Pancake

Pancakes! It is safe to say that besides ice cream, pancakes are my favorite food. Is that entire sentence strange coming from a gluten- and dairy-free baker? Probably. In any event, here it is, a recipe with all the buttery goodness added right in. Please note: I like my pancakes extremely thin, so expect that from this recipe. If you want them meatier, just add 1/3 cup more flour. You want another no-brainer of a recipe to go along with this one? How about the sweet aftertaste and the mildly chunky texture of banana mashed up against the crunchy outlines of the pancake crust and enveloped inside a slight billowy center? Take the day off work already! Personally—and by that I mean in this recipe—I sometimes add pre-mashed bananas so as to create a subtle fruit-to-batter mélange. But if you’re some sort of breakfast bungee-jumper or whatever, you could hack them up rough-like and have a deliciously rocky stack.

Dimming the lights and flambéing a dessert tableside makes an exciting end to a meal. If you are doing this for your grand finale at a dinner party, practice in the confines of the kitchen a couple of times first. If your flambé doesn’t ignite you might be left blushing tableside. Overdo it on the rum and you will have rosy cheeks for sure.

Toasted pecans and browned butter give these delicate crepes a deep nuttiness. Delicata are small squash and I usually plan on one per person plus one extra when I serve them. This is a nice dish for dinner parties because the components can be made ahead of time and assembled right before dinner.

This pancake recipe dates back to Jean-Georges’s apprenticeship in Alsace. For me, the warm flavor of semolina combines well with the double whammy of pear in this dessert. Cumin brings out the rustic edge of all the ingredients. (See the photograph pages 92–93.)

When I was a personal chef, a family for whom I worked often requested latkes, and though I hadn’t made them before, I totally fell in love with them. When I added Parmesan and basil to the mixture, they were even better. The Parmesan melts into a brittle web, like a frico, making these extra crisp and delicious.

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!

If eaten plain, these pancakes are a tad on the dry side, which is why I love to layer them with yogurt. The tartness of the lemon, paired with the creaminess of the yogurt and sweetness of the powdered sugar, transforms ordinary pancakes into a decadent, dessertlike breakfast. Store the batter in a resealable plastic container in your fridge to have on hand. Note, however, that when the batter sits in the fridge, it will thicken slightly, so use a scant 1/4 cup batter per pancake to get 6 pancakes. Another time-saving option is to freeze the cooked pancakes. To reheat frozen pancakes, microwave them in a single layer on high for 30 seconds to 1 minute, or until warmed through. Alternatively, place the pancakes on a nonstick baking sheet in a single layer. Cover the pan with foil and place in a 350°F oven for about 5 minutes, or until warmed through.

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.

The traditional crepe pan is made of steel and has short, sloping sides and a long handle. With use, the steel becomes seasoned—like cast iron—and needs only the lightest oiling. There are several other types of pans that work well for making crepes: pans with a nonstick surface are probably the easiest to work with, but any pan of the right size with a well-seasoned surface, including aluminium omelet pans, will do the job. It is normal for the first few crepes of the batch to come out less than perfect. Once you find the right temperature for the pan and get the wrist action down, you’ll see a noticeable improvement in the results. As you get the knack of making crepes, you’ll be able to keep two pans going at once, cutting the time in half.

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.

To make these spongy pancakes stuffed with walnuts and dipped in syrup takes time (and I should warn you that they are fattening) but they are heavenly and when you have made them more than once, you will find them not too difficult. The amount of syrup is more than you need, but it is good to serve separately as well, in case anyone would like to pour a little more on their pastry.

The Green Goddess dressing is also terrific on salad or as a dip for crudités. It will keep for up to a week in the refrigerator stored in a jar or airtight container.

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.