Greek Yogurt Pancakes

Speaking of Pancakes...

It seems there is a trend here: Pancakes.  My last several recipe entries have all been pancakes so let's continue, shall we?  We like pancakes here at our house.  We eat them semi-regular.  I like them because they are a blank canvas on which to express my culinary creativity.  Greek Yogurt is not just the trendy ingredient du jour, but a regular staple in our house.  We buy cases of the fat free plain greek yogurt at a time.  (Yeah, I could make my own, but that sounds like a lot of work.  Especially when there is Costco.)  I have taken to using plain greek yogurt anywhere I would use sour cream, even in baking.  

Combining Greek Yogurt and Pancakes seems pretty natural.  Here are a couple things to keep in mind.  
Use any greek yogurt you want.  Flavored, plain, et cetera.  I used blueberry flavored once and added fresh blueberries for blueberry pancakes.  The cakes turned out a rather unappealing purple grey color.  So, be careful the color yogurt you use.  Made with vanilla yogurt, the blueberry pancakes were just fine.  Also, because these have little flour and all that protein rich yogurt, the texture of these pancakes is very different.  They are kind of spongy.  They will soak up more syrup for sure, so don't get carried away.  Finally, they cook different.  your batter is thick so it wont pour into the skillet.  You scoop it into the pan then kind of press them out.  They will still fluff up when cooking.

I hope you see these as your own blank canvas and get creative with your pancakes.  Blueberry!  Vanilla Hazelnut!  Carrot Cake! (I'll share that recipe later.)

Here I made strawberry banana pancakes with additional yogurt topping.  I love the way bananas get caramelized in pancakes.  The strawberries I like served on top.

Ingredients
6 oz. Greek Yogurt (give or take.  Approx 1 single serve container or about 1/2 cup.  I used vanilla this time)
1 egg
1/2 cup flour (of your choice)
1 tsp baking soda
Fruit or other add-in
** If you use plain yogurt, the cakes will be tart.  I recommend adding a little sugar to your batter to compensate.**

Directions
Mix together your yogurt and the egg until smooth.  Add Flour and Baking Soda.  Mix just until combined.  DO NOT add your fruit.  This applies to any pancake.  Always wait until it is in the pan.  You don't want to bruise or damage the fruit.
Prepare your skillet by preheating and adding a little butter to the pan.  Set your burner at medium-high.  Scoop about 1/4 cup batter mixture into the pan.  Lightly press the batter with the scoop to make it more pancake shaped.  NOW add your fruit (bananas in this case) as the cakes cook on the first side.  After a couple minutes (you'll notice the cake has puffed up around your fruit) when the pancake has set and the edges are starting to brown, flip the cakes and cook another couple minutes.  I cook these lower and slower to make sure they are cooked through.  When browned on the other side, remove from pan, top with additional fruit and enjoy!  I also made a little yogurt topping (instead of whipped topping.)

See my yummy strawberries and delicate dollops?

Yogurt topping:  Everything is to taste so no set measurements here.
Plain Yogurt (1/3 cup)
Vanilla (1 tsp)
Sugar (1/2 - 1 tablespoon)

Mix and use as topping on your pancakes. You could also mix in maple syrup if you wanted.
I liked the yogurt topping.  B liked it more.

B's generous portion of yogurt topping with strawberries and maple syrup

Spaghetti Sauce with Pumpkin

Or... What to do with leftover pumpkin.

When I make spaghetti sauce I almost always start with onions, peppers, and carrots.  I saute these with whatever else I feel like adding.  Typically, I will small dice zucchini and/or yellow squash.  This particular evening, I had no usual squash, but I did have some leftover pumpkin puree (thanks to my yummy Pumpkin Pancakes.)  It seemed to me a normal substitution.

After cooking the onions, peppers, and carrots, I added my tomato sauce (I often use jarred spaghetti sauce in the interest of time.)  If I was cooking my sauce from scratch, I would cook it nearly to completion before adding pumpkin.  As it was, I added the puree shortly after the spaghetti sauce.  I stirred it in and heated everything through.

The pumpkin was a nice background note to the sauce.  It was not overwhelming but added a bit of richness to the sauce.  We are used to a bit of squash flavor anyway.  The sauce was certainly thicker because of the pumpkin puree.  If this bothers you, you could add additional plain tomato sauce.

Try it.  It is a great way to add more flavor and more vegetables to your meal.

Pumpkin Pancakes with Maple Cream Cheese Icing

In reading pancake recipes I've come across the mention of cake flour several times.  Not being a baker type person, I had no idea what cake flour was or why I might want to use it in my pancakes.  Apparently cake flour is a lower gluten flour used to make a more crumbly cake.  It also has a lower protein content and is finely milled.  Well, I'm not going to go to the trouble to buy extra kinds of flour, but I can see that flour with a finer texture might make fluffier pancakes.  I ended up taking an in-between step and adding a special ingredient- corn starch.  I think it added to the fluffiness, but further experimentation is necessary.

Anyway, since it is hot, hot summertime, it seems the perfect time to make warm pumpkin pancakes, right?  B has been on my case to use some of the cans of pumpkin puree we had in the cupboard which I had stockpiled when they were on sale.  So.  Pumpkin pancakes.  These turned out pretty delicious and I will make them again for sure.

