While we’re at home from our San Francisco Food Tour of North Beach\Little Italy and Chinatown, we’re making some nice breakfasts. One of my favorites is pancakes. I like to make my own pancake mix, then add my own ingredients. Like most people, I’ll use some eggs with my wet ingredients. One thing that I like to do to make them lighter is I’ll separate the egg yolks from the egg whites, then whip the egg whites into stiff peaks. Before I whip the egg whites, I like to add a pinch of cream of tartar, so the whipped egg whites will hold their shape better. A stand mixer is ideal for whipping the egg whites. Finally, I’ll fold the egg whites back into combined dry and wet ingredients for the pancakes. This even works if you want to use a boxed pancake mix.
On our San Francisco Food Tours, everyone has their tricks to make a better breakfast. At the pastry shops, making their own filling, such as strawberry or lemon. Making the filling from real strawberries and lemons makes for much more flavorful pastries. And, of course, using real locally made organic butter really helps their flavor. That even works at home, using fresh local ingredients ends up with some great breakfasts.