Buttermilk Pancakes

I made a birthday cake for my significant other earlier this month. It was a banana-bread cake with bananas and custard between the layers and chocolate frosting over the cake. Caused a serious sugar rush. Anyway, the recipe required a small amount of buttermilk. Since I rarely use buttermilk, I decided to use the remainder to make pancakes, and found them to be better than my previous recipe... (Recipe adapted from the 'Joy of Cooking' by Irma S. Rombauer):

Take 2 bowls. In the larger bowl, place the following dry ingredients:
1 cup AP flour, 0.5 cups Whole-wheat flour, 3 tbsp sugar, 1 tsp baking powder, 0.5 tsp baking soda, 1 tsp salt. Mix well.

In the smaller bowl, place the following wet ingredients:
1.5 cups buttermilk, 3 tbsp butter (melted), 2 eggs (beaten), 0.5 tsp vanilla extract. Stir until combined.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry bowl and mix gently with a fork until everything is just mixed together. Do not over-mix - lumps are fine. Allow the batter to rest for a few minutes and then preheat a large nonstick pan with a little butter. Once hot, ladle portions of batter into the pan. Cook until the tops begin to bubble, then flip and cook until the second side is golden. Remove to a platter and top with Vermont maple syrup!

Note 1 - If you do not have whole wheat flour, you can substitute any other kind of flour, or just use a total of 1.5 cups of all-purpose. I find that a little whole wheat flour gives the pancakes a nice texture.

Note 2 - Metric info: 1 cup = 240 ml; 0.5 cups = 120 ml; 1.5 cups = 360 ml.

Eggs Benedict with Asparagus

OK, so this isn't technically Eggs Benedict, which is served on half an English muffin with ham, but it is very similar. The asparagus is optional, but I think that it goes well with the Canadian bacon and hollandaise. This is my favorite breakfast item, and I have been thinking about making it ever since noticing leftover asparagus in our refrigerator.

Apparently there are at least 2 different types of Canadian bacon. The first is bacon prepared from pork loin (mine was this kind - an uncured, applewood smoked pork loin, that was sold fully cooked). The second is a type of smoked ham. I think either kind would work here, as would regular ham or bacon (cooked to your desired crispiness). I like the thickness of the Canadian bacon myself.

Instead of an English muffin I used a Czech Crescent Roll - from a batch I made following the recipe in 'Local Breads'. You could use an English muffin or similar roll. I would suggest toasting it lightly for texture. On top of the muffin base goes the warm, cooked Canadian bacon, then a poached egg (cooked to your chosen doneness - see below), then some boiled asparagus spears (see below) and some hollandaise sauce over the top. I topped that with the other half of the roll, but I understand that Eggs Benedict are not supposed to have 'lids' (they are served 'open-faced'), so this is optional.

Poached eggs

Bring a fairly deep pot of salted water (to which a small glug of vinegar has been added) to a boil. Crack your eggs separately into small bowls. One at a time, hold the bowl just over the surface of the water and tip the egg in. Adjust the heat to maintain a strong simmer (a rolling boil is a little more than you need), and cook until they are to your liking. I do not time them; I pull one up with a slotted spoon after a few minutes and poke it with my finger. Once cooked, remove, drain and keep warm.

Asparagus

Break off the woody ends and discard. Either cut off the tips now and reserve the stalk for another use, or cook and then cut. Put the spears in a pan of boiling salted water and cook until done. Some people prefer their asparagus a little crunchy; I cook mine until it is tender. Once done, drain and keep warm.

Hollandaise Sauce

Melt 6 oz butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Turn up the heat slightly so that it bubbles occasionally. Remove the white scum as it forms on the surface (discard). Once you have removed all the scum you should have a yellow liquid with white solids at the bottom. Carefully pour the clarified butter into another container, leaving the (milk) solids in the pan.

Set up a double boiler. You can buy a special double boiler pan or you can use a small pan with some water in the bottom and a metal bowl on top (I used this). Remove the bowl and bring the water to a simmer and then reduce the heat.

In the bowl, put 1.5 tsp cider vinegar and 2 tsp water. Add 1 egg yolk and a pinch of salt. Put the bowl on top of the small pan and whisk until the liquid thickens noticeably (until the whisk starts to leave light trails in it). Then remove from the heat and slowly dribble in 3 oz of your clarified butter, whisking constantly. You will see the hollandaise thicken as you do so. After you have added the butter, add a splash of lemon juice and a dash of cayenne pepper. Taste and adjust seasoning with more salt, cayenne and/or lemon as necessary.

Pour your hollandaise sauce over your assembled Eggs Benedict. Enjoy!

Note 1 - The hollandaise recipe was adapted from 'Ratio', by Michael Ruhlman - a very useful cookbook. It should be enough for about 4 servings.

Note 2 - Metric Info: 6 oz = 170g; 3 oz = 85g.

Pancakes

Today, by special request, pancakes!

It is preferable to weigh the flour (because even the same batch of flour can give you different volume measurements for the same weight), but I have provided a volume equivalent for those without scales.

Start by measuring 10 floz of milk, cracking and beating 1 egg and putting 1.5 oz (3 tbsp) butter in a pan over low heat to melt. I use the pan which I will be using to cook the pancakes (a large skillet). This accomplishes the additional task of greasing the pan. Allowing the milk and egg to come to room temperature will help with the mixing.

Next, measure 8 oz all-purpose flour (1.5 cups) into a large bowl. Add 1 tbsp sugar, 1 tbsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt. Mix these dry ingredients together.

Now mix the wet ingredients - melted butter, milk and egg. Then stir the wet gently into the dry. Lumps are OK - do not over-mix. Allow the mixture to sit for 10-15 minutes to allow the flour to hydrate.

Now the mix is ready to use. Ladle out 1/4 cup (2 floz) portions into a preheated greased non-stick skillet (or onto a hot griddle). Medium heat usually works well.

Cook pancakes until the tops become quite bubbly and the bottoms are a light brown. Flip with a spatula and cook the second side until also light brown. Remove to a plate. Eat with Vermont maple syrup!

This recipe makes approximately 8 pancakes (I didn't measure the portions, hence the approximation).

Note 1 - There are endless variations to this recipe. You can replace part of the flour (I would suggest 2 oz) with a different type of flour (e.g. whole grain) for a different texture. You can also add fruit (bananas and blueberries are favorites in my house) or chocolate chips - just push into the tops while you are cooking the first side. You can also substitute buttermilk for half of the milk for a more tangy flavor.

Note 2 - Metric Info: 10 floz = 300 ml; 2 floz = 60 ml; 8 oz = 225g; 2 oz = 55g.

This recipe is adapted from one in 'The Good Housekeeping Cookbook' of the same name.