Sorry folks, but no show this week as Babette is off enjoying the splendor that is the Austin, Texas food scene during the South by Southwest (SXSW) Conference.
We’ll be back next week, Thursday with the folk from Chameleon Cold Brew Coffee. We’ll be trying out their coffees during the show and finding out what it is all about.
Books on Hold is a blog series dedicated to books I have seen in passing and requested from my local library. See more in the series at the end of this blog post. — Douglas
“Round, thin, and made of starchy batter cooked on a flat surface, it is a food that goes by many names: flapjack, crêpe, and okonomiyaki, to name just a few. The pancake is a treasured food the world over, and now Ken Albala unearths the surprisingly rich history of pancakes and their sizzling goodness.
Pancake traverses over centuries and civilizations to examine the culinary and cultural importance of pancakes in human history. From the Russian blini to the Ethiopian injera, Albala reveals how pancakes have been a perennial source of sustenance from Greek and Roman eras to the Middle Ages through to the present day. He explores how the pancake has gained symbolic currency in diverse societies as a comfort food, a portable victual for travelers, a celebratory dish, and a breakfast meal. The book also features a number of historic and modern recipes—tracing the first official pancake recipe to a sixteenth-century Dutch cook—and is accompanied by a rich selection of illustrations.
Pancake is a witty and erudite history of a well-known favorite and will ensure that the pancake will never be flattened under the shadow of better known foods.”
Recipes in Rotation is a series that allows me to highlight recipes that have made their way into “the book.” This book is the binder that contains recipes we make on a regular basis — at least monthly and in some cases, every two weeks. I keep them in this special binder for quick and easy access without sorting through a bunch of other recipes to speed things up when I need to get dinner on the table.
Today’s recipe is a Fluffy Pancakes
I have never been much of a pancake fan before, but lately I have been having cravings for them. I like my pancakes light and fluffy, so I went looking for a recipe with just those qualities. After looking at quite a few recipes, I developed my own recipe which combined a little of each. The secret of fluffy is to have enough leavening to make the pancakes pop. The “double-acting” baking powder used here develops fluffiness when mixed the the wet ingredients and agin when the pancakes are cooked.
This photo is an example of a fresh batch just off the cast iron griddle that always sits atop our stove — perfect for just such a meal. If you have a hankering for pancakes, this recipe works very well. It only makes about 6 average-sized pancakes, but the recipes is easily doubled or tripled if you want to make a larger batch. I do add a bit more milk than the recipe calls for, just to make them a little bit lighter.
1 cup all-purpose flour 2 tablespoon sugar 2 tsps baking powder 1/2 tsp slat 1 egg 1 cup milk Splash orange juice 1 tsp vanilla 1/4 cup butter, melted
Instructions
Heat griddle or pan to medium
Melt butter in microwave but do not brown. Set aside to cool a bit. In small bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Combine egg, milk, orange juice, vanilla and cooled butter in small bowl.Quickly whisk together with fork. Stir wet ingredients into dry — mixing just enough to moisten. Do not over beat or they will be less fluffy.
When griddle or pan is hot. (Drops of water on pan skitter about energetically) Spoon 1/4 cup batter onto hot griddle or pan for each pancake Cook on each side until golden and fluffy.
If you subscribe to my Pinterest page, my @douglaswelch Twitter account or my Google+ feed, you know that I am always finding recipes I want to try. This series, New Food, will highlight some of those finds as we make them for the first time in our own kitchen. Then, I’ll report back to you on the results — for better or worse! — Douglas
Fried Radicchio with Chicken Breast – Leftover Mashup
Today’s recipe is a bit of a mashup from last week. We cook at home a lot, so there are always significant leftovers to be put to use. For today’s lunch, I poked around in the fridge and came up with this leftover mashup.
First you take some of the friend radicchio from last week’s Radicchio Risotto. Then, fry or grill some boneless chicken breast. We had some left over from our chicken, mashed potato, veg dinner a few nights ago. Heat these up together, add a bit more spice, or different spices as you desire. I added some more salt and black pepper (which I love) to balance the relative sweetness of the radicchio. You could also add in some balsamic vinegar. I don’t use this when making the radicchio for the risotto, as I think the vinegar would overpower the risotto. In this mashup, though, I think it would bring a nice kick to the flavors.
