Let them eat (pan)cakes

Last week my 6-year-old woke up in a mood. I couldn’t do anything right for him that morning, and I was pretending to not be in a hurry. Being in a hurry is the best way to cause a meltdown. If you want to get out the door, you have to act like you have all the time in the world. I asked him if he wanted toast for breakfast, even though it was already ready. He agreed and I spread it with jam, like usual. He let me know that my performance review was coming in low that day with his grunts of frustration. He didn’t want jam; he wanted cheese. OK, well, that was a request out of left field. I had already spread it with jam, and we didn’t have time to make more, and I didn’t want to waste it. I encouraged him to take a bite and hoped he would remember the other 300 times he had eaten it with jam and enjoyed it. He demanded that I get him a slice of cheese. I finally obliged, and he plopped it on top of his jammy toast. I admit I was a little surprised that he ate the whole thing because he isn’t one for a complex palate. After thinking about it, this is a combination that should be given more attention.

When I visited Brazil, guava paste and cheese was very common on pizza, bread or just on its own. That is still one of my favorite snacks. The closest thing I’ve had to this is a Monte Cristo, which goes extra on the cheese and jam combo, adding mayo and powdered sugar. My dad first introduced me to this sandwich when I was a teenager. I looked at him with skepticism when he ran down the ingredient list. I’m sure there was a look of disgust mixed in. But, when my dad is right, he’s right. My children should trust my judgment when it comes to food.

The traditional sandwich is an indulgent French toast. It’s also almost too much to eat. Making it into a pancake makes it a more suitable size so you don’t get full on the bread. This puts the ham, cheese and jam combo up front, while maintaining the delightfully buttery, crispy edges. Still, you only need one pancake. It’s a good serving size.

Chances are, you have leftover ham for this recipe right now. Holiday leftovers are inevitable. If not, you can use deli ham, and I think a Brazilian-style version,

Monte Cristo Pancakes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup ~ our

• 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda

• 1 tablespoon sugar

• 1 cup milk plus 2 tablespoons

• 1 egg

• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons butter, melted

• 7 pieces of ham, thinly sliced

• 7 thin slices of Gruyere cheese (substitute grated cheese if needed)

• 1/2 cup raspberry or lingonberry jam

• Powdered sugar for dusting

Directions:

In a mixing bowl, add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and sugar. Stir with a whisk. In another bowl, stir together milk, egg and 2 tablespoons butter. Add the wet ingredients to the flour mixture. Stir briefly until it comes together, don’t over stir. It will be a little lumpy.

Assemble your filling by spreading 1 tablespoon jam over each of the ham slices and sandwiching with a slice of cheese.

In a heavy bottomed pan, heat over medium low. Add a couple of tablespoons of butter when it is hot.

Ladle approximately 1/4 cup of batter to the pan. Lay the filling over the raw batter. Ladle a thin layer of pancake batter over the top of the cheese — just 1-2 tablespoons is needed. When you see some bubbling coming through the pancake batter, flip the pancake and cook on the other side, approximately 1-2 more minutes. Repeat the process with the next pancake, making sure to add butter to the pan each time to get those crispy edges.

Serve pancakes hot, dusted with powdered sugar. Makes 7 pancakes.

Mariko Jackson writes about family and food. Email her at thelittlefoodie@gmail.com.