Authentic German Pancakes

Last week, Peggy's "German brother" Rainer and his family stayed with us for a few days during their 6 week travels in the US. Of course, I made my world famous (ok, maybe domestically famous in our family) pancakes. I showed Rainer's wife, Annette, how to make them. In return, she taught me how to make her family's authentic German pancakes. I looked up some recipes in advance, and these are nothing like those. In summary, they're awesome. Can't wait to share them with future houseguests.

Authentic German Pancakes

6 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup flour (12 heaping large spoons)
Pinch of salt
Thinly sliced apples or plums (peeled and cored)


Mix 6 eggs with a hand mixer. Add the milk and mix. Continue to mix, slowly adding the flour and salt.

Pre-heat a large non-stick skillet over medium low heat. Add a small pat of butter to coat the pan. Pour just enough batter in to the pan to cover the bottom. It should be a fairly thin layer. Cook until almost firm, add a layer of fruit, and then another thin layer of batter. Once the top layer is firm, the bottom should be golden brown. Carefully flip the pancake and cook until the bottom is golden brown and the fruit is soft.

Pasta Salad on the Fly

This past weekend I went to Mizzou for AXO Dad's weekend. I was looking forward to spending time with our girl at a Tigers Football game. The four days prior I was traveling to and from Denver for work, and didn't have a great deal of time to think about tailgating. On Friday I learned that Abbey's sorority sisters had a tailgate planned, and we are invited. We should plan on bringing sides. No doubt I'll take Abbey's favorite potato salad, but I also wanted to take a pasta salad but I didn't have my double top secret spice blend. Winging it, I think I have a new favorite pasta salad. It goes like this.

Third and 10 Pasta Salad

1 lb pasta (get something colorful or with lots of surface. I used tri-color rotini)

2 tbsp EVOO

2 ripe avocados (peeled and diced)

1/4 cup chopped chives

2/3 cup sliced sun dried tomatoes

6-8 oz feta cheese (diced in small cubes)

Dressing-

1 package dry italian dressing mix (I used Kraft Thick and Creamy, 1 oz pack)

1/2 cup light mayo
1/4 cup light sour cream

1/3 cup EVOO

3 tbsp water

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

2 tbsp honey

Cook the pasta until al dente, drain and lightly coat with 2 tbsp olive oil and set aside to cool.

Combine the dressing ingredients and whisk until well combined. 

In a large mixing boil, coat the pasta with the dressing. Add the remaining ingredients and toss until well coated.

For best results, mix the dressing the night before, and combine all the ingredients 1 hour before serving.

Simple Shrimp Ceviche (say that 3 times real fast)

This month’s Team Bravo potluck theme was “healthy.” The challenge – how do you make something healthy taste good? My first thought was shrimp, but I didn’t want to do the typical shrimp and cocktail sauce. My mind flashed back to the awesome ceviche I had at Michael Symon’s Lola in Cleveland. So I’m doing a shrimp ceviche, but can’t really see serving it in martini glasses, especially in church. Since I love ceviche with tortilla chips, I thought the idea of wonton cups would add the crunch that I thought it needed.

To save time, I bought pre-cooked deveined shrimp. Based on all of the other prep required, I highly recommend this. If you have not bought them before, you can find the wonton wrappers in the refrigerated produce section of the supermarket. If you are feeding a large group, I recommend doubling the recipe. Enjoy!

Shrimp Ceviche in Wonton Cups

Wonton wrappers (~24 per batch)

1 pound cooked shrimp (approximately 40 size) , peeled and deveined

1 orange, juiced

3 lemons, juiced

3 limes, juiced

8 green onions (whites up to 50% of the green) finely chopped

1 small to medium Serrano pepper, seeded and finely diced

cilantro, stemmed and finely chopped (about 3 tbs, or to taste)

½  cucumber, peeled and cored, and finely diced

1 avocado, peeled, seeded, and diced (¼”)

Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350.

Press the wonton wrappers into a coated “mini” muffin pan to form the cups. You will want to make sure that you have them pressed tight at the bottom and sides, and that the corners do not fold back over (covering the “cup”). Bake the cups for 10-15 minutes, or until the edges start to turn a golden brown. Remove and let cool.

Cut the shrimp into approximately ¼” pieces, and transfer to a bowl. Add the orange, lemon, and lime juice, stir well, and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours, but not more than 8 hours.

Remove the shrimp from the juice mixture with a slotted spoon. This will retain just enough juice to keep it moist. Add the green onion, cilantro, and Serrano pepper into the shrimp mixture and set aside. Do not refrigerate so it can come to room temperature (at least 30 minutes).

Just prior to serving, gently add the cucumber and avocado. Add salt and pepper to taste. Carefully spoon in to a wonton cups and serve immediately.