Nutella Pancakes

I suppose I've had a bit of a sweet tooth, lately. At least, it must seem that way from my most recent posts. From last week's dessert we transition nicely to today's breakfast with Nutella pancakes!

I'm pretty good with pancakes, I won't lie. Long ago, my mother taught me that you could flip a hamburger as many times as you want, but you only flip a pancake once. As long as you take that to heart, the rest of pancake cookery will follow. After that, you'll start experimenting with what you can add to the batter to make a unique treat. That's what happened to me.

Ingredients:

Pancake Mix (I'm partial to Hungry Jack brand myself, but use whatever you like)

Any Ingredients Your Mix Calls For (i.e. oil, water, milk, eggs, etc.)

3 Tablespoons of Nutella

2 Tablespoons of Butter

Steps/Analysis:

It doesn't get much simpler than this, folks. Basically, you'll want to follow the directions on the box of pancake mix to form a batter. Aim for 6-8 pancakes. Any more and you'll want to increase the Nutella to preserve the ratio.

Scoop the Nutella into a small, microwaveable bowl. Add the butter and zap for about a minute and a half. Stir until you have a smooth consistency that can be worked into your pancake batter. You may need to microwave it again, depending on your machine.

Pour the liquefied Nutella into the batter and combine with a whisk or a large spoon.

Set a griddle or a large pan on the stove over Medium heat. Grease it liberally with a pat of butter and ladle out your cakes.

When the edges of the pancakes seem to have firmed up and air bubbles are breaking the surface it's time to flip. Do so only once. You can peek at the underside, though, to make sure they're done when you think they are.

Remove the pancakes to a plate or serving platter and place in a just barely warm oven if it's going to be a while before serving.

Serving/Notes:
The Nutella flavor of the pancakes was much more subtle than I expected and the nuttiness comes out a lot more than the chocolate seemed to. They were quite delicious served up with more Nutella, whipped cream, and fresh fruit.

You'll notice that my pancakes are paired with french toast that a lovely breakfast assistant did up. I also think a bready breakfast should always be paired with a meat, turkey bacon in this case.

Choco-Berry Mousse Torte

Inspired by my lady's return to the Northeast, I decided to try my hand at a second dessert (since my Johnny Rotten Cake had turned out so well). I actually found this recipe on a full page add in a magazine. Reading the ingredient list below will give you a pretty good idea of what the advertisement was for.

This is a great no-bake dessert. It takes a little time and effort to put together, but the end result is disproportionately more elegant than the amount of work involved. You'll get a few 'Oohs' and 'Ahhs' from this one, I promise.

Ingredients:
1 Tub of Cool Whip

1 Box Jell-O Instant Chocolate Pudding

1 Package of Cream Cheese

2 Cups and 2 Tablespoons of Milk

3 Squares of Semi-Sweet Baker's Chocolate

Nilla Wafers

Strawberries

Steps/Analysis:

The torte requires that you build it upside down. I'll give you a few moments to mull that over...

Back? Great. It's important to have a handle on this, conceptually, as you follow these instructions. It'll all make sense in a few minutes.

First, find a circular cake pan, roughly 9 inches in diameter. A pie plate will do in a pinch. Line the bottom with plastic wrap and stand Nilla wafers on their edges around the edge, leaning them against the wall (rounded side facing out) of the pan/plate/Frisbee/whatever.

In a large bowl, combine 2 cups of milk, half of the tub of Cool Whip (defrosted, of course), and the dry pudding mix. Stir until uniformly smooth.

In a separate bowl, break up 2 squares of baker's chocolate and microwave for a minute or so. At the end of the cycle, stir the chocolate and repeat until it is completely melted. Once a gooey, chocolate mess is accomplished, add it to the quasi-pudding you just created and stir to combine.

Note: In my first attempt, I microwaved the chocolate and attempted to add the cold ingredients to its bowl, rather than the other way around. Don't do that. Just don't. If you do, the melted chocolate will seize up and become a grainy, quicksand-like reservoir in the bottom of the bowl and you'll have to start over. Heed my words!

Slowly pour the contents of the thoroughly mixed bowl of pudding goodness into your pan. Be patient so you don't disturb the retaining wall of Nilla wafers.

