Wednesday, September 23, 2020

Robert St. John: Muz's Pancakes

A wise person once said, “The past is in your head. The future is in your hands.” If that’s the case, I’ve been spending a lot of time living in my head over the last several days as we have moved my mother into a new apartment. The new apartment is smaller which means a lot of the boxes that have been in storage rooms, attics, and drawers weren’t going to make the short trek to the new digs. The past has been ever-present.


As a kid, I spent a lot of spare time in my childhood home— and in the homes of both of my grandparents— rummaging through drawers and spaces looking at old family photos. Until this past weekend, I thought I had already seen most of the photos of kinfolk that existed in our family. Not even close.

Muz
During this most recent move, I looked in a large box at my mother’s apartment that was slated for disposal and found dozens of family photos that would have been lost for good. That fortuitous incident cemented a mission for me over the next several days as I meticulously combed through every box looking for photographs of people I have known and loved through the years, and people I never knew, though people who meant something to those I have known and loved.

I get a kick out of seeing photographs of my grandparents in their early years. The people I knew were already my age, or older, when I came to know them. I am often guilty of putting the past into the context of my personal existence and not in the proper time frame. They, too, were once young and carefree, or that’s the case for one of my grandmothers from the photos I’ve seen.


For the first 15 years of my life I knew my grandmothers as masters of the kitchen. They were both excellent cooks. As is the case with almost every southern chef and restaurateur, each of my grandmothers were inspirations to me as my career developed in the early years. Actually, even though they are both long passed, they are still inspirations to me, today.

My paternal grandmother (we called her Mam-Maw) hosted, cooked, and served elaborate, formal meals in her dining room. To this day, her leg of lamb is the gold standard for any lamb dish I have ever eaten anywhere in the world. My maternal grandmother (we called her Muz, don’t ask me, I didn’t name her) was more of a baker. I don’t remember any traditional cakes or pies that came from her kitchen, but she used to prepare a brownie-like dessert she called “fudge cake.” And she made the world’s best pancakes. Period. End of discussion.

Some cooks are more comfortable cooking specific items such as seafood; others excel at on a certain piece of equipment— a barbeque grill or cast-iron skillet. Some cooks pride themselves on elaborate dinners; some are more comfortable with small, intimate lunches. For Muz, breakfast was her domain; the early morning kitchen was her kingdom, we were her subjects, a spatula was her scepter, and pancakes were the currency.

She was born and raised in Nashville and I have always assumed that is where her recipe was developed. Tennessee may be the pancake capital of the country so that would make sense.

When dining at my grandmother’s home, no breakfast was complete without her pancakes. The supporting cast of breakfast items might change with each meal— sausage one morning, bacon the next, grits, or no grits— but there were always pancakes.

I am not sure what makes her pancake recipe so much better than others, but it is better, much better. It might be the amount of baking soda, or it could be the baking powder, possibly a combination of the two with the addition of buttermilk. Most pancakes are dull, flavorless and too bread-like. Not Muz’s. I consider myself blessed to have grown up in a home where out-of-the-box pancakes of the just-add-water variety were never served.

Whenever the family traveled, she packed her pancake mix into Zip-Loc baggies and prepared them on site wherever we might be. Her pancakes were the constant in an ever-changing family structure.

I would bet three paychecks that Muz cooked more pancakes than any other homemaker of her era. Years ago, as I was thinking back on so many shared breakfasts, it occurred to me that no one had ever cooked pancakes for Muz. All of my life, every time pancakes were served when she was around, it was Muz that did the cooking. She was living in an assisted living home at that time. I invited her to my house for pancakes. This time I did the cooking. We sat with my wife and daughter and enjoyed one of the more memorable breakfasts I will ever have.

There are many options for those who want to leave a legacy to their family. Photos are nice. Though it seems that recipes, or a particular food item, is a legacy of the utmost significance. Like money, it can be passed down to future generations, but unlike cash, the opportunities for creating lasting memories, are limitless. Sharing a meal with one’s family makes life richer. Muz made life richer for us all.

