Delicious Dishes

Crepes 101

February 13, 2017

Crepes!  Does that fancy French word intimidate you?  Not to worry, after reading my post, you’ll become a Crepes “Connoisseur”.  JUST IN TIME FOR VALENTINES DAY!!  When trying to learn new techniques in the kitchen, I turned to the queen herself “Martha Stewart“.  Here is is why I love crepes!

Why you should add Crepes into your meal plan:

  • First off, Crepes can be made for ANY MEAL – Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Dessert and Even Snack!   Traditionally we see them as a dessert, but we’ve been eating them for our meals and we are loving it. – Excellent cure for Lunchbox Boredom.
  • CREPES are EASY to put together.. if you can do Pancakes you can do Crepes.  This biggest difference is Timing, you need to pay attention and have good timing.
  • You can vary your Crepes to suit your taste at the moment- add chocolate, cinnamon, etc.
  • Get your Kids Involved!  They will Love them – mine were eating them plain!

 

5 Simple steps to Creating Crepes

  • Basic Recipe- Start with a Basic Recipe, like the one below.
  • Make 2 Batches, your first batch is your “training” batch.
  • Decide what meal you’re making them for
  • Add your favorite ingredients
  • Wrap and Enjoy

 

Basic Recipe – Sweet (For Savory – meals- omit the sugar)

What You Need:

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cups whole milk
  • 4 large eggs
  • 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

What You Do:

Whisk together the flour, eggs, 1/2 cup milk, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Continue whisking until you have a smooth batter. Add the remaining cup of milk and stir well to combine. Cover the bowl and place it in the refrigerator to chill the batter for at least 30 minutes or several hours.  TIP:  Put all ingredients in a Blender.

IMPORTANT: Cover the bowl and place it in the refrigerator to chill the batter for at least 30 minutes or several hours.  TIP: Mix in the morning and leave in your refrigerator.

Heat a skillet (9″-11″) over MEDIUM HEAT.   You want the base of the skillet to be at least 9″.  Melt butter approx 1 tsp (just enough to coat bottom).  The pan is hot enough when droplets of water will “dance”.

Pour 1/3 cup of batter onto skillet.  Swirl the pan so that the batter evenly coats the bottom of the pan.  You want a thin layer completely covering the bottom.

In about 10-15 seconds you will want to flip the crepe.  Using a spatula and your fingers, flip the crepe over.  THE FIRST CREPE WILL NOT WORK WELL (unless you’re an expert), always allow the first one (s) to be a bust – hence the “double recipe”.  The second side will take another 10-15 sec and will not brown the same as the first.  Remove from Pan and set aside on a plate.

Continue to finish the batter, adding more butter to the pan when needed.

MAKE AHEAD:  Crepes can be stored in your Fridge for 2-3 days, or in your Freezer for several months.  Place a piece of wax paper between them to ensure they don’t stick together.

Now to the Masterpieces!!  There are so many variations, here’s just a few to get you started.

CREPE Variations:

  • Breakfast – add a Ham and Egg to your Crepe, roll and enjoy!
  • Lunch – Grilled Chicken with Hummus and Tabouli
  • Dinner – Grilled Chicken with Spinach and Roasted Red Peppers and your favorite Aoili
  • Snack – Peanut Butter and Jelly, Banana and Nuetella
  • Dessert – Grilled Peaches with Whip Cream and Drizzled with Melted Chocolate.

I hope you enjoy this recipe.. please feel free to share with me – WHAT IS GOING TO BE IN YOUR CREPE?

Danielle Reid

Meal Planning, Meals in Minutes and Independant Consultant for the Pampered Chef

www.facebook.com/daniellespamperedkitchen

Danielle’s Pampered Kitchen..Healthy Meals in Minutes

WEBSITE: www.pamperedchef.biz/daniellereid