Obviously, December is all about the holidays.

But in the Cream Puff household, it’s also about breakfast.

Because we all tend to be off from work for a good part of the month (I take holidays and my brother is home since the factory usually closes for two weeks), it means lots of lazy mornings where we can all indulge in some long and slow breakfasts.

The stars of the show are usually pancakes, waffles or french toast. If it’s up to me, it would pancakes almost every time.

Much like chocolate chip cookies and granola, as far as I’m concerned, there’s no such thing as the “best recipe ever”. There’s always another recipe on the horizon waiting to be tried.

This time around it’s a recipe for Classic Buttermilk Pancakes from Issue 102 of Fine Cooking.

Wow. These were good.

I have a few other buttermilk pancake recipes, which are also very good, but these somehow were just a bit fluffier. I followed the instructions precisely, especially the part about letting the batter rest for a bit. I think this is absolutely key when making pancakes or waffles. Letting the batter rest allows it to thicken as the flour absorbs the liquid and swells. This gives you a pancake that rises more and that is far more fluffy and light.

So I’m going to stop now because my mouth is watering and there’s no way that I can make pancakes right now.

I ate them all up with lots of maple syrup and salted butter.

As always, I’m joined by a few people who have decided to attack that magazine pile. That’s what Magazine Mondays is all about!

Here’s who joined me this week:

Candy Girl made a Tangerine Beef with Scallions from the November 2009 issue of Food Network Magazine.

Di from Di’s Kitchen Notebook used a recipe for Streusel-Topped Chocolate-Cranberry Bread from the December 2009 issue of Bon Appétit as inspiration for a danish braid.

Poppy of Poppyseeds and Tiger Lilies made Chicken & Fontina Quesadillas from a 2008 issue of Food & Wine.

Janie of Panini Girl made Peanut Butter Thumbprint Cookies from the December issue of Sunset magazine.

And with something a little different, Wandering Coyote of ReTorte features her lastest article in Bread & Molasses magazine complete with Cheese Ball recipe!!!

Have a great week, everyone!

Ciao!

I specifically waited until Saturday to put this post up because to me, Sunday is the king of brunch days.

Thanks to my dear friend Cath of A Blithe Palate and Stephanie of Dispensing Happiness, I’ve had the chance to review Gale Gand’s Brunch! as part of a cookbook spotlight that they’re co-hosting.

I’m lucky enough to own a copy of Gale’s book Chocolate and Vanilla (read the review I did here), which I love and have used many times.

I’m a big fan of Gale’s, although I’m not as familiar with her as I am with other cookbook authors. But most of the people that I know that are familiar with Gale, seem to enjoy the same things that I like about her books. To begin with, they’re very open. What I mean by that is that from the first page there’s a very clear sense that I can easily try each and every recipe in the book. And brunch, above all things, should be easy and straightforward. That’s why we call it brunch and not a formal dinner!

There’s also a lightness to her recipes that I enjoy. Do not fear. There’s butter aplenty (as there should be in all brunches). What I mean is that the recipes are imbued with a sense of starting your day off in a comforting, happy way … another important ingredient in a successful brunch!

At the end of the day (or should I say the beginning), it’s easy to imagine waking up on a Sunday morning and trying any one of the recipes in this book. As it turns out, I tried three, all of which were wonderful.

Because I’ve never met a buttermilk pancake recipe that I haven’t wanted to try, I tried the Buttermilk Pancakes and they were simple, quick and just delicious (pictured above).

And because I’ve never met a granola recipe that I haven’t wanted to try, I made the Cranberry-Almond Granola (with some macadamia nuts thrown in). Wonderful!

And finally, the Quick Pear Streusel Coffee Cake called to me because I had some pears that were languishing in the fruit basket. Now I should tell you that pears are not high on my list of favoured fruits but this quick and most cake actually made me like them. That’s good enough for me!

If you’re into brunch (and who isn’t), I cannot recommend this book more highly! I’m off to plan tomorrow’s brunch …

Ciao!

So here’s my dirty little secret: For almost all of my 20s and part of my early 30s, I regularly skipped breakfast.

And by regularly I mean, almost all the time.

So there you have it. I don’t have a particularly good reason for being such a habitual offender beyond the most basic (and perhaps saddest), which is that I simply didn’t care enough to organize myself, to make time, to plan ahead and to prepare.

You see, they don’t call breakfast the most important meal of the day because they feel like it. It is the most important meal of the day. And any meal that’s the most important does require organization, time, planning and preparation.

My lack of all of the above led to the usual laundry list of ills associated with skipping meals: mid-morning hunger, low energy, snack attacks, weight gain and sluggishness.

In place of a fulfilling breafkast, I enjoyed a parade of mid-morning snacks purchased from the nearest coffee shop. These snacks involved coffee and some sort of sweet. I rationalized this terrible habit by telling myself that it was okay since I did manage to eat a lot of fruit and vegetables and I always had a decent dinner.

It is amazing to me that someone that prides herself on being a good cook and baker, someone that prides herself on her family’s culinary traditions and that someone that prides herself on having a responsible attitude towards food could possibly have been so stupid.

But I was.

I’m not exactly sure what initiated my breakfast awareness, but shortly after I turned 30, it began to sink in that breakfast was a necessity and that with a good breakfast I’d be arming myself to have a good day.

I am happy to say that now, in my mid-30s, I have breakfast almost every day. (I still have about a handful of days a year when time gets the best of me and I don’t eat anything. Never said I was perfect!)

