Pancakes & Pinot Noir

Pancakes & Pinot Noir- (As served at our “Pinot & Pancackes” Work Day Party 4-20-08)

I adapted this from a recipe that I found online; I never seem to make it exactly the same, adding or subtracting spices to change the aroma a bit. It makes some of the best pancakes, fluffy, light and crispy, that I have had. It is not a batter to make ahead of time, as it depends on being mixed together immediately prior to going on the griddle. Use this as a general guide, and have fun! -NRC

Part #1: Separate 2 eggs carefully into 2 stainless steel bowls. Add a pinch of salt to the whites, and whisk them briskly until they form thick, firm peaks. (The firmer, the fluffier the pancakes!) Set aside.

Part #2: Grab the bowl with the two yolks. Add 1 cup of milk, and 3 tbsp of melted butter. Whisk together. (You could also add some spice like ground cardamom or vanilla if you like; orange zest is delicious as well.)

Part #3: In a third bowl, sift together 1 ½ cups of flour, 3 tsp baking powder, ¾ tsp salt, and 1 tbsp sugar (don’t make them too sweet, or they won’t pair well with Pinot Noir!) Sift it back slowly into the egg yolk / milk mixture, and mix. If the mixture is too thick, add a bit more milk to make it lighter – I usually have to use an additional 1/8 cup or so.

Assembly: Using a rubber spatula, move the yolk / batter mixture into the beaten egg whites (whisk them again if needed to make sure that they are really firm and fluffy.) Add 1 cup of fresh blueberries, and with the spatula LIGHTLY mix them together – almost like how you would toss a salad – you don’t want to break the blueberries, and the egg whites don’t need to be totally incorporated – they will make fluffier pancakes if there is still a lot of air trapped in the egg whites.

Preparing: Get a large griddle or cast-iron skillet hot enough that butter starts to smoke, and then back it off a little bit to maintain a constant, even heat. Brush lightly with butter to grease the surface. Make a few tiny test pancakes the size of a quarter to make sure that the temperature is right. They should get crispy on the outside, but not burnt, and should fluff up nicely, with the inside moist, but cooked. If all looks good, you can start your pancake production line, making 3-4 at a time – the best size seems to be a little bigger around than a beer can, with 4-5 blueberries in each cake, and nice and thick.

Serving: These are best right off the griddle, as if you hold them they cook all the way through, and the outside gets soggy instead of crisp. Maple syrup is okay, but the sweetness clashes with Pinot Noir. Amoreena made some butter with Pixie tangerine zest, which was amazing, and Scott made a Pinot Noir reduction with blueberry-soaked Amaretto, which he wasn’t too sure about, but I loved. Whatever you do, make sure to serve it with a big pile of thick-cut bacon!