Breakfast for Dinner

Every now and again, all a girl wants is breakfast for dinner. There’s something pretty soothing about whipping up some eggs, frying up some bacon or stirring up some grits AFTER a long day. Make no mistake, breakfast for dinner requires planning and orchestration…if it didn’t, we would just make the breakfast foods we love for breakfast, right!? But, who really has that kind of time in the morning? Between dogs tapping their paw at the door needing to pee, making lunches, putting out the trash and the recycling, locating missing items, finding a clean…nevermind, and maybe, exercising, most of us are lucky we have time for an Eggo, let alone Eggs Benedict.

Can I get a witness?

It was my turn to cook on Tuesday and I made Breakfast for Dinner…Buckwheat pancakes with real butter, thick SLAB bacon (have you seen my fish oil?) and maple syrup. We also had a fruit salad in the lovely traveling salad bowl and, vodka-ginger liquor-blood orange cocktails...we needed a proxy for the orange juice.

I used the buckwheat pancake recipe I posted a couple of weeks ago and, I must say, they were as good as they are down the shore - I was worried because you know how everything tastes better down the shore.

So, first I assembled all the ingredients.

Then, I mixed the wet ingredients...then the dry ingredients, incorporated them...

Cooked the flapjacks on the griddle and…ladies and gentleman, I present Uncle Bill’s Buckwheat Pankcakes!


These are some good pancakes...really.

Buckwheat Pankcakes

One of my favorite places in the world is the South Jersey Shore….specifically Ocean City, NJ has been a haven for me since I was a little girl. As I drive into town over the 34th Street Bridge, the salt air overwhelms my senses and I am immediately calmed by the expectation of a peaceful retreat.

Transcendentalists take heed…

…sitting on the beach one must also endure the conversations from neighboring umbrella city dwellers about what to make for dinner, sports, politics (everyone’s an expert, you know) and the occasional chiding of a rambunctious child who just dropped his mother's cell phone in the sand. For some, this discourse might get tiresome, but for me, it just adds to the Shore’s allure and familiarity – remember, I grew up in Fairmount and am half Italian, so I am used to a bit of disorder!

Any jaunt to Ocean City would not be complete without a visit to Uncle Bill’s Pancake House. I like the 21st and Asbury Street restaurant, but there are other locations in Strathmere, Avalon, Stone Harbor, Wildwood and Cape May. Regardless of the location, I ALWAYS get the buckwheat pancakes.

You might think that buckwheat is a grain…not true; in addition to being a beloved character on "The Little Rascals," Buckwheat is a fruit seed related to rhubarb, and does not contain protein glutens, so it is often eaten by those with gluten allergies. Oh-tay, now that we've established that...the Uncle Bill’s version of buckwheat pancakes are not gluten free because they contain all-purpose flour, but they are nonetheless soooo good. Below is the recipe direct from this South Jersey Shore tradition!

Uncle Bill's Best Buckwheat Pancakes

1 cup buttermilk
1 large egg
3 tablespoons butter, melted
6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
6 tablespoons buckwheat flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons canola oil and 1 teaspoon butter, for frying pancakes

Directions:
1. In a medium bowl, whisk together buttermilk, egg and 3 tablespoons of melted butter.
2. In another bowl, mix together, all-purpose flour, buckwheat flour, sugar, salt and baking soda.
3. Pour the dry ingredients into the egg-mixture.
4. Stir until the two mixtures are just incorporated.
5. Heat a griddle or large frying pan on medium-high heat.
6. In a small saucepan, add 2 teaspoons of canola oil and 1 teaspoon butter and let melt. Use as required to rub the griddle or frying pan before frying each batch of pancakes.
7. Spoon about 3 tablespoons of batter onto griddle or frying pan for each pancake to form 4 inch pancakes.
8. Fry until bubbles form on the top of the pancakes, about 3 minutes.
9. Flip them over and cook for another 3 minutes or until done.

Enjoy! BTW....I LOVE breakfast for dinner, so stay tuned!

Ocean City photos from Google Images. Recipe from food.com.

French Toast Casserole

You probably think all I do is eat....not true…I take pictures of what I make and eat too! For Christmas, my daughter gave me Photo Shop Elements (can’t imagine how she knew I wanted this…perhaps it was the subtle “If you don’t have my gift yet, I’d like Photo Shop Elements” hint) and I am anxious to learn how to enhance the photos I take so that they are as visually appealing as possible.

I also knit.

Really.

On Christmas morning, I traditionally prepare a breakfast casserole...sometimes I make a panettone bread pudding or a frittata, but this year I made a French Bread Casserole and the photos do not do this beautiful blend of bread, eggs, cream, nuts and spices justice. Definitely not low calorie, but CRAZY good…I served it with fruit to neutralize the artery clogging consequences. It would also make a fabulous brunch dish or pot-luck contribution.

French Toast Casserole

“Night Before” Ingredients
1 French Banquette
8 eggs
1 cup milk
2 Tbls sugar
1 tsp vanilla
¼ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
Dash of salt

Praline Topping Ingredients
2 sticks of butter, room temperature
1 cup of light brown sugar
1 cup chopped pecans
2 Tbls light corn syrup
½ tsp cinnamon
½ tsp ground nutmeg

Slice bread and place the pieces in rows in a large, buttered casserole dish. Mix the other “night before” ingredients and beat until blended, but not bubbly. Pour over the bread slices, cover and refrigerate overnight. The next day, preheat the oven to 350°. Combine the praline ingredients and spread them evenly over the soaked bread. Bake for 40 minutes until puffed and golden. Serve with syrup, jam, or honey.

This is delectable and it will be hard to resist a second helping.

You've been appropriately warned.

I got this recipe years ago so I don’t know the source. I apologize in advance for not attributing credit.