Dutch Babies for Lodge's 120th!

This month Lodge is celebrating its 120th anniversary, and since I’m a big fan, I’m joining the party. And I’m bringing Dutch babies!

When you think about it, 120 years of “Made in USA” is a big deal.

Lodge hasn’t merely survived where all of the other major cast iron cookware foundries have failed, it has managed to innovate and prosper, and perhaps what’s most exciting to CI aficionados like myself is that Lodge is currently undergoing a massive expansion. I, for one, cannot wait to see what they’ll come out with next and whether they’ll bring back some favorite pieces from their past. (Like the breakfast skillet and maybe the chile-shaped muffin pan. Hint, hint, Lodge.)

Too bad 120 candles won’t fit in a Dutch baby! Because these puffy pancakes are my absolute favorite thing to make in my Lodge cast iron pans. I especially like to use their cute little 6 ½” skillets to make individual babies. I mean, who doesn’t love having a baby of their very own?

There was only a second to snap this photo before the heat from the oven started melting my phone, but this is how properly puffed Dutch babies should look.

They’re enormous! For that unbelievable puff, use high heat, preheat the cast iron skillets with the butter until the butter is nutty and brown, add the batter directly into the hot pans, and bake until the crust is set and very dark and caramelized. Go darker than you might think—they’ll taste amazing and they won’t fall when they come out of the oven.

I’ve made Dutch babies in other vessels before, and they’re not the same. A Dutch baby made in a stainless pan or a ceramic baking dish lacks the deeply caramelized crust and deflates as soon as you take it out of the oven. You’ve just got to have Lodge cast iron for Dutch baby perfection!

Happy 120th anniversary, Lodge!

Individual Dutch Babies
Printable Recipe

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
½ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup sugar
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
3 large eggs
¾ cup milk
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 450˚F. Divide the butter among 2 6 ½” cast iron skillets and bake for 6 to 8 minutes, or until browned. Meanwhile, whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk together the eggs, milk, and vanilla in a medium bowl. Add the egg mixture to the flour mixture in thirds, whisking after each addition until smooth. If you add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients all at once, you will inevitably wind up with a lumpy batter. As soon as the butter is brown, divide the batter among the hot skillets and bake for 22 to 25 minutes, or until puffed and golden brown. Serve immediately.

Serves 2. For breakfast, lunch, or brinner, these babies are delicious served with nothing but a spoonful of preserves or a drizzle of maple syrup or honey. Take them from simple to spectacular with a topping of seasonal fruit and lightly sweetened vanilla whipped cream. Strawberries and cream is always a hit at my house.

Sometimes I serve the babies right in the pans, sometimes I slide them out onto plates.

The cast iron keeps them warm longer, but of course it melts toppings like whipped cream faster too. For a more substantial crust that is even more resistant to falling, substitute 2 tablespoons of cornstarch for 2 tablespoons of the flour. If you treated yourself to a Lodge 120th Edition 8” skillet, you can use it to make a single large Dutch baby. It will take 7 to 9 minutes to brown the butter and 24 to 27 minutes to bake the 8” baby.

At Long Last

I’m back.

I didn’t mean to be gone so long, but this fall was a difficult one. Though I wanted nothing more than to be here, it wasn’t meant to be—one thing after another kept me away…

There were problems at work, problems that caused me much stress and angst. Complications that drove me to distraction and made it difficult to see the big picture. At times it seemed my entire professional future was in doubt.

There was a debilitating back injury, one that made both sleep and work nearly impossible. One that continues to lurk in the background, threatening constantly.

And then there was a death in the family the day after Thanksgiving. It was the result of a supposedly routine procedure. It wasn’t her time to go. There's no making sense of it. It was painful and needlessly drawn out, just heartbreaking.

So I hope you can understand why I had to be away. All I can say is that there was a lot of comfort food shared with family over the past few weeks. I saved some for you…

Home Fries with Chestnuts
Printable Recipe

6 ounces chestnuts
3 tablespoons canola oil
2 large Russet potatoes, peeled and diced
½ yellow onion, diced
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Using a chestnut knife, cut an X in the cheek of each chestnut. Arrange the chestnuts in a single layer on a baking tray and bake for 25 to 35 minutes, or until tender. Let rest for about 5 minutes, or until just cool enough to handle. Peel and dice.

Heat a large, heavy sauté pan over medium heat until hot but not smoking. Add the oil and swirl to coat the bottom of the pan. Add the potatoes and cook for 10 to 12 minutes, tossing about 2 times, until crusty and brown in spots.* Reduce the heat to medium-low, add the onion, and sauté for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the onion is soft. Add the chestnuts and sauté for another 20 to 22 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked through. Season to taste with salt and pepper, transfer to a bowl, and serve immediately.

Serves 2 to 4, depending on what else is for breakfast. Enjoy in the fall, when chestnuts are in season. A visit to the local chestnut orchard on a brisk day, after all the leaves have fallen from the trees, provided me a few moments of much-needed peace. Chestnuts are easiest to peel when they're hot.

*Searing the potatoes in this manner adds tons of flavor to the finished dish. For everything you ever wanted to know about searing, plus dozens of fabulous searing recipes, look for my book Seared to Perfection in stores now.

