Yes you CAN get great pancakes in Israel

At least you can while I have anything to say about it.

Look, I'm all for embracing new cultures. I mean, I left my country of birth, for new people, new places, new language, even a new alphabet.

New food.

And I love the food of my new home: shakshuka, hummus, falafel, sabich (mmm, sabich!), and plenty more. But you can embrace the new and still miss the old. And what I miss most is my Saturday morning breakfasts at Brother Juniper's. During the week I usually skip breakfast: roll out of bed, make coffee, and head straight to work. Which made Saturday that much more special.

And I'm sorry, but if there are good, American-style pancakes in Israel I haven't found them. And I've looked. What you get when you ask for pancakes are either limp, underflavored crepes, or thick, heavy, oversweetened monstrosities buried under whipped cream, Nutella, peanut butter, and god knows what else. Dessert, not breakfast.

Until now.

 

I decided to take matters into my own hands, in my own kitchen, and on my own rooftop, and today for the first time served a Friday morning pancake brunch on my rooftop in Florentin. It meant a couple hours of increasingly-frantic cooking prep, but it was well worth it. By eleven o'clock I had assembled a pitcher of mimosas, a pot of coffee (my favorite blend of Columbian and Papua New Guinea beans), a cast-iron skillet brimming with my special recipe of home fried potatoes and, yes, a humongous pile of pancakes. And real Grade A amber maple syrup.

Nine people joined me for a leisurely meal and conversation. And it was pretty darn tasty if I do say so myself. The potatoes were an unexpected hit; next time I'll have to make more. And I think there will be a next time; this was too much fun not to do it again.

Completely Inauthentic Indian Potatoes and Peas

2 medium potatoes, large cube
1/2 cup frozen peas
1 T toasted sesame oil
2 T tomato paste
2 T water
1 T white wine vinegar
1 T coconut cream
3 cloves garlic, smashed and diced
kosher salt
dried chile flakes or hot sauce to taste

Here's my attempt to make something that will pass for a South Asian side dish when the  kitchen is bereft of coriander, cardomon, garam masala...not even any ginger, for FSMs sake! (I had some but turned out it was sharing a bag with something that was blue, mushy, hairy, and completely unidentifiable by the time I found it. Sometimes that's just how it goes.)

Saute the potatoes in the oil with a pinch of salt, tossing frequently until slightly browned. Add garlic, toss and saute for another minute. Don't let the garlic burn! Reduce heat, add vinegar, tomato paste, water, and coconut cream. Simmer for 15 minutes. Add frozen peas, simmer for another 10 minutes. Adjust seasoning.

Dinner In A Bowl: Steak Salad

No real recipe for this one, because almost everything is optional.

First I boiled a few new potatoes. I let them cool, quartered them, and then lightly pan-fried them in olive oil with a little garlic powder.

Then I made a nice green salad, with romaine lettuce, cucumber, tomato, mild black olives, and feta cheese, added the potatoes, and tossed it with cider vinegar and just a dash of olive oil.

Then I took a thinnish (about 2 cm) ribeye, maybe 6 oz or so, and pan-seared it using Alton Brown's method. While it was resting I put three chopped mushrooms and a pat of butter into the skillet and let the residual heat cook them. After the steak had rested for several minutes I sliced it very thinly. I laid the steak and mushrooms atop the salad and dressed it generously with Francis Lam's ginger-scallion oil.

The result was so mouth-wateringly aromatic and so delicious that I tore into it before even thinking of taking a photo to post here.

Roast Chicken Salad With Homemade Mayonnaise

Spicy garlic mayonnaise

A variation on Alton Brown's recipe, adjusted for taste and on-hand. Using the food processor is awesome - your arms don't get tired!

2 T rice vinegar

2 T lemon juice

1 whole egg + 1 yolk

1 t table salt

1 t ground mustard seed

1/2 t garlic powder

1/4 t dark brown sugar

Scant 2 c safflower oil

3 T hot chile oil

Add all wet ingredients (except the oil which is a liquid but isn't "wet") to the work bowl of a food processor along with the salt, mustard and sugar. Pulse 5 times. Turn processor on and add oil in a steady stream until incorporated. Keep at room temperature for 2 hours. Refrigerate for up to 1 week.

Note: there's a good reason for leaving the freshly-made mayo at room temp for 2 hours. In the unlikely case that the eggs are contaminated with salmonella, the acidity from the vinegar and lemon juice will work to kill the bacteria, but that action will only take place at room temperature. Refrigeration slows down all biological processes including the massacre of the evil beasties.

Roasted chicken salad

both breasts off a roasted chicken, diced

1/2 a small onion, minced

2 stalks celery, chopped

2 small roasted potatoes (optional)

2 hard boiled eggs (optional)

3/4 - 1 c spicy garlic mayo

smoked paprika

Nothing fancy to the preparation; combine all the ingredients and sprinkle with paprika to taste. Other optional ingredients (though probably not so good all together): a bit of diced serrano or anaheim chile with 2 t honey; sliced grape tomatoes; sliced grapes; pitted and minced kalamata olives; 1-2 T [horseradish|honey|dijon] mustard.