Lemon Sour Cream Pancakes

Not too long ago I made some Lemon Ricotta Pancakes.  They were really good.  I have also made pancakes using The Pioneer Woman's recipe for sour cream pancakes.  So when I found myself with some extra sour cream and lemons, I thought I would try a Lemon Sour Cream Pancake.  (Notice a theme?  It seems I like an occasional pancake.)

Here is the end result of my experimentation.  They were REALLY good.  Good enough to go out and buy more lemons and sour cream to make them again as I didn't take pictures the first time.   I wasn't sure they would be a blog worthy experiment, but they were!!

   

Lemon Sour Cream Pancakes

1 cup sour cream
1 lemon, juice and zest
2 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

oil for cooking

   

I use an electric griddle.  They work great, cook a lot of food evenly and are cheap.  So get one and set it up to preheat. I use about 350°.

   

Rather than measuring the zest and juice, I just used all that came from one medium sized lemon.  Put the juice and zest in a medium bowl with the sour cream and mix.  Allow the flavors to combine while you get out the rest of the ingredients.

   

Mix in the eggs.  Add the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and vanilla.

   

Let it sit while you set the table.  It will get bubbly and poof up!

   

Heat some vegetable oil on the griddle and use about 1/3 cup of batter for each pancake. Cook until the edges of the pancake are done and the top is covered in bubbles.

  

Gently turn the pancakes over to finish cooking.  If you want to check to make sure they are done, use the corner of the spatula to stab the top of one pancake and peer inside.

   

Serve immediately with butter and syrup.

   

Individual Rosemary Grape Focaccia

I recently wrote about a wonderful Rosemary Grape Focaccia.  But then I wondered if I had to do a big one with all the yeast and then the leftovers that weren't as good as the first day. The Pioneer Woman has some Rosemary Sea Salt rolls that I also made and then I had an idea.  Why not combine the two!

Individual Rosemary Grape Focaccia

Frozen Yeast Dinner Rolls, one per person
Red or black grapes.  I used four for each roll.
Rosemary leaves, chopped
sea salt
Olive Oil

 

Pour some OO in a large bowl and roll the frozen balls of dough in the oil to coat.  Cover and set aside for at least two hours.

 

When they have thawed and doubled in size, place them on an oiled baking sheet and pat them into a circle with your fingertips, leaving little dimples in the dough.  Cover for another 30 minutes or so.



Wash and dry the grapes.  Pull the Rosemary leaves off the stems and chop them into smaller pieces.

 

Preheat the oven to 350°.  You want the tops of the focaccia to be absolutely coated in Olive Oil.  Brush on some more.  Then sprinkle on some sea salt and the Rosemary.  Press the grapes into the dough.

 

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until a golden brown.  If they is too light they won't be cooked through.

The grapes will get a bit wrinkly and ooze a bit of juicy goodness into the dough. 

 

This will be my new best thing to serve with pasta, cheese and wine or just a salad.  It has to be better for you than garlic bread, doesn't it?  And I might not even save it for company.  My favorite husband likes it, too.

Burgundy Beef Dinner

One of my all time favorite meals to fix for company is Burgundy Beef from The Pillsbury Cookbook dated 1989.  It cooks for hours, so leave yourself about 4 hours before you need to serve, and the meat is so tender that it just falls apart.  If you try to hold it too long it will fall apart before it gets in your mouth, but it is still delicious, so I don't worry too much.  I usually serve it over rice or sometimes garlic mashed potatoes, but this time I served it with Crash Hot Potatoes from the Pioneer Woman (PW) Cooks, Food From My Frontier cookbook.  It is her second and I love both of them. 

I also used her Buttered Rosemary Rolls, but I didn't have any Rosemary, so I used other herbs and they were delicious.  I MEANT to have Rosemary.  I PLANTED Rosemary, but when I got back from the store, having not BOUGHT any Rosemary, I discovered that my planted version was stunted and not too fond of growing.  So I used the dried Fines Herbs I had in the pantry.  I am becoming an intrepid country woman and you can't scare ME with an herb I don't have.  I'll find a blend of herbs and use that.  I do love rosemary rolls and breads, but these were good and I would not hesitate to use the Fines Herbs again.


