Aebleskiver

Nothing says, "St. Patrick's Day", like the food of the invaders. A few of these for breakfast, and you'll be leaving intricate stone carvings all over the place, and penning epic poems.*

You'll need a special pan for these, which are available in Scandinavian shops, though the one I have is a mass-produced, non-stick Nordicware. I like it very much, and it cost around twenty dollars. They are not giving me anything to say that-I genuinely like their products.

Traditionally, these are not filled, but served with jam or applesauce. I had half a pear and half an apple looking lonely in the fridge so I cooked them in butter and cinnamon sugar. Filling aebleskiver is simply a matter of blobbing a bit of filling in the centre and then dabbing on a bit more batter. Turning them takes a bit of skill, but even ones that aren't perfectly spherical will hold together. You could make them savoury as well. Any pancake batter will do, and I don't see any reason you couldn't use a mix if you don't care to be whipping egg whites first thing in the morning. I'm curious to try these with a cornmeal pancake as a side dish for beans-Stop looking at me like that, Danish/Mexican fusion cookery is the next fad, I swear.

From the New York Times Heritage Cookbook:

2 cups buttermilk
2 eggs, separated at room temperature
2 cups plain flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon bicarb.
Butter to grease pan
Filling if using

Beat egg yolks into buttermilk. Sift flour, salt, sugar and bicarb together. Beat into egg mixture. Beat egg whites until stiff. Fold into egg batter.

Heat the pan over medium heat until good and hot. Brush each well with melted butter. For filled aebleskiver, fill wells 3/4 full, top with a dab of filling, and then a bit more batter to cover. Cook until bubbles break on surface (about 1 minute). Carefully turn (flip with a knife or spoon) and cook about 1 minute longer on opposite side. Serve hot (they don't keep) with jam, syrup, or whatever you like.

* Oh come on, it was a really long time ago, though for their part, the Danes could apologise already.