This recipe makes a hearty breakfast for two but can easily be doubled.

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 cup AP flour
• 2 Tbl. Corn Starch
• 1 Tbl. Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp. Salt
• 1 Tbl. Sugar
• Pumpkin Pie Spice (1/8 - 1/4 tsp, depending on how heavily spiced you like it)
• 1 cup Pumpkin puree
• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tsp. vanilla (running over!)
• Cream Cheese (2 or more tablespoons)
• Maple Syrup

Directions

I know you're supposed to sift all your dry ingredients together, then seperately mix your wet ingredients together, then combine the two.  I don't.  This is pancakes, not rocket science.  I just want to eat a yummy breakfast not stand around all day stirring things.  So...

Dump all the dry ingredients in a bowl.  Stir it around for a couple seconds.  Add all the remaining ingredients (except the cream cheese and maple syrup) to the same bowl.  Stir until combined, but don't overmix.  Let the batter rest while you do other stuff like make your icing and get your cooking skillet out and so on.

Cooking pancakes.  No time for more pictures, just time to make and eat.

When your pan is heated (medium high heat,) melt a little butter in the bottom to coat (so your pancakes don't stick and they taste nice and buttery.)  Slowly add batter to the pan in the size pancakes you desire.  Cook until bubbles have burst then flip the pancakes over.  They will have been mostly cooked through on the first side, so they will just take a minute on the second side.  Keep warm until all pancakes are cooked.  Serve and top with this killer Cream Cheese Maple Icing.

To make the icing:

Start with 2 tablespoons cream cheese in a microwave safe dish.  Heat for about 20-30 seconds.  Stir.  Cream cheese should be very smooth.  If not, heat a few seconds longer and stir again.  If your cream cheese isn't smooth when you add the syrup, you'll have weird lumps.  Okay, once it is smooth and stirs easily, add some maple syrup.  About 1 tablespoon maybe.  Stir it in until well combined.  Taste it.  Does it taste super yummy?  Then you're done.  Maybe you think it should be more syrupy.  Then go ahead and add some more syrup until it is the scrumptious pancake topping of your dreams.  Enjoy!

Summer Vegetable Pancakes with Basil Cream

I am excited to get back to blogging my recipes and my restaurant adventures.  I have several recipes in the pipeline, but I'm going to post them out of order.  I just made this recipe for the first time the other night, but it was requested, so I'm writing this one first.  More to come.

To begin with, I was looking for something that would suit a gluten-free diet.  I first turned to my handy Pinterest board and found many recipes I have been wanting to try.  Almost none of them gluten-free.  Something about this recipe kept drawing me to it.  I ended up changing a bunch of things and modifying it to be gluten-free.  This recipe is adapted from Epicurious. 

Here are some notes to kep in mind:
1.  Feel free to use whatever flour you want.  AP flour, whole wheat flour, oat, or almond should all work fine.
2.  I chose to take the step of whipping the egg whites (I love my Kitchen Aid stand mixer!) but if you don't feel like doing that, I'm pretty sure this would work by just mixing in one whole egg (instead of two egg whites.)  The texture should not be too much different, perhaps a little less light.

Mmm... basil chive cream

3.  I served these with a basil and chive cream (recipe below) but you could sub sour cream for the yogurt and you could swap out herbs to whatever you have handy, or whatever sounds delicious.  I recommend dill or tarragon.  Change the herbs in the pancakes to coordinate.  Also, you could spice these up by adding jalapenos or putting chipotle peppers in the cream.  Enjoy!

Ingredients  (makes about 12 pancakes)
For the cream

• 3/4 cup non-fat plain greek yogurt
• 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves
• 2 Tbl. fresh chopped chives
• salt to taste

For the pancakes

• 2 small to medium zucchini, grated
• 2 carrots, grated
• 1 tsp. salt
• one small onion diced
• 1/4 cup almond flour
• 1/2 tbl. Italian Seasoning
• 1/4 tsp. ground black pepper
• 2 egg whites
• olive oil, for frying
• kosher salt for seasoning

Directions
Grate the zucchini and carrots into a colander.  Toss with the 1 tsp. salt and let drain for about 20 minutes.  Remove from colander and squeeze and excess liquid from the veggies.
While your veggies are draining, make the cream.  Mix greek yogurt with roughly chopped basil leaves and chives.  (Be careful chopping basil.  If your knife is not very sharp, you will bruise the basil and it won't have as nice of flavor.  You could tear the basil if you're concerned.  Otherwise, don't really worry about it that much.  Bruised basil is fine in this application.)  Stir.  Add salt to taste.   

Added egg whites.

Also, while you're waiting for the veggies to drain, you can whip your egg whites.

Next, in a large bowl combine flour, Italian Seasoning, and black pepper.  Add chopped onion.  Add the drained and squeezed veggies.  Mix to coat everything.  Fold in whipped egg whites.  (Don't worry about preserving volume, just mix everything thoroughly.  You don't want patches of plain egg in your pancakes.  Also, you could just mix in your one whole egg.)  Make sure everything is well combined.

All mixed in.

Heat Olive Oil in a pan.  Make sure the oil glides smoothly across the pan.  You want to oil good and hot.  I set the stove around medium-high.  But you know your stove better than I do.  Adjust temp as needed.  

