BUTTERMILK RICOTTA PANCAKES WITH LEMON AND STRAWBERRY SYRUP

PANCAKES!!!  For Breakfast, Brunch, Lunch, Dinner, Snack, Middle of the night…always a good time.  One of the staples of the AMERICAN BREAKFAST SCENE the pancake is like a hug.  Easy to make,  quick to cook, what’s not to like?  The addition of Italian Ricotta to these pancakes gives them a slightly lighter and international flavor.  A bit of lemon is added and a syrup of Strawberries, Limoncello and Lemon Zest add color and flavor to your tall or short stack.  You decide how many you want.  First we will make the Syrup and have that ready for when you delicious cakes are hot.  Oh, why am I talking about Strawberries in the dead of Winter?  Florida knows best.  It’s Strawberry season there and most National stores are carrying the sweet treats right now.  I’m giving this whole meal a little ItalianAmerican mash up…so enjoy!!

STRAWBERRY LIMONCELLO SYRUP

1 PT. SLICED STRAWBERRIES

2 CUPS GRANULATED SUGAR (VANILLA SUGAR IF YOU HAVE IT)

2 TBS WATER

1/8 TSP FRESH LEMON JUICE

1 TBS LIMONCELLO

In a heavy bottomed sauce pan add the Water, Strawberries, Lemon juice, and the Sugar..Mix.  Keep on Low heat and stir frequently.   As this cooks the berries release their juices.  Bring to a low boil once there’s liquid in the pan.  Then reduce to a simmer and add the Limoncello.  Simmer for 5 minutes.  Done.  You should have a pan of beautifully fragrant and red syrup and berries.  Place to the back of the stove.

PANCAKES

2 JUMBO EGGS

3/4 CUP BUTTERMILK

1 CUP RICOTTA CHEESE, WHOLE MILK, DRAINED

1 TSP. LEMON ZEST

1 TBS MELTED BUTTER

2 TBS. VANILLA EXTRACT

1 CUP UNBLEACHED ALL PURPOSE FLOUR, SIFTED

1 TBS. GRANULATED SUGAR

1/2 TSP. BAKING SODA

1/2 TSP. KOSHER SALT

BUTTER FOR GREASING THE PAN BETWEEN COOKING

EUROPEAN BUTTER ( OR A GOOD AMERICAN BUTTER), BROUGHT TO ROOM TEMPERATURE

In a large bowl blend everything up to the flour still it’s all well mixed.  Slowly add the flour, baking soda, sugar, salt to the bowl and gently mix the dry with the wet ingredients.  Mix till smooth.  Let this sit for 5 minutes only.  Heat a non stick or regular skillet.  Grease the surface with butter.  Pour 2 pancakes into the pan leaving some space inbetween.  Or make them as large or small as you want.  The bigger the pancake the harder the “flip” so I like 2 medium small sized ones.  MAKE SURE YOU ARE ON MEDIUM HEAT or they will burn before you are supposed to flip them.  When there’s a bunch of bubbles on the surface, it’s time to flip!   You’ll not have to cook them as long on the other side.  As you stack them add a little of that room temperature butter to them.  How many does it make?  no idea since your size will determine that but this should work to feed at least 3 hungry eaters.  Serve with extra butter and Pour the sauce over the pancakes.  Fantastic.  Happy Cooking!!!

 

 

WARM APPLE COBBLER, AMERICAN CLASSIC

 

American Cuisine all too often is solely looked at for it’s Processed and Fast Food side.  I’ll have to agree that YES America is the leader in Processed/Fast Foods but one reason is that American culture in many ways fosters the bigger, better, quicker, easier route to get from point A to point B.  Sometimes that’s a good way to live.  Sometimes it’s not.  And most times we can alter that pattern LIKE….cooking from ingredients that are not pre-made for you.  Here’s how I create my recipes, I use my head, my 57 years of cooking, eating, reading, traveling and take that and place it into my kitchen and create.  Then, when I’m ready to actually make something on the spot or have been planning on and commit it to this blog for you to follow I research my cookbooks and online as many recipes as I can to see if I’m still on the right track.  Only then do I title a recipe.  Cobbler is an American dessert that falls into that CONFUSING C WORD category..Crumbles, Cobblers.  Here’s what I’ve come up with..Cobbler is a flour based batter poured over sweetened and sliced fruits baked in a buttered pan.  They are easy.  The most laborious part is peeling and slicing the fresh fruit.  It’s also a wonderful “pantry” recipe.  Chances are, the fruit being the variable, you have all the ingredients in your pantry at all times.  Apples!! That’s what’s in the pantry this time of year. APPLES!  Delicious baked in treats all year long but PARTICULARLY in the FALL/WINTER.

 

This cobbler is my version of a very easy and basic American dessert.

 

The farm markets are heady with their scent.  So….let’s buy a few and make an APPLE COBBLER.

SERVES: 8                                      TIME: just under 1 hour start to finish

FRUIT BASE:

• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon flour or cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
• 4 cups sliced peeled firm tart apples (4-5 apples)
• 1/2 tsp Lemon zest
• 1 tbs. fresh lemon juice (throw those bottles of lemon juice away!!)

