Chocolate walnut pancakes

When Aunt Ramona made me pancakes--the way they make 'em in South Carolina, darlin!--I came to understand that the humble pancake need not be so shy: it can puff itself a mile into the air and take its place with any biscuit. In fact, that's exactly what a southern pancake should be: a giant, soft, mildly sweet, griddle-fried biscuit.

Alas, the art of making this happen was lost on me. Finally, today, this recipe showed me that the trick is to use a startling amount of baking powder. I think they might be going a bit overboard with 3 1/2 tsp., but maybe I'm wrong--who knows?

I have decided that I like the earthy flavor of whole wheat flour in pancakes, especially when they're filled with nuts, as I have done below.

UPDATE 4/18/2008: In an effort to use up all my chametz prior to passover, I made a lot of pancakes. I observed the following things:

• No, it isn't crazy to use 3 1/2 tsp. baking powder. Your pancakes are just going to be huge.
• Pancake batter is best if used immediately, but keeps 2-3 days after preparation as long as you have added no significant acid sources, such as fresh berries. After adding berries, use batter immediately.
• Leftover batter does not rise as much.
• It takes awhile for the pan to reach full heat. When in doubt, start with one small pancake.
• The pancakes are ready to flip when the batter is bubbling on the top.
  
• I highly recommend adding vanilla to every batch.
• 
  

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 2 tbsp. sugar
• 1 1/4 cup milk
• 1 medium egg, beaten
  
• 3 tbsp. butter, melted
  
• 1/3 cup walnuts, chopped
• 1/3 cup bittersweet chocolate (60% cocao recommended)
  

DIRECTIONS:

1. Combine the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a mixing bowl.
2. Add the milk, egg and butter and mix thoroughly until smooth.
3. Add the walnuts and chocolate and mix until even.
4. Heat a small, non-stick skillet (not much bigger than the pancakes you want) to medium-high heat. Put a plate next to the stove.
5. Using a tablespoon, put 2-3 gobs of batter into the skillet.
6. Cook for about 45 seconds per side, then remove to the plate. Try making a couple small pancakes first to get the heat and the duration right.

Serve immediately.

Dear Abby's Famous Pecan Pie

This is a delicious pecan pie. Everyone loves it. It was in Abigail Van Buren's column a long time ago, and I saved it. It was so hard to find it today, that I am glad to save it in this blog. Milton Borenstein loved this pie.

You will need:

9-inch unbaked pie crust

1 cup light corn syrup
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
3 large eggs, slightly beaten
1/3 cup butter, melted ( I use unsalted, she probably did not...)
1/3 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 heaping cup of pecan halves ( Halves look pretty )

• Heat oven to 350 degrees
• In a large bowl, combine corn syrup, sugar, eggs, butter, salt and vanilla; mix well. Pour filling into unbaked pie crust; sprinkle with pecan halves.
• Bake at 350 degrees for 45 to 50 minutes or until center is set. ( Toothpick or knife inserted in center will come out clean when pie is done.) Cool.
• If crust or pie appears to be getting brown while cooking, cover that section with foil for the remaining baking time.
• You can top it with a bit of whipped cream, but even plain, nothing tops this!
• Serves 8-10
• TIP:The original recipe stated that the pie should be baked 45-50 minut4es in a preheated 350 degree GAS oven. If an electric oven is used, it may be necessary to add 15 to 20 minutes to the baking time. ( Begin testing the pie with a toothpick after 45 minutes.)
  

Tuna Puttanesca

Easy, fast, cheap. Vaguely charming. Far be it from me, of course, to make a joke about puttanesca sauce being aptly named. (I'm too classy for that.) But once you realize how easy this is, you'll feel bad about having paid $18 for it at some fancy place in the North End.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 can (3 oz.) tomato paste
• 2 oz. anchovy paste (or 1 tin flat anchovy fillets)
• 2 oz. capers
• 6 oz. kalamata olives (without pits if possible)
  
• 3 cans chunk white tuna
• 1 large can crushed tomatoes
• 2 tbsp. crushed garlic
• Red pepper flakes
• 3 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 lb. linguini, cooked al dente
  

DIRECTIONS:

1. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium-high heat.
2. Add the anchovy paste or anchovy fillets. If fillets are used, crush them with the back of a wooden spoon as they sauté.
3. Add in the garlic. Let the garlic and anchovies sauté for just a minute (they cook fast).
4. Add in the tomato paste, blending with a spatula. Allow to cook for a minute.
5. Mix in tunafish and red pepper; let cook another minute or two.
6. Add everything else; reduce heat to medium-low and let simmer for about 10 minutes.

