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Conquering crepes


Gina Garcia, pictured below, runs BitterSweet Bakery and Bistro on the South Hill and specializes in crepes, including a Bruno crepe made with chicken sausage, roasted red peppers, spinach and caramelized onions, above. 
 (Photos by Jed Conklin / The Spokesman-Review)

The first rule of crepe-making is this:

If at first you don’t succeed — you get a burnt, ripped inedible blob instead of a perfect, paper-thin pancake — try, by all means, try again.

Chances are, the next one will be better, the third one even better than that, and the fourth one will be so flawless you’ll want to put it on fine china and serve it to company.

Making crepes takes practice, yes, but it also calls for a good pan that’s just the right temperature and some good batter that’s just the right consistency.

And it usually takes a few tries to get those variables in balance.

Just ask Gina Garcia. She learned the art of crepe-making in France. She churns out dozens of crepes a day from her South Hill hotspot BitterSweet Bakery and Bistro. And, still, she sometimes cooks up a dud that lands in the trash.

“I pulled my hair out the first few times,” Garcia says.

Just about every country has its own version of the pancake; a thin, quick-cooking cake that can be filled or topped with just about anything. There are blintzes in Eastern Europe. Injera in Ethiopia. Dosa in India. And, of course, crepes in France.

It’s no wonder these culinary blank slates are popular around the world. The batter’s a cinch to put together. They cook up in a jiffy. They can be served for breakfast, lunch, dinner or dessert. And you can put just about anything on them or in them, from cheese to chocolate sauce to chives.

“We love them because they’re so versatile,” says MaryAnn Delaney, who co-owns Junebugs Café with her husband.

Junebugs serves several savory crepes, like the one stuffed with pesto, mozzarella, tomatoes and parmesan. And they also offer dessert crepes, including one with berries and cream and another with chocolate-hazelnut custard, coconut, whipped cream and candied peanuts.

Even though crepes can be stuffed with things both sweet and savory, many people still associate them with dessert, Garcia says.

“You really kind of have to educate people,” she says.

Really, though, any combo that’s good in a sandwich would be at home in a crepe. Simple ham and cheese. A fried egg. Roasted sausage and onions.

When it comes to the batter, you want one that’s very loose, like “light cream, just thick enough to coat a wooden spoon,” according to Julia Child in “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.”

Batter recipes vary, but almost all call for a simple combination of water, milk, eggs, flour, salt and melted butter. Some crepes, called gallettes, use buckwheat flour. This gives them a sturdier, more dense texture.

Garcia tested some half-dozen crepe recipes before combining them to create the perfect batter. She uses a little buckwheat flour, along with a splash of rum to flavor her crepes. At BitterSweet, the most popular crepe combines roasted chicken, Emmentaler and gorgonzola cheeses, caramelized onion and mushrooms.

You can whip up a special batch of slightly sweetened batter for dessert crepes. Or, just add a dash of vanilla and a little liqueur to your existing batter to jazz it up for the final course. A shot of Grand Marnier is nice with chocolate-filled crepes.

Restaurants use industrial crepe griddles, but at home you can turn out a stack of nicely browned crepes using a small nonstick skillet (Child suggests a 61/2 to 7-inch skillet) or well-seasoned cast-iron crepe pan. Brush the skillet lightly with butter or oil (or, as Julia suggests, use a piece of bacon fat or pork rind).

Heat the pan over medium-high heat, until it’s just smoking. Pour about 1/4 cup of batter into the middle of the hot pan. Here’s where the practice pays off: You want to tilt the pan in all directions so the batter completely covers the bottom in a very thin layer. Judging by how well the batter covers the pan, you can gauge whether you need to use more or less batter for the next crepe.

Let the crepe cook for about a minute or 90 seconds. Garcia watches the edges of the crepe; when they begin to curl just a bit, it’s ready to flip. (She also usually takes a peek on the underside to make sure it’s light brown.) Flip the crepe using a thin spatula and cook on the other side for 20 or 30 seconds. This side will be spotty brown, but that’s okay because it will be inside the crepe.

You can then cool the crepes briefly on a rack before stacking them between waxed paper. Use them right away or let them cool and pack them into a zip-top bag for later. You can even pop them in the freezer (yet another reason to love crepes).

