The Brunch Bunch

1 cup sesame seeds
1 cup old-fashioned oats
3 cups whole-wheat flour
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups buckwheat flour
2 1/4 cup stone-ground yellow or white cornmeal
1 cup sugar
1 (12-ounce) container buttermilk powder
5 tablespoons baking powder
2 tablespoons baking soda
2 tablespoons salt

1. Toast sesame seeds in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat. Stir constantly, until fragrant and light brown, about 4 minutes. Immediately remove from the stove. Pour into a bowl to cool.
2. Place oats into a food processor and pulse until powdery. Add sesame seeds and pulse to grind. (Mixture will be mostly powdery with a few whole seeds here and there. Don’t over-grind, or you’ll end up releasing too much oil).
3. Transfer oatmeal mixture to a large bowl. Add flours, cornmeal, sugar and buttermilk powder. Stir well.
4. Sift baking powder, baking soda and salt over flour mixture. Stir well.
5. Transfer into 1-pint jars or zip-top bags. To prevent rancidity, both from the whole-grain flours and sesame seeds, store in the freezer. Makes about 16 cups; when reconstituted, each cup serves 2 to 4.

Open Sesame Pancakes: Beat 2 eggs with 1 cup water in a medium bowl. Whisk in 2 cups pancake mix and 4 teaspoons vegetable oil; do not overbeat. Heat a heavy nonstick or well-seasoned cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Ladle in batter. Cook 2 to 3 minutes, flip and cook 1 to 2 minutes. Makes 4 (4-inch) pancakes.

Toasty Open Sesame Waffles: Whisk together 2 egg yolks (reserve whites) and 1 cup water. Whisk in 2 cups pancake mix and 3 tablespoons vegetable oil just until well combined. Preheat a waffle iron. Beat egg whites until stiff; gently fold into batter. Pour batter onto waffle iron, following manufacturer’s directions, and cook until done, about 4 to 6 minutes. Makes 4 (6-inch) waffles.

Recipe by Crescent Dragonwagon, March 2010.

Per (3-ounce) pancake: 260 calories, 10g fat, 105mg chol., 8g prot., 35g carbs., 5g fiber, 980mg sodium.

2 tablespoons butter
½ cup 2% reduced-fat milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon butter, softened
Pinch nutmeg
Lemon wedges
Powdered sugar (optional)
Fresh berries (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 425F.
2. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in 10-inch ovenproof skillet over medium heat, tilting to coat bottom and sides of pan.
3. Whisk together milk, flour, sugar, eggs, softened butter and nutmeg in bowl. Pour into skillet. Cook 1 minute.
4. Place pan in oven and bake 12 to 15 minutes, until puffed and golden. Squeeze lemon over top and sprinkle with powdered sugar and fresh berries. Cut pancake in pan and serve with a spatula. Serve immediately. Serves 4.

"The Holiday," March 2010.

The dish looks so elegant! It's sure to impress anyone, and involves very little effort. Absolutely delicious! I tried it with various fruits-all very good. I especially liked it with sliced bananas. Instructions are very easy to follow. Impossible to mess up! —Merry Aello, Relish Recipe Tester and Reader

It was interesting how it puffed up against the sides of the skillet and mounded in the middle. My husband came into the kitchen as the pancake was baking and asked what smelled so good. The combination of lots of fresh lemon juice and then powdered sugar topped with a generous amount of Maine blueberries (from our freezer) was a delectable grouping. All that butter was tasty, too, but probably not good for us. When I make the recipe again (and that will be soon), I'm going to use just 2 tablespoons of butter. We both enjoyed the flavor. Arthur commented several times during the evening that I should make that recipe again. It was our supper meal and we did not leave the table hungry or dissatisfied. (We're senior citizens so we don't have huge appetites.) The instructions were very easy to follow. That makes this a good recipe for beginners. Kids could make it, too, or any one just learning to cook, but that skillet is very hot.—Hope Marston, Relish Recipe Tester and Reader

