The Perfect Pancake

Everyone has one of those foods for which they have no off-switch. For me, it's pancakes. I can just keep going. As a result, I don't have them too often. But Shrove Tuesday is only a few days away and I smell an excuse to eat pancakes for dinner. Yay!

There are a million variations on pancakes nowadays. There are all the standard versions -- blueberry, banana, chocolate chip -- and the healthy ones -- whole wheat, buckwheat, multigrain. Most fun are the unexpected interpretations. I just phoned my sister-in-law to wish her a happy birthday and my brother was in the midst of prepping a breakfast of pumpkin pancakes with root beer syrup.

The trouble with pancakes is they're finicky. They've got to be light and fluffy and cooked evenly (golden brown with no raw spots in the middle). They're also hard to enjoy with a group because they really do need to be eaten as they come right off the grill. They're one of those deceptively simple foods that are actually quite tricky to make.

Last week I made a couple of phone calls to people who make a lot of pancakes. I also consulted the website for Cook's Illustrated magazine, one of my favourite sources for when you're looking how to make "the best" of something. The folks at Cook's Illustrated test recipes dozens and dozens of times, tinkering with oodles of variables in an effort to sort out the ultimate way to create whatever it is they're trying to make. For recipe classics like this, they're a great source.

At Angie's Kitchen in St. Agatha, they know their breakfast. Sharon Graham, who's married to owner Mike Graham, was a little cagey when I asked her what makes a good pancake, fearful of giving away any secrets.

"You've got to have a hot grill," she said. "And it has to be well-greased with oil or butter or they stick and make a mess." As far as ingredients go, Graham did tell me that Angie's uses a splash of vanilla for flavour but wouldn't go much further than that.

Other tips: Don't let the batter sit too long or it thickens and the consistency is no good. And, she says, "absolutely" serve them right away.

Here are the best tips from Cook's Illustrated:

Mix the batter lightly. Apparently fluffiness in pancakes is related to underdeveloped gluten and the bubble-forming ability of the baking soda. Mixing too much makes makes glutens elastic and less tender and exhausts the baking soda. Stir your batter just until ingredients come together and no more than that. Many recipes now incorporate beaten egg whites, which can also add volume (see below).

Use the batter as soon as you make it. As Graham pointed out, fresh is best. The baking soda will no longer do its thing if the batter sits too long.

Get the pan temperature just right. A good way to test the heat of the skillet is to make a toonie-sized pancake using about a tablespoon of batter. If it's golden brown (not blond or burning) after one minute, your pan is ready. Butter will give you good flavour and crispy edges, but it has a lower smoke point than oil and burns faster. Canola oil might be a safer choice.

Serve immediately from the pan. But if you want to sit down to eat as a group, try this: spread your pancakes in a single layer on a large cooking-spray-coated cooling rack placed on a baking sheet. Pop into a 200 degree oven (uncovered) for up to 20 minutes. Beyond that, they'll start to dry out.

Here is a classic recipe for buttermilk pancakes from the master of simplicity, Alice Waters. This comes from her book The Art of Simple Food and serves four to six. Play around with the flours according to what you've got (you can also use all-purpose) and, if you like, add chopped banana or blueberries to the finished batter.

Buttermilk Pancakes

3/4 cup whole-wheat pastry flour

3/4 cup mixed whole-grain flours (such as whole wheat, rye, spelt, cornmeal or buckwheat)

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tbsp sugar (optional)

1 tsp salt

2 eggs, separated

1-3/4 cups buttermilk

6 tbsp butter, melted

In a large bowl, measure and mix together first six ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk egg yolks into buttermilk. Make a well in the dry ingredients, pour in the buttermilk mixture and stir just until mixed. Add the melted butter and stir well. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until they form soft peaks, then fold them into the batter. If batter is too thick, add more buttermilk.

Spoon the batter onto a preheated griddle, cooking a single pancake first to see if the griddle is the right temperature. Cook until the undersides of pancakes are golden brown. Turn over and cook until done.

Macarons

I think it's fair to say that the cupcake has gone the way of the sweet potato fry and the chipotle pepper.

They're ubiquitous. We love them and we'll keep eating them, but as food trends go, they're past their peak.

With every exhausted fad, though, comes something new for people to salivate over. In the sweet department, the cupcake has been shoved aside by an equally pretty young thing: the macaron.

