I have very fond memories of an annual Church breakfast I prepared with the help of amazing CIA students, teens from the church who wanted to learn to cook and my own children.
We made a variety of egg dishes, homefries, bacon, homemade sausages and pancakes... all made to order for about 200 people; it was very gratifying
I remember one of the dads telling me he enjoyed preparing pancakes on Sunday mornings for his large family. He was a busy doctor, I was impressed that he made time to personally prepare this special Sunday breakfast.
Homemade pancakes are a treat, usually reserved for the weekends but this simple recipe makes it quick and easy to prepare a short stack in minutes!
Homemade Pancakes
Pancakes are among the oldest prepared foods in human history, with versions appearing wherever grains could be ground and cooked. In ancient civilizations—including Ancient Greece and Rome—simple batters of wheat flour and water were cooked on hot stones or griddles and sweetened with honey.
Similar preparations emerged independently across cultures, from popular crepe varieties in France and Belgium to buckwheat cakes in northern Europe to rice-based pancakes in Asia to corn-based 'hoe cakes' and Johnny cakes in the American south, underscoring how universal the technique became.
As milling improved and ingredients like eggs, milk, and leavening became more accessible, pancakes evolved from flat, dense cakes into lighter, fluffier versions.
Today’s pancakes—whether thin and crêpe-like or thick and airy—reflect this long evolution, balancing simplicity with technique, and tradition with personal expression.
Preparing Breakfast Pancakes
Prep Time: 20 min
Cooking Time: 15 min
Yield: 4 portions
Ingredients
1 ea Egg whisked
1/2 C AP flour
1/2 tsp Baking powder
1/2 tsp Granulated Sugar
1 tsp Butter, lightly salted, melted
1/2 C Milk
1/4 tsp Vanilla
(optional)
1 C Chocolate chips, blueberries, walnuts, bananas, etc...
How to Prepare Breakfast Pancakes
Step 1
Crack the egg into a bowl, add the flour & whisk gently until there are no lumps. Add the remaining ingredients, lightly whisk to incorporate.
Strain to be sure there are no egg shells or lumps of flour-
Step 2
Heat a griddle or non stick pan, add a very small amount of butter or spray and ladle batter into the pan-the amount you ladle will dictate the size of the pancake.
Try to make an even, round pancake.
When there are bubbles in the pancake, carefully flip the pancake using a plastic spatula. Check to see if the pancakes are golden brown. If too dark, lower the heat and if too light, leave on a little longer (or raise the heat slightly).
Repeat, keeping the pancakes warm to enjoy.
As you practice, begin to make 2 or 3 pancakes at a time.
Best served fresh and hot with maple syrup, honey, butter, fresh fruit etc...
Chef Tom's Cooking Class Minute: Week 3 Cooking Pork Spare Ribs
Years ago I traveled around the south for a few weeks researching some of the amazing foods of each region. In Charleston, I was introduced to a local pig farmer, Tank Jackson who manages Holy City Hogs. Tank and his wife raise heritage breed pigs and distribute the pigs around the country. He offers on-site cooking whole pig roasts, primal cuts and sausages, and I believe he produces the best pork in the country.
Years ago, while working as a chef in a busy continental restaurant, we featured grilled, fresh swordfish on the menu—finished with a generous spoonful of herbed compound butter and capers. It was popular and delicious. One afternoon, a seafood purveyor stopped by with a sample of frozen swordfish steaks, fully thawed and ready for evaluation. Curious, we grilled it side by side with the “fresh” swordfish we had been serving—fish we believed to be of high quality. The result was surprising. The frozen swordfish was superior—firmer, cleaner in flavor, and more consistent in texture. In contrast, our “fresh” fish, likely several days out of the water, lacked the same integrity. It was a defining moment and an important reminder: in many cases, properly handled and quickly frozen seafood can offer better quality than fish labeled as fresh. For chefs, understanding sourcing and handling is just as critical as technique—especially with a product as prized as swordfish.
Chef Tom's Cooking Class Minute: Week 2 Cooking Rice: creating socarrat—
Chef Tom's Cooking Class Minute: Week 1 The Biggest Mistake People Make When Cooking Scallops
The name "caponata" itself has a fascinating origin story. One popular theory suggests it derives from capone, the Sicilian word for mahi-mahi. Historically, wealthy Sicilian aristocrats enjoyed a sweet-and-sour fish dish. Because seafood was too expensive for the working class, local home cooks substituted fish with affordable, meaty eggplant. Over time, this creative peasant food evolved into the beloved antipasto we celebrate today, often rounded out with celery, olives, and capers.
From Talk to Action: A Chef’s Challenge for School Lunches
The legendary New York-style cheesecake was famously popularized by Lindy’s Restaurant , an iconic Theater District deli opened in 1921 by German-immigrant Leo "Lindy" Lindemann and his wife Clara . A NY-style cheesecake has a dense but velvety cream cheese base, citrus zest, and a distinct cookie-dough pastry crus t. For years, I took the bus into NYC to work in amazing restaurant kitchens. On one bus ride I met and became friends with a manager at the legendary Lindy’s Restaurant. One day, he did the ultimate honor: he shared the closely guarded, original cheesecake recipe with me. This new recipe is directly inspired by that legendary Lindy’s classic, capturing its iconic velvety richness and signature flavor profile, but re-engineered for a modern, protein-packed lifestyle. Why This Recipe Delivers High-protein swap : Cottage cheese provides a clean, protein-packed base that replaces heavy fats without sacrificing richness. Silky texture : Blending the batter thoroughly ensures a velvety smooth consistency that rivals any NY-style cake. Savory-approved : Simple, foolproof assembly that requires no pastry-chef precision to get a perfect bake every time.
One of the great pleasures of my career is spending time each year working as a Culinary Educator aboard a cruise ship alongside my wife. She teaches baking & pastry while I focus on savory cooking and culinary techniques. Our travels take us to fascinating ports around the world, providing opportunities to explore local markets and study regional cuisines. I have a particular affection for the Mediterranean and always make it a point to seek out local variations of pesto, one of the world's great culinary treasures. One evening aboard ship, the pasta station served rigatoni with a choice of pesto, marinara, or Alfredo sauce. The cook prepared each order by reheating the pasta in hot water and then finishing it briefly in a sauté pan with the selected sauce. I watched in disbelief as he prepared to heat the pesto exactly the same way. "Horror!" flashed through my mind. Pesto is not a cooked sauce. Heating it aggressively dulls the fresh basil aroma, darkens its vibrant color, and diminishes the delicate flavors of basil, garlic, pine nuts, and extra virgin olive oil that make pesto so special. I may have startled the cook when I quickly called out, "Please don't cook my pesto!" Instead, I asked him to simply toss the hot rigatoni with the pesto off the heat, allowing the warmth of the pasta to gently release the fragrance and flavor of the basil. The result was exactly as pesto was intended to be enjoyed—fresh, vibrant, aromatic, and unmistakably Mediterranean.
As chefs, we spend years mastering sauté work. I remember my early days working the sauté station for lunch in a French restaurant in NYC. We served over one hundred guests in an hour-and the food was excellent — a dozen hot pans on the flat top, stocks simmering, mise en place of freshly chopped herbs, minced shallots, butter for mounting into sauces à la minute. There is rhythm to good sauté cooking. You learn quickly that great sauté work is not about rushing — it is about organization and control .