Here they are mooshed in the pan.

Scoop pancake mixture into the pan with a 1/4 cup measure (not overflowing or you'll have fewer pancakes.  Which is fine if that doesn't bother you, or you want bigger cakes.  You'll just have to cook them a little longer.)  Moosh the cake mixture flat with the back of your scoop.  Fry about 3 minutes each side until they are nice and brown.  Remove from pan onto a paper towel to de-grease.  IMPORTANT:  Sprinkle a little kosher salt on the fried patties right away after removing from the pan.  Fried foods must be seasoned IMMEDIATELY!

Here they are nice a crispy brown.

Add additional oil to the pan as needed to fry the rest of your mix.

Serve hot and crispy, or room temperature with a dollop of the cream.  Enjoy.

Stuffed Delicata Squash

My love affair with winter squash continues.  This recipe is crazy healthy but it tastes delicious!  Although I suppose the healthy factor depends heavily on the amount of cheese added…  I love this recipe because it reminds me a bit of a dish I used to love, cassoulet.  It is warm and filling, and has some of the same flavors.  The treat in this dish is the sweetness of the squash.

Delicata Squash are easier to find in an average supermarket than they used to be.  They vary in size but are typically smaller than acorn squash.  They are oblong and pale yellow with dark green stripes.  I used one larger squash (about 10” long) for this recipe and it made a good entrée for two people.  That amount would also make a nice hearty side dish for four people.  If using smaller squash, get a couple of them because there will be plenty of stuffing.

If you can’t find Delicata Squash, you could use a roasted acorn squash.  Alternatively, you could cube some sweet potatoes and roast them for the base of the dish.  Enjoy!

(Sorry I have no pictures, especially as this is such a vibrant and lovely dish.)

Ingredients:

1 large Delicata Squash

¼ cup Pine Nuts (or handy nut of your choice)

1 bunch Kale, destemmed and chopped into medium-large pieces

3 cloves Garlic (more or less) minced

10 oz. White Beans, cooked

1 Tbl. Finely minced Sage leaves (about 10) OR ½ Tbl. Ground Sage

Salt

¼ cup Parmesan Cheese

4 Tbl. Bread Crumbs (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350˚  Cut squash in half lengthwise, scoop out the seeds.  Brush with a little olive oil and stick in the oven to roast.  I can’t tell you how long, because it depends on the squash.  Maybe a half hour or so. 

Then…

Toast your pine (or other) nuts.  Easiest way is to dump them in a dry pan and turn on the heat.  Shake them around in the pan until they get a little color on them and start to smell warm and nutty.  Take them out of the hot pan immediately and set aside for later.

Now, take your pan and put a little olive oil in it.  Maybe 1 Tbl?  I never measure.  That sounds like a lot.  Hmm… just swirl some around in the pan.  Not too much, we’re not frying here, just a little sauté.  So, warm oil.  Add your chopped up Kale.  It will cook down pretty quick.  Cook the Kale, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic.  (I just thought… you could add some red pepper flakes here if you wanted to kick it up a little.)  Stir that around. 

Add the White Beans

Add the Sage.

Add a crazy amount of salt.  More than you think.  Twice as much.  Trust me.  The beans need it.

Stir it up and cook for another minute or so.

Add your Pine Nuts and turn off the heat and stir to mix through.

Take your squash out of the oven and spoon all the Kale-Bean filling inside the squash cavities. 

Top with Parmesan Cheese (mixed with Bread Crumbs if you wanted.)

Stick it back in the oven just to melt the cheese.

Eat and enjoy.

Pumpkin Toffee Cheesecake

I love Pumpkin Pie.  I also like cheesecake.  My boyfriend really loves cheesecake.  I thought pumpkin cheesecake would be the perfect thing for Thanksgiving.  A couple years ago for the Holiday I made a pumpkin flavored cheesecake.  This turned out to be unsatisfying.  I missed the delicious custard that is pumpkin pie.  I missed the texture of it and the stronger flavor and ended up making a pie anyway.  THIS cheesecake is different.  It is a two-layered affair with yummy toffee cheesecake on the bottom and pumpkin pie on top!  My beau calls this “Pumpkin-Cake-Cheese-Pie.”  I hope you enjoy it as much as he does.  Everyone I’ve served to so far has raved.  Below, the recipe along with some suggested variations.

Ingredients:

2 cups graham cracker crumbs

Here are some variations: Cinnamon graham crackers, gingersnap cookies, mixtures of the above, or feel free to add your favorite nuts as well.

½ cup butter

2  8-oz. pkgs. Cream cheese, softened

In fact, you should probably set out all your ingredients so they can warm up.  Then, make yourself a cup of tea, check your facebook, put on some lip gloss, and then go back to making this yummy dessert.

½ cup sugar

1 tsp. Vanilla

5 eggs, at room temperature (trust me, it is much better for the eggs to be at room temp)

1 bag toffee bits

You can find these in most supermarkets this time of year.  Or, feel free to make your own toffee, but you're going to have to find your own recipe for that.  You will need… I don’t know… 2 cups? of tiny tiny pieces of toffee.  If you can’t find a bag of toffee bits, you may consider running a Heath Bar or Skor through your coffee grinder (freeze it first so the chocolate doesn’t gunk everything up) but I’m not sure about the addition of chocolate, not being a big chocolate fan.

