Perfect Pancakes

I love a good pancake, don't you?  But getting the pan at just the right temperature and flipped over at just the right time is an art.

Here.  Let me make it easier for you.

Multiply as needed for friends, family, and the week ahead.  (Good use for that ketchup bottle)

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 pinch salt
1 pinch cinnamon (optional.  I also enjoy nutmeg, personally)
2 teaspoons baking POWDER (not soda.  Really.)
2 tablespoons applesauce or oil, if you really must be that way
1 egg
1 cup milk

Directions
 Mix all your dry ingredients thoroughly, especially the baking powder, which tends to cake together. Beat together the wet ingredients, then beat everything together until you've gotten all the lumps out.

Heat a good nonstick skillet on the stove over medium heat (this is for an electric range.  Gas ranges may want to go with more of a mid-low).  When you hold your hand over it (not touching) and it feels warm, pour in about 1/4 cup of batter. 

Watch the batter until air bubbles appear all over the top (especially towards the middle) like so

Using the widest spatula you have, press hard against the bottom of the pan and swipe straight under the pancake so you're holding the whole thing on the spatula.  Quickly flip that sucker over and into the pan.  (Ever try the game when you were a kid where you swung the bucket around over your head really fast to keep the water in there?  Same concept.)  Give it about a minute to a minute and a half on that side and then slide it off on your plate.  Repeat till you have the desired number of pancakes.

If you have any leftover batter, you can store it for about a week in a well covered container.  Old squeeze ketchup bottles are a marvel for this.

Pie Crust

Pie crust is one of the most loved or hated desert items I've ever come across.  People either devour it with the avid attention of the starving or get to those last few bites and pull it off.

Why?

I've come to the conclusion that it's just the crust you've grown up eating.  Some people, like myself, had a great experience with pie crust and look forward to every last one (even when we're disappointed by it).  Some people have had the worst, freezer burnt, nastiest, flavorless crusts in the known universe and refuse to give a homemade delicacy a try, no matter how good it smells.

Well, fear not.  This recipe is Sasha tested, Russ approved.  Even Mikey likes it!  (Actually, Mike hasn't tried it yet, but I'm sure he would)  Everything from the humble pie scrap bite to glorious pies and quiches will be better with a homemade crust!

Ingredients:
3 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp salt (leave out if you're using salted butter)
2 sticks of COLD* unsalted butter (see above if you use salted)
1 glass of water with ice cubes in it

Directions:
Stir together your dry ingredients thoroughly.  Set butter on top and set water glass nearby.

The middle item is a pastry cutter: our friend in this exercise.  I know I don't usually condone special items, but it'll make your job much MUCH easier here.

Cut the butter into the flour mixture (if using the pastry cutter, press down into the butter and through into the flour repeatedly.  If using a fork, same, but more difficult) repeatedly until largest piece of butter is about the size of a pea.

Now add cold water, one tablespoon at a time, cutting in (make sure you are pressing all the way to the bottom of the bowl and rotating so you get all the flour mixed in)  After about 6 tablespoons (sometimes less), you should get some pieces that look like

sticking together as they press through the pastry cutter.  They'll hold their shape when you pick them up and eat them.  I mean, test them.  Sift your finger through the bowl at this point to see if there are any dry spots: if there are, add another tablespoon.  If not, you're done with this part.

Squish together all the dough with your (clean) hands.  Depending on your project, divide into two balls for two 9 inch pie crusts (or a top and a bottom of one) or leave it in one large ball for pie "scraps" or rugalach.  Wrap in plastic wrap and put in the fridge for at least an hour or up to a week.  Roll out on a floured surface when you're ready to use!


*Warm butter won't leave the flecks that make a crust good and flaky.  Yes, I know it's a pain to work with, but I promise you, it is worth it.