Start the new year right

An adventurous pancake breakfast for family and friends

Breakfast factors in all our weekend plans. We happily travel for a great skillet of spicy eggs, tower of golden pancakes, platter of inventive French toast. I have my favorite spots all over the country from Jack’s Wife Freda in New York to Biscuit Love in Nashville to Sqirl in Los Angeles and Milktooth in Indianapolis.

The family also enjoys more than a dozen favorites in the Chicago area. But, really, our favorite spot for a great breakfast with friends is the kitchen table. The whole family enjoys cooking together to start the day right. It’s even better when weekend guests join in the fun.

More often than not, we start with a recipe that ran in the Chicago Tribune in the early 1980s during my time as test kitchen director. It’s more of a custardy, caramely fruit pancake than a traditional cakey pancake. We’ve personalized it over the years, sometimes using pumpkin pie spice in place of cinnamon, and upgrading the apples to our new favorites: Honeycrisp and SweeTango. Most times, we double the recipe to make four pancakes to serve company. Leftovers reheat beautifully.

Brown sugar and curry glazed sliced ham or Canadian bacon makes an intriguing savory breakfast meat to accompany either of these pancakes. Just know that my husband regularly licks his plate clean of all the curry glaze, it’s that yummy.

This pancake recipe might seem like a lot of work because of all the directions, but I am trying to guide you through to foolproof pancakes, so you and your company have a great time. And you taste the pleasure of homemade breakfast.

ZBIGNIEW BZDAK/CHICAGO TRIBUNE; SHANNON KINSELLA/FOOD STYLING Baked apple pancakes, which are more custardy and caramely than a traditional pancake, can be served with curried glazed ham, right.