BATTER TOPPING:

• 1 cup  unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar and 1 tsp for the top
• 11/2 teaspoons baking powder (check the expiry date on your BP, it might be time for a new one)
• 1/4 teaspoon  Kosher salt
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted then cooled to room temperature
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 tbs. sour cream
• 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
• butter for greasing the pan
• plain fine breadcrumbs for lining the bottom of the pan

Pre Heat the oven to 35- degrees F.  In an 11X7 rectangular baking pan lightly grease the bottom and sizes with butter.  Dust the bottom of the pan with dry plain breadcrumbs. Set aside.  In a large bowl mix all the Ingredients in the FRUIT BASE portion of the recipe.  Pour into the pan.

Beat together all the wet ingredients of the Batter Topping part of the recipe except for the milk. Then Sift together all the dry ingredients.  Stir 1/2 the dry into the wet.. When it’s combined stir in the milk. When combined stir in the rest of the dry.  When combined stop stirring and pour over the top of the fruit base.  Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar lightly, then into the oven for 30-35 minutes, rotating it once 1/2 way thru. Test to see if the topping is done by poking the center with a toothpick. Do not let it go thru to the fruit.  If if comes out clean, you are done. If not at this point 5 more minutes should do it.

Sometimes the baker doesn’t cover all the fruit!!! Shame on him !! (ok, that was me)…But this is what your APPLE COBBLER should look like!!  Serve in a few ways, warm (BEST!!!) topped with Vanilla Ice Cream, or sour cream, or whipped Cream…some sugar crystals or Raw sugar crystals, and when warm a drizzle of Maple Syrup (pure)…it’s heaven.. Room Temperature is ok too…Ice cold out of the fridge, not so good…the cold temperature masks all the flavors.

Happy Baking…Happy Eating…Happy Sharing!!

 

 

SUMMER PEACH CAKE WITH RASPBERRIES AND LIME

Peaches and Raspberries are a classic fruit pairing and a little bit of citrus makes all those flavors pop.  Isn’t that what you want your food to do?  Pop with exciting flavors?  Desserts especially are better with great flavors or they tend to be too sweet.  I do like a sweet dessert but that little citrus really changes the dish and changes it for the better.  Peach Melba, peaches and raspberry sauce over Ice Cream is a Classic,  although sort of out of style dessert but good flavor pairings never fade, you just keep reinventing ways to make them.  So here we have a simple cake baked with peaches. How do you get to the next level?  Think about what might go well..did you say Cool Whip?  hmmm. not on my cakes, sorry…whipped cream would be a good answer.  Go back to the Peach Melba idea…what if you made a basic peach cake and then drizzled Raspberry Lime sauce over it with fresh raspberries and lime zest?  Do I have your attention now? Awesome.  This dessert I created one night out of sheer boredom, nothing “original ” about it other than the addition of lime.  I think i invented that.  Work with me here, say GREAT IDEA PETE!!! But as every recipe developer, food creator, chef, cook must come to terms with, there probably is a dish pretty close to the one you just “invented” out there already.  I’ll be content with knowing that maybe I just brought the idea into your kitchen . That makes me happy.  For this dish find the freshest peaches.  These are New Jersey grown local peaches and they were delicious.  Also, find some fresh raspberries:

You are going to turn these into a quick sauce by taking 1 pt, reserving at least 10 for garnishing the cake later…simply add the raspberries to a heavy saucepan along with 3 tablespoons of sugar and bring to a boil, then reduce and simmer until they are soft and have released their juices..add 1/2 tsp. of fresh lime juice.  Add to a food processor and simply pulse a few times.  Now you can run this thru a sieve to remove pulp and seeds, or simply use at is. Leave the sauce at room temperature, but covered for when the cake is ready.

for the cake:  use a 9 inch cake pan, well greased with butter.

Preheat oven to 350F.

 

5 TABLESPOONS SOFTENED UNSALTED BUTTER

 

1EGG

 

1/3  CUP of SUGAR

 

1/2 CUP WHOLE MILK

1 TSP. PURE VANILLA

 

1 CUP SIFTED UNBLEACHED ALL PURPOSE FLOUR

 

GENEROUS PINCH OF KOSHER SALT

1 1/2 TABLESPOONS BAKING POWDER

1/2 TSP. GROUND NUTMEG

4 FRESH SEASONAL PEACHES, PEELED AND SLICED

SUGAR FOR THE TOPPING, PLUS MORE NUTMEG

1 TSP LIME ZEST

Cream the butter and sugar in your mixer till fluffy and light in color. Add the egg , milk, and vanilla and beat till mixed in .   Add the flour, salt, and baking powder and the nutmeg . Beat for 5 minutes.  Pour into the cake pan.  Place the slices in a circle on the top of the cake.  Mix 2 tablespoons of sugar with 1/8 tsp. of nutmeg, pinch of ground cloves and sprinkle over the top of the peaches.  Dot with small pieces of butter, about 2 tbs.  Bake in 350 Degree F oven for 35 minutes or when the cake is firm to the touch at the center. 

When the cake is done, let it cool on a rack for a good 2 hours.  Drizzle some of the sauce over the cake along with the lime zest. Top with the reserved uncooked rasbperries.  Slice and serve with more of the sauce.  Ok, some vanilla ice cream or whipped cream to if you like.

I hope you find some good fruit to make this cake with.  Not overly sweet and highlights the seasonal peaches.  Raspberries are like grated cheese, they made everything TASTE better!!  The hint of spice is a great background flavor, you know, like in a cake doughnut.  Nutmeg enhances the flavors.