Sweets for my sweet, sugar for my honey… one simply can’t get enough of sugary delights to brighten one’s day. But don’t get me wrong, I’ll be indulging my sweet tooth during the holidays without inhibiting my passion for sweets. What better way to celebrate the season than getting that sugar high, that extra boost of energy that’s much needed during this time of year.

Making French toast, pancakes, and homemade stollen, is one of my breakfast traditions. Stollen is a traditional German loaf-shaped cake with dried fruit, lightly sprinkled with powdered sugar. I make them the way they’re supposed to be made, without skimping on butter. It’s what I would call a special breakfast. Honestly, I only enjoy a calorie-laden breakfast (full of fat and butter, makes everything all the more delicious!) during Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, New Years, my Birthday, and Valentine’s Day.

There’s nothing French about how Americans prepare French toast. In fact, the first reference to French toast was in a 4th Century Roman cookbook. But then again, Roman toast does not conjure up thick slices of bread dipped in egg and milk batter, dusted with powdered sugar in my dream breakfast. Pancakes on the other hand, are an unrefuted all American breakfast. Flapjacks, as it’s also known, are made from a batter composed of flour, milk and eggs, with various secret ingredients and techniques to make it fluffy. It’s cooked on a hot griddle or frying pan and stacked as high as kingdom come. But history suggests that it was a type of cereal food dating back to the prehistoric societies. There are many variations on how pancakes are prepared and enjoyed in every part of the world. But what matters always is to enjoy each and every bite however way you want it.

My version of a pancake is to have the batter base as Morinaga, Showa, or we make our own. But considering being in Japan, the ingredients are just that, natural ingredients. I sometimes opt not to make my batter completely homemade. 

I also use two eggs instead of one, use part heavy cream and whole milk. The pancakes seem to fluff up like mountain tops.  Our family’s tradition is to top it with butter, mascarpone cheese, and 100% espresso sauce, and Canadian Maple Syrup. Not all together, but one kind of topping on each pancake that’s eaten separately. It like having the best of everything in one plate!  

I hope your holidays bring you wonderful memories and the excitement of many more Christmases to come. And may your breakfast of champions be a reminder of what all your tomorrows may bring! Happy Holidays, everyone!

I grew up having the a “Dutch” pancake recipe, more so, the Pennsylvania Dutch Recipe Book, that my mother has. I don’t have my mother’s old cookbook, but here is a recipe that is pretty darn close by Kris at Allrecipes.

Super Fluffy Pancakes

3/4 cup milk (we opt for heavy cream and whole milk, half of each)
2 tablespoons white vinegar (optional)
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons white sugar (we had three)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg (we add two eggs)
2 tablespoons butter, melted

The Espresso Sauce (syrup) comes with the mascarpone cheese, however, you could do a reduction (espresso and sugar).

Enjoy!

Sweets for my sweet, sugar for my honey… one simply can’t get enough of sugary delights to brighten one’s day. But don’t get me wrong, I’ll be indulging my sweet tooth during the holidays without inhibiting my passion for sweets. What better way to celebrate the season than getting that sugar high, that extra boost of energy that’s much needed during this time of year.

Making French toast, pancakes, and homemade stollen, is one of my breakfast traditions. Stollen is a traditional German loaf-shaped cake with dried fruit, lightly sprinkled with powdered sugar. I make them the way they’re supposed to be made, without skimping on butter. It’s what I would call a special breakfast. Honestly, I only enjoy a calorie-laden breakfast (full of fat and butter, makes everything all the more delicious!) during Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, New Years, my Birthday, and Valentine’s Day.

There’s nothing French about how Americans prepare French toast. In fact, the first reference to French toast was in a 4th Century Roman cookbook. But then again, Roman toast does not conjure up thick slices of bread dipped in egg and milk batter, dusted with powdered sugar in my dream breakfast. Pancakes on the other hand, are an unrefuted all American breakfast. Flapjacks, as it’s also known, are made from a batter composed of flour, milk and eggs, with various secret ingredients and techniques to make it fluffy. It’s cooked on a hot griddle or frying pan and stacked as high as kingdom come. But history suggests that it was a type of cereal food dating back to the prehistoric societies. There are many variations on how pancakes are prepared and enjoyed in every part of the world. But what matters always is to enjoy each and every bite however way you want it.

My version of a pancake is to have the batter base as Morinaga, Showa, or we make our own. But considering being in Japan, the ingredients are just that, natural ingredients. I sometimes opt not to make my batter completely homemade. 

