As we know, fear can often get the best of us. Crêpe making is something that has always terrified me because it seems so precise—and I am a lot of things in the kitchen but none of it remotely resembles precision. I like to make things up as I go and improvise and throw pinches and dashes at my creations. This could easily be a story about why I don’t bake. Blessed are the baking people, for they shall inherit the really good flour.
My attitude changed the other day when I watched a show on savory crêpes. I had only really thought about the ham and Swiss variety, but I was amazed at the array of vegetables and herbs that went into some of these babies. (Insert my love for kitchen sink cooking here.) So I started experimenting with what I had in my fridge and, well, it turns out I am now a crêpe maker.
It’s hardly a Faustian bargain, but I can agree to relinquish my need for free-form cooking and follow a crêpe batter recipe, if it means that I can stuff whatever I want into the crêpe. So far I’ve tried three varieties: leftover smoked salmon, cream cheese, onions, and fried capers; a ratatouille of spring produce with mint and feta; and one with gruyere and a mushroom medley. Now that I see crêpes as a way to use up spare ingredients, there is literally going to be no stopping me.
Incidentally, Cape Fear—the name of the North Carolinian headland, comes from the 1585 expedition of Sir Richard Grenville. Sailing to Roanoke Island, his ship became embayed behind the cape. Some of the crew were afraid they would wreck, giving rise to the name Cape Fear*. There are 11 crêperies in the area and, perhaps wisely, not a single one is named Crêpe Fear.
*Source: Wikipedia
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Basic (and precise) Crêpe Batter
Serves: 6-8
Prep Time: 5 minutes + 1 hour chill time
Ingredients:
1C. Flour
2 Eggs
3/4C. Milk
1/2C. Water
3T. Melted butter (plus more for coating pan when you cook)
Instructions:
Mix all ingredients.
Refrigerate for an hour.
Pour 1-2 oz. of batter into pan and cook medium/low until lightly browned on both sides.
Return crêpe to an oven-safe warm pan, place in 200 degree oven, fill with ingredients* until warmed, roll or fold, and serve while hot.
*It helps to sauté some ingredients beforehand.