Oh Baabee!

There are only so many Chicken Caesars (dressing on the side, please) and grilled salmon with seasonable vegetables (no salt added please) dishes in the world, and I’ve consumed my share.  Of course MFO gamely goes along with this vapid diet, but occasionally (actually – fairly often as a matter of fact) will cook something different.  Bless her heart.

Anyway, the other day she was busily working on mise en place for something. Turns out it was for a recipe she found in Southern Living, one of the many publications that fill up our coffee table.

BTW, I have grown fonder (if you can be fonder of a magazine) of Southern Living over the past few months.   They have veered away from articles on how to make gingham curtains into more foodie stuff.  They do have some interesting recipes, such as “Dutch Baby”.  What the heck is that? you may ask.. as did I.

Well, it turns out to be a “pancake” that is similar to a large Yorkshire pudding, and is always baked in the oven, rather than being fried on both sides on the stove top.  As to the name “Dutch Baby”, it may have been derived from the German Pfannkuchen, but the actual name Dutch Baby was coined by one of Victor Manca's daughters, where "Dutch" perhaps was her corruption of the German autonym (Huh? autonym (plural autonyms) (taxonomy) An infraspecific name in which the specific epithet is repeated. Synonym: type variety. (linguistics, anthropology) A name used by a group or category of people to refer to themselves or their language, as opposed to a name given to them by other groups Got It?  The Feeder always seeks to educate!) Deutsch. Manca's Cafe claimed that it owned the trademark for Dutch Babies in 1942.

Well, who the heck is Victor Manca you might ask, as did I.  Well, Victor Manca (April 1933 – September 2015) was a legend of early Seattle's food world, operated Manca's Cafe - first at First Avenue and Cherry Street, then at Second Avenue and Columbia Street - from 1899 to 1957.  Now grandson Mory Manca and great-grandchildren Mark and Michele Manca have revived the tradition, including Victor's original recipe for Dutch Babies. Customers who frequented the downtown Manca's for breakfast, lunch and dinner are relating memories of the puffy baked pancakes, the combination salad, the razor clam hash and canned asparagus imported from France.

So, carrying on our own tradition, MFO followed the recipe

She combined the eggs, milk, flour in the blender and then poured into our cast iron pan  Put it in the 425° oven for about 20 minutes. Sure enough, upon emerging from the oven it had risen dramatically

And then she added the cheese

Back in the oven till the cheese melted, added the bacon and chives from the garden, and

Voila!

Plated it up, and enjoyed it. 

Of course we enjoyed it after

So it was fun and we were,

DFD and of course no MJ to be seen.

As an aside, Kelly Clarkson is the female Steve Harvey..