Why Your Leftover Pancakes are an Epic Fail

Dear Tricia, Whenever I make pancake batter, I always end up making too much so I try to save it to cook the next day. Whenever I try to make pancakes on the next day though, they always come out flat. Why is that?

Good question. I can relate to your over-ambitious measuring. I used to always accidentally make too much pancake batter but I've never tried to save the extra to cook later. I think I'm just more of a French toast person.
There's a very simple reason why your pancakes are flat, and unfortunately, its nothing exciting: its just the baking powder. If you check out one of my older blogs about baking powder and baking soda, (Baking Powder vs. Baking Soda: The Ultimate Fight) you'll learn that baking powder works twice to make pancakes rise. First it starts to make the batter rise when it mixes with anything acidic (in pancakes its usually milk). That creates little carbon dioxide gas bubbles. Then the gas bubbles expand rise even more when it comes in contact with heat. That's why its called Double Acting baking powder: the gas bubbles work twice to make the pancake rise. Its like putting gas in a car: it takes a certain amount of gas to get the car started, and then it takes more gas to actually keep the car running. Except that baking powder is a lot cheaper than $2.44 a gallon and won't kill you when you put it in pancakes.
So when you make your pancake batter, whether its from scratch (I know... I'm mocking you by suggesting that), or out of a box, the baking powder starts doing its job as soon as it is completely mixed. But like, a car, what happens when you just leave it running? Eventually it will run out of gas. When you take the batter and mix it up, you'll notice it starts to bubble right away. When you refrigerate the batter and just let it sit, the baking powder runs of carbon dioxide (gas) to make bubbles and eventually the bubbles all pop and make your pancakes flat. Its actually kind of sad, isn't it?
So if you're fine with flat pancakes (come on... don't be picky... we're in a recession!), they're completely safe and sound to eat the next day, but you might be happier sticking two of them together with some syrup and sausage and making your own homemade McGriddle. I guarantee you that yours will give you less McGurgles than the real deal.

You say Omelet, I say... Omelette.

Dear Tricia, I need you to settle a bet. How do you really spell omelet? Is it "omelet," or "omelette?"

I hope you haven't said any regrettable words during this spelling argument because you're both right: it is correctly spelled either way. Its more common to see "omelet" on American menus and "omelette" on French menus, but because French food is fused into lots of American dining, you'll see "omelette" make an appearance on plenty of American menus too. Deciding how to spell it for yourself just depends on how pompous you want to portray yourself as. If you have a mustache, I'd recommend the French spelling.
Originally, the spelling "omelette" belonged to the French; they named it in the mid 1500's way before America was even happening. But when Americans decided to start making omelets, they changed the spelling, because the English language likes to make everything harder than it needs to be.
When you look up "omelet" on Wikipedia, it immediately takes you to the page titled "Omelette," so it may be proper to lean more towards the French spelling. But when have you ever been proper? (I know my readers probably don't fall into that category.) Or perhaps Wikipedia is run by little Frenchies, which is just fine, because Wikipedia happens to do great things for the world, like not letting Scientologists edit their own page on the site. Thanks, Wikipedia.
Also, when I spellchecked this, the french spelling, omelette, came up as incorrect. Again, more proof that either way could be correct.

Other fun facts about omelets:

The Cambodian version of an omelet is called Bi pong moun. Try using that one in a sentence today.

In Japan, the omelet is "Tamagoyaki." But they also came up with a version of it called "Omurice," (and NO, I did not make that up. It really is a combination of the words "omelet" and "rice.") that is an omelet filled with rice and served with a lot of ketchup. I'd like to know who's eaten one of those so I can give them a big hug. Or a slap on the face... I haven't decided yet.

The Iowa Egg Council has a website (www.iowaegg.org) where they give you directions on how to make an omelet in the microwave. Personally, I'm more concerned on why there is even a Council for Eggs, let alone one in Iowa, than I am about the weirdness of a microwave omelet.

In 1994, Japan held the record for making the biggest omelet in the world, but it has since been beaten by Canada, who made an omelet weighing in at 2.95 Tons in 2002. Leave it up to North America to show Japan that yes, bigger is indeed better.

The "Morning After" Breakfast

Dear Tricia, I was doing a little thinking: when you get to the point of cooking breakfast for a boy...you know...you wake up that one specific morning before he does and decide to fill his belly with some snacks and coffee...what do you recommend to make? Keep in mind, nerves are in the picture and I want him to maybe "reward" me or "thank" me for the yummy breakfast. So, my Kitchen Guru...what do you suggest? Forever your fan!

One word: bacon. Men love bacon more than women love shoes and shirtless Brad Pitt scenes in "Fight Club." They love bacon more than we like crying our eyes out to "The Notebook" and talking dirty details about our lives in the bedroom. And to stereotype my gender even more, men like bacon more than we like Carrie Bradshaw and chips and queso. Men could be vomiting up rotten crab legs after a Chinese Buffet binge, but they'll still eat bacon. I've given a 15 pound case of bacon as a gift more than once and have yet to hear any complaints.
If you're going to cook bacon in a pan on the stove, make sure you set the temperature on low to medium heat so that it cooks evenly, otherwise the bacon will burn. Just remember the Beastie Boys lyric "Slow and low, that is the tempo" when you're cooking bacon. Flip it over twice while you're cooking it, and when it's just about crispy, take it out of the pan and put it on some paper towels or newpaper to absorb the extra grease.
If you happen to have a potato sitting around, pre heat your oven to 425 degrees, cut the potato into 1/2" pieces, toss them around in olive oil, salt and pepper, and bake them on a cookie sheet for about 15 minutes until they're tender.
Add some coffee, and I think your special man friend will be quite pleased. Meat, potatoes, and caffeine: what else could he possibly need?

To make things easier on your nerves, here's the order you should follow to get you back in bed faster:
1. Preheat the oven.
2. Wash, cut, and season the potato.
3. Put your potato pieces in the oven.
4. Get a pan hot for the bacon.
5. Get your bacon cooking.
6. Start brewing coffee.
By the time the bacon is done, the coffee will be ready and your potatoes will be almost finished. The whole process should take less than 25 minutes.

If you're an over achiever, feel free to check out some of my other posts on scrambling, poaching, or cooking over easy eggs. On the front page, scroll down to the bottom and click on the link that says "eggs." Throw those babies in a hot tortilla and ooh la la! Breakfast tacos! So gourmet.
If you're not an over achiever, a mediocre achiever of any sorts, or if your fridge is empty, bring him a mimosa. My boyfriend suggested this one, so it comes straight from the horse's mouth. Run down to the Quickie Pickie, grab some cheap champagne and orange juice, mix them up, and serve in a champagne glass. Nothing says fancy like champagne glasses, even if its full of $5 gas station hooch. Having a those cinnamon rolls that come in the pop-open can in your fridge might also come in handy should you be expecting a gentleman caller. Men love cinnamon rolls, even if they're instant ones with diabetes-ridden frosting. Yum.
Happy spooning and good luck with the rest of your morning!