My oldest daughter told me yesterday that these pancakes are our family tradition since I make them every Sunday for my girls. I hadn't thought about it that way but if that's how she feels then that's how a tradition is born I guess. All three girls want to help make them which can make it challenging at times.

I think we've pretty much mastered the recipe and we alter it weekly depending what's in season. Right now we are making lots of blueberry pancakes and I never have buttermilk so I just add a shot of lemon juice. I use a non stick electric dutch oven and I never oil it. We always half the recipe and we've never had a bad batch. I'm not sure if it's a tradition just yet but these are the best pancakes I've ever had.

As I learn more through cooking school I realize I've missed important elements that seasoned cooks know to do.

To that end I now sear my ribs in a pan with a little oil after the dry rub is on. This gives them a nice crust that helps build richer depth of flavor during the braising process.

I'm also almost always using apple cider these days as a braising liquid since my wife does not like beer and I was getting tired to making two separate dishes. I must admit the cider is really quite good and I almost prefer it over the beer....I said almost.

I've been doing this a lot more with Apple cider later because my wife doesn't like beer at all so I've just been drinking the Guinness myself. I look at is as a win win for me.

As in any braised dish the liquid should come up about 3/4 on what ever you braise. That amount I used just works for the size baking dish I use.

I've also started searing the ribs in a pan before they go into the oven. It adds another layer of flavor to the dish.

The more I learn about cooking the more I want to go back and change my own recipes. I see at least three things I'd like to change right away. Starting with using fresh tomato sauce which I didn't know how easy it was to make when creating this the first time. That's what I use with this recipe now.

I now cut the cream in half. I like the idea of the spinach though it was not part of the original dish I was trying to copy I think it would be great. I think taking the inspiration and adding whatever you want to try is key. I rarely follow a recipe even my own after reading this one over again.

My version of the meatballs called for 1lb of meat not 2 but seriously can you really have too many meatballs? I may just up mine next time too.

Glad you enjoyed my version now go make it your own!

You ever notice when the new TV season starts each fall and you have all the new shows right out of the gate but by Thanksgiving you start hitting reruns? Most 20 or 22 episode series start production in early July and have at least 6 episodes complete for the fall season when they debut. Production continues while they air those shows but there comes a time where production just can't keep up, that's when the reruns start.

Due to high production costs you now see shows on networks like HBO that are 13 episode runs that are filmed and complete before airing. No reruns, no breaks but you wait 7 months for the next episode of "Big Love".

In TV land it is a marathon to go through 10 months of filming for a season and you can't wait for the summer hiatus. The crew gets long overdue rest and the writers get a jump on the next season.

Rouxbe filmed for six months before the world got to see the first school lessons and we've been running a marathon ever since with no hiatus or break in production. The process to film a Rouxbe lesson is no different then any show on TV. Yes the crew is smaller and we have less car chases but the process is the same. If it can't be done on TV with 3 million dollar budgets per episode it's easy to understand why Rouxbe can't do it any quicker too. Plus we don't stop releasing during the summer to catch up.

As a person who liked cooking but really wasn't sold on the concept of the school myself, I can say only this. It has changed my life completely. My confidence in the kitchen has soared and instead of always needing that recipe, I just cook. When I see a flavor profile I like on TV I can understand the methods used at a glance. That was dry heat, followed by combination cooking with a Bechamel sauce, DONE! I don't call it practice myself, I just call it dinner and now I don't dare serve anything without a pan sauce or my girls give me the look.

If people really take the time to put what they learn into action they will improve and that's not just trying it once. It took me many months to perfect certain lessons to the point that making what I learned became second nature. Like any art, the more you practice the better you get. I'm not trying to become Gordon Ramsay but now at least I don't have to paint by numbers and follow his recipes.

Well I'm really glad you enjoyed it. It's a family favorite in my house with my 3 girls and has been one of my personal favs since I was a boy. The older recipes are sometimes the best and this one belonged to my great grandmother.

Thanks for that catch.
I think I'm better at creating recipes and playing with them then I am at writing them down. I don't think I've made meatballs the same way since writing this down. Every time is a new generation trying to improve on the last time. I think that's what cooking needs to be about. Not following so much as taking inspiration and making it your own. I hope this recipe inspires you to try something new and improve on what I did and then you can share your creation with us.
Thanks again for finding the missing pork and I've updated the recipe.

