Procrastination Recipe: Crepes

I honestly cannot believe I haven't posted a crepe recipe before. Crepes are one of my staples, my go-to breakfast item when I'm tired of omelettes. Two summers ago my grandparents were up visiting and my sister and I were both craving crepes so I started making them. When I asked my grandparents if they wanted some my grandfather stated he'd never had a crepe before. What?! I exclaimed. How can a person live eighty-something years and never have had a delicious, light, exquisite crepe? So if you have never had a crepe, but are capable of stirring, pouring, and flipping, then you too can enjoy this delicious treat. Trust me, it's not difficult.

Saturday night was the Season 2 premiere of Outlander. If you've read the books then you know that the majority of Dragonfly in Amber takes place in France, so I went with a French theme - Brie and crackers, Champs and raspberries and crepes.

Crepes can be both savory or sweet. I've never made a savory crepe, simply because I tend to lean towards sweet, but in Paris I had a crepe with smoked salmon that was pretty outstanding.

Before we get to making crepes though, we need to discuss the filling. Growing up I had a friend whose mother was Swedish and she would make us a snack of crepes with jam. Perhaps because of that, I usually just eat them with a thin smear of jam. My sister, a lover of maple syrup, sometimes likes to dress them up like a pancake. For this evening I decided to go with a blueberry sauce and cream cheese-marscapone filling. Just because. Don't freak out on me. It's sooooo easy.

Blueberry Sauce:

12 oz. bag of frozen blueberries

1/4 cup white sugar

1/2 cup water

1 Tablespoon corn starch (optional, but it really thickens the sauce nicely)

What's great about this sauce is that you can make it in advance, and it would be delicious on so many things (ice cream, pancakes, waffles, a spoon, etc.). I started it early in the afternoon and let it simmer on low for about an hour while I was cleaning. Just pour everything into a sauce pan, stir it occasionally, and let it cook down. I added in the cornstarch after about an hour, which you don't have to do if you don't have cornstarch in your pantry, but it's a great thickening agent.

The Filling. You could honestly just eat the crepes with the blueberry sauce but I've never been one to go the easy route. So what goes well with sweet blueberries? Cream cheese.

Ingredients:

8 oz softened cream cheese

4 oz marscapone (you can find this in the specialty cheese section or your grocery store)

a splash of vanilla (about a teaspoon)

Drizzle of honey (probably about 2 Tablespoons)

I let the cream cheese soften on the counter for about an hour before making this, otherwise it's a pain in the butt to try and mix. I would recommend not refrigerating it after mixing or else it will be hard to spread on the crepe.

Now on to the crepes! This recipe yields about 10 crepes (depending on your pan size). My dad has a crepe pan but alas, I do not. So I just use a medium non-stick sautee pan and it works fine.

Ingredients:

5 eggs

1 cup milk

1/2 cup flour, plus 2 Tablespoons

1 Tablespoon sugar

1/8 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

1 stick unsalted butter

Here's a quick cheat. Pour all ingredients into a blender and blend about 30 seconds until fully combined. Then you're good to go. On Saturday I didn't feel like having to clean the blender afterward, so I just used a bowl, a whisk and good ole fashioned muscle.

Combine the eggs, sugar, vanilla, salt and milk. Once combined stir in the flour, gradually, until no flour lumps remain. Batter should be frothy.

Heat your saute pan on medium heat. At this point you may want to set up a production line because crepes cook within minutes and then you'll want to have someone fill them, roll them and pour on the sauce. It will lessen the stress if you have a helper.

Okay, so your pan is now hot. Add a half-tablespoon pat of butter and move it around the pan to coat the bottom. Then pour in a 1/4 cup of batter. That's all you need. Crepes are paper thin, which is why they cook so quickly. You'll know they're ready to flip when it starts to bubble. Because they are so thin I recommend not using tongs as it could make the crepe tear. A large spatula is best.

Now that both sides are speckled with brown the crepe is done. Transfer it to a plate, spread a little of the filling in the middle, roll it up and spoon on the blueberry sauce.