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Buckwheat-Corn Pancakes, part II

I've been working on this recipe for the past few months and I'm pretty happy with it so far. Better than the first version, certainly. The only catch is that I don't ever seem to have buttermilk on hand when I'm making it, so I've been using various combination of sour cream, milk, and/or lemon juice instead. I think buttermilk would be better. But I don't know until someone tries it and tells me.

These substantial, down-on-the-farm pancakes develop a sweet, crispy exterior while maintaining a moist and fluffy interior. The molasses adds a layer of earthy sweetness that is well-balanced by the more delicate flavor of honey.

BUCKWHEAT-CORN PANCAKES (part II)
2/3 cup buckwheat flour
1/4 cup corn flour
2 tbsp cornmeal
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 large egg, separated
1 cup buttermilk
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp full-flavored molasses (not blackstrap)
1/2 cup blueberries, fresh corn kernels, or other topping/filling of your choice


1. Whisk or sift together the dry ingredients (flours, leavening and salt) in a large bowl. It's helpful to sift if you have clumpy baking powder, because then, you know... it gets distributed and all. Just a thought.

2. Whisk egg white with buttermilk in a 2-cup liquid measure and bring to room temperature by partially submerging in a bowl of warm water and stirring periodically. If you have cold ingredients, it will coagulate the melted butter, which sucks a lot. You don't want clumps of butter here. It's not a pie crust, you know.

3. Reserve yolk in a small bowl while melting butter in a small saucepan or double boiler. Add honey as butter is nearly melted. Slowly drizzle melted butter and honey over the yolk, whisking constantly to avoid cooking the yolk. Stir in the molasses.

4. Add yolk mixture to buttermilk and whisk to combine well. Pour into large bowl with dry ingredients, and whisk until most of the flour is moistened but it's still a little lumpy. If you over-mix it, the bubbles created by the baking soda and powder will collapse and die like the fragile little creatures they are. Then you'll get really flat, dense pancakes. So be gentle.



5. Let batter rest for a few minutes while you preheat a heavy skillet over medium heat. I love cast iron for pancakes, it creates an unbeatable crust. Stainless doesn't really cut it, and I never recommend cooking in a nonstick pan, but that's just me. Use what you have.



6. Test the heat of your skillet by adding a pat of butter. If it foams but does not readily brown, the skillet is the proper temperature. If it browns quickly, it's too hot. If it slowly melts, it's not hot enough. Adjust! When it's just right, ladle or scrape some batter (it will be nice and thiiiick) onto the hot, buttered skillet. Spread it out some, or you'll get a lump rather than a pancake. Sprinkle your blueberries or corn on top. Whatever you want, really.



7. After the edges start to set and large bubbles appear in the middle of the batter, it's ready for flipping. This is fun. Flip it now. But try not to mess it up. Because half-cooked pancakes are very sensitive to this sort of activity and are prone to folding up on themselves, adhering to the sloped sides of your skillet (rather than the more desirable flat surface), or missing the pan altogether. This is not good.

8. Cook until bottom is crispy and brown, and then set aside on a rack to cool or keep warm in a 200°F oven while you cook the other pancakes. Add butter to the skillet before cooking each pancake, or they'll stick and won't get as crusty and beautiful. Don't stack them until they're ready to eat, or they'll get all soggy. Ew. Serve with butter, maple syrup, extra blueberries, or whatever you have that you think goes well with buckwheat pancakes.





PROS: sooo fluffy and delicious. Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. Hearty yet light.
CONS: batter is so thick it can be difficult to work with. I don't really care, though.


PS: I got a new camera for Christmas! Woohoo! This is my first blog using my new Sony Cybershot DSC-W80. YAY!

Christmas Quiche

What's a vegetarian to do for Christmas dinner when her family is eating ham and turkey? Well, bring something even better. Better and more colorful.

OK, so this quiche probably wouldn't win any awards. I've never made quiche before and although it's not difficult, I wasn't really sure what I was going for. So I blindly groped my way around a recipe that I concocted (inspired by Mollie Katzen and Cook's Illustrated) encrusted in a recipe from Gluten-Free Girl. I got something tasty. Tasty enough to try again... some day. It certainly was pretty, anyway.

CHRISTMAS QUICHE
1 single-crust recipe from Gluten-Free Girl (but replace cinnamon with half as much dry mustard powder)
olive oil
2 cups sliced red onion
4 cloves roasted garlic, mashed
1/2 tsp salt
2 sprigs fresh thume
3 leaves fresh sage
1 tsp dry mustard
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup thinly sliced green pepper
1/2 cup crumbled goat cheese
2 cups chopped Christmasy-looking red-green chard, separated stems and leaves
3 large eggs
1 cup milk
freshly ground black pepper



1. Heat a medium skillet over medium heat. Add oil and onion, and saute about 4 minutes or until the onions start to sweat.



2. Toss salt, herbs, and mustard into pan with onions. Cover the pan and turn the heat to low. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring every 3 minutes or so. Preheat the oven to 375°F.

3. Place your pie crust on a baking tray or cookie sheet. Uncover pan on stove and add vinegar, bell pepper, and chard stems. Return heat to medium and cool another 4 minutes.

4. Add chard leaves, stir and cook one more minute and remove from heat.

5. Sprinkle goat cheese onto crust. Top with sauteed vegetables.



6. Whisk eggs and milk in a 4-cup liquid measure and season with black pepper. Pour into crust with vegetables and cheese.



7. Bake in lower section of oven for 45-50 minutes, or until custard is set. Cool 10 minutes or to room temperature, slice, and serve!



PROS: colorful, tasty, relatively healthy
CONS: crust underbaked, custard not firm enough

What I would change about this recipe: Definitely prebake the pie shell. It's a thick shell and although it's very tasty, a good 1/6th of an inch was uncooked. Also use whole milk instead of lowfat. It would probably make a difference in how much the custard sets. Add one more egg, perhaps....