Blueberry Cornmeal Pancakes

Ohmygosh.  These were just too good.  This is my new all time favorite pancake recipe ever.  When I say these melt in your mouth, they literally MELT IN YOUR MOUTH.   Your fork will cut through them like butter. They are incredibly soft, fluffy, and full of flavor.  Most basic pancake recipes are pretty tasteless besides the add-ins you put in them, but this batter - even without the blueberries - has a wonderful sweet and salty taste that seriously tastes like not only the the best pancakes you'll ever have, but the best cornbread as well.  If you were to take the cornbread taste of this pancake, and put it into an actual, thicker, baked pan of cornbread, that pan of cornbread would be the bomb!  I served this recipe with my buttermilk syrup (here) and it was absolutely to die for.  My family all agrees that I have to make it again very soon.  Aaaand I'm going to request this on my birthday.  Yup...it's that special.  I adapted it from a Martha Stewart recipe, and my version is one of those rare recipes where I wouldn't change anything about it.


Yield: about 4 servings (about 1 dozen 5- to 6-inch pancakes)


Ingredients:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour

• 1/2 cup cornmeal

• 1/4 cup white sugar, plus 1 tablespoon

• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder

• 1 teaspoon coarse salt

• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk

• 1/4 cup milk 

• 1 1/2 ounces (3 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus more for griddle

• 1 large egg, lightly beaten

• 2 cups (1 pint) blueberries

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• Garnish: Buttermilk Syrup and/or pure maple syrup

•                 whipped cream (optional)

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• Instructions:

1. Whisk together flour, cornmeal, 1/4 cup white sugar, the baking powder, salt, and baking soda. In another bowl, whisk together buttermilk, milk, butter, and egg. Whisk wet ingredients into dry ingredients until just combined (mixture will be lumpy).
2. Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Heat a griddle or large nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Toss blueberries with remaining tablespoon of sugar. Brush griddle with melted butter. Spoon batter onto griddle 1/3 cup at a time. Sprinkle with sugared blueberries, about 2 tablespoons per pancake. Cook until edges are set, 4 to 5 minutes. Flip, and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Repeat with remaining batter and blueberries, adding more butter to griddle and keeping prepared pancakes warm on a baking sheet in the oven. Serve with desired syrup(s) and/or whipped cream.

Irish Soda Bread

Yield: 1 small loaf


Irish soda bread hasn't always been a favorite food of mine.   It would always be at an Irish pub restaurant down the street from our house, but I always thought it was too dry, crumbled apart easily, and flavorless.  So...because I'm Irish...and because my parents love Irish soda bread...and because I wanted to learn to like the type of bread...I decided to try making it myself.  I found a basic recipe off Allrecipes.com, and I altered it based on the reviews, and I ended up baking a wonderful loaf of bread!  It's much, much, much better than the soda bread from the Irish pub I had.  This loaf is moist, soft, doesn't crumble apart, and has just the right amount of flavor.  Because of the light flavor, it pairs well with any meal.  It has a hearty texture and is absolutely amazing when eaten hot out of the oven with softened, salted butter.  My favorite way to eat it was toasted with salted butter, cinnamon and brown sugar for breakfast.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
• 1.5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• Cornmeal, for dusting

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. In a cup or small bowl, stir together the milk and vinegar. Let stand 10 minutes, or until curdled.
2. In a medium bowl, stir together the flours, sugar, rosemary, oregano, salt and baking soda. Stir in the curdled milk mixture just until smooth.
3. Pour into a greased loaf pan and sprinkle with desired amount of cornmeal.
4. Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the crust feels firm to the touch. Let sit for at least 10 minutes before serving.