Bobby Flay's Pre-Valentine's Day Breakfast
Valentine's Day is Wednesday, right in the middle of the workweek, not exactly convenient for a romantic night out.
So, The Early Show's resident chef, Bobby Flay, has a better idea: Make a nice breakfast for your loved one this weekend, and let the memories last into the special day!
Flay prepared a perfect romantic breakfast recipe on Thursday, for chocolate pancakes served with roasted pear butter.
He kidded with co-anchor Harry Smith the breakfast is "decadent, delicious, and hopefully makes up for all the mistakes we (men) made during the rest of the year!"
"She'll either forgive you, or never forgive you!" Smith quipped.
FOOD TERMINOLOGY
Bittersweet chocolate: Dark chocolate that contains a minimum of 35 percent chocolate liquor. Bittersweet and semi-sweet fall under this definition; however, bittersweet is traditionally the term reserved for chocolate with a minimum of 50 percent chocolate liquor.
Pear brandy: Generic for pear eau de vie, generally French, the most famous example of which is Poire Williams.
RECIPE
Bittersweet Chocolate Pancakes with Roasted Pear Butter & Roasted Pear Maple Syrup
Serves: 4
Roasted Pears:
1 cup pear juice
3 tablespoons white sugar
3 tablespoons light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup pear brandy, such as Poire Williams
6 ripe pears, peeled, cored and diced
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
2. Combine pear juice, sugars and cinnamon in a saucepan over high heat and cook until the sugars have melted. Add the pear brandy and cook for another minute.
3. Place the pears in a large baking sheet and pour the mixture over them. Toss to combine and roast in the oven until lightly golden brown and slightly soft. Remove to a bowl and let cool.
Pear Butter:
1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/4 cup roasted pears (from above recipe)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon pear brandy
Combine the butter, pears, salt and brandy in a food processor and process until almost smooth. There should be a few chunks of pear still visible. Scrape into a bowl and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
Maple-Roasted Pear Syrup:
1 cup pure maple syrup
1 cinnamon stick
1/4 cup roasted pears (from recipe above)
Combine the maple syrup and cinnamon stick in a small saucepan and cook over low heat until warm. Remove from the heat and stir in the pears. Serve warm.
Bittersweet Chocolate Pancakes:
1 2/3 cups AP flour
1/4 cup unsweetened alkalized coco powder
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 ounce unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 large eggs
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups milk
3/4 cup bittersweet chocolate chips
Unsalted butter, for the griddle
Freshly whipped cream
Fresh raspberries
Confectioners' sugar
Bittersweet chocolate sauce, optional
1. Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, salt and baking powder into a bowl.
2. Whisk together the melted chocolate, melted butter, eggs, sugar, vanilla extract and milk in a large bowl.
3. Pour the egg mixture over the dry ingredients, add the chocolate chips and stir until just combined. Let rest 5 minutes.
4. Heat a griddle over medium-low heat and brush with some of the butter. Spoon about 3 tablespoons of the batter onto the griddle and cook for about 45 seconds or until set and a few bubbles appear on the tops. Flip the pancakes, using a large metal spatula and cook for about 30 to 40 seconds longer.