Apple Oven Cake

Growing up, every Thursday we would have pancakes for dinner... to this day, my mom still makes pancakes once a week even though it's just her and my dad. 3 out of 4 weeks of the month it was Swedish pancakes (recipe coming someday)... once a year it was maybe American style pancakes... but usually if it wasn't Swedish pancakes, it was what most people here call a dutch pancake. Something baked in the oven.

My mom actually was the one to point out this recipe to me, she had made it earlier. I was pretty surprised by how easy it was to throw together, but pancakes aren't exactly complicated. One pot cooking never seems to really involve just one pot... at least for me, but this was great. All you need is a large cast iron skillet.

3 tbsp butter
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1 sweet apple, peeled and sliced (I used 3 small ones on my mom's advice)
3 large eggs
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup each flour and milk
1 tsp fresh lemon juice (optional)
powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Melt butter in a 12-inch (my mom used a 10-inch) ovenproof frying pan over medium-high heat. Add brown sugar and cinnamon, swirling to combine. Add apples and cook just until they begin to soften, about 3 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a blender, whirl together eggs, salt, flour, and milk. Poor egg mixture into pan and bake until puffed and brown, about 15 minutes. Sprinkle with lemon juice and dust with powdered sugar to serve.

Serves 6

Recipe Adapted from Sunset Magazine, October 2009

Coming Soon: Boeuf Bourguignon

2 Kid Friendly Meals

I have to admit that one of my least favorite things is a picky eater... of course this is coming from someone who will eat most anything, so I guess that has to be taken into account. I have a nephew, who will not be named, that refused to eat anything if it wasn't covered in ketchup when he was younger... to this day he will only eat a cheeseburger if it has nothing but patty, cheese and bun all with a healthy portion of ketchup. I will give him a little credit because there's probably more cheeseburger than ketchup now-a-days, but this is a recent development so I'm waiting to pass judgement.

Anyhow, I bring all this up because I was/am determined not to let Jonas get to this point. Thankfully this hasn't really been an issue at all, Jonas has surprised Christie and I with his willingness to try/eat things. The following two recipes we made for the whole family hoping that Jonas would be enticed to eat a healthy dinner, but he's been a bigger fan of some of the normal things I make for Christie and myself. It's been funny to see what he would rather eat... he's a big fan of the Chipotle Chicken and Rice I featured in an earlier post... even to the point that he wouldn't eat what we had prepared for him and ate part of Christie's portion.

We're suckers for advertising, these recipes come to you from the back of the boxes for 2 varieties of pasta that we bought recently. One box had Mickey Mouse and friends shapes and the other was shaped like the characters from Cars... both of which are some of Jonas' favorites. As a note I prepared the Chicken and Cars, and Christie made the Mic-a-Roni and Cheese.

Chicken and Cars

1 box Cars Pasta
1/4 stick butter
1/4 cup diced onion
1/4 cup diced carrot
1/4 cup diced celery
1/2 cup flour
1 quart low sodium chicken broth
1 large can cooked chicken

Cook pasta according to package directions. Drain, cover and set aside.

Place butter in small saucepan over medium heat. When butter is melted, add vegetables and cook until tender. Slowly add flour and stir until mixed well. Cook for 3 minutes and let cool for 3 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat chicken broth to a simmer. Place the diced chicken into the broth and simmer for 3-4 minutes. Add the broth and chicken slowly into the vegetable mixture and stir until slightly thickened.

Incorporate pasta to sauce and serve with parmesan if desired.

Mic-a-Roni and Cheese

1 box Mickey & Pals pasta
2 cups Skim Milk
2 tbsp butter
1/3 cup of flour
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan
salt and pepper to taste

Cook pasta according to package directions.

Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, melt butter. Add flour to melted butter and cook for 2 minutes while stirring. Slowly add the milk to the butter mixture over medium heat until the milk begins to thicken. Add in the cheeses, salt and pepper, and stir until smooth and thick.

Add the hot pasta to the cheese sauce and stir until all the pasta is evenly coated. Serve immediately.

A note from the Chef: Christie added some frozen peas and cooked hotdog to make it a complete meal.

Coming Soon: Apple Pancakes

Orecchiette with Spicy Sausage and Broccoli Rabe

Sometimes somthing simple will be exactly what you're looking for. This is a great dish that I like to make during the summer... it's quick, easy, and simple. There's no real sauce, so your flavor is going to come from the few ingredients you're using. There's a great contrast between the sweet/spicy sausage and the bitterness of the greens.

In case you're wondering what broccoli rabe is, it's also known as rappini. If you're still wondering, it's like a cross between broccoli and chard. When you're cutting it the smell of raw broccoli will hit you, but the flavor is much more akin to chard or any other bitter green. If you're a little unsure of how this is all going to go together, I would recommend using a little less broccoli rabe than called for on your first attempt. This will obviously limit the potential bitterness of the dish.

As a final note, I would also like to point out that the pasta shape called for in this recipe is impossibly hard to find, and when you do it'll most likely cost you $6 to 10 a pound. Which is why I make this using a box of medium shells...

Makes 4 Main Course Dishes

Salt
2 Bunches of Broccoli Rabe, Stalks trimmed and Quartered Crosswise
12 ounces Dried Orecchiete Pasta (or Medium Shells)
3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 pound Italian Pork Sausage
3 Garlic Cloves, Minced
Pinch of Dried Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
1/4 Cup Grated Parmesan Cheese
Black Pepper

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the broccoli rabe and cook until crisp tender, about 1 minute. Strain the broccoli rabe, reserving all the cooking liquid. After setting the broccoli rabe aside, cook the orecchiete in the same pot of boiling water until al dente. Drain and reserve one cup of the cooking liquid.

Meanwhile, in a large, heavy skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the sausage and cook, breaking up with a spoon, until the sausage has browned and juices form, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and red pepper flakes, and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the broccoli rabe and toss to coat. Add the pasta and enough of the reserved cooking liquid, about 1/4 cup at a time, to moisten. Stir in the parmesan and salt and pepper to taste into the pasta mixture.

Transfer to bowls and serve with additional parmesan as desired.

Adapted from Everyday Italian, by Giada de Laurentiis

Coming Soon: 2 Kid Friendly Meals