There is, of course, one pressing crepe question to be addressed. Is it crepe (pronounced “craype”) or crepe (pronounced “crehp”)?

Depends on where you’re eating them.

“We’ve decided just to say ‘crepes’ (‘craypes’),” says Delaney. “We didn’t want people to feel silly … We know how to pronounce it. But we live in Spokane.”

Here are a few basic crepe recipes to get you started:

Crepe Batter

From “Mastering the Art of French Cooking,” by Julia Child

1 cup cold water

1 cup cold milk

4 eggs

1/2 teaspoon salt

11/2 cups flour (scooped and leveled)

4 tablespoons melted butter

Put the liquids, eggs and salt into the blender jar. Add the flour, then the butter. Cover and blend at top speed for 1 minute. If bits of flour adhere to sides of jar, dislodge with a rubber scraper and blend for 2 to 3 seconds more. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

The batter should be a very light cream, just thick enough to coat a wooden spoon. If, after making your first crepe, it seems too heavy, beat in a bit of water, a spoonful at a time. Your cooked crepe should be about 1/16-inch thick.

Yield: About 25 to 30 crepes, 6 to 61/2 inches in diameter

Approximate nutrition per crepe (based on 25): 59 calories, 2.8 grams fat (1.5 grams saturated, 43 percent fat calories), 2 grams protein, 6 grams carbohydrate, 39 milligrams cholesterol, less than 1 gram dietary fiber, 80 milligrams sodium.

Buckwheat Crepes

From “The Best Recipes in the World,” by Mark Bittman

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup buckwheat flour

2 eggs

1 cup water

1/2 cup milk

Butter or neutral oil, like corn or grapeseed, for frying

Combine all ingredients (except oil) in a bowl and whisk until smooth. Let sit for at least an hour, if time allows.

Heat an 8- or 10-inch nonstick skillet over high heat for about 2 minutes. Add a teaspoon or two of butter or a thin layer of oil, then pour most of it out, leaving just a trace behind.

Pour in 1/4 cup of the batter and swirl it around so that it coats the bottom of the pan completely; pour the excess back into the remaining batter. Adjust the heat so that the batter dries on top before it burns on the bottom; it will be ready to turn in 1 to 2 minutes. Turn and cook the second side for about 30 seconds. Repeat with the remaining batter, adding more oil to the pan if necessary. Stack the crepes as they finish, then fill as desired and serve.

Some filling suggestions, from “The Best Recipes in the World”:

Ham and Cheese: Make a layer of thinly sliced ham and cheese – Gruyere or Emmentaler is best – in the center of each crepe; fold the bottom edge a third of the way toward the center. Fold the sides in and then the bottom over, to make kind of an envelope. Lightly brown the folded crepes in melted butter just before serving.

Fried Egg: Cook the first side of the crepe and break an egg in the center. Fold in the sides and bottom to make an envelope, cover, and cook just until the yolk is set, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Smoked Fish and Crème Fraiche: Spread a thin layer of crème fraiche on each crepe and line the smoked fish in the center. Fold in the sides and bottom, garnish with chopped chives and serve.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Approximate nutrition per crepe (unfilled, based on 6 servings): 118 calories, 2.6 grams fat (less than 1 gram saturated, 19 percent fat calories), 6 grams protein, 19 grams carbohydrate, 71 milligrams cholesterol, 2 grams dietary fiber, 31 milligrams sodium.

Mushroom Crepe Cake

From Alton Brown, www.foodtv.com

1 cup diced yellow onions

3 tablespoons butter

2/3 pound shiitakes, stemmed and sliced thinly

1/3 pound creminis, 1/2 thinly sliced, 1/2 finely diced

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

4 ounces milk

1/2 cup mild white cheese, mozzarella or provolone, shredded

Savory crepes, recipe follows

2 tablespoons chives, thinly sliced

1/4 cup Parmesan, shredded

In a large sauté pan, melt 1 tablespoon of butter and sweat the onion. Add all the mushrooms and the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Season with salt and pepper and cook until mushrooms are soft. Add the milk and reduce by half. Add the cheese and melt. The consistency we’re looking for is similar to that of a potpie filling.

