Four Pancake Variations for the Guardian Service Fryer

We’ve cooked up plenty of Guardian Service “Greaseless” Griddle Cakes for friends and family, but lately we’ve been serving these easy–breezy dishes with intimidating Teutonic names: Pannekoeken, Apfelpfannküchen, Salzburger Nockerln and Kaiserschmarrn.

Don’t let their names and many aliases confuse you: “Dutch Pancake,” “Dutch Baby,” “German Apple Pancake,” “David Eyre’s Pancake”… They're one–pan pancakes, quick and folky yet elegant dishes, all similar in preparation, infinitely versatile and equally suitable for breakfast or dessert. You might even adapt them as a savory for a brunch or luncheon.

We’ve adapted these recipes, traditionally cooked in an iron skillet, for the 10” Guardian Service fryer, which serves 3-4, though you could half again the recipe and prepare it in the 12” fryer for 6-8.

Each recipe starts with a pan of bubbling butter in which the batter is briefly fried before finishing in a high oven to bake into a golden puff, or in the case of the Kaiserschmarrn, scrambled into golden dumplings.

Begin with a basic Pannekoek (or “David Eyre’s Pancake,” as Craig Claiborne dubbed it in an enduringly popular 1966 article for the NY Times). Add apples, and a bit more flour and milk, and you have a traditional Apfelpfannküchen or a German Apple Pancake. Without the apples but with beaten egg whites folded in it becomes Kaiserschmarrn (roughly translated “Emporer’s Hash”). Minus the flour, you have the sweet Austrian soufflé “Salzburger Nockerln,” or Salzburg dumplings.

Pannekoek

or "David Eyre's Pancake"

Simple yet showy, the original one-pan pancake. Get everyone to the table before you remove this from the oven!

(Note that if you replace the nutmeg with a pinch of salt or some herbs and cooked this batter in a cold buttered skillet for twice as long, it would become a Yorkshire Pudding (or poured in muffin tins or ramekins: popovers). Our Guardian Service Gougères, has more flour and cheese and comes closer still to an eggy bread).

3 large eggs

¾ cup flour

¾ cup milk

fresh grated nutmeg

4 Tbsp. butter

2 Tbsp. powdered sugar

Juice of half a lemon

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F. In a mixing bowl, lightly beat the eggs. Add the flour, milk and nutmeg and lightly beat until blended but still slightly lumpy.

2. Melt the butter in the 10” Guardian Service fryer over medium heat. When very hot but not brown, pour in the batter.

3. Transfer pan to oven and bake until the pancake puffs and turns golden brown at the edges, about 15–20 minutes.

4. Working quickly, remove the pan from the oven and, using a fine-meshed sieve, sprinkle with the sugar. Sprinkle with lemon juice and serve immediately with warm preserves. Serves 2 to 4.

Apfelpfannküchen

or German Apple Pancake

Like the Pannekoek above, but with apples

2 large eggs

1 cup flour

1 cup milk

1/4 tsp. salt

Pinch of ground cinnamon or nutmeg

4 Tbsp. melted butter

2-3 small apples

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 Tbsp. powdered sugar

Juice of half a lemon or orange

1. Preheat the oven to 500°F. In a mixing bowl, lightly beat the eggs and milk. Add the flour and salt and lightly beat until just blended. Let rest for 10-15 minutes.

2. While batter is resting, melt the butter in the Guardian Service fryer over medium-high heat. When very hot but not brown, add the apples. Cover and reduce heat, simmering until the apples begin to sweat.

3. Sprinkle brown sugar and cinnamon over apples and pour the batter over all. Place uncovered fryer in oven, reduce heat to 425℉ and bake until the pancake billows at the edges and turns golden brown, about 15 minutes.

4. Working quickly, remove the pan from the oven, carefully invert pan onto serving plate, and sprinkle pancake with lemon or orange juice and sifted confectioners' sugar. Serve immediately. Serves 2 to 4.