1  15-oz. can Pumpkin Puree (or use homemade, it is about 1 ¾ cup)

¾ cup Whipping Cream (yay!)

2/3 cup sugar (yes, I know I already listed sugar, but this is for a different part)

½ tsp. ground cinnamon

¼ tsp. pumpkin pie seasoning (or, as much cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg as you feel like adding)

1/8 tsp. salt

Sweetened Whipped Cream for topping (You’ve already bought Whipping Cream for the recipe, and it is so much better than Cool Whip.  Making your own whipped cream is about the easiest thing you can do.  If you need pointers, I’m happy to help.)

I don't have a better picture.  We were too busy eating it.

Directions:

Heat oven to 300 degrees.  Spray or butter a 9” or 10” Springform pan.  In a small bowl, mix the crumbs of your choice with the butter.  Press in the bottom of springform pan.  Bake 15 minutes.  Remove from oven and set aside.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, ½ cup sugar, and vanilla until smooth.  Beat in 2 of the eggs.  Stir in 1 cup of the toffee bits.  Spread over crust. 

In another bowl (or use the same one, I don’t care) mix Pumpkin, Whipping Cream, 2/3 cup sugar, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, salt, and remaining 3 eggs, just until blended.  CAREFULLY spoon this mixture over the cream cheese mixture.  You don’t want to just dump it on top as you are making two separate layers here and are trying to avoid making a muddled mess.

Bake for two hours (a long time, I know, but this gives you time to make your Christmas wish list or, I don’t know, think of things you are Thankful for, like this dessert recipe)  Anyway, Bake for 2 hours or until edge of cheese/pie is set at least two inches from the edge, but still slightly jiggly in the middle.  Turn the oven off, open the oven door 4” and leave the cheesecake in there for another 30 minutes.  Then, remove cheesecake from oven, run a spatula around the edge of the pan and let cool another 30 minutes.  Then refrigerate 6 hours, or overnight.  Run spatula around the edge of the pan again and then remove the springform.  Pipe, or as I do, dollop whipped cream around edges of cheese/pie then sprinkle with remaining toffee bits.  

What I've been eating

I would love to show you pictures of some of the fantastic food I've been making for the past couple weeks or so.  I really would.  I can't.


My phone has been having fits and wouldn't take the upgrade and then finally took the upgrade which fixed some problems only now my gmail won't update and all my pictures are gone.  Yep.  All my pretty pictures of yummy food.  (Plus some important pictures that I might really need but foolishly hadn't gotten around to backing up yet.  Oops.)


I am annoyed.


To make matters worse, it is too freaking hot to cook anything yummy and comforting.  


So I could talk about the sesame noodles with sauteed seitan, the jalepeno shrimp with cheesy grits, the homemade Italian faux sausages on hoagie buns with peppers, the roasted garlic cauliflower, the grilled plums with homemade sweetened ricotta, the fresh berries with more homemade sweetened ricotta, the curried quinoa salad with toasted chickpeas, the homemade ricotta... or any of the other things I can't even remember off the top of my head.  I've been cooking quite a bit and was excited to share.


Now my heart isn't in it.  


Maybe when the temperature outside is under a hundred degrees.  And maybe when I'm done with my pity party.

Pear Gorgonzola Salad

Yes.  I am well aware it has been a month since I have posted.  I have a good excuse... I was moving.  Moving is nearly the worst thing in the world.  Ever.  On the other hand, I now get to spend every day and eat all my meals with this really great guy.  Unless he his playing two back to back tennis matches and comes home really late for dinner.  In which case, I made myself this salad.  And left a little for him when he got home.

Ingredients-- I'm not listing any quantities because I don't know how much you want to make or if you like some ingredients more than others.

1.  Greens- I used Broccoli slaw because it is what we had in the house and it is nice and crunchy.  You could also use coleslaw, just cabbage, or, if you had to, your favorite mixed greens.
2.  Pear- I like Bosc for this
3.  Gorgonzola Cheese- Crumbled
4.  Candied Walnuts
5.  A little lemon juice; a little olive oil

Chop up your pear.  I julienned my pear to better match the slaw.  Put this in a bowl.  Add as much greens as you feel appropriate.  Sprinkle Gorgonzola and Candied Walnuts over the top.  Mix.  Drizzle the tiniest amount of olive oil and lemon juice (or orange juice) over the top (no seriously, less than you think); mix again.  Eat.

I like the salty/sweet/crunchy/creamy/bright thing this combination of ingredients has.

Lot 2

Lot 2  Restaurant & Wine Bar

www.lot2benson.com

6207 Maple St., Omaha, NE 

(402) 504-4200

I was excited to finally visit Lot 2.  I had heard all the positive feedback and the owner/operators and Chef have worked some of Omaha’s best restaurants.  In most points, they did not disappoint.

The atmosphere at Lot 2 is fantastic.  It has warm touches throughout including wood floors and ceiling with one wall partially exposed to the brick.  The rest of the space is light and airy with warm white walls and the front, a wall of windows facing Benson’s main street.  The bar welcomes you to take a seat and stay awhile as you look at hand picked bottles of wine displayed in dark wood open crates.  The tables are a play on butcher blocks and the white napkins and flatware look great in contrast. 

