Pancakes or Blini: any flour will do

Is it true that every culture has a variation of "the pancake"? I'm discovering that a pancake can be a wonderful gluten-free alternative to bread for any meal. They are quick, cheap, simple, store-able, and vkusniya (yummy!). I urge you to cook some up for a special Sunday brunch this weekend, and save the extras (if there are any) for dinner.

Chestnut flour blini with fruit salad filling

In Russian, pancakes are called blini (blee-nee) or blinchiki. In Ukrainian, mlyntsi. The root of the word comes from the old slavic verb meaning "to mill". They are sometimes made paper-thin like the French crepes, and sometimes small and stocky like IHOP silver dollars. 

I've been on a a blini-binge the past few weeks: trying a different type of gluten free flour each week. So far, corn, chestnut, and rice flour all work wonderfully, each with a distinctive color and taste. I'm going to keep experimenting with other gluten free flours. Blini can be paired with fruity/sweet fillings, or savory fillings, or just served on the side as a vehicle for wiping up sauces at the end of a meal.

Basic Blini Recipe (thin style)
You can use a blender, but they are such a pain to clean! It's really easy to whip the batter by hand with a whisk:

• 2 eggs
• 1 1/4 cup milk (or almond/soy/hemp)
• 1 cup flour (rice, corn/masa, GF blend, or half-chestnut and half-rice)
• dash of salt
• 2 Tbs vegetable or olive oil

Let stand for at least 30 minutes while you prepare your fillings. This lets the flour expand and makes for better crepes, and is especially important for corn flour.

Heat a non-stick or cast iron skillet on medium high, and brush with oil.
Using a 1/3 cup ladle, spread a portion of the batter on the pan, and tilt the pan circularly to get a nice thin blin. (If you're using a cast iron skillet like I do, you get an added arm muscle workout!)

When the top is dry and the edges are a tiny bit brown (around a minute), flip the blin and let cook no more than 30 seconds. This excellent video shows the process: Foodwishes.com Guide to cooking the perfect crepe
 
Heat oven to 200 degrees, and keep a cookie sheet there to keep them warm, adding as you cook them.

Ready to be devoured! Corn flour makes really yellow blini

Fillings: 
Set your table with lots of filling options. You and your guests can make each blini roll-up unique!

• Any and all fruit, cut up small into a fruit salad
• Sour cream & jam mixed
• Fresh lemon wedges
• Cinnamon
• Crushed nuts
• Honey, maple syrup
• Caviar (the authentically Russian choice!)
• Savory scrambled eggs with salsa
• Asian stir fry
• Mexican spiced black beans
• Any meat & vegetable saut
• Base for cannoli