(Thanks, Hope. We took your advice and changed the recipe to include 2 tablespoons butter in the skillet and 1 tablespoon softened butter in the "batter."—The Editors)

This baked pancake is more of a large popover or creampuff shell than what I think of as a pancake. For the amount of ingredients, the pancake was somewhat disappointing. We have five in our household, and two of them are big eaters. The recipe only makes one large or two small skillet cakes, yet uses 2 eggs. By the time each person had a half of a popover, or one of his own, the amount of time to prepare it was close to an hour. Plus, I am not sure the result is as satisfying as real pancakes are, or even two fried eggs, while using the same ingredients. Even though it was tasty, it was not what I expected to eat for breakfast. Rather than naming this popover a pancake, it might work better as a treat such as a funnel cake or even fried dough.
—Peggy Hach, Relish Recipe Tester and Reader

Per serving: 210 calories, 11g fat, 100mg chol., 6g prot., 22g carbs., 0g fiber, 130mg sodium.

1 1/2 pounds regular bulk pork sausage
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large red onion, finely chopped
1 jalapeño, seeded and diced
6 garlic cloves, minced
6 (4-ounce) cans diced green chiles, undrained
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco
2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
12 (8 to 10-inch) corn-flour tortillas (such as
Chi-Chi’s Cafe Style)
3 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Sliced pickled jalapeños (optional)
Sliced black olives (optional)
12 eggs, fried
3/4 cup sour cream
1 cup chopped fresh tomatoes

1. Place sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook, breaking up with a spoon, until no longer pink, about 10 minutes. Drain sausage; remove from pan.
2. Add 1 tablespoon olive oil to same pan. Add onion, jalapeño and garlic. Cook until soft, about 8 minutes. Add green chiles, cumin, cooked sausage, water and Tabasco. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer 11/2 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until very little liquid remains.
3. Melt butter in a small saucepan. Add flour and cook, stirring, until golden, about 4 minutes. Gradually add chicken broth, stirring until smooth. Add flour mixture to sausage mixture, stirring to blend well. Cook over medium heat until very thick and smooth, stirring frequently, about 15 minutes.
4. Coat two 13 x 9-inch baking dishes with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 350F.
5. Spoon about 1/3 cup sauce on each tortilla. Top with 2 tablespoons cheese. Roll up and place seam side down in a pan. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Sprinkle with pickled jalapeños and olives, if using. Bake 35 to 45 minutes, until cheese is melted and lightly browned.
6. To serve, place one filled tortilla on each plate. Top with a fried egg and garnish with sour cream and tomatoes. Pass additional hot sauce at the table. Serves 12.

The Holiday, March 2010.

Per serving: 520 calories, 31g fat, 295mg chol., 29g prot., 30g carbs., 2g fiber, 970mg sodium.

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
2 green onions, chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, cut into slivers
1 garlic clove, chopped
1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes, thinly sliced
6 eggs
1/4 cup heavy cream
Pinch of dried thyme and oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
Coarsely ground black pepper
1 cup (4 ounces) grated
Gruyère cheese

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Place olive oil and butter in a heavy ovenproof skillet (or a well-seasoned iron skillet). Heat over medium heat until butter melts. Add green onions, bell pepper and garlic; sauté about 3 minutes. Scatter potatoes over all. Cover skillet and cook until potatoes are fork-tender, 10 to 12 minutes.
3. Whisk together eggs, cream, thyme, oregano, salt and pepper. When potatoes are tender, pour egg mixture evenly over top of potatoes. Jiggle skillet slightly to make sure eggs run down between potatoes.
4. Sprinkle cheese evenly over top of eggs. Place skillet in oven and bake 8 to 10 minutes, until eggs are soft-set and cheese is melted. Remove from oven. Let stand about 3 minutes. Cut into wedges and serve with slices of crusty buttered bread and jam. Serves 6.

The Holiday, March 2010.

Per serving: 280 calories, 19g fat, 250mg chol., 24g prot., 13g carbs., 1g fiber, 250mg sodium.