On a buttered sheet pan layer two crepes. This way if the bottom crepe sticks you can still remove your “cake” from the pan. Spread a thin layer of the filling onto the crepe. Sprinkle a few chives on each layer. Top with another crepe and spread more mushroom filling on top. Repeat this method until you are out of filling. Top with another crepe and sprinkle on Parmesan. Place under broiler until Parmesan is melted and golden brown. Place onto a cutting board and slice into wedges. Serve immediately.

Yield: 6 servings

Approximate nutrition per serving: 301 calories, 17 grams fat (10 grams saturated, 50 percent fat calories), 12.5 grams protein, 25 grams carbohydrate, 112 milligrams cholesterol, 2 grams dietary fiber, 490 milligrams sodium.

Savory Crepes

2 large eggs

3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup water

1 cup flour

3 tablespoons melted butter

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup chopped herbs, spinach, or sun-dried tomatoes

Butter, for coating the pan

In a blender, combine all of the ingredients (except the butter for coating the pan) and pulse for 10 seconds. Place the crepe batter in the refrigerator for 1 hour. This allows the bubbles to subside so the crepes will be less likely to tear during cooking. The batter will keep for up to 48 hours.

Heat a small nonstick pan. Add butter to coat. Pour 1 ounce of batter into the center of the pan and swirl to spread evenly. Cook for 30 seconds and flip. Cook for another 10 seconds and remove to the cutting board. Lay them out flat so they can cool. Continue until all batter is gone. After they have cooled you can stack them and store in sealable plastic bags in the refrigerator for several days or in the freezer for up to two months. When using frozen crepes, thaw on a rack before gently peeling apart.

Yield: Varies

Approximate nutrition per crepe (based on 12): 82 calories, 4 grams fat (2 grams saturated, 44 percent fat calories), 3 grams protein, 9 grams carbohydrate, 44 milligrams cholesterol, less than 1 gram dietary fiber, 96 milligrams sodium.

Light Batter – for Dessert Crepes

From “Mastering the Art of French Cooking,” Julia Child

3/4 cup milk

3/4 cup cold water

3 egg yolks

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

3 tablespoons orange liqueur, rum or brandy

1 cup flour (scooped and leveled)

5 tablespoons melted butter

Place the ingredients in the blender jar in the order in which they are listed. Cover and blend at top speed for 1 minute. If bits of flour adhere to sides of jar, dislodge with a rubber scraper and blend 3 seconds more. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.

Yield: Makes 10 to 12 crepes 6 inches in diameter, or 16 to 18 crepes, 4-5 inches in diameter

Approximate nutrition per crepe (based on 12): 114 calories, 6 grams fat (3.5 grams saturated, 50 percent fat calories), 2 grams protein, 11 grams carbohydrate, 67 milligrams cholesterol, less than 1 gram dietary fiber, 59 milligrams sodium.

Crepes Suzette

From “Mastering the Art of French Cooking,” by Julia Child

In a food processor, combine 1/2 cup sugar along with the zest of 2 oranges (use only the orange part, not the bitter white pith). Process until the peel and sugar are finely blended, about 1 minute. Cut 1/2 pound of unsalted butter into pieces and add to the process. Process until smooth and almost fluffy. By droplets, cream in 1/2 cup strained orange juice and 3 tablespoons orange liqueur. Add more juice, if necessary, so the mixture is creamy.

Make 18 crepes 4-5 inches in diameter from Light Batter recipe above.

Place the orange butter in a chafing dish over an alcohol flame and heat until bubbling.

Dip both sides of a crepe in hot butter. Fold crepe in half and in half again, to form a wedge. Place at edge of chafing dish. Continue quickly with the rest of the crepes until all have been dipped, folded and arranged.

Sprinkle the folded crepes with 2 tablespoons granulated sugar. Pour 1/3 cup orange liqueur and 1/3 cup cognac over them. Avert your face and ignite the liqueur with a lighted match. Shake the chafing dish gently back and forth while spooning the flaming liqueur over the crepes until the fire dies down. Serve.

Yield: 6 servings

Approximate nutrition per serving: Unable to calculate.