Decadent solo pancakes for Shrove Tuesday

These are true to the charter of Shrove Tuesday celebration: rich but finite.

Mix dries:

    40g AP flour

    1 1/2 t malted milk powder

    1 1/2 t baking powder

    1/8 t salt

Mix wets:

    1/4 c milk (I use 2% fat)

    1 large egg yolk

    1 T buttery flavored oil (as sold for popcorn)

    1/2 t vanilla

Mix wets into dries. The batter may seem runny, but whisk & wait and it will thicken. Heat griddle over medium heat and grease with a stick of butter. Cook pancakes!

Pan de Muerto

 This excellent recipe comes from Pati Jinich, host of Pati's Mexican Table on PBS. The recipe was published on King Arthur Flour's website: https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/pan-de-muerto-day-of-the-dead-bread-recipe

Starter

    1/2 c (113g) whole milk, lukewarm

    1 T instant yeast

    1 t sugar

    1/2 c (60g) AP flour

Dough

    2 T orange blossom water (or rose water or water)

    2 t grated orange zest

    1 1/2 t anise seeds

    3 1/2 c (420 g) AP flour

    1 t salt

    1/2 c (99g) sugar

    4 large eggs

    16T (226g) butter, cut into 1/2" cubes, at room temperature

Topping

    6T (85g) butter, melted

    1/3 c (66g) sugar, for dusting

1. To make the starter: In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the lukewarm milk, yeast, sugar, and flour. Stir with a whisk or fork, cover, and set aside until the mixture begins to bubble, about 20 to 25 minutes.

2. To make the dough: Add the remaining ingredients (except the butter) to the starter. Using the flat beater attachment, beat at low speed until everything is combined.

3. Scrape the bowl and beater and switch to the dough hook. Knead at medium speed for 10 to 12 minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl as needed, until the dough pulls away from the sides and makes a slapping sound.

4. On low speed, add 3 tablespoons of the butter at a time, incorporating each addition before adding the next. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as necessary.

5. 1. Once all the butter has been incorporated, increase the speed to medium and beat for another 8 to 10 minutes, until the dough slaps against the bowl. It will be smooth, yet still a bit sticky; resist the urge to add more flour.

   2. Shape the dough into a ball and place it in a lightly greased bowl. Cover and allow it to rise until almost doubled, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

   3. Turn the dough out onto a lightly greased surface and gently fold it over on itself. Place the dough back into the bowl, cover, and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or overnight.

   4. To shape the bread: Remove the chilled dough from the refrigerator and let it rest in a warm spot for about 30 to 45 minutes to come to room temperature.

   5. Line a large baking sheet with parchment.

   6. Portion off one-quarter of the dough (about 280g). Divide that quarter into two pieces (140g each). Set them aside.

   7. Divide the remaining three-quarters of the dough into two pieces (about 425g each). Shape each piece into a ball, then press down gently to make flatter rounds about 6” in diameter. Place the rounds on the prepared baking sheet.

   8. Divide each of the smaller pieces of dough into thirds (about 46g each), to make a total of six pieces. Shape two of the pieces into balls and roll the other four into ropes about 6” to 7” long. Pinch the ropes at intervals to make them look like bones.

   9. Place two of the “bones” over one of the large dough rounds, crossing them in the middle. Place one of the small dough balls in the center and press down firmly to anchor it as securely as possible.

   10. Shape the rest of the dough the same way you shaped the first loaf, making a second loaf.

   11. Cover the loaves and allow them to rise in a warm spot until doubled, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

   12. While the loaves are rising, preheat the oven to 350°F.

   13. To bake the bread: Bake the loaves for 20 minutes, until lightly browned on top. Open the oven and loosely cover both loaves with foil. Bake for another 20 to 25 minutes, until the loaves are fully baked and dark golden brown on the bottom and top, and their internal temperature is 190°F.

   14. Remove the loaves from the oven and let them cool slightly on the baking sheet, about 20 minutes.

   15. To top the bread: Brush the loaves with melted butter. Repeat a second time, brushing a section of the loaf with the melted butter and immediately covering that section with a generous amount of sugar, so the sugar sticks before the butter cools and dries.

   16. Continue buttering and sugaring the loaves section by section. Transfer them to a rack to cool completely before slicing.

   17. Storage information: Store the loaves, well wrapped, at room temperature for several days.

Udon for one that is as quick as ramen and only uses pantry things

Put on a pot of water to boil. 

Mix in a small bowl, not fussing too much over weights and measures:

1 T soy sauce

shy T oyster sauce

1/2 T mirin

1 t brown sugar or maple syrup

1/2 t rice wine vinegar

squort of sriracha

A minute or so before the water boils, set a skillet over med-high heat; heat with a small glug of oil + a smaller glug sesame oil.

