Building a better pancake

Ever since I moonlighted at the Café Zola (more than 10 years ago now, when it first opened!), I've loved to make crèpes.

This was before I ever went to France, or lived in Belgium, where crèpes, while perhaps not "everyday" are certainly no big deal. The idea of living in Europe wasn't even a gleam in my eye. I needed some extra money and Hediye and Alan, Zola's owners, were kind enough to take me on.

I learned to make crèpes on two large hot crèpe-griddles with a wooden flipper, and I've never looked back.

There's still a place in my heart for the thicker-waisted, rib-sticking American pancake. But it's the thinner, European kissing-cousin version I turn to time after time.

All of which to say: I have discovered, accidentally, a way to improve the recipe.

Crèpe batter is pretty basic: roughly 2:1 milk to flour (about 1 1/2 cups milk to 3/4 cup flour, in American measures), plus one egg and two tablespoons of butter (melted). I've gone through phases of adding pinches of sugar, pinches of salt, and glugs of orange juice. But the other day I was low on milk and did not want to run to the shop so I substituted.... buttermilk. And the result was fantastic. About a week later I made another batch, upping the buttermilk to almost half of the milk allotment. Result: fabulous!

I swear there is nothing better on a wet autumn day.

(Photo credit note: UnfortunatelyI cannot find the camera.... so this is a photo from Wikipedia)