The Very Definition of Ethereal

     So, my go-to recipe for pancakes is a Martha Stewart one, amended for the sake of virtue by substituting whole wheat flour for white.  It is quite good, and I am not talking about that here.  Except to say that pancakes, in general, are an excellent place to use whole wheat flour, without any loss, and considerable gain.  Enough said.
     As we are in the midst of winter break around here, I am concocting a few more homemade breakfasts lately.  In general, Bryce has protein smoothies before school, a happy compromise that achieves nutrition from my end, more or less, and ease of consumption on her end.  On the days that she is not required to rise from her nest for school, and I am not working, a homemade breakfast is then requested.  We don't go out for this meal, as, frankly, I am disinclined to buy something that I can easily and more cheaply make.
     The other day, as a departure from my usual repertoire, I opted for a new pancake recipe.  I had had time before madame rose and graced me with her presence, and was cruising my blog list.  Instead of starting at the top, I broke from tradition and found this at the bottom:  Ricotta pancakes, on the whiteonricecouple.com site.  These folks are new to me, and I have not been following them long.  But I have seen recipes for this in the past, and lo!  I had ricotta in the fridge, from the tabled idea of making lasagne.  Ricotta that now needed to be used, a great excuse.
     These come together quickly, and have a minimal extra step from my usual (lightly beating the egg whites).  I am guessing this, plus all the dairy and extra fat is what makes them so amazing.  For this is what I found:  while I like pancakes well enough, they are somewhat, ahem, sturdy.  This is likely due to the whole wheat flour aspect, although just as likely due to the fact that I don't imbue them with a ton of fat.
     In contrast, the ricotta pancakes were light as air, and truly ethereal.  They puffed up while cooking and were an amazing departure from the typical maple syrup option.  In fact, said syrup would seem a crime here.   There is lemon zest in the batter.  I shook some powdered sugar on top, and would also envision some lemon juice sprinkled on top as a great option.  Jam, especially if it is fairly loose, would delicious, or fresh berries.  These pancakes are worth a try, and if you hear angels singing, you know you have arrived at food nirvana.

Ricotta Pancakes

adapted from the recipe found on whiteonricecouple.com

who, incidentally, adapted theirs from Nigella Lawson

makes enough for 3-4 servings

2/3 c flour

2 T sugar

1 t baking powder

pinch of kosher salt

1 c whole milk ricotta cheese

1/2 c milk

1/2 t vanilla extract

2 eggs, separated

zest of 1 lemon

Butter for the pan

Toppings:  powdered sugar, lemon juice, jam and or berries

1.  Stir dry ingredients together. 

2.  Stir ricotta, milk, vanilla and egg yolks and lemon zest together.  Add the flour mixture.  In a clean, separate bowl, beat the egg whites until they are a fine foam (I did it with a fork), then fold into the egg and flour mixture.  

3.  Cook in a large skillet:  melt butter and drop large spoonfuls of batter, cooking each side 1-2 minutes, or until golden.    Transfer to a plate, then sift powdered sugar over the pancakes.

A Trifling Matter

     It's been a busy month or so, and there have been enough distractions, events, obligations that, while of course we are EATING, we aren't eating anything that is worthy of a post.  And while we are busy doing whatever we are doing, it fails to merit any blogging comment.
      I did finish the turning of the parking strip and cover it with the newspaper/cardboard and wood chip combo that will hopefully result in luscious composed soil by spring.  I got a large dumping of free chips from the city's proxy tree service, which is now nearly occluding the fire hydrant.  Lucky we live in the middle of the block, I am hoping to avoid any citations (ahem).
     But things are looking up folks!  The next beef has arrived, and the freezer is bulging.  This beef tastes, if this is possible, beefier than the last one, and I rather like that.  The winter and holiday season is upon us, and for anyone who knows me, that would mean that the pinnacle of the social season:  the Davis/Utterback Night of Beef!  We were over there last night.  Once again, everyone outdid themselves.  I seriously think that we should be sharing our recipes this year:  the savory bread pudding that the Matthews brought, the Brussels sprouts that Kit brought!  Amazing!  I loved Laura's  salad, and the stuffed mushrooms that came from Elyce yum!  We haven't even gotten to the piece de la resistance:  the grilled/smoked prime rib of Darren's.  Truly, all of the food was delicious.
     I was put on dessert.  In truth, there were several, and a variety, but all were appreciated, if the empty plates were any indication.  When bringing a dessert that is to be served in a buffet style for a large group of kids and adults, one has to consider multiple factors.  For instance, what pleases kids does not necessarily appeal to the adults, and vice versa.  There is the portability factor, the logistics of what can be served easily and what can hold well when sitting for a few hours.
     To that end, I made trifle.  Best as I can tell, it's an old fashioned British dessert of cake, whipped cream or creamy filling, fruit, all layered and allowed to sit for the flavors to meld.  Alcohol is usually included, liberally at times.  But here is the catch:  there are now quite a few riffs on this idea, with differing cakes, fillings, fruits, alcohols.  I never do well in this situation:  I can rarely narrow it down to just one.  No problem!  I made a non-alcoholic version of one, and a boozy, more adult version of another.  And being the kind of person who can't just leave well enough alone, I also morphed two recipes together for the adult version.
     The kid version is largely unadulterated, and comes from Fine Cooking:  A Black Forest Trifle, I monkeyed only with the recipe by eliminating the kirsch and adding more cherries.  Must say, the kirsch would have made a good addition, as the sweetness would have been tempered somewhat.  But the recipe is largely intact.

