Posts tagged homemade
Red Velvet Pancakes
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I was recently in Miami and the prize for going to early morning service (on top of being closer to God o_O ) was a trip to the Grand Luxe Cafe. lol I have to say that instead of making my little joke about being rewarded by man or my pancakes in heaven (IDK…I hadn’t worked it out completely which way I wanted to go with it lol) I decided NOT to piss my mom off and be happy that I finally had the opportunity to try their famed Red Velvet pancakes. (Meanwhile, my mom is on the cell phone inviting all of my sisters and cousins who DID NOT attend church with us but not without a small scolding about eternal damnation. (Trust me, you rather just get up and go with her than hear it, lol)
Of course the non-churchgoers beat us there but we didn’t hold them up because I’d heard too much about the pancakes and was sticking to it. Once they were served, I noticed they had actual chocolate chips in them and while that wasn’t my idea of a “traditional” red velvet cake, they were goooood. They serve them with fried chicken but I did it with bacon. Maybe later.
I took a basic buttermilk pancake recipe and made it velvety. That simple!
Buttermilk Pancakes
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons white sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk
3 eggs
1/3 cup butter, melted
oil or butter for pan
Milk (just under one cup)
1 Tablespoon white vinegar or lemon juice
2. Add enough milk to bring the liquid up to the one-cup line.
3. Let stand for five minute. Then, use as much as your recipe calls for.
Buttermilk Red Velvet Pancakes
Buttermilk Pancake recipe (above)
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
Bag of Ghiradelli Bittersweet Chocolate chips 70% cocao (10-12 per pancakes)
2-3 tablespoon red food coloring (see if that is enough to get the color you want, if not red enough, continue to add)
1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
Cream Cheese Frosting
8 oz softened cream cheese (1 package)
2 oz softened butter (1/2 stick)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract + more to taste
1 1/3 cups of powdered sugar + more to taste
With a mixer on medium speed, mix cream cheese and butter together. Add vanilla. Mix in sugar gradually.
Directions
In a large bowl, whisk the dry ingredients (flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder and salt).
In a separate bowl, beat together the wet ingredients (buttermilk, milk, eggs, red coloring, vanilla extract and melted butter).
Keep the two mixtures separate until you are ready to cook.
Heat a griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. The pan is ready when you can flick water across the surface and it instantly beads up and sizzles. Lightly grease it.
Once that is hot, pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture, using a wooden spoon or fork to blend. Stir until it’s just blended together. Don’t over stir it. (A little lumpy is ok.)
Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/2 cup for each pancake. Immediately add 10-12 chocolate chips. Wait for the pancakes to bubble (2 – 3 minutes) before flipping and continue to cook for a minute or two. Serve hot with a dollop of cream cheese frosting (recipe follows).
Options:
Top with toasted walnuts or pecans
Top with chocolate chips
Make your own buttermilk (recipe above)
Top with maple syrup
Of course I make my own marinara sauce!
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Don’t be so easily impressed, lol…It’s waaaay easier than standing in the tomato sauce aisle trying to recall which brand you love and which you abhor. But, just like you hated my sauce-making behind 2 minutes ago, your unknowing diners will too. Make sure you mention it at least twice during the meal. 
INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 large yellow onion
1/2 c. olive oil
6 medium garlic cloves, peeled and minced
3 cans (28oz) crushed tomatoes (I used Publix’s brand)
3 tbsp. fresh parsley
3 tea. dried oregano
1 tbsp. crushed red pepper
1 tbsp. sugar
3 tbsp. Italian Seasoning
salt
pepper
DIRECTIONS:
Grate the onion. This will release more of the juices and give you smaller onion pieces. If you are not in the mood for it, by all means, chop it.
Heat the olive oil and add onions until translucent. (3 – 4 minutes) Add garlic and cook for a minute or two longer.
Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer. Taste and adjust. Cook, uncovered for 15 – 20 minutes.
Cook’s Notes: Personally, I like a little sweetness to my sauce but find your balance. I added more than the recipe I gave you. A little sugar is definitely needed to cut the acidity of the tomatoes. This isn’t needed when using jar sauce because there is a large quantity already in there…trust me. Well, you really don’t have to; check the label. Lol. Anyway, I used 3 to 4 tbsp if you wanna keep it fierce…lol.
Blueberry Pancakes
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On Sunday morning, I decided that we would have PANCAKES! My mom didn’t make pancakes for us as kids. She was more of a “grits n eggs”, southern girl and we had no complaints. I recalled watching one of my favs, “Throwdown with Bobby Flay” in which he challenged the famed Clinton Street Baking Company (CSBC) in New York to a Blueberry Pancake Throwdown. If you’re unfamiliar with the show, he finds people that are perceived to make the “BEST” something (pancakes, mac n cheese, crab cakes, fish tacos, etc.) and tries to improve their recipe and then challenge them to a duel. You should check it out….I digress.
Bobby’s Pancakes beat out CSBC’s and made it to my “To-do” list. I planned to perform the recipe as created but there were 2 reasons why I didn’t:
Chicken n Dumplings
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(Slightly adapted from “The Neelys”)
Dish Ingredients:
8 chicken breast (boneless, skinless)
8 cups chicken broth
1/2 bunch thyme
1 bay leaf
(more…)
