By 300 Sandwiches
Posted in Breakfast, recipes | Tags : breakfast, crepes, Julia Child, recipe, savory, sweet
Though some kids head back to school in late August, the day after Labor Day is usually considered back to school day for adults. Today, we head back to offices or other work spaces after a lazy weekend and a slower paced summer, and get ready to buckle down again on fall projects. No matter where you’re headed today after Labor Day, we all need breakfast first. A great option: crepes.
I made crepes a few times during my quest to make 300 sandwiches before E proposed. E and I argued a while back on whether or not crepes were actually sandwiches. We polled some French friends, who said in fact crepes can count. For our purposes, they did, but for others, the jury is still out.
My early crepes were a bit thick and spongy, almost like Ethiopian injera, the bread they use to sop up their veggie based dishes. My crepes were not the light, airy versions I’d been served in cafes before. I tried my latest batch yesterday, on Labor Day, because I had a pregnancy craving for the thin pancakes and didn’t want actual pancakes because, as any woman will tell you, pregnancy cravings are specific. Now, after three years of practice, my crepe game is on point.
The trick is to use a lightly buttered small, 6 inch non stick crepe pan, and spoon a small amount of batter into the bottom. Then, swirl the batter around the pan to just cover the bottom. I mean thinly, like, you can barely make out the edges thin. Cook over medium low heat, and flip when the edges start to turn crisp, after about 2 minutes. Cook for another 30 seconds to a minute on the reverse side, and it’s ready.
I tweaked Julia Child’s recipe (which is probably considered sacrilege in some camps but I wanted to add some flavor to her basic recipe) for a slightly sweeter version. Then I stuffed them with caramelized bananas and some Barney + Co. cocoa and coconut flavored almond butter I found at Whole Foods (Nutella would have also been perfect, but I am trying to watch my sugar intake because pregnancy, so I went with the healthier spread).
You can omit the cinnamon and nutmeg for a savory crepe as well, but it may not be necessary—for dinner, E and I took the same crepes and used them for Mediterranean inspired stuffed crepes with ground lamb, cumin dill yogurt sauce, and cucumber topped with roasted tomatoes and greens. They were just as delicious hours later.
1 cup cold water
1 cup cold milk
4 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
4 tablespoons butter, melted
Whisk water, milk, eggs and salt together in a large bowl. Add flour, cinnamon and nutmeg slowly, then slowly whisk in butter. Refrigerate at least two hours. Melt a pat of butter in a small 6-inch non-stick pan. Spoon about 1/4 batter into pan and spread out around the entire bottom of pan into a super thin layer. Cook 2 minutes, then flip. Cook another 30 to 60 seconds, and remove from pan. Repeat until all of batter is cooked. Makes about 20 crepes.
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