Pumpkin Pancakes with Cranberry Syrup

Yesterday I told you how to use up all of those leftovers from Thanksgiving dinner with the exception of the cranberries.  Here’s a way to use any cranberries that remain from your various relish and chutney making endeavors, and have a wonderful fall breakfast to boot.  I gave you the recipe for pumpkin pancakes here, so all you need to do now is make the syrup.

Pumpkin Pancakes with Cranberry Syrup

1/3 cup sugar

3/4 cup fresh cranberries

1/2 cup water

1/4 cup maple syrup

Cook sugar in a dry 1 1/2-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat, undisturbed, until it begins to melt. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally with a fork, until sugar is melted and turns a medium golden caramel color.  This can be tricky because everyone seems to have his or her own mental imagine of what caramel color is (which explains why my husband tends to burn it), so it’s best to err on the lighter rather than darker side. Tilt pan and slowly add cranberries and water (caramel will begin to harden and steam). Simmer over moderately low heat, stirring, until caramel is completely dissolved.  Pour syrup through a sieve into a heatproof bowl, pressing hard on solids. I like some of the solids in my syrup, so I scoop some out of the sieve and add them to the syrup.  Allow to cool slightly, and then stir in the maple syrup.

This post is linked to:

Foodie Friday

Lemon Crepes with Blackberry Syrup

Would you believe me if I told you that you could prepare a beautiful, elegant, and delicious breakfast in five minutes?  Okay, maybe not five minutes, I think this actually took me about three.  No kidding.  It’s that fast.  It’s also incredibly delicious.  Having the right products on hand makes all of the difference, which is why I keep lemon curd at all times (there are so many uses for this stuff, it’s worth a blog post alone), as well as a variety of fruit syrups (many of which I make myself -- it is so easy as you will see below), and now will stock Melissa’s crepes.  When I have the time, I do enjoy making my own, but when the work has been done for me and I’m in a hurry, why bother?  This morning I spread about 2 teaspoons of lemon curd onto a crepe. I folded it in half, and then in half again, and placed it onto a plate.  A drizzle of blackberry syrup, a spritz of whipped cream and a few shakes of powdered sugar and breakfast was on the table.

As I sat there marveling at the speed at which I was able to prepare breakfast and ruminating about the various combinations, I started to make a list.

Fillings and toppings -

Lemon curd and ginger syrup

Lemon curd and blueberry syrup

Lime curd and blackberry syrup

Peanut butter and honey

Jelly and melted peanut butter

Sliced bananas and chocolate syrup

Sliced bananas and melted peanut butter

Peanut butter and melted marshmallow fluff

Sautéed apples and maple syrup

Sliced strawberries and maple syrup

Peach jam and raspberry syrup

Let me know the combinations that you come up with. I'm sure your children or grandchildren will have plenty of ideas of their own, and isn't making breakfast fun the way to start healthy habits?

Making fruit (berry) syrup:

1 pint fresh blackberries, blueberries, or raspberries

1/2 cup sugar

2 Tablespoons water

Place the berries, sugar, and water into a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until the mixture has reached a syrupy consistency, about 10 minutes. For thicker syrup, boil a bit longer.  If syrup becomes too thick, stir in a teaspoon of water at a time until desired consistency.

This post is linked to:

On the Menu Monday

Totally Tasty Tuesdays

Try a New Recipe Tuesday

What's Cooking Wednesday

Foodie Friday

Sweets for a Saturday

Sunday's Best Party

Challah French Toast

How delicious does this look?  Well, let me tell you I've not had French Toast that tasted any better.  It was superb! I attribute part of it to the homemade challah that I made yesterday, and the other to Ina Garten's Challah French Toast recipe.  It's from her book Barefoot Contessa Family Style and it's worth buying the book for this recipe alone.  

Challah French Toast

6 extra-large eggs

1 1/2 cups half-and-half or milk

1 teaspoon grated orange zest

1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 tablespoon good honey

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 large loaf challah or brioche bread

Unsalted butter

Vegetable oil

To serve:

Pure maple syrup

Good raspberry preserves (optional)

Sifted confectioners' sugar (optional)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.

