Apologies for the dearth of updates on the blog today. I spent a decent portion of the day working out my taxes, which is never a particularly fun experience. The good news is that I’m done (for now), which means I can turn my attention back here. As avid readers of this blog may remember, about two weeks ago, I attempted my first ever batch of flapjacks. The result was very promising, and I was happy to have finally conquered such a basic breakfast staple.
My friend Andrea, however, was beside herself with frustration. She insisted that when it came to pancakes, there were Ina Garten’s Banana Sour Cream variety… and then everything else. Over the course of many emails and Facebook posts (often written in all caps), Andrea declared that Ina’s griddle creations were the end all and be all of pancakes and that I was simply wasting my time with these namby pamby other recipes. Normally I’d just nod politely — after all, a pancake is a pancake. Some are better than others, but can one recipe be so head and shoulders above the rest that it inspires rabid loyalty? Well, apparently yes. I trust Andrea’s tastes, and furthermore, I trust Ina Garten’s recipes. Therefore, I stocked up on bananas and sour cream and assembled the batter.
Results after the jump.
First, I should disclose some vital details. When I first made these pancakes, it was morning time, and I was ravenous. I had no patience to take pictures. I whipped up the batter in about five or ten minutes time and then cooked up two pancakes without incident or documentation. I then reserved the rest of the batter and tossed it in the fridge, the intention being that I’d call upon it again for breakfast on Saturday or Sunday. Well, I didn’t make them Saturday morning, and then that night, my friend Lisa came over to tape a podcast with me (that’s right, this blog is inching ever closer to greater multimedia experiences). As luck would have it, Lisa and I bantered for so long that suddenly it was nearly ten o’clock, and neither of us had eaten dinner yet. That’s when we came upon my pancake batter. At that moment, nothing sounded better than fresh pancakes, and even better, Lisa announced that she was a pancake aficionado and had been making them since she was five. It was all too perfect. And besides, the hard part — making the batter — was already done! We just had to ladle and cook. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, Saturday night pancakes were AWN.
Before we could do anything, however, we needed to do some light prep work. Here I am peeling a banana.
Yes, I’m fairly certain Lisa was snickering when she took this photo.
The dicing process requires steady hands and a stolid constitution.
I could quietly hear Ina’s voice saying “Be sure to use GOOD bananas.” I could also imagine her adding, “If you can grow a banana tree in your backyard and harvest the bananas on your own every week, that’s great. But store bought is fine too.”
Banana, diced. We also contemplated throwing chocolate chips into the mix, but ultimately we decided against it. It would be best to enjoy the perfection of Ina’s recipe as is.
Me sneaking a few banana chunks. Quality control, clearly. YOU NEVER KNOW WHEN YOU’LL GET A BAD BANANA.
Time to get cooking.
A lonesome pat of butter in the skillet.
I am ready with the ladle.
Butter has melted.
For this batch, I actually hand ladling duties over to Lisa as she is the expert with these things.
Here we go!
We have contact.
As the batter is very thick, Lisa uses the ladle to gently spread out the nascent pancake into a wide circle.
Meanwhile, I dash in and swiftly place the banana chunks onto the flapjacks.
The pancakes, cooking away.
Yes, these smelled amazing.
Upon flipping, we discovered that they didn’t necessarily brown evenly, but that’s okay. We really didn’t care.
A few minutes later we flipped again and giggled with delight as we saw some nice caramelization on some of the bananas.
Soon it’s time for these bad boys to leave the pan.
Now it’s my turn to ladle. It’s not a pretty experience.
Here I am scooping out the last of the batter. Sadness.
And the results. Note the strange heart-shaped pancake on top. That was one of mine. Also, these look way more burned in the photo than they were in real life. Fear not. They were fine.
The other two.
Macro shot! (courtesy of Lisa)
One last pancake ready to go.
Of course, what to drink with this breakfast-for-dinner meal? I opted for chocolate milk (which Lisa so politely made for me).
Lisa profiles the racial harmony of our beverages. Once again, she manages to frame some vaguely phallic imagery.
Pancakes are served!
I can’t even begin to tell you how excited we were…
THE VERDICT: Andrea was right. These pancakes were amazing! Not only were they fluffier and richer than the typical recipe, but they just had a touch more flavor to them too. I suppose with sour cream and lemon zest (never mind the bananas), they were sure to have — as Ina likes to point out — a REAL DEPTH OF FLAVOR. I’m never going back to the old method (unless I’m truly in a pinch). These pancakes were perfect.
For the record, Lisa concurred that they were amazing.
Also for the record, we got so caught up in pancake making that we never taped the podcast. Soon though…
To make your own batch of Ina’s Banana Sour Cream pancakes, check out the recipe here.
Yum. Another pancake afficianado here. That is way too much butter in the skillet, hence your uneven browning. Cast iron is the way to go, but just lightly oil it. About a teaspoon or two, then wipe with a paper towel and you will have the most handsome as well as delicious, pancakes.
The chocolate chips would be divine. Can’t go wrong with the banana/choco combo.
Oh, thank the kitchen gods you didn’t use that non-stick pan again. I cringed.
Those look delicious! I would never have thought to use bananas in pancakes, I’m definately copying you.
My electric griddle pan works pretty evenly for cooking this type of food, and I can make 4 or 5 at a time if there’s company over. They’re pretty reasonable price wise and cleans off quick.
If you want to make them even more tropical add some chunk or well drained crushed pineapple.
I use my electric griddle, too. Perfect temperature and easy clean up.
Also notice pure maple syrup wasn’t being used as the recipe says.
tsk, tsk, tsk. Ina would not approve. You’ve got to use the GOOD syrup.
Finally got around to making these. Awesomeness! Really dense for a pancake, but I quite enjoyed that. Looking forward to trying them again as, in hindsight, I overcooked them a bit as the batter / banana combo tends to make them look like they’re uncooked when they’re not. This was literally the first batch of pancakes I have cooked since high school. Literally.