PotW: Christmas Morning: Cranberry-Nutmeg Pancakes with Lemon Curd

When it comes to the holidays, I'm a huge stickler for tradition.  I always cook fish on Thanksgiving.  I always make a shopping trip to San Francisco in the days leading up to Christmas, even if I don't need anything.  Despite the fact that my parents have long ago upgraded their tree, my Christmas tree is still this old fake one that doesn't even look like a tree, carted by hand by my grandfather decades ago all the way from Taiwan and decorated with pipe-cleaner ornaments that I made in kindergarten or with ones that I've received as presents throughout the years.  Even the star on top of the tree is an old, taped-together end of a fairy wand that I used to have as a kid.  I firmly believe that tradition gives things character and whimsy, and they let you enjoy just a tinge of comforting nostalgia at the end of every year.

Another Christmas tradition that I always had was waking up in the morning and practicing piano before opening presents--granted, this started out more as a forced lesson in discipline imparted by my parents than a "tradition," but over the years, it grew into part of my Christmas morning routine.  But, after I moved away and my piano moved with me, I can no longer wake up on Christmas morning in my parents' house and play before the day gets started.  So, I've since replaced that musical tradition with a food one: Christmas morning pancakes.

Each year, I ask my dad a few days before Christmas what kind of pancakes he'd like, and the answer is always "blueberry."  While there's nothing wrong with blueberry pancakes, I decided this year that we need a little creativity, so this is what I'm planning on making come Christmas morning: cranberry nutmeg pancakes with meyer lemon curd and warmed cranberries.

I knew that I wanted to make something with meyer lemons, because I always regard meyer lemons as nature's little Christmas gift to me--they show up right before the holidays and mark the beginning of my favorite citrus seasons: meyer lemons and, shortly thereafter, blood oranges.  Then, I've sort of been fascinated by cranberries as of late whenever I've been in the kitchen, transforming them into everything from cranberry sauces and cranberry bavarians to cranberry savory dishes.  Plus, they seemed like a natural stand-in for blueberries to appease my dad: round little colorful fruits in his pancakes.  Together, I love how the sweetness of the meyer lemon curd complements the tart bursts of the fresh cranberries perfectly.  Since it's usually cranberry sauce that's sweet and lemons that are sour, this role reversal is a fun variation for the taste buds.  And, can I mention how Christmas-y the bright red cranberries look?!

Anyways, I hope that you are all having sweet and wonderful holidays and enjoying your traditions, both old and new (make sure to tell me about them in the comments below!)!  Here's wishing you a fantastically merry Christmas, an awesome winter solstice, and a happy everything else in between!

Read on for recipe...

[previous Pancake of the Week: Chai pancakes with black tea-poached plums]

PotW: Chai Pancakes with Black Tea-Poached Plums

[last Pancake of the Week: Whole wheat rosemary pancakes with garlic-chive goat cheese and fresh peas]

I must apologize in advance if this post is short on words.  It's just been one of those days.  You know, one of those days where you're perpetually late for everything, get stuck at literally every single red light at every single intersection possible, and basically start off with too much to do and absolutely no hours in which to do it all.  Yeah, it's been one of those Mondays, and the rest of the week isn't looking much more promising....  *sigh*

Yet, it's nice to come to this space and write about pancakes.  Because pancakes conjure up images of leisurely weekend mornings, when one can just kick back with a bottomless cup of milky black tea, a stack of magazines or newspapers or a long-put-off novel, and breeeeeaaaatttthe.  These chai pancakes with black tea-poached plums are a spiced-up incarnation of one of my favorite type of pancakes: those with poached fruit.  There's just something about the combination of sweet, fork-tender poached fruit and fluffy pancakes that I love as a robust yet light way to start off a carefree day.

I've been really into spices lately, favoring chai teas and Mexican or spicy hot chocolates as my drinks of choice to nurse for caffeine.  I think that part of it has to do with the threat of the upcoming chills of autumn, despite the fact that the weather here has been wavering schizophrenically between humid summer heat and overcast, day-long fog.  That and, as I sit late into the night reading, studying, or writing, having that little kick of spice definitely helps get me through.  Thus, these spices that I've been craving, translated into pancake form, with just-tender-enough, melt-in-your-mouth poached plums, were a perfect breakfast for the weekend.  Now, if only that had meant a leisurely week ahead...

Read on for recipe...

PotW: Garlic-Chive Goat Cheese + Whole Wheat Rosemary Pancakes + Fresh Peas

[last Pancake of the Week: Sweet Corn Cherry Pancakes with Sour Cream]

This savory pancake recipe comes from the pancake tasting menu that I made in Los Angeles a few months ago, and it has its original inspiration in Los Angeles, too--all starting from this garlic-chive goat cheese spread.

