Panca-holics, No Longer Anonymous

This morning I made the most delicious basic pancakes that have ever graced my griddle. I woke up with a serious craving for pancakes, and when that craving strikes it is best to succumb to it. I never regret giving in to pancakes. 

I'm admittedly a pancake junkie...anytime, anywhere, I will be there with syrup. It's not just "plain" pancakes....it's blueberry and pumpkin and gingerbread and a host of other flavors. And then there are the toppings. Oh, heaven help me, the toppings are the icing on the cake. Maple syrup. Butter. Hot caramel sauce. Whipped cream. Berries. Apple butter. Chocolate chips. I could go on forever. Below is my new-found love, courtesy of allrecipes.com:

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions

1. Combine milk with vinegar in a medium bowl and set aside for 5 minutes to "sour".(Manna Cakes' note: the milk is going to look really lumpy and gross. That's exactly how it is supposed to look, I promise!)
2. Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Whisk egg and butter into "soured" milk. Pour the flour mixture into the wet ingredients and whisk until lumps are gone.
3. Pour 1/4 cupfuls of batter onto a preheated skillet or griddle, and cook until bubbles appear on the surface. Flip with a spatula, and cook until browned on the other side.

Just about ready to flip: a pancake should have dry edges and bubbles forming on the surface before flipping

So delicious. It's a wonder I didn't pull them off the griddle with my fingers and start eating them plain!

 Here are a few other of my all-time favorite pancake recipes:

Pumpkin Pancakes (Better Homes & Gardens)  (slather these babies in pumpkin butter or macerated cranberries that have been simmered with a little sugar and water)

Pannekaken (allrecipes.com) (It's a French thing to slather Nutella on a crepe, but I promise you that a Norwegian pancake will accept Nutella just as readily!)

Lemon Blueberry Pancakes (The Pioneer Woman) (I adore PW, and her postings are like food porn. Please make these sometime, they will change your life. I didn't even care for blueberries until I tried them this way.)

Easter for 15 in 20 Hours.....! The Outcome

With a great sigh of relief, Easter dinner came off without a hitch. It was the right number of guests (my Dad's living area is not large, and the logistics for 15 are a lot simpler than 25), the weather was gorgeous, and everyone seemed to have a great time. The smaller group also gave me the opportunity to spend time on the little things, namely extra little floral arrangements and the Easter pails for my nieces and nephews.

Flowers for the arrangements: daisies, pom-poms, carnations, hypericum berries, baby's breath

Tools of the trade: popover pans, cake pedestals, candlesticks, and serving pieces, all brought from my apartment for the occasion

The finished floral arrangements for the table. The humble, inexpensive flowers were long lasting, visually impactful, and so pretty!

Easter baskets are always a fun part of the holiday, and although my nieces and nephews are really too old for an Easter egg hunt, they will never be too old for a pail of candy. I bought inexpensive metal pails at Target, along with all of their favorite Easter candy. I also stumbled upon edible Easter grass, which was visually appealing, but definitely not very tasty! About 15 minutes' worth of work later, all 4 pails were assembled and ready to serve as placeholders at the kids' table. 

My first big task for Easter morning was preparing the au gratin potatoes. I love this au gratin potatoes recipe found at allrecipes.com...it's simple and absolutely delicious! For my crowd I tripled the batch and baked it in a lasagna pan. I put it in about 4 hours before dinner, alongside the ham, so that it had plenty of time to cook at the much lower temperature (325).

the finely sliced potatoes, about 7 pounds in all

After church we dove into a loaf of banana caramel bread I had made Saturday night, fantastic with a slathering of butter. I cheated and used a mix from Williams Sonoma, but it was a real time-saver and allowed me to concentrate on lunch. 

In my experience, large portions of meat, such as ham and turkey, really taste best when cooked slowly and without a lot of fuss. I did a hickory-smoked shank ham and cooked it in my turkey roaster for about 4 hours. I made a simple glaze of about 2 cups of brown sugar, 1/4 cup of both molasses and pure maple syrup, a pinch of kosher salt, and a splash of water to thin out the glaze slightly. When the ham had about an hour left (I let it be for the first 3 hours, only checking the temperature once), I made a few slashes with a sharp knife into the skin of the ham and poured the glaze on. Once the ham was carved and plattered, I ladled the juices and glaze from the pan onto the slices. Delicious!