Salzburg Nockerln

Essentially a sweet soufflé, fried then baked

Andrew notes: “One of my fondest memories is of wolfing down mouthsful of crusty, oozy, sweet Norckerln on a romantic date in Salzburg, many years ago, with the beautiful and brilliant young Joanna Schneiderman.  We took the funicular up the cliff at twilight to sup at the Café Winkler and washed the fabulous dessert down with kaffee mit schlag. Joanna went on to marry my best friend, Ken Albala, who incidentally is the world’s leading authority on pancakes. Worlds of love and memory collide in the crack of a few eggs.”

5 eggs, separated

2 Tbsp. Flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

zest of 1 lemon

pinch salt

1 Tbsp. butter

2 Tbsp. powdered sugar

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Separate the eggs and lightly beat the yolks with the flour and lemon zest.

2. Beat the egg whites until stiff, gradually adding a pinch of salt and the sugar.

3. Fold egg yolk mixture into beaten whites.

4. Heat butter in 10" Guardian Service fryer until bubbling and spoon the batter into fryer. (Traditionally this is done in three distinct mounds to represent the three mountains of Salzburg—mine sometimes resemble the lava flows of Haleakala, but they still cook to perfection in the GS fryer).
5. Place the fryer in the oven and bake for 12-15 minutes until golden brown. Serve with stewed or fresh fruit and a light dusting of powdered sugar.

Kaiserschmarrn

Fluffy, pan–fried scrambled dumplings

¼ cup raisins

1 Tbsp rum (or bourbon, etc)

3 Tbsp. butter

4 eggs, separated

3 Tbsp sugar

1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

1 cup flour

1 ½ cups milk

2 Tbsp powdered sugar

pinch salt

Raspberry Sauce

1. In 10” Guardian Service fryer, simmer raisins with 2 Tbsp of water and/or rum, bourbon, etc.

2. Separate eggs. Beat yolks with sugar and vanilla until golden, gradually add milk and flour, alternating until mixed into a smooth batter.

3. Beat egg whites until stiff, adding a pinch of salt. Meanwhile, add butter to fryer, lightly sauté raisins.

4. Fold egg whites into batter and pour over butter and raisins.

5. When the edges of the batter begin to brown, gently cut through the batter with a spatula and fold over in the pan, scrambling the batter while browning the resulting dumplings on all sides.

6. Serve immediately with powdered sugar, drizzled with warm raspberry sauce.

Spicy Burmese Fish in a Pot

Of several cookbooks I acquired during recent travel, I've enjoyed reading one in particular, a gift from playwright and director Seth Rozin: "The Universal Kitchen" (Penguin, 1996), written by his mother, the late Elizabeth Rozin, who authored several cookbooks on ethnic cuisines (and imparted her love of language and spicy food to her children).

In her "250-Recipe Tour of World Cooking,” Rozin gallops the globe, comparing the foods and cooking techniques of various cultures, while musing about how cooking makes us uniquely, yet universally, human:

"What we see, through this wide–angle lens, is a pervasive commonality in kitchen practice, across cultures and throughout time... We all make tasty and nourishing broths from the bones of animals; we all simmer meats and vegetables in pots of seasoned liquids; we all devise piquant condiments and savory sauces to give zest and excitement to our food... The kitchen may truly be one of the few places where we can celebrate commonality as well as diversity, for we all trace the roots of what we eat back to the ancestral melting pot and to those among us who first put fire and salt to meat."

When a mutual friend of Seth's, Bobbi, came to sup the other night, we thought it a perfect occasion to try out one of his mom's one-pot meals. In her chapter “Potluck,” Rozin writes: 

“Think of the meals-in-a-pot that are emblematic of so many cuisines: the French pot-au-feu, the Louisiana gumbo, the Hungarian goulash, Irish stew, and New England boiled dinner... However they may differ in terms of ingredients and seasonings, these simmered liquid-based meals seem to offer the same advantages to everyone—an economy of time, labor, and utensils a variety of wholesome, nourishing foods cooked into flavorful ragouts that provide sustenance in an easy, homespun, nurturant form. Like the soups from which they probably derive, they shine as the beacon of home cooking and the domestic hearth, with heavy pots and blackened kettles bubbling their aromatic contents at the back of the stove or suspended over the hearth fire.”

