Crêpes and a Snowstorm!

This has been one of the roughest winters that I can remember living in Nashville. I have been here for over twenty years and there have been a few large snow storms and such over that time but we have been hammered with storm after storm. Now remember, it's Nashville. so that means 3" can be a snow storm. But nonetheless, it incapacitates us for a short while and schools close. And when I get trapped inside I want to cook ... hence, all of the recent posts!

I got an inkling last night for something different. I'm a pantry cook so I look around to see what I have, assess the stock and then create. Last night I thought, "crêpes" and voila! I made crêpes! Of course, that means a filling and side dishes, etc. But, this whole ordeal was a lot easier than you might think. Crêpes are easy ... and you can whip up a quick filling in no time, whether it is a sautéed meat or veggies, spinach and cheese ... whatever! I happened to do a chicken and poatato filling with a bit of cheese and a béchamel sauce ... but you could certainly do something quicker, easier, more filling, less filling, less fat ... whatever! I love "concept" cooking for this very reason.

I ended up making brussel sprouts with butter and balsamic vinegar and a celery, pecan and pecorino salad to round it all out. I'll include the celery salad recipe as it was simple and really surprised me with the taste. It was truly an experiment gone good!

I learned that when you make the batter for the crêpes, always do it an hour in advance and the bubbles subside and your crêpes look pretty. I made the batter, covered it and put it in the fridge for TWO hours and they were even better ... in fact perfect. I may have made the virtually crêpe!

Here's what I did last night ... you feel free to experiment!

Crêpes

Ingredients:

• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup of milk (any 1%, 2%, whole)
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup flour
• 2 TBSP melted butter
• Extra butter for pan

Filling:

• 2 large potatoes diced in 1/2" cubes
• 1 large chicken breast diced in 1/2" cubes
• 1/2 large onion or 1 small onion diced
• Fresh of dried parsley
• 2 chicken bouillion cubes dissolved in 1/4 cup water
• 2 TBSP olive oil
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1 cup of your favorite cheese (cheddar, muenster, fontina, gruyère)

Béchamel Sauce:

• 2 TBSP butter
• 2 TBSP flour
• 1 cup milk (any 1%, 2%, whole)
• salt
• pepper

First off, mix your crêpe batter at least an hour in advance. I find it easier to use a whisk and into a mixing bowl, mix the egg and salt into the milk and water. Add the flour slowly and keep whisking and you'll create a nice smooth batter. One last whisk to mix in the melted butter should make a beautiful batter of heavy cream consistence. If it looks like pancake batter, add a bit more water of milk to think it a bit. This should give you about 2 cups. NOTE*** I keep mine in a 2 cup measuring cup and make it easier to pur directly into the pan later!) Cover and place in the refrigerator for 2 hours for the best result ... at least one hour.

To make an easy crêpe, use a non-stick pan! It'll make your heart feel good. You can use an expensive crêpe pan OR an 8" non-stick skillet ... I promise, they work the same. Put a small bit of the extra butter in the hot pan and swirl to distribute the butter. In my 8" skillet, I get about 12 crepes from the batter. This means that you use about 3 TBSP per crêpe. If you need to measure, you can ... I eyeball it so that it covers about 1/2 of the bottom of the skillet. Immediately swirl the batter to coat the entire bottom of the pan. Let it cook for 30 seconds to a minute until the edges start to bronze nicely. Don't try to move it before it sets ... you'll ruin the crêpe. If you do, no big deal ... you'll have plenty! Use a spatula to gently lift an edge. If it moves easily, shake the pan to loosen the crepe and gently flip over. Cook another 30 seconds and stack them on an oven safe plate. Repeat until your batter is finished and you will hopefully have 10-12 crêpes to use! Keep your stack of crêpes on the oven safe plate in a 200 degree oven so they will stay warm to use after you make the filling.

In the meantime, dice the onions, potatoes and chicken breast. In a pan heated to medium hot, place the olive oil into the pan and add the onions to sauté until translucent, about 5 minutes. Then add the potatoes and cook for about 5 minutes longer, stirring occasionally. When the potatoes look as if they are starting to soften, add the chicken and cook until they are almost done. Before they finish, stir in the dissolved bouillion, pepper and parsley. I used about 2 teaspoons of dried parsley but if I had fresh, I would have used a lot more ... about 3 tablespoons! (And it's OK to cheat occasionally with things like bouillion cubes ... note I didn't add salt to the mixture because of this!)

To assemble (I use an oven safe platter for this as I place it in the oven to keep it warm while I make the béchamel sauce) use about 1 and 1/2 TBSP of the filling and place it in a line in the middle of the crêpe. Sprinkle with your favorite shredded cheese and roll both sides up around the filling. A "gooier" cheese melts a little and helps hold the crêpe together. Finish assembling the crêpes and place them all on the serving platter. Put the platter in the oven until your béchamel sauce is finished.

To create the sauce, melt butter into a small pan over medium heat. I use my crêpe skillet to save on dishes! Once melted, stir in the flour and cook for about 30 seconds before adding the milk. Stir until a nice thick saucy consistence occurs .... it'll take a bit of time as I usually use cold milk right out of the fridge. Once it thickens add salt and pepper to taste. White pepper is beautiful for a white sauce but I actually like seeing the small black flecks in there! When the sauce is done, pour it over the crêpes and if you have any leftover shredded cheese, sprinkle it on top ... and voila! You have just created a yummy, beautiful and elegant meal! Nothing was difficult, just a little time consuming..... now for the salad! You could make this in the time interim after mixing the batter and let it sit ... it would hold well for an hour because the ingredients are crunchy!


Celery, Pecan and Pecorino Salad

• 4 stalks of crunchy green celery (outer preferred)
• 1/3 cup diced pecans
• 1/4 cup shaved parmesean (use your vegetable peeler on a wedge of cheese)
• juice of 1/2 a lemon 2 TBSP olive oil
• salt & pepper to taste

Clean your celery stalks and dice on a bias cut as thinly as possible. Don't waste your celery leaves ... add them to the salad! If your pecans are whole, dice them as well and add to the celery. For best results, use a wedge of parmesean cheese and use a vegetable peeler to shave pieces into the salad. (I say a 1/4 cup but hey, it's YOUR salad!) mix the salad with the olive oil, lemon juice and salt & pepper. Now you have a simple, delicious and unique salad to serve with your crêpes!


Experiment .... go ahead! Don't be afraid! Make different fillings and topping. You could even make yummy dessert crêpes by adding a TBSP sugar and 1/2 tsp vanilla to your crêpe batter. Make them the same way. Fill them with a sweetened ricotta cheese mixture and top with strawberries or blueberries or whatever you'd like! Again, I believe a method is the easiest way to learn to cook because you can apply it to many different tastes and uses! Let me know what you create and,

As always, until next time, ciao.....