“Mancakes” are made with beer and potato
chips. Photo courtesy SurLaTable.com.

This Father’s Day, treat Dad to a breakfast featuring some not-so-traditional pancakes, made with BBQ potato chips and beer.

Created by Chef David Burke (one of our favorite creative culinary artists) for Samuel Adams Boston Lager, these easy-to-make “mancakes” may become an annual tradition in your family.

RECIPE:

Ingredients

1. MIX flour, baking soda, Boston Lager and eggs in a large mixing bowl

2. HEAT a skillet on medium and pour batter into large circles. Let bubble.

3. SPRINKLE potato chips on top of pancakes and flip. Cook until lightly browned

5. SERVE with bacon or sausage and maple syrup.

WE’VE TESTED HUNDREDS OF PANCAKE MIXES. HERE ARE OUR
FAVORITE MULTIGRAIN & WHOLE GRAIN PANCAKE MIXES.

The recipe was originally made with catfish, but you can use flounder, tilapia or any favorite white fish. Prep time 10 minutes, cook time 15 minutes.

BAKED FISH WITH WATERMELON SALSA

Ingredients For 4 Portions

Baked tilapia with watermelon salsa. Photo courtesy Dole.com.

1. PREHEAT the oven to 350°F.

2. ZEST the lime into a large bowl. Cut the lime in half and squeeze the juice from one half into the bowl. Set aside.

3. COMBINE the juice from half the lime, olive oil, cumin, salt and pepper in an 8″x8″ baking dish and mix well. Arrange the catfish filets in the baking dish, turning to coat with the lime mixture.

4. BAKE 15 minutes until the fish is not longer opaque and flakes easily with a fork. Meanwhile, make the salsa:

5. WHISK the honey into the remaining lime juice. Add the watermelon, onion, cilantro and jalapeño. Toss to blend. Serve atop the fish filets, or pass separately in a bowl.
 
FIND MORE OF OUR FAVORITE FISH RECIPES.

A double hit: bacon guacamole. Photo
courtesy />AvocadoCentral.com.

Looking for something special to serve on Father’s Day? Try this Bacon Guacamole Recipe, created by “Sam the Cooking Guy” for Avocado Central. The recipe is pretty simple; so if you prefer, you can just add crumbled bacon to your own guacamole recipe.

Large Hass avocados are recommended for this recipe, about 8 ounces each. If using smaller or larger size avocados, adjust the quantity accordingly.

The prep time is just 15 minutes.

BACON GUACAMOLE RECIPE

Ingredients

Preparation

1. PLACE avocadoes in a bowl. Mash with the back of a fork.

2. ADD salsa, bacon and lime juice. Mix well and serve with chips or soft tortillas.

A Bloody Mary sounds great with bacon guacamole!

FIND MORE GUACAMOLE RECIPES AT AVOCADOCENTRAL.COM.

The prettiest recipe we’ve seen with ramps:
a ramp-stuffed torta from chef Catie Baumer
Schwalb of PitchforkDiaries.com. Here‘s the
recipe.

We were surprised and delighted to see spring ramps in the store yesterday. We thought that the brief ramp season was over.

An early spring vegetable, ramps are so delicious—a combination of garlic and onion flavors—that they are worth seeking out and enjoying, simply sautéed.

Ramps are wild leeks, also known as spring onion, ramson, wild garlic and wood leek. In French, they are called ail des bois, garlic of the woods.

Ramps grow wild and are found in clusters. The entire plant is edible, from the long, smooth, green leaves to the scallion-like bulb.

Since ramps grow wild, they can easily end up in a yard where, alas, they are typically pulled out and thrown away—not only because they appear to be weeds, but for their strong garlic aroma. Should you come across something smelling of garlic, bring it to the kitchen instead of the trash.

While ramps can be enjoyed in any recipe that uses a member of the onion family, the easiest preparation is simply sautéed as a side or in combination with other spring vegetables. Combine ramps with asparagus and morels for a heavenly spring feast. There are more serving suggestions and a delicious recipe for eggs, potatoes, bacon and ramps, below.

RAMPS VS. SCAPES

Don’t confuse ramps with their equally delicious cousins, garlic scapes. Scapes are the curling shoots of young garlic plants. For decades they were cut off in the fields and thrown away (to allow the garlic bulbs to grow larger), before growers realized that chefs and foodies were eager to buy them.

Many people refer to the vegetable as the wild leek, the name ramp is popular in the East. It comes from England. One version of the name source attributes a folk name, œramsen, the plural form of hramsa, an Old English word for wild garlic. Early English settlers of Appalachian a prime ramp regional used the term, which later was shortened to ramp.

Search for local ramps festivals and mark your calendar so you don’t miss next year’s.

