Pancakes on the Barbie (Dec 2008) - Easy Peasy Brunch with Friends!

        So Ryan and I wanted to have a nice little intimate gathering of friends just before the Christmas crazyness hit us all. What better way than to crank up the barbie, for pancakes that is! Ryan's new bbq (at the time) was really under utilised and we didn't really want to mess up his mum's newly renovated kitchen so we thought we'd do things simple. And pancakes are just soooo good and easy to do on the bbq.

        So what's my secret recipe? I'll let you in on it... it's on the back of a carton of Dairy Farmer's Buttermilk. The website also has some cool recipe search functions where you can search recipes by product as well. Seriously, buttermilk pancakes are THE BEST pancakes. I tend to just throw together the pancake batter without following the recipe exactly now but buttermilk just gives the pancakes another dimension. I've also tried to do canadian pancakes where you whip the egg whites seperately and fold it into the mixture but for my friends who are not cooks (like those pictured in this blog =p ) this is the best recipe to use as you can't really go wrong with it. Just a few tips to make the most of it, sift your flour first before mixing, and let the batter sit for a little bit (perhaps while you prepare toppings/fillings for your pancakes or waiting for the bbq to warm up).

        So Ryan and I prepared everything and got our friends to help "cook". Seriously, there is nothing hard about pouring batter onto a hot bbq and making sure they don't burn =p. Haha in the photo it appears as if I am watching over her. Ryan is there in the background on the gas stove top making caramelised bananas.

        I swear I am dating a firebug, he loves all things flame related, always setting alcohol on fire when he cooks (part of the recipe of course).  Pictured here setting the rum on fire. He absolutely enjoyed it, and it was fun to watch too.

        Ryan's caramelised bananas, delish! Simply just some brown sugar melted, bananas added and then a few splashes of rum and set it on fire and simmer until it all caramelises. The rum adds body to it.

Some frolicking going on, get back to work guys!

        The best thing about the flat grill plate? 6 pancakes at a time! Plus more evenish heat, imagine cooking all those pancakes in a regular fry pan on the stove top.

        So toppings/fillings that accompanied our pancakes L-R: Fresh banana for caramelised bananas, white and milk chocolate buttons, fresh strawberries and blueberries, lemon wedges to be squeezed over icing sugar (cup in the middle). We also had a tub of ice cream and a bottle of maple syrup kindly donated by a brunch attendee.

        Thankfully our wonderful friends did not burn any pancakes and they were all edible =D. The buttermilk makes the pancakes extra fluffy. Better than Pancakes On The Rocks anyday =p.

        We have choc chip pancakes here, we also mixed the blueberries into some batter and had blueberry pancakes.

This is the lovely Di =).

        After stuffing ourselves with pancakes galore we have a game of Taboo. A fun and filling day had by all. So what would be your ideal brunch event?