I began to feel a little psychotic around this cup of coffee. I headed out to Blue Bottle Coffee in Williamsburg, Brooklyn.The handwriting in my journal began to get larger and loopier and more slanted… I bought 2 bags of coffee – the Bella Donovan and the Toarco Toraja (pictured). The smell of fresh beans is everywhere and it makes me incredibly happy.

Each bag of Blue Bottle Coffee is only 8oz (or 1/2 lb) and around $8-10 depending on the blend/origin. So pricey for half a pound, but so far, everyone is telling me it’s well worth it!

I can’t wait to test it out!

Yes, I broke down and went to Clinton Street Baking Company today. I was sad because normally the wait for 1-2 people isn’t very long on weekdays, but I arrived around 11:30am and didn’t get seated until around 12pm. I promptly knew what I wanted – evidence in the photo – Banana Walnut Pancakes, Hash Browns and Coffee.

I finished about 2 of the pancakes before I ran out of the Maple Butter. Unfortunately, another Maple Butter wolud’ve cost $2 more! (What the heck!?).

Yes, about 2 pancakes in, the whole pile of hash browns and on my 2nd coffee, I did begin to regret gluttony.

Oh, I took a buttermilk biscuit to go. (A few hours later, I finished that and felt like my stomach was going to explode!)

Ah, another part to my “Baking & Cooking Clinton Street Baking Company’s Cookbook” series. (Gosh, that’s a mouthful). First I tested the Buttermilk Biscuit & Raspberry Jam recipes, now it’s time to graduate to the pancakes.

As mentioned previously in my “The Perfect Pancake” post, these are worth the wait. This recipe was adapted from the Clinton Street Baking Company Cookbook. All credit goes to Neil Kleinberg who developed this wonderful recipe and whom these pancakes are named after. Please do go to the real Clinton St. Baking Company at 4 Clinton Street.

Clinton Street Baking Company’s Neil’s Pancakes

Makes 18 to 20 3-inch Pancakes

Ingredients:

• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon baking powder, plus 1 teaspoon
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoons salt
• 6 large eggs, separated
• 3 cups whole milk
• 3/4 cup (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, melted, plus 2 teaspoons unmelted for the griddle
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups blueberries or sliced bananas and 1 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar or cinnamon sugar for dusting

Instructions:

1. Measure and sift all the dry ingredients into a large (preferably stainless-steel) mixing bowl: flour, baking powder, sugar, salt.
2. In another bowl, whisk together the yolks, milk, melted butter, and vanilla until combined. Whisk the wet mixture into the dry mixture. The result should be slightly lumpy, yet combined to form a batter.
3. Whip the egg whites in a medium mixing bowl until they reach medium peaks (soft in the middle). You can either whip them by hand with a whisk, or put them in the bowl of an electric mixer to whip. Be careful, you don’t want to overwhip the whites.
4. Gently mix half of the whipped whites into the batter with a large rubber spatula. Then gently fold the remaining half into the batter. Remember: this batter should be slightly lumpy and have large parts of egg whites not fully incorporated; it should look like whitecaps in the ocean with foam on the top. (The batter will last a few hours in the fridge without deflating too much.)
5. Heat a griddle – either an electric griddle, a stovetop griddle, or a big flat pan – to 350 to 375°F. Grease the hot griddle with the remaining butter. Drop 1/4 cup (approximately 4 tablespoons) of pancake batter on the griddle and cook to set. Add 1 tablespoon blueberries or sliced bananas and 1 teaspoon walnuts before turning the pancakes. Never add fruit to the mix; always add the fruit to the pancakes once they’re on the griddle. When you see bubbles start to form on top, lift the pancake halfway up to see if it’s golden brown and crispy on the edges. If ready, flip the pancake.
6. When the pancake is golden brown on both sides, remove with a spatula. Repeat with the remaining batter and filling, cooking several pancakes at a time. Garnish with confectioners’ sugar for the blueberry pancakes, cinnamon sugar for the banana-walnut. Serve warm with Maple Butter (see below for recipe).

 

Clinton Street Baking Company’s Maple Butter

Makes 2 Cups

Ingredients:

• 1 cup real maple syrup (we prefer grade-B organic)
• 2 sticks (16 tablespoons) cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes

Instructions:

1. Heat the maple syrup over medium heat
2. Add the cold butter to the warm syrup by whisking in a few cubes at a time until the sauce is smooth and all the butter is incorporated.
3. Turn off the flame and keep the sauce in a warm place until ready to serve. It will keep for at least 2 months in the refrigerator. Never boil the syrup.

I wrote about The Perfect Pancake about a month ago and mentioned that the purveyors of the perfect pancake have a cookbook – the Clinton Street Baking Company Cookbook.

Well:

TA-DA!

Thanks to a very very awesome and lovely friend, I got the cookbook for Christmas and I can’t stop looking at the wonderful photos. Well, I’m proud to announce that I’m going to try to bake and cook my way through the cookbook. Many of my friends (whom are my readers) will get a chance to try my trials, but if you aren’t my friend, don’t fret! You can always get the cookbook yourself or head over to Clinton Street Baking Company, which I’m sure would do a much better job than myself.

