Breakfast

Fluffy homemade pancakes from scratch: flour, sugar, baking powder, milk, one egg and melted butter, stirred ten strokes and left lumpy, rested 10 minutes, flipped once when the bubbles pop and stay open. Cups and grams, griddle heat and timing.

Old-fashioned oven cinnamon toast for a whole family: soft butter mashed with sugar, cinnamon, vanilla and a pinch of salt into a paste, spread to every edge, baked at 350 degrees, then finished under the broiler until the top crackles.

Old-fashioned Southern fried apples in a cast iron skillet: thick tart apple wedges with the skins on, butter, brown sugar, cinnamon and a squeeze of lemon, steamed under a lid then cooked down to a dark syrup and turned gently so they stay whole. Exact amounts and times.

Old-fashioned Southern spoon bread: cornmeal cooked in hot milk until thick, eggs beaten in hard, baked at 375 degrees until it puffs like a souffle. Crisp on top, soft as pudding inside. Cups and grams, oven time and the one step that matters.

Old-fashioned Southern tomato gravy over hot biscuits: onion softened in butter, flour browned until it smells like toast, chopped ripe tomatoes, a cup of milk and a teaspoon of sugar. Exact amounts, the timing, and how to keep it smooth.

Old-fashioned cake-style apple cider donuts: cider boiled down to a syrup, a soft spiced dough chilled an hour, cut with a glass, fried in two inches of oil at 365°F and rolled in cinnamon sugar while hot. Cups and grams.

The Depression breakfast in two steps: cornmeal cooked thick and stirred for 20 to 25 minutes, set overnight in a loaf pan, then sliced 3/4 inch thick and fried in a hot skillet in a little butter until the crust releases on its own. Served with butter and syrup, or butter and salt. Cups and grams.

Old-fashioned lazy daisy oatmeal cake: quick oats soaked in boiling water, a soft brown sugar and cinnamon cake in a 9 by 13 inch pan, then a topping of butter, brown sugar, evaporated milk, coconut and pecans spread on the hot cake and broiled until it bubbles. Cups and grams, oven time and broiler time.

Old-fashioned apple fritters: a thick cinnamon batter full of small-diced raw tart apple, dropped by spoonfuls into an inch of oil at 350°F in a cast iron skillet, fried about 2 minutes a side, drained on a paper sack and glazed thin while hot.

The 1970s sock-it-to-me cake as it was on the side of the box: one box of yellow cake mix with sour cream, oil, sugar and four eggs, a streak of brown sugar, cinnamon and pecans through the middle, an hour at 350°F, and a thin powdered sugar glaze.

Real Southern grits: stone-ground or old-fashioned grits, never instant, whisked into salted boiling water and stirred low and slow for 30 to 45 minutes until creamy, then finished with butter, salt and pepper. The sugar question answered plainly.