Pancakes

1 1/2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
3 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tbl sugar
1 1/4 cups cold milk
3 tbls melted butter
1 egg

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a big bowl. Mix the egg and milk together then add the melted butter and stir to combine. It will be lumpy. Add the milk mixture to the flour. Mix until just smooth. Pour 1/4 cup scoops onto a heated skillet. Flip when it gets brown on the bottom, dry around the edges and bubbles are breaking. Cook till done. Makes about 8.

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I love pancakes. They are one of the best things, ever. This recipe is my current favorite since it's easy and butter comes out while they cook. I mean, come on. That's good stuff right there. You add the melted butter to the cold milk and it makes little butter nuggets that mix into the batter. These form little pockets of rich, buttery goodness and some of it comes oozing out while it cooks and helps it brown. Another great thing I've found about these pancakes (and might be true of all kinds, I don't know) is that they freeze great. I make a whole batch, my girlfriend and I eat half and I freeze the other half. They reheat in the microwave surprisingly well or you could do it in the oven, somehow, I'm sure. I never tried. Unfortunately me, the camera and the lighting had a bit of a confrontation so the pictures aren't that good. But I'm putting it up anyway. That's just the kind of guy I am. All right, here we go. Flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. In the bowl.
Sometimes I whisk it, sometimes I use a spoon, sometimes I just shake the bowl around. Depends on the time of day, really. Now, last time I made these I forgot to add the salt. It just so happens that I used salted butter and we didn't notice any difference. Something to think about. Now you want to melt the butter. I do it on the stove in these little metal cup measures. You can use a microwave too. Mix the egg and the milk together. Now add the melted butter. Notice the butter turns into those little nuggets I was talking about. This is good. Now dump it in the flour and mix it into batter. No need to go crazy, just mix to combine.Now pour 1/4 cups of it onto the skillet you have been preheating to medium high this whole time. Preheating is key if you want pancakes to brown well. Now look at this, if you can make it out through the blurry photo that is butter oozing out of the batter. These puppies grease the skillet all by themselves. Of course, I also use a nonstick skillet... if you don't you might need to grease it anyway. When the bottom is brown, little bubbles are breaking and the sides are dry flip them. There is a secret to flipping pancakes. I found it after years and years of screwing up. The secret is... don't screw up. I always do. Like that guy in the upper right there. He tried to escape off the griddle and now he is a mutant. I've found the secret, not mastered it. Now, cook them till they are brown on the other side and cooked through. Then put them on a plate, top them with your stuff of choice and eat them.