Post Punk Kitchen Forum

My partner's birthday is coming up, and I asked him what he wanted for dinner. He requested pancakes - it's an ongoing thing with us: I can hardly make a pancake to save my life, but he LOVES them. I think we'll use the puffy pillow pancakes recipe (Isa's), because I've had the best luck with those. Anyway, real question - I want to make this dinner super awesome, so I want to make some different toppings and maybe some sides for it. What I'm planning so far:

-a blueberry sauce
-that lemon creamy whatever it is that looks amazing from Vegan Brunch
-maple syrup
-maybe some Healthy Top or Rad Whip?
-Tofurky breakfast sausages on the side (he loves them)
-fresh fruit, ie pineapple, grapes, whatever is good at the store

Is there anything else I should add? Also, any tips for making amazing pancakes other than practicing? Thanks! :)

My pancake tip that I think I learned from Mel C is to sub some club soda for some of the liquid in the recipe. Puffy pillow pancakes are definitely the way to go.

High heat, don't overmix the batter--there should still be lumps, and then wait until you see the edges of the pancakes are dry before flipping.

Whoa! I didn't know that was a thing. I'm excited to try!

Maybe do a "cheese" sauce for the savoury side of things? If he's in to savoury pancakes, you could omit the sugar from a batch and serve them like dosas with a couple of different chutneys.

i have the best luck using my cast-iron skillet when making pancakes. would garlicky roasted potatoes do well as kind of a hashbrown-type side? sometimes mashed potato cakes (leftover mashed potatoes + scallions/green onions + vegan sour cream + whatever cheeze makes you most happyfaced mixed in) are great sauteed up as a side to pancakes.

this makes me want pancakes for dinner tonight!

See, I always see that people use high heat for their pancakes, but when I do this, they burn on the outside and don't get done on the inside. I use medium-low heat, myself.

Same here, and this has been consistent across recipes and pan types for me. My "trick" is to take the pan off the burner for a minute or two between batches to let it cool off so when I add oil the next batch doesn't burn.

And mini-chocolte chips! They're perfect for pancakes.

I agree about the heat, cook on lower heat than you would think you really need, and be patient about flipping! Wait until you see the bubbles before you even think about flipping those suckers.

The only tip I have is after mixing the batter let it set for a few minutes...Also I like nuts in my pancakes like pecans..ohh and chocolate chips!

agreed, i let my batter sit for about 10 minutes.

the puffy pillow pancakes are awesome. ♥

they also freeze and reheat really well!

Oooooh, awesome ideas! I'll have to see if he's up for chutney and savoury pancakes too - that sounds really good! And yeah, I've tried high-heat, but it always burns them before they've cooked through. Sooo.. we'll see! I'll keep trying!

Can we go back to the, lemon creamy thing? Cause, I probably need to put my face in that. Recipe?

Medium heat is good, but make sure the pan is fully heated before you put batter on there! When I forget to do this (often) the first couple pancakes end up a mess.

Also, make sure the surface of the pan you're using is really flat. It seems obvious, but for while I was trying to make pancakes in a pan that was slightly warped (the center went up a little higher than the rest of the pan) and it did not go well.

It's this!
http://books.google.ca/books?id=9lW15qt ... ew&f=false
But buy the book. It's lovely! (I've grabbed it from the library, but I'm picking it up this weekend!

Some how that book's existence has eluded me. Palm to forehead. Thank you...it sounds Amazing. Vegan breakfast recipe book, genius!

Seconding the club soda! I also have to use my cast iron griddle or it's a catastrophe.

I'm really into this raspberry sauce right now. I don't have any measurements tho.
In a medium saucepan simmer together frozen raspberries, sugar, a little water, a few pieces of candied ginger and a vanilla bean.
When the raspberries are soft, strain the whole thing to get the seeds out, and return to a simmer. Cook it down to a thicker sauce. Remove the vanilla bean, split and scrape it, then add the vanilla back into the sauce.

SO GOOD.

holy cow, kittee, that sounds amazing!!!

I would make some savory pancakes as well as sweet ones for a multi-course pancake extravaganza!

I like it Desdemona or mix and match pancakes..some with walnuts and apples, some with pineapple and coconut or chocolate chips. I need to make pancakes soon!

Cast iron all the way, and the first pancake is always sacrificed to the pancake gods (meaning an ugly one that you can eat while making the rest).

I cannot have pancakes without tempeh bacon on the side, it's like the law.

In our house we propitiate the Pancake Gods by making the offering to Lucy the Wonder Dog; this ensures that all ensuing pancakes will be golden, fluffy, and perfect!

ED&BV has a recipe for a maple cream type thingy that is amazeballs on pancakes

Sounds so good kittee and I'm a raspberry fiend! I must try it!

When I was an omni, I used to make lemon ricotta pancakes and I seriously missed them when I went vegan until I tried the lemon waffle recipe from VwaV (I make it as pancakes because I don't have a waffle iron) with the accompanying blueberry sauce and that took care of my lemon ricotta pancake nostalgia and now I have lemon pancake nostalgia with blueberry sauce from VwaV. Replace one longing with another. I'd make them right now if I had the fixins'...

Ooooh - good idea!!