Cheesy Pancakes with Corn and Avocado

The Ultimate Beta cooks! Notice I did not say "bakes", I said "cooks". Yes, I made dinner. I have only cooked dinner for the AlphaChef three, maybe four times in our nearly 13 years together. Seriously, we counted.

Always these were special occasions, starting with a lengthy, indecisive recipe search and shopping for special ingredients. It always culminated in an anxiety filled evening, which was so painful for us both, ultimately the AC steps in to save the day. This is why I make breakfast, although there is some timing involved, I can whip up some pancakes and serve. Easy, low stress.


Well, I guess change is good. It just hit me, the idea that my favorite cottage cheese and yogurt pancakes could be made savory. With corn and some kind of sauce. Avocado. Oh yeah, Lynn's Corn and Avocado Salad would be perfect. I can do this, I thought. And it worked. I wasn't stressed out at all.

After sampling, The AC said, "If I got this in a restaurant I'd be pleased..." WHAT???? Arguably the best compliment he has ever paid me.

 I have to say, this is a proud development. I am finally understanding the joy of cooking. After all these years, it's a bit exciting. This does not mean the Ultimate Beta is a cook, but it means I have potential and that makes me smile.

The pancakes are based on the first recipe ever posted on this blog. Based on a Bittman recipe, they are tangy, sweet and full of protein. Since this was dinner, I cut the recipe into a quarter, so we had two small cakes each. We happened to have an abundance of corn, so I added some to the batter. Also added some shallots, fresh parsley, basil, garlic and black pepper. This is very flexible, you could add any herbs and spices. I cut the sugar out.


Cheesy Corn Pancakes
1/4 c large curd 4% fat cottage cheese
1/4 c  fage greek yogurt 2%
1/4 c flour
1 egg yolk
2 egg whites
1/8 tsp baking powder
1/2 shallot, diced
1 small sprig fresh parsley, minced
1 small sprig lemon basil, minced
1/2 clove garlic, minced
a pinch of salt, black pepper to preference
kernels of 1 small corn cob
unsalted butter for pan frying

1. Place a frying pan over med-high heat.
2. In a largish mixing bowl, combine the cottage cheese, yogurt and egg yolk.
3. Mix the flour and baking powder in another bowl and dump into the first.
4. Stir in the corn, add the herbs, garlic and shallots (as below).
5. Add a small amount of salt and a healthy bit of black pepper.
6. Beat the egg whites until distinct and fold into the batter.
7. Add butter to the frying pan, scoop 1/4 cup amounts of batter onto the frying pan, make sure you take a bit of the egg white each time. Turn when golden.


Avocado/Corn Chutney
1/2 large avocado, cubed
kernels from 1 small corn cob
1 small sprig parsley, minced
1/2 shallot, minced
juice of 1/4 lime
1 tsp olive oil
1/2 tsp sherry vinegar
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp sugar
salt and black pepper to taste
Add lucky's habenero hot sauce at the end if desired

Just dump it all into a bowl and mix.

I served the cakes smothered in the chutney. Yes, I realize I'm stating the obvious here (I'm frequently accused of over-emphasizing points by my employees, guess they're right). The crispy, buttery, cheesy, tangy goodness, covered by the fresh, crisp corn and creamy avocado was quite fabulous, if I don't say so myself...

Chinese broccoli and Chicken with Garlic Sauce

The AC is a bit of a stir-fry genius, which you wouldn't know looking at this blog. Nary a post about stir fry. It's a staple in our house, so maybe we're just never inspired by it enough to take pictures. That changes today.

The farmer's market is our favorite way to start a lazy Saturday. We thought about joining a CSA until someone referred to it as a "lifestyle change" and we realized we'd probably end up tossing a ton of fresh veggies and feeling really guilty about it. So, we choose instead to buy what we want in the quantity we can use, supporting a variety of local farmers in the process. It's working out pretty well that way.

This time our bounty included Chinese broccoli. We're both huge fans of this leafy version of the Bush-reviled vegetable, especially when it's cooked in a nice, light garlic sauce. Normally the AC will stir-fry with some kind of black bean sauce, which has it's place, but can get real salty real fast. I suggested we try garlic sauce, the AC started to plan it's execution and this is what we got.  