WAYS TO SERVE RAMPS

Ramps, picked and cleaned, Photo courtesy ApplePiePatisPpate.com, which used them to make pickled ramps.

EASY RAMPS RECIPE: FRIED RAMPS WITH POTATOES, EGGS & BACON

Ingredients

In the South, this dish is served with sides of Pass pinto beans and cornbread. The recipe is adapted from ChickensInTheRoad.com.

 
Preparation

1, COOK bacon in a large frying pan; remove, chop and set aside, reserving the bacon fat.

2. FRY the ramps and potatoes in the bacon fat over low heat, covered, until the potatoes are tender.

3. CRACK eggs over the ramp/potato mixture and fry, covered, until eggs cooked. Sprinkle on the optional shredded cheese. Season with salt, pepper, and chives to taste.

4. REMOVE eggs with their ramp/potato beds onto serving plates; top with chopped bacon. Makes five single-egg portions.

Tater Tots are so beloved that the term is used generically, although it’s a trademark of Ore-Ida, which invented the little potato bites in 1953. (The story is below.)

Everyone else can call them “potato tots.” These days, chefs reaching back to childhood are serving fresh-from-scratch versions.

This variation, Baked Potato Tots, comes to us courtesy of PotatoGoodness.com and the blog, Mele Cotte. Prep time is 25 minutes, cook time is 1 hour 20 minutes and ready time is 1 hour 45 minutes.

BAKED POTATO TOTS RECIPE

Ingredients For 3 Servings

A baked variation of the iconic Tater Tots. Photo courtesy PotatoGoodness.com.

Preparation

1. PREHEAT oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. SCRUB potatoes with a brush under running water; dry them off. Pierce each potato with a fork to prevent exploding. Bake the potatoes about 1 hour, or until they are cooked through. When cool enough to handle but still hot, cut the potatoes in half and scoop the pulp out of the skins.

3. RUN the potatoes through a ricer or food mill into a medium bowl. With a wooden spoon or spatula, stir in yogurt and 1 tablespoon of the cheese. Add ¼ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon pepper and stir just until blended.

4. PLACE breadcrumbs in a shallow bowl or pie tin. Stir in remaining ½ tablespoon cheese, ¼ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper, and Italian seasoning.

5. USING a small scoop, form potato mixture into rounds that resemble a large marble or gumball. Roll in breadcrumbs, shaping the potato into a tot as you roll. Place each tot on baking sheet 1 inch apart. Bake 20 minutes, flipping over halfway through baking. Check after 20 minutes and continue to bake until browned and crisp. Serve hot.

The Russet potato. Photo courtesy Idaho
Potato Commission.

ABOUT TATER TOTS

Tater Tots are an American side dish made from deep-fried, grated potatoes. They are crisp little cylinders of hash brown-style potatoes. Tater is American dialect for potato, and “tots” came from their small size.

Although the name may seem generic, Tater Tots is a registered trademark of Ore-Ida. Tater Tots were created in 1953 when Ore-Ida founders, brothers F. Nephi Grigg and Golden Grigg, were considering what to do with leftover slivers of cut-up potatoes from their signature French fries.

They chopped them up, mixed them with flour and seasonings, and pushing logs of the grated/mashed potato mixture through a form, slicing off and frying small pieces. The Ore-Ida brand was acquired by H. J. Heinz Company in 1965.

DO YOU KNOW YOUR POTATOES?

Check out the different potato types in our Potato Glossary.

Ready for the grill: a beautiful porterhouse steak from AllenBros.com.

Chef Jan Birnbaum of EPIC Roasthouse in San Francisco enjoys a good steak on the grill. In fact, he designs his cookout menus so that he can cook everything outside!

Here are Chef Jan’s tips for grilling the perfect steak.

1. Don’t cook cold meat.

Always allow meats to rest at room temperature for up to two hours, depending on the size of the meat. Meat directly out of a refrigerator is typically about 38°F.

For best results, let it warm up a bit and put meat on the grill when it reaches an internal temperature of 50°-55°F degrees. Tempered meat produces a more desirable even-cooked color and texture, whether your goal is rare or medium.

2. Sear first; then cook low, slow, and even.

It’s best to start a steak over higher heat: The surface caramelizes and provides a better mouth feel and visual appearance, as well as a more assertive flavor. Then lower the heat so it will penetrate deeper, thus improving the chew and creating a more lush texture.

Consider removing the meat from the heat altogether midway in cooking, and then return the it to the high direct heat to complete the cooking.

3. Always rest the meat after grilling, before cutting and serving.

The hot juices need to settle back into the flesh. Slice into hot meat and they’ll dribble out.

