When I was living at home, my mom called this a Breakfast Wake-Up.  I have also seen it called an Oven Pancake.  No matter what the name, the hubster and I find it rather delicious.  It is a firmer variety of pancake – and very, very good.  This one is topped with ginger pears using my recipe for sauces with regular-old pancakes that you can find here.  I would say that the one down side to this recipe is that it only makes one pan at a time, so if you are really hungry, you’re also going to need to be really patient whilst making a second batch.  I suppose there are worse things in the world.   As well, yours may not look like the picture below when you take it out of the oven.  Sometimes it comes out looking like a sombrero, others, a moonscape.  It’s kind of neat, actually, like mad science!

Dutch Baby

2 tablespoons butter

3 eggs

1/2 cup whole wheat flour (regular is fine, too)

1/2 cup milk

1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees with a 10″ skillet inside.   Add butter to skillet, and remove from oven after it melts, about 2 minutes.  Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk eggs to combine.  Add flour, milk, and salt; beat until smooth.

Immediately pour batter into the hot skillet.  Bake for 20-25 minutes, until puffed and browned.  If you have an oven with a glass front – turn on the light and watch the magic!

Be really careful not to touch the handle after removing from the oven.  I can’t tell you how many times I have burned my hand because I forgot it was hot, ouch!

Serve with butter, maple syrup, dusted with powdered sugar, or topped with your favorite sauce.

Enjoy!

Happy Birthday sweet Stella Ruby!

We, probably like most of you, gentle readers, did a lot of eating over the holidays, A LOT.  Mostly sweets.  I think I am sugared out.  Gosh, I hope I am sugared out.  I really would like to have less of it in my life, after all.  My goal this year is to eat one sweet treat a week, no more.  Please do a little dance, say a prayer, whatever you can, to send the support I need to get-r-done.  I’d appreciate it.  So, in keeping with this desire, my first recipe of the year will not be a sweet one, though the next three or four are likely to be.  Baby steps!

So eggplant puffs, it is.  Are you an eggplant eater?  Me, not so much.  I normally find the texture and flavor icky, slimy and just plain weird, save in baba ganouj.  That is definitely do-able.  So why this recipe appealed to me in the first place, I have no idea.  A willingness to branch out, perhaps.  Thankfully, it worked!  The hubster and I found these so very satisfying that we’ve got another eggplant on the ready.  Now that is saying something.  Try them for yourself – you might be surprised, too.

adapted from Party Food for Vegetarians by Celia Brooks Brown

1 large eggplant, about 1 pound

olive oil

1/2 cup pine nuts

20 kalamata olives, pitted and chopped

4 tablespoons dry bread crumbs

6 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

2 cloves garlic, peeled and diced fine

1 egg, beaten

Preheat the oven to 450.  Cut the eggplant in half lengthwise and brush with olive oil.  Roast for about 30 minutes, until lightly browned and very soft.  Let cool, peel off the skin and discard (better yet, compost!).  Chop the flesh finely.  Reduce the temperature to 400.

Mix the eggplant, pine nuts, olives, bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, garlic, and egg together in a bowl.  Let rest for 10-15 minutes.

Liberally oil a large cookie sheet.  Form the mixture into bite size balls and place on sheet.  Bake for 15-20 minutes, until lightly golden and puffy.  Serve hot.

Variation – I think these would also make a fine burger-type sandwich filling.  Form into patties and bake until browned.

**I tried the patties, and they were great (on a bun with mayo, grainy mustard, Laughing Cow cheese, and spinach)!  Be sure to grease the pan REALLY well – they’re a bit more sticky when in patty form.

Enjoy!