In a large shallow bowl, whisk together the eggs, half-and-half, orange zest, vanilla, honey, and salt. Slice the challah in 3/4-inch thick slices. Soak as many slices in the egg mixture as possible for 5 minutes, turning once.

Heat 1 tablespoon butter and 1 tablespoon oil in a very large saute pan over medium heat. Add the soaked bread and cook for 2 to 3 minutes on each side, until nicely browned. Place the cooked French toast on a sheet pan and keep it warm in the oven. Fry the remaining soaked bread slices, adding butter and oil as needed, until it's all cooked. Serve hot with maple syrup, raspberry preserves, and/or confectioners' sugar.

Slicing for French Toast making.

Blueberry Pancakes with Warm Blueberry Sauce

You will learn if you read this blog with any regularity, that I LOVE breakfast, specifically pancakes and waffles.  Well, also scones and biscuits, and pretty much any other high carb item that you can imagine would be great with a steaming cup of freshly brewed coffee -- OMG! Krispy Kreme Pumpkin Spice Donuts! -- but I digress.  Lately, however, my interest has been strongly leaning towards pancakes and waffles and the vast amount of varieties there seem to be.  I was stunned, for example, at the very large number of books on the subject.  I've checked out as many as possible from the library in order to give them my personal review so I know just which one(s) I want to add to my ever-growing collection of cookbooks. My plan, of course, is to try EVERYTHING! So far I'm leaning toward the Dorie Greenspan book, Pancakes: From Morning to Midnight, I mean how wrong can you ever go with Dorie?  But I guess the reason this one appeals so much is the nostalgia factor.  The thought of pancakes for dinner takes me back to my young days when my father would go out of town and my mother, too weary from her day to make a big dinner for the two of us, would make pancakes and bacon.  It was one of my favorite meals and always softened the blow of having my dad leave town.

In the meantime, when I want something that I know will be great, I turn to Ina, who has not once let me down. This morning’s breakfast was a recipe of hers that appeared as a part of a column she wrote for Good Housekeeping Magazine. The pancakes were delicious! Light, fluffy, beautiful little works of art that lifted off of the Griddler in berry-studded perfection. The sauce was equally good, though considering the blueberries we’ve been buying this time of year have been a bit on the tart side, I did double the amount of sugar. The recipe made a pile of pancakes, the rest of which are now in the freezer for future mornings when I want pancakes, but not the effort it takes to make them.

Blueberry Pancakes with Warm Blueberry Sauce

2 tablespoons water

½ teaspoon cornstarch

3 ½ cups blueberries

5 tablespoons sugar (divided)

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon grated orange zest*

½ teaspoon salt

1 ¾ cups buttermilk

4 tablespoons butter, melted

2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 250 degrees F. Place cookie sheet in oven.

Prepare blueberry sauce: In 1-quart saucepan, combine water, cornstarch, 1 1/2 cups blueberries, and 2 tablespoons sugar, and heat to boiling over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Boil 1 to 2 minutes or until berries burst. Remove from heat; stir in lemon juice.

Prepare pancakes: In large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, orange zest, salt, and remaining sugar. Stir in buttermilk, butter, and eggs just until flour mixture is moistened. Stir in remaining berries. Lightly grease griddle or nonstick 12-inch skillet; heat over medium heat until very hot. Drop batter by 1/4 cups onto hot griddle, spreading batter gently to make 4-inch rounds. Cook pancakes 2 to 3 minutes. (Pancakes are ready to turn when batter begins to set, bubbles start to burst, and edges look dry.) Turn pancakes over, using a wide spatula. Cook 1 to 2 minutes longer, until puffy and undersides are a rich golden brown. Transfer pancakes to cookie sheet in oven; keep warm. Repeat with remaining batter, greasing griddle if needed. Serve pancakes with blueberry sauce.

*The orange zest is my own addition. I tend to think that all pancake recipes benefit from a tiny bit of citrus zest, either orange or lemon.

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Have a great morning!

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