SWEDISH PANCAKES

I'm not really a breakfast person. I eat breakfast, but it isn't my favorite meal of the day, so I tend to eat the same couple of things. One morning it's Greek yogurt with lowfat granola and fruit, another morning it's an egg white and turkey sausage sandwich on an Arnold thin. Once in a while it's a high fiber English muffin with some WW cream cheese. Not exciting, but nourishing and calorie conscious.

Then I got the August/September 2009 issue of Food Network magazine and on page 77 was a breakfast (dessert) worth swooning over: Swedish pancakes. Pemit me a bit of a cakewalk here to say that I am mostly quite impressed with this new magazine. While there are some "filler" pages that I could live without--and please spare me another hamburger recipe--for the most part there's a good balance of easy, intermediate, and more complex recipes as well as a showcasing of some to die for foodie products.

Back to those Swedish pancakes. Larry could not believe that after all the cooking and cleaning I did for our Fourth of July BBQ that I was up for making these crepes. I was and we were both delighted with the results. I'll admit I ate four of them topped with a blueberry and strawberry topping dusted with confectioners' sugar. Oh, my, they were light and buttery and airy and slippery and just sweet enough and, did I mention buttery?

Of course, as always happens when I make crepes, it isn't until you get to the 8th or 9th one that the pan is truly seasoned and they just brown perfectly. That's okay because when you fold them, a multitude of sins can be hidden. I save the 4 in the fridge for tomorrow. I have some Bing cherries that will make an incredible topping.

Makes 12 pancakes

1 stick (8 tbs) unsalted butter

1 cup all purpose flour

1 3/4 cup whole milk

3 large eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp salt

Confectioners' sugar, maple syrup, and/or fruit toppings

Melt 4 tbs butter in an 10 inch nonstick skillet (I used 8 ") Combine the flour, milk, eggs, vanilla, and salt in a blender and process until smooth.

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F. Warm the same skillet over medium-high heat until a drop of water bounces and sizzles.

Add 1 tsp butter, turn to coat the pan with the melted butter.

Pour in a scant 1/3 cup (I used 1/4 cup) batter and quickly swirl the pan to evenly coat the bottom. Cook until the pancake sets, 1 to 1 1/2 minutes (DO NOT RUSH THIS STEP). Using a rubber spatula, carefully lift the pancake by the edges and flip. Cook until golden on the other side, 15-30 seconds.

Transfer to a plate (or foil lined baking sheet) and keep warm in the oven while making the others.

Repeat with the remaining butter and batter to make 12 pancakes.

To serve:

Fold in quarters or roll and serve with fruit topping* and a dusting of confectioners' sugar.

*I took a cup of fresh blueberries and a cup of sliced, fresh strawberries and mixed them with 1/3 cup granulated sugar, then heated over low heat for about 10 minutes until they reduced somewhat.