Apple Puffed Pancake

My mom got this recipe from a bed and breakfast that she and my dad stayed at years ago. It is delicious!
2 medium baking apples (I like gala), peeled and sliced
4 T. butter

1 1/2 c. milk
6 eggs
1 c. flour
1/4 tsp salt
3 T. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
5 T. brown sugar

Preheat oven to 425, melt butter in a 9 x 13 baking dish in oven. Once butter has melted, add apples to dish and arrange in a uniform layer. Bake until sizzling. While apples are baking, whisk flour, salt, sugar, and cinnamon in a large bowl. Whisk eggs and milk in a separate bowl. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix well with a hand mixer on high. You want to the mixture to be frothy. Pour the mixture over your cooked apples and sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake for 20-25 minutes until puffed and golden brown.

Breakfast: Grandma Ellis' pancakes

Dean's mother made these wonderful pancakes and our family loves them. We use the same batter for waffles, too.

Combine in bowl:
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg yolk
1/4 cup oil

Combine dry ingredients:
1 cup flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and stir just until moistened. Don't overstir.

Beat egg white until fluffy and fold into batter.

Cook as usual for pancakes or waffles.

I have been lazy lately and I haven't been beating the egg white--just adding the whole egg to the batter and it's still pretty good. Beating the egg white does make it nice and light, however.

Another thing that I've done sometimes is add half as much oil and then add a little water if it needs more moisture.

You can substitute part wheat flour, also.

Breakfast: Norwegian Omelets

Here's the famous Norwegian Omelet Recipe that Mama Bahen always made us as kids. We would beg her to make them (Jeri, Bob, Rich and I) and she would have to really be in the mood as then we would have a contest to see which one of us could eat the most. Guess who always won--Bob! (big surprise). Papa Bahen's sister, Aunt Alice, was widowed at 29 yrs. of age and later remarried Vern Obray (it didn't last--they divorced)---but his legacy is this recipe. It was his family's recipe and then we adopted it.

4 eggs
2 cups milk
1 cup flour

Combine all in a blender at slowest speed just until smooth. Don't overblend as you don't want air bubbles in the batter. If you have bubbles, let it sit for a few minutes before using.

Cook on a good non-stick fry pan that has been greased with non-stick spray or shortening.
Cook at medium heat. Use just enough batter to make a thin crepe. Let one side just brown enough to start becoming dry on the edges, run your spatula around the edge to loosen the crepe, and flip in one quick motion. Good luck! This is the hardest part. If you have a crepe maker use those directions.

We always ate them with melted butter and sugar and then rolled them up. Don't let them sit too long. They taste best freshly made.

You can of course fill them with fresh strawberries and whipped cream, cinnamon sugar, powdered sugar, jam, and I've filled them with chopped up ham and broccoli in an au gratin white sauce and then rolled it up enchilada style in a pan, poured more white sauce and cheese over the top, baked it in the oven until the cheese melts and it's very yummy.

Potato Cheese Soup

This is a recipe I make on cold rainy days and I always make homemade rolls to go with it. Warms the tummy and the heart just thinking about it. This recipe serves about 8 and can easily be doubled.

1 cup chopped onion
1 cup diced celery
3 cups diced potatoes
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup flour
1 quart half & half
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
pepper to taste
2 teaspoons sugar
8 slices of American Cheese

Place vegetables in pan and add just enough water to barely cover them. Cover and bring to boil. Then turn down heat to simmer until potatoes are tender.

In the meantime, melt butter in sauce pan and then add flour. Totally integrate flour into butter to create a roux. Then add half and half a little at a time stirring thoroughly between each amount added until smooth. Cook and stir until smooth and thick, using a wire whisk. Then add salt, pepper, and sugar. At this time, add cheese a slice at a time to sauce and stir until melted before adding next slice.

Add sauce to undrained potatoes, stir, reheat if needed, and serve.

Chocolate Pots de Creme (Poe de crem)

Serves 8. This is from Cooks Illustrated

We prefer pots de creme made with 60 percent cocoa bittersweet chocolate . Covered tightly with plastic wrap, the pots de creme will keep for up to 3 days in the refrigerator, but the whipped cream must be made just before serving.

Ingredients

Pots de Crème
10	ounces bittersweet chocolate (I used Ghirardelli 60% dark), chopped fine
5	large egg yolks
5	tablespoons sugar
1/4	teaspoon table salt
1 1/2	cups heavy cream
3/4	cup half-and-half
1	tablespoon vanilla extract
Whipped Cream
1/2	cup heavy cream (cold)
2	teaspoons sugar
1/2	teaspoon vanilla extract
Garnish (optional)
	Cocoa powder for dusting
	Chocolate shavings for sprinkling

Instructions

1. 1. FOR THE POTS DE CRÈME: Place chocolate in medium heatproof bowl; set fine-mesh strainer over bowl and set aside.

