Breakfast for Guests

This recipe came from Food & Wine magazine--a birthday gift from Lucas. I was skeptical about the ricotta cheese, but it made for incredibly moist pancakes with a slight crispiness on the edges. We tried a few without blueberries as well (Lucas is not a huge fan of berries in bread like items), and found that they are good either way (Lucas did enjoy those with blueberries as well). They were served with pure maple syrup and butter and will in fact be served to anyone who comes to stay with us and is here for breakfast. If you want to try them yourself:
Ingredients:
1.5 c. flour 1.5 c. plus 2 T. milk
1 tsp baking powder 6 oz. ricotta cheese
1.5 tsp kosher salt 1 T. vanilla
3 eggs, separated 1 pint fresh blueberries

Directions:
1. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg yolks with the milk, ricotta cheese, sugar, and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients to this bowl until smooth.
2. Beat the egg whites at medium speed until frothy. Beat at high speed until soft peaks form, then fold egg whites into batter until no streaks are left.
3. Heat a griddle, then lightly butter it. Ladle a scant 1/4 c. of batter for each pancake, using the cup to thin out the batter onto the griddle (they cook best if thin). Cook over moderately low heat until they begin to set (1-2 minutes), then lightly press a few blueberries into each pancake. Flip the pancakes and cook until golden brown. Transfer to plate and keep warm in oven. Can be made ahead and refrigerated overnight. Whisk batter before using.

Welcome!

Hello--welcome to my new blog, dedicated to postings of food and recipes. Lucas and I still keep our other blog, but this will be the place for me to share what has been going on in the Ward kitchen.

On the other blog, I mentioned that we have a Meyer lemon tree in our yard. I'm not going to repost the previous things I made, but most recently I tried a sugar cookie with Meyer lemon icing. The

cookie recipe was my grandma's, and it makes a nice, chewy cookie that is crisp on the edges. I had to try a few different recipes before I found one with that consistency. Should have started with Grandma's cookie first! The icing was a simple combination of powdered sugar, lemon zest, vanilla, and the juice from a lemon. I have made it once with Meyer lemons and once with lemons from the store (Eureka or Lisbon maybe?). The Meyer juice is much sweeter and therefore makes a very sweet icing.

Aside from baking, I came across a recipe for Red Curry Chicken that I tried out last week. It was made with a mild curry sauce and served with brown rice and sweet potatoes. This was my first attempt at Indian food, and I can't wait to try it again. The recipe: 1 medium diced onion, 8 oz. chicken breast, cubed, 1/2 c. canned diced tomatoes, 3/4 c. water, 2 T. olive oil, 3-4 T. red curry paste (mild). Saute onion in oil. Add chicken and cook until lightly brown. Stir in curry paste. Add tomatoes and water and simmer uncovered until sauce thickens and chicken is thoroughly cooked. I made one slight change to the recipe in that I used a chicken that I had roasted the day before with a garlic and lemon rub, so our chicken may have had a different flavor than the recipe will give. I served it over brown rice with sweet potato that I roasted in the oven with olive oil and salt.

Next time--Ricotta cheese blueberry pancakes.