, it really is helpful to use a scale and a proper measuring cup for this, however, I basically winged it with the fruit. I guesstimated the proportions, but I love dried fruit in pretty much any tea bread. I also want to say that dried currants are usually used in this as well, but they're hard to come by in this part of the world, so I subbed in what I had on hand. Depending on how 'dry' your fruit is, it will have absorbed most, if not all the tea. But don't worry, just dump the whole thing in there. This was just after I put the hot tea on the fruit. I forgot to take a picture the next morning but much of the tea had been absorbed. The tea gave the bread a lovely tan color.
Another fun thing to do with the bread, is spread warmed honey on top of the freshly baked loaf. It adds another lovely dimension or layer of flavor.
This tea bread can be enjoyed with a 'cuppa', or just on it's own, spread with a good butter. Best enjoyed the next day, it keeps for several days, but guaranteed that it won't last that long in your house.
Ingredients
Fruit Mixture
1/2 cup each -
Dried Cranberries
Golden Raisins
Currants or Prunes
1 cup hot tea - Earl Grey or Lady Grey or your favorite black tea.
Make a strong cup of black tea, Earl Grey works well here.
Pour over the measured out fruit and set aside to soak overnight.
Batter
Preheat oven to 350 Degrees.
Grease a 2# loaf pan and set aside.
Mix the flour, spices and brown sugar together in a large bowl.
Add the egg and dried fruit along with the tea it soaked in. Mix together until just combined. Pour or spoon prepared batter into the greased pan and place in oven.
Turn out loaf onto a rack, and place right side up. Using a pastry brush, paint the warmed honey over the loaf and leave to cool. After it's cooled, wrap it up. Wait to cut it until it is fully cool, even the next day. Serve with fresh butter.
I have been lax, not lazy, but lax the past few months when it comes to preparing and eating good meals. However, I can't hide from the world any longer, well not from myself at any rate.
I'm a fairly new widow, and it's been hard for me to take up the spatula and spoon and get out the baking and cooking stuff, cause quite frankly, I don't feel much like creating or making good food.
One of the things I've been neglecting, has been my blog, and the various blogging events I contribute to. This is one of them. Baking Bloggers. We usually make something to a theme, blog about and hopefully enjoy the deliciousness of the dish we made.
This month the theme was to Bake with Potatoes. As Sue said 'Let's whip up some potatoes in a recipe and slide them into an oven. Potatoes (of all types) can be incorporated into a baked dish or baked first and finished later. Just at some point potatoes are in the oven."
So, I played around with a few ideas in my head, but I wanted to make something really good.
I love potatoes anyway, and while I'm using fingerling or small potatoes for this recipe, I'm betting you could use just about any small potatoes for this. I ended up using some small potatoes cause the fingerlings I had in the pantry were gone and none of the stores I could access the other day had any, not one...
And not only did I have to sub out the potatoes, but the shrimp I bought the other day, frozen, mind you, stunk when I opened the bag. I looked for evidence of them having thawed and then refrozen, but they looked ok. I will be returning them, but in the meantime I had to re-figure the recipe.
I used a spicy Black Bean Burger that I'd bought recently, and had stashed in the freezer. I decided to use some of the dill I'd bought as well.
I have to admit that the dill, did not comport itself very well with the black bean patty, but the chives did. Although I did have to wrestle the chives from this little, actually large woolly creature. Giant Leopard Moth Caterpillar or it could also be a Black Wooly Bear, I have no idea. I do know that it managed to eat most of one chive plant and was industrially working on the next big plant. I relocated it over the fence, and hopefully it will get over the shock and continue to munch away somewhere else, other than my chive plant. From the size of the caterpillar, I'm not too sure if I want to meet the moth it will become.
I had added some chopped dill to the recipe, but it didn't play well with the black bean burger. I ate them anyway.
And the 'innards' I scooped out, I browned them in a pan and ate them alongside a fried egg.
Stuffed Fingerling or Small Potatoes
Yield: 2-6
Author: Sid's Sea Palm Cooking -
Prep time: 20 MinCook time: 25 MinTotal time: 45 Min
These can be consumed as an appetizer, or side dish or even a meal. They're very versatile that way.
Ingredients
6 small potatoes - cooked to fork tender stage - halved and center scooped out
4 oz. cream cheese - room temp
1 black bean burger - thawed and crumbled
2 tsp. chopped chives
Instructions
Cook the potatoes until fork tender, halve them and scoop out the insides, leaving a rim around the potato. Set the 'innards' aside to use somewhere else. I used a melon baller, to scoop out the centers.
Crumble up the black bean burger and mix it into the softened cream cheese, adding the chopped chives.
Fill the potatoes with some of the black bean mixture and place inside a greased dish, one that fits inside the toaster oven.
Cook at 450 degrees for about 20 minutes, and then brown under the broiler for an additional 5 minutes or so.
Serve hot.
NOTE: if needed, cut a thin slice off the bottom of each potato half so that it sits level inside of the baking dish. Best to do it before scooping out the center. Trust me, much less messy to do it that way.
It's time for Baking Bloggers and I'm ready. Sue Lau of Palatable Pastime is our hostess and this month we were tasked with making something with corn. As Sue said, "Join us in baking up some sweet corn in our recipes. You can use fresh, frozen or canned sweet corn in your recipe", but it had to be baked, hence the name of the group, Baking Bloggers.
I missed the past couple of months of Baking Bloggers, I'm still trying to get my head together over suddenly becoming a widow. Not an easy task.
However, I happened to have the ingredients for this on hand and decided to throw it all together and see how it turned out.
