Red Velvet Pancakes

I wanted to make a fun pre-Valentine's Day breakfast last weekend and attempted to make red velvet pancakes. As you can see from the photo, the "red" part didn't work out so well.

I followed my basic Bisquick recipe (2 cups, 1 cup milk, 2 eggs) and added some cocoa powder and red food coloring.

As cute as they might look, however, they weren't really that great. They were pretty dry and I had to use more butter and syrup that I would have preferred. I'm assuming this is due to the cocoa powder.

So... help me out! My recipe is below. How can I adapt it to make it better? More milk? And I'm sorry to say that I'd like to keep this a Bisquick recipe if possible. :)


Red Velvet Pancakes
a Lauren's Kitchen Original that backfired

• 2 cups Bisquick
• 1 cup milk
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
• 10-15 drops of red food coloring
• Optional toppings: whipped cream, butter, syrup, etc
  

Preheat griddle or large skillet over medium heat and grease with butter or cooking spray. Combine all ingredients. Drop onto hot skillet by the 1/3-cup-full; flip after 2-3 minutes, or until sides are firm. Cook for another 1-2 minutes.

Barefoot Bloggers: Chive Risotto Cakes

Yet another super late recipe - I think I was supposed to have made these in November...?

Anyway, as you can tell from the pics, cakes these are not, and like them I did not.

I did not pay attention to the recipe (shocking) and realized after I already started that I would NOT have enough time to make them the right way.


Neither Pat nor I really liked the flavor combination at all, which means I will likely not try them the real way. Of course, that could make a big difference, but it just seems like a lot of work for something that I don't think I'd like. I'm posting the recipe as is, rather than my random version.

Ingredients:
Kosher salt
1 cup uncooked Arborio rice
½ cup Greek yogurt
2 extra-large eggs
3 tablespoons minced fresh chives
1 ½ cup cups grated Italian Fontina cheese (5 ounces)
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¾ cup panko (Japanese dried bread flakes)
Good olive oil

Bring a large (4 quart) pot of water to a boil and add ½ tablespoon salt and the Arborio rice. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes. The grains of rice will be quite soft. Drain the rice in a sieve and run under cold water until cool. Drain well.

Meanwhile, whisk together the yogurt, eggs, chives, Fontina, 1 ¼ teaspoons salt, and the pepper in a medium bowl. Add the cooled rice and mix well. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2 hours or overnight, until firm.

When ready to cook, preheat the oven to 250 degrees.

Spread the panko in a shallow dish. Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Form balls of the rice mixture using a standard (2 1/4 –inch) ice cream scoop or a large spoon. Pat the balls into patties 3 inches in diameter and ¾ inch thick. Place 4-6 patties in the panko, turning once to coat. Place the patties in the hot oil and cook, turning once, for about 3 minutes on each side until the risotto cakes are crisp and nicely browned. Place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and keep warm in the oven for up to 30 minutes. Continue cooking in batches, adding oil as necessary, until all the cakes are fried. Serve hot.

Worst. Dinner. Ever.

Tonight was, by far, the absolute most disastrous dinner attempt. I am only blogging about this in the hope that someday, I will look back on this and laugh.

I tried my hand at home-made gnocchi once, and I was relatively successful. So I felt somewhat ready to brave this recipe for Spinach Gnocchi with Blush Sauce.

Two hours later, I found myself near tears, cooking Ronzoni pasta while staring at potato play-doh and sauce the consistency of pudding.

I have NO idea what happened to the gnocchi, but after cooking/draining, this is what was left behind, oozing out of the holes of the colander:



Disgusting.

I followed the recipe for the sauce to the letter. The letter!! And yet it was this absolute disgusting blob in a pot. I actually tried to thin it out by adding some crushed tomatoes and another cup of milk; nope. It didn't taste too bad, actually, but the consistency was just too weird.

I'm not even going to bother posting the recipe. Don't try it. It was awful. If you are that interested, click on the link above, but consider yourself properly warned.