Gingerbread pancakes with lemon sauce

Pancakes are one of our go-to choices for Sunday breakfast. In fact, I live with the greatest pancake flipper that ever lived (oh lucky me!). I usually do the mixing of the batter and he does the flipping. I chose this recipe for the challenge because it won a recent pancake recipe contest between Devin and I. These pancakes have great color, a wonderful smell, and they are delicious.

Pancake ingredients
1 1/3 C all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 large egg
1 1/4 C milk
1/4 C molasses
3 Tbsp. vegetable oil

SOPP (Standard Operating Pancake Preparation)
1. stir together dry ingredients
2. in a separate large bowl, beat egg with milk. mix molasses and oil together then pour into egg mixture and mix well.
3. Add flour mixture to wet ingredients ans stir until combined. Batter will be a little lumpy.
4. This is where my job ends and Devin's begins. Grease and heat a griddle. Pour small amount of batter for each pancake onto the griddle. So I guess he magically knows when to flip and BAM a perfect pancake!



Lemon Sauce
This sauce is great with the pancakes. It makes enough for leftover pancakes too! I usually make this while Devin is cooking the pancakes.
1/2 C granulated sugar
1 Tbsp. corn starch
1 C hot water
2 Tbsp. butter
1/2 tsp grated lemon peel (I never have this so I omit it)
2 Tbsp. lemon juice

To make sauce, mix sugar and cornstarch in a medium saucepan. Gradually add hot water; cook stirring over medium heat until the mixture is thick and clear.
I have to admit that I have NEVER got this sauce to thicken. I commonly have this problem with white sauces as well. I don't know why either. I may be too impatient or maybe there isn't enough cornstarch in the recipe. If someone makes this and gets the sauce to thicken, please TELL ME.

Once sauce is thickened* add butter and lemon. Stir until butter melts. Serve sauce warm drizzled over pancakes.


The cute mini pancakes are my favorite! I foolishly grab them off the griddle and burn my fingers, but they are so tasty!

Gingerbread pancakes with lemon sauce

Pancakes are one of our go-to choices for Sunday breakfast. In fact, I live with the greatest pancake flipper that ever lived (oh lucky me!). I usually do the mixing of the batter and he does the flipping. I chose this recipe for the challenge because it won a recent pancake recipe contest between Devin and I. These pancakes have great color, a wonderful smell, and they are delicious.

Pancake ingredients
1 1/3 C all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 large egg
1 1/4 C milk
1/4 C molasses
3 Tbsp. vegetable oil

SOPP (Standard Operating Pancake Preparation)
1. stir together dry ingredients
2. in a separate large bowl, beat egg with milk. mix molasses and oil together then pour into egg mixture and mix well.
3. Add flour mixture to wet ingredients ans stir until combined. Batter will be a little lumpy.
4. This is where my job ends and Devin's begins. Grease and heat a griddle. Pour small amount of batter for each pancake onto the griddle. So I guess he magically knows when to flip and BAM a perfect pancake!



Lemon Sauce
This sauce is great with the pancakes. It makes enough for leftover pancakes too! I usually make this while Devin is cooking the pancakes.
1/2 C granulated sugar
1 Tbsp. corn starch
1 C hot water
2 Tbsp. butter
1/2 tsp grated lemon peel (I never have this so I omit it)
2 Tbsp. lemon juice

To make sauce, mix sugar and cornstarch in a medium saucepan. Gradually add hot water; cook stirring over medium heat until the mixture is thick and clear.
I have to admit that I have NEVER got this sauce to thicken. I commonly have this problem with white sauces as well. I don't know why either. I may be too impatient or maybe there isn't enough cornstarch in the recipe. If someone makes this and gets the sauce to thicken, please TELL ME.

Once sauce is thickened* add butter and lemon. Stir until butter melts. Serve sauce warm drizzled over pancakes.


The cute mini pancakes are my favorite! I foolishly grab them off the griddle and burn my fingers, but they are so tasty!

Pancakes - March/April 2011

We’re sure that everyone celebrated National Pancake Day on March 1^st.  As such, you’re certainly primed to give us your best pancake.  Sounds easy, and you would think that everyone would have basically the same taste in pancakes.  However, (if the fights that ensue over the use of buckwheat here at the HoYo’s are any indication)there can be a good deal of variance in pancake preference.  So go ahead and show us your favorite pancake recipe.

Pancakes - March/April 2011

We’re sure that everyone celebrated National Pancake Day on March 1^st.  As such, you’re certainly primed to give us your best pancake.  Sounds easy, and you would think that everyone would have basically the same taste in pancakes.  However, (if the fights that ensue over the use of buckwheat here at the HoYo’s are any indication)there can be a good deal of variance in pancake preference.  So go ahead and show us your favorite pancake recipe.

Winner of the Cookie Press Posts Results!

This isn't an entry for the Fireside Warmth cooking challenge. Alas, I couldn't think of anything to compete with mini-s'mores, which I adore, Paula.