^My best friend, in Malibu, post garlic-chive goat cheese picnic

Every once in a while, I head down to LA to visit my best friend who's there studying Important Medical Stuff.  Every time I'm there, without fail, she asks me to make this goat cheese spread, which we "invented" during my first Thanksgiving visit back in 2008. (OMG, 2008 sounds like so long ago!)  And I totally know why she does--because it's GOOD.  Like, on everything.  We slather this garlic, chive-y, creamy goodness on basically everything that we can get our hands on, from crackers to leftover Persian lamb wraps.  It even tastes better by the beach. (Because, really, what doesn't? ;-P)

So when it came time to come up with a savory pancake to accompany all of the sweet ones on the pancake tasting menu during this past visit, I reached for the foremost thing sitting in her fridge that I could think of: our tub of garlic-chive goat cheese spread.  The rest of the pancake idea fell right into place with all of our loot from the awesome Wednesday morning Santa Monica Farmers' Market: rosemary and sugar snap peas.  (Thankfully, also, we've been having a really long pea season this year on the West Coast.  I'm still seeing loads of fresh peas at the farmers' markets in my area!)

While this isn't the first time I've put rosemary in pancakes, it is the first time I've paired them in a savory pancake dish, and I love the way they, along with the robustness of the whole wheat, worked out, providing a wonderfully herb-y undertone to the whole dish.  The garlic-chive goat cheese spread packs most of the punch and flavor here.  Finally, fresh, crispy sugar snap peas lightly steamed and tossed in a bit of olive oil and salt add the perfect textural crunch and snapiness to lighten up the creamy goat cheese and dense whole wheat pancakes underneath.

Note that the recipe provided for the garlic-chive goat cheese spread below might yield more goat cheese than you'll need for the pancakes.  But, don't fret!  Grab some crackers or a baguette or a Persian wrap (I know, some will call me sacrilegious!) and your leftover goat cheese will disappear before you know it.

Read on for recipe...

PotW: Sweet Corn Cherry Pancakes with Sour Cream

It's cherry season!  Okay, yes, I know it's been cherry season for a while and that I'm quite late to the game, but better late than never, no?

Sitting down to think about what pancakes could be made with the sweet, dark, and wonderfully juicy cherries that are gracing the farmers' markets these days, my thoughts almost immediately turned to one of my favorite cherry baked goods: corn cherry scones from Berkeley's Cheeseboard.  If you are in the area, you must make a pilgrimage to Berkeley's Cheeseboard--right across from Chez Panisse!--for their baked goods: in the morning, there are hot-out-of-the-oven corn cherry scones, chocolate things, and cheese bread and in the afternoon, there's a line out the door and down the block for their famous Cheeseboard pizza.  Recently, I took people on a tour of Berkeley, and of course we started out our day eating fresh-baked Cheeseboard bread with cups of steaming hot chocolate and tea on the sidewalk in the chilly summer morning sun.  Ah, Berkeley.

For my pancakes, I opted for fresh cherries instead of the dried ones that are studded throughout the Cheeseboard corn-cherry scones.  I also decided to add kernels of fresh-off-the-cob sweet white corn, which is also reaching the height of its season right now.  I really love the juicy, sweet, and milky kernels of corn that we get here in California, so I wanted to make full use of them while I can get them super fresh.

I have to say that I love the way these sweet corn cherry pancakes with sour cream turned out.  The cornmeal and crunchy kernels of fresh corn give these pancakes such an unexpected and fun texture, balanced out by the tart creaminess of the buttermilk in the pancakes and the sour cream on top (or creme fraiche, if you want to splurge! or have homemade lying about).  The plump cherries in each pancake also help to bring out the sweetness of the corn.  Together, the combination of corn and cherries and cream make a great, hearty plateful for a summertime breakfast, especially perfect eaten outside on a crisp and bright Bay Area summer morning.

More stone fruit to come!  I am so loving and embracing the fruits and veggies of summer!


Read on for recipe...

PotW: Cardamom Pancakes with Rhubarb Cream + Raspberries

[last Pancakes of the Week: Chocolate Pancakes with Mango and Chocolate Sauce]

The Pancakes of the Week feature is back!  I know, it's been such a long hiatus--my last pancake post was in   March! March!, can you believe it?!, but I swear that I have a very good reason.  You see, ever since I started working with rhubarb, I've been sort of obsessed over getting rhubarb into a pancake recipe.  And I've been over and over it in my mind, trying out different combinations, either in my head or actually making them, but nothing ever came out quite right.  Hence this long drought of pancake recipes, because I just couldn't let myself go on until I had conquered the rhubarb-inspired breakfast.  Until now.

