making dad's pancakes

The first thing that I learned how to cook was my dad's pancakes. He would make them for the family most Sunday mornings and even once or twice we ate them as a late dinner following the Christmas Eve service at church. I love making them for Tiffany. We don't eat them very often (once every few months) as they're quite filling and make enough for 4 - 6. The pancakes don't taste quite as great the following day ...

I made this most recent batch on the Sunday before Me and T's winter vacation trip(s) to New Albany and Tallahassee to see our families. The original recipe was found in a real old edition of the Southern Homemaker's Cookbook (or something to the effect) that we have lying around the house in Killearn. It calls for the typical cake-like ingredients: flour, sugar, butter, egg, shortening, salt, eye of newt, etc. (haha - just kidding about the salt).

On spicier days of my life I've been known to add orange zest or replace the shortening with yogurt, but this day was Southern Cooking to the nines and I was more interested in the right consistency and perfect color. To this end I was aided by the awesome and seasonal snowflake-spatula.

Probably my favorite part of the cooking here is re-reading the instructions from dad. Note the description!

"It will want to congeal into lumps, so stir it constantly and quickly pour it into the bowl of dry ingredients. Keep the lumps as small as rice. With a fork, now mix up the wet and dry ingredients ONLY until the dry ingredients are wet. It may be a little lumpy. That is alright. Just don’t beat it until it is smoothe."

This batch turned our particularly fluffy and toothsome, served with syrup, butter, milk, coffee, and juice. Bon Apetite before 9 am!