Buttermilk Pancakes
Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated’s “Best Buttermilk Pancakes” recipe
My mom and I have an ongoing rivalry about simple vs. good food. I’ve won her over on the superiority of homemade chicken stock and grass-fed beef. She’s still been pushing back on the breakfast foods. She routinely treks to Williams-Sonoma for their crepe mix. She swears by it. It makes me laugh because, seriously, the ingredients for a great crepe are just flour, eggs, milk, butter and vanilla. One year for her birthday, I gave her a mason jar filled with flour that I’d labeled “Jill’s Homemade Crepe Mix.” The instructions specified “Add 3 eggs, 1 C milk, 2 T melted butter and 1t vanilla to ¾ C mix.”
She’s also busted on me about making homemade pancakes. You know the argument: “Why make them from scratch when the mix is so easy?” I insisted on making these when we were all up at the Lake House for Memorial Day weekend. Everyone was amazed: “They’re so light. They taste so great. That didn’t take long.”
I TOLD you! Read more
Yeast-Raised Malted Waffles
Adapted from the King Arthur Flour website
I’m one of few people who get genuine amusement from learning she’s been an ass. I mean, really, isn’t it a wonderful thing to know that life is so varied and unpredictable that you can never be sure of anything?
Most Sundays my family goes to a local brunch place after church. While I rarely order them for lunch, I’ve been a bit obsessed with the waffles at this place. They have a malty flavor, are crisp on the outside and soft and light on the inside. I’ve spent the better part of a year trying to replicate their texture and flavor. I’ve played with malt syrups and grains. I’ve played with raising techniques. I’ve never exactly replicated them, though I’ve come up with some otherwise great waffle recipes in the process. Read more
German Pancakes
Adapted from the Food Network Website
I’ve been a bit bored with the breakfast rotation lately. I was rescued from my doldrums a few weeks ago when I heard someone talking about German Pancakes and suddenly found myself with a new craving. But are German Pancakes a weekday sort of breakfast? Read more
Cranberry Pumpkin Muffins
Adapted from Gourmet Magazine, November 2008
Makes about 18 standard-sized muffins
I make these from the first change of the leaves in the fall until the snowdrops bloom. Read more
