Cornbread Pancakes

There are those recipes that we keep coming back to, again and again.  Pancakes are my thing.  It's not one particular recipe that gets me.  Actually, I love trying out new recipes each time I make breakfast.  I've made peanut butter pancakes, fluffy buttermilk pancakes and chocolate chocolate chip pancakes (coming soon!) but this time I decided to make something a little different.

While wandering the streets of New York this weekend, boyfriend and I happened upon a random street fair.  Nothing special, no carnival rides or popcorn machines, no theme or clowns (thank goodness, clowns are totally creepy).  It was just a few vendors, in their white tents, taking up some space between sixth and seventh.  You find these things all through the summer, popping up all over the city, selling the same screen-printed shirts from Pakistan, "hand-made" bracelets from Taiwan and character hats knitted by someone's grandma (factory worker) in India.  Now don't avoid these little street fairs, there are also some local artisans thrown in the mix and their stuff is amazing.

Don't skip these fairs for another reason, the food.  I've decided that street food is among the best food in the world.  It's hard to truck this stuff in from the Far East, so you know you've got something that was made locally, most likely by the person dishing it out.  Let the aromas of crepes and gyros, chili fries and pulled pork, draw you in.  Just try to limit yourself to one indulgence, these are not low calorie treats!

The item that peaked my interest was so simple.  Two cornbread pancakes, sandwiched with mozzarella cheese.  The cheese was just oozing out from between the two pancakes, calling my name.  The four dollar price tag however, was making me turn in the other direction.  I can make that at home, for like ten cents!  And that's just what I did.  Except it was breakfast by the time I made these and I wanted syrup.  So I added a little sugar and called them pancakes.  I have plans on making the savory version of these, all cheesey and delicious, but for now I have breakfast!

Filled Meringue Coffee Cake

The March 2011 Daring Baker's challenge was hosted by Ria of Ria's Collection and Jamie of Life's a Feast.  Ria and Jamie challenged the Daring Bakers to bake a yeasted meringue coffee cake.  I love breakfast and when I learned that this months Daring Baker's challenge would be a coffee cake, I was jazzed.  I've never made a yeasted coffee cake before and this was something new to try out. 

To just look at the pictures doesn't do this recipe service.  The dough was so smooth and springy, it was a treat to work with.  Many people called this dough "sexy" and after making it, I have to agree.  It was so easy to roll out and fill, it rose and baked up like a dream. 

When it came down to deciding what to fill this sexy dough with I thought to keep it simple.  When I was little, we would get an Entenmann's walnut danish ring for breakfast every weekend.  When picking out the ring, my dad would go with the ring with the most frosting on the top.  As a kid, I couldn't help but agree with this method of choosing breakfast.  More frosting = more sugar!  I decided to fill my coffee cake with something similar to the Entenmann's version.  Cinnamon sugar with dried cranberries and walnuts, coated in a delicious layer of orange icing.

How did this coffee cake compare to the Entenmann's version of my youth?  Listen up dad, THIS IS SO MUCH BETTER!  The meringue melts into the coffee cake making it unbelievably moist and the cranberries and walnuts give it great sweetness and crunch.  Give up your storebought danish ring and head to the kitchen with mom, you won't be sorry.

Balsamic BBQ Chicken

Sometimes you need a quick dinner and this week it was extremely important. Several thirteen hour workdays this week have lead to dinners of lettuce, a bagel and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich (three different nights). I partially blame daylight savings time for my longer work days and I also blame my project deadline of April 7th.

Maybe you’ve been having the same issue as I have. I’ve gotten so used to the sun going down at 4 o’clock that I think it’s so much earlier than it actually is. It was six thirty before I realized how late it was, and then it was quarter to nine before I headed out the door. It’s been going on like this all week, I get distracted by the loads of work I have to do and all of the sudden it’s dark out. By the time I get home I’m all glassy-eyed and hungry, with no energy left.

Last night I decided, no more! I need some real food! Then twenty minutes later I had this sitting on my plate. I’m in love with these new Steamfresh pasta meals. In four minutes I had a side dish that worked well with my balsamic BBQ chicken, which was pretty delicious on it’s own. Try it out the next time you’ve got no time!