Dutch Baby (aka German Pancake)

I better start this post with an apology for being MIA for the past few months. Between my computer going dead, a nasty bout of kidney stones, moving and a now broken oven, there hasn't been a ton of cooking and baking much of anything. And the few things I did make, I forgot or didn't have a chance to take a picture.

My husband, Mike, and I recently moved to an apartment on the top floor of a house. This will be our home for a year as Mike finishes his schooling with his vicarage (like an internship for pastors) at St. Paul's Lutheran Church in North Mankato, MN. This years challenge will be doing all my cooking and baking in an apartment size oven. I don't plan to let that stop me from cooking and baking up a storm. Right now the oven is non-functioning but our landlord is working on it, and I'm anxiously awaiting with full lists of things to make in it!

Now onto the goods! Mike has told me on several occasions about how his mom always made this flat pancake type dish that was custardy in the middle but set and crisp on the edges. After doing some research, I discovered this dish is a German Pancake or also known as "Dutch Baby".

This is life changing! (And no, I'm not exaggerating) It is the epitome of breakfasts; combining the deliciousness of eggs with the wonder of pancakes and as easy as pouring a bowl of cereal. Ok, it requires a little more work than pouring a bowl of cereal. The middle is a custard type consistency with the edges how a nice browned firmness. In the oven it souffles and then falls when you take it out, so it is also pretty impressive to serve to guests.

A cast iron skillet is pretty important to get a nice crustiness on the edges. But if you don't have one, use a nonstick skillet. This particular time I served mine with some homemade raspberry sauce and dusted with powdered sugar, but it is equally as good with maple syrup. I've gotten thumbs up from everyone I've made this one for.

Dutch Baby
Serves 4
1 serving = 8 POINTS+ (not including toppings)

3 eggs
3/4 c. low fat 1% milk
3/4 c. flour
1/4 c. butter
1/4 c. sugar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

In a 10 inch cast iron skillet, place butter. Put skillet in oven to melt butter. Meanwhile, in a mixing bowl, beat eggs on high speed with electric hand mixer. Slowly add the milk while continuing to mix. Then slowly add sugar and flour. Mix until smooth. Pour batter into hot skillet and bake 15-20 minutes until puffed and golden. Serve warm, dusted with powdered sugar. Cut into 4 wedges and serve with jam, syrup or fruit sauce.

Yum!!

Raspberry Sauce
1 Tbsp = 1 POINTS+

1 pint fresh raspberries
1/2 c. sugar
2 Tbsp. Orange Juice
2 Tbsp. Cornstarch
1 c. cold water

Combine raspberries, sugar and orange juice in a saucepan. In a bowel whisk cornstarch into cold water until no lumps remain. Add cornstarch to saucepan and bring to boil. Simmer 5 minutes or until desired thickness/consistency is reached. (It will thicken more as it cools). Puree with immersion blender and strain through fine sieve. Store in fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

I know it is spring and soup whether is no longer upon us, but crack a window and let the cool night air in and give this one a try. One of my favorite soups in the whole world is Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup. I've been on a quest to find the best recipe to make it at home. This is it! It is perfectly creamy and full of flavor. It reheats well and actually is quite thick and less soup like when you eat it the next day. This soup will send you into soup nirvana. Your head will be spinning with sweet carrots, tender rice and moist chicken all perfectly mingled a bowl of soul warming goodness.

The recipe uses fat free half-and-half, but don't be fooled by the non-fat dairy. This is still wonderful and creamy. The fat free half-and-half has a sweetness to it. If you don't want the sweetness, you could use full fat half-and-half mixed with some milk to thin it down a little.

Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
From Mel's Kitchen Cafe

½ cup butter
1 finely chopped onion
½ – 1 cup frozen corn (or ½ cup chopped celery, if preferred)
½ pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
½ cup carrots, sliced
¾ cup all-purpose flour
6 ½ cups chicken broth (can use 7 bouillon cubes plus 6 ½ cups water)
2 cups cooked wild rice
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon curry powder
½ teaspoon mustard powder
½ teaspoon dried parsley
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 cup slivered almonds
2 cups nonfat half-and-half

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion, corn, chicken and carrots and sauté for 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and sauté 3-4 more minutes. Then add flour and stir well. Transfer mixture to large pot. Over medium heat, gradually pour in the chicken broth, stirring constantly until all has been added. Bring just to a boil and then reduce heat to low and let simmer.

Next, add the rice, salt, curry powder, mustard powder, parsley, ground black pepper and almonds. Allow to heat through and then pour in the half-and-half. Let simmer 1 to 1 ½ hours. Be careful not to let the soup come to a boil or it won’t thicken properly – let it simmer on low heat, stirring occasionally.