Burgundy Beef

3 slices bacon, cut into one inch squares
3 lbs. beef round steak, cut into one inch squares
2 cups Burgundy
1 can beef broth
1/2 teaspoon thyme
1 garlic clove, minced
1 bay leaf
16 oz. can pearl onions, drained or about 1 cup of the frozen ones  You can do fresh, but peeling them is a pain
20 or so baby carrots
2 Tablespoons butter, softened
2 Tablespoon flour

Cooked rice or mashed potatoes or PW smashed potatoes.

Heat oven to 350.

   

Fry the bacon in a Dutch oven until crisp.  Remove and drain on paper towels and save for two hours.  While the bacon is cooking, cut the beef into squares.  You will need to cook it in batches or it will not brown, it will steam. 

   

After the bacon has cooked, add about 1/3 of the beef to the drippings and cook until browned.  Remove with a slotted spoon to a clean bowl and add the next third until all the meat is cooked. 

   

Return the meat to the Dutch oven and add the wine, beef broth, thyme, garlic and bay leaf.  Cover and place in the preheated oven for 2 hours, stirring occasionally.  If you need to add liquid, use more Burgundy or beef broth, or a mixture of both.  Don't let the liquid cook away, but you don't want to end up with a bunch of liquid.  You want maybe 1/2 to 1 cup when you are done.

   

Add the bacon you cooked first, the carrots, garlic and the onions.  Cook for 1 1/2 hours or until the meat and the vegetables are tender.

   


   


Just before serving, remove the meat and vegetables and toss the bay leaf.  Keep the meat and vegetables warm.  I like to put the bowl in the microwave and then not turn it on.  The close quarters keeps them warm enough.

   

In a small bowl mix the softened butter and the flour together.  When it is smooth, add a Tablespoon or so of the cooking liquid to the butter mixture.  Stir it until smooth.  Add some more liquid and stir again.  The add the mixture to the cooking liquid in the pan and cook over medium heat until it thickens.

Return the meat and the vegetable to the pan and heat through.  Serve over rice or potatoes or alongside...

Crash Hot Potatoes

!5 or so whole new potatoes or any other small round potatoes
3 Tablespoons olive oil
minced rosemary (or any other herb of choice)
salt and pepper

Scrub and dig out any bits of the potatoes that look weird.  That is my editorializing.  Don't peel them.  Just get rid of the spots you didn't notice when you were buying them.

   

Put them in a pot and cover them with water. Add a couple pinches of salt.   Boil them until fork tender, about 20 minutes.

   

Preheat the oven to 450.  I sprayed a jelly roll pan with Pam to keep them from sticking.  Set the cooked potatoes on the prepared pan and gently press down to mash each one. Then rotate the masher 90 degrees and do it again.   It may help to put a small X on top of each potato with a sharp paring knife first it they don't want to smash and still stay together.

   

Drizzle the tops of the potatoes with the olive oil and sprinkle them with salt, pepper and rosemary or the other herb of choice.

   

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until brown and crisp.  SO delicious...even if a few of mine fell apart when served!

   

You can also use butter instead of the olive oil or add some cheddar cheese.

Make sure you serve this whole thing with some fresh, soft, pillowy yeast rolls.  These are also from PW and so delicious and easy.

Buttered Rosemary Rolls

Frozen, unbaked dinner rolls
butter
chopped fresh Rosemary or other herb, if yours has refused to grow, even though it has been raining nonstop!
coarse sea salt to taste

   

Melt a Tablespoon of butter in a cast iron pan over medium low heat.  Let the pan cool for 10 minutes.  Place the rolls in the pan, allowing room for them to expand.

Cover the pan with a dish cloth and set aside in a warm place for about 2 hours.  Mine took more like 2 1/2 hours.  I guess my place wasn't warm enough. 

Preheat the oven to 350.

   

When they have doubled in size, they will be soft and pillowy.  Melt 2 Tablespoons butter in a small bowl and gently brush on top of the rolls.  Sprinkle them with salt and the herb you have chosen.  Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until a golden brown.

   

Make sure you made enough for everyone to have at least two.  Or you won't get any.

   

Serve with a green salad and you have a perfect dinner for company.

