In Which I Speak of Maple Syrup, Custard, and Little Baby Pancakes

I haven't been as good as I'd hoped in celebrating Wisconsin Maple Syrup month. However, I hope to make up for it by sharing our latest exciting experiment -- maple syrup & pancakes custard.

 Now, like many of the foods made at our house, this particular treat has a bit of a story.
When I was a young girl, I always looked forward to Easter. Every year my cousins and I would spend our "spring break" with my grandparents, who lived about an hour north of the city.  The week was always filled with the usual adolescent high jinks -- traipsing through the woods, wading our bare toes in too-cold marsh water that was left behind by the rapidly melting snow, and playing lots and lots of Canasta (a card game I learned early and played often throughout my childhood). 

My grandmother was never what I would call a "gourmet" cook. So, meal time was always an adventure.  Some things, like the casserole made from hamburger meat and cream of mushroom soup, weren't anything to write home about. But, the week did have its highlights. At breakfast, we'd indulge in fantastic slices of perfectly toasted wheat bread (I am still convinced that vintage toaster made the best toast EVER) mounded with crunchy peanut butter.  Post-breakfast, during moments when Grandma wasn't paying attention, we'd also sneak spoons full of that peanut butter and stuff them into our eager little mouths -- and then hope that she didn't ask us any questions while we were trying to swallow that sticky mess (do you remember that old classic song, Peanut Butter, by the Marathons? yeah -- kinda like that).  At lunch, we feasted on good old-fashioned hard rolls spread generously with butter and topped with garlicky cured summer sausage. 

But, one of my favorite indulgences came after dinner time when Grandpa would spoon up heaping bowls of vanilla ice cream, which were promptly drizzled with maple syrup.

There was really nothing like it.  It was so simple. And yet -- so Incredible. Sweet... ice creamy... mapley... slurpilicious.  I don't know what else to say except -- it's a must-try.  And I really have to congratulate my grandparents for their Depression-inspired ingenuity.

Interestingly enough, the good people at Kopp's Frozen Custard here in Milwaukee must have grown up with grandparents who were similarly inspired.  Because recently, they decided to roll out a new custard flavor called "Maple Syrup and Pancakes".  What could be better?  Even Peef was swooning wth delight.

But, why should we have to wait for Kopp's to make up another batch (the next time it appears on the Flavor Forecast is on April 25th -- a whole month away!)?  We could make it for ourselves, right?

Of course, we'd need to differentiate our version somehow. So, rather than just tossing a bunch of chopped up pancakes in our custard, we decided to take the whole game one step further. We'd make cute little baby pancakes to throw into our custard.

Aren't they totally super cute?   Why are little binky things always so gosh-darned adorable?

(I secretly thought that, if maybe I left a few of these out on the table, we might attract some fantastic tiny little people -- fairies, maybe -- to gobble them up.  But, alas, none showed up. *sad*)

Once we had the pancakes in hand, we mixed up a batch of maple syrup custard (many thanks to David Lebovitz for his constant guidance in our quest for delicious ice cream).

The churned custard was deliciously creamy -- and Very Mapley.  "Just perfect," Peef declared upon a first tasting.  And so we mixed all those delicious little pancakes into the custard, and threw everything into the deep freeze.

Now, I must warn you.  As much as we enjoyed that first taste of custard, the finished product wasn't QUITE what we anticipated.  After spending a bit of time in the freezer, the pancakes in the custard got a little... well, frozen.  So, they weren't quite as texturally pleasing as the ones in the Kopp's version (darn those professional custard places for their secret recipes!).

That said, thanks to the time it takes to shoot the photographs for the blog, we found that the pancakes actually became quite a bit more pliable if they're allowed to sit out for a bit.  So, the custard was definitely edible.  Just not quite perfect.

Despite all the hype (and hope),  I think it's back to the drawing board with this one.  Maybe I can sweet talk those folks over at Kopp's into telling me their secret for keeping the pancakes soft.  In the meantime, if you have any crazy ideas, you let me know!   Peef has already requested that we put a little bit of bacon in the next batch.

©BURP! Where Food Happens

Rejected By Burp!: Curried Na'an Grilled Cheese

First off, thanks to everyone who voted for us in the Marx Foods Blogger Recipe Challenge: Morel Edition! Victory is sweet... but not nearly as sweet as our readers and supporters!

Our Morel & Leek Strata with Lemon Thyme Biscuits was a real winner. But, not every recipe that comes from the kitchens of Burp! fares quite as well. Sometimes we hit on a bummer. This is one of those occasions.

