Cake for Breakfast

Today (February 28, 2025) is National Pancake Day.  Who doesn't like pancakes?  Pancakes, like muffins, are an excuse to eat cake for breakfast.  And with pancakes it is acceptable to cover your cake in even more sugar, not to mention butter.  What's not to love?  

I wanted pancakes one day and decided to make them from scratch.  I found this recipe for Best Fluffy Pancakes from  Cafe Delites.  It sounded perfect.  I wanted fluffy pancakes, and nothing against buttermilk pancakes, but I didn't want buttermilk pancakes because every time I buy buttermilk I can only use about a forth of the bottle before I have to throw it out.  (Why can't I get small amounts of buttermilk?). So I don't like to buy buttermilk.

So I made them.  Several times in fact.  Now it is not a secret that I have little patience.  So although I knew (and the recipe said) that I should let the batter rest before I used it I didn't wait long enough the first few times.  The pancakes were still delicious, but when you have the patience to wait as long as you should they are better.  So I finally waited until I could see all the bubbles raised up and the batter
thick with them.  It will become so think that it will not be pourable.  The recipe says you can add milk but my pancakes are never round anyway so I left it thick plopped it in the pan and just spread it a little.

They are thick.  So once again my lack of patience is an issue.  You can not just crank the heat because they will start to burn before they are cooked through.  And once again waiting is a good thing.  Because if you can wait for the batter to rise correctly and for the thick pancake to cook though it is one of the fluffiest pancakes I have ever had.  (4 teaspoons of baking powder will do that.)

To finish them off you can do whatever.  Go traditional and use butter and maple syrup, or change it up with blueberry syrup (yum), jams and jellies, hazelnut chocolate spread, or anything else you like.  I'm sure it will all be good on this wonderful pancake base.

I love this recipe.  It is easy to make and delicious.  You can dress it up however you like to fit your tastes. And most of the ingredients are things you will probably have on hand.  I have made it a bunch of times and will continue to go back to it again and again.  I think you will too if you try it. 

Happy National Pancake day!!

I Venture Out For Dine Out Week Boston

My husband and I have not been out for a while now.  COVID has made things difficult and we decided we would wait until restrictions and rules eased up a little.  Fortunately, that occurred concurrently with Dine Out Week Boston.  If you are not familiar, Dine Out Week is an event when area restaurants offer special prix fixe menus for two weeks.

shrimp and chicken

meatball

We decided to try someplace new and went to Basile - Fine Italian Kitchen.  It was a short walk from work and had crème brulee as a dessert choice.  I love crème brulee.  I have to admit that I never go anywhere for Dine Out Week if they have not posted a menu.  I like to know what I'm getting.

We made reservations and asked for bar seating.  I liked that they had an option.  We find bar seating more comfortable because it is more casual but usually for bar seating you have to take your chances.  When we got there at 4:30 PM we were almost all alone so we got our pick of seats at the bar.  It is nice inside but without feeling so fancy that I felt out of place.

David, our bartender, was friendly and helpful.  And he makes a good, fruity

Old Fashioned.  He was there when we needed him but he did not hover or intrude when we did not.

creme brulee

The complimentary bread was buttery soft and so delicious and the spread ( I think it had parmesan cheese in it) was awesome.  I had the arancini appetizer, the ravioli entree and of course the creme brulee.  It was one of the best arancini I have ever had, the ravioli was delicious and the creme brulee was creamy and the brulee on top had the right crack to it.  The whole meal was very satisfying.  My husband had the meatball appetizer, the shrimp and chicken aglio e olio and the creme brulee.  He enjoyed his food as well.

They had a nice selection of whiskey as well.  The whole experience was a lot of fun and it is definitely some place I would love to return to.

Super Simple Fish

 Somewhere in life I got the idea that cooking fish was a difficult process.  I don't know where I got the idea but it stuck with me for a long time in life.  And I wasn't sure I wanted to cook fish enough to actually put the time and effort into learning how.  So almost all of the fish (and, in fact, all seafood) I ate was cooked by someone else.  But then I got married.  And not only was he a seafood lover, he was a seafood cooker as well.  My new husband finally managed to convince me that cooking fish was no harder than cooking anything else.  Nowadays I cook seafood on a regular basis.  One of the fish I tend to cook a lot of is tilapia.  And in my search for a recipe for tilapia I came across this one simply called Pan-Fried Tilapia from Delish.

I already had everything I needed except for the fish itself and it said the total time to prepare this fish was only 25 minutes.  It sounded perfect.  And it turned out to be pretty close.

