Remember that half-can of pumpkin puree left over after the dinner rolls were baked? Well, I turned it into the waffles, really nice ones – light and crispy, and delicate inside. Another great thing about them is that the waffle batter is mixed in advance, and there are only eggs added right before baking (while the waffle maker is preheating) – quite convenient. The waffles can be served with maple syrup and/or maple syrup-flavoured whipped cream and toasted walnuts, or with a store-bought all natural Breyers Maple Walnut ice cream – delicious!

This is a quick and the only shot I’d taken before they were all gobbled up. And the waffles definitely should be eaten as soon as they’ve been baked.

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This is just one of dozens possible ways to serve the waffles. But this one is very delicious, as well as the waffles themselves. The fresh hot waffle, crisp on the outside and tender within, topped with a scoop (or two) of immediately starting melting tangy ice cream and thick homemade blueberry sauce make a really nice combo, I can assure you.

All preparation is done the night before. Only the eggs are added right before the baking. The waffles are wonderful fresh, right from the grids. The leftover batter can be kept in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. That is, make as many waffles as you plan to serve at once: reheated waffles are, frankly, not enjoyable at all.

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Soft spicy apples and plumped in rum raisins contrast wonderfully with crunchy caramel coating of the crêpes. Add a bit (or a generous amount) of cool sour cream to the hot crêpes and you have a perfect finale of your dinner or a very nice breakfast.

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The combination of the curd cheese and cream cheese makes the filling very smooth. I usually put just a touch of icing sugar to sweeten the filling slightly, so, you might want to add more sugar according to your taste. The curd cheese is surprisingly easy to make or you can always find it in European deli stores.

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These are paper thin, almost translucent and very delicious French-Russian style pancakes. The recipe calls for baking powder and this is very unusual for this type of pancakes. But it doesn’t make them puffy and thick. They are both delicate and tear resistant at the same time which makes them perfect for different types of filling. Before I found this recipe I had made the crêpes as most of Russian women do – eyeballing everything. But isn’t it good to eliminate the guessing?

Makes about 3 dozens 8-inch diameter crêpes (only if you can guard them from little thieves trying to steal the pancakes while you are flipping the next one ).

You can scale the recipe down if this quantity is overwhelming. But you also can freeze them, filled or unfilled up to a month.

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It makes a lot of blinis but you can keep them in the fridge. Just brush them with some melted butter, reheat for five minutes in the oven (350F) and they will be like freshly made. You can freeze them too.

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