Saturday I received an e-mail from a friend who lost her mother in September. Although her e-mail was upbeat, she did say this about the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, “It will  be a tough holiday for us with Mom gone. I’m already sad and have my moments but know we’ll get through it-the first of many firsts!!”

It’s understandable for her to be sad and, with bombs bursting in international air, East Coast Americans still reeling from hurricane Sandy, and many of our citizens, out-of-work, unable to pay their bills, this will be a rocky holiday season for many.

Sunday morning breakfast with freshly-squeezed orange juice, sliced bananas, a Gingerbread Spice Dutch Baby pancake and the New York Times – how civilized!

I’m mindful this will be a first holiday season for me also. Luckily this Fall has been joyful – my cup overflowing with good fortune, good health, good people and the kindness of strangers. I am grateful. Since there aren’t “Holiday 2012 Do-Over’s,” I’m determined to do my part to make these next six weeks merrily memorable.

Today would have been Michael’s 84th birthday, a joyous celebratory day which always kicked off the holidays for our family. I wanted this day to remain important and be happy so, of course, food needed to be involved.

Over the past few weeks I’ve received five new cookbooks. Gulp! Gulp! Gulp! Wouldn’t this be a perfect day to try a new recipe? How about something from Deb Perelman’s “the Smitten Kitchen Cookbook, recipes and wisdom from an obsessive home cook.” ( I’ve been called obsessive a few times myself. Deb and I will get along fine.)

This morning I picked up her book and on page 11, I spied a picture of a Gingerbread Spice Dutch Baby pancake. It’s a golden concoction of rumpled goodness, flavored with winter spices, and simplistic in its ingredients. That picture spoke to me.  A delicious breakfast to begin a dicey day. Why not?  A perfect choice – magical to make, festive to see, and very tasty.

Process everything but the butter and toppings in your blender before pouring into a butter-coated ovenproof skillet. I used my cast iron skillet. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

This bright start to my day was followed by unpacking ornaments (drudgery), a lengthy hike (sunny and warm), and then running to my local theatre to see “Lincoln” (not particularly uplifting but a must-see). To continue my theme of “not particularly uplifting”, I’m now watching Ken Burns‘ documentary, “The Dust Bowl” on PBS. Probably not a great idea but, hey, it’s Ken Burns.  

Still, I count this day as very successful, crediting a well-regarded cookbook and its delightfully flavorful rumply, bumpy pancake for providing the jumpstart. Thanks, Deb.

A nutritious but filling breakfast. As Deb says, “The batter is practically austere in its brief ingredient list and in that it contains only a modicum of sugar.”

GINGERBREAD SPICE DUTCH BABY 

(slight flavoring and spice adaptions)

Yield:  One 9-inch pancake

Prep time:  10 minutes

Cook time:  20 minutes

Ingredients

2 large eggs, room temperature

1 tablespoon packed dark brown sugar

2 teaspoon unsulfured molasses*

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon*

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger*

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves*

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg*

1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

1/3 cup whole milk

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Powdered sugar, for dusting. Serve also with maple syrup or crème fraîche, if desired.

Directions

1.Preheat the oven to 400°F. Place the eggs in a blender and blend until smooth and pale in color. Add the brown sugar, molasses, flour, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg, salt, and milk and blend until smooth.

2.Melt the butter in a 9-inch ovenproof skillet over high heat, swirling it up the sides to evenly coat the pan. Pour the batter into the skillet and transfer to the oven. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the pancake is puffed up. Remove from the oven, dust with powdered sugar. Serve with maple syrup or crème fraîche, if desired.

(Note: I doubled the amount of molasses and cinnamon, ginger, cloves and nutmeg, for additional flavor.)