I am definitely, indisputably, unreservedly American. There are many reasons I’m not stereotypically American — for one, I’ve lived abroad for almost half my life. But no matter how many years we live away and how many passports we accrue, there are deep, important, immovable parts of us that remain American as they come. They all have to do with family, and most have to do with food.

Though I’ve taken to the Italian way of (not) eating breakfast over the years, Eric still believes the old marketing adage we were fed as American schoolchildren: that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Most morning he eats a huge bowl of oatmeal and on the weekend he loves a massive, over-the-top, pancakes and hash browns and eggs and bacon breakfast and I find myself accusing him - absurdly, I know; lovingly, always - of being, “so American.”

Truth is, we were both raised on these classic American breakfasts — his made by his mother, mine by my father — and we both love them. Weekdays were for cereal or toast but weekends were for pancakes, waffles or French toast; platters of bacon and breakfast sausage; eggs scrambled, sunny side up or over-easy; home fries; fruit salad; corn or blueberry muffins; all of it drenched in local maple syrup that my dad would heat up before serving because he’s the cutest.

I like to think that I would make our kids these big American breakfasts, but if I’m being honest, I don’t think I would. It still surprises me when, on groggy Sunday mornings, Eric starts whipping up his mother’s pancakes - now called Grandma’s pancakes - and all the extras for a full table of bed-headed children (and me). We eat them as they come off the pan next to whatever’s left of the bacon. We eat them like I did as a kid, fighting with my siblings over the little pitcher of maple syrup.

To simplfy things, and in line with tradition, he keeps a big batch of pancake mix in a big glass jar with the batter recipe in his mother’s handwriting taped to the side. The littlest ones help him mix the batter, and drop blueberries or chocolate chips into their pancakes. We fight over the last drops of maple syrup. It smells, sounds and tastes like America in our London kitchen.

This crazy year, the only one we won’t be going home to our parents and their perfect, fluffy pancakes, we’ll keep making our own. It brings us home no matter where we are. And reminds me that breakfast might just be the most important meal of the day.

Grandma’s Classic Fluffy American Pancakes

This pancake mix is meant to made in advance and makes enough for now and later: use what you need (see pancake recipe below), and save the rest in a sealed jar or container. As you can see in the photo of the original recipe at the bottom of this post, grandma would make an enormous batch of pancake mix, using 12 cups of flour, 2 tablespoons salt, 3/4 cup sugar, and 3/4 cup baking powder. Feel free to use these quantities or the more manageable ones below, which will make enough mix for more than 3 weekends’ worth of pancakes. The mix should be made in advance and the batter can be - just cover the bowl and stick it in the fridge overnight.

PANCAKE MIX

4 cups flour (grandma mixes varieties - mostly white, with some wheat and some bran, or any obscure flour you’ve got)

2 teaspoons salt

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup baking powder

Mix ingredients together; store in airtight container until you’re ready to make pancakes.

FLUFFY PANCAKE RECIPE

1.5 cups pre-made pancake mix (recipe above)

1 egg

1 cup milk

2 tablespoons oil or melted butter (about 30 grams of melted butter) plus more butter for the pan

chocolate chips or blueberries (both are optional! I’m team blueberry!)

Real maple syrup* for serving

In a large bowl, whisk an egg with 1 cup milk and 2 tablespoons melted butter or oil until combined. Stir in 1.5 cups pancake mix. Let it sit for a few minutes. If you’re a true genius, you’ll do this part the night before so in the morning you just have to heat up your frying pan to become a hero.

Heat a large flat-bottomed frying pan over medium or medium-low heat. Spread a little pat of butter to coat the bottom. Spoon evenly-sized dollops of batter into the pan, making sure they don’t touch. If you want to add chocolate chips or blueberries, now is the time: just drop a few onto each uncooked pancake. Cook for 3 -5 minutes on the first side, flipping with a spatula once the top is covered in little bubbles but taking care not to let the bottom burn. It’s not an exact science, you just have to watch them and experiment with the heat. They’re ready to come off the pan and onto waiting plates once both sides are golden brown and the insides are no longer goopy. (NB: if you add frozen berries, they will take longer to cook.) We all mess up making pancakes so don’t worry if some are burnt or run together. They’re just pancakes, and you’ll get the hang of it.

Serve immediately or keep warm in the oven. Serve with butter and maple syrup. We love them with streaky bacon, fried eggs and lots of filter coffee.

*American food is usually not pedantic, but I am: only real maple syrup will do here. It’s expensive, I know, but it’s one of those things that can’t be substituted. I prefer Grade B, which is a bit stronger and less fancy than Grade A, but can’t find it outside North America.