Pancakes

I've written about pancakes more than once on this blog.  I've had so many people tell me nobody makes pancakes as good as mine; my ex-daughter-in-law often visits with my granddaughter to eat pancakes.  If I don't have any sausage to go with the pancakes, she has been known to bring some, because sausage makes the pancakes taste better.  So I've known for a while I have quite a following.  But yesterday, I found out how famous I really am.  (That last sentence is sarcasm, more than pride.)

Cliff was sitting in his place on the couch cruising Facebook yesterday afternoon when he got a request on Messenger:  The wife of an old friend and co-worker of his asked him if he could get my pancake recipe and message it to her; she said her husband, Don, told her my pancakes were the best, and that hers just didn't make the grade.  I don't even remember making pancakes for him; I haven't even seen him for years!  I'm a legend!  

The fact is, it really isn't a recipe.  After a few years of making them from scratch because it was just the two of us, I bought a box of pancake mix and realized they were better than my recipe.  I started out writing instructions, but then realized it would be much easier to show her.  So I mixed up some pancake batter and made Cliff my cameraman.  I did manage to portray my "secret" tricks... I say secret because I don't know anyone who has followed my example... but forgot to tell her a couple of cardinal rules, so I typed those on Messenger beneath the video I sent.  One of those was to not get the pancake mixes where you just add water.  The other is to never smash the pancakes after you flip them.  Why, you ask?  Because the leavening in the pancake has made it light and fluffy as the first side cooks; if you smash all that air out of it, it's just a heavy mess of cooked dough.  I think people do that because they're afraid the pancake won't get done in the middle, but I have a trick that will fix that problem, which is why I wanted to show her, rather than explain it in words.  

I wish I'd prepared a little better, because I'm going to show you the video.  I don't cook and talk at the same time very well, and hadn't even thought about what I'd say; but if you watch it to the end, it's sort of funny because of my dear husband:  I was simply going to make a pancake for Anita's benefit and throw out the batter, because we'd had big bowls of chili four hours earlier.  But Cliff is not going to let any pancakes go untasted.  Watch to the end, and forgive my stammering and searching for words.