Bisquick Pioneer Pancakes ... as Waffles.

Happy weekend, friends.  You've by now noticed that I'm posting on the weekends (at least I think you've noticed).  It's a goal that should  be totally attainable for me... and keeps us moving forward.

This weekend, I decided to try to adjust a beloved childhood recipe from pancakes to waffles.  I have a thing for waffles at the moment.  This didn't work out quite the way I was hoping (as far as texture), so I'll share the pancake recipe which I am confident in (my family has been making them this way for 30+ years) and will try the waffle adjustments again another time until I get the balance right.

According to my dad, this original pancake recipe came from a Bisquick recipe pamphlet from 40-ish years ago!  I would have been 2...

Pioneer Pancakes

Ingredients:
1 cup boiling water
1 cup cornmeal
3 Tbsp molasses
2 cups Bisquick
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 eggs
1 cup milk

Directions:

1. Pour boiling water over the cornmeal and molasses and let sit for 5 minutes to soften.
2. Add remaining ingredients and beat until smooth-ish. There is cornmeal in this; it's not going to get truly smooth, but you want to remove most lumps.
3. Cook on griddle or in a pan like any other pancake.
4. Serve with butter and syrup or anything else you like on pancakes.

You may or may not know that waffles, while similar to pancakes, are not the same.  The ingredients and proportions vary slightly.  So I thought I'd get smart and compare the Pioneer Pancake recipe to the original Bisquick pancake recipe... and then adjust things to align with the original Bisquick waffle recipe.  And it worked.  I'm not saying this was a failure, because it wasn't.  But I'm not thrilled with the texture, so I'll try again another time.

But of course I took pictures as I went... so here is my process:

1. Assemble the cast of characters (mise en place):
   
2. Molasses, cornmeal, and boiling water:
   
   
   
3. Combine the remaining ingredients into the warm cornmeal mixture:
   
   
4. Beat until smooth:
   
5. Make waffles!  I use 1/3 cup per square of my waffle iron - it's the right amount for mine.  Each iron will be different.
   

And as a bonus... compound butter!

I'm planning on taking these to work for breakfast this week, so I wanted a way to take the real maple syrup (always always real) without having to carry the sticky stuff in a little container that would spill all over the inside of my lunch bag.

Combine 1 stick softened butter (if you use unsalted, add salt), 1/3 cup molasses, 1/4 tsp ground clove, and a couple of Tbsp of REAL maple syrup (I use dark amber... the darker the syrup, the stronger the maple taste, which I LOVE).

Enjoy and have fun practicing in the kitchen!

I am a sucker for Cheese Bread!

So if you know me in real life, you know I looooooooooooooooove cheese.  Mac-n-cheese. Grilled cheese. Cheese in my grits.  Cheese on my pasta (forget the marinara, just put cheese on mine). Cheese.

Cheddar. Bleu. Parmesean. Havarti with dill. Pepper Jack. Port Wine cheese spread. Cream cheese. Mascarpone. *dreamy sigh*  You get the picture, yes?

I'll try any cheese at least once. :)

So I'm working on perfecting a gooey, soft, fluffy, cheese-y cheddar yeast bread.  I've been studying various recipes to find things that I like and have created the below recipe.  Yep.  This one is MINE.  (Although, I'm sure there are similar ones elsewhere... there are only so many adjustments you can make to a bread recipe.)

You'll notice I've added a lot of text in italics.  This is how my brain works...I'm talking to myself (and now you) as we go through the steps.

Jenn's Cheese Lover's Bread

Ingredients
1 packet Dry Active Yeast (2 1/4 tsp)
3+ Cups All-purpose (AP) flour
2 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 Cup water
1/3 Cup milk
3 Cups grated cheddar cheese

Note about the cheese: I always use sharp or extra sharp cheddar.  This is a cheese bread and I want to TASTE the sharpness.  Larger grates is best.  Again, you want to SEE and FEEL and TASTE the bits of cheese.  This is not a time to use finely grated.  In my not-so-humble opinion.

