Crépes

While at Renn Fayre this past weekend I had the opportunity to eat some of the crépes that the French department makes as a fundraiser.  They have a nice operation with tasty filling choices and fancy crépe makers. 

I hadn't made crépes myself in about 2 years, but I was inspired to make some for dinner last night.  Mine aren't nearly as light and thin, but they were tasty.  Here is the batter recipe that I use:

Crépe Batter

(Makes fifteen, but the recipe can be easily multiplied to the desired amount)

In a saucepan melt 1 C milk, 2 tbl butter, a pinch of sea salt, and 1/4 tea of sugar.  Whisk until the butter is liquefied and remove from heat.  Allow to cool slightly, but keep whisking it every few seconds or so to keep it smooth and skinless.  After a few minutes add 1/4 C of beer. ( I used New Glarus Uff-Da Bock.)

On the counter or in a bowl add a generous 3/4 C of unbleached all-purpose flour.  Make a well in the center of the flour and add 1 large egg (or 2 smaller eggs) and 1/4 Tbl of a fruity olive oil or a plain vegetable oil.  Combine the egg and the oil and begin to incorporate the flour until you have a coarse dough.

Add the milk/beer mixture to the dough and combine with a whisk until smooth.  This will take some time, the goal is to work all of the coarse dough into the milk mixture.

Heat a pan with a nice gradual lip (helps to flip the crépes) over medium to medium-high heat.  (The first crépe will likely be lousy, the temperature has to be just right, adjust your burner accordingly.)  Once evenly heated, coat the pan with butter and add about an 1/8 C of batter to the pan.  Do this quickly and begin to move the batter around in the batter to coat the bottom. 

Let cook about a minute and a half on each side.  When the crépe is ready to flip you will notice the edges turning golden and pulling away from the sides and the center looking dry rather than wet.  Work your magic flipping the crépe or turn it manually, but do so gently.  Now add any fillings and cook until the second side is done.

For fillings we used:

Granny smith apple and brie

Spinach and dill havarti

Spinach and morel & leek jack cheese

Bananas and sugar

While the ordinary jam is nice, the combinations are endless so why not be creative.