      The other trifle was more involved in number of steps to assemble, but also more complex in it's flavors.  The cake is a ginger bread, which I adjusted as I often find the molasses in these cakes to be overwhelming.  So I cut it with honey.

     The filling is a mix of egg yolks, mascarpone and whipped cream.  The fruit.  Well, that's where I deviated from the plan:  the original recipe was lacking in fruit.  But I found another recipe that uses these lovely poached pears.  Aha!  

     So the basic recipe is from Fine Cooking, with the poached fruit from a Bon Appetit recipe, and it all has been adulterated across the board for my purposes.

  

Gingerbread Pear Trifle

I made this trifle 4 hours ahead of time, and it wasn't enough!  I'm eating leftovers now, and find them much improved.  This can be made 12-24 hours in advance, with great benefit.

Also there are several steps here, but most can be made in advance to break them up.

Make the cake:

1 1/2 c flour

1 1/2 t ground ginger

1 t baking powder

1/2 t kosher salt

2 pinches cloves

1/4 t cinnamon

3 oz (6 T) unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pan

3/4 c sugar

1 t grated lemon zest

2 eggs

1/4 c molasses

1/4 c honey

1/2 c milk

Preheat oven to 350F.  Butter a 9 x 13 pan, line the bottom with parchment.  

Whisk the dry ingredients, set aside.

Beat the butter, sugar and lemon zest until light and fluffy, about 2 min.  Add the eggs one at a time, add the honey and molasses.  Add the dry ingredients, alternating with the milk.  

Scrape into the pan, smooth the top and bake until a cake tester comes out clean, about 25 min.  Cool x 20 minutes, and then invert, remove the parchment and cool completely.  If making ahead, wrap in plastic.  It can be frozen if need more than 1 day in advance.  

Make the pears:  

1 bottle dry white wine

2 c water

1 1/4 c sugar

12-18 cardamom seeds (the inner black seeds from the pods)

4 x 1" diameter rounds fresh ginger

2 cinnamon sticks

6 firm but ripe pears (I used Bosc), peeled

Heat the wine, water, sugar and spices.  When the sugar is melted, add the pears, and bring to a simmer, cook until the pears are tender when pierced with a knife.  Remove from heat, allow to cool. If making ahead, chill in the syrup.  

Make the syrup:

Remove the pears from the syrup, strain the syrup.  You will only require about 1/2 of what remains, add 2 T brandy and set aside.  This also can be chilled until ready to use.  

Make the filling:

2/3 c sparkling wine

6 egg yolks

6T sugar

1 1/2 c cream

1 t vanilla extract

8 oz mascarpone, at room temperature

6 T coarsely chopped candied ginger

Whisk the wine, yolks and sugar in a metal bowl that will fit into a pot, place into said pot in which there are 2-3" simmering water.  Make sure the bowl doesn't touch the water.  Whisk constantly until the mixture is thick, lemon colored and pudding like.  Your whisk should leave a trail when scraping the bottom of the bowl, this takes about 8 minutes. Set aside and whisk occasionally to cool.  

Beat the cream, when thickened, add the vanilla and 1 T of the ginger syrup.  Continue until medium peaks form. 

Whisk the mascarpone into the cooled egg mixture, and then fold in the whipped cream.  

Assemble the trifle:

Cut the cake into 1/2 " slices.  Using 1/3 of the slices, place a layer into the bottom of a 14 cup trifle dish or clear large glass bowl.  Brush with the ginger syrup.  Sprinkle with 1 T candied ginger.

Reserve a nicer looking pear for the top.

Cut the pears in half, core and slice into horizontal slices and layer in bowl.  Add 1/4 of the filling.  

Repeat this step x 3.  Finish with filling, and decorate the top with remaining pear and candied ginger.  

The photo above had more whipped cream on top, as I failed to plan well for the filling, and ran short.  This worked fine.  

Make ahead x 12-24 hours.