So Part 1 begins with the biscuits. All these recipes are adapted from the Clinton Street Baking Company Cookbook, and all credit should be given to them for their wonderful wonderful recipes that they are sharing with the world.

Clinton Street Baking Company’s Buttermilk Biscuits

Makes 6 Biscuits

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 2 tablespoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/3 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled and cubed
• 3 tablespoons vegetable shortening, chilled and cut into small chunks
• 3/4 cup buttermilk

Instructions:

These biscuits can be prepared and then rested overnight for baking the next day.

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F
2. Place the 2 cups flour and other dry ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer. Mix on low speed with the paddle attachment until combined.
3. Add the butter and shortening to the bowl and mix on low speed until the dough reaches a crumbly texture. The butter and shortening should be the size of peas.
4. Turn off the mixer and add the buttermilk to the bowl all at once. Mix very briefly on low speed until the dough just comes together (this should take less than 10 seconds).
5. Turn the dough onto a floured surface and form into a ball. Lightly knead the dough two or three times until combined.
6. You can bake the biscuits the next day. Dust a sheet pan and the top of the dough with flour and refrigerate, covered with plastic wrap, overnight. Then bring the dough back to room temperature.
7. Pat out the dough to a 3/4- to 1-inch thickness. Shape the dough into a rectangle, making the sides high. Using a 2-inch-round biscuit cutter, cut out 4 biscuits. Place them on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and dust with a sprinkling of flour. Gather the dough scraps and, using your hands, tuck in the bottom of the dough so that there are no wrinkles, much like making a bread roll. Form the remaining dough into another rectangle with high sides and cut out 2 more biscuits.
8. Place the pan in the preheated oven for 15 to 17 minutes, or until the biscuits are golden brown and cooked through. Halfway through the baking process, rotate the pan for even browning.
9. Serve warm with butter and our Raspberry Jam (see recipe below).

 

Clinton Street Baking Company’s Raspberry Jam

Makes 2 Cups

Ingredients:

• 3 cups fresh or frozen raspberries (or blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, etc.)
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon quick-set pectin

Instructions:

1. In a 4-quart heavy-bottomed pot, mix together the berries, sugar, lemon juice, and pectin. Bring to a boil while stirring over medium-high heat (3 to 5 minutes). The sugar will dissolve to create a loose, saucy consistency. Turn down the heat to low and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the jam thickens, 15-20 minutes. Scrap the bottom of the pot periodically to prevent sticking.
2. Turn off the heat and let the jam cool at room temperature or put the pot in an ice bath for quicker results, stirring until the jam is cool. Transfer to a crock, a jam jar, or even a bowl. This jam thickens as it cools and keeps at least 3 weeks in the refrigerator.

Jiye and I went to Vinegar Hill House which is located in it’s namesake, Vinegar Hill, Brooklyn, New York. It’s on an adorable cobblestoned street on the “far end” of Vinegar Hill. The place is small, but very cozy and the staff is friendly. We ordered from their specials of the day – I got the “Neptune Eggs Benedict” which was lump crab on an eggs benedict, and Jiye got an English breakfast of toast, beans and egg. Both were very delicious, and it’s extremely affordable. Coffee is french press, and it seems like everyone was ordering it!

Yelp generally throws really great events, and this one, while not terrible, was not a sparkler. This not so great looking piece of chicken probably describes the event the best – while tasty, looked lackluster.

There were a ton of vendors, from Luke’s Lobster, Spot, Brookyn Ice Cream Factory, Hill Country Chicken and many alcohol vendors, the event had a large turn-out, but most people were complaining of the lines (ok, it’s free food, stop complaining!). I had a nice time with my friend, Kelvin, but we ended up leaving quite early.

I wrote about Spoon aka Tbsp about two weeks ago, and I went back again today to try their Huevos Rancheros. This place is well worth the hype I’ve been giving it. It’s a non pretentious location to have brunch. No smoke and mirrors, just a good old fashioned brunch!

Ramen Takumi is the re-branded Ramen Setagaya. Setagaya lasted about a year before they ran into some financing problems and a few branches were sold and re-named. The menu is largely the same, but the quality of the food has gone down. If you’re not willing to wait for the (very awesome) Ippudo that’s only 2 blocks over, I would say go here for a quick ramen fix. Otherwise, skip it and go to Ippudo!

I went to Ngoc’s house to watch the horrific Michigan vs. OSU game, but also to eat a fantastic Thanksgiving Dinner Part Deux. The turkey was amazingly tender and the stuffing was delicious. (I love stuffing). They also did a fantastic job with the red skin mashed potatoes. I was so happy to have real Thanksgiving!

Pizza House is a staple for students on the University of Michigan’s campus. I went there on a cold evening with Kathleen and her boyfriend Mike. Unfortunately we forgot to take pictures of the pizza, but here’s the calimari for your viewing pleasure!