When I don’t have the energy to come up with a good dinner, I usually make breakfast instead. It’s easy, it’s reliably good and it’s fast. I recently decided to do just that while flipping through The Perfect Egg: A Fresh Take on Recipes for Morning, Noon and Night by Teri Lyn Fisher and Jenny Park.
Of course there were plenty of options for other meals. Dishes are readily available for any time of day, from typical breakfast to snacks, lunches, dinners, afternoon treats and even sweets. I passed up a tempting recipe for Egg Clouds – a cute dish of whipped egg whites with Parmesan baked with a sunny yolk nestle in each dollop. I also firmly passed on the poached yolk-stuffed ravioli. Maybe I’ll try it on day when I’m feeling particularly ambitious or apathetic toward failure.
Alas, yesterday was a breakfast-for-dinner kind of day, and I was in the mood for classic buttermilk pancakes. I don’t like the fruit and other mix-ins nearly as much – blueberry pancakes aren’t my thing. But I did appreciate the eight variations that Fisher and Park provide like carrot cake, chai and whole-wheat or bacon and chive.
However, these plain pancakes hit the spot. They were fluffy, a little tangy from the buttermilk and delivered perfectly crisp edges from a hot, generously buttered pan. Served with a bit of breakfast sausage and maple syrup, they were the perfect breakfast-for-dinner meal.
Buttermilk Pancakes Makes 8 to 10 5-inch pancakes
1 cup all-purpose flour
1½ Tbsp. superfine sugar
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. kosher salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 cup buttermilk
6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted and cooled, divided
½ tsp. pure vanilla extract
Unsalted butter and maple syrup, for serving
• Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl, mixing well. Stir in the egg, buttermilk, 2 tablespoons of melted butter and vanilla just until the ingredients are evenly distributed but the batter is still lumpy. Do not over-mix.
• Place a large griddle or skillet over medium heat, add 1½ teaspoons of the butter, and when the butter melts, swirl the pan to cover the bottom evenly. Making 3 to 4 at a time, ladle ¼ cup of the batter into the skillet and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, until bubbles form on the top of the pancake. Carefully flip the pancake over and continue to cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until cooked through. Transfer the pancake to a serving platter. Cook the remaining batter in the same manner, adding butter to the pan as needed.
• Serve warm with butter and maple syrup.
Reprinted with permission from 10 Speed Press Make your case. What is the best breakfast item: pancakes, waffles or French toast? Tell us why in the comments below for your chance to win a copy of The Perfect Egg.
This article appears in Guide to Beer 2015.