From Monday to Friday, my breakfasts are simple, straightforward and delicious. I will eat everything from cereal with fruit, yogurt with granola, yogurt with fruit, hot cereal and toast with butter and jam. What I have really depends on how I’m feeling. There are, however, a few common denominators regardless of what I’m having:

I always have fruit in some form every morning. Whether it’s berries in my cereal or an apple after I’ve had a slice of toast, I eat fruit every morning.

I always have dairy in some form every morning. A glass of milk. A cup of yogurt. Whatever the case may be, dairy for breakfast is good.

I only eat things that I like for breakfast. No matter how “healthy” something is, if you don’t like it, trying to force yourself to eat it is usually not going to end successfully. Over the years, I have learned what foods I like to eat in the morning and those are the ones that I enjoy. I love toast with butter and jam. But rather than eat refined white bread, I enjoy a variety of wholesome breads made with grains, nuts and seeds. And yes I still put butter and jam on my bread because butter and jam are beautiful things and a life without them wouldn’t be much fun (for me).

What do I do on Saturday and Sunday, you ask? Like most people, I have more time for breakfast on Saturdays and Sundays, which means that I can be a bit more elaborate in my preparations. Also, as I believe that indulgence (in moderation) is good for the soul, Saturdays and Sundays are the days that I like to make pancakes, waffles, omelettes, breakfast pastries and french toast. I don’t have these all the time, mind you, but if I do have them it will be on the weekend.

Making time for breakfast on a daily basis has changed my life. For starters, the urge to fall asleep at 11:00 every morning has disappeared. I feel better. I don’t feel like I’m 110 years old. I’ve lost weight. I look better. I’m healthier.

So what prompted this confession? After all of the indulgences of the holidays, I found myself thinking about what I would be cooking and eating during the month of January and that of course led to much contemplation about what I would choose as my Flavour of the Month.

I found myself perusing The Overburdened Bookshelf and my eyes settled on a book called Morning Food: Breakfasts, Brunches & More for Savoring the Best Part of the Day by Margaret Fox and John Bear. Here’s a book that I’ve had for several years but never used.

I suddenly found myself imagining a month of delicious breakfasts so I knew I had to choose this book as the Flavour of the Month. For the first recipe that I tried, I chose one called Kaiserschmarren (The Empoeror’s Omelette). I’m not a huge omelette fan but I chose this one when I realized that it’s actually a cross between an omelette and a pancake that I enjoyed when I was in Austria in 2006.

During my trip, I had the chance to have dinner with Angelika of The Flying Apple and for our dessert, we tried a very traditional dish that was a pancake of sorts that’s then torn apart with forks and served with various accompaniments like stewed fruit. Angelika strongly recommended that I try it (even though I was stuffed) and I did and certainly didn’t regret it.

I was thrilled to have the opportunity to try this dish at home, but this time for breakfast.

If you’re a breakfast eater, I congratulate you. If you’re a breakfast skipper, I’m not going to lecture you. I know what it’s like and believe me, you have to come to accept breakfast on your own terms. But take it from this reformed Cream Puff, you’re missing the best meal of the day!

Ciao!

Here are some recipes for this dish (can be enjoyed for breakfast or for dessert) that you might like:

http://www.thecookingadventuresofchefpaz.com/2008/01/27/kaiser-pancakes-kaiserschmarren/

http://www.austrianfood.net/2008/01/07/kaiserschmarren/

http://www.sheries-kitchen.com/recipes/german/kaiserschmarren.htm

http://www.hsn.com/wolfgang-puck-recipe-kaiserschmarren_at-2740_xa.aspx

http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Kaiserschmarren

I’m not one for swearing or cursing but I’m just going to come right out and say it, work is kicking my ass.

Badly.

And something very strange is happening to me. At the most inopportune moments during the day, my thoughts turn to pancakes.

Tall stacks of fluffy pancakes. Blueberry pancakes. Buttermilk pancakes. Pumpkin pancakes.

Pancakes dripping syrup. Pancakes glistening with melted butter.

Towers of pancakes surrounded by an adoring crowd of chocolate-drizzled strawberries.

All I want are some pancakes.

Sigh.

Ciao!

Ricotta Pancakes
From Bill Granger’s Bill’s: Breakfast, Lunch + Dinner.

Note: Over the past few months, I’ve fallen in love with Bill Granger. I’ve purchased three of his cookbooks including this one and I’m smitten. These pancakes were incredible!

1-1/2 cups ricotta (try to use a dry ricotta, otherwise drain your ricotta in a paper-towel lined colander overnight in the refrigerator)
1 tbsp. sugar
3/4 cup milk
4 eggs, separated
1 cup plus two tablespoons of all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tbsp. grated orange zest
unsalted butter (for cooking the pancakes)

In a bowl, combine the ricotta, sugar, milk and egg yolks. Mix well and set aside.

Sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to the ricotta mixture. Add the vanilla extract and orange zest and mix well.

In a clean bowl, whip the egg whites until they’re stiff.

Gently fold the egg whites into the ricotta mixture.

Heat a pan or griddle and melt a few tablespoons of butter in the pan. Drop about a quarter cup of batter into the pan for each pancake. Don’t overcrowd the pan.

Cook for two to three minutes on the first side. The pancake will be golden. Flip and cook for an additional two minutes.

Serve warm with butter and syrup. Enjoy!