Hopefully, you've let your cream cheese sit around for a while and soften. Dump that into a new bowl, with the sugar, and the 2 tablespoons of milk you have in reserve. Stir to combine and carefully spread over the top of the pan. Then, press a layer of Nilla wafers into it. You want the flat bottoms facing up (You do remember that the top of this thing is actually the bottom, right?).

Cover the whole kit and caboodle with plastic wrap and store in the fridge for at least 4 hours. I let mine go overnight.

When you come back to the torte, remove the top layer of plastic and place a large plate or serving platter upside-down on top of the pan. Clamp your hands on each side and flip the whole thing. Coax the dessert out by pulling on the exposed plastic wrap, if necessary.

Top the torte with the remaining Whip Cream and a layer of sliced strawberries. Finally, take a cheese grater to the last square of chocolate and give it a good dusting of chocolate snow flakes.

Serving/Notes:

The pictures say it all, don't they? This is a great summer dessert - chocolaty and rich, but not overly heavy. The Nilla wafers soak up a lot of moisture and make a really tender makeshift crust. Delicious!

Maple/Mustard Glazed Chicken

This week's recipe is inspired by a meal I saw on http://closetcooking.blogspot.com/ . Having said that, I think enough alterations were made to the original that I have to take the credit/blame for this one. Some of these changes were made out of laziness on my part, some were a result of necessary improvisation.

Maple/Mustard Glazed Chicken was not a rousing success, but neither do I believe it to be a lost cause. It's got potential.

Ingredients:

4-6 Chicken Breasts

8 Tablespoons of Maple Syrup

1 Cup of Dijon Mustard

4 Tablespoons of Brown Sugar

1 Teaspoon of Thyme

2 Eggs

Flour

Bread Crumbs/Oatmeal (explanation forthcoming, I promise)

Steps/Analysis:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Combine the maple syrup, mustard, brown sugar, and thyme in a bowl and stir to combine.

Fill three shallow bowls separately with flour, the beaten eggs, and a bread crumb/oatmeal mixture.

Now, before I had gone grocery shopping for this meal, I checked the refrigerator and pantry for items I already had at hand. I saw a canister of bread crumbs and happily checked it off of my list. However, when it came time to cook, I discovered that the container was practically empty. I searched for a new one to no avail. I saw the oatmeal and thought I remembered reading about meats crusted in oatmeal before, so I augmented my bread crumb supply with it. I don't necessarily recommend this, but it seemed to work out well enough.

Trim any excess fat off of the chicken breasts and cut into single portions. Set a large pan over Medium-High heat and pour in enough oil to coat the bottom.

Dredge your breasts in the flour first, then the egg, and, finally, the bread crumbs/oatmeal and place directly in the pan. Get a nice, brown crust on both sides, but don't worry about cooking each breast through. Once you have the crust, remove the chicken to a lubricated baking dish.

When all of the chicken is in the baking dish, pour on the glaze evenly and place it in the oven for about 10 minutes to finish cooking.

Serving/Notes:

The maple syrup/mustard mixture ended up being less a glaze than a thick, heavy, smothering blanket. We all ended up scraping most of it off on our plates. The flavors were nice, though a little heavy on the mustard. I would try to balance the sweetness better the next time.

The oatmeal crust was pretty successful and starting the chicken out in the pan helped the meat retain all its juices throughout the cooking process.

I kept the sides simple, opting for mixed vegetables and biscuits and creating a country-style illusion.

Simply Sides: Pineapple Slaw

To wrap up my report of this week's dinner, I wanted to share this really easy, colorful, and tasty side with you.

Ingredients:

1/2 Small Pineapple

1 Red Bell Pepper

4-6 Carrots

1 Lime

Small Bunch of Parsley

Steps/Analysis:

I made one significant change to the original Real Simple recipe I found. It called for one small jicama. Now, I'm not entirely sure what a jicama is, but I do know that my local grocery store doesn't carry them. Stymied in the produce aisle, I racked my brain for a logical substitute. Carrots seemed a welcome addition to any slaw and the bright, orange color would go well with the yellow pineapple and red bell peppers, so I grabbed a pack and called it a day.

