Week 4 - It's Peanut Butter, Jelly time!

10/20/12 - Who doesn't love a PB&J sandwich?  So why not try it as a pancake?  At first I thought about putting peanut butter and jelly into a pancake but then that may be too much liquid for a pancake or you may just end up with just a hint of PB and jelly flavor.  And if I'm going to have PB&J for breakfast, I want to know it!  You know?

So, the idea came to make peanut butter pancakes with a jelly or berry syrup sandwiched between the pancakes.  Now I could just go the lazy route (and honestly there's nothing wrong with that) and slather on some store-bought jelly and call it a day.  But, I'm only 4 weeks in to this and still have the energy and drive to go all out for these weekend breakfasts.  

I turned to the trusty internet for recipes and what do you know, other people have thought of this breakfast concoction as well (insert not so shocked face here)!  I'm pretty sure no matter what pancake idea I come up with during this journey, someone else has already dreamed about it as well and created a recipe for it.  But that's okay, I like tweaking recipes and making them my own.  So that's what I've done here.  I found a ton of different peanut butter pancake recipes and liked this one the best because it seemed to use the most peanut butter.  Remember what I said earlier about really wanting to know I'm eating peanut butter?  Plus, I have an industrial-sized tub of peanut butter from Costco that I want to use up.     

Turns out, you may just be able to have too much peanut butter.  The batter was incredibly thick so I added some extra milk as the recipe had suggested.  My first batch of 3 pancakes were very dense and dry, so I added even more milk and an extra tablespoon of oil.  It was actually thick enough to hold up as a piece of bread.  SO I guess you could leave the recipe as is and layer on some jelly to make a true sandwich.  No batter should be able to maintain it's shape and form the way this did.  I also noticed that as the batter cooks it doesn't bubble up and dry around the edges as most batters do.  You really need to keep an eye on the pancakes and check for when to flip.  And when you do flip, make sure to push down to flatten out the pancakes.

Most of the PB&J pancake recipes didn't have the syrup-y component to the jelly part of the sandwich, so I searched for a separate recipe to make my own raspberry syrup.  It was surprisingly easy, but be warned, you really do have to stir constantly to prevent the syrup from bubbling over. 

 
Pancake recipe

Ingredients: 

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 tablespoons baking powder

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 tablespoons sugar

2 eggs

1 cup buttermilk, plus extra for thinning batter

1 cup creamy peanut butter, melted briefly in the microwave

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

butter, for coating pan 

Directions:

1. In a bowl, mix together the flours, baking powder, salt, and sugar.

2. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk, peanut butter, and vegetable oil.

3. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients.  If batter feels too thick, add a little extra milk.

4. Heat a large non-stick pan or griddle over medium-low heat and melt a pat of butter in it. 

 5. Ladle the batter into the pan and cook until it starts to dry and bubble around the edges.  Then flip.  They won't bubble like regular pancakes due to the peanut butter. 

6.  Top with raspberry syrup (see recipe below) or spread jelly on pancakes.

Raspberry syrup recipe

Ingredients:

2 cups fresh raspberries

1 1/2 cups sugar, plus 2 tablespoons

1/2 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Directions:

1. Combine berries, 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 cup water in a medium saucepan with a heavy bottom. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until berries begin to break down and release their juices, about 4 minutes.

2. Add 1 1/2 cups cold water and lemon juice. Bring to a boil, then immediately turn down to a simmer and skim off any foam that bubbles to top. Cook for 15 minutes.

3. Strain into bowl through cheesecloth-lined strainer, pressing on fruit to squeeze out juices. Return the liquid to the pan and add 1 1/2 cups sugar. Stir until sugar dissolves. Bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool. Store in a tightly sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 3 weeks.

Week 3 - Apple Spice and Everything Nice

10/13/12 - Last week I had trouble deciding which pancake to make to embrace the arrival of fall.  Pumpkin won, but apple still has a place in my heart, and belly.  Plus, I still have 50 different types of pancakes to make. :-)  So I decided to concoct a recipe for an apple spice pancake.  It turned out great.  The light brown sugar and applesauce make it a super moist and denser  pancake.  I especially love the chunks of apple that seem to melt in your mouth.  My husband even said these are his favorite pancakes so far, then again, he said that last week and we're only in to week 3.  But I'll take the compliment.  

I highly recommend making your own applesauce for this recipe.  It's super simple and better than any store-bought applesauce.  Just simmer some peeled diced apples in a little bit of water until soft and mash/puree until you reach your desired consistency.  No need to add any sugar.  You can season with cinnamon, lemon juice, etc. 

After breakfast my husband and I sat around the table coming up with ideas for the next 49 weeks.  He throws out some ideas, sometimes a little out there, and I take on the challenge of coming up with recipes for his ideas.  We have a pretty nice list of ideas for the next several weeks, especially things to make around the holidays.  But you'll just have to follow along to see what we came up with. 

Jó étvágyat!

Ingredients:
 
1-1/4 c. all purpose flour (I used 1/2 cup whole wheat and 3/4 cup all purpose flour to kick up the nutritional value)
1/4 cup light brown sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg, freshly grated
1 c. buttermilk
1/2 c. applesauce
 1 large egg
3 Tb. canola oil
1 apple, finely chopped
Butter for the griddle

Directions:
In medium mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices; whisk to combine.  

In a separate bowl mix together the buttermilk, applesauce, egg, and oil.  Once thoroughly combined, mix in the chopped apples. 

Melt butter on a skillet or griddle and ladle pancake batter on to cooking device.  Flip once the pancake starts to cook around the edges.  Enjoy with some syrup!

Week 2 - Pumpkin!

