Food on Film: Pancakes from Nancy Meyer’s Something’s Gotta Give
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In the middle of the night, both in their pyjamas they meet in the kitchen and decide between pancakes or pasta for their midnight sleepover snack, and they fall a little bit in love.
It’s my favourite scene in one of Nancy Meyer’s most flawless films, Something’s Gotta Give. Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson’s can make preparing pancakes a palpable setting for romance and turn it into a classic food scene in cinema. The lovely ritual of pancake batter is one that once learnt is never forgotten, she moves through the kitchen with ease picking up each ingredient as he watches in awe. Between flirtations, she only gets to cracking the eggs before they’re interrupted and sadly no pancakes eventuate. But I like to think that this is the version they would have got to eat together had they had the time.
These are a classic American buttermilk pancake which I feel are best suited to something wholesome like blueberries and maple syrup. Here the berries are warmed through in the syrup while you flip the pancakes, it creates a beautiful toffee-like accompaniment. This recipe makes enough for two with lots of leftovers. Take turns to eat each one hot or wait and make a stack and don’t let interruptions interfere.
Sieve the flour and baking powder into a very large mixing bowl. Create a well in the centre. Pour in buttermilk, milk then add the eggs, sugar and salt. Stir and stir and stir.
It should feel like pushing a spoon through thick custard when it’s all combined. Leave it to sit for a bit while you heat through your maple syrup and blueberries in a small pot on the stove. Leave them on a low heat to burst and reduce.
When you’re ready to start the pancakes, heat up the butter in a fry pan and just before it turns brown add half of the butter from the pan into the batter.Stir and get your ladle ready.
Heat the pan up again till it’s a medium high heat with the remaining butter in the pan. The pan should not be hot enough to sizzle the batter straight away but enough to crisp its edges. Pour in your first pancake and wait till bubbles appear on the surface and the edges lift a little before you try and flip it.
The first will never be the best, but if it really fails it’s the best way to try it before anyone else does. Serve in a stack or one by one with a big spoonful of blueberries on top.
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