Healty Country Pancakes Michael Smith Food

HEALTY COUNTRY PANCAKES MICHAEL SMITH

Steps:

• Whisk together the flours, oats, baking powder, nutmeg and salt. In a separate bowl whisk together the wet ingredients. Using a wooden spoon, stir the dry mix into the wet ingredients just to combine.
• Preheat your griddle or a large skillet over medium high heat.
• Spoon the batter onto the preheated surface. Small pancakes cook faster and are easier to flip but if you're a deft hand, feel free to make them bigger. Watch for bubbles to break the surface, then flip and finish. Serve and share!
• VARIATIONS:.
• Add a little fun by frying a batch of bacon on the griddle first (one or two strips per pancake). Once the bacon has finished cooking, fold the strips in half (off center making a V formation) and pour spoonfuls of batter over. Cook until golden brown, then flip and cook the second side. This option deletes the health factor but ups the man pleasing factor.
• Add some blueberries and cardamom to taste along with a teaspoon or two of sugar to the batter.
• Add some small diced apple and cinnamon to taste to the batter.
• Add a very ripe banana, mashed, and sweetened shredded coconut to taste.

SPICY COUNTRY PANCAKES

Steps:

• Scald milk.
• Add sugar, salt, and oil.
• Cool to lukewarm.
• Dissolve yeast in water.
• Combine yeast mixture, eggs, and milk mixture.
• Sift flour and spices.
• Add to liquid mixture.
• Beat until smooth.
• Cover and let stand one hour or more in a warm place.
• Batter will be light and bubbly.
• Stir down batter.
• Bake on greased griddle.

COUNTRY PANCAKES

Steps:

• Melt butter in microwave first, so that it will cool a little before mixing into batter.
• Preheat griddle to medium-high. If the griddle is not non-stick, lightly oil it first.
• Optional: If desired, separate the egg and whip the egg white. This will help make the pancakes extra light and fluffy in texture. I use a little hand-held blender for this step. I always do this because it makes such a big difference.
• In a good-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients. In a small separate bowl, whisk egg yolk, vanilla and melted butter. Combine the two mixtures in the larger bowl and mix.
• Add club soda and egg whites and gently fold into batter. Be careful not to over-mix at this point.
• If you did not separate the egg, you might need to use more club soda to reach the desired consistency. If you did separate the egg, the batter will be thicker than normal pancake batter.
• I like to fry the pancakes in bacon grease, but you can use regular vegetable oil if you prefer. Pour about 1/3 c for each pancake and brown on both sides.
• Brush the remaining melted butter on each pancake as you stack them.
• I keep the pancakes on an oven-proof platter in the oven on 200 degrees while I get all of them cooked.
• You will probably need to reapply the oil or bacon grease to the griddle.
• If batter thickens while you finish the bacon or frying the first few batches, add the reserved club soda.
• Unused batter can be kept covered in the fridge to use in the next few days. If it becomes too thick, add a little milk.

BACON CHEDDAR POTATO TART (MICHAEL SMITH)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
• Line a 6-inch non-stick fry pan with bacon slices, arranging them in a radial pattern and starting with one end of bacon in the centre of the pan and the other end draped over the edge. When the entire surface of the pan has been covered, sprinkle with pepper and add a layer of sliced potatoes to cover the bottom. Sprinkle with grated cheese, salt and pepper and repeat layers until they are slightly above the top of the pan.
• Fold the bacon, one slice at a time up and over the potato mound toward the centre. Carefully overlap each slice and repeat until the top is completely and neatly covered with bacon. Press down and cover with a lid.
• Place tart on a baking sheet, which will catch any drips during cooking. Bake for 3 hours. It has to cook low and slow so the potatoes cook and the bacon doesn't burn. The lid will eventually come down and sit on the pan as the food cooks.
• Turn pan over and invert tart onto a serving plate. Cut into 6 slices.