Macarons (not to be confused with coconut macaroons) are lovely little ground almond and egg white cookies sandwiched together with flavoured buttercream. They come in an eye-catching array of colours and, thanks to their good looks and memorable taste and texture (crisp outer shells giving way to squishy meringue and silky icing), they're the current darlings of North American bakeries and patisseries. Here is the part where the Parisians would roll their eyes -- there, they've been a staple treat for many moons.

Shops dedicated to macarons alone have popped up in Toronto and Montreal. And the little cookies are the new thing at weddings (in showstopping tree-like towers or as boxed favours), showers and parties. Some are touting them as a more affordable -- but equally attractive -- alternative to cakes and cupcakes.

Here in the Waterloo region, Kate Sauer has been making macarons at her Waterloo patisserie, Sabletine, since it opened 16 months ago. She's makes them to order (though you may also find them ready-to-buy at the bakery in smaller quantities) in a variety of colours and flavours -- chocolate, grapefruit, cassis, raspberry, passionfruit, orange blossom and lemon.

If you're feeling ambitious and are looking for a Family Day kitchen project (or something sweet for your Valentine, perhaps?), why not make your own? Just don't expect to whip them together in an hour.

"My words of wisdom would be patience," says Sauer. "They take a long time, so don't try to do it in a rush."

Key things to remember, she says: Don't try this on a humid day; weigh your ingredients for best results; don't underwhip or overwhip the egg whites; and let your piped cookies dry before you put them in the oven or they'll crack.

Here's a recipe from the website Serious Eats, with some alterations and added advice from Sauer. These are for chocolate macarons. You could take away the cocoa powder and use a little gel food colouring to make the meringue cookies the hue of your choice, then add colour to the buttercream icing, as well. The icing is also the place to play with flavour (using zest, extracts, and so on).

Basic Chocolate Macaron Cookie

Makes approximately 30 to 50 finished macarons

225 grams icing sugar

125 grams ground almonds

20 grams cocoa powder

110 grams egg whites (about 4) at room temperature

30 grams granulated sugar

pinch of salt

1. On parchment, use a pencil to draw one-inch circles about two inches apart. Flip sheet over and place on a baking sheet (you'll likely need to do about three baking sheets worth). 

2. Push almond flour through a sieve, and sift icing sugar and cocoa powder. Mix all three in a bowl set aside. If the mixture isn't dry, spread on a baking sheet and heat in the oven at the lowest setting until it is.

3. In a large, clean, dry bowl, whip egg whites with salt on medium speed until foamy. Increase the speed to high and gradually add granulated sugar. Continue to whip to stiff peaks -- the whites should be firm and shiny.

4. With a flexible spatula, gently fold icing sugar mixture into egg whites until completely incorporated. The mixture should be shiny. When small peaks dissolve to a flat surface, stop mixing.

5. Fit a piping bag with a 3/8-inch (1 cm) round tip (or fill a plastic baggie and cut the corner off). Pipe the batter into circles draw on parchment (use a moist fingertip to flatten any peaks). Tap the underside of the baking sheet to remove air bubbles. Let dry at room temperature for one to two hours to allow skins to form. At this point, they should be tacky (not wet) to the touch.

6. Bake in a 325F oven for 10 to 11 minutes, rotating the baking sheet after 5 minutes for even baking. (Note: The recipe suggests using a wooden spoon to keep the oven door slightly ajar but Sauer says she's never done this).

7. Remove macarons from oven and transfer parchment to a cooling rack. When completely cool, slide a metal offset spatula or paring knife underneath cookies to remove from parchment.

8. Pair cookies of similar size and pipe about 1/2 tsp of filling (recipe follows) onto one cookie. Sandwich macarons and refrigerate to allow flavours to blend together. Bring back to room temperature before serving.

Bittersweet Chocolate Cream Ganache 

230 grams bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

1 cup heavy cream

4 tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature

1. Place the chocolate in a bowl large enough to hold all ingredients and keep it close at hand. In a separate bowl, work the butter with a rubber spatula until it's soft and creamy. 

2. Bring the cream to a full boil in a heavy saucepan. Remove the pan from the heat and, working with the rubber spatula, gently stir the cream into the chocolate. Start stirring gently in the centre of the mixture and work your way out in widening circles. Continue to stir without creating bubbles until the chocolate is melted and the mixture is smooth. 