We settled in and decided to order a several items to share.  For starters, I order the Faux Gras, a vegan version of Foie Gras.  It was served on a board with curry seasoned nuts, olives, garlic confit, spicy mustard, pickled vegetables and a terrific tomato jam.  All the accoutrements were tasty.  I loved the tomato jam and I ate the lion’s share of the curried nuts.  The Faux Gras itself wasn’t anything to get too excited about. 

My beau chose the Kale salad and this was the best thing we ate all night.  I wish I had ordered it.  I am still thinking about how delicious this salad was.  I could have eaten a bowl twice the size as the one they served.

With our entrées we also wanted to try a couple sides.  We chose the Brussels Spouts and the Beets.  The Sprouts were prepared well although they could have been a little bit crispier.  They were lacking the advertised Preserved Lemon and the shaved Parmesan Cheese was scant.  The Beets had a good texture but could have been livened up with more of the white Balsamic.  The whipped goat cheese was a nice complement to the veggie.

I ordered the Falafel for my entrée and my beau ordered the Seitan Kebob.  Again, we had somewhat mixed results.  I found the falafel to be a delightful take on the traditional.  The falafel themselves were well prepared.  They were crispy on the outside, moist on the inside and well seasoned.  The jalapeno chutney was the second best thing I ate that night.  The cabbage was perfectly dressed with a yogurt dressing and I found the entire dish satisfying and delicious. 

The Seitan Kebab was served with couscous and flatbread and the plat was drizzled with a curry yogurt dressing.  We could have used a lot more of the dressing.  It had terrific flavor.  The couscous on the other hand was average.  Unfortunately, the dish got worse from there.  The Seitan was not only the worst thing we ate that night, it was the worst seitan I have ever come across.  It was super dense and cooked so that I could barely cut it with a fork.  It was chewy, rubbery, and not at all flavorful.  It was just bad. 

Fortunately, the panna cotta we had for dessert left us with a pleasant bite.  Also, the wine pairings were perfect, as expected from top notch Certified Sommeliers.

All in all, the service is five star, the atmosphere is great, the wines are excellent and the food could use some consistency in seasoning.  Other than the Seitan, none of the missteps in food would keep me from going back to Lot 2. 

For another take on Lot 2, check out Sarah Baker Hansen’s review here in the Omaha World Herald.  Plus, she has pictures!  (I didn’t feel like taking any this time.)

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Blueberry Sauce

If you are not using ricotta in your pancakes, you should begin immediately. 

I love breakfast foods.  They are good any time of day.  I like a mix of sweet and savory (omelets AND French toast.)  Lately it seems though I’ve been making a lot of pancakes.  Plain pancakes, Whole Wheat Strawberry-Banana Walnut pancakes, Blueberry Pancakes… even the we-decided-to-only-make-it-once-a-year-otherwise-we-might-have-coronaries Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Pancakes with Cream Cheese Icing Drizzle.   This time, I decided I wanted something a little different.  Something light and refreshing.  Enter these fluffy, slightly tangy, light and delicious Lemon Ricotta Pancakes with Blueberry Sauce.  They are super easy.

Blueberry Sauce

I made the mistake of only getting a half pint of blueberries for our pancakes and we really could have used more.  Since you are just cooking them to make a sauce, go ahead and use frozen if you need to.  Be aware that you won’t have any fresh ones for garnish if you use frozen fruit.

Ingredients

1 pint fresh blueberries

2 Tbl. Water

1-2 Tbl. Sugar

1 Tbl. Cold water

1 tsp. corn starch

Directions

Put blueberries, 2 Tbl. Water and the sugar in a saucepan.  Heat on high until sauce comes to a boil.  Meanwhile, combine 1 Tbl. Cold water and the cornstarch.  When blueberries come to a boil, reduce heat to keep them at a simmer and stir in the cornstarch mixture.  Sauce will thicken.  Reduce heat and keep warm until your pancakes are ready.

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes

I made a quick and easy version.  To get even lighter pancakes you can go through the whole rigmarole (Huh.  Thought it was “rigamarole” but spell check corrected me.) of whipping your egg whites and folding in other ingredients etc, but I just didn’t have time for that.  If you are not using fresh lemon juice, I must insist that you buy at least one fresh lemon to add the lemon zest.  It really is crucial to the flavor.  And yes, I did go to what I consider the extra effort of mixing my wet and dry ingredients separately before combining them.  It really does help your pancakes to not have any lumps.  Plus, I have a dishwasher so I don’t care that I dirtied an extra bowl.

Ingredients

The recipe makes about 8 pancakes this size.

1 ¼ cups All-Purpose flour

3 Tbl. Sugar

2 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. salt (Don’t skip this.  It’s only a ¼ tsp for pete’s sake.)

1 cup ricotta cheese

¾ liquid eggs (OR 1 whole egg, 2 egg whites)

½ cup fresh lemon juice

2 tsp lemon zest  (You can put some lemon zest in with the blueberry sauce too!)

Directions

In a mixing bowl, combine the first five (dry) ingredients.  In a separate bowl, combine the remaining ingredients.  Add this to the dry ingredient mixture and still just until combined.  DO NOT overmix. 