Instructions
Don't be daunted.  There are lots of steps, but they aren't hard... it's just how things go with yeast breads, usually.

1. In the bowl of your stand mixer (it's easier if you have one, but if you don't, a big mixing bowl will do), combine 1 Cup of flour (the rest gets added later), yeast, sugar, and salt.
   You'll notice that the salt is in with the yeast here.  This is generally a no-no when you're blooming yeast, but since we are mixing with flour, too, it's ok.  It won't kill it.  But for other yeast recipes, if it calls for blooming the yeast in water first - it should be water (or milk) and yeast and sugar only.  The sugar feeds the yeast as it wakes up.  Salt stops that from happening correctly when blooming.  Which we're not doing... so we don't have to worry.
2. Heat the water and milk to approximately 120° F and add to the dry mix.
   This is super important.  Get a thermometer and USE it when working with yeast.  I've spent too much time being disappointed because I either killed the yeast with water that was too hot, or didn't wake it up with water that was too cold.  Trust me.  Measure the temperature!
   
3. Beat for 3 minutes.
   It will be sticky and not look like a bread dough at all.  That's because we're not done adding flour!
4. Combine 2 cups cheese with 1/2 cup of flour and add it to the mixer bowl.  Beat for another 2 minutes.
   Whenever you're adding something "wet-ish" to a bread or muffin batter, coat it in flour first.  It helps keep the 'something' suspended in the batter or dough and should prevent it from sinking to the bottom.  Like blueberries in a muffin, or chocolate chips in a cake, or cheese in a bread.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
5. Slowly add in the remaining flour (1.5-2 cups) in small amounts, letting it be incorporated completely before adding more.
   This is where you have to really pay attention.  I cannot tell you if you're going to use 2 3/4 Cups or 4 Cups.  It depends on the temperature and humidity in your kitchen or in your city.  It depends on your flour or the method you used to measure it out.  Just go slowly here and stop adding when it looks like a good dough.  It's always better to stop too soon, because you can ALWAYS knead in more flour, but once the dough is dry, it is a complicated process to rescue it.

   

   +1/2 cup flour (2 cups total so far)

   
   

   

   +1/2 cup flour (2.5 cups total so far)

   
   

   

   +1/2 cup flour (3 cups total so far)

   
   

   

   +a smidge more flour... looks good to me!

6. Using the dough hook on your stand mixer (or using elbow grease if you don't), knead the dough for 5 minutes.  It should be smooth and elastic-y.
7. Turn the dough out onto a lightly-floured surface and knead in the remaining 1 cup of cheese.
8. Form your dough into a nice, smooth ball and put it in a clean, greased bowl.  Cover with a tea towel and place somewhere warm (but not hot) to rise for an hour or until doubled in size.
   If it's cold where you are, turn your oven on the lowest setting and set the bowl on top of the stove. Just don't go crazy with the heat - you don't want to start cooking the dough yet!
   
9. Once risen to double the original size, punch it down and divide the dough.  This recipe should make one 9x5 loaf or 1 large braided loaf or 2 smaller braided loaves.  Once in the pan or formed into braids, cover again and let rise for another 30 minutes to 1 hour.  Again, it should double in size.
   This is where you get to decide what you want it to look like!  If you want to try the braiding, divide the dough into 3 or 6 equal portions, roll into similar size ropes (12" or 18" long), and then braid 3 strands together.  If you're using loaf pans, plop the dough neatly into a greased 9x5 pan.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
10. Optional: Brush the top of the bread with an egg wash (1 egg white beaten with 1 Tbsp water).
    This will add a transparent, shine to the top of your bread.
11. Bake.  For braids, 350° for 20-25 minutes.  For loaf in a pan, 375° for 25-30 minutes (cover with foil after about 15 minutes to prevent over-browning).
12. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack.
    
    
    
    

We cut into the one I topped with cheese (the other loaf is going to work tomorrow)...

It's light and soft and cheesy!  I'm in heaven.  And I'm betting it'll be even better toasted!

