German Pancakes

I'v heard people talk about German pancakes (aka volcano pancakes) before, so I looked up some recipes on the web and we made a few last Sunday.

This is right after I pulled it out of the oven - it falls pretty quickly. We put powdered sugar on this one. So good!

This is the remains of our cheesy one. This was also very good.

Here's the recipe:


GERMAN PANCAKES

1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs
dash salt
dash cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. While oven is preheating, melt 1 tablespoon butter in 9-inch square pan by putting it in the preheating oven.
2. In large bowl, using a wire whisk, beat together: 1/2 cup milk 1/2 cup flour 2 eggs dash salt dash cinnamon

3. Pour batter into 9-inch square pan that has the melted butter. Put it back in the oven.

4. Bake for 12-15 minutes.

5. Serve with powdered sugar or syrup. (Some people like to put lemon juice on it as well as the powdered sugar.)

I left the salt out of the sweet one we made (the one we topped with powdered sugar), and I added more than just a dash of cinnamon to the batter. It was really good. Then for the cheesy one, I didn't add any cinnamon and did more than a dash of salt. These are super easy and so good - it's a week later and I've got one in the oven now! :)

Hawaiian Dinner

We made the banana pancakes with coconut syrup tonight, and it was so good! Very sweet, but good. It's a nice tropical treat - everyone should try it!

Banana Pancakes

We had some awesome, delicious, amazing banana pancakes when we were staying in Kauai for our anniversary. I found this recipe online and am excited to try it sometime:

Epicurious.com (My Kids' Favorite Banana Pancakes)

2 large eggs
2 cups buttermilk
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 cup diced bananas (2 large)
1/2 cup finely chopped pecans
Nonstick cooking spray or 2 tablespoons unsalted butter

In a medium bowl, whisk together the eggs and buttermilk. Stir in the melted butter.

In a small bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt together.

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stirring until just combined — don't worry if there are a few lumps. Stir in the bananas and pecans.

Lightly grease a large sauté pan or griddle with the nonstick spray or butter. Heat the pan until hot and then spoon out 3 tablespoons of batter per pancake. Cook the pancakes until the tops look dull and a few of the bubbles pop, about 3 minutes. Turn the pancakes over and cook for another minute.

Transfer the cooked pancakes to an ovenproof dish and place in a warm oven until the entire batch is ready to be served.



What added to the awesomeness of our pancakes in Kauai is that they had coconut syrup, too. So I'll have to try this recipe as well:

Coconut Syrup

Ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon coconut extract

Combine sugar, water and butter and bring to a boil; boil 5 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in flavoring. Serve over warm pancakes.


I'm excited to try these out sometime - maybe I'll surprise Jack with this for breakfast one morning!

Lake Charles Favorites

In an attempt to post in somewhat of chronological order, I wanted to first blog about some of my favorite restaurants/dessert places from my hometown of Lake Charles, Louisiana. So here goes (in no particular order):

1) Darrell's - My favorite, and actually the only thing I've ever gotten here, is the Darrell's Special. It's a roast beef sandwich which tons of other stuff on it. I can't even begin to tell you what, but I can promise two things: first, it's one of the best sandwiches you'll ever have, and second, it's hands-down the messiest sandwich you'll ever have. If you're ever in the area you have to try this sandwich! I wish I could have one right now...

2) Italian Villa - May it rest in peace. This restaurant is no longer open, but I had to include it because it was my favorite growing up. I ate here for a few Proms and other occasions, and it's one of the best Italian restaurants I've ever eaten at. They even unfold your napkin and put it on your lap for you (kind of shocked me, but hey, talk about good service)! I of course always ordered the shrimp fettucine alfredo, and their garlic bread and salad were great, too. The restaurant was in an old house, and it had a candlelit romantic sort of feel. I sure wish this place was still open!

3) Country Club Donuts - My favorite donuts ever. Not even Krispy Kreme donuts beat these. And don't even go with anything special - just eat a warm, regular glazed donut and you're in heaven!

4) Landry's (Lafayette, LA) - I LOVE the stuffed shrimp here. So good! I've only gotten to eat here a few times since I'm not in Lafayette very often, but when we used to drive through (when we lived in Louisiana), this was my favorite place to stop for food.

5) Steamboat Bill's - I don't love this place as much as some people, but their shrimp pistolettes have helped them make it on my list.

6) Smoothie King - This one's for Jack, since I'm not as much a smoothie person as he is. He loves this place and always has to get a smoothie when we're visiting. I don't really taste the difference between different smoothie places, but Jack does and and this is his fav.

Well, that's all the noteworthy, Lake Charles-specific places that I can think of right now. If I come up with more later I'll update!