Oven Puffed Pear Pancake (Pannekoeken)

Today I woke up and experienced a full-blown Saturday conundrum. Starving and craving a luxurious brunch, but rolling over seeing the clock strike 11:20am. Fridge supplies running a bit low, but the essentials still intact, rendering a grocery store trip superfluous. Never the one to backdown in the face of a food challenge, “A” exclaimed “PANNEKOEKEN!”

For strangers to the Dutch language or non-native Minnesotans, such an exclamation roughly translates to “YES! OVEN PUFFED PANCAKES!” 

This is an incredibly easy recipe to adapt to whatever you do or don’t have in your kitchen. We’ve been making different variations for years based on what’s in season, where we’re living or what’s in our kitchen. While living in Seattle and at the height of berry season, I loaded up our pancake with the best fruits the Pacific Northwest had to offer: http://www.thegingercook.com/2012/06/oven-puffed-pancake-with-berries.html

Today we had a renegade pear, leftover ginger from brewing kombucha and an orange “A” brought home from work. And you know what? Those seemingly random bits came together to create one of the best oven puffed pancakes yet! Don’t discredit the scraps at the back of your crisper drawer; let them make friends with the other rejects. It’s a culinary creation just waiting to happen! 

As long as you have the basics of eggs, butter, flour and (almond) milk, brunch is obtainable. 

Oven Puffed Pear Pancake

Adapted from Two Tarts

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp goat butter
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp orange zest
• 1 in piece of ginger, finely grated (microplane works best)
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 pear, thinly sliced

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450 F. Place the goat butter in a 8-in cast iron skillet, and place it in the oven.
2. Combine the flour, salt, orange zest and ginger in a large mixing bowl. In another bowl, whisk together eggs, almond milk milk, and vanilla. Add this to the dry ingredients, and whisk until combined and smooth.
3. Wearing an oven mitt, remove the hot skillet from the oven (the butter should be bubbling), and pour in the batter all at once. Quickly arrange the pear slices in a circular pattern 1 ½ inches away from the edge of the pan, and return the skillet to the oven. Bake until the pancake is nicely browned and puffed around the edges, 12 to 15 minutes.
4. Remove the pancake from the oven (don't forget that oven mitt!). Cut into wedges and serve with a bit of maple syrup or powdered sugar.

Apricot Maple Cinnamon Rolls

I feel like I could post a picture and present without comment (but I'm a chatterbox so that would be impossible to do). However, I essentially did just that on my Facebook page and boy-oh-boy did the offers start rolling in! I had one friend beg me to come back to Seattle, another started plotting a road trip over to Madison and all the while, "A" is gloating in the glory that is homemade apricot maple cinnamon rolls. Freshly baked on a Sunday morning. All to himself. Even though I did offer up the leftovers, no one seemed willing to make the journey. Oh well, "A's" gain.

While I was ambitious enough to make cinnamon rolls for our weekly Sunday brunch, I was just lazy enough to do the prep work the night before. Make the rolls according the directions but instead of having them do the final rise on the counter, plop them in the fridge overnight for a slow rise. The next morning, bring them to room temperature on the counter before baking.

The thing is, friends, these rolls are shockingly uncomplicated to make. Granted, I do have a KitchenAid stand mixer to do most of the dirty work for me. Even if you don't have a mixer, the dough is so soft and pliable that it would be too difficult to work with by hand.

Apricot Maple Cinnamon Rolls

Adapted from the Joy the Baker Cookbook

Ingredients:

• for the dough:
• 2¼ tsp. (1 pkg) active-dry yeast
• ½ tsp. + ¼ scant cup granulated sugar
• ¼ cup water, lukewarm (~115° F)
• ½ cup almond milk milk, at room temp.
• 2 TBSP. packed brown sugar
• 1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• 1 egg yolk
• 2¾ c. all-purpose flour + more for kneading
• ¾ tsp. salt
• 4 oz. (½ cup) goat butter, softened

for the filling:

• ½ cup packed light brown sugar
• ½ cup finely chopped walnuts
• ½ cup dried apricots, chopped
• 1 TBSP. ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp. salt
• pinch ground cloves
• 3 TBS. pure maple syrup
• ¼ cup goat butter butter, melted

for the glaze:

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• ⅛ cup almond milk

Instructions:

Dough:

1. Combine yeast, ½ tsp. of sugar, and water in the bowl of a mixer. Stir and let sit until foamy, 5-10 minutes.
2. Add remaining sugar, almond milk, brown sugar, vanilla, egg, and egg yolk. Beat until well combined. Using a dough hook, add flour and salt to bowl and mix at medium speed until dough just begins to come together. Turn mixer to medium-high and knead for ~4 minutes.
3. Add the softened butter and continue to knead for ~6 minutes. The dough will be wet and sticky. Knead in another ⅓-½ cup of flour into the dough. Dough should be just slightly tacky and very soft, but it should not stick to your hands.
4. Place in a large, greased boil. Cover with plastic or clean kitchen towel and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 1½-2 hours.

