Fluffy Strawberry and Champagne Pancakes

In the state of Utah, you cannot buy mini bottles of alcohol through the state liquor stores (which is basically the only place you can buy alcoholic beverages) unless you want to order an entire case.  I am sure that there is some kind of reasonable logic behind this, but the end result of this state of things is that if you are like us and only cook with alcohol instead of drinking it, you end up having to buy things in rather larger bottles than you might otherwise want to, given that many recipes only call for 3-4 tablespoons... and then you're stuck finding something to do with the leftovers.  We typically freeze our red and white wine and then thaw it out every time we want to use it.  I have had people tell me that's a horrible thing to do to a wine, but the flavor still seems to come through well enough for the purposes of cooking.  All of which is a long preamble to say- If you're looking for something to do with the leftovers of a large bottle of champagne, make these pancakes.  If you're not looking for something to do with leftover champagne, go and buy a bottle and make these pancakes anyhow.  They're seriously amazing.  We came across this recipe from Veggie and the Beast when we were looking for something to do with all the leftover champagne we had after using just 3 tablespoons worth in the super tasty caramelized onion and jalapeno waffles, and I am so glad we decided to try them.  The pancakes turn out super light and fluffy, almost like angel food cake made into pancakes, and the strawberry sauce goes really well with them.

For the Pancakes:
4 large eggs
2 cups buttermilk
1/4 cup canola oil
3 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
4 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup champagne (we used Brut)

For the Strawberry Sauce
2 lb strawberries (we used frozen, thawed and drained)
1-1/2 cups sugar
1/2 tsp orange zest
1 Tbsp orange juice
2 tsp cornstarch
6 Tbsp champagne

Whipped cream to garnish

In a small bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, and oil. In medium sized bowl, mix together the flour, salt, baking powder, and sugar.  Gradually stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients.  The batter will be a little bit lumpy, but that's okay.  Let sit for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat a griddle to 375º and start working on the strawberry sauce.  In a medium saucepan, mix together the strawberries, sugar, orange zest and juice, and cornstarch.  Smash the strawberries, and then bring to a boil.   Reduce to a simmer and simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, stirring frequently.  Remove from heat and add the 6 Tbsp champagne.

As the sauce is simmering, cook the pancakes.  Gently fold the 1/2 cup champagne into the batter until it's just incorporated.  Pour out 1/4 cup at a time of the batter onto the hot greased griddle.  Bake on one side until bubbles begin to form, and the edges start to solidify. Flip the pancakes and cook another couple of minutes until golden.   Repeat with remaining batter.  Serve topped with strawberry sauce and whipped cream.