PANCAKES

Who knows how to make homemade pancakes? Does anyone still remember how to make them from scratch? As I was cleaning my kitchen cabinets the other day, I found an abundant collection of cake mixes that my family uses on a daily basis. But why would we need cake mixes when we can make our own desserts? I just think it's more fun and it's a great challenge that everybody should be happy to face. Even if a perfect dessert never comes out because we are not professional bakers, it's always interesting to give every recipe a try.
As far as I know, pancakes have been part of the American food culture for many years and they are absolutely perfect on a Sunday morning or for a holiday breakfast. What is amazing about pancakes is that you can add multiple toppings and they will always be excellent and tasty, even with fresh fruits like chopped bananas, strawberries and blueberries.
To make them you need the following ingredients:
2 cups of all-purpose flour

2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

1 1/2 to 1 3/4 cups milk

2 tablespoons melted butter

First of all, put the dry ingredients (flour, salt, baking powder and granulated sugar) in a bowl and sift them together. In a separate bowl, whisk the two large eggs together and add the milk at room temperature. When you are done with that, put everything in one bowl and mix until your mixture is smooth and blended. Before you cook your pancakes, add the melted butter and stir again. Use a greased griddle and cook 1/4 of a cup of batter for each pancake. Cook until the edges are dry and the bottom is brown.

Enjoy! :)

French Crepes

As I was watching Julia & Julie last night, I suddenly desired to eat good French food. My favorite French recipe is an old dish that Pope Gelasio invented many years ago by mixing basic ingredients together. You all know what I'm talking about and I'm sure you all have tried Crepes before. What is really interesting about Crepes is that you can eat them with anything and at any time. They could be your dessert, your breakfast and sometimes your lunch too. You don't have to buy any particular ingredients to make Crepes, you just need good cooking skills and some patience.
Here is the list of the ingredients for six people:
40 gr of butter, 250 gr of flour, a pinch of salt, two drops of vanilla extract, a pinch of cinnamon, 1/2 liter of milk, 3 eggs and 60 gr of sugar.
Put the dry ingredients (flour, salt, sugar) in one large bowl and add the milk and the two drops of vanilla to the mixture. With an electric mixer, mix it very well until blended.
In a different bowl, combine the two eggs together and beat them with a whisk. When that is done, put the two eggs in the first bowl while mixing and finally add your melted butter.
To cook Crepes, you'll need to buy a special skillet, but if you don't have one, you can just use one of the skillets that you own. It won't make any major difference to the final result.
Turn the heat up and when the entire surface is warm, put two tablespoons of the batter on the skillet. When it solidifies, your Crepe will be ready and you'll have to remove it from the pan immediately.
Use different toppings and have fun creating your own flavor. Crepes are fantastic topped with chocolate and a scoop of vanilla ice-cream.

Banana Bread

I have been in the United States for nine months, enough time to know how good some American recipes are. I like cupcakes, bagels, brownies, chocolate chip cookies, macaroni and cheese and cheesecakes, but there is something that I could not live without. It's the famous and delicious homemade banana bread. It's one of the easiest things to make, even from scratch, and I think I have a perfect recipe that I recommend everyone tries at least once.
Here is the list of ingredients that you need:
4 bananas, 3 gr of baking soda, 120 gr of butter, 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, 200 gr of flour, 6 gr of baking powder, lemon juice, a pinch of salt, 2 eggs, 120 gr of sugar.

Start the recipe by smashing the bananas in a bowl and squishing them with a fork. Add some lemon juice, so they won't turn brown while you mix the other ingredients. In a different bowl, mix sugar and butter with an electric mixer and once you get an homogeneous mixture, add the two eggs and a pinch of salt and keep mixing them together. At this point, you can transfer the bananas to this second bowl, which should be a little bit bigger than the first one, and add the dry ingredients (flour, baking soda and baking powder). Amalgamate your dry ingredients with the banana mixture until well blended and finally add 1/2 of a teaspoon of cinnamon to give a delicate flavor to your banana bread. Put your batter in a ceramic cake pan and bake it for 60 minutes at 350 F.
You can serve it when it's warm or lightly cold, but it's definitely better when it's still warm and soft.
Enjoy!