Filling:

1. While dough is rising, combine sugar, walnuts, apricots, cinnamon, salt and cloves in a medium bowl. Stir in the maple syrup and set aside.

Dough (again):

1. When dough has doubled in bulk, tip it out of the bowl onto a heavily floured work surface. Gently knead the dough until it is no longer sticky, adding ~3 Tbs of flour as needed for ~2 minutes. At this point, the dough is soft, silky, supple, and totally sexy. Let rest on counter for 5 minutes.
2. Using a floured rolling pin, roll the dough into roughly a 10"x20" rectangle. Position dough so that the long sides are parallel to you (you'll be rolling from the long side). Brush about half of the melted butter over the top of the dough, enough to coat it well.
3. Dump all of the filling onto the buttered dough and spread evenly, leaving a 1" border at one of the short edges of the dough so the roll can be properly sealed. Lightly press the filling into the dough.
4. Roll the dough into a tight cylinder. Pinch all along the edge to seal. Place dough, seam side down, on a cutting board. Cut into equal slices.
5. Arrange slices, cut side up, in a greased pan (I used a large pie pan). Each roll will have a bit of space on all sides. Cover with plastic wrap and leave to rest in a warm place for 1 ½-2 hours, until they've puffed up nice and big and are touching. (NOTE: is you would like to refrigerate overnight, place the covered unbaked rolls into the fridge at this point. Bring to room temperature before baking.) Place oven rack in upper ⅓ of oven and preheat oven to 375° F during last 15 minutes of rise time.
6. Slide into preheated oven and bake for ~30 minutes, until golden and bubbling. Rub some goat butter on the rolls just after you've pulled them from the oven.

Glaze:

1. While the rolls are cooling slightly, whisk together the powdered sugar and almond milk until smooth. Drizzle over warm rolls.
2. Share with friends. Make people happy. Smile.

Baked Polenta

I'm appreciating the silence. Almost a month ago, when I was first laid off, silence was a terrifying thing. Most days were spent trying to pass the time, waiting for "A" to come home, waiting to go to sleep. That first week was so empty and silent that I tried to fill it with everything.

Podcasts were playing, music was droning on and the TV was a magic pill of time wasting. Not knowing how long unemployment is going to last, I've been slowing learning to appreciate it. Instead of sleeping in, I wake up at the same time as "A" (well… I at least try and roll out of bed to eat breakfast with him) and take in the morning. Sipping my coffee in silence with a magazine. Or a book. Sometimes it's even just a good blog post I never had time to read. Most importantly, I've been cutting out the noise and it's helped with my stress.

During the day, I tried not to watch any TV (on my computer or otherwise) and save the rock-out sessions for later in the day. I don't know why this works, but it does, and I'm not the one to fight it. It hasn't been the easiest month, but I've found a way to make it somewhat better.

Yet the best unexpected benefit to all my free time is how much it's forced me into cooking creatively. When I was unemployed back in Seattle, I lived alone and only had myself to feed. This led to many a nights of canned soup and popcorn. I didn't judge myself! But now that I am a proper "kept woman," I have "A" bottomless pit stomach to feed. I never thought I'd say this, but that challenge is fun.

To cut back on costs, we've been grocery shopping less, buying more from the discount bins at the coop and relying more on seasonal/whole foods. We already did that before, but now we're doing it even more. I still run over to the coop for a bulk ingredient or two, but I mostly make do with what's already in the kitchen. Each night, it's something new and exciting. There are usually always leftovers which means "A" can have a nutritious lunch at work the next day. And I get more material for my blog (albeit, still with improper lighting… damn you winter!).

What's a girl to do with the dregs of a pantry and fridge but a mini-family to feed? Polenta. Comforting, warm and easy to whip up when I lose track of time.