The "adult" table. Tablecloth and napkins found at Home Goods for a steal!

The kids' table. The tablecloth is the same toile runner my sister sewed for her graduation party last year

I nestled chocolate candies in pretty wine glasses and placed them among the centerpieces. It also added another shot of color to the table!

Later in the afternoon I brought out my coup-de-grace: a classic cheesecake with caramel sauce and roasted pecans. I have made many different kinds of cheesecake in my life, and if you're looking for a classic that is infinitely flexible, use this recipe from allrecipes. You will never need another cheesecake recipe again! Just make sure to follow the cardinal rules of cheesecake-making: 

• always blind-bake your crust before filling
• always beat the sugar and cream cheese together first for several minutes until light and fluffy
• always add your eggs last, mixing them by hand and only enough to barely incorporate into the batter
• never over-bake. Bake until barely set in the middle, turn the oven off, and allow the cake to cool for several hours (even overnight) in the oven before refrigerating.  

  

  The decadent final product....definitely a family hit!

  
  

Bourbon, Bread, Eggs, and Cream: Who Needs More?

Hot bread pudding, resplendent with the scent of bourbon!

I recently ran into the most delicious bread pudding recipe from Martha Stewart: Louisiana Bread Pudding.

In a New Orleans-inspired dinner, I took my first stab at a jambalaya complete with chunks of spicy andouille sausage. Since that dish was a complete meal in a pot, all I needed was something sweet to top it off. 

I had never made bread pudding before, and wasn't sure if I'd like the consistency. I do not understand what I was so afraid of! The result was hot, custard-y, sweet, and made more interesting by a heaping handful of glazed pecans. I suppose the dash of Kentucky bourbon plus the drizzle of a boozy cream sauce didn't hurt either....

This particular recipe called for raisins, but since I don't like raisins, I thought of a few other mix-ins that would serve quite well, including slivered almonds, craisins, and my glazed pecans. 

The finished product, complete with bourbon cream sauce

Winter Belly Fillers

There's something so satisfying about a hearty soup on a cold winter's day. Since the winters are really, really long in the upper midwest, most households seem to have a treasure trove of cold-weather recipes to share. The two I'm sharing are easy classics: sweet chili, with an unorthodox ingredient; and turkey dumpling soup, a soup with endless flavor combinations.

This sweet chili recipe came from friends of our family. I remember coming home from school on the late activity bus, the church bells tolling 6 PM and the skies already dark. I'd trudge up the steps to the back door, and upon entering the kitchen the intoxicating smell of chili powder and onion would overwhelm me. My Mom made this recipe at least once a month, and would always serve it with a sprinkling of cheddar cheese. When I make it for the family now, I always serve it with the best cornbread we've ever had: Golden Sweet Cornbread from allrecipes.com.

Sweet Chili (6 large servings)

• 1# lean ground beef
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1-46 oz bottle or can of tomato juice
• 1 medium white onion, chopped
• 2 cans of beans (any combination of chili or dark red or light red kidney beans)
• 1 tbsp of chili powder
• 5 tbsp sugar
• 1 large can of stewed tomatoes, broken up with a fork into chunks (optional) 
• Shredded cheddar cheese (optional)

 1. Brown the hamburger in a good size pot, and salt and pepper to taste. While the hamburger is browning, chop the onion and add to the pot. 

2. Once the hamburger is browned and the onion sauteed, add the two cans of beans (if using kidney beans drain first), the tablespoon of chili powder, and the 5 tablespoons of sugar. If adding tomatoes, add them here as well. Stir gently to incorporate the sugar and chili powder.

3. Slowly pour the tomato juice into the pot and reduce the heat to low-medium. Simmer the chili for at least half an hour, stirring occasionally. Sprinkle cheddar cheese on each portion and serve. 

This chili also makes a phenomenal leftover, and it can be argued that it is even better the next day! This recipe is really adaptable, so feel free to try different mix-ins. A can of tomato paste as a thickener, a few splashes of Tabasco, some diced green chiles, or serving with dollops of sour cream all change the texture and flavor of the recipe.

