sweet 'n' savory TWO

Pancakes for Two

Bob and I usually only have breakfast during the weekend when we have time to prepare ourselves something delicious.  When we do have breakfast at home, pancake is what we like to make since homemade pancake is so much better then the ones served in most restaurants.  We like our pancake light, fluffy, tender inside and, best of all, slightly crispy on the edge.  The following recipe is based on the 'Bette's Buttermilk Pancake Recipe' published in San Francisco Chronicle in 1999 but has been adapted to fit a breakfast for two.

1. Combine all dry ingredients including all-purpose flour (1 cup), sugar (1 TBSP), baking powder (1 tsp), baking soda (1/2 tsp) and kosher salt (1/2 tsp) in a mixing bowl.
2. Combine all wet ingredients including one egg, buttermilk (1 cup), milk (1/4 cup) and melted butter (2 TBSP).  Lightly whisk to combine.
3. Add wet mixture to dry ingredients and stir just long enough to mix the ingredients together.  The batter should still be lumpy.
4. Add butter (1 TBSP) to a non-stick pan and heat over medium heat.  When butter melts, evenly distribute melted butter in pan and pour 1/4 cup pancake batter to pan to make one pancake. Make as many pancakes as what can fit in your pan.  Space pancakes far enough so they don't touch each other. (Add more butter to pan if necessary, additional toppings such as blueberries, bananas, or toasted nuts can be added to individual pancakes at this point.)
5. Once bubbles appear on the surface of pancakes, flip pancakes and cook for another minute or until the bottom is slightly browned.
6. Remove pancakes from pan and serve warm with good grade B maple syrup!

Christmas Brunch: Croque Monsieur et Madame

Last Christmas, Bob and I got up too late for breakfast and too early for lunch, so we opted for brunch.  The leftover mighty delish Shaul's bone-in ham leftover from Christmas eve dinner inspired us to make a ham-and-cheese sandwich except making it fancier than it normally is - voila! Croque Monsieur topped with a perfectly fried egg to make it Croque Madame too.  The end result is GOOEY, MELTY, and HEAVENLY TASTETY - the best way to begin the Christmas day!!

~Our Croque Monsieur et Madame for Two~

• Make Cheesy white sauce by melting 2TBS of butter in a sauce pan.  Add flour to pan when butter has melt and whisk until roux forms.  After cooking roux for 3 minutes, whisk in milk and bring to a boil.  Continue to simmer mixture for about 5 minutes, then add a pinch of nutmeg, sald, pepper to taste as well as 1/4 cup of Gruyère cheese and whisk until cheese melts.  Turn off the heat and set aside.
• Make sandwiches by topping two slices of sandwich bread first with sliced Gruyère, then ham (as much as you like), then sliced cheese again, and finally with another piece of bread to complete the sandwich.  Melt 1TBS of butter in a large skillet and then fry two sides of the sandwich until golden brown.  Remove the sandwiches from skillet and place on a baking sheet. Add more oil or butter to skillet if necessary, fry two eggs in the skillet until egg yolks reach half-jelled state. While eggs are cooking, top each sandwich with some cheesy white sauce and more shredded cheese, and then place under pre-heated broiler until cheese begins to brown.  Remove sandwiches from oven and place fried eggs on top. Serve immediately!!