5ive

This is a favorite appetizer that has appeared on European menus for decades.  Its origins are in Picnic Foods.  The Classic Bread-and-Butter Picnic sandwich began to get dressed up in the early 1900s, with items such as lettuces, cheeses, tomatoes, onions, cucumbers, and of course, Radishes.  It’s endured, and this light, flavorful, texture-y snack is as simply decadent now as ever.

Some Picnic History:

Food historians tell us picnics evolved from the elaborate traditions of moveable outdoor feasts enjoyed by the wealthy. Medieval hunting feasts, Renaissance-era country banquets, and Victorian garden parties lay the foundation for today’s leisurely repast. Picnics, as we Americans know them today, date to the middle of the 19th century. Although the “grand picnic” is generally considered a European concept, culinary evidence confirms people from other parts of the world engage in similar practices. 
“The earliest picnics in England were medieval hunting feasts. Hunting conventions were established in the 14th century, and the feast before the chase assumed a special importance… Picnicking really come into its own during the Victorian era, and enters into the literature of that period. Dickens, Trollope, Jane Austen all found pleasure in introducing this form of social event into their fiction. One can see why: a rustic idyll furnished an ideal way of presenting characters in a relaxed environment, and also provided an opportunity to describe a particularly pleasant rural spot.”—-Oxford Companion to Food, Alan Davidson
“The French might have invented the word “picnic,” pique nique being found earlier than “pic nic.” (The meaning, aside from the probably connotation of “picking,” is unknown.) It originally referred to a dinner, usually eaten indoors, to which everyone present had contributed some food, and possible also a fee to attend. The ancient Greek “eranos,” the French “moungetade” described earlier, or modern “pot luck” suppers are versions of this type of mealtime organization. The change in the meaning of the term, from “everyone bringing some food” to “everyone eating out of doors” seems to have been completed by the 1860s. The impromptu aspect, together with the informality, are what the new meaning has in common with the old; there is a connotation too of simple food, which may be quite various, but which is not controlled, decorated, or strictly ordered into courses. Picnics derive, also, from the decorous yet comparatively informal sixteenth-century “banquets” mentioned earlier, which frequently took place out of doors…Not very long ago, picnics were rather formal affairs to our way of thinking, with tables, chairs, and even servants. But everything is relative: what was formal then made a trestle-table in the open countryside seem exhiliaratingly abandoned. The general feeling of relief from normal constraints…”—-The Rituals of Dinner: The Origins, Evolutions, Eccentricities and Meaning of Table Manners, Margaret Visser

Who doesn’t love a pancake?  Pancakes evoke, as all true comfort foods do, a warm feeling of lazy childhood weekends drenched in sunlight, chlorinated pool water, football, cool fall breezes, whatever.  And in many cases, “Maple Syrup” out of a plastic bottle shaped like a woman.  Don’t Do It!   Invest in a large jug of 100% Maple Syrup.  Maple Syrup is graded.  Grade A Dark Amber, Grade A Light Amber, Grade B.  But it’s deceiving, because it’s the opposite of what you would expect.

Grade B Maple Syrup is the absolute best.  It is the richest in flavor, darkest in color, most robust, and for years, the Vermont Syrup farmers would save it for themselves.  Make the effort, and find Grade B, PURE Maple Syrup.  You’ll never go back.  (Whole Foods has their house brand, 365 Organics, of Grade B Maple Syrup available in large jugs that are a decent price when on sale.)

Anyhow, back to the pancakes.  Throw blueberries in them.  Maybe top them with sliced bananas, or strawberries and whipped cream.  They are an indulgence, they are a pleasant reminder of the simple pleasures of life.  

And they take all of 15 minutes to make. 

Sour Cream Pancakes.

1 cup sour cream

7 tablespoons all purpose flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/ 2 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat skillet or frying pan over medium heat. Sift Flour, Sugar, Baking Soda, & Salt in a large bowl.

Add Sour Cream to Flour Mixture

In separate bowl, beat the eggs and vanilla together Pour egg mixture into sour cream/flour mixture.

Stir gently until all ingredients are mixed well.  Do NOT OVER MIX!

Grease or Butter your skillet.  Pour about 1/4 cup of batter per pancake onto hot skillet. Cook the pancake until the edges start to brown and the center begins to bubble.  Flip and cook on reverse side 2 minutes-ish. Serve with Butter and Real Maple Syrup.  **Preferrably Grade B**

Et Voila!