This morning I had a couple guys over for brunch and decided to make some crepes. I have only made crepes once before so I thought that it seemed like something good to make for a special occasion. I am the type of person who really likes something sweet and savory for breakfast so I wanted to have a little bit of both with my crepes. The crepe is the perfect vessel for both sweet and savory items. Another great thing about crepes is that you can make them ahead of time and then use them when you need them. Although the crepe seems fancy and French, it is incredibly simple and easy to make. I threw all the crepe ingredients into the blender: eggs, milk, flour, water, and butter and blended for a brief 10 seconds. The batter then had to rest for an hour which gave me time to chop up the rest of the components of the breakfast.
For the savory crepes I decided to saute some garlic, onions, mushrooms, peppers, and egg plant. I also wanted to make a mushroom cream sauce for one of the savory crepes because sauce is always a good addition. The cream sauce was a butter, flour, milk, ricotta cheese, a few mushrooms, a bit of onion, and salt and pepper. I melted the butter over medium-high heat in a sauce pan and whisked in an equal part of flour (2T) and whisked continually until the rue was a nice nutty brown color. I added 1 1/2 cups of milk and a half a cup of ricotta cheese and whisked to combine. Once the sauce was hot I added the salt and pepper and allowed to thicken, whisking occasionally. I decided to make a quiche type mixture to fill some of the crepes with. The quiche mixture was 3 eggs, 1/3 cup of milk, some green onion, and some roasted red pepper that I had placed under the broiler.
Once it was time to start making the crepes I heated up my cast iron fry pan and rubbed it with a little butter that was wrapped in a paper towel. This is a great way to spread butter on a griddle without using too much butter and avoiding any burns. I divided my crepe batter in half and added some basil, thyme, salt and pepper to the batter to increase its flavor. I poured out about a 1/3 of a cup of batter onto the hot pan and spread it around evenly. Once the crepe was stiffened up on the top I used my off set spatula to release the crepe from the pan and flip. Cooking the crepe on the second side only takes about a minute. I baked all of the savory batter and simply stacked the crepes on a plate. Half of the savory crepes were placed in ramekins (but you could use muffin cups) and filled with the egg mixture and topped with some cheddar cheese. These little guys were popped in a 350 degree oven for 25 minutes. Once they were done I topped them with some diced red pepper and bacon.
I choose to take the remaining savory crepes and fill them with a little ricotta cheese and roll them up like cigars. These were then topped with some of the sauteed veggies and the mushroom cream sauce. For the sweet crepes I added 1 tsp of pure vanilla, 2 T of powdered sugar, 1 tsp cinnamon, and 1/4 tsp nutmeg. This was spun in the blender to combine. I made and assembled these crepes one at a time. I folded the crepe in half and then placed a small scoop of cream cheese mixture (4 oz. cream cheese, 1/2 T butter, 1 T milk) in the middle and folded the crepe again into a nice little wedge. These sweet crepes were then topped with some warm berries and whipped cream. (For the berries I sauteed some blueberries and strawberries in 1 T of butter until they were soft and then drizzled on about 2 tsp of honey.) I know that the crepe may seem intimidating, but it shouldn't be. You can easily make these French tortillas and impress your family and friends. They are great because you can prepare them ahead of time and simply warm them back up when you want to eat them. Also, you can have a nice buffet line of toppings so your guests can choose what they want on their crepes. I really like to fill some of my savory crepes with goat cheese, artichoke hearts, and mushrooms!! Pancakes and waffles are great, but why don't you try something new this Valentine's Day...MEN!! Candied nuts would make a great addition to these sweet crepes as well. Who doesn't like nuts!!
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