Japanese fluffy pancakes

For ➌-➍ pancakes
2 eggs
18 cl buttermilk
½ ts vanilla
¼ ts salt
60 g flour
1 ts of yeast
¼ ts baking soda (or baking powder)
2 tbs vegetable oil
maple syrup

Put the eggs, buttermilk, sugar, vanilla and salt in a blender and mix at low speed for a few s.
Add flour, yeast and baking soda. Continue mixing for 15/20 s.
Heat a skillet over medium heat and spread the vegetable oil inside a crown mold*.
Pour the remaining oil into the pan and place the pan in the center.
Heat for a few m before pouring the pancake dough halfway up the pan.
Cook until bubbles form at the top of the pancake.
Use a spatula to gently flip it over and cook for another 3 m.**
Serve (with maple syrup if wanted. Or ice cream. Or put some butter on top before dripping the syrup].

*Make the form yourself: cut a thin sheet of cardboard into two long strips about 4 cm wide and 31 cm long. Do the same with parchment paper. Then staple the parchment paper onto the cardboard, form it into a circle shape, and staple it closed (with the parchment paper on the inside).
**Another method suggests cooking over really low heat, covering the pan with a lid, and slowly cooking for 20 m. When bubbles appear, flip over, put the lid on aigain and cook for 20 m more m.

Read about the Japanese cotton soft cheesecake.

Radicchio salad @ microwave

For ➋
40 g blue cheese
40 g chive oil
25 g hazelnuts, peeled
10 g chives
120 g radicchio, half of a head
olive oil
salt
50 g buttermilk

(Optional: Place blue cheese in the freezer. While this step is purely aesthetic—frozen cheese will curl prettily when it is peeled—the freezer is a good place to store blue cheese so that it's always ready for salads and such.)
Make the chive oil with blanched fresh chives, blend them with oil, strain through a sieve.
Heat oven to 165°C.
Spread hazelnuts on a sheet pan and toast until golden brown, about 30 m.
As the hazelnuts toast, agitate the sheet pan every 5 m for even browning.
Remove hazelnuts from oven and transfer to a large zip-lock bag. Lay the bag flat on a work surface and smooth it so that nuts spread out in an even, single layer. Roll a rolling pin over the bag, repeating until hazelnuts are crushed into small crumbles.
Mince the chives.
Wash radicchio and pat dry with a paper towel. Remove any damaged or wilted outer leaves. Cut radicchio into quarters.
Dress each piece with a generous amount of olive oil.
Place radicchio in microwave-safe dish and cover tightly with plastic wrap.
Cook on high for 40–50 s. Puncture plastic with a knife to allow steam to escape.
Remove from microwave. Radicchio should be warm and wilted, with just a little crunch remaining.
Cut white core from the radicchio and assemble leaves in a serving bowl. Dress with salt, minced chives, buttermilk, and chive oil.
Just before serving, sprinkle hazelnuts over salad and shave or crumble blue cheese on top.

Southern buttermilk chicken

For ➍
8 chicken legs fillets*
30 cl buttermilk**
3 + 2 tbs vegetable oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled & crushed
1 tbs crushed peppercorns
1 tbs sea salt
1 ts ground cumin
1 tbs maple syrup***

Put the meat in a container or a sealable bag. Mix buttermilk, 3 tbs of oil, garlic cloves, peppercorns, salt, cumin and maple syrup****. Add to the chicken, cover or close and put in the refrigerator for 1 night.(Out of the fridge: 2 h)
Preheat the oven to 220°C. Line a tin with foil. Shake the excess marinade of the meat and arrange in the tin or put on a rack in the tin****. Drizzle over 2 tbs of oil. (Roll chicken in flour or breadcrumbs if wanted. Be sure the coating is dry enough, let it rest a few m).
Put in the oven for 30 m.
Serve with a green salad and hot toasted bread.

*Use drumsticks instead.
**Use yogurt (or mix 1 tbs lemon juice through milk).
***Use ½ tbs of honey.
****Put a handful of tarragon sprigs on the rack. You might add them to to the chicken before putting it in the marinade.

This is a simple version of a classic US Southern dish. Add chopped pecans for a more authentic version.

Crème fraiche (French sour cream)

For 50 cl
50 cl pasteurized heavy cream
2 tbs buttermilk

Heat the cream to 50°C in a saucepan. Remove the pan from the heat. Stir the butter milk into the hot cream.Transfer the cream mixture to a glass bowl and cover it with plastic wrap and a clean kitchen towel.Allow the crème fraiche to culture for 18 to 36 h at room temperature. It is ready when it has a rich, slightly sour taste and has slightly thickened in consistency. Refrigerate the crème fraiche. Use it within 1 week.

Serve crème fraiche with berries, mixed into poulet à la crème, or mixed with chopped herbs for a seasoning garnish.

*Or use potted sour cream.

American cocoa & Pepsi cake

For ➑
250 g flour
125 g sugar
250 g butter
2 tbs cocoa
25 cl Pepsi *
10 cl buttermilk
2 beaten eggs
1 ts baking soda
1 ts vanilla extract
200 g marshmallows
icing:
6 tbs butter
125 g brown sugar
100 g peanut butter
10 cl milk
100 g chopped peanuts

Preheat oven to 180°C . Grease and flour cake form.

Combine flour and sugar in large bowl. Melt butter, add cocoa and Pepsi. Pour over flour and sugar mixture, and stir until well blended. Add buttermilk, beaten eggs, soda, and vanilla. Mix well. Stir in marshmallows.

Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 40 m.

Remove cake from oven and frost while still warm.

Cream butter, sugar, and peanut butter. Add milk and stir well. Add nuts. Spread over warm cake. Place frosted cake under broiler. Broil just a few s, or until topping starts to bubble.

Let cool at least 30 m before serving.

*Coke connaisseurs insist on using an unopened can or bottle of Pepsi-Cola for this recipe, as it is believed to have a richer sparkle than Coke. Never ever use diet coke.

Kerremelksmeus (buttermilk mashed potatoes with shrimps)

For ➊
2 large potatoes
2 tbs buttermilk
1 fresh egg
50 g cooked North Sea shrimps*
some butter

Cook a few large potatoes, mash them and mix in the buttermilk (about 1 tbs per potato, depending how moist you want the mash to be).
Meanwhile, poach the egg(s).
Heat shrimps in a little butter. Save the butter.
Put the mashed potatoes on a plate. Dig a little hole on top and drip in the shrimp butter, then slide in the poached egg. Shower with shrimps.
Serve with a sour beer like Belgian Rodenbach, or a dry white wine.
Alternatively, try North sea shrimps with mashed potatoes and white shallots sauce.

*These should be the small grey variety. Not sure if this works well with pink shrimps or prawns. You can replace the shrimps with shredded cooked or baked white fish filets or make a mix of both.

The Flemish name is kerremelksmeus in coastal region dialect, smeus meaning mash.
Try a summery variation with sour cream, basil and tomatoes.