Chocolate Trifle

This Chocolate Trifle is fantastic and a cinch to whip up. You'll have to excuse my not so great pictures. (A new camera is on my to do list, as is a residence with better lighting). This dessert looks super impressive in person. I brought it to my a picnic for my husband's school and people practically licked the bowl clean and I got oodles of compliments on how great it looked. Sadly, that day I forgot to take a picture because we were running late. But, I made it again for a presentation my husband did at school and there were no leftovers to be had.

This dessert starts with brownies, and you can use any brownie recipe you like. You want a brownie that isn't super fudgy for this, otherwise you'll have a mouth full of goo while eating this. You want a nice moist cakey brownie for this. Not too dry, not too fudgy is the way to go for this dessert. Then these wonderful brownies are layered amongst fantastic chocolate pudding-based mousse like filling and cool-whip. Yum, Yum, Yum!! Next time I make this, I would really like to try it with homemade whipped cream instead of cool-whip. But don't worry, the cool-whip tastes great in this. Your taste buds will be thank you for making this one.

Chocolate Trifle

1 9x13 pan of brownies, cooled and cut into 1 inch squares
1 (3.9 0z) package instant Jello Chocolate Pudding
1/2 c. water
1 (14 oz.) can sweetened condensed milk

1 (8 oz) Cool Whip, thawed
1 (12 oz.) tub Cool Whip, thawed
1 (1.5 oz) bar chocolate or crumbled Oreos

In large bowl combine pudding mix, water, and sweetened condensed milk. Mix until smooth. Fold in 8 oz. Cool Whip, until no streaks remain.

In trifle bowl, place half of brownies in bottom. Top with half of pudding mix, followed with half of the 12 oz container of Cool Whip. Repeat layers with remaining brownies, pudding mix and ending with remaining Cool Whip. Chill for 8 hours. Garnish with shaved chocolate or crumbled Oreos. Serve in bowls.

BBQ Chicken Bread Braid

It has been quite a while since I posted. I'm going to get better at it, I promise. I've had a couple of recipe flops and my computer died and I lost all my pictures. But with a new computer in hand and a few successful recipes to share, I'm back.

My husband loves BBQ chicken pizza. Whenever we make pizza or order pizza, that is always what he wants. As an alternative to BBQ chicken pizza, I found this recipe over at Mel's Kitchen Cafe for a BBQ Chicken Bread Braid. It looks impressive when it is all done and tastes fantastic. The crust is this perfectly tender, fluffy caspsule to store tender chicken, tangy BBQ, spicy red onion and gooey cheese. I'm salivating just reliving the experience. I slightly adapted the recipe by adding celery, because I love celery on my BBQ Chicken Pizza, otherwise everything else is the same.

This is a pretty versatile recipe too. If you don't want BBQ chicken fillings, go ahead and sub pizza fillings. Or maybe you want some breakfast and you can make some scrambled eggs, bacon, milk gravy and cheese in the middle. So many possibilities to add to my list.

BBQ Chicken Bread Braid
(yields 2 bread braids)
Slightly adapted from Mel's Kitchen Cafe

1 recipe French Bread Rolls (recipe follows)
2 cups cooked chicken, shredded
1 red onion, thinly slice into half moons
1/2 c. chopped celery
1 1/2 c. BBQ sauce
1 cup shredded sharp cheddar
1 cup shredded mozzarella

Preheat oven to 4oo degrees.

After french bread roll recipe has gone through the first rise, divide dough into 2 equal parts. Roll the first portion out into an 11x17 rectangle directly on parchment paper or baking sheet liner. Using a knife, cut 1-inch wide strips down the long side of the rectangle on both sides (looking like a fringe on the long side of the dough), leaving about a 2-3 inch strip down the middle for fillings. About 16-18 strips on each side. Spread half BBQ sauce down the middle and top with half of the chicken, celery, onion, and both cheese. Fold the strips diagonally over the toppings in a criss-cross fashion to the opposite side, alternating sides to create a braid effect. Pinch the ends to seal. Repeat with second half of dough.

Move braid to baking sheet on the parchment paper. Rest for 15 minutes. Bake each braid separately for 15-20 minutes until the top is golden brown and dough is baked through. Rest for 5 minutes, before cutting with a serrated knife or pizza cutter. Serve warm.

French Bread Rolls
From Mel's Kitchen Cafe

1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups all-purpose flour

In a large bowl, stir together warm water, yeast, and sugar. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.

To the yeast mixture, add the oil, salt, and 2 cups flour. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough has pulled away from the sides of the bowl. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl, and turn to coat. Cover with a damp cloth, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Deflate the dough, and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 12-14 equal pieces, and form into round balls. Place on lightly greased baking sheets at least 2 inches apart. Cover the rolls with a damp cloth (or greased saran wrap), and let rise until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

Bake for 12-13 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.