Serve over pasta with grated parmesan.

PAIRINGS: Use a spicy wine with high tannins. A sufficiently ripe Cabernet Sauvignon is ideal. (Caution: unripe Cabernet Sauvignon tastes like the runoff from a Tabasco Sauce factory.)

Braised Rabbit in Wine Sauce

This dish makes me think of Spain: specifically, of Hemingway's elaborate descriptions of Spanish country food in For Whom The Bell Tolls. Maybe that's just me.

Anyways, I started with this hasenpfeffer recipe, sticking to it pretty closely, except with about twice the herbs and aromatics. It was delicious--seven people ate six pounds of rabbit, and no one saved room for dessert--but it was too tough, and I don't think the recipe did enough to tender up the meat.

So I've incorporated some steps from this coq au vin recipe, which uses the wine to soften the fibers of the meat overnight before braising. I have not yet tried it this way; expect updates.

INGREDIENTS:

• 5-6 lbs rabbit meat, cut into small pieces
• 1 1/2 cups flour, divided use
• 2 tsp. kosher salt
  
• 1 lb bacon, diced
• 2 medium Spanish onions (about 1 1/2 cups), finely chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 bottle red wine (preferably Pinot Noir)
• 3 tbsp. black currant or blackberry preserves
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp. dried rosemary
• 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• Freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place 1 cup of flour and the kosher salt into a zip-loc bag. Coat each piece of rabbit in this mixture and set aside.
   
2. In a deep metal skillet, sauté the bacon over medium-high heat until evenly browned, stirring often. Remove the bacon to a bowl but leave all the grease in the skillet.
3. Fry the rabbit pieces, browning them on each side, and then remove them to a covered casserole or dutch oven.
   
4. Sauté the onions and garlic over in what's left of the grease, adding a little butter or oil if needed. (It's OK if the pan's pretty gunked up at this point.)
5. Add 1 cup of wine to the skillet and gently scrape the sides with a plastic or wooden spatula. The cooked-on drippings should yield to your spatula as if by magic. (This is called deglazing the pot.)
   
6. Pour this into a bowl and combine with the rest of the wine, bacon, herbs, pepper, lemon juice, and preserves.
7. Pour liquid over the tabbit, cover and refrigerate overnight.
8. The next day, preheat the oven to 325.
9. Cook the rabbit in the dutch oven for about 2 hours, maintaining a very gentle simmer. You want the lowest heat you can get while still having the liquid bubble slightly.
10. Transfer the rabbit to a serving plate and cover it with foil to keep warm. Meanwhile, transfer the liquid to a saucepan.
11. Remove about a cup of the liquid and combine with 1/2 cup flour. Bring the rest of the liquid to a simmer and whisk in flour mixture gradually to avoid lumps.
    
12. Simmer the gravy for a few minutes, then transfer to a gravy bowl.

Serve immediately with mashed potatoes or egg noodles.

PAIRINGS: Rabbit has an intense, almost spicy gaminess, so a robust red wine such as Pinot Noir is the obvious choice.

Fauxlenta

I eat a lot of Cream of Wheat during the winter, but sweet Cream of Wheat gets kind of boring about two weeks after the snow starts to fall. But I don't really feel like making pancakes or hashed potatoes or steak and eggs at 6:30am.

So I took a cue from southern cooking and adapted an old grits trick to my favorite hot cereal. A pie made on Monday should last a good ways into the workweek, and you can heat it in the microwave. Prepare a Latin-American coffee in your French Press and suddenly being awake doesn't seem so bad anymore.

