Breakfast in Bed
Mother’s Day is this weekend. And, while you would imagine that all thoughts would be on Mom, I can’t help but think of my Dad.

Mother’s Day was always kind of a weird day growing up. As a kid, I had a love-hate relationship with Mother’s Day. Obviously, I loved my mother and wanted to celebrate her. But, more often than not, Mother’s Day landed on my birthday and instead of having cake and celebrating with my friends, I would be forced to go to a Mother’s Day brunch at some restaurant because that is what my grandmother wanted to do. Not an 8-year old’s idea of a good time!

After my grandparents moved to Arizona, we celebrated Mother’s Day in the way you would expect with handmade cards (or the occasional school made pottery project of nondescript nature) and breakfast in bed. That’s where Dad comes in…

Mom had a snazzy white bed tray that was great for breakfast in bed because it had these cubbies on the side for a newspaper or whatever. But, the cubbies made the tray stable. You could push yourself up to a seated position without spilling the orange juice. And, if you weren’t eating, the top would stand up like an easel so you could read or write, etc. It was perfect. As a kid, I thought it was the coolest thing ever.

Dad was the king of weekend breakfast. If there were waffles on the iron, toast that was French, or pancakes on the griddle, he was in charge. And, as you can imagine, these were some of the rotating items on the annual Mother’s Day menu. There was one option though that will forever be tied to my father, Swedish Pancakes.

I have a very distinct memory of standing by his side at the stove while he instructed me on the ins and outs of perfect Swedish Pancake preparation. They can’t be too thick but they can’t be too thin either. And the trick to spreading the batter out evenly in the pan is all in the wrist. Swedish pancakes were a big deal and without question for me a favorite Mother’s Day option.

Now that I have my own family, the tradition continues. Even my angst-y teenagers get excited and smile when I announce that I’m making Swedish Pancakes for breakfast. I have also passed on all of the prep knowledge to my daughter. And, I am happy to announce that she’s got the batter spreading wrist action down.

There will be no Swedish Pancakes for me this year though. My boys’ 15th birthday is on Sunday… So, yeah.

Swedish Pancakes
Yields about 12 pancakes

These pancakes are served folded with butter and dusted with confectioners’ sugar. They are also great with a squeeze of lemon, or a smear of jam, or berries on the side.

Ingredients
3 eggs
1 1/4 cups milk
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon butter, or as needed

Directions
Beat the eggs in a bowl with an electric mixer until thick and lemon-colored (about 3 to 5 minutes). Stir in the milk until incorporated.

Sift the flour, sugar, and salt together in a bowl. Add the sifted flour mixture to the egg mixture, a little at a time. Mix until batter is smooth.

Grease a skillet or griddle with butter and place over medium heat until a single drop of water bounces across the pan.

Drop a tablespoonful of batter onto the skillet and spread the batter to make thin pancakes. You can do this either by using the back of a large spoon or by swirling it around with your wrist.

Cook the pancake until light brown on the bottom (about 1 to 2 minutes). Flip and continue cooking until the second side is light brown (about 1 to 2 minutes more).

Repeat with the remaining batter.

Fold the pancakes in quarters and serve them warm with butter, confectioners’ sugar, and/or fresh berries on the side.