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A friend told me an amusing story about his family's recipe for the best pancakes ever. It was supposed to be his grandmother's "original" recipe, but after his grandmother died he found it, word for word, in a vintage cookbook in her home.

Plagiarism in the world of cookbooks is hard to prove. There aren't many truly original recipes, and it is nearly impossible to maintain copyright over those that are. Instead, cookbook writers rely on people not to steal our work - and to credit a recipe's creator if they use it.

I ran into this issue myself when a recipe of mine from the LCBO's Food and Drink magazine appeared in Gourmet magazine as someone else's "original" recipe. Later, the woman contacted me to explain that she thought she could reprint the recipe if she changed two ingredients (as Gourmet had suggested).

Well, yes, but the recipe - its method and ingredients - was still obviously mine, so why would she want to pass it off as her own?

Toronto food writer Julia Aitken once found one of her recipes from the now defunct Elm Street magazine printed verbatim in a 2004 Best of Bridge Cookbook.

The only benefit is that recipes have to be pretty outstanding to be plagiarized, so here are my Texan friend's pancakes, my apple-topped sausage loaf from Food and Drink and Julia's lamb shanks with lentils.

Dave Seidler's Best Pancakes Ever

Add a cup of blueberries to the batter for fabulous blueberry pancakes. These are thin crepe-like pancakes, not thick ones.

What you need

1 cup flour

3 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 cup buttermilk

½ cup water

1 egg

1/3 cup vegetable oil

What you do

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, buttermilk, water, egg and vegetable oil. Do not over mix. Batter should have some lumps.

Heat an ungreased griddle or non-stick skillet on medium heat. Measure ¼ cup mixture and pour on griddle. Cook until pancake is browned underneath. Flip over and cook second side. Makes 12 pancakes.

Sausage Topped Cornbread

A perfect breakfast or brunch dish, this can be made the night before and reheated in 350 F oven until warmed through.

what you need

4 Italian sausages, either hot or mild

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 apples, peeled and chopped

1 cup yellow cornmeal

¼ cup flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

2 cups grated Cheddar cheese

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup sour cream

1 cup canned cream corn

2 teaspoons chopped fresh jalapeno pepper, or½ teaspoons chili flakes

Salt and pepper to taste

what you do

Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter an 8-inch square baking pan.

Remove sausages from casings and crumble. Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add onions and sauté for 2 minutes. Add sausage meat and sauté for 1 minute. Add apples and sauté until meat begins to lose its pinkness, another 2 minutes. Reserve.

Stir together cornmeal, flour, baking powder, 1 cup cheese, eggs, sour cream, corn and jalapeno. Season with salt and pepper and spoon into baking pan. Top with sausage meat and apple mixture, pushing it slightly into the dough.

Sprinkle with reserved cheese and bake for 45 - 55 minutes or until cornbread is cooked through. Serves 6.

Julia Aitken's Braised Lamb and Lentils

Serve this rustic dish of tender lamb shanks and lentils with hunks of crusty baguette to mop up the flavourful juices. Use the beautiful slate-green, tiny du Puy lentils from France if you can find them.

what you need

6 lamb shanks

1 teaspoon each salt and black pepper

2 tablespoon olive oil

1 large onion, thinly sliced

2¼ cups beef stock

2 cups red wine

¼ cup tomato paste

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary leaves

2 tablespoons packed brown sugar

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

2 tablespoons red-wine vinegar

1½ cups du Puy or regular green lentils, rinsed and drained

Rosemary sprigs for garnish

what you do

Preheat the oven to 350F . Pat lamb shanks dry with paper towels, then sprinkle both sides with half of the salt and pepper.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook lamb shanks in batches for 3 to 5 minutes, turning often, until browned on all sides. Remove shanks to a roasting pan and arranging in a single layer.

Reduce heat to medium and add onion to oil remaining in skillet. Cook, stirring often, for 4 to 6 minutes, until onion is golden brown. Stir in 2 cups stock, the wine, tomato paste, garlic, rosemary, sugar, Worcestershire sauce, vinegar, and remaining salt and pepper. Bring to a boil over high heat, stirring to scrape any brown bits from bottom of skillet.

Pour contents of skillet over lamb shanks. Cover roasting pan tightly with foil. Transfer roasting pan to oven and cook for 30 minutes.

Turn lamb shanks over. Stir lentils into cooking juices in roasting pan.

Cover roasting pan with foil, and return to oven for 1 hour, until lamb shanks and lentils are very tender. (Recipe can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours and reheated, covered, in a 350 F. oven for 45 to 55 minutes, stirring occasionally.)

If the lentil mixture seems too thick, add a little of the remaining beef stock, heating it before adding to roasting pan. Taste and add more salt and pepper if necessary.

Spoon lamb shanks, lentils and cooking juices into a shallow serving dish, garnish with fresh rosemary and serve. Serves 6.