Pancakes are love. I seriously believe that. Think about it. Has anyone ever cooked pancakes for you— outside of a restaurant— who didn’t love you? Have you ever been served pancakes by someone you didn’t love?

Show someone you love them today. Make a batch of pancakes. Breakfast or supper, it doesn’t matter. Be like Muz.

Muz’s Pancakes – The World’s Best

1 cup All Purpose Flour
2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 /2 tsp Salt
1 Tbl Sugar
1 Egg
1 cup Buttermilk
1 /2 cup Melted Butter, divided

Mix dry ingredients thoroughly. Mix together the liquid ingredients— including 1 /4 cup of butter— and gently add to the dry ingredients, stirring until just incorporated. Do not overwork the batter.

Note: The batter is thick, it can be thinned with a small amount of water, milk, or a little more buttermilk if you prefer.

Cook pancakes on a lightly greased griddle. Pancakes should be turned only once. They are ready to be turned when bubbles form in the middle and the edges appear cooked. Once pancakes are turned, use a pastry brush to spread the additional 1/4 cup of melted butter on top of the pancakes while the other side is cooking. This will keep you from having to spread cold butter on them, which will tear them. The pancakes will already be buttered once they reach the table. Top with real maple syrup.

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Maple Syrup? Try any local cane syrup for better flavor

Anonymous said...

Why are these posts here?

Do you owe him anything?

Y’all dating?

Green Acres said...

I'm more of bacon and eggs person but I'm saving this recipe. How hot should the griddle be? Low, medium, hot?

Anonymous said...

To Lisa D @ Green Acres: as someone that often cooks my own homemade pancakes, the griddle needs to be medium heat. After you pour your batter, cook until bubbles appear across the cake, then flip it.

Anonymous said...

Is there a more worthless human on JJ than 12:27? He is on here because many readers enjoy the column.

Anonymous said...

The ones who question why you share Robert's posts can go pound salt. Regardless of what they say, I like reading them. Thanks for sharing.

Zerobear

GM said...

This article is the perfect example why I love reading anything RSJ writes.

My Mom died at the age 91 two years ago.

Going through her "stuff" . . . I found party pictures of her at Pat O'Brien's in 1945.

Those photos were almost identical to my drunk ass at Pat O's during 1978.

Anyway, RSJ's Muz and my Great Aunt Effie would have been good friends . . . (until it came
to a biscuit or cornbread competition) .






Anonymous said...

Made these. Needs more sugar.

Here’s a recipe I find that makes a better pancake

BUTTERMILK PANCAKES INGREDIENTS
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
2 cups buttermilk
1/2 cup salted butter, melted and cooled slightly Clarified butter or high-heat vegetable oil, for cooking
DIRECTIONS
1. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk eggs. Whisk in buttermilk and melted butter. Stir flour mixture into buttermilk mixture until just combined (lumps are OK).
3. Heat the oven to 200°F and place an oven-safe plate or baking dish inside. Heat a large, nonstick skillet on the stove top over medium heat. Melt 1/4 teaspoon of butter on skillet. Dollop 1/2 cup batter onto skillet; depending on the size of the skillet, it may fit 2-3 pancakes. Cook pancakes until bubbles rise to the surface and pop, about 2 minutes. Carefully flip pancakes and cook another 2 minutes.
4. Transfer cooked pancakes to plate in the oven. Cover with foil. Repeat with more butter and remaining batter, until all pancakes are cooked.



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If you get tired come relax at the Fox News Tent. To gain admittance to the VIP section, bring either your Republican Party ID card or a Rebel Flag. Bringing both will entitle you to free drinks.Get your tickets now. Since this is an event for trolls, no ID is required, just bring the hate. Bring the family, Trollfest '07 is for EVERYONE!!!

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