Pancakes are Good

As I come back to reality after my beautifully long weekend, I realize that summer is just starting and every weekend for the next couple of months is going to be full of activities. Concerts to look forward to and festivals to anticipate, lifts to ride (baldy lifts are open), and art fairs to attend. And where there is fun and entertainment, there are picnics, dinners, barbecues and potlucks. In the summer, plans pop-up and then disappear as quickly. This is hard for me.

I like things to be in order. My pantry and fridge are alphabetical and categorized, my clothes are color-coordinated, my days are listed, recorded, planned—I am a scheduler and some have even gone far enough to call me OCD (I personally don’t see where they get that). My approach to meals is no different then my approach to my time. I like three meals a day and to know what and when I am eating. So everything going on right now, I have piece of mind with breakfast. My mom always said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and since it facilitates my appreciation of pancakes, I agree. I find they can be time-consuming in the morning so I loved this recipe that I tried last weekend—easy, fast and delicious.

Pfannekuchen

German-style pancake

Makes 4 servings. This is thicker than the classic American pancake, but so yummy. I doubled the fruit and used my 9-inch cast iron pan. My mom found the recipe and we made it with fresh blueberries she brought me from her garden in Louisiana, though any fruit could be substituted. In Southern Germany the word for pancake is Pfannkuchen. Oddly enough, in Berlin the same word refers to a doughnut. German dialects can be very tricky. Be extremely careful when ordering pancakes in Berlin. If this looks too decadent, try my healthy pancakes. Recipe from The Times-Picayune, Thursday, June 18, 2009

2 eggs

½ cup flour

½ cup milk

pinch of nutmeg

pinch of salt

2 tablespoons butter

2 tablespoons confectioners’ sugar

juice of half a lemon (or less, to taste)

¼ cup fresh blueberries

blueberry jam

marmalade, honey, or syrup

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a mixing bowl, lightly beat eggs. Add flour, milk, nutmeg and salt. Blend by hand but leave slightly lumpy. Heat a cast iron skillet or a 12-inch skillet with a heat-proof handle over medium heat. Add butter, melt and heat without browning, then pour in the batter. Sprinkle berries in batter, spacing the fruit widely (I didn’t bother with that as I double the fruit). Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes or until pancake is golden brown and billowing on the edges. Working quickly, remove the pan from the oven. Sprinkle confectioners’ sugar evenly over the cake with a fine sieve. Return to oven for 1-2 more minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle with lemon juice. Serve with jam, syrup or whatever. Yum!

Tasty Tubers

As the Fourth of July creeps up on us, and we all start filling our calendar with plans for rodeos and street parades, parties and getaways. I fondly remember celebrating America’s Birthday as a child. Those lazy days were always spent trying to beat the heat at a local swimming hole (either in the river or down by a lake) surrounded by family, friends, music and cold sweet tea with pimento and cheese sandos.

This year, I am spending my Fourth at home and am looking forward to all the festivities in the Wood River Valley, especially the outdoor parties, barbecues, and pot-luck dinners. I often look at the get-togethers as the ‘ultimate cooking challenge’ and will spend way too much time deciding on something to bring. I want it to be yummy. New. Different. And I often use my unsuspecting guests as culinary guinea pigs, or if I’m being nice, supreme judges to sample my creations. Sometimes this approach has negative outcomes (I would never advise hot grapes in a noodle salad) but generally I am pleasantly surprised by the things I can cook.

On the flip side, I also enjoy the classics: cold noodle salad, coleslaw, vegetable skewers. This year I’m using potato salad to put my southern roots on the table, literally (a potato is a root, isn’t it?). And this twist on potato salad melds the sweet potato (a staple in Louisiana) and my limitless love of bacon with local Idaho spuds.

Bacon and Sweet Potato Salad
This salad meshes SO many great flavors and is perfect hot or cold for any 4th of July barbecue. It was originally created by chef and southerner, Stephen Barber of BarberSq Restaurant in Napa, CA. but I have added and altered some of the ingredients.

3 large eggs, boiled and peeled
1 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and chunked
2 teaspoon salt, divided
1 ½ pound red potatoes, quartered
½ pound mini gold potatoes, quartered
8 slices bacon, diced
1 large red onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
¾ cup cider vinegar
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
¼ cup canola oil
¼ teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons sugar
1 bunch green onions, chopped (about 1 cup)
¼ chopped parsley
salt and pepper to taste

Bring Sweet potatoes, ½ teaspoon salt and water to cover to a boil in a Dutch oven (or a big pot). Cook 10 minutes; add all remaining potatoes and cook fifteen minutes or until tender. Drain. While the potatoes are cooking, fry bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat for eight to ten minutes or until crisp; remove bacon and drain on paper towels. Reserve one tablespoon of the drippings in skillet and sauté red onion and garlic until tender. Reduce heat to low and whisk in vinegar, mustard seeds, and red pepper; cooking 3 minutes. Add canola oil, pepper, remaining salt, and sugar and mix well. Pour hot vinegar mixture over potatoes. Add eggs, bacon, green onions, and parsley, stirring gently to combine. Season with salt and pepper to taste.