Food – Page 3 – Homes In Progress

Minutes after coming out of the oven it begins to deflate.

Oven pancakes (or Dutch babies as they are otherwise called) are a very easy meal to put together when I am lacking ingredients, time, or both. I first had one of these almost 30 years ago in California while visiting the godparents of my travel companion. What on Earth is a Dutch baby? Are we supposed to eat it? Yes you are my friend, with powdered sugar, maple syrup, or almost any type of berry.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Take a shallow pan, I think mine might be meant for quiche, and either spray it with non stick spray like Pam or put about a tablespoon of butter in the middle of the pan and place it in the oven for a minute while the oven is preheating . I tried the butter method tonight and it was not too hard. Let’s be honest, most things taste better with butter!

Butter melted in the pan. Yes, you will need to tilt the pan back and forth, side to side and let the melted butter coat it. These things don’t just happen. Wear oven mitts please, the pan has been in the hot oven if only for a minute.

1 cup all purpose flour ( I use King Arthur)

1 tablespoon sugar

1 1/4 cups of milk ( I used 1 percent because that’s what is in my fridge. Use whatever kind you happen to drink. Plain almond or soy will work as well.)

2 eggs

1/4 teaspoon salt

In a mixing bowl add the dry ingredients first and mix them together with a whisk or a fork. Add the eggs and the milk. Mix together well, scraping the sides of the bowl to make sure it all combines. The mixture will not be entirely smooth. There will be pebble size chunks and that is okay! My goal is to not leave flour at the bottom of the bowl. Pour the batter into your prepared pan and place in the preheated oven on a middle rack. Be sure to have about 2-3 inches of space between the top of the pan and the rack above. It will puff up as it bakes. Bake for 30 minutes.

Take it out after 30 minutes at 375 and you will have a yummy oven pancake ready for the toppings of your choice. While this is great warm, it’s also good straight from the fridge the next day spread with Nutella. Enjoy!

We recently visited Dublin, Ireland and it was fantastic! I miss Dublin already so to console myself I made Irish Cheddar Soda Bread. This recipe is great because it freezes beautifully and can be made in smaller loaves or muffins.

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour (I use King Arthur all purpose flour)
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp caraway seeds
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp ground red pepper ( although I’ve baked my entire married life I only just realized that this is the same as cayenne pepper…..go figure!)
1/2 cup grated Irish cheddar cheese ( I used Dubliner Reserve Irish Cheddar)
2 eggs
1 1/4 cups buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9 inch cake pan and put aside. Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, seeds and spices in a large bowl. Stir in cheese. (I am a lazy cook. This is all mixed in a Kitchen Aid stand mixer bowl.) In another medium sized bowl mix eggs and buttermilk. ( I use a large batter bowl from Pampered Chef and use an immersion mixer to blend it all together.) Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until well blended. Spoon batter evenly into the prepared pan.

Bake for 30-40 minutes at 350 until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Place the pan on a wire rack and let cool for 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and let the bread cool completely on the wire rack.

Makes 12 servings.

*If you decide to use smaller loaf pans or muffin tins, decrease the baking time to 20-25 minutes using the toothpick check as your guide.