Picture Perfect Pancake

When for a brief time I lived outside of the city, there was a chicken dish I made all the time – very simple, easy and because I could use the frozen Perdue chicken breasts…always available in my freezer. I referred to this very basic but delicious dish simply as ‘The Chicken’. Like ‘Hey, what’d you have for dinner last night?’…’The Chicken’.

Someone once asked me why when I made ‘The chicken’ it tasted so much better than when he made ‘The Chicken’. And, I always told him the same thing: because I make it with love.

Cooking isn’t as simple as just following the directions. I’m not saying it’s hard. I am saying that you can always taste the difference when something is made by someone who loved making it or loved the idea of eating it.

The ‘Love Ingredient’ may not always be tangible but it is always detectable. Love heats the bread in the bread basket. Love makes the perfectly runny poached egg. Love cares enough to whip up real whipped cream.

And, sometimes, the love is in the extra ingredients and care in creation. When it comes to pancakes, I like them crispy, fluffy, light and creamy. Hard to achieve this using just a simple mix…Or, God Forbid – a prefab batter…

So, I do a little love doctoring to make them magic, to create the ideal pancake. Not a lot of work…just a little bit of love.

Magic Pancakes: Made with Love (Serves 2 – 4)

Ingredients:

Magic Pancakes: Mise En Place

• 1 Cup Bisquick Baking Mix
• 1/2 Cup milk – Yes, skim or 2% or whole milk are all fine.
• 1 TSP Sugar (Crispy Love Creator)
• 1/3 Cup Sour Cream (Creamy Love Creator)
• 1 Egg Yolk
• 1 Egg White – Whipped to stiff peaks (Fluffy Love Creator)
• Grade A Pure Maple Syrup
• Butter

1. In a mixing bowl, combine the Bisquick, Milk, Egg Yolk, Sour Cream and Sugar with a whisk

Pancake Batter To Be Combined

Magic Mixer

2. In a separate bowl, whip the egg white to stiff peaks. Love separates the egg and whips the egg whites. You can do this by hand…but, it’s a little more love than you might have. I like to use my Cuisinart hand mixer.

3. Fold the whipped egg white into the Bisquick/Milk/Egg/Sour Cream/Sugar batter. Fold it in carefully so as to not deflate the fluffiness

Don’t Over Mix!

4. Heat a skillet over medium and melt a just enough butter to ensure the pancake won’t stick. But, you don’t want a visible layer of butter.

5. Pour the batter into the heated skillet in 3 inch circles…Or, into a Mickey Mouse mold or freehand the shape of a car

Pancake Fun Shape

Freehand Pancake

6. Cook until the edges are dry and bubbles start to form on the top then flip

Mousy-Cake

7. Cook another :30 seconds. Once the pancake fluffs up and is dry on the edges, it’s ready

8. Serve a stack with heated syrup and a little more butter. Love uses real maple syrup and heats it up.

Heated Syrup and Just a little butter make it better…

With Christmas just around the corner, you may be having guests of all ages who would enjoy a carefully prepared pancake. Here’s just one way to show them you care: Make your pancakes with a little love.