Faultless Recipes

Note the hyphen: this is not so much a pancake as it is a cake-in-a-pan. Very luscious, its texture reminds me of a souffle. Definitely need to make this one again, especially as it's quick enough to toss together after a meal.




For the Batter:
1/3 cup gluten-free oat or sorghum flour (45g)
1/3 cup gluten-free brown rice flour (45g)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
4 eggs
4 Tbsp milk (at least)
2 Tbsp butter, melted and cooled
2 tsp vanilla extract

For the Apples:
1/4 cup sugar (55g)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
4 Tbsp butter
1 apple, peeled, cored, and sliced (We've used granny smith, Honeycrisp, and Macintosh, and all were good.)

For the Batter: Preheat oven to 425 °F. Whisk together flours, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon in medium bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, melted butter, and vanilla. Pour egg mixture over dry ingredients. Whisk until smooth. Batter should be thin; if not, add additional milk one tablespoon at a time. Allow batter to stand for ten minutes.

For the Apples: mix together sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg in a small bowl. Set aside. Melt butter in a 10-inch oven-safe skillet (I used a 9-inch cast iron pan and it worked fine) over medium heat. Sprinkle sugar mixture over melted butter. Stir and cook until sugar begins to bubble up. Reduce heat to medium-low and arrange apple slices. Cook about three minutes.

Slowly pour batter evenly into the pan. Some of the apple pieces might float and move. Transfer pan to the preheated oven. Bake until pancake puffs and is golden brown, about 15 minutes.

Remove pan from oven and serve warm.

From Serious Eats.

This is the second time we've made these, but I had two additional pieces of kitchen gear that made it much easier this time around: a food processor, and a cast-iron skillet.

For 12-15 small/medium latkes:

3 good sized russet potatoes, washed and peeled
2 cups diced onion (about 2 medium onions)
2 eggs
1/2 to 3/4 cup matzo ball mix
salt to taste (several tsp -- more than you'd think)
applesauce and/or sour cream, for serving

Shred the potatoes using the grater disc of a food processor. Dump the shredded potatoes in a piece of cheesecloth, folded over twice. Tie the corners around a wooden spoon and twist the bundle to wring out as much moisture as you can over a very large bowl. Get the potato as dry as possible.

Set the potato aside, and let the bowl of potato water sit undisturbed while you dice up the onion. Then carefully pour off the water (which will be red-brown), leaving the off-white potato starch in the bottom of the bowl.

In the cast-iron skillet, heat 1/2 inch of vegetable oil over medium-high heat.

Dump in the shredded potato and diced onion, and mix well with the starch (you could use a spoon, but it's easier if you get your hands dirty). Add an egg, followed by 1/4 c. of matzo mix, then the other egg, then another 1/4 c. of matzo mix, mixing after each addition. If necessary, add some more matzo mix, until the consistency is such that it all holds together when you make a patty. Add salt.

When the frying oil is hot, make a small test latke (about the volume of a golf ball), and use a spatula to slide it into the hot oil and press flat. Fry a few minutes on each side, until golden brown. Put several layers of paper towel on a plate to pat dry. Taste to see if it needs more seasoning, and repeat if necessary.

In a 12" skillet, you can fry up 3-4 latkes at a time, if they're smallish (about the volume of a kiwi fruit). Best served hot, topped with applesauce or sour cream (but not both in the same bite ;).

Adapted from Serious Eats; see this post for more latke tips.

This was slightly modified, as I (a) prefer cooked garlic to raw, and (b) wanted to add bacon. Because bacon. So leave out the bacon, and it'll be vegetarian again. Far superior to any alfredo sauce I've had out a jar.

5 ounces grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus more for sprinkling
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 large egg
1 teaspoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound fresh fettuccine, or 12 ounces dried fettuccine
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 oz bacon (about 5 slices), diced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Minced fresh parsley or chives (optional)

Combine cheese, heavy cream, egg, cornstarch, and olive oil in a large bowl. Season lightly with salt (there'll be plenty in the pasta water later) and black pepper to taste. Whisk to combine, then set aside.

In a large saucepan, bring 2 quarts of water and 2 tablespoons of salt to a boil over high heat. Add pasta and cook, stirring frequently to prevent sticking, until cooked but still very firm (not quite al dente), about 45 seconds for fresh pasta or 1 minute less than package directions for dried pasta. Drain pasta into a colander set over a large bowl. Transfer 2 cups of cooking water to a liquid measuring cup and discard the rest. Transfer pasta to the now-empty bowl. Add the butter and toss to coat.

In the still-hot saucepan, sauté the bacon until desired level of crispiness. Toss in the garlic for about 45 seconds. Drain excess bacon fat and discard, then dump bacon & garlic into the pasta and toss to coat.

Whisking constantly, slowly add 1 1/2 cups of the pasta cooking water to the bowl with the cheese mixture. Transfer the cheese mixture to the now-empty pasta cooking pot. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a boil and thickens (about 1 min). Transfer pasta to sauce mixture and turn to coat. Just before serving, stir in more pasta water to thin the sauce out as necessary.

Serve immediately, sprinkled with minced herbs, black pepper, and cheese (if you're feeling fancy).

via Serious Eats

8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 standard ice cube (about 2 tablespoons frozen water)
10 ounces (about 2 cups) all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt or 1 teaspoon table salt
5 ounces (about 3/4 cup) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
5 ounces (about 1/2 tightly packed cup plus 2 tablespoons) dark brown sugar
8 ounces semi-sweet chocolate, roughly chopped with a knife into 1/2- to 1/4-inch chunks
Coarse sea salt for ganish

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook, gently swirling pan constantly, until particles begin to turn golden brown and butter smells nutty, about 5-10 minutes. Remove from heat and continue swirling the pan until the butter is a rich brown, about 15 seconds longer. Transfer to a medium bowl, whisk in ice cube, transfer to refrigerator, and allow to cool completely, about 20 minutes, whisking occasionally.

Meanwhile, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Place granulated sugar, eggs, and vanilla extract in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Whisk on medium high speed until mixture is pale brownish-yellow and falls off the whisk in thick ribbons when lifted, about 5 minutes.

Fit paddle attachment onto mixer. When brown butter mixture has cooled (it should be just starting to turn opaque again and firm around the edges), add brown sugar and cooled brown butter to egg mixture in stand mixer. Mix on medium speed to combine, about 15 seconds. Add flour mixture and mix on low speed until just barely combined but some dry flour still remains, about 15 seconds. Add chocolate and mix on low until dough comes together, about 15 seconds longer. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate dough at least overnight and up to three days.

When ready to bake, adjust oven racks to upper and lower middle positions and preheat oven to 325°F. Using a 1-ounce ice cream scoop or a spoon, place scoops of cookie dough onto a non-stick or parchment-lined baking sheet. Each ball should measure approximately 3 tablespoons in volume and you should be able to fit 6 to 8 balls on each sheet. Transfer to oven and bake until golden brown around edges but still soft, 13 to 16 minutes, rotating pans back to front and top and bottom half way through baking.

Remove baking sheets from oven. While cookies are still hot, sprinkle very lightly with coarse salt and gently press it down to embed. Let cool for 2 minutes, then transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool completely.