If you have a greater variety of produce at your disposal, I encourage you to try jicama (and let me know what it tastes like!).

I was actually able to find a nicely plastic-wrapped half pineapple. If you can't, you'll have to make do with what's available, but I would avoid the temptation to sub this ingredient out. Carefully cut away the sharp, knobby skin and slice the fruit into thin strips, about 2-3 inches long.

Treat your bell pepper and carrots the same way, making sure to peel the carrots beforehand. Toss all three prepared ingredients in a large bowl.

Roughly chop the parsley and add it to the mix. Try not to let any stems in; they're not particularly pleasant to chomp on.

Finally, cut the lime in half and squeeze the juice over the slaw. Mix everything up with a large spoon and bring it to the table.

Serving/Notes:
The combination of fruits and vegetables may seem odd, but this turned out to be a very nice, refreshing side. I was particularly surprised by the remarkably tasty combination of bell pepper and pineapple. The two really compliment each other well.

This sweet, tangy slaw goes well with the pork tenderloin from my last post, but I imagine it would be a welcome addition to any strong meaty entree, especially if that entree happens to be served at a barbecue.

Glazed Pork Tenderloin

Pork tenderloin is a great cut of pig and a pretty frequent meal over at my house. More often than not, we cook it on the barbecue and the end result is always juicy and flavorful.

While flipping through a borrowed copy of Real Simple magazine, I came upon an (oddly enough) really simple recipe for a glazed pork tenderloin with pineapple slaw that caught my eye. The picture put me in a tropical mindset, which seemed like a good enough reason to make it in late May with summer just around the corner.

Ingredients:

2 Pork Tenderloins (1-1 1/2 lbs. each)

6 Tablespoons of Ketchup

3 Tablespoons of Honey

1/2 Teaspoon of Ground Chili Pepper

Steps/Analysis:

In the interest of full disclosure, the recipe that follows is slightly different from the version I discovered in Real Simple. Originally, it called for one pork loin, stating that it would feed four. There are some big meat-eaters in my family and I wasn't sure that would cut it, so I went for two and doubled up the ingredients for the glaze.

Speaking of the glaze, the original recipe called for ground chipotle peppers, specifically. I couldn't find that at my local Shoprite and defaulted to a more standard ground chili pepper. The meal didn't seem to suffer from the substitution.

Now that that's out of the way, let's get cooking! First, combine the ketchup, honey, and ground chili pepper in a small bowl and stir to combine.

Next, start heating a little olive oil in a large, oven safe pan over Medium-High heat. Also, set your oven to 400 degrees.

Get your tenderloins to a cutting board and remove any excess fat that might be on there. Season generously with salt and pepper and carefully arrange them in the pan. Sear each side of the tenderloins for a few minutes, or until a tasty, brown crust starts to form. Once that is accomplished, kill the heat and spread half of the glaze on the meat. Then, throw the entire pan in the oven.

Set your timer for six minutes. At that point, turn the tenderloins over in the pan and continue to cook for another six minutes.

Place the pork on a large platter. Spoon on the remaining glaze and allow the meat to rest for about five minutes before slicing.

Serving/Notes:
This is a really quick recipe. From start to finish, the entire process took me just over half an hour. The finished product was nice and moist. I may have mistakenly skimped on the searing process, though. More crust is more better, so really be patient with it.

Two tenderloins may have been a little much for my family. I'd say you could easily feed 6 people using this recipe. There's nothing wrong with leftovers, though.

Tune in later this week to learn how to make the pineapple slaw!

Pizza Chronicles: Philly Cheesesteak

Welcome to the next installment of the Pizza Chronicles! So far, I consider my pizza excursions (BBQ chicken, Buffalo chicken, and Mexican) to be wild successes. I'm very happy to report that the Philly cheesesteak pizza continues in the proud tradition of inexpensive, easy, and fun pies.

Ingredients:

1 Boboli Pizza Crust

1 Package of Cheesesteak-style Sliced Steaks (a la Steak-Ums)

1/2 Large Onion

1/2 Green Bell Pepper

1 Handful of Sliced Mushrooms

Sliced Provolone Cheese

Ketchup

Steps/Analysis:

Feel free to skip ahead if you're already familiar with my basic pizza making steps. Newcomers, take heed.

