Oh Crepe!

Today’s recipe testing involved crepes. When I was in Paris, crepe vendors were as common as hot dog carts in New York. They were used as envelope for fabulous fillings like, ham and gruyére, nutella and bananas, sugar, strawberries, and anything else you can imagine. I think each vendor had at least 20 combinations of fillings. The crepe itself, was wonderful. It was light and crispy, but still chewy and satisfying.

I made my attempt at these French favorites this afternoon. I wanted my version to be smaller, more of an appetizer size. Since I wasn’t sure what kind of filling I wanted to use I choose to make my crepes a neutral flavor. So I stuck to the basic recipe. Here it is:

Basic Crepe Recipe:

1 cup AP flour
1 cup milk
2 eggs
1 tablespoons canola oil
1/4-1/3 cup water

mix all ingredients in a blender and allow to rest for at least 1 hour before using. When rested, pour 2 oz portions onto a hot griddle, swirling the batter with your ladle to create an even circle. flip when the top of the crepe looks dry. Cook on opposite side for 30 seconds. Remove from griddle and set aside while the other crepes are cooking.

*NOTE: if your first crepe looks too thick add a little water until the batter is the correct consistency

If I had decided the filling ahead of time, I could have tweaked the basic recipe to further compliment the filling. For example, if I knew that I would be making a sweet crepe filling, I could have added 1 tablespoon of sugar to the batter. Or if I knew I was going to use bananas and cinnamon as a filling, I could have used 1 tablespoon of brown sugar and topped the finished crepes with a brown butter bourbon sauce. Bananas Foster anyone?

If I had decided to fill the crepes with lox, cream cheese, and red onion, I could have added fresh dill and salt to the batter for a fun twist on bagels and lox. (Yes this is fusion food 🙂 )

Since I did stick with the basic recipe, I was able to experiment with different fillings. I made 6 different fillings; nutella and banana, PB&J, lemon and sugar, cream cheese and dill, cream cheese and pork roll, and provolone and olive tapenade. Ryan helped me with the tasting and here’s the verdict. The top 2 flavors were the nutella and banana and the lemon sugar. I liked the cream cheese and dill, but Ryan wasn’t convinced.

Next time you’re thinking about trying something new, try crepes. They are versatile, tasty, and full of your favorite flavors

Always thinking of the next meal

-Katie