All you do is mix flour with a couple of spices, season the fish with salt and pepper, and then dip the fish in the flour mixture.  Then you put it in a pan that you have heated some oil in, leave it there for a couple of minutes, turn it over, leave it there for a couple of minutes, and you are done.  And you have four tasty fillets of tilapia.  

I served it just as is with some asparagus.  But I also made some really good fish sandwiches with it.

The only issue I had (and a slight one) is that even after all the fish has been covered in the flour mixture there is a lot left over.  The second time I made this I used half the flour (but the same amount of everything else) and still had plenty to cover my fish. 

I like this recipe because it is quick and easy and also because just the light dredging in the flour mixture mixture imparts a lot of flavor without having to put a heavy breading or batter on your fish.

I Love Noodles!

 I love noodles (especially Asian noodles) and peanut sauce.  So I was very happy when I found this recipe for Asian Peanut Noodles with Chicken on Skinny Taste.

So this time I came really close to following the recipe.  But.  Well, I never really use chicken breast for anything so I used thighs.  Also I used regular peanut butter.  So basically I changed everything that made it healthier so it wasn't so 'skinny' anymore.  But it was tasty.

There is a little prep work.  You need to cut the chicken into strips, grate some ginger, crush or mince some garlic and chop some peanuts.  But there isn't that much to do.  I shredded my own carrots because I had some in the fridge but you can buy some already shredded to save time if you want.  

The recipe says to boil the water for the noodles but it also says cook them according to the package directions.  Well, the package said to put them in really hot tap water.  So I did.  But they did not seem to be getting as soft as I wanted them so I did add boiling water to the bowl to help them along and that seemed to work.  The next hiccup I ran into was with the garlic.  Now, I know you are supposed to read the recipe all the way though before you start to cook.  But I didn't.  So when it said in the ingredients list to mince two cloves of garlic for the peanut sauce, I did,  But the directions say to add three cloves of crushed garlic.  I went with the two minced.  And the ingredients list for the chicken said four cloves.  And then it said to put the garlic in with the chicken strips.  So I put it all in with the chicken.  So when later it said to put two cloves in with the vegetables I thought that might be too much garlic so I didn't.  But maybe the intention was that half go in with the chicken and half with the veggies?  I might do it that way next time.  But what I did worked just fine. 

I chose to mix the veggies in with everything else.  I just found it easier that way.  I think it would have been a prettier dish if I put them on top.  But it certainly didn't hurt the flavor.  I will hold onto this recipe and make it again.

Fighting Food Waste, And Getting Some Good Deals

I play a lot of games on my phone.  Which means I watch a lot of adds on my phone.  One of those adds was for an app called Too Good To Go.  It is all about fighting food waste.  I would like to say that is why I was interested.  But it isn't.  I was interested because I could get some good deals on all sorts of food.

The idea is all sorts of businesses that sell food - cafes, markets, restaurants - have food that does not sell and will soon have to be thrown out.  So instead of throwing it out, the businesses would rather sell it at a discount.  They put some goodies together for you and you get say, $12 of food for $5.  Different places have different prices and different amounts of food.  The trick is you never really know what you are going to get.  You may have an idea.  If you go to a pizza place you will probably get pizza.  But what kind of pizza is a mystery.  This is the part my husband does not get.  He does not understand buying something when you don't really know what it is you are paying for.  I think that is part of the fun.  Of course, sometimes you might be disappointed, or get something you don't really like.  But thems the risks.

The other catch is that you have a limited window in which to pick it up.  Some of the times are not the most convenient.  But that's understandable.  You don't want to sell it on Too Good To Go while there is still a chance someone will buy it at full price.  For two of my orders the place was actually closed when I went to pick up my food.  One of them hung my food on the door and the other one had their front grate pulled half way down but the guy inside saw me and brought my food out to me.  

I have had mostly good experiences with this app.  The very first time I tried to order something I reserved it at 7:00 AM to pick up at 3:00 PM.  About five minutes later I got a message saying my order had been canceled because they wouldn't have enough food left over for me.  So I struck out the first time.  And the only other bad experience was I showed up and they were not expecting me and had nothing ready to give me.  They had to scramble around to put something together since I had already paid.  I have my doubts that I saved any food that day but at least I didn't leave empty handed.  