Heat your non-stick skillet or griddle over medium-high heat.  It is okay you’re just doing this now.  Letting the batter rest a bit is a good thing.  It lets the baking powder and soda work their magic.  Spray the pan with cooking spray or, as I do, put a half pat of butter more or less in the pan and let it melt all over the surface.  Use a 1/3 cup measure to scoop out your batter onto the skillet.  Cook about 2 minutes until the pancake has started to set and the underside is golden brown.  Flip the pancakes and cook another 2 minutes (approximately.)  When you’re done making all the batter, top your pancakes with a little butter, a sprinkle of powdered sugar, and the blueberry sauce.  Enjoy!

I saved a few fresh berries for garnish.

Chicken Fried Portobello Mushrooms

Generally, I don’t even really like mushrooms but I do like items that are southern fried.  I never cared that much for fried chicken, but I really liked the crispy seasoned coating.  Recently, we had some evaporated milk left over from another recipe.  In a convoluted way, this led me to decide to make Chicken Fried Portobello Mushrooms, glazed carrots, biscuits and gravy (ah, evaporated milk!)  None of this was done with a recipe or real measurements but I will try to replicate the process here for you.  Serves two, but it is easily doubled or more.

Chicken Fried Portobello Mushrooms

Do I need to say that none of this is diet food?

Ingredients:

2 Portobello Mushroom Caps
¼ cup liquid eggs (or 1 whole beaten egg)
Splash or two of milk or buttermilk
½ cup AP flour
1 Tbl. Garlic Powder  (wait, that sounds like a lot.  I really should have measured.)
½ Tbl. Garlic Powder (There.  Try that.)
¼ Tbl. Chili Powder
Salt
Black Pepper
Oil for cooking

Directions:

Clean your mushrooms.
Most would say you could wipe them off with a damp paper towel and be done.  I like to go a bit further.  It isn’t necessary, it is just an aesthetic thing with me.  I snap off whatever is left of the stem.  I take a spoon and gently scoop out all the gills.  Then, I peel the mushroom by taking a piece from the edge and peeling in strips towards the middle of the mushroom.
Pour your eggs into a small bowl large enough to immerse a mushroom cap.  Add a splash or two of milk or buttermilk.  Pour the flour into a separate, same sized bowl.  To the flour, add the Garlic and Chili Powders.  Crack some black pepper in there.  Add a generous amount of salt.  Stir all that around.  (Just stick your fingers in there and give it a swirl.)

Now, heat your oil in a pan.  I planned on only using vegetable oil but I didn’t have enough and added a bit of olive oil.  Vegetable oil works great because it can get hotter and remember, you want your food to fry, not poach.  The oil should be deep enough to cover about half the mushroom.  You will know your oil is hot enough when you drop a few specks of flour in there and it sizzles up gently around it.  If it looks like a hot tub gone mad with bubbles, it is too hot.  When your oil is about ready, you can bread your mushrooms.  (I did one at a time.) 

First, toss the mushroom in your flour bowl.  Get it all coated then shake off the excess.  Next, put this powdered mushroom in your egg bowl.  Coat it completely.  Finally, transfer that mushroom back to the flour bowl.  Make sure it is all covered with flour.  This makes your yummy crust.  (When you’re done breading, save the seasoned flour for your gravy.)

Now you’re ready to fry them.  (I started one while I breaded the other.)  Put breaded mushrooms in hot oil and fry.  They won’t need more than a couple minutes each side.  Flip the mushrooms over when the bottom is golden and crispy.  After done, remove to a paper towel covered plate and let drain for a minute.

This was my first attempt at making these.  The edges of the mushrooms being thinner came out a little softer and full of that earthy flavor.  The thicker middle of the mushrooms still had a nice firm bite to them.

Here is my “recipe” for the carrots.

Ingredients:
Ten Carrots
Olive Oil
Salt
Honey
Balsamic Vinegar

Directions:

Cut the carrots to all be about the size of baby carrots
Did you know that most baby carrots are really just larger carrots shaved down to be that size anyway?
Toss them with a little olive oil and salt.  Spread on a cookie sheet and roast for about 20 minutes at 400°  Drizzle a little honey and a little balsamic vinegar, stir around and cook another 5 minutes.

Enjoy!

The Grey Plume

The Grey Plume

www.thegreyplume.com

220 S. 31^st Ave., Suite 3101, Omaha, NE 
(402) 763-4447

I have been to The Grey Plume half a dozen times now.  I have waited to write anything about them because they are Just. So. Good.  It is difficult to give a review when you don’t have anything bad to say. 

One of the things The Grey Plume does well is the attention to detail.  When they bring around warm crusty bread and house-made butter, the butter is delightfully spreadable soft.  That may seem like an insignificant detail, but spreading cold butter that tears up your bread is annoying. 

The menu is ever changing to keep up with what is fresh and available.  Some dishes are variations on a theme and simply incorporate new ingredients.  The comments I will make about the food are therefore, a bit general. 

My favorite thing at The Grey Plume is the soup.  I have tasted Butternut Squash Bisque, Beet Soup, and Parsnip Chowder.  All have been the smoothest, most velvety soups I have ever had.  The Beet Soup was served with smoke and when the dome was lifted, it was fantastic.  The Parsnip soup was served with coffee crumble, kumquats, roasted parsnip and huckleberry.  The combination seemed odd, but all worked. 