When the water boils, put in 1 frozen brick of udon for just 1 min.

Transfer soba and sauce to the hot oil in the skillet and stir-fry it all up to a tight, clingy sauce.

Serve with a  generous dose of furikake.

Reb Roy Ramen

This is from the NYTimes recipe for "Perfect instant ramen."
My Korean friends did this when I was a kid-- but I have an American cheese prejudice, so I didn't think I'd like it. But American cheese isn't really exactly cheese, and that's important to this recipe. This isn't cheese-flavored ramen. Instead, the pasteurized process cheese product readily emulsifies with the broth to give it body and fat, almost to the point of seeming like a credible ramen broth. It's quite a neat trick.

I made it to the letter of Jeff Gordiner's transcription of the recipe. I liked it, but it was too brothy for me (I'm odd; I like a less brothy ramen); I wanted it saltier; and I could still taste just a bit more of the American cheese flavor than I would have liked. So I tried it again. I trimmed the 2 1/4 c water to 1 1/2 and cut the Kraft singles from 2 to 1. This solved all three problems-- less broth; less cheese per unit broth; and more flavoring packet per unit broth. I also don't find the described method of poaching the egg to work-- I have to keep it over heat and watch the egg set. Then I scoop the egg out and hover it over as I pour the noodles and broth over the cheese, butter, sesame seed, and scallion. Stirring everything to emulsify the cheese destroys the poached egg, and I like it whole.

boil 1 1/2 c water.
Add a packet of ramen noodles.
Cook 2 min. Meanwhile, put in your serving bowl:
            1 kraft single, torn up
            1 t butter
            1/2 t sesame seeds
            1 scallion, white and green parts, slivered
Add seasoning packet (roast chicken is good), stir, cook 30 sec.
Carefully plop in an egg. Don't stir, but you can fold the noodles up over it. Poach at least 1 minute, or until set.
Spoon out the egg. (Some noodles might come with it)
Pour the broth and noodles into your serving bowl and stir until the cheese is emulsified. Plop back in the egg and serve.

Yeasted bara brith

Beca Lyne-Pirkis represented her Wales home on The Great British Bake Off with this traditional bara brith. Then my friend Tamra repped it as her ancestral home at a vaccination celebration tea.

450 g /1 lb flour (bread or AP)

7g salt

20g/ 3/4 oz fresh yeast or 1/4 oz instant yeast

75g/ 2.5 oz butter, plus extra

50g/ 1.75oz brown sugar

2 t mixed spice

350g/ 12 oz mixed dried fruit, such as raisins, currants, sultanas, cranberries, cherries

1 egg

255 ml/ 8 fl oz strong warm tea (Tamra used Earl Grey)

oil, for greasing

for the glaze: 50 g /1.75 oz sugar + 50 ml/ 1.75oz water

Place flour, salt, and yeast into a large bowl and rub in butter to the texture of fine breadcrumbs. Mix in sugar, spice, and fruit until evenly distributed. Add egg and tea and bring mix together to form a dough. Knead until smooth. Cover it in the bowl with oiled cling film till doubled, at least 1 hr.

Preheat oven to 400 F. Grease a 2lb loaf tin.

Punch down the dough, shape it into the loaf tin. Cover and prove ~30 min. Bake in the center of the oven 20 min, then cover with foil and bake for 25 more minutes.

Turn out of the tin and cool for 20 min. Meanwhile, make the sugar syrup by bringing equal parts water and sugar to a boil and cooking till syrupy, then brushing the loaf with it. Cool before cutting, and serve plain or with butter.

Rhubarb Custard Pie

 More rhubarb, more custard, more Maine. This is from Jane Cleaves McKenna from Bowdoinham.

1 generous T butter

1 1/4 c sugar

3 eggs

1 generous T flour

2.5-3 c finely chopped rhubarb

pastry for a double crust pie

Preheat oven to 425. 

Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, then flour. Beat well until smooth and creamy. Add the chopped rhubarb.

Bake in a latticed crust for 15 minutes, then reduce temp to 375 for 30-40 min more until nicely browned. Cool.

Grapenuts Pudding

 More from the Maine cookbook! I really like Grapenuts ice cream, and (weirdly) like pudding even better than ice cream most of the time.

This one is credited to Ada Foss Cobb of Monson, Piscataquis County.

4 eggs

1/2 c sugar

1 t vanilla

1/4 t nutmeg, + extra for sprinkling

3 c milk

1/4 c Grapenuts cereal

Beat eggs. Stir in sugar, vanilla, nutmeg, and milk, then stir in Grapenuts. Pour into a buttered baking dish and sprinkle with nutmeg. Bake in a water bath at 375 degrees for about (30) minutes and then turn the oven down to 350 degrees and bake until a knife comes out clean.