Tuesday 13 February 2018

Pancake Tuesday

Shrove Tuesday, Mardis Gras (literally translates as fat Tuesday)... Thank goodness tonight's supper was a no-brainer. I've been reading other bloggers' ways of eating and preparing pancakes, and many of these people live in England, or Wales. Some of them wrote about eating pancakes with lemon and sugar, or even orange juice and sugar. This is a completely foreign (literally) concept to me. Here's how this Canadian does a pancake supper (or breakfast for supper). Please understand this is NOT a typical breakfast. It might be a weekend brunch, but nobody I know eats this much for breakfast.

First, the best way to make bacon is not on the stove, where grease spits and flies around and makes a ridiculous mess of your stove top. Instead, cook it in the oven. Line a big cookie sheet with foil and create little walls around the edges.
My cookie sheets are old and ugly. I have not attempted any of the Pinterest methods of using hydrogen peroxide and Dawn dish soap, or whatever the concoction is.(And why does it always have to be Dawn?)  My cookie sheets have the patina of love and overuse.

Next, get the bacon. Bacon that is cut in strips. Let's clear up this whole Canadian bacon thing. In Canada, nobody calls it Canadian bacon. And what other countries refer to as Canadian bacon, is, I think what we would call back bacon, or peameal bacon which is more like ham. This particular bacon that I bought is "thick cut". I prefer the regular kind, but there seems to be some sort of scammy thing going on with bacon (oh the horror!) where we pay just as much, but the slices are much thinner, to the point of ripping them to shreds when you try to separate them. So, I went for the thick slices this time.
Lay the bacon on the tinfoil trying not to overlap. Put it in the oven and turn the oven to 400 degrees, or 375, or 425, it doesn't really matter because you are going to be watching it carefully anyway. Soon your kitchen will smell like bacon heaven.


At this time, I also opened up a can of beans. I'm not a huge fan of beans, but the husband likes them with "breakfast for supper."

This was from the CASE of beans he bought when we went to Costco. Who needs a case of beans?? We'll be eating them throughout 2018!

Yes, yes, I have made pancakes from scratch. But it's Tuesday and I work and all I had to do was "just add water" to this!


Husband was in charge of eggs while I took care of pancakes and watching the bacon in the oven so it was cooked to perfection (i.e. nothing too wobbly). You would think pancakes would be the easiest thing in the world, but I'm often not great at them. I either flip them too soon, or they're too flat, or not fluffy enough or the pan isn't hot enough. The first couple are always worthy of throwing away.

Not even round, and I'm pretty sure I can see the face of Christ in one of them!

Ahhh, but you can forgive me my pancake sins, because here is the bacon, resting on its blanket of paper towel to soak up the grease thus making it even crispier.

This is some super hefty bacon. Again, it would have been crispier if it was the "regular" slice and not the "thick" slice. But it tasted fine.

And there you have it. Egg with ketchup, pancakes with butter and maple syrup, bacon, and orange juice. I'll pass on the beans, thank you. Fat Tuesday.

16 comments:

  1. I didn't realize it was Fat Tuesday

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  2. I didn't realize it was Fat Tuesday! Yikes. I'll try to remember the pancake deal! I was at the blog of a Brit, and her pancakes looked nothing like ours--thin like crepes. Your bacon is like ours here in the US. We just tried bacon in the oven this past Christmas, when we had a large group for brunch. Wonderful idea! And don't you worry about your old baking sheets, I understand they actually enhance your cooking flavor.

    I think the key to pancakes is this: The first batch is buttery and moist. When you reuse the pan, it has heated up a lot, and it burns off the fat of the added butter, making a darker, drier pancake. If you have a chance to let the pan cool a minute or two, that helps. Or maybe have two pans on the stove and swap them out.

    I'm so enjoying your blog--I think we may be two peas in a pod! Thanks for your visit today!

    Jane

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  3. I associate pancakes with sweet things, in my family's case it is only ever a lemon squeezed all over and then sprinkled with caster sugar, so bacon feels totally alien to me. Our pancakes are as big as the frying pan you make them in which is usually the size of a dinner plate; they can be as thick or as thin as you like or somewhere in between. It is traditional to toss the pancake two or three times into the air from the pan whilst frying. Hardly any fat is used, just a tiny piece of lard which is heated until it smokes and then the pan is ready to fry the pancake. Too many pancakes are ruined by not having the frying pan hot enough. Thank you for your illustrated synopsis of your pancake day.x

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  4. Wow, that looks good. We always have thin pancakes served as a dessert with lemon, cream and Cointreau. (I have cookie trays like yours!)

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  5. That certainly looks tasty. It was the smell of bacon that always made my vegetarian friend waver! Interesting pancakes but definitely different from ours!

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  6. I love breakfast for dinner! And a husband who helps with the cooking is a gem. I often make bacon in the oven too -

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  7. Jenn, that looks like an amazing breakfast dinner. For Shrove/Pancake Tuesday we do just pancakes for me & a couple of breakfast sausage added for Mr Man. Next year I think Mr Man wants to have pancake dinner with you! ... Mary-Lou =^..^=

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  8. I tend to make bacon in the microwave (I love the thick stuff!) but I know this must be a really good way to do it and it looks delish! The whole thing does except maybe the beans. There's something about the smell of bacon... and the pancakes! A little maple syrup and I'm a very happy camper!

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  9. HAHAHA! My pancakes don't often look their best either, but they taste great and that's what counts!

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  10. It does look pretty good. That meal would last me all day, though.

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  11. Now that's a good meal. I am roasting bones for the dogs and baking bread for the daughter-in-law. The pecan pancakes at Cracker Barrel are good and I always blush when I tell them slightly underdone. How picky is that? I like them barely beige.

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  12. Your pancake supper is fancy. My lot just gets pancakes. I did, however, leave out the maple syrup ahead of time so it was room temperature and didn't make our pancakes cold.

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  13. Oooh that looks YUMMY!!! We had pancakes too! I have made bacon in the oven too, but I find it's not quick enough for my drooling appetite lol! Another kindred spirit who likes ketchup on eggs...just like me! :) Happy Valentine's Day Jenn! xxx

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  14. I don't think I could eat pancakes for dinner....I don't even like them all that much for breakfast! An omelet? Yes, that's dinner worthy. Irish Breakfast with sausages, Irish bacon, beans (yes, beans!), white pudding, an egg, and some Irish bread....that's an awesome way to eat breakfast for dinner - love it....and now I'm HUNGRY!! Happy Valentine's Day!

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  15. Good morning, Jenn. I'm your newest follower and fellow Ontarian.

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