Fried Radicchio with Chicken Breast – Leftover Mashup
Ingredients
1 head radiccchio 1 Tblsp Olive Oil 1/2 cup white wine Salt Pepper *Balsamic vinegar (optional)
Mozzarella or Parmesan Cheese
Pre-cooked fried, baked or grilled chicken bread (1-4 depending on how many people you are serving)
Instructions
Chop radicchio into strands. Heat 1Tbls olive oil in skillet Add salt and pepper to taste Toss with tongs until wilted Add 1/2 cup white wine Cook until wine is absorbed an evaporated. Add 1 tdsp balsamic vinegar, if desired
Slice or chop cooked chicken breast and add to radicchio to reheats
Plat up and top with mozzarella or parmesan cheese, if desired
Books on Hold is a blog series dedicated to books I have seen in passing and requested from my local library. See more in the series at the end of this blog post. — Douglas
“Inside Breakfast for Dinner you’ll find more than 100 classic breakfast recipes made with a twist. Enjoy hearty “brinner” dishes like Bacon Fried Rice, Breakfast Ravioli, Pizza over Easy, and Cornmeal Pancakes with Beer-Braised Short Ribs, plus such sweet treats as Sunrise Margaritas and Maple Bacon Cupcakes—to name just a few. This cookbook is a breakfast lover’s dream come true.“
Here is a playlist of all the videos I produced in February 2013.
You can find all my past videos on my YouTube Channel. If you enjoy a video, please click the Like button or Subscribe to the YouTube Channel. Doing that directly effects how many other people see my videos.
Point at each video thumbnail for more information and scroll through the available videos using the < > arrows in the lower right corner.
Who’s going to SXSW? Or perhaps you’re headed to Austin for some BBQ! If so, you don’t want to miss our next episode of KitchenParty.
This week we’ll be chatting with one of our favorite Austin food writers Addie Broyles, Food Editor of the Austin-American Statesman and member of the Austin Food Blogger Alliance.
SHOW AIRS LIVE – THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 28th @ 8PM EST / 5PM PST
BY COURTESY OF THE HISTORY PRESS
Addie will be joining us live as we chat about where to eat during SXSW, the new cookbook the Alliance has published and what it’s like writing for the Austin-American Statesman. We may also pull out some old photos of the KitchenParty team at the last SXSW event if you tweet us a request… let’s just say it involved two prestigious food editors, several tiny cowboy hands and a giant steer involved.
Join us live this thursday! Watch the show here or go RSVP on ourgoogle+ account or youtube pages.
HOWTO WATCH THE SHOW: At 8pm Eastern / 5 pm Pacific on Thursday, February 28th, join us here and click on the video that will be added to this page about 20 minutes before the show starts. Follow the conversation on twitter by using #kitchenparty or head over toYoutube.com/bakespacetv page.
NEVER MISS A SHOW: If you don’t want to miss an episode, subscribe to our google+ account or youtube pages.
Books on Hold is a blog series dedicated to books I have seen in passing and requested from my local library. See more in the series at the end of this blog post. — Douglas
“Nigellissima, like the Italian cooking from which it takes its inspiration, is a celebration of food that is fresh, delicious, and unpretentious. Here Nigella Lawson serves up 120 straightforward and mouthwatering recipes that are quick and easy yet elevate weeknight meals into no-fuss feasts.
“It was when I was sixteen or seventeen that I decided to be Italian. Not that it was a conscious decision . . . No: I simply felt drawn to Italy,” writes Nigella. And so it was that before she was a Food Network star and bestselling cookbook author, Nigella found her way to Florence, where she learned to cook like an Italian. Indeed, Italian cooking is trademark Nigella: light on touch but robust with flavor.
