About to dig into pancakes but your syrup bottle is tapped? A few kitchen staples can easily satisfy your cravings.
Posts with tag pancakes
Loaded Latkes - Feast Your Eyes
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| Zucchini, Potato and Scallion Pancakes. Photo: Rec(ession)ipes. |
And these zucchini, potato and scallion pancakes from Rec(ession)ipes beautifully capture the colors of autumn, while sneaking in the last tastes of summer. Pan-fried and topped with a dollop of chive sour cream, a glimpse at these almost makes up for the fact that we'll be seeing a lot less of the sun for a while. Almost.
[Via Rec(ession)ipies]
Homemade Instant Pancake Mix - Tip of the Day
Forget buying that instant pancake mix. It's just as easy to make your own!
Continue reading Homemade Instant Pancake Mix - Tip of the Day
IHOP Offers Pancake-Based "Stimulus"
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In my experience, Orwellian doublespeak is usually confined to government pronouncements, corporate advertising, and the occasional politically-correct op-ed piece. Recently, however, IHOP surprised me by employing it in the service of their "Hungry Consumer Relief Plan." Basically, this plan involves all-you-can-eat pancakes, and will be offered at many locations until January 22, 2009. So far, so good. Like many closet carb junkies, I am foursquare in favor of all-you-can-eat pancakes, particularly when the economy is in recession and eating out is becoming a major luxury. However, I have to seriously question IHOP's claim that this is a "stimulus" plan. Fake maple syrup aside, referring to pancakes as a "stimulus" borders on the ridiculous. Personally, I can think of few things less stimulating than a big plate of starchy fried deliciousness; to be honest, pancakes generally make me want to lie around the house and focus on digesting.
In other news, the breakfast chain is also offering free pancakes from 7 to 10 AM on January 24, 2009. This program is intended to raise money for the Children's Miracle Network and other charities. I can only hope that their incredible generosity provides a major stimulus to charitable donations!
Daddy Cakes - Taste Test
When it comes to pancakes, I have always been pretty darn fortunate. My dad worked as a short order cook at the International House of Pancakes during his early twenties and because of that experience, he took it on himself to build a better pancake than the one offered at IHOP. He spent years devising his own dry batter mix, testing and tweaking the proportions in order to create a pancake that balanced fluffiness with whole grains, inner crumb with outer browning. For years, his pancake mix was in such demand that he would mix up huge batches of it, as gifts for friends and family during the holidays.
The only problem with his pancake batter is that demanded a lot of time to prepare. If we didn't happen to have a batch of the mix on hand, breakfast could take up to an hour to go from conception to execution. Even when there's some mix tucked away in the fridge (and it has to be refrigerated because it contains wheat germ, which goes rancid quickly), it's not an instant breakfast.
However, there are some other fathers out there who have created a line of pancake and waffle mixes designed to satisfy this need for a delicious, easy to prepare breakfast. Daddy Cakes come in nine different flavors and many of the mixes are prepared so that all you have to do is add water and a little bit of oil and you are ready to cook.
Slashfood Ate (8) - Fruit pancakes
Over the weekend, I ate the best pancakes of my life. I headed to CT with friends, and we had pancakes BOTH mornings. Sunday morning, I tasted the most delicious blueberry pancakes that you can imagine -- the taste and fluffiness were beyond what I thought a pancake could achieve. So I was already on a pancake high when I returned to the internet Sunday night to find TWO WHOLE blog posts on fruit pancakes. It made me even more excited to start experimenting with these types of recipes at home. Here are some from around the web that look particularly tasty:1. Apple Pancakes from Smitten Kitchen
2. How to add fruit to pancakes post from Baking Bites
3. Whole-wheat pumpkin pancakes from Pinch My Salt (not a fruit, but so mouth-watering!)
4. Pineapple orange pancakes from All Recipes
5. Oven pear pancake from Real Simple
6. Vegan blueberry pancakes from Epicurious
7. Oatmeal raspberry pancakes with berry coulis from My Recipes
8. Spiced banana pancakes from Post Punk Kitchen
In search of pumpkin pancakes
For years, I believed that pumpkins were only good for carving. The thick, brownish-orange look and smell of a pumpkin pie was never appealing, so I generally stayed away from anything related to the orange squash. But then I tried an exclusive Williams Sonoma pumpkin spice waffle and pancake mix and fell in love. The mix made the best pancakes, and absolutely divine waffles. Then the buggers added pecans, which put the mix on my nut allergy-led Don't-Eat list. Luckily, there are other options. First of all, you can make your own. We shared one version back in 2005, and there's also PinchMySalt's version and this one at Epicurious. Or, you can get other ready-to-go mixes. There are, thankfully, tons of options out there -- it's just a matter of picking one of the many choices.
I'm always on the lookout for the mix or recipe that will replace my lost love (maybe it's above?), so please comment below with all tasty, nut-free suggestions!
