Kat on Thyme

Dinner Pancakes

Pancakes for dinner! What could be a better follow-up to brownies for breakfast?

I’ll have to admit, I’m in a side dish rut. And I’m a true appreciator of side dishes. For me, the measure of a great restaurant meal is often what comes along side the protein, rather than the protein itself. I like vegetable sides to be fresh, seasonal, and minimally prepared, but I have no opposition to finessing the carbs. And upon perusal of my rather large cookbook collection, I came across a book on pancakes that has some great savory recipes. (Pancakes: From Morning to Midnight by Dorie Greenspan) And so it went that I decided to make pancakes for dinner.

There is nothing particularly revolutionary about the pancake for dinner- think potato pancakes, applesauce, and roasted meat. Very traditional, and always delicious. I was thinking of barbecuing salmon for dinner so I thought about the natural flavor pairings of dill and sour cream. And voila, a recipe for a sour cream pancake with dill. I make a few changes on the recipe, adding lemon zest to compliment the fish, and whole wheat pastry flour to improve the nutritional value. My original plan was to slow roast the salmon on the grill, on a cedar plank, but was foiled in that attempt by bad weather and amazingly expensive salmon. You’d think the Copper River flowed gold. So for about 1/10th of the price, the fish guy at Whole Foods recommended the sand dabs. A bargain at $3.99 since there is almost no waste and the fish are lovely and mild. But that’s another story! Back to the pancakes…

These pancakes are great as a dinner side but would also make a fabulous brunch, especially if served with lox, sliced tomatoes, red onions… you get the picture. They also can be made very small and used as appetizers with a dabble of sour cream, a slice of smoked salmon and a sprig of dill.

Sour Cream Pancakes with Dill and Lemon

½ cup flour
½ cup whole wheat pastry flour (or another ½ cup all-purpose)
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
¾ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
¾ cup milk (plus a tad more if batter is too thick)
½ cup sour cream
1 large egg
2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 shallot, minced
Grated zest of ½ lemon (more if you’d like)
¼ cup dill, chopped

In a medium bowl whisk together the flours, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and pepper. In another bowl, whisk the milk, sour cream, egg, and butter. Add the shallot, lemon zest, and dill.
Preheat your griddle to 350 to 400 degrees.
Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients with a rubber spatula until just combined. Don’t worry if it’s lumpy. If it’s too thick to drop nicely onto the griddle, add a touch more milk.
Spray the griddle with non-stick spray and spoon ¼ cup batter onto the griddle for each pancake. Smooth the batter into nice rounds. With the bottoms are golden brown, flip the cakes and cook the other side until they are light brown as well.

Makes about 12 medium sized cakes, enough for 3 people, generously.

Summer Barbecue Challenge Wrap-up Round Up

Lex Culinaria, a fellow food blogger, put out the call to cyber food junkies for fabulous summer barbecue recipes. So, last weekend I responded with a few blog entries on grilling and was excited to see links to them on her website. I was also excited to see what fabulous recipes and blog sites that other folks submitted. So, not to let a wrap-up go unappreciated, I decided to make five of the recipes at work today. Unfortunately, time got away from me and I didn’t get a chance to make the grilled pita bread (and there was tons of bread in the house already screaming to be grilled) but I did manage to make the other four, and they were all wonderful. Kudos to all who submitted recipes!

The first recipe I made was Helen’s Grilled Asparagus, Tomato, and Feta Salad. Whole Foods didn’t have organic cherry tomatoes today so I opted for Romas which I quartered, seeded, and then sliced lengthwise. I used more olive oil (I’ve never had a delicate hand with the olive oil) and a bit more balsamic vinegar than the recipe called for. I also took Helen’s suggestions of adding some basil, so I did a combination of basil and mint for the dressing. Very delicious indeed!

Also for lunch I made a salad with the Teriyaki Grilled Tempeh from McAuliflower's site.  I have to admit, I fudged a bit on this one because I didn’t want to buy both mirin and sake, and I knew I could make it work with what I had. So I substituted crisp white wine for the sake and dry sherry for the mirin. And since mirin is sweet, I upped the sugar slightly on the sauce. This recipe turned out so nicely I wondered why I don’t cook with tempeh more often! To make this into a salad, I made a simple dressing of rice vinegar and a bit of the warm sauce and tossed it with some spinach and baby Russian kale from the garden. Then I sliced mangos and fanned them on top of the greens. And then above that went the sliced tempeh, a healthy drizzle of the sauce, and a sprinkling of cilantro. Very easy and so tasty. Thanks, McAuliflower, for the recipe, and the reminder that tempeh is delicious.

And of course, to honor the host of the Barbecue Challenge, I made Lex’s recipe for Char Sui Beef Bundles. And to accompany them, I also prepared Haalo’s Grilled Potato Skewers. The people for whom I cook don’t eat much beef so I opted for pork loin that had been butterflied, pounded, and then cut in strips. Trent, my man at Whole Foods, did the butterflying for me but when it came time for pounding, it was naptime at the casa, so I skipped that step. I made the marinade as written except that I left out the Five Spice because, well, because I don’t like it. It was delicious without. I mixed up the marinade with an immersion blender which worked great. For vegetables I chose red bell pepper and snap peas, and instead of tying with green onions, I used big chives. It turned out very nicely but I think I would have preferred to use Lex’s thinly sliced beef. Next time!