I call this stuff.... "Elf Bark"

I'm fighting a cold this weekend, so I'm not feeling up to cooking for real.  I thought this would be a good time to post something I've already tried and loved!  (This is also why my pictures are cell-phone quality.)

The original name is "Christmas Crack" from the Passionate Penny Pincher, but I was taking this to work and really needed a name appropriate for the corporate office in which I work. Thanks to my friend, Kim (Hi Kim!), we came up with Elf Bark instead.

I really like that there is so much you can do to this to make it your own. Saltines or pretzels or graham crackers or butter crackers; salted vs unsalted butter; milk chocolate, semi-sweet chocolate, dark chocolate... heck, even white chocolate might work; top with nuts or peppermint or salt or nothing.

When I make something for the first time, I always stick pretty close to the original recipe and adjust later once I figure out what I like about the original.


1.  Gather your stuff!
There isn't as much to gather with this recipe, but it's still a good practice.  Remember - put things away once you've used them for a faster cleanup when you're done!

• 1 cup salted butter (NOT margarine)
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
• ~40 Saltine crackers

I added 2 items because I love them:

• kosher salt (salted dark chocolate is my kryptonite, I swear!)
• crushed peppermint candies

2. Prep your pan(s)

Heat the oven to 400.

Line a 12x17 jelly roll pan with foil.  Make sure it's a pan with edges... otherwise the melted sugar we pour over the crackers shortly will go all over the place and make a hot, sticky mess! (Trust me on the foil - do this.  Don't skip it and just plan on cleaning the pan later.  We're playing with molten sugar... it won't be pretty.)

Spray well with cooking spray.  (Again, trust me.  You don't want to have foil stuck to your bark.)

Place Saltines all over the pan.  They should be touching each other and fill the pan as completely as you can.  You want one full, even layer of saltines.

3. Make the toffee

Put butter and sugar in a saucepan on the stove top and heat on high until gentle boiling, stirring constantly.
Once boiling, reduce the heat to medium and cook, uncovered, for 4-6 minutes until the mixture is thick and sugar is dissolved.

For me, I found that it was cooked when the white-ish foam (see photo below) was gone and the whole pot was a dark toffee/caramel color.  Stir frequently or constantly.  You do NOT want to burn the sugar; It'll taste bitter and ruin the candy.

Pour butter and sugar over the crackers evenly.  Take your time and be careful.  Boiling sugar doesn't mix well with skin!!

Bake 5-6 minutes in 400 degree (F) oven.

4. Melt the chocolate

Remove the pan from the oven and let cool for 2-3 minutes.
Sprinkle chocolate chips evenly over the top and put the pan back into the oven for 20-30 seconds.
Remove the pan again and with a spatula carefully spread the chocolate evenly across the candy.

5. Top it and... wait. (This is the hardest part!)

Sprinkle the top with kosher salt and peppermint candy pieces.
Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

6. Break it up and ENJOY!

Once cold, break the bark into bite-sized pieces (I tried to make them fairly small, so you can just pop a small piece in your mouth).  The peppermint candies made it very sharp and difficult to break up, but SO worth it.

I stored these in zip-top bags in the fridge with no problem.  The original recipe mentions storing in the freezer as well - that works too.

Deep Dark Gingerbread Waffles

I found this recipe recently at The Smitten Kitchen and just HAD to try it. I LOVE spicy, warm gingerbread - so the idea of making waffles with those beautiful flavors is enticing.

Let me say this up front: I'm a novice in the kitchen. I adore watching food TV and am learning a lot, but I want to be clear... I'm a hot mess sometimes. I'm learning to try...and to laugh at the mistakes and messes. And sometimes I get lucky and things work... and sometimes... they don't. ;)

So, since I haven't made this before, I followed the recipe exactly. I always follow the recipe as closely as possible the first time.  Once I've had it, I can make adjustments for future attempts.

So, here are my photos, my notes... and the result:

1. Gather your stuff!

Fancy chefs will tell you this is called "mise en place", which is French for "putting in place", and really is just a fancy way of saying BE PREPARED! I'm the daughter of generations of Boy Scouts - BE PREPARED! I'm a HUGE fan of all things Disney - BE PREPARED! I'm learning to do more than make a mess in the kitchen - BE PREPARED!