Feast Your Eyes: Wheat and oat pancakes
I love a good pancake, especially ones bursting with whole grains (I find that those made with white flour leave me feeling hungry an hour after breakfast). These look like they were excellent, stick-with-you cakes. They also have the benefit of being totally vegan (recipe here), so are fabulous for those mornings when you have a crowd to feed and some of them don't do milk or eggs.
Thanks Ashley, for adding this pick to the pool!
The Globe and Mail in 60 seconds: Insect ingredients, wild nibblets and wine pricing
- Mmmm insects. Some eat them outright, some ground them up into meals, and some grow their own for eating.
- For Northern Italian fare, try Vancouver's La Quercia.
- With the lunch meat crisis, what on earth is left to feed the kids in this no-peanut butter age?
- Go here for a list of wild foods that are currently in their prime.
- Recipes: Dave Seidler's Best Pancakes Ever, Sausage Topped Cornbread, and Julia Aitken's Braised Lamb and Lentils.
- Tasting wines, and the world of pricing.
Foodie Flicks: Pancakes with a Twist
I'm pretty infamous for my pancakes, or moreover, the look that pops up on my face when friends use Bisquick. It's so easy to make your own, or make your own instant, that buying a box just seems silly. (I'll post my favorite instant recipe this week.) But if you like to spend the time and make your own from scratch, you've got to check out the pancake recipe in the show above. Tomatza starts off with a run-of-the-mill homemade pancake recipes and adds meringue to improve the texture.
Have you ever had meringue pancakes?
Feast Your Eyes: Cornmeal ricotta waffles
Yesterday morning, I made pancakes even though I really wanted waffles. The idea of digging around the coat closet (my kitchen storage annex) in order to pull out the waffle iron felt like far more effort that I could muster up on a lazy Saturday morning and so I opted for pancakes, made from mix stirred up according to my father's special recipe. They have honey toasted wheat germ, cornmeal and uncooked millet in them and are lightly sweetened with a touch of cane sugar. My pancakes were delicious, but this picture of a batch of cornmeal ricotta waffles, taken last fall by Jeannette of Everybody Likes Sandwiches, makes me think it might just be worth the effort to pull out the waffle maker after all.
Thanks Jeannette, for adding your image to the Slashfood Flickr pool!
Motor oil makes great pancake syrup, and other food styling tips
After posting about food advertising versus food reality, I got curious about exactly how food stylists make stuff look so tasty for the cameras. Alanna's written about this before too - she notes that adding a tablespoon of soapy water to your coffee will make it appear extra hot and bubbly. Here are a few other tips I learned - hope you've got a spray gun and some motor oil!
- Half-cook barbecued ribs are painted with wood stain for a glossy, extra juicy look.
- Dyed, whipped shortening often subs for milkshakes because it looks so dense and creamy. Mmmm, Crisco.
- Motor oil makes great pancake syrup - super thick and glossy.
- "Roast" turkey and chicken sometimes comes by its caramel-colored skin via a blowtorch and several layers of food coloring.
- Sesame seeds are hand-glued on hamburger buns using tweezers for even spacing.
- Got milk? More like 'Got Elmer's Glue?'
The Boston Globe in 60 seconds: Apricots, Artichokes, and A Whole Fish
- Three breakfast treats using apricots.
- How to cook a whole fish.
- Bake Me A Wish is sending cakes to troops overseas.
- Kids learn how to cook in a South Boston kitchen.
- Restaurant reviews: Flapjacks, Grezzo, and Center House of Pizza.
- This week's recipes: Cheese Biscuits, Buttermilk Pancakes, Plumped Ginger-Caramel Shrimp, French Toast with Lemony Cream Cheese and Warm Rhubarb Jam, Seared Baby Artichokes, and Marinated Chicken with Spring Vegetables and Ginger-Garlic Sauce.
Pancake craziness: Horton hears kids running around and screaming
Um, wow.
That mountain of colorful, sugary pancakes comes to you by the fine folks at IHOP, who have put together this concoction to celebrate the movie Horton Hears A Who, starring the voices of Jim Carrey and Steve Carell, that was released a few weeks ago.
This thing is just chock full of stuff that will make kids run around all day long, or maybe stay in bed with a tummy ache. Colored syrup, a lollipop shoved in the middle like the flag on top of a mountain top. And what are those, jelly beans or bubble gum pieces?
Has anyone tried this?
The fly-by-night pancake house of maple syrup season
As mentioned in a recent post, maple syrup prices are soaring due to high fuel oil costs and a shorter season due to climate change. But if you want to indulge your maple syrup-tooth right now, and happen to be in the Angelica, New York vicinity (about two hours from Buffalo), try Cartwright's Maple Tree Inn. The Cartwrights, a family of longtime maple syrup producers, began serving pancakes and syrup for a few weeks during the harvest season in 1963. They've been selling stacks of buckwheat pancakes ever since, to tourists from as far away as Germany and Japan. The restaurant is only open for two months - from February 12 through April 13 this year. How's that for local, seasonal eating?
The Cartwright's pancake recipe is a family secret, but here's a link to The Minimalist's Pancake Primer - his ricotta pancakes are killer (in case you can't make it to Angelica before April 12).
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