Thanks for the catch Janet. Yes I was meaning 28oz cans of tomatoes and a 5.5oz can of paste. It's what's in my cupboard but I sometimes forget you can't see what's in my kitchen can you? I recommend you have a look at the tomato sauce recipe on Rouxbe as that's what I used only with one less can of tomato. Here's the link.

http://rouxbe.com/recipes/1202-basic-tomato-sauce/preview

This is a family favorite around our house and this actual dish was assembled by my 5 year old. (Please note the little hands in the photos) Enjoy.

I'm happy you enjoyed this as I'm sure my great grandmother would have been pleased also, though I doubt there was much soy milk in Ireland in the early 1900's. I'm curious to try that and see how it effects the final taste. I'm glad you had success and it turned out great.

The recipe just said "milk" but back in the day it no doubt was buttermilk. I'll bet it would be a fabulous addition as I use buttermilk in pancakes and it gives a real zing to the flavor. I haven't tried it myself but it sounds good. This is a really basic recipe that you can jazz up with raisins or herbs like any bread recipe so why not use buttermilk. Thanks for a great idea.

Thanks for the tip, I'm going to try doing the cabbage that way as well next time. All I know is this is hearty stick to our bones comfort food that's incredibly, hard not to have seconds or thirds.....

I know the town well. Till they put in a Tesco in Tipp we always went to the big city of Clonmel to shop. A great little town. I hope the bread turns out for you. I found my oven was not as hot as I thought it was so it was a bit doughy the first time. The second time I nailed it. We love eating this warm with butter and it usually doesn't make it to dinner time around our house. Enjoy.

I've made chili so many times and really never quite the same way twice. The great thing is you sometimes have happy accidents. While trying to exercise my new cooking skills and create an entirely different chili formula then this recipe I stumbled upon adding deli cut hickory smoked bacon. I brought that idea into this basic chili recipe and was shocked at the results. Bacon just makes everything taste better in my world and it's now my new not so secret ingredient.

Thanks Judi for your sharp eye. It's a bad habit I have of typing quick and not looking back. I have a hard enough time getting my girls to try hot Tabasco sauce so I couldn't imagine how hard it would be to get tobacco sauce into them. Of course if there was such a thing and I served it to minors someone would be calling family services on me so thanks for saving me from that call.

I've really never made this the same way twice and I'm surprised when I look at the ingredients I added the day I took these photo's. I think that's the point really, start with a basic idea and make it your own. This is already so far removed from how my mom makes it but it's still a hit.

I hope you enjoy it.

Well I'm hungry now. Is this something I could do it a wok or is it best prepared in a regular everyday pan?

Here we are in the height of corn season in BC and I had forgotten about this simple unbelievable way to serve fresh corn. My mother-in-law thought I put a lot of effort into making this...if she only knew.

I went back to my local corn guy today and bought 2 more dozen to cream and put into the deep freeze for the dog days of winter.

I love salt and pepper potato chips. Hmmmm I may have missed the point of this discussion, this isn't such a healthy snack but I always feel great after eating them.

I halved the recipe and served them with carmelized apples to both my girls. I was regretful I hadn't made the full recipe because I would have had seconds they were just that good. I'd say without a doubt these are the best pancakes I've ever made in my house....of course don't tell Aunt Jemima that.

Glad you enjoyed them Liz. I hope your husband saw the beauty in why I was using Guinness in the first place. If you want it to taste great in the end you need to start with great ingredients.
One of my favorite simple things to do is to take country style ribs and just roll them in the dry rub and let them stand for a half hour till a nice sticky sauce has formed. I just put these right onto the grill for about 6 to 8 minutes per side, let them rest for a few minutes and enjoy. It's sort of ribs express when I don't have the time for the full deal.

Though not my fav I am a cauliflower convert which was not so long ago a top contender for my least favorite. I still don't think there is anything that can be done with a turnip to make it edible at all. This is a bad veg that should just leave the kitchen, return to the field and rot.