Happy Halloween from Cidney the Girl Dog

Hello from Cidney the Girl Dog! Cidney and I wish you a very Happy Halloween!

May your day be filled with the best candies, pumpkin carvings, and lots of hot cider and family time.

- mary and cidney the girl dog

Pancake Day - Shrove Tuesday Ideas

It's Fat Tuesday / Shrove Tuesday / Pancake Day! The day before Lent, it's a day to indulge and use up some forbidden foods.

Here are some ideas of pancakes I've made in the past. Happy Pancake Day to you and yours! Next year, I hope I finally make a King Cake...this recipe from the LA Times Food Section is very interesting!

Thin Mint Pancakes

Blueberry-Cornmeal Pancakes

Cinnamon-Oat Pancakes

Cornmeal Pancakes with Maple Syrup

Thin Mint Pancakes - National Pancake Day

Thin Mint Pancakes

It's dessert and breakfast. Together in one.
How efficient.
 
March 1st is National Pancake Day (celebrated at IHOP with a free pancake/fundraiser). Next week is Shrove Tuesday or Fat Tuesday and you can make pancakes again. This was done to empty the kitchen of eggs, sugar and cream before Lent.

My friend's daughters were selling Girl Scout cookies. I helped them out by selling 22 boxes to my co-workers...and I bought 31% of said 22 box order! So, I'll be making some Thin Mint inspired goodies. In the past I've made Thin Mint Cupcakes, Thin Mint Brownies and Thin Mint Tart Crust...we'll see what else I can make!

I recently purchased the Cultured Buttermilk Blend product by Saco. Have you tried it? Can't figure out if I like it or not...I guess I need to make recipes with and without the real buttermilk and compare.

I made 1/2 the recipe for Buttermilk Pancakes that appears on the Buttermilk can! You can make any buttermilk pancake recipe and crush up some Thin Mints and add them to the batter. What can be better?! Um, nothing. :) Happy Pancake Day!

Buttermilk Pancakes

4 T (1/4 cup) Saco dried buttermilk blend
1 c flour
1 T sugar
1 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1 egg
1 cup water
2 T vegetable oil
10 Girl Scouts Thin Mint cookies, crushed or cut into small pieces

Mix together the dry ingredients, including Thin Mints, in a bowl. Mix together the egg, water and oil in a measuring cup. Mix together just until mixture is smooth; don't overmix. Drop onto a hot, greased pan and cook until the top is full of tiny bubbles. Turn and brown other side.

Martha Stewart's Blueberry-Cornmeal Pancakes for Pancake Tuesday!

Today is Shrove Tuesday or Fat Tuesday...or Pancake Tuesday! In the past, as a way to prepare for Lent beginning on Ash Wednesday (for many Western Christians) people would use up rich foods such as fat, eggs, and sugar by making pancakes. Different areas recognize the day with different food...in Hawaii it is called Masalada Day (donuts). Yum, next year I'm making those! IHOP is celebrating Pancake Day next week by offering free pancakes on Feb 23, 2010...with hopes you make a donation to a good cause.

I love pancakes.
I love cornmeal.
I love blueberries.
Any guesses if I liked this pancake? Yes!

The blueberries aren't mixed into the batter, but placed on the pancake while cooking. You'll see them on only one side.

P.S. Dude, have you been watching as much Olympic coverage as me? Oh, I've fallen in love with Snowboard Cross. It's practically roller derby but really, really cold - hee hee. The opening ceremonies were great, and I'm saving my money for a trip to Vancouver. Such a beautiful place and people! Gotta run...pairs skating coming up!

Recipe:
Adapted from Martha Stewart's Blueberry-Cornmeal Pancakes (click here for the original recipe)

Click here for a printable recipe

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk
1/4 cup whole milk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus more for griddle
1 large egg, lightly beaten
2 cups (1 pint) blueberries

Orange-Maple Butter, for serving (I skipped this. I'm not a butter on my pancakes gal)
Pure maple syrup, for serving

Whisk together flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in a large bowl. In a separate bowl or measuring cup, mix together buttermilk, milk, butter, and egg. Whisk wet ingredients into dry ingredients until just combined (mixture will be lumpy).

Pour batter onto a greased griddle or pan over medium heat. Place blueberries on the batter. (Martha's recipe has you mix sugar with the blueberries, but I skipped that.)

Martha Stewart's website says, "This batter is thicker than normal, thanks to the addition of cornmeal. The bubbles that usually indicate when to flip a pancake will not form, so flip when the edges start to set."

Serve with butter and maple syrup.

Nutella Bread Pudding for World Nutella Day

Whoo Hoo!
February 5, 2010 is World Nutella Day. Sure, not as exciting as National Bundt Day (hello...what did you expect from me?!), but Nutella Day is fun.

Organized by Ms Adventures in Italy and Bleeding Espresso, they have celebrated World Nutella Day for several years.

I started the morning by making a Nutella French Toast with my homemade Challah bread. Delicious way to start the day!

When I saw that my friend JustJenn developed a recipe for Nutella Bread Pudding, I was there!

And, as yesterday's post details, I made my first Challah bread in my baking course!
Challah + Nutella = Hella yes!

Recipe:
Nutella Bread Pudding - JustJennRecipes

Notes: I used 12 of these absolutely cute mini-ramekins. They are 2.5 ounces and I picked them up at a restaurant supply store. They each hold about 1/2 cup of bread pieces. Jenn's recipe is for 8 regular size ramekins. I only needed half the custard to make my minis.

Happy World Nutella Day!!