Is there a better way to start any day?

• 1 egg
• 1 cup buttermilk*
• 2 tablespoons shortening, melted, or salad oil
• 1 cup all-purpose flour**
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Pour batter onto hot griddle. Turn pancakes when puffed and full of bubbles, but before bubbles break. Flip and bake second side to golden brown.

Makes 10 4-inch pancakes.

* If you're out of buttermilk, try adding 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to regular milk. Put the juice in the cup, then top off with milk and wait 5 minutes for milk to clabber before using in mix.
** If using self-rising flour, omit baking powder and salt and decrease soda to 1/4 teaspoon.

April 18, 2011 (CHICAGO) -- This recipe for Bruce Paltrow's World-Famous Pancakes is courtesy of Gwyneth Paltrow's cookbook: ''My Father's Daughter: Delicious, Easy Recipes Celebrating Family and Togetherness.''

Ingredients:

• 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup, plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 Tablespoon, plus 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons fine salt
• 3 cups buttermilk
• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled, plus more butter for cooking
• 6 organic large eggs
• Up to 1 cup milk, as needed to thin batter
• Real Vermont maple syrup, warmed, for serving

Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Whisk together the buttermilk, butter, and eggs together in another bowl. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, whisking just enough to combine (small lumps are okay). Let the batter sit, covered, overnight.

The next morning, heat up your griddle or favorite nonstick pan and slick it with a little butter.

Add enough milk to the batter to thin it to the right consistency -- the thicker the batter, the thicker and heavier your pancakes; the thinner the batter, the more delicate your pancakes -- neither is wrong.

Cook the pancakes on the griddle, flipping them after bubbles appear on the surface of the uncooked side. Let cook 2-3 minutes more, then remove, and eat with lots of warm maple syrup.

And, maybe the best pancakes of all time:

(2/16/12) More on pancakes:

I was in the super market, thinking about John Lund's mother, Bernice, when I spotted this package which I purchased and brought home. (Look at the name on the back of the box.)

I made the "Lund's Swedish Pancakes" for a Sunday breakfast and reported to same Yvonne later that day. She told me her simple recipe for her Swedish Pancakes, and although I didn't get it right, got it good enough to make these Monday morning:

(2/20/12) Yvonne,
One egg, one rounded tablespoon of flour,
lightly buttered skillet = Great Pancakes.
-=Grant=-
(I added a little water and a little salt.)

Yvonne:
Yum. I add a little bit of milk to make it thinner and lighter. I also usually use PAM instead of butter... but we all know butter rocks. If you want them REALLY light and fluffy, put a little seltzer water in them.

Me:
Now I can't wait for my second try!
(Where did I put that seltzer?)

Then,

(2/20/12) Yvonne,
Had almost forgotten this one. (included Trudy's above)
John Lund was my high school friend.
His wife Trudy sent this to me a few years ago.
Guess I must have made them -- see the photo.
-=Grant=-
PS -- The almond extract seems a nice touch.

(2/21/12) That is just about the same recipe (times 4) that I use without the extract. I like to put bananas or strawberries on them and roll them up too.

Happy pancakes... or as Jati would say panpakes.

yvonne