The Breakfast Senshi Made

 This week has me feeling conflicted, Dungeon Meshi Maniacs.  I've honestly been looking forward to it for a while because I get to share a family recipe.  But we are still not cooking any monsters!  It's amazing how many monsterless recipes we have made during this trip. I guess humanoids cannot live on monsters alone.  I mean, the title is Delicious In Dungeon so as long as we are making delicious things I guess it counts? We will get back to monsters next time but that's a fortnight away. Fear not! This will be a great update so get hyped.  HYPED for the Breakfast Senshi Made!

What a classic spread. Just a wonderful way to start your morning.  This may not be much of a surprise but breakfast is my favorite meal of the day, DMMs. Not just because I wake up super hungry. No, I find the options more varied and far more fun to make. At least to me it is, I love to bake and I love eggs!  Both are central to any good breakfast.  Senshi seems to enjoy the process too.

Little secret, DMMs...I think Yaad is cute! I have a thing for the sleepy eye look and his excitement watching someone flap jacks makes me want to just hug him. But it'll never work seeing how I'm a slime and he isn't real.  Matters of the heart aside I totally get Senshi wanting to take advantage of a fully stocked kitchen while it's available.  I'd be making all sorts of dishes until it was time to leave.  Which is pretty shortly after breakfast, actually!

Dang, guys. At least help clean up.  Any good breakfast will make your kitchen look like a flour bomb hit it, DMMs.  That means all the dishes, bowls, towels, and silverware will need a good scrub.  But the gang has to hit the bricks back to the real world and fast.  Why?  Well...a certain lunatic came back.

Get your hands off Yaad, Sissle! I want to rub that neck!  Or is it Thistle?  Shisuru?  I've seen all three names for the guy. And he is a guy, as we've seen with the Canaries most of the elves in this world are very feminine.  Back to his name, I have the "official" English publication and they went with Sissle.  The actual Japanese and the anime go with Thistle.  I'm not sure which one to go with but I may stick with Thistle since that seems to be what the fans go with.  What's his deal?  Well...we'll get to that in more detail but needless to say he has been studying some dark magicks.

Everyone knows if you read too many books you'll go insane, DMMs. Happened to Don Quixote, happened to Thistle.  Good thing we are making breakfast instead!  Are you ready, DMMs?  Ready for the breakfast Senshi made?  Ready for me to say we are NOT making pancakes?  That's right!  I'm calling an audible and instead of pancakes we are going to make the FAR superior Dutch Baby!

Shocked, DMMs?  Pancakes are great but don't worry, the Dutch Baby is awesome and easy.  What is a Dutch Baby, exactly?  It is a literal Pan Cake in that you bake it in a cast iron skillet in the oven rather than fry it on the stove.

There it is!  Any excuse to break out the cast iron is a good one, DMMs.  What about that name, however?  It may surprise you but this dish is neither Dutch nor involves a baby.  No, legend has it a cafe in Seattle needed a way to make pancakes the German way which I assume are baked. The shop owner's daughter couldn't say Deutsch correctly, it sounded like Dutch. And since the sizes were smaller they were Babies. Dutch Baby it became.  This isn't their recipe, DMMs. This is a Nih Family Special recipe!  Something my editor and I have worked with for years. Start by sticking the skillet into the over and turning that oven to 425.  The key to any good Dutch Baby is heat. You want that skillet as hot as it can get in a 425 oven, trying to avoid opening the door as much as possible.  I don't even start getting out my ingredients until the oven has come to temp to give the skillet more time to heat up. And what are those ingredients?  Pretty much what you use for any pancake!

Pure breakfast right there, DMMs! And the best part is you just dump them all into a bowl at once! See, simple. Half a cup of flour, half a cup of milk, two eggs, 2 tablespoons of sugar, a teaspoon of vanilla, and a half teaspoon of salt.  That's all!

Fun! Now you just give them a good whisking and let it sit for about ten minutes.

Just make it sort of smooth, DMMs. While it rests it's time to butter the skillet.  How can you do that when the skillet is 425 degrees?  I just throw two tablespoons worth of butter right into the pan and shut the oven door again. Gotta be quick! You don't want to lose any heat.

Give that a good minute and the butter will be all melty. Now for the tricky part. You have to take the pan out and pour the mixture into it. Do this quickly but safely, DMMs! That pan is HOT. You do not want to spend your breakfast in the burn ward. Pour the mixture into the pan and quickly put it back into the oven.

It's already cooking a little! But it's really going to cook when you leave it in the over for 15 to 20 minutes. While it's cooking I should bring up the fact that this is the basic recipe. Keen eyed DMMs will wonder where any of the spices are. Good question! I don't list any in the recipe because that part is up to you! Make the Dutch Baby to suit your tastes. I went with nutmeg and Cardamon for this one. Love those flavors! I've made spicier, sweeter and even fruitier Dutch Babies in the past. Once the time is up you'll see something amazing!

The POOF is why you wanted all that heat, DMMs!  It helps the Dutch Baby to really fill up the pan. Don't worry, it will soon deflate as it cools down. Just slide it out of the pan onto a plate and you'll be set!

Crispy, buttery and delicious. Add some fruit, powdered sugar and maybe some syrup. You don't need much, DMMs! This is pretty moist as is. Pretty great way to start the day, isn't it?  "Wait a minute, you slurious slime. This is the Breakfast Senshi Made. What about the other dishes!?" I can hear you scream into a tin can with a string attached. Don't worry, DMMs. I haven't forgotten.  I will say that we are not making the pumpkin soup for two reasons. One, pumpkin is out of season! And two, we already made it with the Jack-o-Lantern Potage from a few months back. No repeat dishes!  So that leaves Scrambled Eggs.

Gotta admit, DMMs. I wasn't sure I needed to explain how to make scrambled eggs. This was the first dish I ever learned to make way back in preschool.  But I shouldn't assume everyone has the same culinary background I do. That said I think three eggs make enough scrambled eggs for one person, so increase your eggs by three per person. Add a splash of milk for fluffiness and then beat them silly! Just mix it as much as you can. Heat a pan on the stove to medium heat and add at least a tablespoon of butter.  Once that has melted pour the eggs into the hot pan.

I always wait until I've poured the eggs to add any salt & pepper. I found that I was leaving too much in the mug when I added it in earlier.  Now you just scramble them!  Take your spatula and mix them around until cooked! Which will be quick. Once they are done, they are done DMMs.  Plate them and eat immediately!

 And that's it for breakfast, DMMs! You can always bulk this up with some bacon or fruit but honestly a Dutch Baby and scrambled eggs is a perfect breakfast on their own.  I hope you enjoyed this week. I really enjoyed sharing a family recipe with you all. Please give a Dutch Baby a try and let me know how it goes! Have a great week and I hope you all have fantastic breakfasts!