Baked Polenta
Adapted from Spoon Fork Bacon

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
• 1/2 lb chicken sausage, casings removed
• 1 red bell paper, diced
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon minced thyme
• polenta:
• 4 1/2 cups water
• 1 1/2 cups coarse yellow cornmeal
• 3 tablespoons unsalted goat butter
• 4 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
• 2 tablespoons grated pecorino romano
• salt and pepper to taste

Garnish:

• crumbled goat cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Pour 1/2 tablespoon oil into a cast iron skillet and brown sausage, over medium-high heat. Pour sausage into a mixing bowl and set aside. Drain excess oil from pan.
3. Pour remaining oil into the skillet and add bell pepper, onion, garlic and thyme and sauté for 3 to 4 minutes, or until vegetables have softened. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Pour vegetable mixture over sausage and fold together. Set aside.
5. Pour water into a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Generously season water with salt and pepper. Whisk cornmeal into water and reduce heat to medium. Continuously stir the polenta for about 5 minutes. Add butter, goat cheese and pecorino romano and stir until fully incorporated. Adjust seasonings.
6. Lightly grease the skillet used to sauté the sausage and vegetables. Pour half the polenta into the skillet and spread into an even layer. Pour all but 1/2 cup of the sausage/mushroom mixture, in an even layer, over the polenta and top with remaining polenta (creating almost a layered casserole). Sprinkle the top with the remaining sausage/vegetable mixture and crumbled goat cheese and bake for 20 to 25 minutes. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes. Serve.

Crispy Baked Sweet Potato Fries

I finally figured out how to make legitimately CRISPY sweet potato fries - blanching!  I was amazing at how much this simple little trick helped my fry baking potential!  I was planning on making sweet potato fries later in the week, but I had half a sweet potato leftover from making Gypsy Soup... who knew one HUGE sweet potato could exceed my 2 cup expectations and leave me with a significant amount leftover sweet potato!  I also made a little bit of dipping sauce for my fries - ketchup just won't do the trick when it comes to these babies!

Ingredients:

• 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 tbsp. light brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. kosher salt, plus extra for sprinkling
• 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil greased with cooking spray.
2. Halve the sweet potatoes lengthwise and cut each half into long spears.
3. Blanch* for about 3 minutes (or soak in cold water for 20-30 minutes)
4. Place the potato spears on the sheet pan and toss with olive oil.  Spread them in a single layer.  Combine the brown sugar, salt, and pepper and sprinkle on the potatoes.  
5. Bake for 15 minutes, then turn with a spatula or tongs.  Bake for another 5 to 15 minutes (it really depends on how thick or thin you sliced the sweet potato), until lightly browned & crispy.  Sprinkle lightly with kosher salt and serve hot.

Dipping Sauce:

It's simple really: mix a few tablespoons of mayonnaise with about a tablespoon of Sriracha sauce, a drop or two of hot sauce, a few grinds of black pepper, and a dash or two of garlic powder.  Taste with the tip of your pinky and adjust seasonings to preference.

*Putting the sliced sweet potatoes in boiling salted water, and after X amount of time, removing & plunged (or rinsed under) very cold water to halt the cooking process

Baked Zucchini "Fries"

I made these last night for dinner - it was quick and amazingly satisfying.  All I wanted was a nice hot dinner - but I wasn't in the mood to make soup (too much time chopping vegetables, I was really lazy yesterday).  My only suggestion is that you add the salt & pepper to the bread crumb mix - not the egg white.  For dipping I used some Trader Joe's Low Fat Parmesan Ranch dressing & a little bit of homemade tomato basil marinara sauce.  I made three zucchini which was, surprise, too much for me to eat.  I am definitely going to make this again sometime soon.

Baked Zucchini Sticks

Ingredients:

• 3 medium zucchini sliced into 3" x 1/2" sticks
• 1 large egg white
• 1/3 cup seasoned bread crumbs
• 2 tbsp grated Pecorino Romano cheese (can be found in the spaghetti sauce aisle next to Parmesan cheese)
• cooking spray
• 1/4 tsp garlic powder
• salt
• fresh pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425°.
2. In a small bowl, beat egg whites and season with salt and pepper. 
3. In a ziplock bag, place breadcrumbs, garlic powder and cheese and shake well. Spray cookie sheet with cooking spray and set aside.
4. Dip zucchini sticks into eggs then into bread crumb and cheese mixture, a few at a time and shake to coat. 
5. Place the breaded zucchini in a single layer and spray more cooking spray on top. Bake at 425° for about 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve with 1/2 cup marinara sauce for dipping (.5 pt).