Rozin's Burmese recipe, below, is perfectly suited to the Guardian Service method of simmering over a low heat. The meal is quick and easy (prep and cooking in under an hour), yet rich and deeply satisfying as well as nutritionally sound.

We made a few alterations, using Mahi–Mahi in place of bluefin, spring garlic, one habañero pepper, and oyster sauce (though minced anchovies could substitute for the fish sauce as well). We also added chopped sweet bell peppers and bok choi during the last minutes of cooking.

Spicy Burmese Fish in a Pot

adapted from Elizbeth Rozin's The Universal Kitchen (Penguin, 1996)

"Burmese curries—foods slowly cooked in highly seasoned liquids—are generally characterized by two distinct flavoring traditions, the soy, fish sauce, and lemongrass of Southeast Asia, and the dry curry spices and aromatics of Indian cuisine. This delicious and unusual fish curry is more the Southeast Asian type and should be done with a firm, meaty, and full-flavored fish. I find that bluefin works very well, but you can substitute other varieties if you wish. Burmese sauces are almost never thickened with cornstarch or flour and are best served over plain boiled or steamed rice."

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 ½ Tbsp. ginger root, finely minced

4 large garlic cloves, minced

2-3 fresh hot chiles, seeded and minced, or ½ – 1 tsp. crushed dried hot peppers

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

2 cups coarsely chopped fresh very ripe tomatoes, coarsely chopped

1 tsp. lemongrass powder, or 2 tsp. finely chopped fresh lemongrass

2 Tbsp. fish sauce

1 ½ – 2 lbs. thick bluefish fillet, cut in large chunks (or mahi-mahi, etc.)

1-2 large bell peppers, cut into large chunks (optional)

4 leaves bok choy (Chinese cabbage), cut into large chunks (optional)

1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice

Small handful chopped fresh coriander leaf (cilantro)

Hot cooked rice (read our post on preparing Guardian Service rice) 

1. In the Guardian Service Tureen (or the 4 qt. "Straight-Sided" Dome Cooker), sauté the onion, gingerroot, garlic and chiles in the oil over moderate heat, stirring, until the onions are soft and the mixture becomes aromatic.
2. Add the tomatoes, the lemongrass, and the fish sauce and mix well. Simmer the sauce, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes.
3. Place the fish chunks on the tomato mixture, cover, and cook over low heat for about 30 minutes, until the fish is very tender.
4. During the last 5 minutes of cooking, add the bok choy and bell peppers and continue to simmer on low.
5. Sprinkle the lemon juice and the chopped cilantro over the fish; serve the curry with individual bowls of hot cooked rice.

Guardian Service Frittata

Yesterday I returned to Reading Terminal Market to see what quality, sustainably-farmed foods I could find at the Fair Food Farmstand. Even off-season, the Farmstand carries a treasure trove of locally-farmed vegetables, raw milks, yogurts and cheeses and a variety of eggs from cage-free, organically-fed fowl ranging from chickens, ducks and geese to emu (which lay Fabergé-sized eggs with dark emerald-teal shells—marvels of Mother Nature's flamboyance). The Farmstand had all the seasonal ingredients I needed to make an excellent frittata.

Though I'd never cooked or eaten duck eggs, I'm a quick convert: larger and more flavorful than hens' eggs, duck eggs are also more richly nutritious (higher in protein, minerals, vitamins and complex amino acids). They're also beautiful—firm shells, large saffron-colored yolks and thick whites which set up firmly in dishes like this dense frittata.

