German Pancake Goodness

A dear friend of ours gave us a cast iron skillet for our wedding.  Inside the card she included this wonderful recipe for a German Pancake from Pandl's Inn in Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin. It's been a specialty there for more than 45 years, and has definitely become one of my favorite things to make for breakfast.

It never fails to warm up the kitchen on a cold day. I love to turn on the oven light and watch the pancake rise. It looks like a work of art when finished! Adding a fruit topping is optional, such as apples sauteed in brown sugar, blueberries or Swedish lingonberries.

Famous German Pancake
For 12-inch skillet:
6 eggs (I use 4 because 6 is an awful lot!)
2/3 cup flour
2/3 cup milk
2-3 pinches of salt
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
Fresh lemon juice to squeeze over top
Powered sugar to sprinkle over top
Fruit topping of your choice (optional)
Syrup (optional)

For 8-inch skillet:
2 eggs
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup milk
Pinch of salt
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees (or 450 degrees for firmer pancake). Pre-heat skillet in oven for five minutes.

Mix flour, milk and salt together until smooth. Crack in eggs and mix until smooth.

Remove skillet from oven, add olive oil, and coat pan with butter (including sides). When butter has melted, add batter and return to oven. Bake for 12-15 minutes. Add fresh lemon juice and powdered sugar over top. Cut into 4-6 slices and serve.

Thank you, dear Jean Kinsella!

Caramel Brandy Valentine

Last year, I made my valentine a steak with caramel brandy sauce. It was so nice to be at home instead of a crowded restaurant. The sauce is so good I could drink it straight up.

Nothing says love like a homemade meal for my valentine, so I'm going to make it again this year. To go with this deliciousness, I'm trying a new pre-dinner cocktail. Enter espresso martini.

For some reason, this sounds soooo good with steak and caramel brandy sauce. However, steak without Malbec seems so wrong. So the tini will be a fun pre-dinner drink.

This recipe from The Barefoot Contessa looks divine, notably because she uses pure espresso and coffee liqueur, without the artificial taste of Bailey's. Ina knows how to keep it real! To me, there's nothing worse than watering down a great espresso taste.

I'm going to adjust the measurements to make two cocktails instead of an entire pitcher. Bon Appetit!

Espresso Martini

Steaks with Caramel Brandy Sauce, Courtesy of My Mother
2 filet mignons (you can use 4, but I prefer more sauce with fewer filets)
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cracked pepper
3 tablespoons butter, divided (do not use margarine)
3 tablespoons brandy
1 tablespoon light brown sugar
1/4 cup whipping cream
Chives for garnish (optional)

Pat the meat dry with a paper towel. Sprinkle steaks with salt and pepper. Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in medium skillet over medium to high heat. Once butter is melted, add steaks, cooking 3 minutes on each side or to desired degree of doneness. If your steaks are extra thick, cook each side as well as top and bottom of steak. Remove from skillet and keep warm in the oven.

Add brandy to skillet, stirring to loosen particles from the bottom of the pan. Add remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and brown sugar. Cook, stirring constantly, until sugar dissolves and browns.

Remove skillet from heat. Whisk in cream until blended. Return to heat and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring constantly for a minute or until sauce thickens. Serve sauce immediately over steaks.

Getaway Cocktail!

When snow is piled up over my head, and politicians resort to placing their campaign signs atop mammoth snow piles, I begin to feel like I'm living in the tundra.  Today I needed to make something that made me feel as if I were in another place ~ a getaway cocktail!  Enter blood orange margarita.

Lately I've developed a crush on blood oranges. A little bird reminded me they are a super food. They have more vitamin C than regular oranges and are beautiful when sliced. While I'm no health expert, I've also read their dark pigment may help reduce the risk of heart disease, certain types of cancer, cataracts and cholesterol. Last but not least, they smell and taste amazing. I'm sold!

As you may know, I ADORE The Barefoot Contessa. This recipe has good reviews, but many thought it had way too much alcohol. If you watch her show, you can tell that Ina knows how to make some serious cocktails for her friends. I cut down the tequila and triple sec to 3/4 cup each, and also added 2 tablespoons of fresh lime juice.

Quite therapeutic for the wintry blues. Thanks to Trader Joe's, I have many left over blood oranges, and may experiment with a blood orange and goat cheese salad as well as a blood orange vinaigrette.

