Pancakes

Betty Crocker's new pancake recipe sucks. Just putting that out there. Instead of using 1 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp baking soda, it calls for 3 freaking tsp baking powder. So what you end up with is a pancake that tastes like baking powder. No thanks, Betty. I'm sticking with my favorite pancakes.

Tips for making great pancakes:

1. Figure out your stove! I've cooked on a gas stove all my life, so this electric beast in my apartment is throwing me for a loop. Mostly because I can't see how much heat is going into my food. On a gas stove, I'd cook pancakes at about medium heat, but on an electric, it's the medium-high side of low. I burned a depressing number of pancakes before figuring that out.

2. Cook for other people. There is nothing more satisfying or appetite-enhancing than seeing the looks of hunger, desire, and sublime bliss on the faces of those you are feeding.

3. Don't make more pancakes at a time than your pan can hold. If you want to cook a lot of pancakes, use a large electric griddle. If you're stuck with a medium-sized pan, believe me, you're better off making one at a time and ending up with beautifully browned rounds. Trying to flip too many pancakes in the same pan always makes a mess. (If you've got the heat right, you should still be able to cook fairly quickly.)

4. Add extras! Raspberries & dark chocolate, strawberries & bananas, strawberries & blueberries, and a strip of bacon are good starters. (If you don't believe in eating a pancake with a strip of bacon laid across the middle, I encourage you to try it.)

5. If you're adding in extras, mix them in with the batter rather than sprinkling them in once the pancake is cooking. This prevents the fruit/chocolate/whatever from burning.

6. Keep the sizes small! I use about 1/4 cup of batter per pancake. They're easier to flip, quicker to cook, and just look darn cute.

7. Use brown (or extra) sugar, real butter, whole milk, and your favorite flavor/extract when making the batter.

Peach Push-up

1 peach, with the skin removed
1 oz vanilla rum
1/2 oz cream

Blend ingredients, shake with ice, and serve.

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I might try thinning this slightly with orange juice in the future...which would make it more of an in-season fuzzy navel.

Following Betty and Julia

I went with my parents to see Julie and Julia the other night. What a great movie! It was thoroughly enjoyable, and after a summer without any real opportunity to cook, tantalizing and mouthwatering. The next day I went to a local used bookstore and bought a few cookbooks. For years, my mother and grandmother have used their respective editions of Betty Crocker's Cookbook and I have been wanting to get my hands on one ever since. Unable to find an older printing, I came home with the 40th anniversary edition from 1991. It's paperback, but I may take it to Kinko's and have it rebound so it is more durable and lays flat. I also picked up a 1965 edition of the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook, which Kyle's mother uses, and book of bento recipes. The latter, I confess, is more for eye candy since I don't even know where to find some of the ingredients, much less someone who will eat them.

Then I came home and started scouring Amazon for a 1973 edition of Betty Crocker's Cookbook so I could have one identical to my mother's, only to be interrupted by her handing me a box and saying, "Happy moving out!"

What was in the box but a brand-new 2005 Betty Crocker Cookbook, New Edition! Don't know what the lack of possessive in the title means, but I'll take it anyway. So now I have several cookbooks and finally a few American ones. I would like to get my hands on the Julia Child set, Mastering the Art of French Cooking, but I can wait.

Inspired by all this reading last night and the fresh, aromatic peaches I found at the farmers' market, I made a Peachsicle (although Kyle also called it a Peach Push-up, which I like better) by pureeing a peach, vanilla rum, and half-and-half. It was yummy. After dinner, I experimented with eggs, trying a Julia Child omelette and toaster-poaching in foil cups and muffin tins. The first omelette I made was near perfect, but I couldn't quite replicate it for breakfast this morning. They were tasty, however.

I'm moving into my apartment at school in a few days, and I am most excited to move into the kitchen. I've been scouring our basement for extra pots pans, and tupperware containers, so I'm well-stocked. I can't wait to start using these cookbooks!

Basil Cream Sauce

makes six servings

2 cups fresh basil leaves
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
2 ounces pine nuts
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
pint light cream

In a food processor, combine basil and garlic. Begin processing and pour in olive oil in a thin stream. Process for about 40 seconds, or until mixture begins to emulsify. Add pine nuts and Parmesan, then blend for 1 minute.

Heat cream in a saucepan over low heat until simmering. Pour 1/2 of the hot cream into the processor with basil pesto, and pulse for 20 seconds to incorporate. Pour mixture back into cream, and simmer for 5 minutes, or until thickened.

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From AllRecipes.com. Mom and I made this tonight to go on chicken cooked with mushrooms, tomatoes, and broccoli. It was excellent. I actually used about twice as much cheese, a mixture of parmesan, asiago, and romano. For hors d'oeuvres (so we didn't starve while cooking) we had wheat crackers topped with smoked mozzarella, tomato slices, basil leaves, and drizzled with herb-laden olive oil. To die for!