The Big 3

According to Schoolhouse Rocks, “3 is the magic number”. I believe the number 3 has many powers. In a joke there is always 3 (the first 2 are set up and the 3rd is always the punch line)(1)  . The same has been true in my cooking with Maddy. Although we like to cook a lot of different things there are really three things that Maddy and I do best.

Today I am going to talk about the first of our cooking trinity:

PANCAKES.


Pancakes rock. They are without a doubt my all time favorite breakfast food. As a matter of fact I don’t even eat breakfast as often as I should and that all changes if pancakes are on the menu.

Pancakes are a great thing to make with kids:

They are quick to make and tend to produce a big mess.
If it’s your turn to watch them on a weekend morning it gives you something to do other than watch cartoons.(2)
They are one of the rare foods it is actually acceptable to put chocolate chips in. (3)
They go well with bacon. (4)


Allow me to digress for a moment and shame those parents reading this who serve their kids “Aunt Jemima” or some other pre-packaged syrup-like product. What’s wrong with you? Maple Syrup is an ingredient not a product. The only ingredient in the syrup we give our kids is maple syrup and I call on you to do the same. Yes it’s more expensive but it’s time we stop filling our kids with stuff we can’t pronounce.

I’ve tried to make just about every kind of pancake imaginable and in the end I have settled on one pancake recipe above all others. It is:

RICOTTA CHEESE PANCAKES

1 tablespoon baking powder
½ cup all purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 eggs, separated
2/3 cup milk
½ pound Ricotta cheese (low fat or whole milk)

Sift dry ingredients and set aside. Beat egg yolks until lemon colored. Add milk and cheese to egg yolks. Folk in dry ingredients. Beat egg whites until stiff and fold into mixture. Cook at once on a hot greased griddle.

You will need 3 bowls. Dry ingredients and egg whites each go into medium sized bowls and the egg yolks into a large bowl. This recipe needs to be followed exactly. So actually sift the darn flour and baking powder and don’t skip this. This is also a fun part for Maddy who uses any excuse to play with flour.

I don't recommend letting little kids try and separate eggs. Egg shell tastes terrible. I let Maddy crack the first egg and hand it to me so she feels like she helped. I do let her help me hold the hand blender to beat the yolks and the whites. Make sure the egg whites go in last and mix the finished batter with a spoon well before dropping on a buttered grill. Put more butter on the grill before each pancake.

Tip: Stack ready pancakes on a plate next to the griddle while you are making them and they will stay hot so you can serve all at once. Makes about 8 pancakes.

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(1) Now I've ruined every joke you will hear for the rest of your life
(2) I still watch cartoons
(3) May be habit forming
(4) What doesn't?