Some of the things I have gotten from this app include:

I made three trips to Savenor's Market.  The first time it was all produce and a loaf of bread.  The second time it was some produce, a loaf of bread, some fresh pasta and some BBQ pulled chicken.  The third time it was some produce, a loaf of bread, some soup and some yogurt.  The food was all tasty.  Some of the produce had to be used right away and was a little banged up.  For example the outer leaves of the Brussel sprouts had to be peeled off.  But I did use it all.

I went to Render Coffee and got six bagels for $3.29.

I went to Herrera's Mexican Grill and got a chicken burrito.  It was rather small and had a lot of beans but it was very tasty.

I went to Finagle a Bagel and got 17(!) bagels for $4.99.

I went to Red Apple Farm and got a bag of yummy apple cider donuts.  I think some of them were rejects because they were not donut shaped so they couldn't sell them but they taste great so I didn't care.

South End Food Emporium is where they were not expecting me and threw something together.  What I ended up with was a loaf of bread and a bottle of orange juice.  I will give them another try before I write them off.  The people working there seemed surprised there was nothing waiting for me.  So maybe it was just a miscommunication somewhere.

APM Coffee was where a bag was left hanging on the handle of the door.  I'm still not sure how I feel about that.  But the selection of breads and bagels I got were good.

At Otto pizza I got three rather large slices of pizza.  A margarita and two bacon, mashed potato and chives (it works).

The Daily  gave me a bag of pastries.  Apple turnovers and such.

I like this service.  It is obviously not for picky eater or people with food allergies.  But I have gotten some good deals and a lot of good food. I will keep using it.  And if I wasn't so lazy that I didn't want to leave the house after I got home for the day I would probably use it a whole lot more.  But 9:00 PM pick up times are too late for me.  Download it.  See what offers are in your area.  I'm sure you'll find something that interests you.

Well, I Sort of Followed the Directions

 So, I realized recently that I almost always just kind of, sort of, follow a recipe.  I usually start out planning to follow the recipe exactly but it just doesn't work out that way.  

Like when I was looking for a nice grain bowl or grain salad to make for lunch I found this recipe for Cranberry-Pecan Wheat Berry Salad from Taste of Home.  It looked good in the picture and the ingredients all sounded good.  So I started to make my shopping list.  Well, I didn't have any wheat berries.  I was going to put them on my list when I realized I had a whole bag of farro.  So why not just use what I had on hand.  How different could they be, really?  And then I got to walnut oil.  Walnut oil?  I didn't even know they sold bottles of walnut oil until I read this recipe so I was pretty sure I was never going to have a use for it again and I didn't want to buy a bottle of something that would just sit around forever.  So I used olive oil instead.  Everything else I did according to the recipe.  Although I will admit that some of the quantities were eyeballed.  

As with a lot of grain salads like this one there is not a lot of cooking to do.  You have to cook the grain but that is mostly just waiting. You combine all the ingredients for the dressing in a bowl (All of which I had on hand except the walnut oil.  I like when that happens and I get to use what I have instead of having to buy a bunch of ingredients.)  There is sage and thyme in the dressing.  The recipe gives you the amount to use for either fresh or dried.  I used dried because I had them and I have a habit of only using a small amount of fresh herbs and having to throw away the rest.  Then there is a little bit of chopping to do.  And the rest is just mixing everything together.  So nothing too complicated or time consuming.  

It made for a very satisfyingly and filling lunch.  The very savory dressing matches well with the fruit so it has a nice balance.  The apple gives you a nice crunch for a nice texture against the chewy grain.  I think it was the sage and thyme in the dressing but there was something about it that made me think of Thanksgiving.  It reminded me of the stuffing my mother would always make.  

Sometimes when there is no meat or cheese in lunch I feel the lack of it.  But in this one I don't.  It was definitely a full meal.  I will keep the recipe on hand and maybe even use wheat berries next time.  Or barley or quinoa or whatever.  

Maybe I Should Get a Wok

So I wanted to try to make Drunken Noodles.  I love Drunken Noodles.  I do not own a wok and I have tried to make other dishes that tell you to make them in wok and I figure 'how much difference can it make' and it doesn't turn out well.  And I have also tried to make other rice noodle dishes that have not ended well.  But despite my past failures and the fact that I still don't own a wok I decided to try again. 

Spoiler Alert: it went much better this time.  

I used the recipe for Drunken Noodles (or Pad Kee Mao apparently) from The Woks of Life.

There are a million different recipes out there but this is one of the ones that told me to use Thai chilies instead of a chili paste or something.  And I just liked the looks of it.

I started to gather my ingredients.  I could not find rice noodles as wide as the ones I would usually get from the restaurants so I settled for ones that looked liked fettuccini.  I could not find Shaoxing Wine, so I got mirin.  And I used just regular basil, not holy or Thai.  And I'm sure I had more chicken than I was supposed to.  But whatever.

