German Pancake

I'm convinced that everyone knows this recipe, but I'm going to remind you how awesome it is anyway. German Pancakes (aka Dutch Babies) are a staple in my diet. When I don't feel like eating anything or when I can't summon up the energy to cook, the German Pancake is my go-to recipe despite the hour of the day. I LOVE them.

I believe that there is only one way to eat a German Pancake--with fresh lemon juice and a dusting of powdered sugar. I'm a purist. But I suppose you can do whatever you want with them (provided you try lemon and powdered sugar).

So anyway, from someone who has had approximately 238 German Pancakes in her life, here is how to make the perfect German Pancake:


1 TBS salted butter
3 eggs
1/2 C milk
1/2 C flour
1/4 C sugar
dash of salt
splash of vanilla

1. Heat oven to 425. While oven is heating place butter in a medium cast iron pan (or if you don't have one, a ceramic or glass pie dish works well too). Melt butter in the pan in the preheating oven until the butter is brown. Seriously, trust me on this one. Brown.

2. While butter is melting and caramelizing, mix up the batter. Beat the three eggs together with the milk using a wire whisk. Add the flour, sugar, salt and vanilla and whip it good for a minute.

3. Carefully pour the batter into the brown butter in the pan. Aim your batter so that the brown butter is nicely distributed.


4. Bake for 10 minutes. It's done when the pancake is high and puffy.


5. Serve immediately with fresh lemon juice and powdered sugar. I tried Meyer Lemons today and loved the interesting flavor and added sweetness.

(Serves 2)


TIPS:

* Making your pancake in a cast iron results in more even cooking and a shorter, flatter pancake with bubbles.
* Making your pancake in a pie dish will give it really high edges that will brown nicely while the center is perfectly cooked through. If you make your pancake in a pie dish, make sure you put your oven rack in the middle of the oven to give it lots of room to rise without hitting the heat element.
*The cast iron pancake is not superior to the pie dish pancake. I like to mix them up, depending on what I'm into.

Dinner for two

I made a super yummy dinner tonight and I just have to share it. Pork chops with artichokes and capers, and asparagus in a balsamic butter sauce. SO yummy.

Pork with Artichokes and Capers

2 pork chops (the original recipe called for pork loin, cut into 1" slices, but I opted for the chops)

1 T. butter

2 green onions

1/2 can (14 oz) artichoke hearts, drained, rinsed, chopped

1/4 c. chicken broth

1 T. capers, drained

1 t. Dijon mustard

1 T. minced fresh parsley

lemon slices

Cook your pork in butter in a large skillet until juices run clear. In the same skillet, cook onion until tender. Stir in artichokes, broth, capers, and mustard. Heat through. Serve over pork, sprinkle with parsley and serve with lemon slices.

Asparagus with Balsamic Butter Sauce

1 bunch asparagus

PAM

salt and pepper

2 T. butter

1 T. soy sauce

1 t. Balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 400. Rinse asparagus and snap ends off. Place on baking sheet. Coat with PAM and then season with salt and pepper. Bake for 12 min. (If you like your spears crisp, don't bake a full 12 minutes!) Meanwhile, melt butter and add soy sauce and balsamic vinegar to it. When the asparagus is done, pour your balsamic butter sauce over it, and enjoy!

These two dishes happened to complement each other pretty well. The pork definitely has a unique flavor, with the capers and Dijon mustard and all, so I didn't know how well this particular asparagus recipe would go with it. But it definitely worked. We had some foccacia bread on the side and it was delectable.

Roasted Red Bell Pepper Bisque

I'm Motion de Smiths and I feel weird introducing myself to people. Nevertheless, I love to cook basically anything. I'm a fan of quick meals that come together easily, but I'm not afraid of spending 5 hours on hazelnut gelato when I have a free Sunday.

I think restrictive diets are stupid. Eat what you want, when you want, just maybe not in the vast quantities you want. To clarify, I also like Megan's ideas on eating better. I don't consider eating more good stuff a stupid diet at all. EAT!



This is an EASY and fabulous recipe adapted from one I found on epicurious.com

Ingredients:
• 5 large red bell peppers
• 3 1/2 cups chicken stock
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 3/4 cup whipping cream
• 1/2 cup grated hard cheese of your choice (I used Gouda and Parmesan)
• 3 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh basil

1. Roast red peppers under broiler on a lipped cookie sheet, rotating every 3-4 minutes until parts of the skin are charred. Put hot roasted peppers in a paper bag for 5 minutes to allow the moisture to redistribute and make seeding a snap. Seed peppers and place them in a blender with your chicken stock until pureed. Depending on the size of your blender, this may be done in batches.

2. Bring red pepper mix to a low boil adding paprika and sugar, and any other seasonings you may want.

3. Reduce heat, add cream and cheese, simmer for 5-10 minutes until somewhat thickened (though it's not a thick soup, it shouldn't be watery).

4. Add kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste. Serve with paninis or crusty bread with sauteed mushrooms.

NOTE: Though I love jarred roasted red peppers for many recipes, this is NOT, I repeat NOT one of them. The flavor just does not work--it's pickled and harsh instead of sweet and mellow.