Salud!

Blood Orange Margaritas

It's New Mexican Night!

There is nothing better than Mexican night, except maybe New Mexican night! With the help of Rick Bayless, I'm making green chicken chili tonight. A few months ago I discovered a New Mexico roasted green chili starter made by Frontera at Whole Foods. Bayless was inspired by an unforgettable bowl of green chili he had in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

It has lots of wonderful fresh, roasted ingredients: Onions, tomatoes, green chiles, roasted peppers, lime juice, garlic and cilantro. I usually add ground chicken to the starter sauce, but tonight I'm using boneless chicken breasts (cubed). I also love to doctor it up with more fresh green onions, cilantro (LOVE!), jalapeno pepper, shredded cheese and a little low-fat sour cream.  Delish!

Frontera New Mexico Green Chili Starter

If only I was enjoying it in the warm Santa Fe sunshine, I'd be in heaven!

That's Amore ~ Aceto Balsamico!

Lately I've become obsessed with balsamic vinegar. Perhaps I have a sweet spot in my heart for grapes aged in barrels. Though it's often a standard ingredient as a vinaigrette on a salad, I had no idea it could be so wonderful with other dishes.

My adoration first started with a balsamic butter sauce on ravioli. Butter and balsamic vinegar seem like a match made in heaven! The roasted walnuts make it especially good.

Ravioli with Balsamic Brown Butter, Giada De Laurentiis

I then watched The Barefoot Contessa use balsamic vinegar in a fruit salad. I will never make a fruit salad without it again! Ina serves hers in martini glasses, of course.

Very Berry Fruit Salad by The Barefoot Contessa

I'm on the hunt for more unique recipes with balsamic vinegar. If you have any favorites, please send them my way!

Thai time!

Once upon a time, I was inspired to enter a cooking contest at Williams-Sonoma.  I had to create an original recipe using at least one ingredient from their store.  While I am no gourmet chef, I am proud to say I placed second, beating my very own mother (who placed third).  My mother is a very good cook, worlds apart from my amateur-self.  It's for this reason I am particularly proud of beating her, never mind the fact that only a handful of people entered!! I had bragging rights and a W-S gift card to boot!

As I look back at the recipe, it is ENTIRELY too long with WAY too many ingredients!  However, food is a labor of love, meant to be shared with those you love.  Please let me know what you do or don't like about it.  If it doesn't cut the mustard, then I'll simply delete this post and we'll pretend it never happened! LOL...

Thai Chicken Casserole
1 large red bell pepper, finely chopped
1 cup cucumber, peeled & chopped
1/4 cup sliced green onions
1/2 cup fresh basil
1 garlic clove, minced
8 ounces pasta noodles (I used Benedetto Cavalieri Spaghettoni from Williams-Sonoma)
1/2 cup roasted peanuts
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 14-ounce can cream of chicken soup
1 teaspoon corn starch
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, peeled & chopped
1 teaspoon red curry paste
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in cubes
2 teaspoons Asian grilling & roasting rub (I used Chinos brand from Williams-Sonoma)
3 tablespoons nut topping (I used T. Marzetti's Asian Sesame salad topping with almonds, rice noodles & sesame sticks)
2 limes cut into wedges for topping
6 fortune cookies for garnish (optional)

Chop red bell pepper, cucumber, green onions, fresh basil and garlic finely (food processor is helpful). Set aside.

Cook noodles in boiling water for 6 minutes. Rinse & drain. Keep warm.

Place 1/2 cup peanuts in a food processor and process until smooth for several minutes.  Add peanut mixture to a large skillet, along with veggie broth, cream of chicken soup, corn starch, brown sugar, ginger, red curry paste and salt.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat and simmer for a minute.  Pour mixture into a blender or food processor. Let mixture rest for several minutes. Process until smooth and stir in rice wine vinegar. Set aside.

Place olive oil in medium skillet over medium heat. Toss chicken cubes in Asian roasting rub and cook in skillet for 6 minutes, turning chicken halfway through.

In a 3-quart casserole dish, layer pasta, peanut sauce and fresh vegetable mixture. Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 10 minutes. Add Asian nut topping and cook for another 5 minutes in oven. Serve with fresh lime wedges and fortune cookies.

Yield: 6 servings