Anticiplate

There is something to be said about large, comforting breakfasts at home. But, I can count on my left hand how many times I have actually cooked breakfast. My versions consist of streaming tap water into a coffee mug and ripping open a brown package of cinnamon flavored instant oatmeal, or pulling cold skim milk out of the refrigerator and pouring it over some sort of sugary cereal.  I much prefer to wake up on a Sunday morning, roll out of bed with mascara smudged underneath my eyes, a hat on my head, and probably the clothes I wore sleeping camouflaged with a giant sweatshirt, and go here or here. These women chefs are the masters at breakfast in Seattle. And, for some reason I feel guilty drinking a mimosa at home on a weekday.

But, this morning, I even impressed myself with my breakfast making ability.

Erik woke me up so early this morning, 8:15 am, and told me I had promised to make breakfast for him the night before. I looked at him vacantly, yawning and purposely trying to forget that, yes, I actually had. He was dressed in his wool black coat, reusable grocery bag in hand. He got out his iPhone and started typing ingredients as I groggily forced myself to make a list for him.

He came back with more items than I had told him (in true Erik fashion), and a couple of incorrect versions of the produce I requested, but that wasn’t going to stop me. Large golden delicious apples, apple-wood smoked center-cut bacon, Vermont maple syrup, cold buttermilk, and local coffee beans covered my counters as I pulled out my favorite red mixing bowl and started to create.

I sliced my apples a bit thick, I had a couple of precarious flips of the crepe-like buttermilk batter, I burnt one piece of bacon, but all in all, breakfast actually turned out.

Being in my new industry, I work nights, which has been hard on me and my husband. Yes. As a ballet dancer, I also worked nights, but not every night. I performed about two weekends every six weeks. That pales in comparison to six nights a week getting home later than 10:00. So, our new thing is breakfast. Mornings filled with strong black coffee, jazz or classical music, and talking with legs intertwined on the couch. I think it is gonna work.

So, dear readers, you may be seeing more breakfasts around here. I will certainly be cooking more of them.

And, I have a new job. Yep. No more hostessing at A&O. I have my very first, part-time, paid cooking job which I start tomorrow at 2:00. Which, of course, I need to keep a bit hush-hush for now. I am still ‘staging’ for the same company, and loving it, in fact. I actually ran my own station last Saturday night at Tavolata on an incredibly busy night. It was a blast. 6:30 to 10:30 went by in a blink of an eye. Just how I like it.

I hope you too can have this lovely breakfast at home. Even on a weekday. The crepe-like pancakes are tender and foolproof. And, to be quite honest, are amazing sauteed in bacon grease. And, I won’t judge you if you have a mimosa before work.

*Adapted from a recipe in Bon Appetit October 2004 issue

Makes 12 cakes

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Apples

2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter

3 large Golden Delicious apples (about 1 1/2 pounds), peeled, cored, cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices

1 tablespoon plus 1/2 cup pure maple syrup

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

8 slices apple-wood smoked center cut bacon

Crepe-cakes

1 cup all purpose flour

2 tablespoons (packed) golden brown sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup buttermilk

6 oz. whole milk vanilla yogurt

1 large egg

1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

Melt butter in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add apples and 1 tablespoon maple syrup; sauté until apples are tender, about 5-8 minutes. Mix in remaining 1/2 cup maple syrup and cinnamon. Set aside.

At the same time, cook bacon in a non-stick preheated, dry skillet. Drain on a paper towel lined plate. Reserve bacon fat to cook pancakes in.

Meanwhile, combine first five ingredients in large bowl; whisk to blend. Whisk buttermilk, yogurt, and egg in medium bowl to blend; add to dry ingredients and stir until just blended but still lumpy. Do not overmix. This makes the batter tough. Gently mix in 1 1/2 tablespoons melted butter.

Heat griddle or large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Spread thin coating of bacon fat over griddle.  Working in batches of three, drop batter by 1/3 cupfuls onto griddle, spacing apart. Cook pancakes until brown on bottom and bubbles form on top, about 3 minutes. Turn pancakes over and cook until bottoms are brown and pancakes are barely firm to touch. Transfer to plates. Repeat with remaining batter, adding more fat to griddle as needed.

Spoon apples over pancakes. Serve with bacon on the side.