Ricotta Silver Dollar Pancakes

The hus and I have been in a "food rut" lately. So I went through some of my cookbooks to get a little inspiration on some new meals. I'm one of those people that sometimes buys a pretty looking cookbook and then rarely, if ever, opens it (for shame!). This recipe is in The Newlywed Cookbook. I got a copy of this for myself as well as for my sister as a wedding gift. The texture of these pancakes is AMAZING, and it is well worth the extra effort they take (like separating the eggs and folding in whites!) but that's the stuff we do for the ones we love, right?

To make these yourself you will need:

1 1/3 c. flour
1/2 c. cornmeal
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 Tbsp sugar

zest of one lemon
2 c. buttermilk*
1/2 c whole milk ricotta cheese
2 eggs, separated

cast iron skillet
Butter for greasing skillet

*If you don't have buttermilk on hand, add 2 teaspoons of lemon juice or vinegar to regular milk and let it sit a couple minutes. This will add the acidity the recipe requires to activate your leavening agents.

Start by mixing all of the dry ingredients together in a large bowl and setting them aside. Then mix together all of your wet ingredients in another bowl (except for the egg whites). Add the wet ingredients into the bowl of dry and mix together, set aside while you beat your egg whites to stiff peaks in a third bowl (so many bowls!).

Then, gently fold in the egg whites to the rest of your batter and you will get a nice light fluffy batter.

Heat a cast iron skillet to medium heat and butter the bottom once heated. Pour batter into the pan; I use a 1/4 cup measure to pour my batter for these silver dollar style pancakes, but you could make these any size you want. You can also use a pancake griddle if you like, but I love breaking out my cast iron at every opportunity.

These cook about 1-2 minutes on each side. Once poured, you will know it's time to flip when tiny bubbles form on the top of the batter. The second side is done once the sides of your pancake appear dry and you can see a little golden brown color around the bottom edges.

Serve these scrumptious little pancake bites with fruit, syrup, whipped cream or any other topping your heart desires. They are light and fluffy but have a tiny bit of crispiness from the cornmeal. I think these are a new favorite with us!

Do you have any recipes I should try? Leave me a link or recipe in the comments (moderation is enabled, comments will not appear until approved).

Friday Food Craft: Eggs in a Basket

I know it has been awhile, but I couldn't leave you all without a Friday Food Craft, especially before Easter. Sadly, I returned from my trip to Wisconsin with a horrible head cold and have spent most of my week in bed. More crafty goodness will be coming your way next week, I am feeling quite a bit better today.

Now for the food! This is a great take on "eggs in a basket" that is super easy and would make a great Easter breakfast, or part of a larger brunch. It is baked in the oven, so you don't need to babysit it the whole time and doesn't require any turning. I decided to try it with some left over dinner rolls, I'm always trying to use up everything in the kitchen before it goes bad.

You will need:

Dinner rolls (one for each person)
eggs (same number as dinner rolls)
salt and pepper to taste
cheese (I used both a goat cheese and a small sprinkling of grana padano, any cheese you like will do)

*optional additions: tomatoes, peppers, fresh herbs, hot sauce, etc.

First, preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Next, slice the tops off of your dinner rolls. I cut off about the top 1/3 of my dinner roll, to leave ample space for an egg in the bottom. Set the tops aside and hollow out the bottoms of your "bread bowls" enough to hold one egg (you can leave a little extra bread because some of your egg will soak into it and you don't want a skimpy bowl).

Place your egg bowls onto a baking sheet. Now comes the fun: add your seasonings and toppings to taste. This is great because each person can choose their own toppings to make a special breakfast without a lot of fuss. Also, if you have some people who prefer scrambled eggs, they could scramble theirs before pouring it into the bread bowl.

Bake your eggs for 20-25 minutes, and then place your roll tops onto the baking sheet for an additional 5 minutes so they crisp up a bit.

Remove from oven and let sit for 5 minutes to cool slightly. Place the tops back onto each roll and enjoy this delicious breakfast sandwich!

This is a great way to change up the classic eggs in a basket, which generally uses a slice of bread with a hole cut into it. Topping choices are really limitless so you could do this every week and still be having a slightly different breakfast each time. :) I also like that it is baked in the oven so while my sandwiches are baking, I can be making a fruit salad or some hash browns to go with and not risk burning my eggs. Enjoy!