Here's what you should NOT do when making Neil's Pancakes from Clinton St Baking Co

M

marilynfl

Moderator
You should NOT try these if you're on a low carb/low fat/low calorie/low (fill in the blank) diet.

You should NOT think "eh, they're pancakes. How much work can they be?" because you just tempted the Kitchen Furies and they do NOT like to be messed with.

You should NOT, oh dear God, you should NOT try whisking 3 egg whites in the canister that comes with your stick blender. Because first, even though you are holding the canister across the open top, small amounts of egg whites will fling out and drip down onto the counter. You will shake your head, wipe it up and then DO THE SAME THING AGAIN.

AND IT WILL DRIP.

AGAIN.

So then the small part of your brain not yet caffeinated (because you're WAITING for these pancakes to have your first cup) suggest: Why not wrap that sticky Press'n Seal stuff across the top???

So you do. Good idea, right.

Oh. WRONG. SO VERY, VERY WRONG.

Because that small part of your brain sitting there congratulating itself for coming up with a solution isn't paying attention to PHYSICS and suddenly the entire canister AND stick blender which are now intrinsically as well as physically joined together will leap out of your hand because electrical power will ALWAYS WIN over finger strength.

And now you will have dripping egg whites spilling all over the counter, down the cabinet face, up on the wall and down onto the floor. You will wipe up the floor first because you don't want to track sticky eggs whites everywhere.

(hold on...insert a LOT of swearing immediately after egg white ejaculation took place.)

Start wiping up counter top, look down and see MORE egg white on the floor. Wipe those up and start clearing off the wall. Look down and see MORE egg whites on the floor. That is NOT a typo. I did not mistakenly write that sentence twice. It turns out a big blob of egg whites was running down my nightgown, in effect, turning me into a literal as well as figurative DRIP.

So here's a bit of irony for you. The arc that the egg white trajectory traveled dripped onto my Kitchen Aid (which I hadn't used because it seemed too big for 3 egg whites) and landed right in front of my grandmother's original hand-crank egg beater. Somewhere in heaven, an old toothless woman is swearing something in Serbian that sounds an awful lot like IDIOT!

Oh...and to complete the ironic folly, that arc sailed right past an entire CROCK of whisks. It never once occurred to me to use a whisk to beat up the whites. I'm 65 and own at least a hundred, maybe 150 cookbooks and I've NEVER manually whisked egg whites to soft peaks. I may have to turn in my apron...the one that says "Any Bitch Can Fake It."

Anyway...the pancakes are really good. I'm definitely keeping this recipe as well as his adaptation for waffles. Michael in Phoenix has a really good waffle recipe; in fact, Neil's pancake recipe is almost the same except he separates his eggs (damn him), uses whole milk and a bit more sugar, so the outcome is definitely on the cakey side. Then, for his waffles, he adds extra clarified butter, some oil, more vanilla and orange extract to the basic recipe.

(click on link to see my arc of folly. The image doesn't display the egg whites very well, but trust me...they are dripping off of everything in this photo,)

http://s56.photobucket.com/user/Finer_Kitchens/media/egg%20beaters.jpg

 
Clinton St. Baking Company Pancakes (4 Clinton Street (btw. East Houston & Stanton in NYC))

4 cups flour (all-purpose)
1 tablespoon baking powder (plus 1 teaspoon)
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
6 large eggs (separated)
3 cups milk (whole)
3/4 cup butter (unsalted, melted, plus 2 teaspoons unmelted for the griddle)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Measure and sift all the dry ingredients into a large (preferably stainless steel) mixing bowl: flour, baking powder, sugar, salt.
In another bowl, whisk together the yolks, milk, melted butter, and vanilla until combined. Whisk the wet mixture into the dry mixture. The result should be slightly lumpy, yet combined to form a batter.

Whip the egg whites in a medium mixing bowl until they reach medium peaks (soft in the middle). You can either whip them by hand with a whisk or put them in the bowl of an electric mixer to whip. Be careful, you don’t want to overwhip the egg whites.

Gently mix half of the whipped whites into the batter with a large rubber spatula. Then gently fold the remaining half into the batter. Remember: this batter should be slightly lumpy and have large parts of egg whites not fully incorporated; it should look like whitecaps in the ocean with foam on top. (The batter will last a few hours in the fridge without deflating too much.)

Heat a griddle – either an electric griddle, a stovetop griddle, or a big flat pan – to 350 to 375°F. Grease the hot griddle with the remaining butter. Drop cup (approximately 4 tablespoons) of pancake batter on the griddle and cook to set. Add 1 tablespoon blueberries or sliced bananas and 1 teaspoon walnuts before turning the pancakes. Never add the fruit to the mix; always add the fruit to the pancakes once they’re on the griddle. When you see bubbles start to form on top, lift the pancake halfway up to see if it’s golden brown and crispy on the edges. If ready, flip the pancake.

When the pancake is golden brown on both sides, remove with a spatula. Repeat with the remaining batter and filling, cooking several pancakes at a time.

https://clintonstreetbaking.com/

 
I'm so glad they were at least good. I can identify...

Reminds me of getting ready to go to work, walking into the garage, only to find that a can of expanding foam insulation (white, thank God, and not brown) had exploded right next to my new truck and all over the garage walls, door, floor, etc. and dried. Apparently 130 degree garages in hellish Texas summers and pressurized cans don't mix. I think I was crying when I called my boss...

 
Here's an excellent lower-carb recipe. Still have to beat egg whites though

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes
Servings: 4

Ingredients:

4 large eggs, separated
1 1/3 cups ricotta cheese, part skim milk
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons freshly grated lemon zest
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
melted butter for brushing the griddle


Directions:

In a bowl whisk together the egg yolks, the ricotta, the sugar, and the zest, add the flour, and stir the mixture until it is just combined. In a bowl with an electric mixer beat the egg whites with a pinch of salt until they hold stiff peaks, whisk about one fourth of them into the ricotta mixture, and fold in the remaining whites gently but thoroughly.

Heat a griddle over moderately high heat until it is hot enough to make drops of water scatter over its surface and brush it with some of the melted butter. Working in batches, pour the batter onto the griddle by 1/4-cup measures and cook the pancakes for 1 to 2 minutes on each side, or until they are golden, brushing the griddle with some of the melted butter as necessary. Transfer the pancakes as they are cooked to a heatproof platter and keep them warm in a preheated 200°F. oven.

I add about 1/2 cup blueberries to make BB pancakes. Serve with Maine Blueberry Syrup.


Notes: Excellent and low carb. You can substitute GF flour blend in this recipe with no problems.

 
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