Scone Sundays

I know that a cup of coffee hardly counts as a well-balanced breakfast (even though when I load it up with sugar and heavy cream it may have as many calories as one), but I don’t have the appetite for anything more first thing in the morning. I’ve mentioned it before—breakfast is a constant struggle for me. By the time I’m ready to eat, the hubby’s already looking for his second meal of the day. So I’ve decided to try out a new routine: every Sunday, I’m going to bake scones. Scones take no time at all and are a breeze to throw together. And fresh scones are such a treat that even at the crack of dawn I can’t resist them. It takes the two of us 2 or 3 days to eat up an entire batch. So, I think I may have finally solved my breakfast dilemma—at least for two mornings each week!


We’ll see how long this little plan of mine lasts. In the meantime, I’m inspired to dream up some new scone flavors…

Sour Cherry Scones
Printable Recipe

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
3 ounces (¾ stick) cold unsalted butter, shredded
½ cup dried sour cherries
1 large egg
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon heavy cream
2 teaspoons Turbinado sugar
¼ teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 425˚F. Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Add the butter and, using a pastry cutter, cut the butter into the flour until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Toss in the cherries. Blend together the egg and ½ cup of the cream in a small bowl, add to the flour mixture, and stir until just combined. Transfer to a work surface and knead a few times until the dough just holds together. Pat the dough into a 6-inch wide, 1 ½-inch thick circle and cut into 8 wedges. Arrange the scones a couple of inches apart on a parchment-lined baking tray. Lightly brush the scones with the remaining 1 tablespoon of cream and sprinkle with the Turbinado sugar and cinnamon. Bake for 13 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown.

Makes 8 scones. Work quickly and with a light touch to prevent the butter in the pastry from melting. Serve warm, possibly with clotted cream. Scones keep for a day or two in a tightly sealed container in a cool, dry place.

Spring's in Full Swing and Rhubarb Sorbet

The sun is shining, the tulips are all blooming, and birds are singing. It’s glorious out. The farmers market has already been open for a month, overflowing with lush greens, leeks, and radishes. But to me it doesn’t quite feel like spring until the rhubarb comes. I don’t know if it’s the brilliant red color or the fact that it always makes me think of berries, but somehow only rhubarb can confirm that spring’s really here. Last week, the rhubarb finally made its first appearance at the farmers market. I picked out four of the fattest stalks.


It seems like rhubarb is always paired with strawberries. Well, Oregon strawberries are only starting to flower now and still a month or two away, so that wasn’t an option. And besides, I wanted to taste the rhubarb all by itself. I figured a Rhubarb Sorbet would be perfect.


And it was perfect. As it happened, a friend invited us over for breakfast the next morning. She said that she would make waffles, and I said that I had the perfect topping. Breakfast was divine—crispy waffles hot from the griddle topped with Rhubarb Sorbet (between the four of us we ate nearly the entire batch) and whipped cream. By coincidence, there was also homemade strawberry freezer jam, I guess rhubarb and strawberries are just meant to be together. Spring is definitely in full swing.

Rhubarb Sorbet
Printable Recipe

2 cups water
1 ¼ cups sugar
1 pound rhubarb, diced
1 large egg white

Combine the water, sugar, and rhubarb in a medium saucepan, bring to a boil, and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes, or until tender. Let cool slightly and puree in a food mill using a fine disc. Chill over an ice bath until ice-cold. Whisk in the egg white. Transfer to an ice cream maker and churn until frozen. Transfer to a container and freeze for 4 to 6 hours before serving.

Makes about 1 ½ quarts. The egg white gives the sorbet a fluffy texture. If you’re uneasy about eating raw eggs, omit it or use pasteurized eggs.

Breakfast

I don’t like breakfast. It’s not that I don’t like breakfast food, I just don’t like breakfast. It’s first thing in the morning. And I don’t like anything first thing in the morning. All I want is my cup of coffee.

I’ve tried eating breakfast, it’s good for you. I’ve tried eggs. I’ve tried cereal. I’ve tried bagels, fruit, yogurt, and pancakes. I stocked the freezer with dozens of fresh-made crumpets, obtained from The Crumpet Shop (1503 1st Avenue, 206-682-1598) during a road trip to Seattle. They were fantastic toasted, slathered with salted cultured butter, and with cheddar cheese melted on top. But I ate them for brunch.

I made a batch of granola. Not the kitchen sink variety with every nut and seed and dried fruit, but a simple, honest granola. I still couldn’t eat breakfast, though, my husband likes breakfast and the granola disappeared.


I think I'll make another batch.

Granola with Almonds & Cherries
Printable Recipe

1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 18-ounce container old fashioned rolled oats
1 ½ cups sliced almonds
½ cup packed light brown sugar
2 teaspoons cinnamon
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup vegetable oil
½ cup honey
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup dried sour cherries

Preheat the oven to 325ºF. Grease 2 baking trays with the butter. Combine the oats, almonds, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt in a large bowl. Combine the oil, honey, and vanilla in a small bowl. Add the honey mixture to the oat mixture and stir until the oats are evenly coated. Spread on the trays and bake, stirring once or twice, for about half an hour, or until toasted and golden brown. Switch the position of the trays half way through baking. Let cool and add the cherries.

Makes enough for several breakfasts, if you eat breakfast. Or try it any time of the day, as is or with milk or yogurt. Keeps for a week or two in a tightly sealed container in the pantry.