Food continues to cook after it has been removed from heat. Once the meat is off the heat it may continue to rise in temperature another 10%. This process is known as endothermic energy.

4. Cook chewier cuts at higher temperatures.

From the most tender (filet mignon) to the most chewy cut (sirloin, for example), the tenderness and depth of flavor tend to be inverse to the texture of the meat. This is a function of how the animal used the particular muscle.

Muscles that get more exercise produce meat that is less tender but with more depth of flavor. Cook these meats at hotter temperatures; rest them for less time and slice them thin. Muscles that are load bearing are more tender but less flavorful.

5. Live fire is best.

The smokey nuances of live fire are delicious on meat. The combination of wood flame and a coal bed enhances the complexity of the eating experience. Building the fire is key to achieve this effect. Chef Jan likes a combination of walnut, oak and a bit of mesquite charcoal.

The porterhouse grilled to perfection. Photo courtesy AllenBros.com.

 
6. Choose the proper tools.

Chef Jan prefers a professional meat fork instead of tongs; it offers more control. This fork, from Taylor, has a built-in digital thermometer. Use the tip of the fork and pierce the meat as little as possible (the juices will run out of pierced meat).

Fish spatulas are good for small delicate items like fish and vegetables. The bigger, heavier jobs are best for a steel hamburger spatula.

MORE GRILLING TIPS

Don’t freestyle it; learn the skills.

The fun way to serve fruit and cookies. Photo
courtesy Betty Crocker.

Cookies and fruit are an easy dessert; but with a little extra effort, you can create a memorable cookie and fruit pizza.

This recipe from Betty Crocker has a prep time of 20 minutes and a total cook time of 1 hour, 20 minutes. The recipe serves 12.

COOKIE FRUIT PIZZA RECIPE

Ingredients

1. PREHEAT oven to 375°F. Lightly spray 14-inch pizza pan or 15×10-inch baking pan with cooking spray.

2. STIR cookie mix, melted butter and egg in a medium bowl until a soft dough forms. Press dough in bottom of pan. Bake 10 to 15 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool completely, about 45 minutes.

3. BEAT whipping cream in a chilled medium bowl with electric mixer on high speed, until soft peaks form. Gently stir frosting into whipped cream. Spread over cookie pizza. Arrange fruit on top.

4. TO SERVE, cut with a knife or pizza cutter.
 
FIND MORE OF OUR FAVORITE COOKIE RECIPES.

Hot dogs, burgers and steaks are traditional Memorial Day fare. But you can travel beyond America and enjoy some global cuisine on the grill.

This recipe is from Andrew Zimmern, host of the Travel Channel series Bizarre Foods. There’s nothing bizarre about this recipe, though.

“Roadside eateries in Cambodia serve little skewered dishes from morning to closing time, and this simple beef and lemongrass version of mine is the type of recipe that grill freaks will turn to all year long,” says Zimmern. “I also use the same recipe for chicken parts, pork chops, etc., with equal success.”

BEEF & LEMONGRASS SKEWERS

Ingredients

Cambodian-style beef skewers with spicy peanut sauce. Photo courtesy Andrew Zimmern.

Preparation

1. SLICE beef into long thin strips, 1/8 inch x 1 inch x 5 inches long.

2. COMBINE the garlic, lemongrass, coriander, sugar and fish sauce in a mortar and pestle until mixture is a paste. Use a blender or food processor if you have to.

3. MARINATE meat for 12 to 24 hours in this mixture.

4. THREAD beef onto skewers, grill briefly to medium rare over high direct heat and serve with spicy peanut sauce for dipping, garnishing with the nuts.

Another word for this dish is satay, a Southeast
Asian dish consisting of small pieces of meat,
poultry, fish or seafood, grilled on a skewer and
served with spiced sauce. Photo courtesy Healthy
In A Hurry cookbook.

SPICY PEANUT SAUCE RECIPE

Ingredients

Preparation

1. HEAT the oil in a small pan and add the garlic, chili paste and tomato paste.

2. FRY until the garlic turns light golden brown.

3. ADD the broth, peanut butter, hoisin and sugar, and simmer for 3 minutes.

4. COOL and add the peanuts and chilies.

Celery doesn’t get a lot of respect. In most recipes, it’s an also-ran.

But great American cheese maker Paula Lambert shows how it can be a main ingredient, in her Shaved Fennel and Celery Heart Salad.

You can eat this salad as an appetizer or side, as a base for a poached chicken breast or salmon fillet, or as cheese course with a pungent washed rind cheese. The hazelnut oil is an inspired touch.

The recipe is from Lambert’s cookbook, Cheese Glorious Cheese: More Than 75 Tempting Recipes for Cheese Lovers Everywhere.