Mix:
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp dark soy sauce (if you only have one kind, that's okay, just make sure you add 2 tbsp soy sauce)
1/2 tsp chile sauce (1 tsp if you like it spicier)
1/4 tsp sesame oil
3-4 cloves of garlic, finely minced
1 tbsp water mixed with 1 1/2 tsp corn starch (add at the end)
2 tsp cooking Chinese wine or sherry

Chinese broccoli, sliced.

Saute garlic in a little peanut oil, let it cool and mix into the the above ingredients in a bowl. 

2/3 lb chicken thigh, sliced. Fry in a wok with peanut oil to coat. Cook 3/4 of the way, nearly done. Put chicken aside. Put brocolli in the wok with 1/2 c of water, and sprinkle with a tsp of sugar (this will make it really green). Cook until the stems are al dente and pour out any remaining water. Add the mostly-cooked chicken, thicken the sauce with the water/starch mix and then pour the sauce into the wok, cook for another 30 seconds to 1 minute, until the chicken is cook through.

What we ended up with was a  stir-fry with little delightfully crunchy, sweet, almost caramelized garlic pieces mixed with soft, moist chicken and leafy broccoli.

We were definitely inspired by the outcome, so you now see it here. Try it, let us know what you think.

Elvis is in the House

Sometimes I channel Elvis.  No, not his sultry voice. Not his curled lip, Not his over-the-top one piece Evil Knievil jump suits. I channel his love of peanut butter and bacon. Oh, yeah. Now we are talking.  That combo is worth being found dead next to the 'throne'. I recently introduced the UltimateBeta to the joys of salty and smoky combined with sweet and nutty.


The UB wanted breakfast.  She wanted an egg sandwich.  I asked her, "Are you sure you want me to take the time to saute up onions and peppers?" The UB replied, "Nope. just some bacon."  The limitation of the word 'some' should never precede 'bacon'. Do not take bacon's name in vain. For that I knew the UB needed to be reminded of the higher power of bacon.  I decided to show her the correct coarse; the proper path that leads to enlightenment; the direction to nirvana was to add peanut butter. Spread of the gods.


I slowly fried up some apple-smoked, cinnamon-cured bacon. Then I prepped two English muffins cut in half and placed them into the toaster oven to be toasted just before the eggs were complete.

Next:
I diced up 1 tsp. of fresh sweet basil
Diced 1 tbsp. of aged Gouda
Placed 4 egg rings onto a well oiled frying pan and then brought the pan up to med-high. [if you don't know what an egg rings is - Google it]

Once the pan was hot I dropped an egg into each of the egg rings also well oiled. Salted the eggs to taste. I then added 1/2 tsp of peanut butter on top of each egg, and then added a quarter of the cheese and basil to each. I finished it all with a dollop of garlic habenero sauce.

Once the eggs were cooked not runny, but not hard. I placed them onto the bacon which was sitting on top of the toasted muffin.

 After (egg)wich you bite into a hunk of burning love.

Gazpacho!

To say it's been hot here lately is a serious understatement. It has been hot everywhere. Gone is the desire to cook, gone is the appetite, hello desire to sit on patio, drink beer and eat gelato.

The heat has really cramped our foodie style. One painful example- hoofing it out to Como Park in nearly 100* heat to check out the 32nd Annual Hmong Sports Tournament, purely in search of some good homestyle Hmong cooking. Namely, fiery papaya salad, sausage, BBQ and tapioca with coconut. After our journey we were, tragically, too hot to eat any of it. We settled for a coconut popsicle and vowed to hit the Hmong flea market on Rice Street some day soon. So sad.

Fourth of July comes around, as do a number of friends. We figure we would cook some chicken outside and make Gazpacho. Really, what could be more perfect in this sweltering weather than the creamy, cold, spicy soup made from fresh tomatoes, cucumbers and the chiles in our garden? Not much else I would want to eat. Oh, except my friend Lynn's corn and avocado salad, but she was already bringing that.

There are two main components to this gazpacho recipe. First you have the vegetables you will chop and blend with bread crumbs and oil to create a creamy broth. Then you take a second batch of nearly the same chopped vegetables to put into the broth. What you end up with is the best of both worlds.


