To Be Cooked: Shopsin's Pancakes

Stumped about what to make for Father’s Day? Is your dad neither a golfer nor a home-improvement buff? Does he sport neither a shirt nor a tie? No matter what kind of man your father might be, there’s a pretty good chance he likes pancakes.

Kenny Shopsin to the rescue! In his profound and profane cookbook, Eat Me, Shopsin presents more than ten variations on the pancake: chocolate peanut butter pancakes, bacon pancakes, spinach walnut pancakes, brown-sugar banana pancakes…oh, the list goes blissfully on.

This weekend, a small party from Knopf will attempt two of Shopsin’s pancake recipes: the lemon ricotta pancake and the mac n cheese pancake. Heading up this band of chefs will be Joey from our editorial department. Readers, you are in for a treat, because Joey actually knows how to cook. Last week, she made a walnut and blue cheese bread that blew my mind.

In case you’d like to follow along with us this weekend, here are the two recipes that we’ll be preparing:

Lemon Ricotta Pancakes
Makes twelve 4-inch pancakes

Kenny Shopsin says: “My editor, Peter Gethers, insisted on only one thing when he asked me to write this book: that I include the recipe for these pancakes. The ricotta causes them to burn more easily than other pancakes, so you need to cook them over medium-low to medium heat. If there are any pancakes that don’t need maple syrup, these are them.”

3 cups pancake batter (such as Aunt Jemima frozen batter, thawed, or scratch batter)
Zest of 2 lemons
2/3 cup fresh whole-milk ricotta cheese
Peanut oil for the griddle
Butter for the griddle and for serving
Warm Grade B maple syrup for serving

Stir the pancake batter and citrus zest together in a bowl. Ever so gently fold in the ricotta cheese, taking care not to destroy its texture. Prepare the griddle. Drop the pancake batter on the griddle and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until bubbles appear on almost the entire surface of the pancakes. Turn and very gently tap the pancakes with a metal spatula to make them uniform in thickness. Cook until the second side is golden, about 2 minutes, and serve A-side up.

Mac n Cheese Pancakes
Makes twelve 4-inch pancakes

Kenny Shopsin says: “The first time I made these was for our friend and regular customer Peter Kerwin. Every day he would have either macaroni and cheese or pancakes. One day he came in and told me to decide. At first, standing in front of my store, I wasn’t sure what I was going to do. In moments like that, I tend to just follow suggestions from my unconscious. And from somewhere a little voice said, “Do both together. Why not mac and cheese pancakes?” And it worked. Today, they are one of the most popular pancakes I make. For me the process of trial and error is like swallowing mental sand from oysters in the hopes my subconscious will give me pearls. I went out recently and spent $70 on candy because I was thinking, What if I put Raisinetes in there? I still need to find out what will happen. You should try it and find out for yourself.”

Peanut oil for the griddle
Butter for the griddle and for serving
3 cups pancake batter (such as Aunt Jemima frozen batter, thawed, or scratch batter)
1 heaping cup cooked elbow macaroni, tossed with olive oil and warmed before using
1 heaping cup feather-shredded cheddar cheese
Warm Grade B maple syrup for serving

Preheat the griddle and drop the pancake batter according to the instructions. When small bubbles appear on 40 to 50% of the surface of the pancakes, about 2 minutes, drop about 1 tablespoon of the warm elbow macaroni on each pancake. Sprinkle with a thin layer of cheese (about 1 tablespoon) and use a thin, lightweight spatula to rapidly flip the pancakes. After all the pancakes have been turned, reduce the heat to medium and use the spatula to press the pancakes down on the griddle. When the undersides are golden, about 2 minutes after turning them, use the spatula in a decisive high-pressure sawing motion to lift and turn the pancakes onto a plate, B-side up. Serve fanned out on a plate like a hand of cards so you can butter each one without lifting it. Serve with butter and warm maple syrup.

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(Recipe excerpted from Eat Me by Kenny Shopsin. Copyright 2008 by Kenny Shopsin. Excerpted by permission of Alfred A. Knopf, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.)