Friday, June 29, 2012

French Fridays with Dorie - Corn Pancakes: Why sometimes simple recipes need a bit of fancy treatment or why I do not want to bump into another Saint


Today´s recipe for the French Fridays with Dorie group are „Corn Pancakes“. I have prepared corn fritters before but these were my first Corn Pancakes.




Dorie´s recipe is rather uncomplicated and the list of ingredients is short. The only ingredients required are corn kernels, eggs, flour and salt – could not be easier. My first thought was to prepare some nice chicken alongside the corn cakes but after having read through the complete recipe and Dorie´s “Bonne Idée”, I decided to go Jean-Georges Vongerichten´s route and serve them as hors d´oeuvres.




Dorie writes that Monsieur Vongerichten sometimes serves the pancakes with smoked salmon, salmon roe, and/or crème fraîche – sounded good to me and besides I happen to adore Jean-Georges Vongerichten recipes. But I felt that I needed something even a bit more out of the ordinary and decided to prepare the corn cakes with a “tartare de saumon topped with lime crème fraîche and salmon roe”.

Why so fancy – well, the last two weeks were not really the greatest weeks of all times and I thought we all needed a bit of a treat and I needed to spend some time in the kitchen (I was being extra careful, you will see later why) and then have a bit of a fun photo session.




To prepare the tartare de saumon, I needed fresh as well as smoked salmon, and my trusted fish monger had wonderful organically grown salmon filets as well as smoked salmon and the salmon roe. What a beautiful color these three ingredients have – a real treat for the eye.




The rest of the ingredients for the tartare were also readily available and included lime, honey, chives, dill and cress.




So I prepared the salmon tartare, the lime crème fraîche and put them in the fridge and it was time for the corn pancakes. They were quickly made and smelled delicious. And I believe that I have found a new family favorite there. After they had cooled, I cut them so they would be nice and round and fit into the metal rings that I planned to use for the presentation. Once all three components were nice and cool, it was time for the assembly and decoration. That part was just plain fun and simply felt good, looking at the finished plate left me with a sense of relief that things will be so much better very soon.




Back to the recipe for this weeks FFwD group, the corn pancakes were terrific on their own or topped with delicious tartare de salmon and lime crème fraîche. We all loved to eat them and I liked the simplicity of this great recipe – another keeper for us, maybe with different toppings as a side dish next time, but definitely a must repeat.




We spent quite a bit of time at the hospital lately, one of the kids is suffering from a rather persistent lung infection that just does not want to seem to go away, so no school (no vacation here yet), staying home, running back and forth to the hospital looking after the rest of the gang, you get the idea, we all know those days and we know it will get better, eventually...But for some reason, I believe I had to top the whole stressful time a bit.

It started with the French Strawberry Cake (TwD) that I baked in the middle of the night, it turned out to be wonderful but I was so tired after I finished making the cake that I ran into a metal door frame and got the first black eye of my lifetime. A few days later when I tried to cut the nice green seaweed for David´s Seaweed Sablés (FFwD), I cut myself so bad, it would not stop bleeding for the longest time. I then continued to get bruises and burns every chance I could get and lastly, but certainly not leastly, I bumped into a Saint and hurt my arm so bad, it looks, lets just say, a bit colorful – a Saint, how can you bump into a Saint.

Well, the hospital is officially still run by an Order of Catholic Nuns, there are some Nuns working as nurses in the hospital. And there is a really nice chapel and then there are those Saints. Stone figures mounted on nice little stone pedestals along the walls of some of the corridors, nice looking but sometimes just “in the way”. The Saint that I bumped into is “Saint Martin”,  a Patron Saint for beggars, shepherds, merchants, wine makers, millers, innkeepers and many, many more. I usually really like Saint Martin and every year, primary school children honor his feast day with a lantern parade followed by sweet treats (our equivalent of  Halloween) but this time we had a rather painful meeting. So now my husband is lovingly hiding all kinds of dangerous items from me. Items, such as needles, that I could choose to have some more painful encounters with.

But not my kitchen knives, nobody is allowed to touch them, not even now.




To see how the other Doristas prepared these wonderful corn pancakes, please make sure to click here. I have a feeling that there will be a lot of different variations on the main theme this week.



32 comments:

  1. Oh geez, it sounds like the kitchen and you arent mixing well these days! I hope you start feeling better!! Sometimes things are just more difficult than they have to be, doesn't it seem? Your idea for the tartare looks SO tasty! I can't get any kind of roe here in England. All the fishmongers look at me like I'm nuts when I ask for them and they realize people actually eat roe... LOL!

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    1. Alice, thank you very much - the fish roe is nothing else than a "less fancy version of caviar" - actually, peolpe around here eat it quite a lot, mostly with hard-boiled eggs, so it is relatively easy to get and we appreciate the salty taste is has and I just love the way it looks!

      Have a good weekend!

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  2. Oh, I hope things are going better for you. Sick kids and accidents can certainly be overwhelming - I've had my share of those and understand how it can wear on you. Hang in there :-)
    Your presentation on this is absolutely stunning. Such a creative idea.

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    1. Cher, thank you so much!

      Hope you are going to enjoy a wonderful and relaxing well-deserved holiday at the beach! I really enjoyed seeing the graduation picture of your daughter on your blog!

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  3. An overwhemling amount of accidents and the stay at the hospital, how great that you can cook through all that! Your kid will be well and you´re dealing with it in a super way Andrea! Your pictures are incredible. A get well to all of you!

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    1. Paula, thank you for the get well wishes - things always seem to get better much quicker when summer holidays are lurking around the next corner. My resolution for the following week is "No more cuts and bruises"! Ha!