Finally! At last I have achieved it: a pancake recipe with rhubarb.  One day, while thumbing through old issues of Sunset Magazine that I always "steal" (;-P) from my parents' house when I visit, I ran across a page all about raspberries.  At the bottom corner of the story were a couple of serving suggestions for raspberries, one of which involved rhubarb puree folded into cream and topped with fresh raspberries.  Aha!  That sounds perfect for a pancake topping!  And so they were born: cardamom pancakes with rhubarb cream and fresh raspberries.

The cardamom pancakes--with just a hint of orange--are a great base for the rhubarb-flavored cream.  Altogether, you get a mouthful of fresh raspberries, airy tart cream, and fluffy, spiced pancakes, ending up in what I'd finally and at last, after several months, deem a worthy rhubarb addition to my pancake library.

And don't fret--expect to see several more pancake recipes coming your way soon.  A few weeks ago, when I visited one of my best friends in Los Angeles, she insisted that I make her pancakes.  But, since she was quite indecisive about what *kind* of pancakes she wanted, I ended up making a "pancake tasting menu," with four different varieties of pancakes, ranging from fruity and sweet to cheesy and savory.  So, a big welcome back pancakes to the blog!  :-)


Read on for recipe...

PotW: Chocolate Pancakes with Mango and Chocolate Sauce, or Death in the morning by Chocolate

[last Pancakes of the Week: Apple-Ginger Pancakes with Warmed Blackberries]

This recipe started out about mangoes.  But, like many good things that happen in life, it ended up being all about chocolate.  Sorry, mango.

Allow me to elaborate.  One day, as I was researching spring fruits and vegetables, I was shocked to discover that mangoes are a spring fruit, according to one Bon Appetit page, which I haven't bothered to go back and dig up (so don't take my word for this).  It surprised me, because I'd never thought to associate mangoes with springtime, but it finally did explain to me the mysterious and sudden appearance of massive mango displays at the front of my local Whole Foods.  Anyways, since it's been my goal and challenge to try out as many seasonal flavors in pancake form as possible, mangoes sounded quite promising.  Especially so, because they immediately called out, "Pair me with chocolate pancakes!"  (yes, I'm one of those people who anthropomorphizes a lot.)  Chocolate pancakes!  yes!  I've been putting off chocolate pancakes since the beginning of this crazy pancake project I've been on, but suddenly, mangoes seemed the perfect companion with which to introduce chocolate pancakes.

And then, this is where it stops being about mangoes and starts being all about chocolate.  Here's an illustration.  The photo below to the left is what my original vision had been, when I first hatched this idea: plain and simple chocolate pancakes with slices of mango.

But was that enough for me?  Ah, no.  Let's double the chocolate.  Let's add chocolate syrup.  See picture above and to the right.  Ah, yes.  That's how it should be.  All about the chocolate.

I've been putting off chocolate pancakes for a while now, mainly because they were intimidating.  I didn't want to simply produce pancakes that were chocolate.  If I made chocolate pancakes, I wanted them to be CHOCOLATE pancakes.  Emphasis on the chocolate.  And, with some trial and error, these are most definitely it.  They're chocolate-ly, but not really sweet at all, and they taste like a cross between a dense, thick, and robust chocolate brownie, and a lighter chocolate cake.  The generous amounts of chocolate sauce also make these pancakes.  I don't think I would ever eat chocolate pancakes without chocolate sauce.  The sauce and pancakes were made for each other.

Poor little mangoes.  So side-lined by the chocolate, but I did very much appreciate having the mangoes, because they provided just enough sweetness and fruit to fill out the heavy, ever-so-slight bitterness of the cocoa in the pancakes.  And, they most definitely helped to allay my worries about not eating healthily: see, Mom?, there's a serving of fruit amidst the chocolate!

Unrelatedly and on a more personal note--since, this is, a blog after all, I finally finished this really big paper that I've been working on for my day job.  It's been hanging over my head for quite a while now, but at last, it's done!  The only things I have left to do are to orally defend the paper, and, provided that I pass the oral defense, make revisions and turn it in.  This is especially exciting for me because it's the last major requirement that I have to complete before I finally get to work 100% of the time on my own research for the Dissertation.  After three long years of jumping through hoops, fulfilling requirements, taking classes, writing papers, I am finally going to be able to do what I came to grad school to do!  It's all very awesome.

Ah, and celebrating with chocolate chocolate pancakes--and mango--wasn't too bad of a deal, either.

Here's a question for you all: how do you plan on using mangoes this spring?


Read on for recipe...

PotW: Apple-Ginger Pancakes with Warmed Blackberries

[last Pancakes of the Week: Banana macadamia nut pancakes with white chocolate creme anglaise]

I am writing this blog post from my office computer on campus at 10pm at night because, as we speak, my computer is stuck with the Engineer-in-My-Life, R, and is getting two OS-es updated (Snow Leopard + Win7).  So, I trekked all the way out here to work to blog about pancakes.  Yes, because it's *that* important to me.