The directions for the noodles said to let them sit in really hot water.  So they were easy to cook.  Then there is a fair amount of chopping to do.  I added an extra Thai chili, because I like heat and well, I had to buy a box of like a hundred so why not.  

Then it is basically adding the ingredients to the wok (or in my case a skillet) when you are told to.  My skillet was just a little too small so stirring wasn't the easiest.  And I don't know if having a wok would help or if I got the noodles too soft before I added them to the pan or if I'm just a brute but I break up the noodles quite a bit in the process.  The finished product did not look exactly like the Drunken Noodles I have eaten before but it was pretty close.  Closer than I expected.  And much closer than my last rice noodle effort.  I was very pleased.  It got even better when I ate them.  They were just what I was hoping for.  I will make them again.  Maybe in a wok next time.

Joining the Herd... Of Unicorn

 So.  This happened.  Yes I got a Unicorn Frappuccino.  I would not have spent money on it.  I don't think I would even have used my star rewards that I earned for spending money on one.  But when I got the email that Starbucks had added a free item to my card for my birthday on the day that the Unicorn Frappaccino came out,it seemed like a sign.  And since they were going to give me one for free just for being born I decided to give it a try.  I went to a Starbucks that I don't usually go to where the baristas wouldn't know me and I would never have to see them again.  And I still felt silly asking for it.  And then I felt silly carrying it down the street.  And then I took a sip and didn't really know what to think.  It tasted like... bubblegum?  Maybe?  Did it change color?  Sort of.  If you swirled it around hard enough you could get the blue, whatever it is, to mix with the pink frappuccino to get a purplish color.  But I had to work at it.  And since the blue stuff is sour it did change the flavor as well.  A little.  Sometimes.  Mostly it was just all the same sweet indistinct flavor.  It wasn't bad.  But I'm not sure I liked it either.  After drinking one I have to say I don't get it.  I'm not sure what they were going for.  Obviously, the point was sales.  You create a buzz.  Everyone runs to buy it.  You have it just long enough for everyone to get one and then you get rid of it.  Because, let's face it, after you've had one you aren't going back for another.

What is that? I need to buy it!

I have been spending a lot of time in the produce section of the grocery store since I have started counting calories.  I'm always looking for things to fill my belly that have a low calorie cost.  And that I don't mind eating.  Which isn't always easy.  All this time looking at fruit has made me aware of a strange impulse I have to buy things when I don't know what they are.  If there is a fruit that I have never seen before I tend to buy it.  You would have thought I would have learned not to do this since the first time I did I ended up with a Buddha's Hand.  I had no idea what it was or how to eat it but it was new and looked cool.  Turns out, you don't really eat a Buddha's Hand because there is nothing there but skin and pith.  All you can do with it is use it for decoration or zest it.  So it sat around until it started to rot and ended up in the compost.  But I keep going.  Recently I was picking up some mangoes and saw something new.  "Oh, what's that?  I need to buy it."  So in the cart it went.  This time it was kiwi berries.  Which turned out to taste like a mix between a kiwi and a grape.  This compulsion came as a surprise to me since it is the only place in my life that I am adventurous.  I usually don't like new and am not impulsive.  Unfortunately, this is a lose-lose type of thing.  On the one hand it could turn out to be something I don't like.  On the other hand I could like it but since I have never seen any of these odd fruits twice I can never get them again.  But at least I'm expanding my horizons so I can recognize more things when I'm watching Chopped.

Magic Meets Custard

Magic 3 Layer Custard Cake (From One Batter)

I browse recipes online all the time, following links from one place to another, starting out looking at a recipe for snickerdoodles and ending up printing out a recipe for trout.  So I have no idea how I came across this recipe.  I certainly wasn’t looking for a Magic 3Layer Custard Cake since I had no idea it existed.  But I ended up on Recipe Tin Eats looking at this.  And it looked really cool and like I could pass it off as a lot of work even if it isn’t.  Besides, custard of all sorts is awesome.  If you want to try it go here.