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  4. A simple recipe certainly turned elegant. Those photos are beautiful. Hopefully, things will turn around soon for you, maybe
    bumping into St. Martin will help, it sure can't hurt. Hubby and I enjoyed these little pancakes and I will probably use this
    recipe again, it is so easy. Have a happy weekend, and I hope your little one gets well soon.

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    1. Thank you very much - things are already much better, the sun is shining and we only have one week of school left before the summer holidays! Have a wonderful weekend too!

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  5. My jaws just dropped when I saw this picture.

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  6. Oh, Andrea, what a stressful time for you! I hope your dear child is improving...I have one with asthma and it's so scary when he can't breathe. And I had to giggle at your run in with a Saint...so sorry!

    I must say your corn pancakes are magnificent! They look like something I'd get at the finest restaurant (and I WOULD order this!). I LOVE the garnish of salmon roe...so elegant. You rocked this recipe, my friend!!!

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    1. Lizzy, thank you so much for your lovely comments and kind words! That certainly means a lot to me! All the best also for your child suffering from asthma, asthma is such serious disease, it aches my heart every time I hear about children/adults suffering from it.

      Have a wonderful (and safe) weekend!

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  7. Oh Andrea, I’m so sorry for all that’s going on…I’m sure all your accidents are a result of you being stressed out over your child and that’s where your mind is!! Running into that saint…sorry, but it made me laugh!! I can loan you my heating pad!!
    Your pancakes with the salmon tartare are amazing!! Lizzy’s right…something you would get in an upscale restaurant!! I’m sure they were incredibly delicious!! Have a wonderful weekend!! And stay safe!!

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    1. Oh, Kathy, thank you - the idea with loaning me your heating pad is sooo funny, I love it and trust me, you were supposed to laugh when reading about the meeting of the Saint and me, one of my sons was telling the story to all his school friends and after the worst hurt had passed, I was laughing too, things like this happen to me all the time!!! Ha!

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  8. It seems like you've had your run of bad luck lately. Hopefully things are starting to calm down. Your presentation as absolutely gorgeous!

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    1. Sarah, thank you so much, things are already much better today!!!

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  9. What a time your having! Hope your child is well soon! Maybe next month's recipes won't take such a toll on your body!

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    1. But the food was really good! And things are definitely already getting better!

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  10. A sick child certainly throws your life into chaos & worry- my prayers that he will be healed very soon. Your recipe is utterly splendidly gorgeous- I can only imagine how scrumptious it was! You have created a culinary piece of edible art to sooth your soul.

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    1. Thank you so much for your kind and supportive words and your wonderful comment!

      Have a great weekend!

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  11. I am so very sorry to hear about your child. There is just nothing more upsetting to see one of your kids sick and especially in the hospital. I hope all is well very soon.

    Your corn cake with the salmon is such a gorgeous presentation! It is a feast for the eyes and I am sure for the palate. Just a beautiful job, Andrea!

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    1. Elaine, my son is on the mend, things are getting much better and I have not cut or bruised myself for a whole day, what more could one ask for?!

      Thank you for your lovely words and comment and enjoy the rest of the weekend!

      I am looking forward to all of the July recipes and the wonderful Dorista posts!

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  12. Oh, Andrea, what a tale. I hope that your child and you are both healing as we speak. I'm sending you virtual hugs...
    Your salmon tartare on top of the pancake is the most gorgeous twist on this recipe that I've seen, and I don't expect to see anything fancier. It is so elegant. I hope it gave the family a needed boost.
    Thanks for asking about my bees. After my last many-sting incident, I've been nervous about being near them, but I added a new box of frames for honey yesterday, and it went well. I hope to post a bee update later this weekend. I won't harvest honey until the fall.
    Take care!

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    1. Betsy, so good to hear from you - we all seem to be feeling much much better, seems to be a combination of better weather, good food and just time...I often think about you and your bee adventures and I am glad to read that things are going well, I must say I would love to have a taste of your "first crop" in fall!

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  13. Wow have you had a tough time of it recently! I surely hope your son is doing better, and that your run of accidents is out of the way. At any rate, you really have a gift - this is an amazing use of Dorie's corn cakes. Truly beautiful!

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    1. Kristin, thank you so much for your well wishes and the wonderful comment!

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  14. Talk about a home run! Your photos are so beautiful, it's crazy! Glad you got some therapeutic kitchen time. I hope it made you feel better because you really made something lovely to be proud of!

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    1. Maggie, getting some "therapeutic kitchen time" was just the right thing - I think we all feel so much better and your nice comment made my day!

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  15. Oh Andrea - I am so sorry to hear that you are having such a tough time. I can't imagine how stressful it must be to have a sick child and I'm sure the stress and lack of sleep are contributing to a little extra clumsiness. I hope that everyone is on the mend and in top form soon. My thoughts are with you.

    As for your corn pancakes, I am certain that Mr. Vongerichten would approve!

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    1. Rose, thank you so much, things are on the mend - summer holidays are starting today and my son is finally almost helthy (after five weeks or so).

      Hope you are getting some well deserved rest back home!

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  16. It's Tuesday night and this hasn't been the best week of my life either. First things first,how is your little boy, Andrea? It is not fun to have a child in the hospital for ANY reason. So, let me know if the lung infection is on the mend. And, you. My goodness. I think you should have made a big bad story up about that black eye. But, having to follow both those disasters with cuts and bumps and bruises, too much. Hopefully, your entire family turned a new and healthier corner with the presentation of your fabulous corn pancake plate. Corn has never been so chic! Well done. It's been a bit bumpy at my house but I'll let you read that on my site. Stay healthy, please.

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    1. Mary, thank you so much for taking the time to visit my blog - we are all better and would like to let you know that we are thinking of you and your family at this difficult time!

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