The below recipe for turkey dumpling soup is something of my invention, but is similar to so many of the soups I grew up with. Many of the best meals that came from my Mom's, Grandma's, and Aunt's kitchens never had a real recipe for them. You used what you had on-hand, you never paid too much attention to the measuring cup and measuring spoon, and experimenting with flavor was part of the fun of cooking. My Aunt Karen, who has since passed away, used to send home big Tupperware bowls of dumpling soup with my Dad. This recipe is very much an homage to the delicious dinners she sent home to us over the years.

 Turkey Dumpling Soup (6 large servings)

• 2 cups of shredded or chopped cooked turkey (a great way to use holiday leftovers! Chicken is also a great alternative to the turkey)
• 1-48 oz carton of chicken broth
• Spices: salt and pepper, tarragon, thyme, rosemary, parsley, garlic powder, sage, etc. 
• Vegetables (the more the better!): 2 cups of sliced carrots; 1 cup of celery; 1 cup of chopped onion; 1 cup of diced parsnips, rutabaga; 1 can of corn 

For the dumplings:

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 3 tbsp shortening
• 3/4 cup milk
• Spices: thyme, rosemary, pepper (optional)

1. In a good size pot bring the turkey, broth, and spices to a simmer. Feel free to experiment with the spices; I'm a big fan of cracked black pepper, garlic powder, a sprinkle of kosher salt, and about a teaspoon of tarragon. However, the possibilities are endless. A healthy sprinkle of thyme or rosemary, different kinds of ground pepper, and parsley can all add color and flavor. One thing I will say is to stick with only one of the "stronger" spices, e.g. tarragon, thyme, sage, or rosemary, so that the spices don't compete with each other. 
2. With the turkey simmering in the broth, add whatever combination of vegetables you'd like. I tend to use a lot of carrots, onion, and celery, but the vegetables I listed above are all tasty. The measurements are also flexible, depending on how chunky you want your soup to be! If using corn, add to the soup right before the dumplings are made, as the corn does not need to be cooked as long as the other vegetables.
3. While the soup is simmering, make the dumplings: blend the flour, salt, and baking powder together in a bowl, and then cut in shortening. If adding herbs (1/2 tsp of thyme, some cracked pepper, etc.), add them at this step.  Mix together using a fork or your fingers until well combined and mealy. Add the milk and mix only enough to fully incorporate the flour and to get the dough pulled together. 
4. Drop the dough by large spoonfuls into the top of the soup. You should be able to cover the surface of the soup with about 12 dumplings. Cook the dumplings for 10 minutes, then cover the pot and continue to cook for another 10 minutes.  

Heart Attack in a Bowl

In honor of the first snowstorm of the season, here is a recipe for a tried-and-true hearty meal. Affectionately known as Heart Attack in a Bowl, it is filling, delicious, and has almost no redeeming nutritional qualities. Enjoy!

Baked Potato Soup (makes a large pot of soup, 8-10 generous servings)

1-5 lb. bag of russet potatoes, peeled and chopped into bite-size chunks

1/2 cup of butter (1 stick)

1 box of Betty Crocker sour cream and chive pouch potatoes (you will use both pouches in the box)

2+ cups of milk

 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1-12 oz. tub of Top the Tater sour cream (or any other variety)

1 lb of bacon

1/2 cup of chopped green onions (optional)

Salt and cracked ground pepper to taste

• Boil the potatoes for about 15 minutes in salted water, or until fork-tender. Better to err on the side of a little too firm--when everything is mixed together a firmer potato will hold up better to the stirring.
• While the potatoes are cooking, chop the bacon and fry in a pan. When crisp and brown, transfer to a plate covered in paper towels to drain. 
• When the potatoes are cooked, drain in a colander, reserving about 2 cups of potato water in the pot. This will be used to help thicken the soup. 
• Over low heat, add the stick of butter to the potatoes in large chunks. Add the two pouches of potato flakes and slowly stir in the milk. Stir carefully, so that the potatoes do not break up. 
• As the soup starts to thicken, stir in the tub of sour cream and one cup of cheddar cheese. Add any salt and pepper to taste.
• Heat the soup, stirring occasionally. If desired, add more milk in 1/4 cup increments to thin the soup.
• Use the reserved cup of cheddar cheese, the bacon crumbles, and optional green onions as garnish. (I don't recommend mixing the bacon into the soup, as it will lose its crispiness quickly, especially if it is stored as a leftover.)