And the potatoes. YUM! I chose tiny red creamer potatoes and for seasonings, I went with fennel seeds and a few sage leaves skewered between the potatoes. I didn’t want to go too Mediterranean since the bundles were decidedly Asian. I thought fennel was a nice meet in the middle. I started the bundles in the oven (400 degrees) since it was raining out and then moved them to the grill when I put the bundles on. You could do the whole thing in the oven, in fact, since they cook over indirect heat. I experimented with putting more than one skewer in a bundle, to save on foil, and that worked just fine too. The potatoes were creamy and delicious and the garlic added a nice touch, both for it’s scent and flavor. Next time, I might like to open the bundles and put them over the direct heat, once they’re cooked through. That would provide the nice grill marks and a bit of barbecue flavor as well. No complaints, however- it’s a recipe I’ll surely make again!

Thanks, everyone, for your wonderful input to my day at work! And thank you Lex for your inspiration.

Ricotta Salata Frittata

Ricotta Salata Frittata. It’s so much fun to say. I could have chosen just about any cheese to top the frittata I included in this morning’s Mother’s Day Brunch class, but I couldn’t resist the combination of words.

When I was planning the recipes for the class, I had intended to include a savory tart that could also be made into tartlets for an afternoon tea. But I thought about what my mother does when confronted with a deliciously flaky pie crust. She eats around it. Too fattening. And as if the butter pastry crust doesn’t add enough fat calories to the tart, the cream or half & half added to the egg custard piles on another not so healthy dose. Would moms enjoy a savory tart? Most likely. Would they make one at home? Not likely. And why do people take cooking classes, but to learn techniques that they can take home to embellish their culinary repertoires. And for entertainment, of course. The savory tart was definitely out.

In came the frittata, the thick, Italian omelet that can change with the seasons, and that has no crust and no custard, just eggs, beautiful vegetables, fresh herbs, and a sprinkling of cheese. Truly any vegetable, once it’s been cooked, can be added to a frittata, as well as meats, and cheese. For the spring, I chose leeks and asparagus. It just as easily could have been fava beans, artichokes, and spinach, or shell peas, smoked bacon, and chèvre. And besides being amazingly versatile, the frittata can be made ahead and served at any temperature- piping hot from the oven or at room temperature with a salad. It can be made thickly as a pie like dinner dish, or thinner as a sandwich filling. It can be cut into small squares and garnished for an appetizer. My sister is a vegetarian and she makes frittatas for dinner in countless creative ways. Fridge frittata. Just use what you got-ta.

Asparagus, Leek, and Ricotta Salata Frittata

This recipe can be adapted to the changing seasons by adding whichever cooked vegetables are fresh and seasonal. Just make sure to precook the veggies before adding them to the egg mixture.

Ingredients:
1 ½ pounds asparagus, washed and cut into 1 inch pieces (compost the woody ends)
3 leeks, split down the middle, washed well, and sliced thinly
4 Tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons salt + more for vegetables
Freshly ground pepper
¼ cup fresh herbs (mix of parsley, thyme, and lemon thyme)
10 large eggs
2 ounces of crumbled ricotta salata cheese

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Next to the stove, prepare a large bowl of ice water. This will be for shocking the asparagus to stop the cooking process. Bring a medium sized pot of water to a boil on high heat. Salt the water generously when it comes to a boil. Add the asparagus and cook very briefly until it turns bright green. With a slotted spoon or strainer, scoop the asparagus from the boiling water and place it into the ice water. Let cool, drain, and set aside.

Preheat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a 10 inch cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add the leeks and a shake of salt and cook until the leeks become soft. Try not to burn the edges. Scrape cooked leeks into a bowl and set aside. Wipe out the skillet with a paper towel.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, the salt and pepper, and the fresh herbs. Stir in the leeks and asparagus.

Put the cast iron skillet back on the burner on medium high with the other 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Heat until hot but not smoking. Add the egg mixture and distribute the vegetables with a heat proof rubber spatula. Sprinkle the cheese on top, or if you prefer, add the cheese as a topping after baking. Let cook for a few minutes to set the bottom and then pop the whole thing into the oven. Bake for about 20 minutes or until firm and puffed on top. Allow the frittata to cool slightly before you try to slice it. This is just as yummy at room temperature.

Makes one 10-inch frittata.

Alternate method for appetizers or tea:

Instead of doing some of the cooking on the stove top and finishing the frittata in the oven, you can simply pour the filling into a greased 9 x 13 inch pan and bake it that way. (A larger pan will make a thinner frittata.) Once the frittata is baked, you can cut it into triangles or if you want to get really fancy, use a small round biscuit cutter to make bite-sized circles.

To decorate, you can add thin strips of roasted pepper and crumbled cheese. (Put the cheese on after baking.)