I googled ideas and got some inspiration from here, this lady added pierogi's, and made a casserole.
I immediately jumped on that one, cause I've got lots of Pierogies in my freezer, from the last time I made them.
I may have found a new way of eating Pierogies. Although my favorite way is probably still the classic one. But this comes a close second.
I made a single serving, cause there's only me now to eat it. And since I had made some large pierogi's two was more than enough for me. I think you can use commercial Pierogi's if you wish, I'm sure it will be just fine.
Because my Pierogi's were homemade, they're thicker and more substantial than commercial ones. Which meant that I felt the need to cook them first before baking them in the casserole. And it was a good thing. That thick outer shell actually could have cooked a little more, it was kinda chewy, but delicious.
I also happened to have a couple of crab legs and a few cooked shrimp in the freezer, so I added them in the last few minutes of the bake.
I'm so glad I did, they enhanced the entire dish to an absolutely amazing meal.
In fact, I'm thinking of doing a repeat this coming week. I still have some crab left...
Corn and Pepper Medley Pierogi Casserole
Yield: 1 serving (although it can be doubled or quadrupled very easily)
Author: Sid's Sea Palm Cooking - Adapted from several online recipes.
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 25 MinTotal time: 35 Min
This was such an awesome casserole, quick and easy to put together and baked beautifully in my toaster oven. No need to turn the big one on in the summer heat. This is substantial enough for a hearty appetite.
Ingredients
1/3 cup corn - fresh or frozen
1/3 cup mixed red, green and orange peppers - frozen works great here
1/3 cup Heavy cream
2-3 frozen pierogies - homemade or commercial
Optional:
3-5 shrimp - cooked and shelled
1-2 crab legs - meat only
Non-stick spray
Instructions
If using a conventional oven, preheat to 350 degrees. If using a toaster oven, you can wait to heat the oven until you place the casserole dish inside.
Spray a heavy pan with some non-stick spray, and heat the pan over medium high heat. Add the corn and pepper medley, and saute' for a couple of minutes, just til the pepper softens a little. Add the cream and heat to boiling.
While the corn and pepper medley is saute'ing, heat some water to boiling for the pierogies. If using homemade ones. If using frozen commercial pierogies you can skip this step. Let the home made pierogies simmer for a couple of minutes, take out and let drain.
Spray a baking dish with some non-stick spray and place the pierogies into the dish. Pour the corn mixture over top, and if desired, place a lid or piece of aluminum foil over top.
Bake for 20-25 minutes. If adding the seafood, uncover and place the seafood on top for the last 5-7 minutes and let heat through.
Serve with a nice chilled glass of white wine if desired. (I like a mildly sweet wine rose wine myself.)
And as it just so happens this month we're baking something with Asparagus.
Springtime Asparagus, that is.
I used to have a patch of asparagus in my garden at our other house, and would head out there and watch it like a hawk, and pick them fresh for a meal.
Now I have to buy my asparagus, and quite frankly, it doesn't taste as good, however...
Aldi had some great looking, for a good price, Asparagus the other day.
I was originally going to make some mini quiches, but got side tracked with some gorgeous mushrooms at the brand new Aldi that opened in the big city recently. The mushrooms looked fantastic, but the prices, OMG, the Baby Bella's were almost half the price, as to what I'm used to paying. So I got both white and brown mushrooms. The Asparagus, was also half the price. I think I have a new favorite place to shop. I also picked up some Havarti cheese which I decided would also go well with the Asparagus and the Mushrooms.
And...
I didn't have to eat it all, I got to take it with me to a party. Yes, I did say a party. It was a joint Birthday Party, and we, the vaccinated, gathered very carefully. And were able to visit outside on a lovely screened porch or lanai if you like.
Before baking, doesn't it look purty?
Asparagus and Mushroom Quiche Tart
Yield: 6-12 Servings as an appetizer
Author: Sid's Sea Palm Cooking -
Prep time: 15 MinCook time: 35 MinTotal time: 50 Min
This is a great party appetizer or could also be a light meal. The nuttiness of the Havarti cheese complements the Asparagus and Mushrooms very well.
Ingredients
Cream Cheese Crust
2 cups AP flour
4 oz. Cream Cheese
4 oz. Butter
2+ tablespoons water
Filling
4 oz. Havarti Cheese - grated
2 large eggs
1/2 cup heavy cream
5 + spears of Asparagus
8 oz. sliced Cremini or Baby Bell Mushrooms
1 tablespoon butter for sautéing the mushrooms.
Instructions
Crust
Rub the cream cheese into the two cups of flour and then add the butter, rubbing it into the cream cheese flour mixture, until it resembles sand. Add water, 1 tablespoon at a time and form into a ball.
Divide into two pieces, and roll out the dough on a lightly floured board, to the thickness of a regular pie crust.
Transfer into an 8 inch tart pan (with a removable bottom) and crimp the edges if desired.
Filling
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Sauté the sliced mushrooms in the butter until they release their moisture. Set aside.
Whisk together the cream and eggs, then add the grated Havarti cheese. At this point you can use an immersion blender to mix it up further.
Pour the egg and cheese mixture into the prepared tart pan which has the crust in it already.
Add the Asparagus spears in a pleasing way, and then top with the mushrooms. Have fun and be creative here.
NOTE: you can serve this directly from the pan, but I choose to take it out of the pan, and place it on square plate to serve. Much easier to cut into pieces. You can serve this warm or at room temperature. It doesn't care.
NOTE: I did not add salt as the salt in the cheese was plenty.
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