Buttermilk Pancakes

These are our buttermilk pancakes, the HB pancakes, the ones that we have written on a piece of paper and taped to the inside of a cupboard. The ones everyone knows how to make. What I mean is that these are our go-to.

taken by mom

I sometimes find myself arrogantly skeptical of “go-to’s” because they are simple and quick and often unquestioned. Is it a go-to because it’s the best, or is it a go-to because it’s familiar? In all honesty, both reasons are valid enough to have something be a go-to, nostalgia is valid and whatever, but mom and I are not really compromisers of quality. So, while these pancakes are very quick and simple, they have a secret: buttermilk. Ok, well, I guess if the secret is in the name it’s not really a secret. A strength, then, or a superpower. Buttermilk adds a depth of flavor and softness that can’t be missed. If you don’t have buttermilk on hand and you’re tempted to replace it with milk and vinegar, I think you’ll be better off choosing another recipe (our cottage cheese pancakes, perhaps?). At least, that was mom’s advice.

BUTTERMILK PANCAKES

Serves 6

• 2c flour

• 2Tb sugar

• 2tsp baking powder

• 1tsp soda

• 1tsp salt

• 2 eggs, slightly beaten

• 1/4 c canola oil

• 2c buttermilk

Whisk together dry ingredients (flour through salt) in a medium bowl. Combine the wet ingredients (eggs, oil, and buttermilk) in a separate bowl, you might use the same whisk, and then pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and stir until just smooth (don’t overmix!).

Cooking:

With a ladle or a 1/4 cup measure, scoop and drop the batter onto a gently preheated non-stick or otherwise coated pan. I prefer a medium/low heat for control. Wait for little holes to form in the pancakes before flipping them unless your pan is on a high heat, in which case they might get cooked on the outside more quickly than the inside (holes indicate cooked through, brown on outside indicate cooked on the surface). If you feel so inclined, you might add some blueberries are chocolate chips in on the raw side when the pancake is cooking on the griddle on its first side (don’t pre-mix them in with the batter). If making many for a group, it might help to put your oven on the warm setting and put the pancakes on a cooling wrack inside of a sheet pan. Serve with whatever you fancy.

mom experimenting with photography

Red Sauce

When John Tomarchio was a young professor in Boston University’s Core Curriculum program, he often stopped by my (Kate’s) office. Sometimes he needed my support as program manager (my first job out of college), and sometimes he wanted to talk about food. John was super kind and I learned from him how to be a grown up and also how to be a good human. More to the point, I learned how to make red sauce.

Although the sauce as he explained it only had five ingredients, it must have taken him twenty minutes to explain the process, because he wanted me to get it right (and also he was passionate and possibly a bit theatrical). Following his careful instructions, I’ve always gotten it right. I hope now that you will, too!

Red Sauce

My understanding of John’s method is colored by the habits I’ve formed over the years—his lesson was more than twenty years ago. So I want to honor him for the life lesson but not (mis)represent this as his exact recipe, which I know it is not. Here is the original’s grateful descendant.

1 tablespoon olive oil
5 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes*
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 pinch red pepper, optional

Heat a large saute pan over medium heat and add the olive oil once water sizzles when it hits the pan. Add the oil and give it thirty seconds to warm up as well, then add the whole-but-smashed cloves of garlic. In my view, what you do next is the most important step to the quality of the final sauce.

Cook the garlic slowly and gently and Do Not Scorch the Garlic! If the pan seems too hot, remove it immediately from the burner to cool off. You want the oil to barely simmer around the garlic, so that the cloves slowly turn a golden brown. This usually takes me three to five minutes.

Once the cloves are golden brown, add the tomato paste, salt, oregano, and optional dried red pepper. (John didn’t use tomato paste, but it adds a depth that we like. He also didn’t use oregano—he added fresh basil at the end. But we often find ourselves without fresh basil.) Stir for a minute, then add the tomatoes. Simmer for five or ten minutes. You want the sauce to cook down and thicken, but not become too thick. If it cooks until it becomes too thick, you can add a little pasta water. When you think it looks right, turn off the stove and taste a bit. Does it want more salt? How about some freshly ground pepper? If it’s too acidic, try adding a scant teaspoon of table sugar. (If you always use Pastene canned whole tomatoes, it will never be too acidic. Of course, home-bottled tomatoes also work beautifully.) I can’t buy Pastene now that I live in the West, and it’s terribly sad. In fact, this post made me investigate my Pastene shipping options. The only place I can find them is the manufacturer, located in Massachusetts, and I’d love to support them. But shipping is pricey. I have a twelve-pack loaded into my shopping cart and my credit card number entered—will I push the button to purchase?)

 Add to 1 pound freshly cooked, al dente spaghetti or linguini, top with freshly-grated parmigiano-reggiano, and serve. Or use this for lasagna or pizza sauce, a spaghetti squash gratin or calzone. Options abound, each of them delicious.

*John advised me to use whole peeled tomatoes with the reasoning that they use blemished tomatoes for the crushed and diced cans and the best quality ones for the cans of whole tomatoes. At some point I veered away from his advice, thinking the chopped were easier to deal with. But something has been brewing in me recently, and when making this batch, I decided definitely that in future I will avoid chopped tomatoes. They don’t break down no matter how long you cook them!

Date and Pomegranate Molasses Cupcakes

I (Amelia) know some people hate the word moist and have inspired others to apologize after using it.  I’m here to state that I will NOT apologize for using a perfectly acceptable adjective to describe a texture. You just can’t replace moist with damp or steamy or any other synonym.

I mean, would you rather have a damp cupcake or a moist one?