After the whites are 'folded' in

Like all custards it is mostly milk and eggs.  You have to separate the eggs and beat the whites.  You set them aside and mix the rest of the ingredients together.  Starting with beating the yolks with the sugar and ending with the lukewarm milk.  This has to be done at a low speed to avoid splashing because basically what you have by this time is a bowl of milk.  Then you have to fold in the egg whites.  I have no idea how to fold egg whites into a liquid.  I did the best I could but ended up less folding it in than breaking up the clumps into smaller clumps.  So then I had a bowl of milk with egg whites floating on top.  It said not to worry if there were lumps of egg white so I decided to just go with it and see what happened.

it does not look yummy yet

much better after it's baked

In the pan and then in the oven it went.  About 50 minutes later out it came.  I let it cool.  I had a little more trouble getting it out of the pan than the recipe led me to believe that I would.  But it did come out and stayed in one piece and held its shape.  The consistency reminded me of a Jell-O Jiggler.  When it was cut you could clearly see the three layers.  The top, which had most of the egg whites, was airy.  The middle layer was like custard in a custard pie.  The bottom layer was tougher than the others, slightly chewy, and gave the impression of a crust even though there isn’t one. 

It was delicious.  It was very much like a custard pie but I didn’t have to mess with a pie crust (which is not my strong suit) so I was happy about that.  It’s easy to make (especially after making it once and knowing what to expect.)  And it can sit in the fridge for a couple of days and you don’t have to worry about the crust getting soggy.  It was a hit with my family.  And the three layers makes it look cool too.  I think I’ll be making this again.

Weekend Cooking is sponsored by Beth Fish Reads.  Be sure to check out the other posts here.

My Visit to Smith & Wollensky

bread served with a spoon

Once in a while I like to go to a restaurant I can't really afford. This time I decided to go to Smith & Wollensky. It's the kind of place that you pay fifty dollars for a steak and side dishes are extra.

I planned to go on a Sunday evening and assumed it would be busy so I made a reservation. It turns out I didn't need one. I got there at six and there were only a few people there. And during the hour or so that I stayed not many more came in. That was okay with me. I don't really like crowded. The place is warm and inviting. It does have a classy feel to it but I went in jeans and sneakers and a nice top and I was not the most casually dressed person there.


Everyone was very polite and my waiter, who was also bar tending at the

perfectly cooked

time, was attentive and helpful. I started with an Eastern Hemisphere cocktail. It was light and refreshing and I liked it but it had a flavor I couldn't identify that didn't seem to be in the description. But it could have just been the green tea. Then he brought me some bread which came out in a little pan with a big spoon stuck in it. It was warm and buttery and flavored with rosemary. Luckily not too much rosemary since I am not a huge fan. I got the pea soup to start. It came out in a little tower. The empty bowl on the bottom, a little tureen with the soup in it, then a little dish on top with the croutons. Then he carefully poured my soup into the bowl, using a plate as a shield so there was no chance I would get splashed. Then after asking if I wanted the croutons in my soup, added them for me. It seemed like a big production for a bowl of soup but the care in the service and presentation is all part of the experience so it was fun too.

For my entree I got the filet mignon (10 oz.) and half sides of the creamed spinach and au gratin

half sides

potatoes. It doesn't say anywhere that I could see that you could get half orders of the sides so I'm glad my waiter mentioned it or I would have only gotten one. He asked what I wanted to drink, perhaps a glass of wine? Well, actually, yes. But I know absolutely nothing about wine. So this is where I usually pick something at random from the wine menu and ask for it like I know what I'm talking about. But I didn't have a wine menu any more since it was taken away after I ordered. So I asked for a suggestion instead. And he brought out a bottle and opened it at the table and talked to me about it like I would understand him. Then he let me try it. It tasted like red wine. So I said it was good and he poured me a glass. And I did enjoy it but I couldn't tell you what it was even though he seemed surprised that I had never heard of it. The sides came out in their own little skillets, the cheese on the potatoes still bubbling. Both were good but the star of the meal was obviously the steak. It was cooked perfectly and also seasoned perfectly. No need to add salt or anything. I had not asked for any of the embellishments or other add ons to the steak but I was given some béarnaise sauce to go with it. That was a nice touch.

I couldn’t finish all of that food but, of course, that didn’t stop me from getting dessert. I got

yummy cake

the coconut cake. It isn’t a light and fluffy cake. It is pretty dense. But it is very good. And the whipped cream on the side is delightful. I had a lot of food boxed up to take home and my waiter gave me a whole little loaf of the bread to take with me.

The restroom was clean and they had those thick soft paper towels that

mystery door in restroom

feel like cloth. There was a mystery door opposite the toilet which always makes me uneasy even though logically I know no one is going to open it. But that’s probably just me. And that is a very small thing compared to the rest of dinner. I was very happy with the night and if I can ever afford it again I will go back.

extra bread and great take out containers