When it comes to entrées, I have experienced beautifully prepared halibut and the single best bite of scallop I have ever had.  The portion of halibut was buttery and moist and had been seared on one side until it had the perfect crust.  The halibut came with parisienne gnocchi which were as light and pillowy as gnocchi are supposed to be.  The pasta is always cooked spot on.  The vegetables are fresh and truly delightful. 

I like my desserts more spicy than sweet as I don’t have much of a sweet tooth.  The Grey Plume usually has scoops of house made ice cream as an option.  These ice creams are also smooth and velvety.  Perfect little rich and creamy quenelles that are a terrific after dinner bite, but not overwhelmingly sweet.  On a recent visit, they offered a take on Lemon Pie.  The dish was served with cubes of dill gel.  I thought this was brilliant as I love herbs, dill in particular.  It was a great complement to the lemon curd atop a puff pastry with a side of creamscicle ice cream.  I’m totally stealing the idea of putting dill with my lemon when I made my own ice creams this summer.  If you like your desserts more traditional, I’ve also had apples served three ways which came out as the best of apple pie, apple crisp and apple fritters all re-imagined and put on a plate. 

Best of all, the service is outstanding.  The staff is well informed.  They make excellent suggestions and offer thoughtful wine pairings.  Every person on staff you come in contact with during your visit strives to make sure your needs are attended to. 

THIS is fine dining.

7M Grill

7M Grill

www.7mgrill.com

15805 West Maple Rd., Omaha, NE

(402) 509-3225

I recently had an awkward phone conversation that went like this:

Me:  Hello?

7M:  Hi.  This is 7M Grill.  Is this “Kiki?”

Me:  Yes.

7M:  We show that you had a reservation with us in the past 12 months.

Me:  Yes?

7M:  Did you know that 7M Grill was recently named Omaha (something or other’s) Best (something or other) Restaurant?

Me:  Uh…… Congratulations?

7M:  We’re just calling customers from the past year to thank them for making it such a great year for us.

Me:  Um… okay…

7M:  We would like to offer you a free drink or maybe an appetizer as a thank you.

Awk.  Ward.  And a little confusing until the end there.

It is especially unfortunate as I don’t see myself going back to 7M Grill in the near future.  This is a restaurant I expected a lot more out of.  They have great potential but the execution just isn’t up to par.  Our experience was bad enough that even a menu change and rotating specials aren’t enticing me back.

We had a group of six so I was able to have a wide sample of their offerings.  Half of us ordered the house salad which was nothing to get excited about.  The most interesting part of the salad is that you have a dozen different dressings to choose from.  The other half ordered the soup of the day which was a crab and roasted corn bisque.  This soup was velvety and smooth and had a strong fresh roasted corn flavor.  The lumps of crab meat were generous and tender.  This soup showed such promise, I was eager for my entrée.  (Coincidentally, I believe that is what a first course is supposed to do.)

One other bright note, our waiter was well informed on the dinner and wine menus.  He made good recommendations for the wine.

Then our entrées arrived.  I ordered one of the house specialties, the Raspberry Whitefish.  This dish features a filet of whitefish wrapped around a black bean and corn crab cake (WooHoo!  More Crab!)  It also comes with a raspberry chili sauce, mango cilantro rice and some sautéed vegetables.  Presentation was a bit sloppy as the crab cake fish tower didn’t really tower.  Maybe this is because the whole dish was overcooked.  The fish was so dry, even the sauce didn’t help.  The crab cake held no resemblance to a cake and did not hold together.  After the delicious pieces of crab in the soup, I was disappointed to have only a few shreds of crab meat that I had to dig through the filler to find.  Even the black beans and corn were not the main ingredients of the crab cake.  Dry, bland filler was the main component of the dish.

The seafood enchiladas were also a disappointment.  The best parts of the dish were rice and salsa.  The chef came close to a good dish with decent overall flavors, but the seafood was so rubbery it ruined any promise the dish had.  The Harissa Chicken was a complete misnomer.  If someone is going to order Harissa chicken, they probably know what harissa is and expect that level of spice.  7M’s version had virtually none of the expected heat.  They have since removed this item from the menu. 

The best dish at our table were the fish tacos.  I’ll just let that sink in for a minute.  The best you can do is fish tacos?  Seriously?  7M has added other items to their menu with such groundbreaking (ahem!) options as Mac-N-Cheese (with Bacon!  Oh, how original!) and the 7M Burger (Where do they get these ideas?!?) listed under “lighter fare.”

Finally, a word on dessert.  I would have thought the chef, who grew up in Omaha’s Lithuanian Bakery, would have prepared an amazing Lithuanian Torte.  It was, again, dry and disappointing.

So, 7M Grill, thanks for the offer, but I probably won’t be cashing in on my free drink or appetizer. 

Pudgy's Pizzeria

Pudgy’s Pizzeria

www.pudgyville.com

16919 Audrey St. #110, Omaha

(402) 884-7566

The first thing you should know about Pudgy’s Pizzeria is that it is White Sox country, all the way. Cubs fans will be harassed, but at Pudgy’s they are harassed with a wink and a smile.

