Whole Grain Pancakes with Roasted Pears

photo courtesy of Josh Monken

'Tis the season to be jolly, right? To me, that means doing the rest of my holiday shopping on the internet (they deliver!), staying up past my bedtime with a glass of wine, and not getting up in the morning until I've read a chapter or two from my latest book. I wait until J finds his way next to my pillow, finally realizing he's hungry for breakfast and nudging me out of the sack.

There's no question that pancakes will be on the menu on holiday weekend mornings around here, so I dreamed up a few extra-special recipes.

The December issue of Sauce features my pancake story with more recipes - pick it up!

Whole Grain Buttermilk Pancakes with Roasted Pears

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup oats, regular or quick cooking
1/4 cup cornmeal
2 tablespoons raw wheat germ
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
3 tablespoons melted butter


Whisk together the flour, oats, cornmeal, wheat germ, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.
In a small bowl, beat the eggs with the buttermilk and butter until smooth; pour over the dry ingredients and stir just until dry ingredients are moistened.

Spray a griddle with non-stick spray or grease with butter; place over medium heat until hot. Spoon about 1/4 cup batter for each pancake onto griddle. Cook until small bubbles emerge and start to pop on the surface of the pancakes; turn with a spatula and cook until second side is lightly browned.

Serve warm topped with roasted pears.
Makes about 12 pancakes.

Roasted Pears

4 ripe, firm Bartlett pears, cored and cut into 1/2-inch wedges
3 tablespoons melted butter
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Heat oven to 425 degrees.
Toss the pears on a rimmed baking sheet with the butter, syrup and cinnamon. Roast until pears are tender and golden brown, 15 – 20 minutes. Serve warm over pancakes or ice cream.

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Copyright (c) 2007 FamilyStyle Food

Whole Grain Dinner Rolls with 3 Seeds

Whole wheat dinner rolls; tender and wholesome

I don't know about you, but when I'm planning what to prepare for my Thanksgiving table, bread tends to be one of the last things on the list; it might be that this most traditional of all meals is already packed with bread and starchy foods, from the stuffing right down to the multiple sides of potatoes, sweet potato and squash.

Admittedly, I avoid stuffing if at all possible. I just don't see the point of eating turkey-scented bread cubes when I can save room for the main event.

That's why I totally approve of dinner rolls for Thanksgiving - small rounds of fresh, warm bread to sop up your gravy is just perfect. You don't need to overcommit to a large pile of stuffing.

I got a little ahead of myself this year (yes, and also because I wanted to post this recipe before the big day) My recipe is based on one from the Martha Stewart Living Cookbook (they're called "Health Rolls" in the book; I think we can do better than that). I made the dough in my bread machine, which I highly recommend, if you have one. You can even shape the rolls ahead of time, put them in the pan and refrigerate up to one day ahead. Just let them come to room temperature before baking.

Whole Grain Dinner Rolls with 3 Seeds

Makes 16 rolls

1/2 cup bulgur wheat

1 cup milk
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup honey
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 1/2 -3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 teaspoons active-dry yeast
1 tablespoon EACH sesame, flax, and poppy seeds
1 tablespoon flaked sea salt

Cook the bulgur in 2 cups boiling water in a medium saucepan until water is absorbed, about 15 minutes. Cool.

Place the milk, eggs, honey, oil, whole wheat flour, 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour, oats, cooled bulgur, salt and yeast in a bread machine in the order given. Process on the "dough" mode, adding more flour if needed.

Remove dough from bread machine pan and from into 16 balls. Arrange in two 8-inch round oiled cake pans. Brush tops with oil, cover and let rise 20 -25 minutes.

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Sprinkle roll tops with the seeds and salt; bake until dark golden brown on top, about 25 minutes. Transfer to a rack and cool in the pan 10 minutes before unmolding. Serve warm.

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Copyright (c) 2007 FamilyStyle Food