Happy Shrove Tuesday Everyone!

Well the menu plan went out the window today!  The original plan was for chicken and black bean quesadillas, but I realized this morning that it's Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras! 

For my entire life, my mom has always made these amazing skinny pancakes covered in sugar and jam on Shrove Tuesday.  So today I went over to my mom's house to get a copy of the recipe.  She broke out what can only be described as a "vintage" cookbook, well loved, cover fallen off years ago, pages stained with water marks - a truly loved recipe book. 

When I went to the house to pick up the recipe, I noticed that she was using her mixer to mix the batter  When I usually make pancakes, I just whisk the ingredients together and away we go.  Mom told me that the mixture needs to be really really thin to make them perfectly. 

Ingredients:
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs
1 cup milk
2 tbsp margarine
Sugar
Jam

In the bowl of the mixer, place 1/2 cup of flour. Make a well in the flour and crack the eggs into the well.  Add half of the milk and mix on low speed for 4-5 minutes.

Mix in the other half of the milk and mix for another minute or two.  Transfer the batter into a measuring cup with a spout.

Melt a small amount of margarine in your frying pan.  Pour  very thin layer of batter into the pan, roll the pan around to spread the batter around evenly.

Here is a picture of my helper.  And yes, she's wearing her pyjamas at 5pm.  It's kind of her thing.

Cook pancake until golden brown on the bottom and little teeny tiny bubbles appear on the top of the pancake.  Flip the pancake and cook the other side until it is golden too.

Transfer the pancake to a warmed plate (I used a pizza shaped cookie sheet, warmed in a 350 degree oven).  Sprinkle the top of each pancake with sugar (I just used regular every day sugar, that's how my mom always made them!).  Put in the oven to keep warm.  Repeat the process until all of your batter is gone.  I managed to make 6 shroves out of the one recipe of batter.

Just before serving, place a teaspoon of jam in the middle of the pancake, roll it up, and sprinkle some more sugar on top.  I think I realize now why my mom only made these one day a year - so much sugar, yummy yummy sugar! My kids are never going to sleep tonight! 

Now after a deliciously decadent dinner, I have to figure out what I am going to give up for Lent!!