Monthly Archives: June 2012
ffwd: corn pancakes
True confessions! I haven’t been totally excited about most of June’s recipes for French Fridays with Dorie. When I reviewed the list, I was completely uninspired by June’s finale, Corn Pancakes. I’ll admit that I like, but do not love, corn. When I read the recipe and saw that it called for canned corn, my ambivalence dropped a notch. We are on the cusp of local corn season, after all, not mid-winter. However, I’m in this group for the long haul, so I felt compelled to play along.
I’ll be the first to admit that I very wrong about this one! Fresh corn from the south is available in stores, so I couldn’t do the canned corn. I wasn’t sure how much to substitute, but two ears, cooked, and then stripped of their kernels, yielded just under two cups, which seemed about the same as a one pound can. There weren’t many ingredients, just the corn, eggs, a bit of flour, and salt.
The batter was a snap to mix up in the blender.
Then, the pancakes cooked in hot oil for just a few minutes.
I got about 18 little silver-dollar pancakes. The first night, we each had a few to accompany burgers.
Even better were the leftovers, reheated and topped with a dollop of crème fraîche and a piece of smoked salmon, the way that Jean-Georges Vongerichten served these for Dorie.
In the end, I really liked these and would definitely make them again, more likely as an appetizer served the “Jean-Georges” way.
If you want to see what the other bloggers thought about their corn pancakes, follow the links posted under the Leave Your Link post for Corn Pancakes. We don’t publish the recipes, but consider getting your own copy of the book, Dorie Greenspan’s book Around My French Table.
ffwd: david’s seaweed sables
It’s been another crazy week of non-cooking. Last weekend, I went to Maryland for a family visit, and to belatedly celebrate my dad’s 75th birthday. While I was away, Howard smoked a brisket and made a pot of baked beans, which is what we ate early in the week. On Wednesday, a mini-heat wave hit, so we just picked at various salads and cold food. The only thing I managed to create out of my kitchen was David’s Seaweed Sables for French Fridays with Dorie.
The process is similar to any slice-and-bake icebox cookie. The dough is mixed, rolled into logs, and chilled until firm. The twist here is the addition of chopped seaweed. I took a shortcut with the seaweed. I had some of a favorite Trader Joe’s snack, Roasted Seaweed, on hand, so I chopped a package of that in the mini-chopper, and cut back on the salt because the seaweed was already well salted.
It’s hard to categorize the end result. They are not sweet enough to be cookies, but too sweet to be crackers. Dorie calls them nibbles, perfect with cold white wine, still or sparkling, and I think she called it right. We’re going to try them as an accompaniment to cold soup for today’s lunch.
I so love the convenience of homemade slice-and-bake logs. I sliced up one to enjoy now and stashed the other in the freezer for later. Of course, this particular recipe was unusual and interesting, but I’m not sure I’ll be rushing to make them again. I do like the idea of using savory ingredients to make other kinds of logs for homemade crackers. My mind is busy thinking up variations for another time.
As always, I’m looking forward to reading about what my fellow FFwD bloggers thought about this week’s recipe. Check out their links at French Fridays with Dorie. We don’t post the recipes, but consider getting your own copy of the book, Dorie Greenspan’s book Around My French Table.
Have a great weekend, all! Stay safely cool!
A Plateful of Happiness 