Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives Flappers

So, have I mentioned that Hubby and I are obsessed with Diner, Drive-Ins and Dives?  We loooove it! 

After almost every episode we say, "Oh, we need to try that recipe!"  Then we save it on our DVR and never get around to making said recipe.  A few weeks later, when we are down to 15 hours of recording time left on the DVR, we freak out, erase half of our saved stuff and then the cycle starts all over again.  BUT, occasionally, we immediately get on the computer to search for the recipe or get out a pen and paper and start writing down ingredients while watching the show.  This recipe is from one such Tripe D episode. 

The episode featured a little cafe in Minneapolis called the Colossal Cafe.  The owner and chef made what she called "Flappers", which are yeast based pancakes.  Well, pancakes are like my second favorite breakfast, trailing only slightly behind cinammon rolls, so I knew I had to try it.  On Triple D, they just name the ingredients as they toss them in the bowl and don't give measurements, so unless you're a really good guesser or estimator (I'm NOT), then you have to look up a similar recipe.  So, I found the following recipe online at Cooks.com.


BLINNA (YEAST PANCAKES)


1 1/2 cups warm milk (105-115°F)

2 tablespoons sugar

1 pkg. active dry yeast

2 eggs, beaten

2 1/4 cups flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup butter, melted



Combine milk, sugar and yeast. Stir until yeast is dissolved. Set aside for several minutes, until foamy.

Add remaining ingredients and mix until smooth. Let rise for 15 minutes or until puffy.

Brush a non-stick griddle or smooth black cast iron pan that is well seasoned with butter and heat until a droplet of water dances and sizzles on the surface.

Pour a small circle of batter onto the hot pan; cook until pancake forms tiny bubbles near the edges. Flip and bake the other side for a little less time than it took to bake the first side - until the top sets and the pancake is cooked through.

Stack on a warm plate and keep warm in 225°F oven or serve right away with butter and syrup or jam.

Note: If you're not in a hurry for the pancakes to rise, use half the amount of yeast; the pancakes will still rise but it will take a longer time.


Well, the topping (compote) she used on Triple D sounded pretty amazing too.  I just listened to the ingredients and guessed at the amounts, but it turned out to be REALLY good. 

1 cup brown sugar
1 apple, peel and cut into wedges
3/4 cup syrup
2 Tbsp honey
Dash of cinammon
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
brie wedges

In a pan, put brown sugar, apple wedges, syrup, cinammon and honey and stir on medium heat until apple slightly cook (about 5 minutes). 

Add walnuts and stir until combined. 

Pour over pancakes and garnish with slices of brie. 

Okay, so if I was a professional chef, or photographer or even food stager, I would have made it look prettier and wiped off the big drop of sauce at the bottom of the photo, but oh well!  This is how it would look if you ate it at my house.

So, I'll admit that I've only actually eaten brie once before this.  Alone, I think it tastes the way old lady musty roses smell. Do you know that smell?  Like an old house (like 100 years old) that an old lady lives in, she apparently grows roses and they got really soggy and musty and smelled up her house.  Do y'all know that smell?  My Hubby thinks I'm NUTS, but it's the smell I remember from my Great Aunt's house when we went over there once and she was like 100 or so years old and lived in the country.  Ah, forget it.  Anyway, that's what brie tastes like to me if I eat it alone, but on this, it's really quite good.  I was pleasantly surprised.

So, there ya go.  Hope y'all enjoy it as much as we did.  Just ignore the brie rant.  It's really late.





Note: You may need to adjust the consistency of the pancake batter. Batter thickens as it stands. Add a few tablespoons of milk if batter is too thick; add a few tablespoons of flour if batter is too thin.