Flippin' good

Every time I try to make pancakes, it turns into a disaster. I know everyone says the first one is always a dud and you have to throw it away, but last time I tried it, I had to throw away the ENTIRE batch. At that point, I resigned myself to going to IHOP to fulfill my pancake cravings.

Then last week, while reading on the train, I came across an article that gave me hope. The article, written by a New York Times columnist, is part of an anthology I’m currently reading, “The Best Food Writing 2003.” (Yes it’s random, but I LOVE to read about food, so I am devouring it—sorry, bad pun.)

Anyway, this article ("With Pancakes, Every Day Is Sunday") made it sound like it was no big deal to whip up a batch of light, fluffy pancakes at the drop of a hat, so I decided to give it another shot. I’ve never made pancakes from scratch before, but I tried the author’s recipe for “Mississippi Pancakes,” which he claims are the best he’s ever had.

True to form, the first one was quite inedible (I accidentally folded it onto itself while trying to flip it, so it turned into an omelette), but after that, I did manage to produce a decent number of good pancakes. They were especially yummy with blueberries and maple syrup…...mmmmmm……pancakes……..

Here is the recipe, if anyone wants to try. It doesn’t say to grease the pan, but I used some cooking spray anyway. It also claims to make 20 “medium-sized” pancakes, but I halved the recipe and only got 7 (including the one I had to pitch), and they weren’t very big, so I would recommend making the whole recipe.


2 eggs
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons butter, melted
1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
3 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

1) Place a nonstick griddle or a skillet over medium heat. In a large bowl, beat eggs until light and foamy. Add milk, oil and butter. In another bowl, sift together dry ingredients, then beat them into the liquid ingredients with a wire wisk.

2) When skillet is hot, pour in about 1/4 cup batter for each pancake, leaving space between. Flip when batter bubbles. Continue cooking for about a minute. Serve immediately.


For the topping (I made this up) heat 2 cups of frozen blueberries in a skillet with a few tablespoons of maple syrup. Pour over finished pancakes.