Today, I have for you: Apple-Ginger Pancakes with Warmed Blackberries.  mmmmm.  This year actually hasn't been such an apple heavy year for me.  Sure, I made my customary apple pies around Thanksgiving and Christmas and even whipped up an apple pie version of pancakes.  But other than that, I haven't really been eating many apples this year, and I have no idea why!  But, when I went grocery shopping the other day, I walked right by a display of apples and *whiff!* it hit me-- the glorious, fresh, crisp scent of a perfectly snappy, juicy-yet-slightly-tart apple.

And so these pancakes were born!  Lightly ginger-y, incredibly fluffy buttermilk pancakes studded with huge pieces of freshly sliced apples and crystallized ginger chunks.  Accompanied by lightly warmed and sweetened blackberries, tossed in a pan with a dash of sugar just until they begin to release their flavorful juices.

Together, the apples and blackberries create the perfect medley of sweet, fresh, and tangy fruit, united by the spiciness of ginger and cinnamon in the pancakes.  Helloooo, Sunday morning.

Anyways, here's hoping that my computer will be usable soon enough!  Excited about having updated OS-es and hoping that they greatly improve the stability of my system.  :-D  Have a great week, all!


Read on for recipe...

PotW: Banana macadamia nut pancakes with white chocolate creme anglaise

[last Pancakes of the Week: Orange-clove chocolate chip pancakes with coffee-clove syrup]

Argh. This weekend was spent being frustratingly unproductive.  But, I did manage to get my act together long enough to produce this little gem of a dessert breakfast:

Banana Macadamia Nut Pancakes

with White Chocolate Creme Anglaise

Yes.  Yum.  As my roommate and I were enjoying this, we decided, in the infamous words of Paula Deen, that we should be arrested for eating such lusciousness for breakfast.  And, I tell you, luscious it was, with the fluffy tenderness of the banana pancakes (banana mash does wonders for pancake fluffiness!) studded with the buttery flakiness of the macadamia nuts.  So good.  But, I think my favorite, favorite part of this pancake dish was the white chocolate creme anglaise.  I ate it straight from the bowl with no regrets, a healthy diet be damned.

The white chocolate creme anglaise sauce, infused with fragrant vanilla bean, is just the right balance of rich sweetness without being overpowering.  After this, I don't think I am ever going back to syrup on my pancakes.  EVER.

Now, excuse me while I go and lick up whatever is left of that white chocolate sauce....

(p.s. Toni--if you're reading this, we tried to call you to come over for these pancakes!)

Read on for the recipe...

PotW: Orange-clove chocolate chip pancakes with coffee-clove syrup

[last Pancakes of the Week: Meyer lemon ricotta pancakes with lemon curd and warmed blueberries]

What do you get when you put together orange, clove, chocolate chips, and coffee beans?

How about a morning wake-up call, in pancake form?

Say "good morning" to these orange-clove, chocolate chip pancakes, with a side of coffee-clove syrup.  Yup.  That's how we started our weekend here at the house, because *that's* how we roll.

Every time I've been at the market recently, I've been bombarded with gorgeous citrus fruits of all sorts, from countless varieties of tangerines to juicy, thin-skinned meyer lemons to absolutely blood-red blood oranges.  Oh, the glory of citrus season!  It's always so incredibly difficult to resist returning home without at least a bag or two of a few oranges, lemons, or grapefruits.  Our fruit bowls have been constantly overfilling with citruses--I even get these great lemons on campus, where all of the citrus trees are bountifully fruitful right now.  (I always try to stuff my bag with a few whenever I'm biking through the History Corner.)

Given this overabundance of oranges that have been rolling about our kitchen table for the past few weeks, I decided to whip up some orange-flavored pancakes for breakfast this weekend.  Since it's been cold and wet almost non-stop for the past few weeks, the wintery clove seemed to be a natural companion for the oranges.  Then, my thoughts turned to chocolate--little hints of melty, gooey, sweetness--to go with the tartness of the citrus and the spiciness of the cloves.

Finally, as I bent down over the mortar and pestle to get a whiff of the cloves, coffee suddenly popped to mind!  Now, I don't really drink much coffee, but the earthy darkness of a strongly brewed coffee would be perfect with the cloves, orange, and chocolate, so I whipped up a bowl of coffee syrup, adding a handful of whole cloves in to further tie together the flavors.

The final result?  A bold and fragrant blend of juicy orange and spicy clove, a kick of coffee, with just a dash of decadent chocolate mixed in for a sublime start to a wintery, cold weekend.  A perfect breakfast in bed.

Happy Monday, all!