Hi! Welcome to the table. Today I’m chatting with Melissa Clark, one of the most trusted voices in the food space. She’s a columnist at The New York Times, where she writes A Good Appetite, and she stars in the paper’s weekly cooking videos. Melissa’s known for balancing a chef’s creativity with a home cook’s practicality (her dishes are accessible and full of flavor). She’s been recognized by the International Association of Culinary Professionals and the James Beard Foundation.
Melissa’s written more than forty cookbooks and is somehow not 110 years old. The math isn’t mathing!! Her new book, The Big Book of Dinner: Recipes, Rules, and How to Break Them (coming out November 17th), is a cooking companion for a lifetime and a treasure trove of recipes. It gives you what you need to follow them, plus permission to go off-script. She’s collaborated with some of the most celebrated chefs around, including Daniel Boulud, David Bouley, Andrew Feinberg, Bruce and Eric Bromberg, and former White House pastry chef Bill Yosses.
Here’s her book tour schedule. Go meet her in person. Check out her ig too.
Today, Melissa’s sharing her Dutch Baby recipe with 2 variations. Choose your adventure, savory or sweet. First, learn why the recipe evokes nostalgia for her, and what inspires her about cooking, food, and sharing her passion below.
What was your spark moment with cooking?
It was less a spark moment than something that happened gradually when I was a kid. I was brought up in a house of food lovers and cooks, and cooking was something my family did together. I was always in the kitchen. I remember making pancakes from the Joy of Cooking, and the time I baked my first cake, which I colored purple with red and blue food coloring. I forgot to put the baking powder in, so it was flat. But I loved it anyway.
You’ve built your career around your craft, and around championing others in the food world. What does it mean to you to champion both your own work and theirs?
To me, it’s about community and connecting with other food lovers and cooks. Sharing ideas about food and recipes is a way to bring so many more people to the table, as it were. And that’s always my favorite place to be.
You’ve collaborated with some of the top chefs in the world, yet your own recipes are written for the home cook. Why is that balance important to you?
I can learn so much from chefs, and I really value the lessons they impart, some techniques that so simple they don’t even realize they are important (the way they cut an onion, or when they add salt). I internalize these into my own cooking and then share them in recipes for home cooks. It’s the little things that can add up powerfully.
What does your Dutch Baby with Lemon Syrup mean to you personally? Is there a memory or a story behind it?
It’s a version of my mother’s favorite brunch dish, which she clipped from the NYT when I was a kid (called David Eyer’s Pancake). To me, it seemed like magic, the way it puffed up, and we all thought it was very fancy. She used to cover the top with powdered sugar and lemon juice, but I like to make a little lemon syrup for a more even distribution of flavors. But it always reminds me of my childhood home.
Which recipe will you try? Savory or sweet? Both variations below.
Dutch Baby with Lemon Syrup Recipe
This billowing souffle-like pancake goes by many names: Puffy, David Eyre’s Dutch baby, German. Call it what you will; it’s a dramatic dish that knows how to make an entrance. Serve this for dinner or brunch with a big green salad, or try this sweet, lemony variation.
Serves 4
Ingredients
¾ cup/94g flour
2 teaspoons chopped chives, rosemary, thyme, or sage
½ teaspoon/3g fine sea/table salt
½ teaspoon black pepper or ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (optional)
4 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
¾ cup/180g milk or non-dairy milk, at room temperature
4 tablespoons/57g unsalted butter
½ cup grated Gruyère, Parmesan, or aged cheddar (2 ounces)
1. Heat oven to 425°F.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, herbs, salt, pepper, and nutmeg (if using).
3. In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs and milk until smooth. Whisk the egg mixture into the flour mixture until combined. It’s okay if the batter is not perfectly smooth and still has a few small lumps. (Alternatively, you can pulse everything together in a blender or food processor until smooth.)
4. In a 10-inch cast-iron or other ovenproof skillet, melt butter over medium heat until the white foam subsides. Swirl the pan to coat the bottom and sides. Carefully pour in batter and sprinkle cheese on top. Transfer the skillet to the oven.
5. Bake until the pancake is puffy and golden brown around the edges, 15 to 20 minutes. To properly brown the cheese and create a crunchy frico effect, bake for the full 20 minutes. (You can experiment with your favorite texture—a little more time will give you loft and crispness; a little less yields a more custardy, but less puffy, pancake.)
6. Serve hot, straight from the oven.
Rules & Variations
• Any of your favorite pancake toppings will work in the above variation instead of the lemon syrup: Maple syrup, jam, honey, and fruit compotes are all fair game.
• For the most billowing result, make sure your eggs and milk are at room temperature. If your eggs are cold from the fridge, submerge them in a bowl of warm water for 10 to 15 minutes before making the batter.
• If you have a cast-iron skillet, this is a great place to use it. The heat from the pan will crisp up the bottoms and sides, providing more structure for the airy pancake.
• Dutch babies are most impressively puffed during the first few minutes after emerging from the oven. Serve immediately or watch it deflate in front of your eyes (it will taste delicious even once it deflates).
Dutch Baby with Lemon Syrup
In Step 2, omit the herbs from the flour mixture. Omit the cheese, and while the Dutch baby bakes, in a small bowl, whisk together 1⁄3 cup/48g powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest, and 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice until smooth. Drizzle over hot pancakes before serving.