Come to the Table

Easter Ebleskivers

For Easter brunch we wanted something delicious that we could make without too much fuss after an exciting and hectic week.  Eric suggested Ebleskivers, a round Scandinavian pancake. They hadn't been in our brunch rotation for a while and they are a treat.  It was a great choice.

I have my grandmother's ebelskiver pan which has 7 half-circle impressions.  After making a simple buttermilk batter and folding in beaten egg whites, you pour a small amount of batter into each section.  Once the bottom is cooked, you turn each ball with a wooden stick or fork to cook the next side, and so on until you have an evenly cooked "puff ball" with a nearly hollow center.  After removing the ebleskivers from the pan, you can fill them with butter and jam and/or cover them with powdered sugar or maple syrup. 

I will print the ebleskiver recipe I use below, just in case you have one of these pans mouldering away in your cupboard and don't know what to do with it!  Along with the pan, I received a number of different ebelskiver recipes, from "Easy Do Ebleskiver" made with yellow cake mix (this one doesn't sound too appealing to me) to a Bisquick recipe, to one featuring cardamom.  Besides using buttermilk, the ebleskiver recipe we've decided is our favorite has the added feature of being a yellowed Tacoma (Washington) News Tribune clipping from October 11, 1972.  (It was a Wednesday, in case you're wondering.)

The article explains that Pacific Lutheran University (PLU) faculty wives will be presenting a "Yule Boutique" featuring their brand new cookbook, Christmas craft booths, and a magic show for children.  Regarding ebleskivers (spelled Aebliskiver) the article explains, "A special treat to be served will be Aebliskiver submitted by Mrs. Neale Nelson, which was given to her by a Danish housewife.  It is a Scandinavian delicacy, light and tasty, a round little griddle cake like a pastry baked in a special iron atop the stove.  Faculty wives, dressed in colorful costumes, will also serve hot rolls, breads and coffee for patrons."

I wonder if the faculty wives (and husbands) are still hosting a "Yule Boutique" these days.  In case you can't make it to one, the recipe for ebelskivers follows, for Easter or any other joyous morning!

Rice Krispies...Truffles?

If you're looking for something easy to stash in the fridge or freezer for a quick chocolate pick-me-up, I have the recipe for you.  It's a no-bake combination of peanut butter, Rice Krispies, and semisweet chocolate.

The recipe for these "Chocolate-Peanut- Butter Balls" says that it makes about 50.  I decided on my first taste of this recipe not to make that many, so I cut everything in thirds and still ended up with 23 balls. 

They couldn't be more simple to make, but you do need to allow some time for the balls to chill before and after dipping them in the chocolate.

They may not be sophisticated, but if you're a fan of chocolate & peanut butter, you won't be disappointed!  And with the main ingredient being a not-too-terrible-for-you cereal, do you think you could get away with having one or two with breakfast?

Chocolate-Peanut-Butter Balls
From the Baltimore Sun's Recipe Finder
Makes about 50

1 stick butter
2 cups (or one 18-ounce jar) creamy peanut butter
3 cups Rice Krispies cereal
1 pound (about 3 1/2 cups) powdered sugar, sifted
two 12-ounce packages semisweet chocolate morsels

In a saucepan, melt butter and peanut butter.  In a large bowl, combine Rice Krispies and powdered sugar.  Pour melted peanut-butter mixture over cereal mixture, using your hands to blend.  When completely combined, form into small balls.  Chill on cookie sheets covered with wax paper (or parchment paper) until firm.

Melt chocolate morsels in the top of a double boiler.  Dip balls, one at a time, into melted chocolate until fully coated.  Place on wax paper until set.  Store in refrigerator or freezer.

Mystery Retro Dessert

Can you guess what this dessert is called and what three ingredients it contains?

We're on an honor system here, so once you've guessed, click this link to find out if you were right.  Let me know how you did!

(Hint: I made this rich dessert with what I had left from the base layer of this recipe.)

Coconut Almond Granola

There are many granola recipes out there that I've viewed and planned on making someday, but somehow the 30-item list of ingredients deterred me from ever getting started.  Until now

In the newspaper recently I found a granola recipe and I had all of the ingredients in the pantry (which seems to be a theme for me lately), so I went for it. 

The granola was a delicious first attempt at making my own breakfast cereal.  The recipe calls for making a yogurt, fruit, and granola parfait, but it's great with milk, too.  Now I'm ready to try some more complicated granola recipes.  But not until every last morsel of these brown-sugar covered oats, almonds, coconut, and wheat germ concoction has been eaten!

Spinach in Puff Pastry

I have a cookbook holder that keeps "the cookbook of the moment" on the top of the bookshelf when the holder is not in active use for making a recipe.  Whenever Ina Garten's Barefoot in Paris is on display, my husband and I laugh about the subtitle: "Easy French Food You Can Make at Home."  It's the emphasis on "can" that gets to us.  What would the alternative be?  "Difficult French Food You Have Absolutely No Chance of Ever Making at Home"? 