10/6/12 - I can't ignore it anymore.  Summer is over and we're in to fall. I always have trouble letting go of those long summer days and nights.  Everything about summer makes me happy, I'll even take the heat and humidity, as long as I'm near a body o water to jump in to.  I love summer, spring, and winter, but ever since I was a kid, I hated, and I really mean HATED fall.  I never thought the turning of the leaves looked pretty, and I didn't care much for the cold, crisp air that came with autumn.  However, as an adult I am starting to gain a greater appreciation for fall, particularly the food that comes with it; apples, pumpkins, squash, hot apple cider, yummy pies, and hearty, stick-to-your-ribs meals.  So this weekend I decided to embrace the arrival of fall with a pancake appropriate for the season.  I couldn't decide between apples or pumpkins, until I started digging through my freezer earlier in the week and discovered frozen pumpkin puree.
Lately I have been on a kick of cleaning out our freezers.  That's right, I said freezers.  We have 3 total, although in my defense our 3rd freezer is a tiny little freezer that is part of my old dorm-room fridge/freezer.  It now serves as our bar's fridge for drinks, and as an emergency backup freezer.  Earlier in the summer the freezer in our garage broke and forced us to rearrange our kitchen freezer to make room for our stock of frozen foods that was in the garage.  We ended up using the bar fridge and renting some freezer space from my parents until we could fix the problem.  From this little disaster came a realization that we have a TON of frozen food I completely forgot about.  Ever since then I have been on a mission to use up food in the freezer, or in some cases, identify what the heck I froze in the first place!  It took me about 2 weeks to figure out that the two small containers of an orange puree was pumpkin.  So what a better way to use it than in a pancake!  I found this delicious recipe from The Better Baker.  I loved the aroma that filled my kitchen as I made these pancakes.  It definitely drew my husband in to the kitchen.  It was hard not to snack on a pancake or two while I waited for the rest to cook, but I held out so I could enjoy the first bite while sitting down at the table with my family.  Sitting there are the kitchen table, watching him enjoy the pancakes and my daughter intently watching him eat (she's 4 months old and on the verge of beginning solids) was just a perfect way to start the weekend.  I cannot wait until she can start eating pancakes too!  Jó étvágyat!

Ingredients:
 
1-1/4 c. all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. nutmeg, freshly grated
pinch of ground cloves (I skipped this since I couldn't find cloves in my spice cabinet)
1 c. buttermilk
1/2 c. pumpkin puree 
1 large egg
3 Tb. canola oil
Butter for the griddle

Directions:
In medium mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spiced; whisk to combine.  (It already smells like pumpkin pie - oh my!)

In liquid measuring cup, whisk buttermilk, pumpkin puree, egg and oil. Add wet ingredients to dry and stir just until combined.

Preheat griddle or electric skillet at 300*. Using a 1/3 c. measure, pour the batter onto hot griddle.  Cook first side until bubbles begin to break on top and edge starts to look cooked, about 3 minutes.  Flip and cook the second side until golden brown, a couple more minutes.

Week 1 - Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Lemon Curd

September 29th - I became inspired by an episode of The Chew.  The theme of the episode was breakfast food and they showed this pancake which peaked my interest.  I checked out the recipe online and found I had a lot of the ingredients already on hand.  I was actually looking for recipes that would use up some ricotta I had leftover from a recipe earlier in the week.  So this was perfect!

I was pretty excited to try this recipe out as it was different than any other pancake I had tried before.  So excited that I prepared the batter the night before.  I actually couldn't wait to get up in the morning and make these.  I whipped out my skillet and started pouring the batter.  It was a pretty thick batter and honestly I was worried the ricotta cheese would make the pancakes heavy.  So I was pleasantly surprised to find them to be very light and fluffy.  And tasty!  I have never used lemon curd before, but it was great in place of your typical syrup.  The berries on top also provided a nice contrast to the sour taste of the lemon.  Plus, it looks pretty.  And if you know me or anything about my cooking, you know that I like a nice presentation.  It's just that extra step that gives you that wow factor.  Although, above all else, it's that taste that counts.  I don't care how pretty something looks, if it doesn't taste good, I'm not going to eat it.  I remember telling my Mom that when I was younger.  Sometimes when she cooked a meal, it didn't always look pretty.  But the taste would be out of this world.  I would always remind her that how it tastes is much more important that what it looks like.  Besides, it all ends up in the same place, right?  So, if the pictures of my pancakes aren't exactly pretty, either because they aren't that pretty or fell victim to my poor photography skills, don't judge until you try the recipe!
Jó étvágyat! (Hungarian way to say Bon Appetit!)

   As I mentioned earlier, this recipe came from The Chew by Ruth Sottile, a woman who presented the pancake on the show.  (For a direct link to the recipe: The Chew - Lemon Ricotta Pancakes )

Ingredients

• 1 cup Cake Flour (I used all-purpose flour)
• 1 tablespoon Baking Powder
• 1 pinch Fresh Ground Nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon Salt
• 4 tablespoons Sugar
• 1 cup Ricotta
• 2 Eggs
• 1/3 cup Whole Milk (I used skim milk)
• 1 Lemon (zest and juice)
• Melted Butter (for griddle)
• 1 jar Lemon Curd
• Fresh Berries
• Powdered Sugar

Directions:

• Combine the flour, baking powder, nutmeg, salt, and sugar.  I like to whisk together my dry ingredients to make sure they are mixed well.
• In a separate bowl, mix together the ricotta, eggs, milk, and lemon zest and juice. Mix wet ingredients with dry until combined.
• Mix wet ingredients with dry.
• Melt butter on a hot griddle or skillet and cook pancakes until brown on both sides.
• When all pancakes are cooked, warm lemon curd and drizzle over pancakes. Garnish with fresh berries and dust with powdered sugar.