Crepe report

[eridani]

I skipped the frying step and went straight to the oven. Also dumped the white left over from the filling into the batter. I served them with orange slices left over from making a bit of juice. Also with carrots cooked in a little orange juice and butter with tarragon. The ricotta I made yesterday, and there is enough left over for some lasagna next week. DH liked the flavor of the filling, but suggested adding a little butter or oil to it to make it smoother.



Blintzes

Filling

1/2 pound ricotta
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon orange juice
1 teaspoon orange zest

Crepes

2 large eggs
4 tablespoons milk
4 tablespoons water
1/2 cup flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Pinch of salt
2 teaspoons canola oil, plus more for greasing the skillet
1 tablespoon butter, divided

1. To make the filling: Combine the ricotta, egg yolks, flour, sugar, vanilla and lemon juice in a mixing bowl and stir well. Set aside.

2. To make the crepes: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk and water. Gradually add the flour, then sugar, vanilla, salt and oil. Beat well until there are no lumps in the batter. Place a nonstick skillet (10-inch is good) over medium heat, brush with oil, and heat until hot but not smoking.

3. Ladle a scant ¼ cup of batter into the skillet. Tilt pan to swirl the batter so it covers the bottom of the skillet. Fry on one side until small air bubbles form, and the top is set. Bottom should be golden brown. When done, carefully loosen edges of crepe and slip out of skillet onto a plate. Grease the skillet as needed and repeat until all the batter is used.

4. Turn each crepe so the golden-brown side is up. Place 3 tablespoons of filling in the middle, in a 3-inch-long by 2-inch-wide mound. Roll once to cover filling. Fold the sides into the center and continue rolling until completely closed. Repeat with remaining crepes. You may have leftover filling; don't overfill.

5. Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a large, nonstick skillet over medium heat and add half the blintzes. Fry the blintzes until golden-brown, about 2 minutes per side. Place on a greased, rimmed baking sheet.

Repeat with remaining blintzes. Transfer to the oven and bake until the filling reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees, 5 to 10 minutes. Serve with applesauce and sour cream.

[hippywife]

1. Those look really yummy!

Thanx for the report and the pics. I've been toying with the idea of ricotta as part of my filling, too. Mixing an egg into it really helps the texture. Is that apple butter on top?

:hi:

[eridani]

7. Applesauce canned by a friend n/t

[hippywife]

8. Ah! That was going to be my second guess.

Looks very yummy with lots of spices in it.

[Arkansas Granny]

2. Those look and sound delicious. For my first foray into crepe making I chose

Chicken Saltimbocca Crepes

Serves 4-6

1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 cup seasoned dry bread crumb
salt & freshly ground black pepper
1/2 lb butter, melted
12 slices cooked ham, thin (about 1/8"x 2"x4")
12 slices mozzarella cheese (about 1/4"x1"x4")
12 cooked crepes (7 or 8" in diameter)
1 cup diced cooked chicken
2 large plum tomatoes, seeded and chopped
seasoning salt or poultry seasoning
Directions
1 Combine Parmesan cheese, breadcrumbs, and salt and pepper to taste in a shallow bowl, place melted butter in small bowl, and set conveniently by work area.
2 Place a slice of ham and a slice of cheese on each crepe.
3 Top with a little diced chicken and chopped tomato, and sprinkle generously with seasoned salt or poultry seasoning (seasoned salt is actually best).
4 Roll up crepes, folding in ends as you go.
5 Dip each rolled crepe in butter, then in bread crumb mixture, pressing on breadcrumbs to make them adhere.
6 Place in a shallow baking dish.
7 Drizzle with any remaining butter and sprinkle with remaining crumbs.
8 Bake at 350 degrees F for 30-40 minutes or until heated through and lightly browned on top.

I made a few changes. I was having a hard time getting the sides rolled in because the ham and mozzarella were a little too thick so I wound up just leaving the ends open. Instead of dipping in the melted butter and rolling in crumbs, I just lined them up in the baking dish, drizzled them with the melted butter and sprinkled a generous layer of the bread crumb mixture over the top (about half of what I had prepared). Next time I will use thinner ham and maybe shredded mozzarella so they will be a little easier to roll.

I served them with fresh buttered asparagus and hot rolls. The family declared it a success.

[hippywife]

5. Those sound scrumptious, too!

Glad the family declared them a success! Was this an out of the ordinary menu item for you? Were they surprised?

[Arkansas Granny]

6. This is the first time I've ever made crepes. It wasn't nearly as difficult as I had thought and

I wish I had tried them sooner. I love to experiment and try new recipes, so the family is used to seeing new dishes on the table and they are not shy about critiquing a new dish. There have been some failures in the past, but nothing ventured, nothing gained.

[Stinky The Clown]

3. This is exciting .......

So nice looking ..... and I bet they were a real treat to eat.

Yesterday, one pound of fresh lump crab meat entered our domicile. It will be part of something to do with crepes. Just don't yet know what, exactly.

[hippywife]

4. Oh if only!

Fresh lump crabmeat. Yum! I'll be looking forward to this one.

[pipoman]

9. I grew up among Swedes

my mom is a Swede. We had Swedish pancakes a lot. There are several variations of Swedish pancakes, most are very crepe like. I serve them with raspberries or strawberries, I make a syrup with the juice and thicken it with starch or clear gel, sometimes with a cream cheese filling. When I can get lingonberries I use them, they aren't always available where I live.

The recipe I use, like most of my recipes is in my head. My mother showed me how to make them years ago. A cast iron skillet works best, I make them in a non stick skillet when I make them at work.

The batter is simple. For 4 people:

1 doz Eggs
1 or 1 1/2 c flour
a little heavy cream maybe 2 tablespoons
1 tablespoon sugar

I use a mixer and beat it well but not too long. It should be a very light batter. the skillet should be lightly greased, I use veg spray on non stick. heat the skillet until it is pretty hot then put enough batter in the skillet to just cover the bottom when you pick the skillet up and move it around. When the pancake begins to dry around the edges and sets in the middle I turn it and cook for just maybe 30-45 seconds. The whole cook only takes a couple of minutes. I cook them ahead and keep them in a warm oven until I have finished all of them.

[Lucinda]

10. That looks delicious!

:hi:

[Arkansas Granny]

12. Speaking of Swedes, did you ever eat lefse? My mom would make

lefse sometimes using leftover mashed potatoes. For those of you who are not familiar with lefse, it's a very thin potato pancake cooked in a dry skillet or griddle. We had an old wood cook stove in our kitchen and we cooked the lefse directly on the surface of the stovetop. They are wonderful spread with softened butter while warm, rolled up and eaten. They would probably make a good substitute for a traditional crepe.

Complete, illustrated directions here: http://www.lefsetime.com/all_about_lefse/making_lefse_instructions.php

[Lucinda]

11. Yummy!

Thanks for posting the recipe. They look very tasty!