Even as I laugh at the subtitle, the message has worked on me. I have tried a fair number of recipes from this book.  I recently attempted "Spinach in Puff Pastry" (p. 66) for the second time.  The recipe isn't difficult, but both times I wanted to cut it in half which is a challenge with the puff pastry.  This time the experiment was more successful.

bakingsheet's Cocoa Fudge Cookies

Don't you love it when you see a recipe you want to make and you happen to have all of the ingredients on hand?  I was inspired by Nic's Cocoa Fudge Cookies on her blog, bakingsheet.  Everything was waiting in the pantry or the refrigerator, even mini-chocolate chips and plain yogurt, so I started baking away. 

These cookies are deliciously fudgey.  It's surprising that they don't call for any eggs.  I guess the yogurt gives the moisture needed to hold everything together.  (But if you have someone in your house who hates yogurt, don't worry, they won't detect it in the cookies!)  I made mine a little bigger than directed, so I ended up with 17 cookies.  For the recipe, please visit bakingsheet.  Even if you aren't looking for this recipe, visit bakingsheet!  Who knows what you'll find to bake!

Tagged with: cookies chocolate

Meme of 4's

Jenny of the lovely blog de Arte Coquinaria tagged me recently for the Meme of 4's.  Here are my lists of personal trivia and introspection!

Four jobs you've had in your life (all in the past!)

1. Running my own housecleaning business when I was in high school.  One of the many "did I sign up for this?" moments was when one family had me wash their two collies as part of my duties.  The dogs didn't particularly like to get water on themselves, but they sure liked getting it on me!
2. Interpreting for Japanese track and field athletes at the Goodwill Games in Seattle.
3. Being a Public Affairs Associate for a forest products company in the Pacific Northwest. 
4. Working at a software company in Tokushima, Japan and having my desk moved to a different location in the office EVERY SINGLE DAY!

Four movies you could watch over and over:

1. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
2. Ferris Bueller's Day Off
3. The Wizard of Oz
4. The Matrix (the first one only!)

Four places you've lived:

1. Eugene, Oregon
2. St. Paul, Minnesota
3. Riverside, California
4. Kyoto, Japan

Four TV shows you love to watch:

1. Lost
2. The West Wing
3. Alias
4. Barefoot Contessa

Four places you've been on vacation:

1. Aruba
2. Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan
3. Phoenix, Arizona
4. Ogunquit, Maine

SHF #17 Ice Cream Truffle Pie

The theme for Sugar High Friday 17 hosted by Spitton Extra is dairy.  This ice cream truffle pie has got to be one of the easiest ways to get that sugar high.  All you have to do is plan out the timing of this dessert and it practically makes itself.

I stumbled across the recipe for this pie in the fantastic cookbook Quick Vegetarian Pleasures by Jeanne Lemlin.  From the bottom of the pie, the layers include a chocolate cookie crust, chocolate ice cream, a chocolate truffle layer, vanilla ice cream, and raspberry sauce with a splash of Grand Marnier.  You can also top it off with chopped walnuts but I've never tried that.

The combination of dairy items is delicious.  For this time around, I used Lee's Ice Cream made here in Maryland and was pleased with the richness of both the chocolate and vanilla flavors.  The truffle layer is simply heated heavy cream with semi-sweet chocolate chips, although you could upgrade that with higher-quality semi- or bittersweet chocolate.  I recommend increasing the number of chocolate wafers that go into the crust so it will fill the edges of the pie plate more fully.

This ice cream truffle pie is a staple of our entertaining menu.  You can buy the ingredients well ahead of time and work in the ice cream softening, spreading, freezing, truffle-making, and sauce-producing tasks throughout the day while you're getting ready for your guests.  Plus, leftovers keep well in the freezer so you can even make it for a small number of guests and enjoy a slice or two the next day.

Supper Onion Pie

"You're making what kind of pie for dinner?" my husband asked incredulously.  While he likes to add onions to everything, I'm the one that always says "hold the onions" when ordering a sandwich or gyro or pizza. 

But I was in the mood to make a savory pie and to use Nigella Lawson's cookbook, How to Be a Domestic Goddess.  So "Supper Onion Pie" was on the menu.

Besides, there is a big difference between raw onions on your hamburger and red onions that have been cooked in olive oil and butter for 30 minutes!

While we enjoyed trying this unusual pie, I think it's a recipe for our occasional file.  The biscuit layer was delicious with Gruyere cheese and the flavors worked well together.  It's just that, well, it's a lot of onions!

SHF #16: The Sugar Quest

This month's Sugar High Friday is all about romance.  My offering are these sweet and luscious Butterscotch Pots de Creme.

One of my friends recommended the recipe.  I have trusted her guidance in all things culinary ever since she made chocolate eclairs for a class project in middle school! 

These pots de creme are as amazing as she promised.  They include dark muscovado sugar and Demerara sugar. These sugars lift this dessert above the ordinary.  You cannot imagine until you take a bite just how pleasing butterscotch custard can be. 

This was my first experience making pots de creme.  It wasn't difficult once I completed a quest for the hard-to-find-but-worth-it sugars, learned how to prepare a water bath, and set aside the time for making, cooling, and indulging in this heavenly dessert.