Salted Caramel Ricotta Pancakes

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Salted Caramel Ricotta Pancakes

It was a busy week down here in The South. The factory was abuzz all week long with socks flying everywhere. The town was bustling with Pride and homecoming this weekend. And naturally my mind turned to Thanksgiving.

As the Queer community and its allies descended upon our tiny town I hunkered down with friends to watch the parade while sipping mimosas out of well worn insurance themed coffee mugs. There was a heated game of spoons happening. Where you throw a spoon into the street and drink every time a car hits it. Shots were taken whenever a car with a Drag Queen hit a spoon. And there was a revealing moment when I realized my back up back up back up hairdresser was once on tv's Survivor. She later proved her alliance to me as she put some fellow gays in their place after they felt it was okay to talk shit about my hometown, despite my just stating where I was from. 

I am sure you are wondering how Thanksgiving comes into play. Well as it should happen I packed my man handbag for the day with all possible outcomes considered. The contents were as follows: 

1. One bottle of Trader Joe's Blanc de Blancs

2. One box of water crackers. You never know when you need a snack. 

3. Two apples

4. My passport

5. Floss (in case of apple consumption)

6. Two cans of La Croix to stay hydrated

7. Food and Wine November 2016 edition (in case the parade got boring...it didn't)

During the slow moments of the parade I started making lists of potential foods to serve for Thanksgiving this year. As I will be dining alone on this most sacred of food holidays I have had to alter my menu so as to not drown in a sea of left overs. With the holiday still over a month away I have the opportunity to test a few recipes before letting them get to the final elimination round. 

This year I have also decided to include a Black Friday Breakfast. I will not be at the malls, but I will be in my nap jeans having a nice breakfast watching the fools on tv at the malls. This talk of breakfast had started earlier in the week while having a chat with another food enabler friend of mine. He posited the idea of using our favorite coffee creamer in a waffle or french toast. 

Not having a waffle maker or bread in the house, but having a large container of ricotta cheese I landed on Salted Caramel Ricotta Pancakes. Needless to say I am bloated and full on some damn tasty pancakes while hoping those Drag Queens from yesterday knew we were cheering for them as well as the spoons.  

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Salted Caramel Ricotta Pancakes

RECIPE INSPIRED BY THE KITCHN (WITH SOME CHANGES BY ME)

ingredients

1 cup ricotta cheese

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/4 teaspoon fine salt

3/4 cup Salted Caramel Flavored All Natural Coffee Creamer

2 large eggs, separated

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Butter, for cooking

instructions

Whisk together in medium bowl dry ingredients of flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Set aside.

In larger bowl mix together ricotta, creamer, egg yolks, and vanilla. Combine with dry ingredients and stir together until incorporated.

Using a hand mixer or your own brute strength whip egg whites until stiff peaks form in separate bowl.

Stir in roughly 1/3 cup of whipped egg whites into pancake batter to loosen it up.

Gently fold in remaining egg whites with rubber spatula until no streaks of egg whites remain.

Melt a small amount of butter on a griddle preheated over medium-high heat. Using a 1/3 cup measuring cup pour pancake batter onto the hot griddle. Cook pancake roughly 3 minutes or until bubbles start to pop on top. Flip pancake and continue to cook until golden brown, roughly another 2-3 minutes.

Repeat with remaining pancake batter.

Serve with desired toppings. Suggestions include but are not limited to, maple syrup, powdered sugar, caramel drizzle with whipped cream. Or just straight out of the freezer at 3 am while contemplating life's choices.

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FOR MORE SOUTHERN BREAKFAST FUN CHECK OUT THIS RECIPE FOR SWEET GRIT CAKES

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Bread and Butter Pickles

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Bread and Butter Pickles

Well it's Pride Season. As parades, tank tops, and glitter rain down on our nation's streets this weekend my mind naturally turns to pickles.

Over time I have gone through many pickle phases. When I was younger all I wanted was regular sized dill pickles. There was a time in my life that only large pickles would do. You know the kind that are usually found in deli's or bars. Then for a short period of time I thought I wanted quantity with an edgy quality. So it was spears all the way. 