It all started when we gathered in the kitchen to come up with an entry for Panini Kathy's Grilled Cheese Pageant (great round-up, btw -- check it out!). Simple, right? Yeah... well...

From the start, I want to be clear that it wasn't so much that this recipe concept TASTED bad. No, on the contrary, it was a delicious combination of flavors. But the concept was lacking in... how shall we say?... elegance... due primarily to a bit of... seepage.

The idea behind the sammich was simple. Let's take classic flavors from Indian cuisine (namely curry, na'an, onion relish, and hot mango chutney) and combine them with a decidedly French flavor (St. Andre cheese) to create the ULTIMATE grilled cheese experience.

First -- the onion chutney (which really IS a great idea).
First, you take one thinly sliced red onion... and add a spritz of lemon juice.
Sprinkle with a bit of paprika, some cumin, and a dash of cayenne pepper.
And allow to steep for at least an hour at room temperature... at which point, you should taste it. It kicks serious butt. Pair this with all your favorite foods (and Indian dishes). You won't be disappointed.
Once your onion relish is ready, you can haul out the na'an. We cheated a bit and chose the curry flavored na'an from Trader Joe's (it was a week night, after all). Which is pretty good... but feel free to make your own.
Then, you'll want to slice up a bit of St. Andre triple cream. Truly decadent cheese... and completely worth the extra calories. I promise you.
Spread your na'an with a bit of hot mango chutney and top with the St. Andre. Get your hopes up... waaaay up... all out of proportion.
Then add a generous portion of the onion relish. Take a big whiff of everything altogether. It's heavenly. Remember, you have HIGH HOPES for this sammich.
You set it gently in the panini press... and put the cover down.
And that's when tragedy strikes. You never really thought about the fact that the St. Andre is a fairly delicate cheese. Or about the fact that it's a triple cream -- so it's heavy on the side of FAT. AND you've now exposed it to a great deal of unnecessary heat.... VOILA!
The cheese in this sammich drools out. It seeps like a bad dam. The heat of the panini press was too much for it, and it made what could have been an otherwise lovely grilled cheese into a ... grilled oil sammich with mango chutney and yummy onion relish.

Sadness ensues.
After sufficient mourning time, we pick ourselves back up again and proceed into the kitchen. Surely this grilled cheese sammich concept can be saved... and so, we begin again. Which is what Burp! is all about.


©BURP! Where Food Happens

Adventures in Falafel: Part 1

So, I decided to tackle homemade falafel last night.
We've been using a perfectly acceptable (and fast) boxed mix for as long as I can remember. But, it occurred to me recently that I really ought to try my hand at making it from scratch. Peef was busily scratching out his accounting homework last night, so I had some time on my hands. And I figured it would be ... fun.

Now, falafel is NOT rocket science. I know that much.
However, having said that, I have to admit that my overconfidence on this front led me to some initial failure on the homemade falafel front. Yes, it's true.

I didn't really start with a recipe. But, I figured that wouldn't be a big deal. After all, I knew the flavors involved and the basic consistency I was after. Right? Well...

I started with canned chickpeas, which I whirled around in the food processor with an onion, some garlic, a dash of cumin, and some coriander. I added flour to the mix. And a bit of baking powder. And I proceeded to fry up the lovely little balls of delight.

Strike one: Not enough flour in the batter. Or something.
My first batch of falafel patties disintigrated as the oil bubbled gaily around them. Oops.

Strike two: Tasty, but not quite right.
So, I added more flour. And got the balls to hold their shape. The final product was edible. Definitely. And quite tasty. And we made what I'd consider "decent" falafel sandwiches. But, the texture was definitely off. I believe I whirred things a bit too violently in the food processor, for one. And I need to find a way to add LESS flour (or, quite possibly, no flour at all). I think it absorbed too much of the cooking oil, and the little suckers were a bit too greasy for my taste.

So, it's back to the drawing board on this one. *Sigh*
BTW, if you have a recipe to share, please send it on!!



©BURP! Where Food Happens

REJECTED: Crockpot Chicken Cacciatore

We have standards here at BURP!
What that means is that we only share recipes with you that we've actually tried. It also means that we only publish recipes here on our blog that meet the BURP! stamp of approval. If we wouldn't feed it to guests at our home, we don't share it with you.

But, sometimes it's amusing to share with you some of the stories of the items that will NEVER make the BURP! menu.

Our latest attempt at Crockpot Cacciatore is one such story.