For those of us who won't be in New Orleans this week for Mardi Gras, there are always pancakes. We don't take this consolation prize lightly at FOOD52, where these confections come in many wonderful shapes and sizes. This Mardi Gras, put your regular pancake recipe on the back burner, and mix in a few of our sweet and savory favorites.
• For more savory pancakes, check out these Editors' Picks from our potato pancake contest.
• If you love the idea of having breakfast at dinnertime, you might also want to try this idea for another weekday dinner.
• Got a question in the kitchen? The Food52 Hotline is here to help!
Lemony Cream Cheese Pancakes with Blueberries by ENunn
For those who crave the purity of a plain pancake but occasionally find themselves wanting more, this recipe might be the perfect compromise. Lemon's perfume (from both the juice and zest) permeates these light, fluffy buttermilk pancakes, but the real magic lies in the addition of one key ingredient: chunks of cream cheese are blended into the batter until they are reduced to about pea-size, later resulting in salty, creamy pockets scattered throughout the cooked pancakes. - Amanda & Merrill
Serves 6
1 1/2 cup flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 pinch salt
2 large eggs, separated
1 cup buttermilk
6 ounces cream cheese, cut up
3 teaspoons melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons lemon juice
zest of one large lemon
1 1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
1. In a medium bowl, mix together flour, sugar baking powder, baking soda, salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together egg yolks, buttermilk. Add cream cheese and mix until cream cheese has separated into uniformly small lumps, about the size of large cottage cheese curds. Stir in melted butter, vanilla, lemon juice and lemon zest.
2. Add dry ingredients to wet, then stir to combine. Whisk two egg whites until stiff but not dry; fold gently into batter.
3. Heat a griddle or cast iron pan over medium high heat, until a drop of water sizzles. Lower heat to medium; butter or oil pan. Drop batter into pan by 1/3 cupfuls. Once the batter has spread, drop in the berries. You might want to drizzle some batter to cover them. These need to be cooked a bit longer than you might expect; they won't bubble as quickly or as much as plain pancakes. Turn down the heat if necessary, to keep them from overbrowning, and let them puff up to their full extent after you turn them, which will take 2-3 minutes. Serve with honey or maple syrup or jam.
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This recipe comes from The Essential New York Times Cookbook, and appeared in the Times in 1966. What keeps cooks faithful to one recipe is often some confluence of ease and surprise. Eyre's pancake possesses both. A batter of flour, milk, eggs, and nutmeg is blended together, then poured into a hot skillet filled with butter and baked. Anyone confused? I didn't think so. - Amanda
A pancake shouldn't always depend on syrup, and here's a terrific example of one that does not. You begin by browning a couple of tart apples first in butter, second in maple syrup. Then you fold these right into the batter, creating a delicious one-stop-shopping pancake. All you need is a slick of good salted butter. - Amanda & Merrill
Golden Panko Latkes with Sour Cream and Chives
We have a soft spot for cooks who tinker with classic recipes, retooling the periphery without over-altering the core. That's what Micki Barzilay did with her latkes. The panko coating amplifies the dry-leaf crispness you want in a latke. And Yukon Golds have plenty of moisture and sugar so once they're fried up, they toast handsomely on the edges, while at the center of the pancake, the potato strands remain silky and discreet. - Amanda & Merrill
Eggy and crisp, Midge's Kyoto-style pancakes are studded with plump morsels of tender shrimp and threaded through with ribbons of cabbage and rings of scallion. The savory batter is enriched with a dash of sesame oil and soy sauce, and the accompanying soy and sriracha mayo is a zippy accent. - Amanda & Merrill
These pancakes make a perfect quick morning breakfast. Prep your batter overnight, and the rest is a snap. In a few minutes you have a tasty breakfast that is also fun to eat. Feel free to get creative with sweet or savory toppings. - Stephanie
These blintzes are light, lemony and not too sweet. Our office mate Avi shared the recipe with me, which is his grandmother's, and I've been wanting to make it for months now. I finally did, and let's just say I'll be making it for years to come. - Merrill
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