Before Ophélie, the French teacher we hosted, came to visit, we were a bit apprehensive about feeding her. When we had told her that we were vegetarians, her response was that she didn't like many vegetables. Uh-oh.
I was determined to find a middle ground, though. So on the first day of her stay with us, I quizzed her about what she liked. We found a few common vegetables; lettuce and tomatoes were ok, green beans were tolerable. But we found lots of overlap in the carbohydrate family. Pasta, rice, and, of course, bread were on the list. That gave us a good start. And Ophélie told us that she likes to make (and eat) crêpes.
Crêpes have the advantage of being one of those foods that can be paired with anything, which is great when you are eating with people with a range of tastes. Each person can add his or her preferred filling. We made a big pile of crêpes and put them on the table with shredded Gruyère, goat cheese, sautéed mushrooms, and sautéed spinach. And for dessert, we had them with sugar, sugar and lemon, jam, and Nutella.
Ophélie taught us her method of making crêpes, and we all helped. Olivia and Oscar even took a turn at the stove and Olivia masterd the in-air flip. The crêpes could be an appetizer, dinner or dessert. This recipe makes enough to generously serve six for dinner and dessert. I am looking forward to many more years of making and eating crêpes. And when we make them, we will think of Ophélie.
Second Helping (from the archives): Sage Risotto with Wild Mushrooms
Crêpes
Makes 35-40 crêpes (count on 3 to 5 per person, for dinner and dessert)
15 minutes preparation time
30-60 minutes cooking time
For this number of crêpes, you will need about 4 cups of fillings, such as shredded cheese, goat cheese, sautéed mushrooms, sautéed spinach. For dessert, consider using sugar alone, freshly squeezed lemon juice with sugar, jam, or Nutella.
4 1/2 cups flour
1 quart milk
10 eggs
canola oil for frying the crêpes
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, milk, and eggs. Whisk vigorously until most of the lumps are out of the flour and the batter is fairly smooth. Be patient and recruit helpers, as this will take a bit of time and energy. Alternatively, you oculd use a blender or food processor, but you'll get much less exercise.
Heat a medium-sized frying pan over medium high heat. If you have two frying pans, you may want to use both to decrease the cooking time. And the best scenario is to find someone to work that second pan so you have a cooking partner.
Add about 2 teaspoons of canola oil to the frying pan and swirl it to coat the pan completely. Add about a quarter of a cup of batter to the pan and immediately swirl it around the pan so that it leaves an even thin layer in the pan. Cook until the crêpe lifts easily from the pan when you put the edge of a spatula underneath it. Flip the crêpe and cook it on the other side until it is lightly browned, one to two minutes.
Generally, the first crêpe will not come out well, but you may still find someone willing to eat it for you.
Repeat this process until you have cooked all of the crêpes. You should not need to add more oil to the pan. After you pour in the batter and swirl, it will initially seem that the crêpe will stick and will not come loose from the pan. But after it cooks for a minute or two, you should be able to get a spatula underneath it and flip it. For a thrill, loosen the crêpe with a spatula and try flipping it in the air. The key is to have no fear. You just have to go for it.
Keep the crêpes warm in the oven as you cook them. When you are ready to serve, put them on the table alongside the fillings and let everyone build their own.
BRAVO! OLIVIA!!
Posted by: eva | March 01, 2010 at 11:16 AM
Mes compliments, Chef Olivia!
Posted by: Fatou Coulibaly | March 01, 2010 at 12:46 PM