Pancake

Have a nutritious start to your morning when you add oatmeal and whole-wheat flour to your pancakes. Topped with granola, bananas, and maple syrup, they’re amazing!

Pat: What suits a lazy, stay in your pajamas kind of morning more than a stack of buttermilk pancakes topped with butter and a drizzle of spicy maple syrup? (Ours is infused with a fresh vanilla bean.) Aren’t mornings grand? Cornmeal gives these pancakes a toothsome appeal. If you want flavored pancakes, feel free to add a sprinkling of sliced bananas or peaches, shredded coconut, mini–chocolate chips, chopped toasted nuts, or granola to the batter. (You’ll want to add nuts and granola to the pancakes after they have been poured onto the griddle—otherwise they will lose their crunch.

People often ask me what kind of latkes were eaten before potatoes came to the Old World from the New. This onion pancake gives us a taste of that past. Buckwheat, called farine aux Sarrazins or blé noir in French, is used for this recipe. Although rendered goose fat was traditionally the oil used in Alsace and elsewhere in Europe, oils made from safflower, walnuts, and other nuts and seeds were also used, probably pressed by the farmers who brought them to markets where they were sold. The recipe, although attributed as Alsatian in one cookbook, is clearly from eastern Europe, as the word “gretchenes” means buckwheat in Polish.

This is what I like to call a fancy schmancy dish, but it’s so easy to do and you can make it a day ahead. You will need a springform pan.

This is basically a classy open-faced pizza.

Crepes are one of those brunch dishes that always impress people. They are versatile and a snap to whip out. In this section I’ve put together a list of some of my favorite ways with the French pancake. All of the recipes are a slight variation of the Basic Crepe Batter, substituting different types of flour, fillings, and techniques. They are all amazing, and after you master the basic crepe batter, you can create your own different recipes. Tapping your inner chef has never been so easy.

I don’t know a man, woman, or child who doesn’t love a fluffy stack of pancakes. You can substitute anything for the pecans and the banana: strawberry and almond, blueberry and orange, honey and ricotta.

These are puffy pancakes baked in 8-inch foil pie tins. Serve one per person. Offer toppings at the table. All six pancakes take just a few minutes to bake to crusty perfection at convection bake.

Italians have many local and regional names for crespelle (what the French, and most Americans, call crêpes) and innumerable ways to enjoy them. In Abruzzo, these traditional thin pancakes are called scrippelle and are the versatile foundation for both savory and sweet dishes. Here’s a typically simple casserole of spinach-filled scrippelle, lightly dressed with tomato sauce and a shower of grated cheese. Serve bubbling hot from the oven as an appetizer or a fine vegetarian main dish (even meat-lovers will be satisfied). The batter for these scrippelle is a bit thicker than the usual crespelle batter, but it is easy to work with and produces a pancake with fine texture. The Abruzzesi use them in all sorts of creative ways: layered with cheeses and sauce like a lasagna or a pasticiatta, rolled and stuffed and baked like manicotti. A popular technique is to stack and slice the scrippelle into thin, tagliatelle-like ribbons. These ribbons are often used as a soup garnish (see box), or in clever desserts, as I show you later in this chapter (page 261).

Chef Todd Aarons of Tierra Sur at Herzog Wine Cellars in Oxnard, California, shared this recipe as part of a Hanukkah cocktail party menu he created exclusively for Epicurious. These potato and Jerusalem artichoke latkes fry up quickly and are best served immediately, but if necessary, they can be held briefly in a warm oven. If you can't find Jerusalem artichokes—also known as sunchokes—Aarons recommends substituting parsnips or celery root.

Prepared separately, the filling for these crispy cakes is folded inside for serving. Fry leftovers in a pan the next morning and top with a poached egg for a quick hash.

THE GOODS This toasty twist on oatmeal will make you smile. Oats' B vitamins trigger production of mood-sweetening serotonin (454 calories per serving).

I'm not the first to think of this variation on everyone's favorite campfire sweet, but I'm willing to pit mine against anyone else's! This is a win-win s'more because not only does it turn a beloved but messy dessert into something spectacular—and easy—for any time of year, but it also frees you from having to fire up the grill to reach chocolate-marshmallow nirvana. Even better, you can secretly feel good knowing you are upping everyone's fiber with 100 percent whole-wheat crêpes (you can't say that about graham crackers), yet the crêpes are so tender and have such a deliciously nutty flavor that you'd never guess they're actually good for you. The marshmallow filling may be homemade or store-bought. Raspberries are optional, but I bet you'll find they add a welcome hit of color and tang. Intrigued by the whole-wheat flour in the crêpes? Read my rant about white flour and my tips for using whole-wheat flour on the Gourmet Live blog. Then check out the 05.11.11 issue of Gourmet Live to read about my on-again, off-again affair with crêpes.

Latkes combine an ingredient and a technique that have gone together very well for centuries: potatoes and frying. This variation on a traditional crisp potato pancake is enhanced with the addition of carrots, which add a hit of earthy sweetness. For more seasonal recipes, download the free Gourmet Live app and stay tuned to the Gourmet Live blog for the latest updates.

English pancakes are different from American pancakes. They are much thinner and contain no leavening. They are closer to a French Crepe, only slightly thicker. Traditionally they are served on Shrove Tuesday, but are enjoyed year-around. They are best served straight from the pan. In my house the race is to try and make them faster than my children can eat them.

The defining aspect of Swedish pancakes is their superthin size. Make these small for a sweet Sunday morning treat. Berries appear often in Swedish food, both fresh, as atop these pancakes, and in sauces for savory dishes.

This recipe yields puffy, golden pancakes with minimal effort because they’re baked rather than cooked on top of the stove. Lemon cuts the sweetness of these pancakes and imparts its fresh, citrusy flavor. Serve with Venison Sausages (page 185).

This recipe is wonderful as is, or it can be used as a starting point for variations. Buttermilk is the traditional base for pancakes, but for me, this raised several dilemmas: One, even the largest supermarkets were often out of stock, and two, even when I did find it, it was never organic. I discovered that yogurt is an excellent base for pancake batter, producing tender, golden results. Once we went vegan, I found that soy yogurt works just as well.

Rava dosas—savory, crisp-edged crêpes popular in South India—are typically made from semolina and rice flours. Stuff them with hearty vegetables cooked in a blend of spices, chile, garlic, and ginger.

My editor, Peter Gethers, insisted on only one thing when he asked me to write this book: that I include the recipe for these pancakes. The ricotta causes them to burn more easily than other pancakes, so you need to cook them over medium-low to medium heat. If there are any pancakes that don't need maple syrup, these are them.