Banana Sour Cream Pancakes & Hotel Room Service

Quite often, food reminds us of special times in our lives.  Culinary memories, if you will.

My Mother-In-Law was telling me over the weekend that the smell of cinnamon rolls makes her think of her Mother.  She used to bake them in the afternoons so that they were fresh and warm for an after school snack.  Nice, huh?  I think I should adopt that tradition too…:)  I have talked about all of this before, I know!  So I won’t ramble on about it, except to say that this recipe represents one of my own food memories.  Just looking at the picture above makes me smile (and it makes my stomach growl)!  Years ago, before we had children, my husband and I were staying at a hotel in St. Paul while enjoying a few days in the city.  In the morning, while I slept in, he got up early and ordered room service for us.  Not knowing what I would be hungry for he asked for one of everything!  Did I mention my husband is the best ever?  He knows the way to my heart is through my stomach!  Well, and Barnes & Noble.
Anyway, I opened my eyes to our very own personal breakfast buffet!  A pile of fresh fruit and yogurt, scrambled eggs, bacon, pancakes, granola, hot chocolate (my FAV), coffee, juice, everything!  And we…erm…ate it all.  And it was really, really, good.  But something that stood out was the banana maple topping for the pancakes.  With the exception of using them in baked oatmeal, I am not a huge fan of warm bananas.  They get mushy and squishy and uhg!  Ishy.  But that day, our beautiful pancakes arrived with a little ramekin of sliced bananas that were literally swimming in warm maple syrup and pecans.  So we just kind of shrugged, and then dumped the whole thing over the lake of melted butter that had formed on the top of our stack.

Un-be-LEIVable!  We dubbed them ‘those hotel pancakes’ and never looked back.  Who knew that warm maple bananas on pancakes would be so good?!  Add the crunch of nuts and the saltiness of a side of bacon and you have one special meal.  All of that on top of a banana sour cream pancake?  Yes, please!!!  I have been making these pancakes for years and they are so good, my daughter prefers them unadorned and in the hand like a snack.  And if you decide to throw this combo together, the full breakfast buffet is optional.
One Year Ago: Weeknight Apple Pie, Gringo Chicken Soup, Asian Turkey Lettuce Wraps, Chocolate Pudding Cake 
Two Years Ago: Chicken Salad, Midnight Crunchies, Crispy Bars

Banana Sour Cream Pancakes
Inspired by Ina and that one hotel we stayed at once.

2 bananas, mashed with a fork
In a large bowl, whisk together:
1 c all purpose flour
1/2 c white whole wheat flour or whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
In a small bowl, whisk together:
1/2 c sour cream
3/4 c milk
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3 T honey

Gently stir in the mashed bananas.  Carefully mix the wet ingredients into the dry until just barely combined.  There should be lumps!  Fry pancakes in butter on a griddle or large skillet over medium low heat.  Top with warm maple syrup, sliced bananas, and chopped walnuts or pecans!