Gail Brown is a lot like her pancakes, sweet and saucy. While her sweet side is devoted to food and family, her saucy side includes a history of racing cars and walking on hot coals. What does this add up to? An interesting woman with fascinating stories who, by the way, makes the best apple pancakes I’ve ever eaten.
As a young mother, Gail wanted to start a Christmas tradition. She found the recipe in a holiday cookbook and started making it for her family. They raved about it and so for over 40 years, some time between Thanksgiving and Christmas, Gail makes apple pancakes with apple cider syrup. In the beginning it was for her sons Andrew and Jason. The boys brought friends who in turn brought their families. Neighbors showed up. The crowd grew larger as her sons got older and had kids of their own. Friends and neighbors also reproduced a second generation and on pancake day, Gail could expect a crowd of 30-50 people lined up to enjoy the goodness.
One of the secrets of the syrup is that it takes a while to slowly simmer. Gail poured apple cider into a pot and set it to boil while she shared some of her history. Her philosophy of food is that it is a tradition. She believes that successful families that stay together are those that eat together. Coming back to the family table is important. In this photo, Gail is with her youngest son, Andrew, who works as a Senior A/V Specialist at a financial services firm. Her eldest son Jason is a tow truck operator and repo man. Between the two boys, Gail is a proud grandmother of 6 grandkids.
A native of Bucks County, PA, Gail learned to cook at her mother’s side. Active church participants, they helped out at church events, cooking for the community and for holidays. That’s her sweet side.
Her saucy side is completely different. Gail’s father had a trucking company and the employees there used to buy their drinks from a coke machine. Gail collected the empty bottles, turning them in for cash. In high school, she bought old Chevys for $36 and raced them in crash up derbies at the Roosevelt Raceway on Route 1. While studying Art Education at Moore College of Art in Philadelphia, she upgraded her car preferences and raced mustangs instead.
Andrew began peeling and grating the apples as I heard more sweet stories: Gail’s work experience also included:
-nursery school teacher
-children’s photographer
-commercial cleaners (her family and friends still brag about her ability to get stains out of anything)
-long term babysitter for when corporate executives had to travel (even on the day of our pancake party, Gail showed up with a very intelligent 10 year old named Allie who I must admit gets photo credit for some of the shots in this entry, including this one of the apple and the one below of the measuring cup).
Back to the saucy part. Gail added cornstarch to thicken the sauce. The aroma of apple cider filled the kitchen as Gail revealed that she also used to work for Self-help guru Tony Robbins, enrolling companies into his learning programs. She’s also done a ropes course and walked on hot coals. She threw this casually into the conversation. Then the topic changed and I didn’t bring it back up again. I missed the opportunity to find out what was most likely more saucy information. My bad.
Once the batter was ready, Gail poured it onto the griddle. Bubbles formed and popped while the edges solidified. Gail had a sixth sense as to when each pancake was ready to be flipped. She made it look so easy. I thought, “how hard can it be to flip pancakes?” and tried to do it myself. The first few, I flipped too early and the batter ran down the sides of the griddle. The next 10 or so, I flipped and they somehow folded in on themselves and never quite flattened out. 
Turns out there is some special flipping pancake wrist action Gail perfected over the past 40 years.
These pancakes are fantastic! (At least the ones Gail made. The ones I tried to flip were raw in the middle). When eaten separately from the syrup, the pancakes taste soft and sweet. Flecked with apples, they are satisfying while the apple cider sauce/syrup is a little tart, with just enough sugar to satisfy my sweet tooth. Together, however, the pancakes and syrup are awesome. It’s like eating apple pie for breakfast. Mine were served with bacon and sausage which I eagerly dipped into the extra syrup.
Look how happy I am! I’m eating a warm, gooey, highly enjoyable breakfast, thanks to a sweet and saucy cook. This recipe is worth it–throw off your New Year’s diet resolutions and dig in! Instead of avoiding temptation, resolve to incorporate this dish into your January menu thereby insuring a sweet start to your year.
Lessons learned
-When someone says they have walked on hot coals, ask for more details immediately! Do not let the conversation take another turn. Do not taste the apples. Sure, they’re good but you’ll just get distracted and lose the hot coals moment.
-10 year olds are the perfect food photographers. Not only are they inquisitive, but their height puts their eye level right at the food on the table. This avoids them bending down and getting flash shadows. Where can I get my own 10 year old to travel with me and be my shooter? Allie, if you’re reading this, I’m hiring and am willing to pay you in cookies . . .
Apple Cider Syrup Recipe
Ingredients:
8c + 1 c apple cider
4c sugar
1 ½ tsp pumpkin spice
1 ½ tsp cinnamon
8 tbs cornstarch
1 stick sweet butter
1 tsp lemon juice
Directions:
-Pour 8 cups of apple cider and 4 cups of sugar into a pot and heat it on high until it boils, stirring occasionally. The sugar will start to bubble and you can hear it sizzle.
-Reduce the temperature until simmering.
-Add pumpkin spice and cinnamon to pot. Continue to simmer for ½ an hour.
-In a separate bowl, mix 1 cup apple cider with 8 tablespoons of cornstarch. Add to the pot of sugar and cider. Stir until blended.
-Leave on a slow rolling boil/simmer for ½ an hour.
-Add the stick of butter and lemon juice.
-Continue to keep pot on low heat for at least one hour, stirring occasionally until ready to serve.
Apple Pancakes Recipe
Ingredients:
6 granny smith or macintosh apples (if all else fails, use applesauce)
8 c Bisquick
4 eggs
3 Tbs vegetable oil
½ tsp pumpkin spice
½ tsp cinnamon
2-3 c apple cider
2 c milk
Directions:
-Peel and grate apples.
-Mix Bisquick, eggs and vegetable oil.
-Stir in grated apple, pumpkin pie spice, cinnamon, 2 c apple cider and 2 c milk.
-If mixture looks too thick, add in extra cup of apple cider.
-Coat the griddle with non-stick spray and heat it to approx 350 degrees Farenheit
-Pour approx 1/6 of a cup of batter on the griddle to form one pancake. Continue filling the rest of the griddle. (Gail is able to fit 8 pancakes on her griddle).
-When the bubbles start to pop and edges begin to solidify, flip the pancake.
-Check the edges of the pancake. When they turn a darker golden brown, the pancake is finished. It takes approx 4 minutes to cook the entire front/back of a pancake.