2. 2. Whisk yolks, sugar, and salt in medium bowl until combined; whisk in heavy cream and half-and-half. Transfer mixture to medium saucepan. Cook mixture over medium-low heat, stirring constantly and scraping bottom of pot with wooden spoon, until thickened and silky and custard registers 175 to 180 degrees on instant-read thermometer, 8 to 12 minutes (see photos, below). Do not let custard overcook or simmer.

3. 3. Immediately pour custard through strainer over chocolate. Let mixture stand to melt chocolate, about 5 minutes. Whisk gently until smooth, then whisk in vanilla. Divide mixture evenly among eight 5-ounce ramekins. Gently tap ramekins against counter to remove air bubbles.

4. 4. Cool pots de crème to room temperature, then cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate until chilled, at least 4 hours or up to 72 hours. Before serving, let pots de crème stand at room temperature 20 to 30 minutes.

5. 5. FOR THE WHIPPED CREAM: Using hand mixer or standing mixer fitted with whisk attachment, beat cream, sugar, and vanilla on low speed until bubbles form, about 30 seconds. Increase speed to medium; continue beating until beaters leave trail, about 30 seconds longer. Increase speed to high; continue beating until nearly doubled in volume and whipped cream forms soft peaks, 30 to 45 seconds longer.

6. 6. Dollop each pot de crème with about 2 tablespoons whipped cream; garnish with cocoa or chocolate shavings, if using. Serve.

Creme brulee for two

Separate the eggs and whisk the yolks after the cream has finished steeping; if left to sit, the surface of the yolks will dry and form a film. The best way to judge doneness is with a digital instant-read thermometer. The custards, especially if baked in shallow fluted dishes, will not be deep enough to provide an accurate reading with a dial-face thermometer. For the caramelized sugar crust, we recommend turbinado or Demerara sugar. Regular granulated sugar will work, too. The amount of sugar needed for the topping will depend on the shape of the ramekin. Sprinkle enough sugar over the the top to cover, and then shake off the excess (about 1 - 1 1/2 teaspoons for turbinado sugar or 1 teaspoon for regular granulated sugar).

Ingredients

1	cup heavy cream , chilled
2	tablespoons granulated sugar plus 1 additional teaspoon
	Pinch table salt
3	large egg yolks
1/2	teaspoon vanilla extract
2 - 4	teaspoons turbinado sugar or Demerara sugar

Instructions

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees.

2. Combine 1/2 cup cream, sugar, and salt in small saucepan; bring mixture to boil over medium heat, stirring occasionally to ensure that sugar dissolves.

3. Meanwhile, place kitchen towel in bottom of baking dish or roasting pan and arrange two 4- to 5-ounce ramekins (or shallow fluted dishes) on towel. Bring kettle or saucepan of water to boil over high heat.

4. After cream has cooled slightly, stir in remaining 1/2 cup cream to cool down mixture further. Whisk yolks in medium bowl until broken up and combined. Whisk in vanilla extract and about 1/4 cup cream mixture into yolks until loosened and combined; repeat with another 1/4 cup cream. Add remaining cream and whisk until evenly colored and thoroughly combined. Strain through fine-mesh strainer into 2-cup measuring cup or pitcher (or clean medium bowl); discard solids in strainer. Pour or ladle mixture into ramekins, dividing it evenly among them.

5. Carefully place baking dish with ramekins on oven rack; pour boiling water into dish, taking care not to splash water into ramekins, until water reaches two-thirds height of ramekins. Bake until centers of custards are just barely set and are no longer sloshy and digital instant-read thermometer inserted in centers registers 170 to 175 degrees, 35 to 40 minutes (30 to 35 minutes for shallow fluted dishes). Begin checking temperature about 5 minutes before recommended time.

6. Transfer ramekins to wire rack; cool to room temperature, about 2 hours. Set ramekins on rimmed baking sheet, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until cold, at least 4 hours or up to 4 days.

7. Uncover ramekins; if condensation has collected on custards, place paper towel on surface to soak up moisture. Sprinkle each with about 1 teaspoon turbinado sugar (1 1/2 teaspoons for shallow fluted dishes); tilt and tap ramekin for even coverage. Ignite torch and caramelize sugar. Refrigerate ramekins, uncovered, to re-chill, 30 to 45 minutes (but no longer); serve.

Here's what the yummy tropical salad looks like: