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anthony bourdain
March 2006 
light and fluffy pancakes and anthony bourdain
Posted on Feb 22nd, 2006
by 
chefmystic
chefmystic
guten morgen.
first off, these are called fluffy pancakes because they actually are , well, fluffy. physically speaking, upper-right quadrant - like a cloud or a down-filled pillow. whether or not they are fluffy in the "fluffy-as-it-replaces-the-word-integral-kind-of-fluffy" sense, is clearly up to you to decide. all i can say is that we began eating these little delights when my wife and i were researching ways to cut out needless simple carbohydrates from our diet, and serrendipitously came across this recipe in the instruction manual of our kitchen aid stand mixer! i was totally surprised that my wife had found anything of value in the pages of that booklet. it remains one of those precious moments of culinary humility which has altered the way i usually gloss over offerings of that nature. wisdom is everywhere.......
speaking of humility, as i've read over some of these weblog entries, i recognize that i don't come across as having very much. my tone is somewhat sardonic and less than inviting to foodie initiates. this is more than a bit mis-leading for if you were to ever meet me or come to play with me in a kitchen environment, i would come across more like your younger brother and less like some prick chef. granted, i am not dis-missing anyones ability to read into my sarcasm - but for me to go on using the "humour-tools" of scorn and/or cynical mockery, we should perhaps get this straight. food is all about love and care and attention. you get out what you put in (and sometimes a little more because food can become transcendent, truly) and that's why i push people's buttons about using sub-par ingredients or about having the palette of a horse's backside. i am beginning to anticipate that someone may drop by the blog and say, "but i love cheese from a tube/can! who the hell does this guy think he is?! what a jerk." the truth is, that would kill me inside, to a certain extent. i don't want to turn anyone off of Integral Cuisine, or think that my sarcasm or poking fun at people and their eating habits is a complete representation of it. clearly, it's not.
(need i tell you that the pancake recipe is going to have to wait?)
in ordert to shed some light on this, i need to tell you that one of my favourite cookbooks of the common era is "anthony bourdain's les halles cookbook". in it, he comes across as a fairly casual bloke, not uptight or at all pretentious, writing in a somewhat informal manner, cussing all along the way - generally, he speaks to the reader in a way that any celebrity chef is prone to speak to an unwitting and panty-soiled apprentice who has just finished their first friday night on a hot-station. besides the fact that the recipes are accurate representations of french classics and spot-on when it comes to execution, i have to tell you that the book is also funny as all-shit as he leads the reader through the bends, u-turns and alleys of what it is to actually work and exist (subsist) within the confines of the restaurant industry. if anyone has read the memoir "kitchen confidential", and if not then i suggest that you do - yeah, this is the same guy. he smokes and drinks heavily. he's a guilt-free, obnoxious carnivore who constantly pokes fun at vegans and vegetarians alike (not because he disaproves of the lifestyle but rather because he's never seen any vegetarian fare cooked or prepared properly, in a way that respects the ingredients - i happen to agree with him in some instances, and i AM vegetarian, but anyway...). he pulls no punches in describing what it often takes to put a plate of decent grub in front of a paying customer. he entertains to say the least and, to anyone who has been in the trenches and led the "life of a chef" for more than a year, is one of the few respected working professionals whose daily life now also includes book signings at border's. you dig? another fantastic read is "a cook's tour" - if you enjoy new food and have travelled much at all, check this out!
so even though he may use words that your grandmother or priest may disaprove of and say things that tend to put some on their heels, the guy is a stright shooter, is not afraid to admit that he's wrong, and has a heart the size of new york. he's a strong personality and i respect him tonnes. so, it's no wonder that i find myself writing with a similar pulse in the blood-flow of my words.
ok, so about that recipe.........i guess it's not really morning anymore either.
a separate entry perhaps? this plate is full.
~chef e
first off, these are called fluffy pancakes because they actually are , well, fluffy. physically speaking, upper-right quadrant - like a cloud or a down-filled pillow. whether or not they are fluffy in the "fluffy-as-it-replaces-the-word-integral-kind-of-fluffy" sense, is clearly up to you to decide. all i can say is that we began eating these little delights when my wife and i were researching ways to cut out needless simple carbohydrates from our diet, and serrendipitously came across this recipe in the instruction manual of our kitchen aid stand mixer! i was totally surprised that my wife had found anything of value in the pages of that booklet. it remains one of those precious moments of culinary humility which has altered the way i usually gloss over offerings of that nature. wisdom is everywhere.......
speaking of humility, as i've read over some of these weblog entries, i recognize that i don't come across as having very much. my tone is somewhat sardonic and less than inviting to foodie initiates. this is more than a bit mis-leading for if you were to ever meet me or come to play with me in a kitchen environment, i would come across more like your younger brother and less like some prick chef. granted, i am not dis-missing anyones ability to read into my sarcasm - but for me to go on using the "humour-tools" of scorn and/or cynical mockery, we should perhaps get this straight. food is all about love and care and attention. you get out what you put in (and sometimes a little more because food can become transcendent, truly) and that's why i push people's buttons about using sub-par ingredients or about having the palette of a horse's backside. i am beginning to anticipate that someone may drop by the blog and say, "but i love cheese from a tube/can! who the hell does this guy think he is?! what a jerk." the truth is, that would kill me inside, to a certain extent. i don't want to turn anyone off of Integral Cuisine, or think that my sarcasm or poking fun at people and their eating habits is a complete representation of it. clearly, it's not.
(need i tell you that the pancake recipe is going to have to wait?)
in ordert to shed some light on this, i need to tell you that one of my favourite cookbooks of the common era is "anthony bourdain's les halles cookbook". in it, he comes across as a fairly casual bloke, not uptight or at all pretentious, writing in a somewhat informal manner, cussing all along the way - generally, he speaks to the reader in a way that any celebrity chef is prone to speak to an unwitting and panty-soiled apprentice who has just finished their first friday night on a hot-station. besides the fact that the recipes are accurate representations of french classics and spot-on when it comes to execution, i have to tell you that the book is also funny as all-shit as he leads the reader through the bends, u-turns and alleys of what it is to actually work and exist (subsist) within the confines of the restaurant industry. if anyone has read the memoir "kitchen confidential", and if not then i suggest that you do - yeah, this is the same guy. he smokes and drinks heavily. he's a guilt-free, obnoxious carnivore who constantly pokes fun at vegans and vegetarians alike (not because he disaproves of the lifestyle but rather because he's never seen any vegetarian fare cooked or prepared properly, in a way that respects the ingredients - i happen to agree with him in some instances, and i AM vegetarian, but anyway...). he pulls no punches in describing what it often takes to put a plate of decent grub in front of a paying customer. he entertains to say the least and, to anyone who has been in the trenches and led the "life of a chef" for more than a year, is one of the few respected working professionals whose daily life now also includes book signings at border's. you dig? another fantastic read is "a cook's tour" - if you enjoy new food and have travelled much at all, check this out!
so even though he may use words that your grandmother or priest may disaprove of and say things that tend to put some on their heels, the guy is a stright shooter, is not afraid to admit that he's wrong, and has a heart the size of new york. he's a strong personality and i respect him tonnes. so, it's no wonder that i find myself writing with a similar pulse in the blood-flow of my words.
ok, so about that recipe.........i guess it's not really morning anymore either.
a separate entry perhaps? this plate is full.
~chef e
Access: Public
“speaking of humility, as i’ve read over some of these weblog entries, i recognize that i don’t come across as having very much. my tone is somewhat sardonic and less than inviting to foodie initiates. this is more than a bit mis-leading for if you were to ever meet me or come to play with me in a kitchen environment, i would come across more like your younger brother and less like some prick chef.”
maybe you can do it like the Naked Chef, only literally… ahhh.. then we’ll have a different context for the word “fluffy.” hmmm… fluffy pancakes…
“and serrendipitously came across this recipe in the instruction manual of our kitchen aid stand mixer! i was totally surprised that my wife had found anything of value in the pages of that booklet.”
Don’t knock the KA manual! I used one of those recipes as a base for creating my “IFG Rolls,” my family’s favorite sweet, heavy, yeasty supper treat, and the French bread recipe was the jumping-off point for my Italian herb bread. :)