Often a frittata is flipped to brown both sides or placed under the broiler to finish, but the Guardian Service fryer cooked this dish perfectly in 20 minutes on top of the stove, with a slightly browned bottom and a soufflé-like texture. Allow the dish to cool for 15 minutes before serving and it will lift easily out of the pan. 

Guardian Service Frittata

with Duck Eggs, Sweet Potato, Mushroom, Shallot, Bacon and Cheese

Ingredients

6 duck eggs, lightly beaten (Pecan Meadows Farms, Newburg, PA)

2 medium Covington Sweet Potatoes, thinly sliced (Mast Farm, Morgantown, PA)

3 Yellow Dutch shallots, sliced (Tuscarora Organic Growers, Hustontown, PA)

8 oz. Crimini mushrooms, sliced (Mother Earth Mushrooms, Kennett Square, PA)

4-6 strips bacon, fried and crumbled into bits (Niman Ranch)

1/4 lb. "Maidenhead" cheese (or other semi-soft cheese), diced (Cherry Grove Farm, Lawrenceville, NJ)

1 Tbsp. butter, olive oil or bacon fat (optional)

1/4 tsp. salt and pepper, freshly ground

Directions

1. In the large Guardian Service Fryer, fry the bacon over medium low heat until just crisp enough crumble into bits and remove to dish to cool. 
2. In the rendered bacon fat, sauté sweet potato slices 4-5 minutes per side until wilted, covering the pan between, then remove to dish. 
3. Add an additional Tbsp. of fat or oil to the pan and sauté the shallots until translucent. Add mushrooms and continue to sauté, covered, for another 5 minutes.
4. Return the sweet potato slices to the pan, distributing evenly with the sautéed mushroom and shallot mixture.
5. Beat eggs with salt and pepper and pour over the potato, onion, mushroom mix. Sprinkle the diced cheese and bacon bits over the top.
6. Cover fryer and cook over medium low heat for 20 minutes or until the cheese melts and the eggs have set at the center.

Optional: finish under a broiler for a few minutes until browned or use a metal lid to employ the "stove top" browning method.

Allow the frittata to cool for at least 15 minutes or up to several hours. Invert or slide frittata onto a serving plate and cut into wedges or serve directly from the Guardian Service pan.

Chicken Napolitana

One of the great joys and challenges of being an actor is travel. While I love to experience the local food and culture of each new locale, I miss home and, in particular, home-cooked meals. So imagine my delight to not only stay in a household in the heart of one of the best “foodie” areas of Philadelphia, the famed Italian Market, but with a host who owns one essential piece of cookware that made me feel right at home: a large Guardian Service Chicken Fryer.

After feasting on some must-have local cuisine (pork scrapple from Reading Terminal Market, cheese steaks at the 70-year-old Jim’s Steaks on South Street, and the fresh and indescribably scrumptious cannolis from the century-old Isgro Pasticceria) I wandered into Molly’s Books & Records yesterday (right around the corner from my temporary home) and found a 1^st edition of Craig Claiborne’s 1963 “An Herb and Spice Cook Book," and therein a simple Italian recipe that not only draws upon the choicest ingredients within two blocks, but is ideally suited for the Guardian Service fryer.

I jotted down a list of ingredients and made the rounds right after work today: 

• An organic, free-range chicken — Esposito’s Meats (1001 S 9th St).
• Oregano and Bay Leaves — The Spice Corner (904 South 9th Street).
• Tricolore Fusillone, canned Italian plum tomatoes — Claudio’s (926 South 9th Street).
• Mozzarella — Di Bruno Bros. (930 S. 9th Street).
• Assorted produce from the fruit and vegetable stands along 9^th Street.