Due to this two part process, half of the vegetables below will be coarsely chopped and go into the blender, the other half will be  chopped into 1/4 " pieces, strained and dropped directly in.  

 Ingredients:
 3 pounds tomatoes, cored, (2 lbs chopped coarsely, 1 lb, finely)
 1 English cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped (1/2 coarse, 1/2 fine)
 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped (1/2 coarse, 1/2 fine)
 2 large shallots, chopped (1 coarse, 1 minced)
 2 garlic cloves, chopped
 1 Serrano pepper, chopped (2 or 3 if you like it spicy)
 Kosher salt and black pepper
 1 white sandwich roll, or piece of hearty white bread, torn into pieces 
 1/2 cup olive oil
 2 tbsp sherry vinegar
 2 tbsp fresh minced parsley
 1 tbsp fresh minced basil 

First:  Take the finely diced vegetables (1 lb tomatoes, 1/2 cucumber, 1/2 green pepper, 1/2 red onion minced) and add to a medium bowl. Toss with 1 tbsp salt and transfer to a finely meshed strainer, place the strainer over a bowl to catch the liquid and set aside.

Second: Put the remaining coarsely chopped vegetables in a bowl, add garlic, the Serrano pepper and 1/2 tbsp of salt, toss to combine.

Third: Take 1/4 cup of the liquid exuded by the finely diced vegetables, discard the rest of the liquid. Add bread pieces to the liquid and soak for 1 minute. Add the soaked bread to the bowl with the coarsely chopped vegetables and toss thoroughly to combine. 

Transfer 1/2 of the vegetable-bread mixture to a blender and process for 30 seconds. With blender running, slowly drizzle in 1/4 cup oil and continue to blend until it's completely smooth, about 2 minutes. Strain soup through fine mesh strainer into large bowl, using the back of a ladle or rubber spatula to press soup through. Repeat with remaining vegetable-bread mixture and 1/4 cup oil.

Stir vinegar, parsley, basil and the finely chopped vegetables into soup and season with salt and pepper to taste. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours to chill completely and develop flavor (overnight is ideal). 

Sausage and Noodles

A good quality spicy sausage on top of pasta will always have a very special place in my heart. I love the heartiness of the sausage and could eat pasta all the time. The AC could probably never eat pasta again and not even think of it, so when he indulges me with the carb-loaded delishness, I swoon.

We really like Byerly's homemade sausages and bratwurst, the spicy Italian is fairly hot and perfect for this dish. The other key to this is the wide, quality egg noodles. These are not manaschevitz egg noddles. I took a picture of the bag so you'll know what to look for. We probably got these at Byerly's, I'm not sure. You're looking for a thick width. These noodles make kick-ass buttered noodles for those of you who appreciate simplicity and the perfection of a simple noodle, just add some butter, salt and fresh grated Parmesan. There's no need for anything more. Well, maybe a bit of cayenne. But I digress.

To recreate the rustic dish pictured above, you'll need the following ingredients. 

Good quality egg noodles, 6 oz dry
2 good quality hot Italian sausage links
8 cherry tomatoes, quartered and seeded. 
1/3 c fresh, flat leaf parsely, minced
1/8 c minced fresh oregano and thyme
3 finely minced garlic cloves
1/4 tsp kachai powder (found in most Asian groceries)
1/2 red onion, sliced thin
1 tsp Aleppo chile (Penzies has a great version)
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 tbsp unsalted butter
2 tbsp olive oil
Salt and black pepper to taste

Cook sausage by boiling in a shallow pan for 10 minutes and cut each into eight pieces. Briefly saute the sausage pieces until nicely browned.  

Saute slowly the onion, garlic, 1 tbsp of the olive oil and all of the balsamic, black pepper, Aleppo and some salt, saute until it starts to caramelize.

Once the above is essentially cooked, mix in the herbs and the kachai.

Boil pasta with a little olive oil.

When cooked, drain, put back into sauce pan over med-low flame, coat the noodles with butter, add the onion mixture and tomatoes, mix thoroughly. Let it cook for about 1 minute. Add salt and black pepper to taste. Plate the pasta, add the sausage (which were kept warm in the frying pan that you used to saute the onion mix).