Pancake Day/Shrove Tuesday 2008

If I don't get fasnachts this year I will be a gretzy girl.

Wot?  Canadian? 

<sigh>  At my house, we are divided on this issue.  Steve usually makes his 'pancakes' aka crepes for Pancake Day as dessert to go with our tea.  But he has Spanish class on Tuesday nights this year, so it will be my night up to cook.

I mentioned perhaps we should have American-style pancakes.   He really doesn't like American-style pancakes & thinks it completely disgusting to put syrup on them -- not to mention even more disgusted that I like syrup on my bacon, ham and/or sausage as well.   As far as I'm concerned crepes are a nice dessert, but pancakes they ain't.

And so the debate goes on...  No idea what we're doing this year, and as this is one thing that DH's and my minds will never meet on -- tbh, I don't care what we do.  I'd rather have us some red beans & rice, shrimp creole or feijoada -- put on Brazilian Carnaval music or my Zydeco sampler album & do something entirely Mardi Gras/Carnaval-ish & completely non-pancakey.

anyhow, just had to pass on a nice find in sainsburys. The golden syrup maple kind that is like £.99 is almost identical to american syrups. I was shocked! nice and thick, nice taste. mmmm.

I've been spreading the gospel about this syrup for years, but they dont listen to me.   Maybe they will listen to you! 

My boyfriend prefers the American pancakes, after living in the states for 7 years, his mother does too. They just don't really do them for Shrove Tuesday.

I'm not sure about tossing! I'll have to think about fillings, maybe ask DB what he'd like. 

not to mention even more disgusted that I like syrup on my bacon, ham and/or sausage as well.

Well he just doesn't know what he's missing...     That's my favourite too!

I mentioned perhaps we should have American-style pancakes.   He really doesn't like American-style pancakes & thinks it completely disgusting to put syrup on them -- not to mention even more disgusted that I like syrup on my bacon, ham and/or sausage as well.   As far as I'm concerned crepes are a nice dessert, but pancakes they ain't.

Dh is the same way he says I ruined perfectly good bacon by putting syrup all over it in reality he is just mad because he cant swipe my bacon if it has syrup on it lol.   

Can someone please explain what Pancake Day is all about for those of us too lazy to google it?  My hubby said it was a Catholic thing kind of like Passover!   Is it British as opposed to American Catholic?

It's supposed to be the use-up-the-last of the larder before lent meal. 

My MIL, a devout catholic never understood that one because it's supposed to be the hoo-ha night before lent. She always has pancakes on the first day of lent. 

ed to add:  My MIL had pancakes on Ash Wed instead because it is also a day of fast and abstinence so it's a good meal to have when you can't have meat.

The French version is Mardi Gras which seems to be the one exported to the USA.  So that is probably why the term is not known over there.

It's not exclusively Catholic in the UK though, the Anglicans definitely do it too, so traditionally that's most Christians in the UK although it's mostly secular now.  It's just the day before lent.

I never knew Canada celebrated it British style though.

Edited to add: Shrove Tuesday is definitly religious but most people making pancakes on Pancake Day aren't doing it for religious reasons.

I have crossed out 'Shrove Tuesday' that was written (pre-printed) on our UK calendar, and put 'Mardi Gras' instead!

I was just going to say, FASNACHTS!!  I might do fasnachts in the morning, DH is doing English pancakes for dinner.

Can you post your recipe?  Thanks!

If I don't get fasnachts this year I will be a gretzy girl.

Mine's from the Mennonite Community Cookbook, which I got for Christmas a couple years ago and OMG if you like PA Dutch food it is an absolute must-buy. It's fantastic and I use it all the time, for everything from breads to desserts to chicken pot pie to noodles to casseroles. Very "down-home" cooking, and the stories about the barn raisings and killing a chicken when you see company arriving are just priceless!

Luckily someone else already typed out the recipe so I don't have to. Fastnacht recipe here. mmmmm

Edit: oh, and "1 sm yeast cake" = 1 packet dried yeast = 2 1/4 teaspoons dried yeast

We don't call it Pancake Day or Shrove Tuesday in our familly...it's jiff lemon day instead!

But this year it'll be American style pancakes with maple syrup - we got the Aunt Jemima mix and syrup from the Lupe Pintos shop in Glasgow.

Although I do like them, I'm not that huge a fan of American pancakes. The best, in my opinion, are oatmeal pancakes. And the maple syrup has to be real--I don't do corn syrup, blech.

I'd been making crepes for years, but never encountered the lemon and sugar thing until I came here, and I love it! Has to be real lemons, though, not the bottled stuff.

Yes, I am a "real food" snob...

That makes two of us.  It has to be real lemons, not jif, it has to be real maple syrup, and I just don't get the idea of using pancake mix when they are so easy to make from scratch, sorry!

Vicky

American pancakes all the way!  Ten years in the US and my English husband is a complete convert.  He even likes maple syrup on them.  IHOP "breakfast samplers" all 'round.

We celebrated Shrove Tuesday at our Presbyterian church in the US.  Big pancake supper in the evening with pancake races for the kids, and my daughter was once selected to be "queen" of Mardis Gras - her name was drawn from a hat  .  She got to wear a crown and sit on a "throne" next to the king, to hand out chocolate coins to race winners.

I'm a pretty good pancake flipper!  I just got a new skillet lately which is better (heavier) than my old one though.  It may cramp my style and impede my wrist action.  Might not get as much height on the flip.     We'll see.