This step is critical, because you're making sure you have all the stuff you need (ingredients and tools) and you're reading through the recipe to get those items together - so it's a chance to make sure you understand the process.

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea or table salt
• 1/2 cup buttermilk, yogurt thinned with a little milk, fresh apple cider or even stout beer
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted, plus extra for brushing waffle iron
• Powdered sugar for serving

Note: I find it much more efficient to put things away once I've used them.  Measure out a cup of flour, put it in the sifter, PUT THE FLOUR AWAY.  Measure out the spices, put them in the sifter, PUT THE SPICES AWAY. (This is a lesson learned from my mom who is not a fan of a mess in her kitchen.)

2. Dry stuff

I sifted together all the dry ingredients called for in the recipe into the bowl of my KitchenAid so I could mix it all in there in another step or 2.

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

A macro shot of the flour and spices because I love how it looks. No other reason.

3. Wet stuff

I whisked together all the wet ingredients called for in the recipe into a separate bowl.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, molasses, sugars, egg and butter until combined. The butter will likely firm up and make little white splotches throughout; this is a-okay.

4. Combine stuff

Pour the wet into the dry and mix-y mix-y!

So here's where things got tricky...

5. Put the batter in the waffle iron

Original instructions:

Heat waffle iron to a middle heat. Either brush waffle iron with melted butter or spray it lightly with a nonstick cooking spray. Ladle gingerbread batter into waffle iron until they’re about 3/4 filled out. Cook according to manufacturer’s directions. In my waffle iron, I like to cook them 1 to 2 minutes more.

My notes: My square waffle iron liked about 1/3 cup of batter per square. I tried to eyeball the first batch – that was ugly. I tried 1/2 cup for the second batch – that was messy. 1/3 cup was juuuuuust right!

6. Remove the waffles

Original instructions (these made me giggle...and then curse):

To remove waffles: Open waffle iron. Wait about 30 seconds, giving them a chance to steam off a little. With tongs in one hand and a small spatula in the other, gently, carefully lift corners of each waffle section enough to slide the spatula underneath, then lift and slide some more until you can get the section out. Curse Deb, because these waffles are very sticky and eager to tear. Trust Deb, that they will be worth it. Spread them on a tray in a single layer to let cool slightly; within 1 minute, they should be crisp to the touch and easier to lift. Repeat with remaining batter. Try not to stack waffles — even though they’re firm, they will stick.
Serve immediately, dusted with powdered sugar and, if you’re feeling fancy, a dollop of barely or unsweetened whipped cream or crème fraîche.

My notes: She ain't kidding! First batch was a mess. I took a picture for giggles:

Second batch, I was afraid I hadn't let them cook long enough, so I gave them a bunch of extra time. They came out nicely, but when cooled a bit, became more than a little crunchy. Don't do this. Original author was right – open the waffle iron, let it sit for 30 seconds to a minute, and THEN (and ONLY then) should you try to remove. Very patiently. VERY patiently. (Did I mention you need to be patient?)

I loved these.  Great spice flavor and nice texture (in the later batches). I have leftovers packed away for breakfasts. We'll see how well they do reheated.

What's the plan here?

I have been a picky eater for... forever!  (Just ask my incredibly patient parents!)  It wasn't until I was an adult that it occurred to me to learn to cook.  That way, I can control the things in my food and not have to worry about some icky mushroom working it's way into my mouth!  And if I cooked something to bring to a potluck, I wouldn't go home hungry like I used to!

So I started.  I tried.  I learned to make things I already knew I loved (Mac-n-cheese, anyone?), but this allowed me to learn to TRY things, too.  It's a long journey, and I'm discovering what it is about food that I like and don't like.

Some of these will be posts/links to other recipes that I've tried or want to try.
Some of these will be photos and things of me trying recipes.
Some of these will be posts of recipes that I've made up.
Some of these will be musings about food or food things....

And all of them will be about my strange picky-eating behaviors and practicing in the kitchen!