In my most recent incarnation I have been hooked on Bread and Butter. Country style. Thick with a bite but sweet when you swallow.  

There is a pickle for every occasion. And an occasion for every pickle.  Which is how I found myself making pickles all weekend. Gonna start Summer off right. 

Happy Pride. 

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Bread and Butter pickles

recipe by Martha Stewart

ingredients

2 lbs Kirby cucumbers, sliced crosswise 1/4 inch thick

1 medium White Onion, sliced 1/4 inch thick

1 cup Ice Cubes

2 tablespoons Coarse Salt

2 cups Apple Cider Vinegar

1 1/2 cups Sugar

3/4 teaspoon Whole Mustard Seeds

1/2 teaspoon Celery Seeds

1/2 teaspoon Whole Black Peppercorns

1/4 teaspoon Ground Tumeric

instructions

1. In a large bowl, combine cucumbers, onion, ice cubes, and salt. Toss to combine. Let stand for 3 hours. Drain. Rinse well, and drain again.

2. In a medium saucepan, combine vinegar, sugar, mustard seeds, celery seeds, peppercorns, and turmeric. Bring to a boil. Add cucumber mixture, and return to a boil, stirring occasionally.

3. Ladle pickles into clean jars. Let stand until cool. Cover, and store, refrigerated, for up to 1 month.

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Brain Freeze, Cakes, and Raven Simone

Yesterday was Boyfriend's birthday.  Sadly Boyfriend shares his birthday with a couple other major events (though none so major as his birth).  Labor Day and Duluth Superior Pride fall around his birthday every year.  People leave town and drag queens take the stage leaving what feels like little time to appreciate all that is Boyfriend's Birthday. 

Last year I went so far as to throw a bingo themed surprise party a month in advance.  This year involved a last minute trip to Duluth to visit Just Joni and to attend a BBQ/Pride event at Professor Keith's pride pad.  While there was no iPhone or Bingo shaped cake as there have been in the past, I did use some stealth texting skills to make sure Boyfriend had his birthday ice cream cake.  Thank you Professor Keith for making the cake a reality.  And if the ice cream cake was not enough I fulfilled the wet cake dream of making the store bought box confetti cake that Boyfriend would certainly body check me for to get the last slice.  His birthday cupcakes are pictured above.   

I am sure you are thinking this could not be all the kitchen shenanigans that have occurred since my last post?!?!   The last few weeks have been mildly busy as I try to take on the cut throat world of food styling while balancing my passions for dressing mannequins at the mall and using up the rest of my swollen ovaries in baked goods (I had to get that in one more time).  There have been many subsequent loaves of zucchini spice bread, continuous consumption of the most adorable teeny tiny tomatoes from the garden of Boyfriend's parents, and a dairy explosion of ricotta and mozzarella with hints of fried eggplant to create an eggplant parmesan .

The above mentioned BBQ got me back in the kitchen this past Friday to try zucchini based brownies.  After I pulled the nearly 1000 lbs pan out of the oven, let them cool and carefully sliced a Cliff Huxtable style sample piece I came to a zucchini conclusion.  No matter how you dress it up when you bake zucchini you are simply making zucchini cake.  You can shape it like a cookie, but all you get is a mookie.  You can shape like a brownie, but all you get is chocolate cake.  I'm sure out in the great Internets there is a true gooey brownie recipe that uses swollen ovaries, but I have yet to find it.  And truth be told I'm getting a little bored with my chocolate zucchini experimentation.  Later this week I hope to try zucchini chips.   We'll see what happens...

And one last note.  Boyfriend and I recently had dinner a our friends home in Narnia (some may call this an outer ring suburb).  Our friend Baby Mama is not a cook (she once made a meatloaf for dinner and forgot the bread crumbs - which means she baked a seasoned football shaped hamburger).  However this past meal was amazing.  She discovered the crazy fun past time of homemade pizza making.  We dined on BBQ Chicken and Supreme style pizzas.  Both were delicious.  For dessert we had ice cream cake. 

Happy Labor Day. 

photo by me

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