However, as one of the winners of the December Christmas Cookie challenge (randomly chosen winner, mind you) I wanted to share with you the amazing result of my prize. I won the Cookie Press and it has changed my way of life. No longer do I have to wait for my sugar cookie dough to chill. I scoff at rolling out cookie dough on a floured surface! Fie to the bucket of cookie cutters dusting away on my shelf.

Now I simply pack a delicious butter/sugar/flour/salt/egg/vanilla dough into the tube of the press and magic awaits in less than ten minutes.

SPRITZ!

Here's a professional shot of me using the press! Just kidding, it's a google image I found.

Confession: OK, I've only used the press once, but I'm assuming this tool will change my life. And quite possibly my waist line. Way too easy to make these little bites of buttery goodness. Thanks, Sara and Mark for my prize! Maddie and I love it! 

Madeline found a way to complicate the wonderfulness that is a cookie press. She insists that cookie dough must be rolled out and cookie cutters employed, so she made the little discs into cutters.

These 8-petal flower spritz didn't behave. Oh well, still ate em up.

Just in case you wanted to see all the options for making neat little spritz cookies. Hearts were the big winner around here.

Good luck to all the fireside warmth participants. I'm hoping fireside weather is almost behind us!

Winner of the Cookie Press Posts Results!

This isn't an entry for the Fireside Warmth cooking challenge. Alas, I couldn't think of anything to compete with mini-s'mores, which I adore, Paula.

However, as one of the winners of the December Christmas Cookie challenge (randomly chosen winner, mind you) I wanted to share with you the amazing result of my prize. I won the Cookie Press and it has changed my way of life. No longer do I have to wait for my sugar cookie dough to chill. I scoff at rolling out cookie dough on a floured surface! Fie to the bucket of cookie cutters dusting away on my shelf.

Now I simply pack a delicious butter/sugar/flour/salt/egg/vanilla dough into the tube of the press and magic awaits in less than ten minutes.

SPRITZ!

Here's a professional shot of me using the press! Just kidding, it's a google image I found.

Confession: OK, I've only used the press once, but I'm assuming this tool will change my life. And quite possibly my waist line. Way too easy to make these little bites of buttery goodness. Thanks, Sara and Mark for my prize! Maddie and I love it! 

Madeline found a way to complicate the wonderfulness that is a cookie press. She insists that cookie dough must be rolled out and cookie cutters employed, so she made the little discs into cutters.

These 8-petal flower spritz didn't behave. Oh well, still ate em up.

Just in case you wanted to see all the options for making neat little spritz cookies. Hearts were the big winner around here.

Good luck to all the fireside warmth participants. I'm hoping fireside weather is almost behind us!

Pineapple Upside Down Cake-Fireside Warmth-Jan/Feb 2011

I often approach the Cooking Challenge as a chance/challenge to make something I’ve never made before. If that doesn’t work then I go for whimsy. If THAT doesn’t work I use it as an excuse to buy a new kitchen gadget. Lucky me this month’s challenge fit the bill on all three counts.

I have been wanting a dutch oven for quite some time now. This month’s challenge gave me a great excuse to buy a brand new cast-iron dutch oven. I also remembered that Pineapple Upside Down Cake (PUDC) was traditionally made in a cast iron skillet. Surely this could be adapted to a dutch oven cooked over an open fire. A very little research revealed that this concept was definitely NOT new. So, we had some friends over for dinner and as the pièce de résistance I made a PUDC over an open fire. Unfortunately, it was more of a coup de grâce to the meal.

Mmm. Mmm. Charlicious.

But it’s all a learning experience. What did I learn? Don’t preheat the dutch oven.


This is what happens if you preheat the dutch oven.

Dowsing the preheated fire with some pinapple jus.

Pretty simple. Oh yeah, and if you place coals on the lid you brush those off BEFORE you check on the PUDC status. Unless you’re into eating smoking hot embers. 

Some of the brave souls who ate the original PUDC.
They LIKED the burnt flavor.


I hope you noticed the fiery flare-up and the charred goodness that happens when you do things the wrong way.

Now for the right way.
1 1/3 C. flour
1/3 C. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/3 C milk
1/3 C reserved pineapple juice
1/4 C butter, softened
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
Glaze:
3 tbsp. butter
1/2 C. brown sugar
1 can pineapple slices, drained & halved (Reserve the liquid)
Maraschino cherries



Mix all the ingredients for the batter. Have your pineapple rings and cherries ready. Put your dutch oven on the coals. Melt butter and stir in the brown sugar. Arrange your pineapple rings and maraschino cherries in the melted butter/sugar mixture. Pour the batter onto the pineapple. Cover and let cook about 20 mins.


 In the meantime, you can make a caramel sauce by melting some more butter and brown sugar and adding some pineapple juice. Let that reduce while the cake is baking. You’ll probably want to check frequently to make sure that the cake is cooking evenly. You can help that out by placing coals on the top of the dutch oven. Just remember to brush them off BEFORE you take a peek inside.

Once it’s done, let it cool for a few minutes. Turn it out onto an appropriate platter.


 Serve with some ice cream and extra caramel sauce if you like. Now, I’m not one to brag, but one of our dinner guests (upon seeing this lovely creation) exclaimed, “I’m hungry with THAT!”

I'm hungry with THAT!