If you like Chicago style pizza, this is as close as you’re going to get in Omaha. Pudgy lived in Chicago running Pudgy’s Hot Dogs making Vienna brand dogs served up Chicago style for 10 years. After moving back to Omaha, Pudgy and family experimented with pizza recipes until coming up with the Chicago style they serve in their small family restaurant now. 

Forget the New York style vs. Chicago style debate; there is enough dispute over what makes a true Chicago Deep Dish pizza. Pudgy’s version is appropriately deep; Toppings are generous; Sauce is on top. I managed to eat two slices of the pie my beau and I ordered and I was overstuffed. My brother ordered the stuffed pizza which you have to special request, it isn’t on the menu. A typical stuffed pizza is a deep dish filled with cheese and toppings then another layer of dough before the sauce goes on top and the crust is more rounded and puffy. Pudgy’s version did not have the top dough layer. 

The pizza was pretty good. It is something I would definitely eat again (as I never get tired of pizza!) What really made the experience for our group was Pudgy (Phil) himself and his wife. This is a mom and pop operation in the true sense of the word. They work the kitchen, taking orders at the walk up counter, and handing out to-go orders as patrons come in. The seating area only has a handful of tables but in a slower moment, they came around and chatted with their customers. Phil will make you laugh and Mama Cerra is like the Italian mother you never had. She'll make sure you get enough to eat, tell you that you look too thin, and in our case, try to set my brother up with one of her daughters. They were too loveable not to recommend this place.

One caveat about the food... do not order salad. Ours were two styrofoam plates of watery iceburg lettuce. Period. I expected more toppings, but the amount of sauce and cheese to dough was just right.

If it's pizza again, but you're looking for something different than the usual, try Pudgy's and plan on dining in. You'll have a fun Friday night.

Twisted Cork Bistro

Twisted Cork Bistro

 www.twistedcorkbistro.com

10730 Pacific Street

(402) 932-1300

On a recent occasion generally celebrated as romantic, my beau took me to a charming little place called Twisted Cork Bistro.  I do mean little- they couldn’t have had more than a dozen tables.  I do mean charming- the staff was friendly and knowledgeable and the owner checked on all the tables and bussed them himself.

Living in the Midwest, I have lamented before about being able to find decent seafood.  TCB focuses on local food, but their Seattle influence is obvious.  The menu is concise and 70% seafood.  Plus, I have to love a place where the wine list is longer than the menu.  (Don’t be intimidated by that.  The staff knows their stuff.  Get a recommendation.)

On this particular Hallmark Holiday night out my beau and I both ordered the Northwest Salad.  Pears are my favorite and I rarely pass up a chance to have a pear salad.  Mixed with pistachios, white cheddar, craisins and apple vinaigrette on a bed of mixed greens, the salad was a generous portion for a starter.  Thankfully, it was not overdressed.  Twisted Cork also offers a salad of greens, red onion, Kalamata Olives, goat cheese, and a basil balsamic vinaigrette or a choice of corn chowder, mulligatawny, or fire roasted tomato soup, all for $5. 

Reading over the entrées, the descriptions hint at not only the Pacific Northwest, but also the Pacific Islands.  There seems to be a bit of Hawaiian influence as well, evidenced by the use of macadamia nuts, coconut, mango, ginger and miso in some dishes.  I ordered the Shell Fish Duet: wild jumbo sea scallops & shrimp, mango-curry, coconut, cream, carrot, jasmine rice.  The seafood was well prepared and my first two scallops were perfect in doneness and texture.  My third scallop was slightly undercooked.  Surprisingly, the shrimp were just a bit overcooked, but I’m really nit-picking here.  They were plump and delicious.  They were generous with the mango and the curry provided a nice bite.  I wish there had been a little more of the curry to cut the sweetness of the dish but that didn’t stop me from gobbling it all up.  The scallops had a lovely sear and the rice had great texture.  Being able to execute a dish well is something I don’t take for granted.  The meal was wonderful. 

My beau ordered the Sockeye Salmon which came crusted with ginger and served over Jasmine Rice with corn, miso-sesame vinaigrette, and basil oil.  Again, the salmon was perfectly prepared, well seasoned and the flavors of the dish were balanced.  I enjoyed the combination of basil with ginger and miso flavors, something I wouldn’t have expected.

The dinner was really quite fantastic.  The entrées alone would have been enough to recommend this restaurant.  Then, we had dessert.  The balance of ingredients, bursts of flavor and just overall experience was even better than the meals.  It has been some time since I’ve had a dessert that good.  I ordered the spice cake.  I am not afraid of strong flavors and you shouldn’t be either if you order this.  It was strongly spiced and topped with candied ginger.  It was fantastic.  And when paired with the rich vanilla ice cream topped with orange zest… even better!  The rest of the world ceased to exist while I ate that cake.  When I came to, and remembered I had a boyfriend sitting across from me, I tasted his chocolate cheesecake sitting on a pool of ganache and topped with sugared raspberries.  Pretty freaking good also.

If you are a fan of seafood and interesting flavor combinations, make a reservation for the little restaurant right away.  If you prefer beef, they serve a couple beef and chicken entrées, not the least of which is the Twisted Cork Burger, chosen by Food Network Magazine as the #1 Burger in Nebraska for their 50 States, 50 Burgers selection.