With beautiful color photographs to inspire, Nigellissima has all the hallmarks of traditional Italian fare in its faithfulness to the freshest ingredients and simplest methods. From pasta and meat to fish, vegetables, and, of course, dolci, this cook’s tour has something for every mood, season, and occasion: Curly-Edged Pasta with Lamb Ragu is the perfect salve for a winter’s night, while tangy and light Spaghettini with Lemon and Garlic Breadcrumbs takes just minutes to prepare. Meatzza, the favorite at Nigella’s table, is a meatball mixture pressed into a pan and finished with traditional Margherita ingredients—or whatever you may have on hand. And the versatile Baby Eggplant with Oregano and Red Onion works beautifully as a starter or side or as dinner sprinkled with ricotta salata or crumbled feta. Here, too, are Green Beans with Pistachio Pesto, Roast Butternut with Sage and Pine Nuts, and fluffy Mascarpone Mash, Nigella’s twist on mashed potatoes. Never an afterthought, Nigella’s low-maintenance “sweet things” include Instant Chocolate-Orange Mousse; light, doughnut-like Sambuca Kisses; and One-Step No-Churn Coffee Ice Cream, to name just a few.”
Recipes in Rotation is a series that allows me to highlight recipes that have made their way into “the book.” This book is the binder that contains recipes we make on a regular basis — at least monthly and in some cases, every two weeks. I keep them in this special binder for quick and easy access without sorting through a bunch of other recipes to speed things up when I need to get dinner on the table.
Today’s recipe is a Black Bean Soup.
It is no surprise that we are soup fans here in the Welch household. Even in the heat of Summer we can be found over a bowl of hot soup, but Winter is when they really shine, of course. This soup is a great one for cold Winter nights as it is “stick to the ribs” hearty with black beans, smoked sausage, rice and a spicy stock.
1 large white onion 3-4 cloves garlic Leftover broccoli or cauliflower stalks (optional) Olive Oil 2-3 quarts jam, chicken or vegetable stock 4-6 cans black beans 2 cups diced ham or smoked sausage 1 cup white rice 2-3 tbsp chili powder 1 tsp dried basil 1 tsp creole seasoning mix like Zatarains Pinch cayenne pepper Pink red pepper flakes 1/4 tsp black pepper
Instructions
Peel onion and garlic. Roughly chop broccoli or cauliflower stalks. Add to food chopper. Chop to a fairly fine chop, as we will not be blending this later. Add 2-3 Tbsps olive oil to heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the vegetables and sauté until soft and translucent. Once vegetables are soft, add stock and bring to low boil. Add rice and brand (including liquid) and reduce to simmer. Add spices. Add meat, if using. Adjust heat to your own taste. Simmer until rice is done and soup has come together into thick balance of stock, beans, rice and meat.
Serve soup hot with a topping of sharp cheddar cheese or sour cream and chopped green onions.
I stumbled upon a mention of this The Kitchn and knew I had to take a look. Luckily my local library had it available as an electronic book.
I have been making my own homemade pantry items, in a small way, for years. Whenever I could rid myself of cream of chicken soup, taco seasoning mix and more, I have done so. That said, moving up to larger and more complicated items like cheese, cereals and others has been a slow process. I have seen other recipes and guides on developing these items, but Homemade Pantry could be the book that pushes me over the tipping point and into the production of many new items.
First, Chernila’s writing is like the calm, steady hand of an experienced cook in the kitchen — gently guiding you to the best result. The book presents the recipes in a simple straightforward fashion and makes each one seem not just possible, but almost easy to do. I especially love the sections entitled “Tense Moments.” These list a few things that could go wrong and ways of correcting them, if they should happen. What a great way to further allay people’s fears and give them the confidence to try out the recipes.
For me, I am looking to produce these recipes in the near future:
Ricotta
Mozzarella
Butter
Ketchup
Hot Sauce
Salad dressings
Hummus
Spice Mixes
Ice Creams
Pastas
Chai Tea
Sodas
Liqueurs (I make Limoncello and other already)
I highly recommend you check out these recipes and more and start making some of your most basic pantry items yourself. You will find not only a fresher taste in your food but also a sense of accomplishment in a job well done that also shares something special with your friends and family.
Recipes in Rotation
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