CREPES

This painting from 1911 depicts a French family celebrating "Crepe Day", an annual tradition held on February 2nd.  It was believed that if you could catch the crepe with a frying pan after tossing it in the air with your left hand and holding a piece of gold in your right, you would become rich that year.

Here is the crepe batter we used in class.  Very simple to make, with very basic ingredients.  Whip these up for yourself and your family any time of day.  Fill them with fruit for breakfast, cheese and ham for lunch, or Nutella for a sweet snack.  Start flipping!

You will need:  a medium sized mixing bowl (or 4 cup capacity measuring bowl w/ pouring lip)

                          a smaller bowl (at least three cup capacity)

                          a small saute pan

                          a whisk

                          a rubber spatula which can be used in a hot pan (or improvise with a fork for lifting the side of the crepe to check for doneness, before flipping)

Stir together in a larger bowl:

1 cup flour

1/4 tsp salt

Then, in a smaller bowl, beat together:

2 eggs

1 cup milk

Whisk the wet mixture slowly into the dry, beating constantly to create a smooth batter.

Let sit for at least half an hour before cooking.

Melt some butter to use when cooking the crepes, especially if you are not using a non-stick pan.  Try to use the clear part of the melted butter, rather than the whiter part which settles at the bottom.

If you want to make the apple filling we had in class:

Toss together some peeled and chopped green apples, with cinnamon sugar and lemon juice.

Saute in butter until soft.  

Cool before filling crepes.

To cook the crepes:

Heat the pan over medium-low heat.

  It is ready when a drop of butter sizzles and dances in the pan.

Use one tablespoon butter for initial pan greasing.

Then pour approximately 1/4 cup batter into pan while tilting and turning to thinly coat the bottom.

After a minute, check the bottom by lifting up an edge and looking for a slight browning.

Turn the crepe over, either using your spatula, or with a quick jerking of the wrist while holding the pan.

Keep practicing until you get the hang of it.  Like pancakes, the first one never turns out perfectly!

Can be sprinkled with powdered sugar and eaten immediately, or stacked and then filled with your choice of ingredients.