Chicken Napolitana

(adapted from Craig Claiborne’s “An Herb and Spice Cook Book,” Harper & Row, 1963)

1 3-4 lb.	Broiling Chicken, cut into serving pieces
3 Tbsp.	Olive Oil
2 cloves	Garlic, finely chopped
1	Onion, finely chopped
1 tsp.	Freshly ground sea salt
1 tsp.	Fresly ground black pepper
6-8	Mushrooms, sliced and cooked in 1 Tbsp. butter until wilted
2 tsp.	Oregano
2	Bay leaves
28 oz.	canned Italian plum tomatoes
6-8	thin slices Mozzarella cheese
¼ cup	Pinot Grigio (or cooking wine)
	chopped Parsley (optional)

1. Prepare Chicken: wash, cut into serving pieces, pat dry with paper towel and rub with salt and pepper.
2. Heat olive oil in Guardian Service fryer over medium heat and brown chicken pieces on all sides. Add the garlic and onion, cover and cook briefly.
3. Add sautéed mushrooms, oregano, bay leaves, tomatoes and wine. Cover and simmer until chicken is tender, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
4. 15 minutes before chicken is done, preheat the oven to 400°F.
5. When chicken is tender, uncover fryer and arrange the slices of mozzarella on top of the chicken. Place in the oven only long enough for the cheese to melt. Serve immediately, sprinkled with chopped parsley. Optional: serve on a bed of pasta (Fusilli, Fusillone, Penne, etc).

Long Pepper Pork Chops with Madeira

We've blogged about quick-grilling chops on the Guardian Service Griddle/Broiler, but for thicker cuts (like these lovely pork chops) we tried a slower approach in the large Guardian Service Chicken Fryer, with its "self-sealing, self-basting cover."

The Tested Recipes cookbook provides several solid mid-century chop recipes ("Baked Pork Chops with Pineapple," "Swiss Steak") but the basic concept—sear, then roast—creates juicy, flavor-infused chops.

Using a vegetable (in this recipe, onions) to support the meat as a "roasting rack" is a key technique with waterless cooking and further flavors the meat while allowing the vapors of Madeira to envelop the chops as they simmer.

Andrew's brother recently brought us an ancient spice that's quickly become an obsession: long pepper. Its spike-shaped fruit is slightly hotter than its cousin black pepper and has a pungent aroma and tang that compliments pork perfectly. If you don't have a foodie-in-law with underground connections, long pepper can be found at Indian groceries and specialty spice suppliers online.

Long Pepper Pork Chops with Madeira

4 thick-cut pork chops

1 tsp sea salt

3 spikes long pepper, ground in mortar and pestle

3 Tbsp. safflower oil (for neutral taste and high heat)

2 Tbsp. Madeira wine (or sherry, fruit juice, etc)

Simple Garlic Prune Gravy (see below)

1. Prep the chops (rinse, pat dry and trim of excess fat). Optional: render fat for use in gravy.
2. Rub chops well with oil, salt and pepper.
3. Place the fryer over medium heat until it reaches the water test "ball stage." 
4. Sear the chops on all sides until browned, 90 seconds per side.
5. Remove chops from pan. Place four slices of onion in the pan, spacing equally to support each chop. Place chops on onions. 
6. Sprinkle Madeira over the chops, cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 20-25 mins.

Served with a sauce and vegetables (we served Guardian Service potatoes and golden beets cooked in the Economy Trio Cookers and a Garlic Prune Sauce) this makes an elegant meal for four for $20-25 (depending on the cut of meat) in under 2 hours.

Simple Garlic Prune Gravy

4 pitted prunes
2 Tbsp rendered pork fat and/or cooking oil
2 cloves garlic
juice of 1 orange
1 cup wine (red or white)
1/2 tsp. each cinnamon, allspice, dry mustard (like Colman's), dried parsley
corn starch or barley malt (optional, for thickening)
salt and pepper to taste

In a small cooker (like the Guardian Service Tom Thumb), sauté garlic for two minutes in rendered pork fat and/or cooking oil, then add prunes, parsley and orange juice and cook for 10-12 min until reduced to a sauce. Add spices and corn starch or barley malt for thickening and keep warm in the Guardian Service Gravy Boat to serve with baked pork chops.