I also use two eggs instead of one, use part heavy cream and whole milk. The pancakes seem to fluff up like mountain tops.  Our family’s tradition is to top it with butter, mascarpone cheese, and 100% espresso sauce, and Canadian Maple Syrup. Not all together, but one kind of topping on each pancake that’s eaten separately. It like having the best of everything in one plate!  

I hope your holidays bring you wonderful memories and the excitement of many more Christmases to come. And may your breakfast of champions be a reminder of what all your tomorrows may bring! Happy Holidays, everyone!

I grew up having the a “Dutch” pancake recipe, more so, the Pennsylvania Dutch Recipe Book, that my mother has. I don’t have my mother’s old cookbook, but here is a recipe that is pretty darn close by Kris at Allrecipes.

Super Fluffy Pancakes

3/4 cup milk (we opt for heavy cream and whole milk, half of each)
2 tablespoons white vinegar (optional)
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons white sugar (we had three)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg (we add two eggs)
2 tablespoons butter, melted

The Espresso Sauce (syrup) comes with the mascarpone cheese, however, you could do a reduction (espresso and sugar).

Enjoy!

Japanese cuisine can sometimes be thought of as bland, to the point of being boring. The whole point of Japanese food is to focus on the sheer freshness of the ingredients that are complemented by the simplicity of what is mixed with them. Take the variations of sashimi. It’s slices of the freshest fish, from tuna to salmon, served raw! To accentuate just how fresh the fish is, you can squeeze a bit of lemon on it and lightly dip it in soy sauce mixed with wasabi. That’s it!

This makes me wonder, what if components from Japanese cooking were mixed with traditional Western cuisine such as Italian, much like Soy Sauce and Butter Spaghetti. Sounds catastrophic? Well, guess again. It is simply divine! It is no wonder that the increase in popularity in preparing Japanese and Italian food is because they are pretty much straight forward. You can practically imagine the clean, sometimes rich, and always promising flavors that abound.

Much like Japanese cooking, Italian cuisine is characterized by its simplicity and its roots can be traced as far back as the 4th century BC. Italian cuisine was also heavily inspired by other cuisines such as Greek, Roman, Arab, and Jewish. Diversity in ingredients such as tomatoes, potatoes, corn, and bell peppers was embraced with the discovery of the New World in the 18th century and still remains an important part of Italian cooking. Most of the Italian dishes are composed of only four to eight ingredients with freshness being a top priority. So the marriage between Japanese and Italian influence and ingredients would ultimately be a culinary explosion of delightful and orgasmic flavors that come alive with every bite. Having tried this via frozen cuisine once, I was determined to recreate it.

As should be said when you taste such a gastronomically delightful dish… esquisita oishi! For the recipe, really it’s so simply, just add a bit of butter and soy sauce (to taste) to the pan, toss it a bit, and place any toppings that tickle your fancy!

Japanese cuisine can sometimes be thought of as bland, to the point of being boring. The whole point of Japanese food is to focus on the sheer freshness of the ingredients that are complemented by the simplicity of what is mixed with them. Take the variations of sashimi. It’s slices of the freshest fish, from tuna to salmon, served raw! To accentuate just how fresh the fish is, you can squeeze a bit of lemon on it and lightly dip it in soy sauce mixed with wasabi. That’s it!

This makes me wonder, what if components from Japanese cooking were mixed with traditional Western cuisine such as Italian, much like Soy Sauce and Butter Spaghetti. Sounds catastrophic? Well, guess again. It is simply divine! It is no wonder that the increase in popularity in preparing Japanese and Italian food is because they are pretty much straight forward. You can practically imagine the clean, sometimes rich, and always promising flavors that abound.

Much like Japanese cooking, Italian cuisine is characterized by its simplicity and its roots can be traced as far back as the 4th century BC. Italian cuisine was also heavily inspired by other cuisines such as Greek, Roman, Arab, and Jewish. Diversity in ingredients such as tomatoes, potatoes, corn, and bell peppers was embraced with the discovery of the New World in the 18th century and still remains an important part of Italian cooking. Most of the Italian dishes are composed of only four to eight ingredients with freshness being a top priority. So the marriage between Japanese and Italian influence and ingredients would ultimately be a culinary explosion of delightful and orgasmic flavors that come alive with every bite. Having tried this via frozen cuisine once, I was determined to recreate it.

As should be said when you taste such a gastronomically delightful dish… esquisita oishi! For the recipe, really it’s so simply, just add a bit of butter and soy sauce (to taste) to the pan, toss it a bit, and place any toppings that tickle your fancy!