Preparing the perfect pancake pan

Mom emailed me some clarification on her pan preparation for the Feather Pancake recipe and since so many of you are planning to try them (if you haven't already) I'm passing her email on to the rest of you:

"I do not put half an inch of oil in the pan. I do, however, want the oil to run around the side of the pan before I start frying the pancakes because I typically get at least one pancake flopped up against the side of the pan, and I think it's more likely to come off easily if I've oiled the sides of the pan just like the bottom. I might use a teaspoon of oil to condition the pan. After tilting the pan in every direction so that oil covers the bottom and the sides, I pour any excess oil into the bowl of pancake batter. Wiping the sides with a paper towel is another way to distribute the oil onto the sides of the pan.

One way you can determine if the pan is hot enough: the oil will form what look like little fingers where the bottom of the pan and the sides of the pan meet.

If the oil is smoking, it's too hot.

If you pour batter into the pan before it's hot enough, the pancake won't brown on that side.

By the way, you only need to put oil in the pan in the beginning--not after each pancake. Some people really like the crispy, fried effect oil has on batter. If you are one of those, you'll want to add a little oil after every pancake. On the other hand, if you are trying to cut back on the amount of fat in your diet, adding additional oil to the pan is unnecessary."