Pineapple Upside Down Cake-Fireside Warmth-Jan/Feb 2011

I often approach the Cooking Challenge as a chance/challenge to make something I’ve never made before. If that doesn’t work then I go for whimsy. If THAT doesn’t work I use it as an excuse to buy a new kitchen gadget. Lucky me this month’s challenge fit the bill on all three counts.

I have been wanting a dutch oven for quite some time now. This month’s challenge gave me a great excuse to buy a brand new cast-iron dutch oven. I also remembered that Pineapple Upside Down Cake (PUDC) was traditionally made in a cast iron skillet. Surely this could be adapted to a dutch oven cooked over an open fire. A very little research revealed that this concept was definitely NOT new. So, we had some friends over for dinner and as the pièce de résistance I made a PUDC over an open fire. Unfortunately, it was more of a coup de grâce to the meal.

Mmm. Mmm. Charlicious.

But it’s all a learning experience. What did I learn? Don’t preheat the dutch oven.


This is what happens if you preheat the dutch oven.

Dowsing the preheated fire with some pinapple jus.

Pretty simple. Oh yeah, and if you place coals on the lid you brush those off BEFORE you check on the PUDC status. Unless you’re into eating smoking hot embers. 

Some of the brave souls who ate the original PUDC.
They LIKED the burnt flavor.


I hope you noticed the fiery flare-up and the charred goodness that happens when you do things the wrong way.

Now for the right way.
1 1/3 C. flour
1/3 C. sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/3 C milk
1/3 C reserved pineapple juice
1/4 C butter, softened
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
Glaze:
3 tbsp. butter
1/2 C. brown sugar
1 can pineapple slices, drained & halved (Reserve the liquid)
Maraschino cherries



Mix all the ingredients for the batter. Have your pineapple rings and cherries ready. Put your dutch oven on the coals. Melt butter and stir in the brown sugar. Arrange your pineapple rings and maraschino cherries in the melted butter/sugar mixture. Pour the batter onto the pineapple. Cover and let cook about 20 mins.


 In the meantime, you can make a caramel sauce by melting some more butter and brown sugar and adding some pineapple juice. Let that reduce while the cake is baking. You’ll probably want to check frequently to make sure that the cake is cooking evenly. You can help that out by placing coals on the top of the dutch oven. Just remember to brush them off BEFORE you take a peek inside.

Once it’s done, let it cool for a few minutes. Turn it out onto an appropriate platter.


 Serve with some ice cream and extra caramel sauce if you like. Now, I’m not one to brag, but one of our dinner guests (upon seeing this lovely creation) exclaimed, “I’m hungry with THAT!”

I'm hungry with THAT!

Boy Scout Veggie Packs

I always seem to be a day late and a dollar short - but hope we aren't to late to share a bit of our own fireside warmth with you!!

Now, fireside warmth. Hmmmm...... For us eating by the fire usually entails camping with the fire, of course, being a campfire, and the source of heat for cooking the food that we then eat by the campfire.... Camping in February, however, is not on the top of our list of things to do. (It may have something to do with it being cold - but we did have that nice warm spell here with temps in the 70's). Regardless we decided to camp out in front of the wood stove, and actually try and cook our meal by that fire.

One of our classic family favorites while camping is a vegetarian take on an old boy scout recipe my brothers fixed way back when we were kids (I was the only girl amongst three brothers and never got to go camping with them - and I have no clue how I learned this recipe - osmosis maybe).

So here is what you will need:



For four servings:
4 veggie burgers (you can use regular hamburger but I would pre-cook the patties if you plan to do this on a wood stove rather than campfire!!!)
Two potatoes
One large onion
1 red pepper
1 package of your favorite dried soup or dip mix (Knorr is a good brand but I used this Cuginos that I had on hand)
Drizzle of olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste



Slice up all your veggies into rings or rounds. Potatoes do better with the skin on.



Given the uncertainty of cooking on the wood stove I took the precaution of zapping the taters in the microwave to partially cook them.



Mix all your veggies together and then drizzle with some olive oil. Add the packet of soup/dip mix and toss well to coat all the veggies. This was plenty salty so I didn't add any extra.

Now to assemble the packets:



On a sheet of foil add a layer of the veggies, then top with the burger, and then top that with more of the veggies.



Wrap tightly in the foil.



Then wrap tightly in a second layer of foil.



I decided to add in a side dish of wood stove cooked green cauliflower - I tossed this with some salt, pepper and Ms. Dash then wrapped it up just like the burgers.



Now onto the top of the woodstove.......



I cooked these for about 1 hour turning every 1o minutes or so. It started out slow but then they did indeed start to get too hot to handle and tongs were brought in to help with the flipping.

SO....... did it work?



The packets came out hot and steaming with potatoes completely done, and the cauliflower half done (you can see the gradation from near burnt to raw.....)

,

Cub Scout Neil is checking out the outcome!! He now wants to do this on a "real" fire - hmmmm, now I thought that was what we used!!!!



Lily, Little Miss Chipmunk Cheeks, gives her approval and she ended up cleaning her plate. This actually worked out much better than I had expected and now we know what to do when camping indoors or during power outages!!!