Set your oven to 415 degrees. Brush a little olive oil on the pizza crust and let it crisp up in the oven for about ten minutes. This is another high-stacked pie (similar to my Mexican pizza) so the structural integrity of the crust is very important.

Give your veggies a rough chop and saute in a little oil over Medium-High heat. Stir occasionally and keep an eye on them. You'll want to pull them off the stove before they completely caramelize and turn into mush.

Place your steaks in a separate pan over Medium-High heat and salt and pepper liberally. I bought a package of 16 steaks, which worked out perfectly for two pies, so I'm going to say 8-10 steaks is the right amount if you're just making one.

Use a spatula (or two, if necessary) to separate, flip, chop, and generally pulverize the steaks as they are cooking. You don't want to take a bite and pull all your toppings off, so aim for roughly bite-size pieces, maybe a little bigger.

They steaks will finish up in 10-15 minutes, but check along the way and pull them once you don't see any more red. When they're done, carefully drain the grease from the pan.

Next, turn your attention to your pizza crust. I decided to lay down a thin base coat of ketchup so that the meat would have something to grab onto, but, looking back, this may be an unnecessary step. Pile the steaks on the crust and top with a layer of onions, peppers, and mushrooms. Then, deal out the sliced provolone to cover everything in a uniform, cheesy blanket.

Return the pizza to the oven for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is slightly brown and bubbly. Slice and plate.

Serving/Analysis:

Ketchup and hot sauce are musts, in terms of condiments. I served my Philly cheesesteak pizza with a side of sweet potato fries (but that's mostly because I had a really good coupon for them last week).

I have no complaints about the outcome of this recipe. It worked out just as I had hoped. If you want to get fancy, I have a feeling some pizza sauce would compliment it well.

Sweet and Sour Chicken with Cashews

Short cuts are fun, aren't they? They get us where we want to go faster, on the road and in the kitchen. I'm always looking for a good short cut, so a stir fry recipe that employed frozen chicken nuggets immediately caught my attention. I found it in Real Simple magazine, which, based on its title, seems like a worthwhile publication for beginning chefs.

Ingredients:

1 Cup of White Rice

18 Ounces of Frozen Chicken Nuggets (or thereabouts, I didn't really measure it out)

1/2 Cup of Apricot Preserves

2 Tablespoons of Soy Sauce

2 Tablespoons of Apple Cider Vinegar

2 Teaspoons of Grated Ginger

4 Celery Stalks

1/2 Pound of Snow Peas

1 Chili Pepper

1/2 Cup of Roasted Cashews

2 Scallions

Steps/Analysis:

The rice and chicken nuggets are your first priority since they'll take a good chunk of time to prepare and serve as the foundation of the meal. Depending on the brands of rice and chicken you are using, follow the instructions on the box/bag/package/whatever.

The rice can finish up as you work on everything else, but you should wait until the chicken nuggets are almost finished before getting too ahead of yourself. If you need something to keep your hands busy, you can chop the celery, chili pepper, and scallions and start working on the sauce.

In a mixing bowl, combine the apricot preserves, soy sauce, vinegar, and grated ginger. Stir until thoroughly incorporated and set aside.

When you're ready, put a large pan over Medium/Medium-High heat and pour in enough oil to just coat the bottom. Toss in the celery first, and saute for a couple minutes to soften them up a bit. Then, add the snow peas and chili pepper. Once everything is nice and warmed up, bring the nuggets, cashews, and sauce to the party. Stir or (carefully) toss to coat everything in the sauce.

Finally, bring everything to the table. Sprinkle the chopped scallions over everything.

Serving/Notes:

Spoon big portions of the chicken and vegetables over a nice mound of rice and enjoy. You may want to add a little extra soy sauce, depending on individual taste. Overall, though, the sauce is very pleasant - definitely more sweet than sour.

The somewhat long list of ingredients and directions belie the fact that this is a very quickly prepared meal. I was surprised to find that I had it plated within a half hour or so from starting.