For the Love of Crêpes

Making crêpes sounds like an intimidating culinary task, but believe me when I tell you that they're as easy as, well… crêpes! They definitely have that “oo-la-la”, fancy French flair, but there's actually no reason to shy away from making them at home.

We’ve already established that making homemade crêpes is simpler than you think and requires very few ingredients that you most likely already have at home, but the best part is that you can make the batter in a blender, cutting down the prep time to a mere 10 minutes.

We made savory crêpes for dinner last weekend, and I had my daughter, Delilah, take on the task of making the batter and cooking all of the crêpes for our family. Turns out this was an excellent activity for a 12-year-old girl! She measured all of the wet and dry ingredients together, and zapped the batter in our blender until well combined. She set the batter aside to rest for about 30 minutes, helping the gluten to relax so the crêpes cook up super tender.

Before she started cooking the crêpes, I shared a few tips with her such as:

• Ladle in just enough batter so you have a thin coating on the bottom of your pan. You want your crêpes to be thin and delicate, but not so thin they tear.
• It's really important to swirl the pan when you add the batter to ensure you have an even coating.
• Cook the crêpes on the first side until they are a light golden brown. Use a spatula to flip the crêpes over, and cook for an additional 30 seconds. 

• Stack your finished crêpes on a plate as you go… don't worry, they won’t stick to each other.
• Add an additional small pat of butter to your nonstick pan every 2 to 3 crêpes. 

The awesome thing about crêpes is that you can fill them with absolutely anything, sweet or savory! They’re great for repurposing leftovers into something truly special. When we made crêpes it was for dinner, so we went with a really simple savory filling. It was inspired by chicken cordon bleu, but way easier and approachable. This is how we did it:

• Season skin on, bone in chicken thighs with salt and pepper, and roast at 425º until the skin is golden brown and crispy. This took about 35 minutes. On a side note… that crispy skin was a real treat to snack on once it cooled down a bit!

• Allow the chicken to cool down enough to handle it. Once cool, use your hands or a knife to shred/remove the meat from the bone. We kept our chicken in longer strips with the skin still included.
• Grate a combination of Swiss and Muenster cheeses for the filling, or any other combination of cheese you like.
• Have ready thinly sliced smoked ham from your deli counter.
• Reduce the oven temp to 375º. 

To assemble the crêpes, lay them out on your work surface with the lacy, golden brown side facing down. Top each crêpe with a slice of the ham, followed by some shredded chicken, and finish with a generous sprinkle of cheese.

Roll the crêpes up (my son, Jake, said it was just like rolling sushi but easier), and place them seam side down on a parchment-lined sheet tray.

Bake the crêpes until the cheese is melty, and serve while hot. You can certainly bake the crêpes covered with a blanket of Mornay sauce, or drizzled with Hollandaise sauce after plating them, but that's totally not necessary. We decided to serve ours with a simple side salad of baby kale, arugula, shaved carrots and tomatoes with a basic mustard vinaigrette. All of us totally chowed to the point where we were uncomfortably full because they were so good! 

Crêpe Batter

Yield: 10-12 crêpes

Active time: 25 minutes

Start to finish: 55 minutes

1 cup all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons granulated sugar

Pinch of salt

2 eggs

1 to 1 1/4 cups whole milk

2 tablespoons butter, melted

Additional melted butter for cooking the crêpes 

1. Combine the flour, sugar  and salt in a large bowl.

2. Whisk together the eggs and 1 cup milk in another bowl.

3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and whisk just until the batter comes together. Add the melted butter and stir to combine. You can alternatively place all of the ingredients in a blender, and process until well combined.

4. Allow the batter to rest for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 days in the refrigerator. Adjust with the reserved milk, if necessary, so the batter has the consistency of heavy cream.

5. Heat a small nonstick sauté pan over medium heat and add just enough butter to coat the bottom.

6. Ladle in just enough batter to coat the bottom of the pan and be sure to swirl the pan so the batter is in an even layer.

7. Cook until the crêpe is set up and the edges are golden brown, about 1 minute. Flip and continue to cook an additional 15 seconds. Transfer to a plate and continue to prepare more crêpes.

I highly recommend you make these at home, because they are just that good, but you should also dive a little deeper into the world of French food at our special April in Paris cooking event on April 13^th at our Merchandise Mart location. Experience a plethora of French cuisine as we transform our entire Merchandise Mart location into Paris for one special evening. You'll enjoy a night of delectable French food and wine as you learn how to recreate the dishes at home with the help of our professional chefs. It's going to be a night to remember, so be sure to reserve your spots! This event is perfect for larger groups, so grab some friends and be transported to the City of Light! 

Here's The Chopping Block's Owner/Chef Shelley Young demonstrating how to make crepes.