Based on this recipe and on a pie my mom used to make when I was a kid.

INGREDIENTS:

• 1 cup Cream of Wheat or grits
• 3 cups water
• 1 cup milk (or substitute both milk and water for chicken broth)
  
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 bundle of scallions, chopped
  
• 1/2 cup Parmesan
  
• 1/2 cup grated Gruyere or Irish Cheddar
• 1/4 cup butter, melted
• 2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
  
• Black pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a nonstick baking pan with cooking spray or butter it to prevent sticking.
   
2. Bring the water and milk to a boil in a nonstick saucepan. Gradually stir in the cream of wheat and keep stirring until thick.
3. Remove from heat. Gradually add in all remaining ingredients.
4. Pour the mixture into the baking pan, using a spatula to get it all out of the pot. (Suggestion: immediately rinse out the pot or it will be impossible to clean later.)
5. Bake the grits for 45 minutes or until set.

Refrigerate. To serve, you have a couple of options: cut 1/2 slices and sauté with an egg or two (thus impersonating polenta), or just heat it up in the microwave for 60 seconds on high.

Spicy Mustard Potato Salad

I am still tweaking this recipe to get it where I want it to be, but it's already pretty good. Feedback is certainly welcome as I attempt to create a zingy, spicy, German-style potato salad. The intense, warm zest of the whole-grain mustard is the dominant flavor, with the brown mustard mainly serving to coat the potato pieces, so that no part of the salad is left untouched by the mustard.

Note that whole-grain mustard (with the mustardseeds intact) requires much more volume for the same amount of flavor and coverage. If you're using anything else, make much less dressing.

If prepared without bacon, this dish can be kosher parve. (For those at my family hannukah party now reading this--don't worry, the version I served was parve!)

INGREDIENTS:

• 6 oz. bacon --OR-- 3 tbsp. olive oil
  
• 3-4 lbs. red potatoes
• 1/2 red onion, finely chopped
• 2/3 cup whole-grain mustard
  
• 1/4 cup spicy brown mustard (such as Goulden's)
• 1 tbsp. ground mustardseed
• 1/3 cup cider vinegar
• 1 bunch of fresh dill, finely chopped
  
• 1 tbsp. freshly grated horseradish

DIRECTIONS:

1. Boil enough water to cover potatoes. Add potatoes to boiling water and allow to cook for 20-25 minutes or until tender.
2. Meanwhile, if you are using bacon, cook the bacon in a griddle until somewhat crispy. Set aside, reserving the grease.
3. Once the potatoes are done cooking, cut them into 3/4" cubes.
4. Combine mustards, horseradish, vinegar and oil or grease in a bowl and combine well. Do not puree.
   
5. Put potatoes in a bowl. Crumble the bacon onto the potatoes, along with half the dill. Add the onions and dressing and gently combine.
6. Garnish with remaining dill.
   

Serve warm.

Sour cranberry applesauce

I think this tart applesauce is absolutely delicious. It's also very easy and you can use old apples for it. I'm planning on serving it with sweet potato latkes and sour cream. A variation I'd like to try is to use fresh rhubarb in addition to, or in place of, the cranberries. If you do that, compensate with extra lemon juice; rhubarb, though tart, is not as sour as cranberries.

INGREDIENTS:

• 4-5 lbs. apples, peeled and cored (firm, crunchy apples like Granny Smith and Golden Delicious are good)
• 12 oz. package fresh cranberries
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 2 tsp. nutmeg
• 4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. whole allspice (or 1/2 tsp. ground)
  
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 3/4 cup water
• Granulated sugar to taste (I used about half a cup)

RECIPE:

1. Cut the apples into quarters. Combine all ingredients except white sugar in a pot.
2. Heat until water is boiling, then reduce heat to a simmer, covered, for about 25 minutes.
3. Mash with a potato masher, then begin adding granulated sugar and tasting until you've reached the desired level of sweetness. (Warning: this is going to be REALLY SOUR before you start adding the granulated sugar!)