   

Edna Mae Pancakes My Way

Earlier I posted a recipe from the Pioneer Woman Cooks cookbook.  In it she has a recipe for sour cream pancakes from her husband's grandmother, Edna Mae.  It only has a bit of flour and they are very good with a bit of a sour bite.  Just delicious.

   


Back when the kids were little (and even now when they visit) I would make banana pancakes by smashing up a ripe banana or two into the Bisquick batter.  An easy and delicious breakfast.  Especially if you make faces in the pancakes with chocolate chips!  I wondered whether bananas would taste good in Edna Mae's recipe for sour cream pancakes.

You can scroll down to find the earlier directions for the original recipe.  I will repeat the ingredients here and add fruit so I can pretend I am eating healthily.

   
   
Sour Cream Pancakes with Bananas...oh, and Strawberries!

1 cup sour cream
7 (yes, only 7) Tablespoons flour
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 mashed banana
1 cup sliced strawberries
butter
syrup

Heat a griddle over medium low heat.

Slice the strawberries and set aside in a small bowl.

   

Use a fork and smash a ripe banana in a large bowl until kind of mushy.  Add the eggs and whip them around with the same fork.  Add the sour cream and vanilla and mix it in.  Keep using the fork.

Just dump all the dry ingredients ( flour, sugar, baking soda and salt) on top of the mixture and give them a good mix. You made need a bigger spoon at this point.  It is okay to have lumps.  Don't over mix.

   

Place a pat of butter on the griddle and when it is melted pour about 1/4 cup of the batter on top of the melted butter.  When the top starts to turn dry around the edges, about 1 1/2 minutes, flip it over.  Cook the other side and prepare to plate.  I like the griddle because you can cook enough for one person at a time.  Serve with a sprinkling of sliced strawberries and the syrup of your choice.

This recipe made enough for 3 people.  I left out the chocolate chip faces, no kids to spoil, but feel free to indulge!

Sour Cream Pancakes

   

I have been craving sourdough pancakes.  Not just any ones, but the thin and very sour ones made with a sourdough starter that has been souring for years.  I used to keep a sourdough starter for pancakes and it was pretty good.  But they are a lot of work if you don't use them often.  You have to take some out and add fresh ingredients every week or so.  I thought about making a starter and trying out sourdough bread.  The real sourdough bread, like you get in San Francisco.  But we don't eat that much bread any more and so I gave that idea up.

I was wondering if Greek yogurt would make a good sour pancake and started checking the Internet for recipe ideas.  It seems EVERYBODY is raving about the Pioneer Woman's version of sour cream pancakes.  (In case you don't know her and her blog, they all refer to her with the initials of PW and she is wonderful.)  It was even on Smitten Kitchen, another favorite foodie blog.  I decided I needed to try it out.  I have the Pioneer Woman cookbook and yet I have never made the pancakes. No time like the present.  These are named after PW's grandmother-in-law, Edna Mae, who gave her the recipe.

Edna Mae's Sour Cream Pancakes

1 cup sour cream
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
7 Tablespoons flour (yes, that is accurate, just 7 Tablespoons)
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
butter

   

Heat up a griddle or cast iron pan over medium low heat. 

   

Put the eggs and vanilla in a bowl and whisk together.  Add the cup of sour cream and whisk again.  Remove the whisk and stick it in the sink.  Get a spoon.

   

Add the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt to the sour cream mixture.  Stir together gently.  It is not necessary or even desirable to get all the lumps out.  Just make sure the flour is moistened.

   

Melt a bit of butter in the pan or griddle and pour about 1/4 cup of the batter on top of it.  Now you are back to every pancake recipe you ever made. 

   

Just make sure the top has made and then popped some air bubbles before you try to turn the pancake over. Then cook the other side until browned and serve immediately with the syrup of choice.

   

I don't like to drown pancakes in puddles of syrup.  I like a pancake to retain a modicum of texture.  No gloppy pancakes for me.  My preferred pancake eating style is with a bit of syrup on the side.  I call it a dipping puddle.  Cut a bite, dip and consume.

   

Feel free to eat your pancakes your way.

These pancakes are truly worth the hype.  They are easy to make with ingredients on hand and made just the right amount for two people.  They are light and have a delicious sour bite to them.  I recommend them highly.  Next time I may try them with Greek yogurt and maybe strawberries on top.