Everyone has a recipe file existing of the basics, the tried and trues, the things that work every day, the benchmarks in their category. When life delivers the blues through the back or the front door we are comforted by these recipes. These recipes are the ones that work, no matter what.
20 years ago Marion Cunningham wrote The Breakfast Book. In it are recipes I've made dozens of times. But the one the book can't help but open to is for the simply named Buttermilk Pancakes.
Whether you think breakfast is a meal best served on weekends when
everyone wakes late and has time to sift and whisk and heat the skillet, or you eat it for dinner, these light, buttery pancakes could soon be tucked into your small but trustworthy recipe file for future lazy days, mischievous nights and everything in between.
Your pain still sounds so raw. I have been around a long time, and made many career mistakes, but the one thing that I do know is that good sincere people do not always flourish in every situation. I hope your passion carries you into a happier situation
Mickey
Posted by: mickey | 23 January 2007 at 08:17 AM
Yummm, pancakes. Just what the Tuesday doctor ordered!
Posted by: Allison | 23 January 2007 at 05:27 PM
You wrote,"The "why's" rarely appear in cookbooks because few authors can afford to pay for recipe testing, let alone all the extra pages it would take to go into full explanations for each recipe and its corresponding set of ingredients and method." Ah yes, but the why's and wherefore's DO appear in Cook's Illustrated, a magazine and eponymous website . This has long been my favorite "food geek" resource, because they test recipes every which way, and each article begins with the tried-and-true "problem-solution" structure, e.g., We wanted an omelete that was light and fluffy but stood up to some weighty fillings. Then they go on to tell you the forty-odd things they tried along the way, and even sometimes offer little food chemistry lessons complete with molecule diagrams showing what different ingredients do under different conditions. Of course readers can then go and modify on their own, but this unequaled resource gives a great start, especially for beginners. Oh, and they have some great pancake recipes!
Posted by: Jill | 23 January 2007 at 05:28 PM
Dear Shuna,
I have been reading your blog since the summer -- it's one of my daily highlights. Although you've written many wonderful pieces, this one on pancakes is exceptionally tender (no pun intended). Maybe it's the photograph you've featured.
Pancakes are always the first meal I cook for my sister when I go back to my parents' house. I use a stodgy recipe from Laurel's Kitchen -- buttermilk pancakes are infinitely better -- but it's "ours."
Posted by: Grace | 23 January 2007 at 08:33 PM