pancakes and sausage on a stick

/

Back in March when I was doing all of my meal prep, I realized that Mother’s Day would happen soon after I gave birth! It was a wild realization that I’d suddenly be an honoree of the day and I obviously immediately got the urge to cry and be emotional. I imagined my perfect Mother’s Day with a newborn (which is different than my perfect Mother’s Day with, say, a 6-year-old because by that time I can expect some super cute breakfast in bed, right?!) and what I imagined was holding a little nugget in one hand and eating my special brunch in another. A brunch on a stick. And one of my favorite brunches ever, pancakes and sausage! I mean, a bouquet of flowers would be nice but a bouquet of pancakes and sausage on a stick would be nice and tasty. So here we are, I made my own Mother’s Day brunch and it’s in the freezer now waiting to be microwaved. Lol. Pressure’s off, Eggboy! 

Pancakes and sausage on a stick were one of my faaaavorite breakfasts growing up. We’d get them in bulk from Market Day at school (does Market Day still exist?! Omg, it does!) and I’d have them before early morning ice skating practices. These days I can’t walk by them in the freezer section of the Super Target without seriously considering buying them every single time but then I look at the ingredients and have to put them down. So with this homemade version, even though they’re a totally fried breakfast version of a corn dog, I feel a little better about eating them because I can use my fave sausages (I like Applegate’s natural chicken sausages) and then also add some oat flour to the batter. More oats = more boob milk! Yeah! And the oats add a nice nuttiness to the pancake.

So here’s a big batch that you can make, freeze, and nuke for breakfast in a snap and Mother’s Day with a newborn and the like! 

Pancakes and Sausage on a Stick

Makes 18

Ingredients

1/2 c (65g) all-purpose flour

1/2 c (65g) oat flour, or more all-purpose flour

2 tb sugar

3/4 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 large egg

2 tb flavorless oil

1/2 c (120g) buttermilk

18 pre-cooked breakfast sausages (if frozen, heat them a little just until they’re soft enough to insert with lollipop sticks)

Flavorless oil, for frying

Maple syrup, optional, for serving

Clues

Fill a large heavy pot or high sided skillet fitted with a thermometer with 1” of oil and heat over medium high heat to 360º F.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. In a separate small bowl or measuring cup, whisk together the egg, oil, and buttermilk. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir to combine. Transfer the batter to a tall skinny glass or measuring cup (this step isn’t completely necessary, but it will make coating the sausages easier). Working in batches of 3 or 4 sausages at a time, insert popsicle sticks or lollipop sticks into the sausages, pat off any excess moisture with a paper towel, and dip them into the pancake batter to fully coat, scraping off excess. It doesn’t need to be a very thick coating as the batter will puff up when frying. Carefully lower the entire thing (stick included) into the hot oil and fry until golden, 1 1/2-2 minutes. Use tongs to transfer to a paper towel or wire rack. Repeat with the remaining sausages. Cool slightly before serving. 

To freeze, cool completely and then store in a ziploc bag in the freezer for up to 3 months. To reheat, wrap loosely in a paper towel and microwave for about 40 seconds, or until heated through. Let cool slightly and enjoy!

-yeh!

photos by chantell and brett quernemoen

RECIPE: MATZO BREI

/
it's matzo brei season which sounds so much better and couth than calling it no-bread-allowed season. matzo brei in its sartorial form is sort of like that vintage fur coat you found at the salvation army: while you're in the store, buying it is a no-brainer, but then when you leave the store it's like what the hell do i do with this now? it's because no one in their right culinary mind eats matzo brei when it's not passover (why do that when you can have a hole-in-the-middle?) but when it is passover it is the best thing evarrrr. 

here's how mum makes it:

mum's matzo brei
makes 2 servings, but you can easily adjust this by keeping a 1-to-1 ratio of eggs to pieces of matzo and then feeling out the rest of the ingredients. 

ingredients
4 pieces of matzo
4 large eggs
salt + pepper to taste
2 tb olive oil
1 large shallot, chopped

clues
1. break up matzo into two-inch pieces and soak in cold water for one minute. drain and set aside.
2. in a medium bowl, whisk eggs. add salt + pepper and whisk some more.
3. stir the matzo into the eggs.
4. heat olive oil in a pan over medium heat and add shallots. cook until soft, about five minutes.
5. pour in matzo mixture and cook as if you were making scrambled eggs. mum removes it from the heat just before it sets so that by the time it makes it to the plate, it is perfectly done.
6. add more salt + pepper if needed and serve with hot sauce.

-yeh!

I WAS HOME

/
ok hi, hi!!! i'm back from a stupendous long weekend home of little lunches around my favorite suburban restaurants, george gershwin being camera shy, finally finding a dress for stoop's wedding, and stoop obviously getting drunk at brunch.

oh and then johnswik, my future brother-in-law, rolled in to sing: when i say afi, you say komen. it only took (formerly little, now really tall) jake about two hours to find it. i think he won a high five?

being home was just so much awesome stillness, like sitting on the couch and watching girls and spending five hours in the spice shop with mum smelling every single spice thrice and painting my nails purple and watching melissa down a robicelli's cupcake on the television with katie and jaclyn while we drank cider. nothing i'd ever be able to do in new york without feeling guilty for not being at this album release show or that new opera or catching up on my new yorker. 

and so now i'm back and pondering my existence as a half-way to new yorker brooklynite and mostly i just want to be eating kale in the kitchen with mum as she brushes gracie's teeth. oy vay. 

 -yeh!