HOT OFF THE GRIDDLE NOW!!

We've been in our house for a little over a year now, and it's taken that long to use the griddle on our stove top...for real. Shame on us. I've been making up for it during the past couple of weeks, however. I started off by trying out a new savory pancake recipe that was a surprise hit. As in, I already want to make it again. Then I had some buttermilk to use up, so I tried a basic pancake recipe. My most current attempt was the result of a big summer project: cleaning out and organizing all the recipes I've pulled out of magazines over the years.

All I could think about while flipping pancakes was the time Kerry and I made pancakes while living in The Heights apartment complex. Emily and Robyn lived in a nearby building and Emily was coming over for breakfast. I had an old school cell phone and until that morning, didn't realize that everyone's phone didn't text in all caps. While I was flipping cakes, Kerry was texting Emily from my phone to let her know her pancakes were ready and getting cold. I don't remember exactly what Emily's hold up was, but if I had to guess it's be a run or a quick trip to Starbucks. Anywho, when Emily got to our apartment, she thought she'd been being yelled at via text message because Kerry had texted "PANCAKES HOT OFF THE GRIDDLE NOW!!" Fixed that all caps feature on my little phone and we enjoyed our chocolate chip cakes.

Here are my attempts over the past couple of weeks:

Pancake #1:
Corn Pancakes with Smoked Salmon and Lemon-Chive Cream

1/4 cup light sour cream

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2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives

1 teaspoon grated fresh lemon rind

2 1/4 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1/2 cup)

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal

1 teaspoon sugar

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper

1 1/4 cups fresh corn kernels, divided (about 3 ears)

2/3 cup low-fat buttermilk

3 tablespoons butter, melted

1 large egg

12 thin slices cold-smoked salmon (about 6 ounces)

Combine first 3 ingredients in a small bowl; chill.

Weigh or lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour and next 5 ingredients (through pepper) in a medium bowl. Combine 1 cup corn kernels, buttermilk, butter, and egg in a blender; process until coarsely pureed. Add pureed corn mixture to flour mixture, stirring until just combined. Fold in remaining 1/4 cup corn.
Pour about 2 tablespoons batter per pancake onto a hot nonstick griddle or nonstick skillet; spread gently with a spatula. Cook 3 minutes or until tops are covered with bubbles and edges look cooked. Carefully turn pancakes over; cook 3 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned. Arrange 2 pancakes on each of 6 plates; top each pancake with 1 slice salmon and 1 teaspoon lemon-chive cream.

*My thoughts: make this now. And make more of the cream/sauce...you'll want it. We were pleasantly surprised by the combination of unexpected flavors. This is a great, great, easy recipe!

(Cooking Light)

Pancake #2:

Whole-wheat pancakes

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup whole-wheat flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

1 cup lowfat buttermilk

1/2 cup nonfat milk

1 tablespoon honey

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (flour through salt). In another medium bowl, beat together the eggs, nonfat milk, buttermilk, honey and vanilla.
Preheat a large nonstick griddle or skillet over a medium-low flame. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, mixing only enough to combine them. The batter will be somewhat lumpy. Use a 1/3 cup measuring cup pour the batter onto the griddle or skillet. Flip the pancake when the top is bubbling and it is golden brown on the bottom. Then cook until the other side is golden brown.

*My thoughts: I'm all for healthy food, but these tasted healthy...know what I mean? I think I'd play with the all-purpose flour vs. whole-wheat flour ratios next time. Were light and fluffy though, even with that much whole-wheat flour.
(Elie Krieger cookbook but can be found on foodnetwork.com)

Pancake #3:
Carrot cake pancakes

5 3/5 ounces all-purpose flour (about 1 1/4 cups)

1/4 cup chopped walnuts, toasted

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

Dash of ground cloves

Dash of ground ginger

1/4 cup brown sugar

3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk

1 tablespoon canola oil

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

2 cups finely grated carrot (about 1 pound) 

Cooking spray

3 tablespoons butter, softened

2 tablespoons honey

Weigh or lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine flour and next 7 ingredients (through ginger) in a large bowl, stirring with a whisk. Combine 1/4 cup brown sugar and next 4 ingredients (through eggs); add sugar mixture to flour mixture, stirring just until moist. Fold in 2 cups carrot.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Spoon 4 (1/4 cup) batter mounds onto pan, spreading with a spatula. Cook for 2 minutes or until tops are covered with bubbles and edges look cooked. Carefully turn pancakes over; cook 1 minute or until bottoms are lightly browned. Repeat procedure twice with remaining batter. Combine butter and honey in a small bowl; serve with pancakes.

*My thoughts: this was very sticky batter, which made it difficult to spread out on the griddle. The flavor was good, but they were pretty thick which made it hard to cook them all the way through. I used 1/8 teaspoon of allspice instead of a dash of cloves and a dash of ginger...that's what I had on hand. I chunked this recipe but was glad to try it out.

(Cooking Light)

Happy pancaking!