Buttery Crepes & crepe ideas

By stancec44

Chicken à la King, Seafood Newburg, Creamed Spinach, and Fruity fillings with Chantilly were just some of the offerings. They’re practical, simple, inexpensive and can be filled with almost anything. Crepes can be made ahead of time, frozen and reheated; they’re elegant and comforting. Fill them with ricotta, sauce them with tomatoes, and top them with mozzarella for marvelous manicotti. Stuff them with shredded rotisserie chicken, drape with gravy and make a delectable Sunday supper. Smear them with chocolate-hazelnut spread, fold them, drizzle with dulce de leche and top with sliced berries. I made a simplified recipe to help make crepes trendy again-requiring only a bowl, a whisk and a non-stick pan. The batter is very thin, like heavy cream (any thicker and you’ll end up with pancakes). I’ve added a good dose of clarified butter to the batter so it won’t be necessary to brush the pan with it every time. In fact, a good nonstick pan should not need butter at all — a great thing, as too much fat will break crepes, and make them look like doilies through which fillings can seep.

Ingredients

• To sauce or not to sauce crepes is the question: If the filling is dry, sauce them, but if the filling is creamy, leave them alone. Bechamel and tomato sauces are natural savory toppings. A simple chocolate drizzle will dress up sweet crepes.
• Cook crepes to order, right before filling. Store any leftover crepes wrapped tightly with plastic wrap, and freeze for up to 3 months. Defrost the crepes at room temperature for 30 minutes before eating.
• 2 cups half-and-half
• 4 large eggs
• 1- 1/2 cups (188 grams) flour
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 2 tablespoons clarified butter or ghee, plus more for cooking

Details

Servings 24
Adapted from portlandoregonian.or.newsmemory.com

Preparation

Step 1

Note: To clarify butter, place it in a saucepan over low heat. Cook without stirring until it has liquefied, then begin skimming the foam off the top (discarding the foam) until the butter is clear enough to see through to the milky solids at the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat and strain the clear butter into a separate container; discard the solids.

Whisk together half-and-half and eggs. Slowly sift in the flour and salt. Whisk in the 2 tablespoons of clarified butter. Cover and let the batter sit for 30 minutes at room temperature. (You can let it rest for up to 4 hours in the refrigerator, but bring it back to room temperature for 30 minutes before using.) Heat a 6-inch nonstick saute pan over medium heat. Brush lightly with clarified butter. Ladle 3 tablespoons of the batter into the heated pan and quickly swirl the pan to form a round crepe, swirling until the batter settles. Cook for about 1 minute, until the edges of the crepe start to pull away from the sides of the pan. Flip the crepe with an offset spatula and cook for 15 seconds; then transfer to a plate. Repeat with the remaining batter, separating the crepes with pieces of parchment or wax paper, so they don’t stick to each another. (Crepes shouldn’t take any color, so look for slightly golden flecks on the first side. Don’t be tempted to raise the temperature; medium is perfect, so they won’t burn as they cook through.)