Crepes

So as it turns out, crepes are either easier than I'd previously thought or I had a full-blown case of beginner's luck this last Mother's Day.  Crepes are just plain fun and have a lot of versatility; breafast/bruch or dessert, sweet or savory fillings.  All good. 


One other possible explanation for the fabulous outcome is that I followed a great recipe so I though I'd post it here.  This comes from The America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook (Revised Edition): 


1 cup whole milk
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 large eggs
6 tablespoons water
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus extra for the pan
1/2 teaspoon salt


1. Blend all of the ingredients together in a food processor or blender until smooth, about 4 seconds.  Transfer to a covered container and refrigerate the batter for 2 hours or up to 2 days.


2. Gently stir the batter to combine if it appears separated.  Heat an 8-inch nonstick skillet (or crepe pan) over medium heat for about 3 minutes.  Brush the pan bottom and sides very lightly with butter (it should sizzle when it hits the pan).  When the butter stops sizzling, remove the pan from the heat, tilt the pan slightly, and, following the photos, pour 2 1/2 tablespoons of the batter (you can fill a 1/4 cup measuring cup a little past the halfway mark) into the pan.  As the batter is poured, rotate the pan to swirl the batter evenly over the face of the pan before returning it to the heat.  Cook until the first side is spotty golden brown, 30 to 60 seconds.  .  . Use a thin spatula to flip the crepe and continue to cook until the second side is spotty golden brown, about 30 seconds longer.  Transfer the crepe to a paper-towel-lined plate and let cool (you can stack crepes on top of each other).  Repeat with the remaining crepe batter, brushing the pan with butter as needed after cooking several crepes.  (p. 230)


On this particular day, we did two separate fillings; one sweet and one savory (did I mention that crepes are very versatile).  Our sweet application is as follows:

Strawberry Short Crepes

Ingredients
For the filling:
1 lb. fresh strawberries
1/4 c. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. granulated sugar

2 c. heavy cream
1/4 c. powdered sugar
1/2 tsp. real vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. orange extract
Mint for garnish


The Method
Slice strawberries and place in medium sized bowl, add lemon juice and sugar and set aside.

In a medium sized mixing bowl, add cream and beat on medium-high speed and add in extracts and powdered sugar just as cream begins to thicken.  Continue to beat until stiff.

Tightly roll 8-10 mint leaves together and chop into small ribbons (chiffonade). 

Fill crepes with cream and strawberries garnish with fresh mint.  Top with additional strawberries if desired.

Food for Thought
The cookbook shows photos of how to flip the crepe. You'll know it is ready to flip when you see the edges begin to curl slightly and lift off the edge of the pan. Turn by lifting up an edge with a spatula, grabbing that edge with your fingers while sliding the spatula further under the crepe then lift with your hand and the spatula at the same time and flip the crepe.

This recipe says it yields 20 7-inch crepes.  With our group, these went fast.  I used a 10-inch skillet and doubled the recipe (which just barely fit in our blender) and it yielded 24 crepes.  When using a 10-inch skillet, use a full 1/4 cup of batter for each crepe. 

These things are super fun.  I highly recommend experimenting on the great blank culinary canvas we call the crepe. 

 

 

 








Suggestions:  

- Skillet potatoes with diced red peppers, onions and pepper jack cheese

- Sautéed mushrooms and asparagus with Gorgonzola bleu cheese

- Ricotta cheese with lemon zest and blueberries

- Blood oranges or naval oranges, whipped cream, cinnamon and nutmeg
- Bananas, whipped cream and Nutella
 
Let us know how your crepes turn out and what ideas you come up with.