From-scratch chef finds ways to save dough

"THEY SAY we are all a paycheck away from being homeless, and I had that week when the paycheck didn't come," said February's Top Cook, Andrew Rothstein.

That was seven years ago, when he lost his job and his home. Through his own research, Rothstein, 63, found a small house in Sicklerville, N.J., where he now enjoys his kitchen and finds cooking is a way not only to get away from problems, but also to help solve them.

"I find you can save a lot of money by price comparison and using coupons," he said. "I go to three or four stores."

Rothstein doesn't rely on cooking gadgets or a lot of tools. His biggest tip for home cooks is to learn from trial and error. That's what he does, and there have been some mistakes along the way, but Rothstein takes them with a dash of humor.

"One time, I had a coupon for a free box of pasta shells, and I didn't read the recipe well and mixed the cheese into the tomato sauce instead of filling the shells." He adds, "I figured that out, but I tried to make canned salmon patties that were a disaster and fell apart. I need to try that again."

More often than not, there are successes. Rothstein believes in scratch cooking, even when cooking for one.

"Despite being single, there are two women you will never find in my kitchen - Aunt Jemima and Mrs. Butterworth. My pancakes are homemade, and I buy real maple syrup," he said.

One of his favorite homemade dishes is breakfast potatoes. "I slice and dice a potato and onion, and to add some color and zing, I slice and dice three types of peppers. It takes me about 20 minutes and a professional could do the work in five, but it tastes good."

Rothstein lost his extensive cookbook collection when he lost his home. Now he goes to the library for cookbooks. He also gets recipes from newspapers.

This recipe, with a few tweaks of his own, is a combination of two favorite pancake recipes. The basic recipe is adapted from Dorie Greenspan's Pancakes: From Morning to Midnight. The Cinnamon Crumb Topping is from a recipe Rothstein saw in a newspaper for Chef Jim Malaby's pancakes at the Blue Plate in Mullica Hill, N.J.

PANCAKES ROTHSTEIN

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons cinnamon

1/4 cup melted butter

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon table sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/2 cups milk (if you have some cream to use up, that can be used for part of the milk)

2 eggs

1 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla

To make the topping, mix the first four ingredients together and set aside.

For the pancakes, blend the 1 1/2 cups of flour with the table sugar and baking powder in a large bowl. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, beat eggs and milk together thoroughly. Add butter and vanilla. Stir the liquid into the dry ingredients.

Lightly grease a pan or griddle and heat over medium high heat. Test by dropping a few drops of water on the pan. When the water quickly evaporates, the pan is ready.

For each pancake, pour 1/3 cup batter on the griddle and sprinkle about two tablespoons of the topping on it.

When the cake begins to bubble on the top, flip and cook the second side for about 30 seconds more, or until golden on each side and cooked through. Adjust heat if necessary. Makes 4 servings.