Ooey Gooey Goodness...Caramels

I love these caramels. They are sweet, smooth, silky, soft and decadent. My aunt Nancy makes these caramels every year for Christmas. These caramels hold many wonderful Christmas memories for me and they are definitely a Christmas tradition that I want to carry on.

When I wanted to make these, I realized I didn't have a candy thermometer. I called all over Mankato to find one. Everywhere was sold out...I was crushed and losing hope. But then, I had a brilliant idea to call over to Cooks & Co. in St. Peter which is only about 10 minutes away. They had tons in stock and let me tell you that store is pure heaven. A store filled with only wonderful cooking tools and gadgets. Anyways, I love these babies so much I made a special trip just for that candy thermometer.

This caramel recipe stays nice and soft and chewy. These will make a wonderful addition to your Christmas treats or to your satisfy your sweet tooth any time of year. These will take all your will power to not eat the whole pan. Yum Yum!

Caramels
From Aunt Nancy
Yield: 1 9x13 pan
Cut into 40 caramels, 1 caramel = 3 POINTS+ per piece
Cut into 32 caramels = 4 POINTS+ per piece

2 c. sugar
3/4 c. light corn syrup
1/2 c. butter
2 c. heavy cream
*You will need a candy thermometer

Butter a 9x13 pan. In a large sauce pan, combine sugar, corn syrup and 1 c. of the heavy cream. Over medium heat, bring this mixture to a boil stirring constantly. Stir in the remaining 1 c. heavy cream and cook over medium high heat until candy thermometer reads 245 degrees, stirring occasionally. Immediately pour into buttered pan. Allow to set at room temp.
*Do not scrap bottom of pan otherwise you'll end up with hard bits in your caramels and that's no good.

You can leave these in the pan and cut into squares or you can wrap them up wax paper rounds that you can purchase for caramels. Store these at room temperature.

Homemade "Instant" Pancakes

I know...I know...this title sounds like an oxymoron but you can indeed have homemade instant pancakes. Mind boggling, I know!! These golden crusted beauties frequently appear on our Saturday morning breakfast table, and if we are being completely honest, they make an occasional supper appearance as well.

Pefectly tender, not too cakey but retaining all the wonderful fluffiness a pancake should. Top these off with real maple syrup (please only the real stuff, trust me you will never go back to that glorified corn syrup) and perhaps some candied pecans. Go ahead, once these lovely breakfast companions hit the griddle, toss one some chopped banana, blueberries, strawberries or even chocolate chips if your are feeling really crazy.


Now I know you are dying to know how homemade and instant can go together. The dry indgredients combine to make up a mix that can be stored for up to 3 months in an airtight container. Then when you are ready, you just combine some wet with some dry and viola pancakes! Ok are you ready for this...

Alton Brown's "Instant" Pancake Mix

6 c. flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
3 tsp. baking powder
1 Tbsp. salt
2 Tbsp. Sugar

Combine all ingredients in lidded container and shake to mix. Store for up to 3 months.


Alton Brown's Instant Pancakes
adapted from FoodNetwork.com

2 eggs, seperated
2 c. buttermilk
4 Tbsp butter, melted
2 c. Alton Brown's "Instant" Pancake Mix
1 tsp vanilla
Butter or Cooking Spray for greasing the griddle

Heat your electric griddle or skillet to 350 degrees.

Whisk together egg whites and buttermilk. In a seperate bowl whisk together melted butter and egg yolks. Combine the buttermilk mixture and the butter mixture and whisk until thoroughly combined. Place dry pancake mixture in large bowl and pour egg/buttermilk/butter mixture over top and add vanilla. Whisk until just combined. Don't work out the lumps, the mixture will be lumpy. Grease your hot griddle with butter or cooking spray Ladle on a scant 1/4 c. of batter and sprinkle with chopped fruit in desired. When bubbles begin to set around the edge of the pancake and the griddle side is golden, flip over and continue to cook 2-3 more minutes. Serve immediately or keep warm in a warmed oven.

Now, if you want to top with candied pecans, here is how I make mine:

In a dry frying pan toast pecans until fragrant over med-high heat. Then drizzle enough PURE maple syrup over pecans to coat all pecans and stir. Continue to cook stirring constantly until maple syrup has cooked into pecans and has stuck to pecans and no longer sits in frying pan. Yum, Yum!

Oh yes...this is what's for breakfast

Wow, I'm far behind!!

I didn't realize it had been this long since I blogged!! I have plenty of recipes to blog about and I'll have tons of blogging after my Christmas baking so stay tuned!