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
Duck Breasts with Cassis and Raspberries
Based on a recipe from The Food of France, by Maria Villegas & Sarah Randell
I’ve made this several times for small dinner parties (4 to 8 servings). It is simple but also beautiful, elegant and delicious. You can converse at the same time you cook, especially if you mix the seasonings and wine/cassis mixture ahead of time (do the cornstarch at the last minute). Consider serving with mashed potatoes and a green vegetable. The duck is so beautiful and flavorful on the plate that you really want simple sides that don’t compete with it. Read more
North Carolina Style Barbeque Sauce
Adapted from U.S.A. Cookbook by Sheila Lukins
The spices do a sassy tango with smoke and sweetness and a feisty bit of vinegar in this barbeque sauce, which is perfect for Barbequed Pulled Pork. Read more
Veal Scallops with Lemon and Capers
Adapted from The Gourmet Cookbook, Edited by Ruth Reichl
This is a family staple. It involves almost no prep and cooks in no time. It is totally elegant in appearance and taste. My kids actually jump up and down when they find out this is for dinner. Read more