3. Let cool slightly, then add the butter in two additions, mixing with the spatula from the centre, again in widening circles. When the butter is fully incorporated, the ganache should be smooth and glossy. Let it sit at room temperature or chill it slightly in the fridge (stirring it now and again) to get it to the right consistency for piping.

Cooking For Your Valentine

You could go out for dinner next Saturday night -- that would be Valentine's Day. In that case, hopefully you've already made your reservation. Restaurants are usually crazy on the 14th, but with it falling on a Saturday this year, expect everyone and their brother to crawl out of the woodwork looking for a romantic night out.

So why not stay in? Many of us have got all day to tinker in the kitchen. And if you're lucky enough to have a significant other that likes to cook, too, then spending the afternoon or evening in the kitchen putting together an amazing meal just might make for the perfect date.

As for those of you with thoughts of creating the perfect meal for your loved one, the question is this: how do you do so without spending most of the evening in the kitchen, sweating and swearing, while your Valentine flips through magazines and sips wine in the living room?

I posed this question to a couple of local chefs -- Maribel Linfield and Kirstie Herbstreit, both of whom offer hands-on cooking classes in the region, including some this week geared specifically toward the Valentine-minded.

Both emphasized the same things -- make-ahead dishes that are simple and feature quality ingredients.

"It doesn't have to be stressful or cost a lot of money," says Linfield. "Something as basic as mashed potatoes is perfect. It's a simple food treated with love and respect."

That said, she also advocates staying away from meals that are too heavy. Nothing ruins the Valentine's mood like a lead belly and an encroaching case of heartburn.

"Stuff that you can make ahead is number one," says Herbstreit, whose Valentine's clients learn to make a do-ahead meal of roasted chicken with savoury brie bread putting.

"Often it's the simple dishes with very few ingredients that you get the most satisfaction out of, anyway. It's also fun to splurge on a special ingredient, like a real vanilla bean or a really good cheese. That sort of thing can make all the difference and it's where people get the wow factor. It makes a home meal a little bit more special."

As for getting organized ahead of time, make lists, order meat or fish ahead of time from your butcher or fishmonger and make anything ahead of time that you can. Soups, says Herbstreit, often taste better when done ahead. Desserts like custards benefit from being refrigerated for several hours, and sides like scalloped potatoes taste great reheated.

As for the main event, both Linfield and Herbstreit say beef or salmon wrapped in phyllo or puff pastry (like Beef Wellington) are ideal dishes. You can wrap the meat or fish ahead of time and pop it in the oven when the time comes.

Whatever you decide on, says Linfield, keep the champagne flowing and remember: "The good thing about trying something new is that you're with someone you care about."

Here is Kirstie Herbstreit's recipe for Beef Welly Bites, a lovely little appetizer whether you make them for your sweetie next weekend or take them to a party some other time.

To make ahead, prepare them through step three, then stash them in the fridge or, if you're really working ahead, freeze them.

Beef Welly Bites 

Makes about 24

1 cup cremini or other mushrooms, finely chopped 

1 tbsp butter, divided 

1 lb beef rib-eye steak 

kosher salt and freshly cracked pepper 

2 sheets store-bought puff pastry, thawed, but cold

1 egg, lightly beaten 

1 shallot, finely chopped 

1-1/2 tbsp whole-grain mustard 

Splash of white wine (optional) 

1/2 cup 35% cream 

arugula or mixed greens (for platter) 

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 F. In a small saucepan, melt half the butter and sauté mushrooms until soft; set aside. 

2. Slice the rib-eye steak into cubes, about 2 cm by 2 cm and sprinkle with salt and pepper. 

3. Cut puff pastry into squares, 3 cm by cm. Place a small dot of the mushroom mixture in the middle of the pastry and top with beef cube. Brush egg wash on the sides of the pastry and ‘pinch’ pastry together at the top.

4. Place on a parchment line baking sheet and bake until nicely browned, about 8-10 minutes.

5. Meanwhile, prepare sauce by sautéing the shallot in the remaining butter until soft. Add mustard and wine, if using; stir once. Add cream and reduce by half.

6. Plate bites on platter on top of greens; drizzle with sauce or serve on the side in a small dish.