These are some damp tasty cupcakes

All that is to say that these cupcakes are very moist. The base is dates (think sticky toffee pudding minus the toffee) and the frosting… sigh. Cream cheese pomegranate molasses. Pomegranate molasses is wonderfully sweet and acidic, both brightening and adding interest to the flavors. This is my favorite frosting of all time (trust me, I’m an experienced spatula licker). The combination of dates and pomegranate is one that came to me when I was considering all things winter produce. Dates are very sweet and rich, while pomegranates are light and tart, and I just knew what I had to do. One year later, I proudly present to you my brain child and new favorite cupcake recipe.

Please note: If you don’t like dates, this isn’t the cupcake for you. If you’ve never tried and/or are afraid of dates, on the other hand, I’d give this a shot. These are dense cupcakes, packed with gentle sweetness and flavor. Not really decadent or light, they fall somewhere in the middle, a little rich, but not overwhelming. All who have tested/tasted this recipe have been very pleased, so if you’re looking to impress, this is the recipe for you.

Date and Pomegranate Cupcakes

Makes 21-23

Cupcakes

• 2 1/4 cups dates (pitted for an easier time)

• 2 1/4 cups boiling water

• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda (use a ¾ tsp measure)

• 8 tablespoons (1 stick, ½ cup) unsalted butter, melted

• 3/4 cup granulated sugar

• 2 tablespoons light or dark brown sugar

• 1 large egg

• ½  teaspoon vanilla

• ½ teaspoon fine sea or table salt

• 2 cups all-purpose flour

• Pomegranate arils, for decoration. 

Frosting

• 8 oz softened cream cheese (1 package) 

• 2 Tbs softened unsalted butter

• 1 ½  tsp pomegranate molasses

• 1 pinch salt table

• 1 cup powdered sugar

Set a kettle of water to boil. Roughly chop pitted dates and toss them in a heatproof bowl. Pour boiling water over them and stir in the baking soda. Cover the bowl and set aside for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat oven to 350°F. Line or grease two standard size muffin pans, the recipe will yield 22-23 cupcakes (just leave the remaining cups empty). 

Blend date-water mixture with an immersion or standard blender. In a separate large bowl, combine the melted butter and sugars. Whisk in egg, followed by the salt and vanilla. Stir in the flour until no floury spots show, then whisk in the date puree until smooth. With the ¼ measuring cup you used for the dates, scoop up the batter into the prepared pan, ¼ cup of batter per cup. Bake for 20-22 minutes, until no wet batter (but a few moist crumbs) sticks to an inserted skewer, and the cupcakes are lightly golden brown. The skewer should not come out completely clean before pulling them out, these are meant to be dense and moist. Let cool in the pan for five minutes before transferring to a cooling rack. Let them cool completely before frosting. 

For the frosting: While cupcakes are baking, combine cream cheese and butter with an electric hand mixer. Add in 1 ½ teaspoons pomegranate molasses and a pinch of salt, mixing again until combined. Slowly add in the powdered sugar until it’s all one frosting. Lick the beater and sigh in delight. 

Once cupcakes are cool, frost them simply with a knife or spatula and top with the pomegranate arils.

Not pictured: Giant worm in the grass

A Simple, Perfect Roast

Recently we’ve taken to having a roast on the first Sunday of each month, when we’re all extra hungry for dinner and ready for something soothing, warm, and filling. This recipe hails from our friends the Gublers when they were living in a predominantly Jewish neighborhood and learned they could get brisket on sale on Saturdays. They started making a weekly roast with the meat. We’ve changed the recipe a bit and changed the preparation from oven to slow cooker, but we’ll ever be grateful to the Gublers and their neighbors for the original inspiration of slow-simmered roast with carrots and onions.

This is a very good roast. The carrots are a favorite of mine (Amelia); they get soft and succulent from the dripping meaty juices. In combination with the warm meat, it’s to die for. We love serving this with a slice of good bread to soak up the juices.

 A Perfect, Simple Roast

 

2 medium to large onions, quartered

10 long carrots, cut into thick coins or diagonals (around 1 1/2 pounds, although the amount isn’t important. You could also use baby carrots for ease, they’re just a little less attractive imo)

Chunk of butter*

2­–4 pounds rump roast or brisket, depending on your needs

Salt (around two teaspoons, but a bit more if the roast is over two pounds)

1 cup red wine*

2 tablespoons tomato paste (3 if the roast is over 3 pounds)

4 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled but left whole

pepper

Place onions into the slow cooker, followed by most of the carrots.

Heat a large sauté pan (large enough to hold the roast) on the stove over medium-high heat. Melt butter on the hot pan, then add the meat to brown for a few minutes on its side. Brown another side or two, in the same manner. Salt it generously on different sides as it cook. Then move the roast into the slow cooker, setting it on top of the carrots and onions.

Pour wine into the hot sauté pan to deglaze, stirring up any meat bits left from the roast. Then add the tomato paste and let it melt in the hot wine. Pour the liquid over the roast, toss in the garlic cloves, then cook on low for 8 hours or high for 1 1/2 and low for 5-6.

Although we usually eat this with a slice of good bread, as mentioned above, it’s also very good over egg noodles. Sometimes we slice it, as in the photos here, but other times we pull it apart with forks into large chunks.

*As for the butter, one of the best cooks I know, a tall robust, and elegant woman with black hair and bright blue eyes from Azerbaijan, taught me that red meat always tastes better cooked with butter than with oil. I don’t cook a lot of red meat, and when I do the dish doesn’t always accommodate her advice. But it does here and I wanted to pass it along.

*We know very little about alcohol, so at the liquor store we ask an employee for help, explaining we need a red wine for cooking a roast in the range of 7 or 8 dollars. Please don’t use cooking wine—it will taste terrible. We’ve wondered about making this with grape or cranberry juice—let us know if you try.