If you can’t find fennel, use 6 ribs of celery. And use this recipe as a jumping-off point to create your own celery salads.

Photo © Ulterior Epicure, all rights reserved.

Ingredients For 4 Servings

Bianca Bianca is a pungent (“srinky”) raw
milk cheese with a creamy, soft texture. It’s
washed with white wine as it ages. Photo
courtesy Mozzarella Company.

Preparation

1. REMOVE the strings on the outsides of the ribs of celery and fennel using a vegetable peeler. Cut the ribs on the diagonal, into slices about 1/4 inch thick.

2. PLACE the celery and fennel in a medium-sized bowl.

3. CUT the cheese into thin slices and then cut again into small pieces about 1 inch square; add to the bowl.

4. CHOP the pecans coarsely and add to the bowl. Add the onions.

5. MAKE the vinaigrette: In a small bowl, combine the oils, vinegar, salt and pepper. Whisk the ingredients until the vinaigrette is emulsified.

6. POUR the vinaigrette over the salad ingredients. Toss well to coat the salad. The salad can be served immediately or set aside for up to an hour to marinate. Plate, garnish and serve.

BIANCA BIANCA WASHED RIND CHEESE

Blanca Bianca was inspired by French washed rind cheeses: soft in texture and very flavorful. The Mozzarella Company makes it in a six-inch wheel.

As a washed rind cheese, it has a pungent aroma that comes from the bacteria Brevibacterium linens (B. linens) that develops on the exterior of the cheese.The rind is tender and delicious, and the interior paste is pale and creamy.

“The flavor is assertive but not too strong,” says Lambert. “To make Blanca Bianca we heat farm-fresh cow’s milk and then add cultures and rennet. Once the milk coagulates, we cut the curds and gently stir them as they mature. Finally the curds are poured into molds to drain. The cheeses are salted in a brine and then placed on racks to dry.

“During the next two months, while the wheels of cheeses are maturing, they are massaged daily with white wine. The USA laws governing raw milk cheeses mandate that all raw-milk cheeses must be aged for a minimum of 60 days before they are sold. So, after 60 days, Blanca Bianca is ready to sell.

“However, we have found that additional aging allows the flavor to intensify and the texture to soften, so we age our Blanca Bianca for three or four months. We have a limited quantity of Blanca Bianca because we produce only 20 wheels at a time. It is wonderful with both red and white wines, and it pairs very nicely with late harvest dessert wines. It is good with fruits such as pears and apples. It’s also great with toasted nuts and dried fruits as well as fruit pastes, jams and chutneys. It is especially good in salads.”

Check your local cheese store or purchase Bianca Bianca online directly from MozzCo.com, Mozzarella Company’s website.

Hot and hearty cheese grits. Photo courtesy
Tillamook.com.

It’s so cold in the Northeast today, we’re warming up with a bowl of steaming cheese grits.

If you’re not from the South, you might not totally “get” grits, a thick, creamy porridge. They can be bland in their traditional recipe, with salt and a pat of butter on top. (You can use sweet toppings instead: sugar, honey, maple syrup, jam, etc.)

We like our grits in the classic savory preparation, seasoned with salt and pepper and garnished butter and/or cream for added texture and flavor (when we’re not on a cholesterol guilt trip).

Cheese is a magical enhancer to grits; and Cheddar, Jack or Parmesan is an even yummier replacement for the butter and cream. This recipe is courtesy of Tillamook, one of the country’s best Cheddar producers. You can go heavier or lighter on the cheese, as you prefer.

CHEESE GRITS RECIPE

Ingredients

 
Preparation

1. COMBINE milk and water in a large pan and bring liquid to a boil. Whisk in grits, making sure that they don’t clump.

2. TURN HEAT DOWN to a simmer and stir constantly with a whisk. Continue to stirring with frequently and cook for approximately 45 minutes, until a porridge-like consistency is achieved.

3. ADD shredded cheese to the grits when they are still a semi-liquid like consistency—they should still be creamy, but acting like they want to grab the ladle. When they stick to the ladle they are fully cooked.

4. ADD the butter, salt, and pepper right after the cheese. Adjust accordingly with more milk if needed.

5. POUR grits into oven-safe serving bowls. Add a few piece of sliced cheese chunks (or more if you’d like) to the top of each bowl and put under the broiler for about 30 seconds or until cheese is melty. Having the cheese in chunks assists with uniformity and melting the cheese in the grits.

6. GARNISH with chives and serve immediately.

TOO MUCH COOKING FOR YOU?

Make instant grits in the microwave and add 1 table of grated Parmesan cheese per serving.

MORE ABOUT GRITS…

…and another cheese grits recipe.