Crêpes!

I like crêpes a lot, but they always seemed kind of difficult to make. Eventually, I watched some youtube videos and it turns out they aren't that hard. I also learned ways to solve several of the problems I had with them:

• Problem: The crêpe is lumpy because there were flour lumps in the batter
• Solution: put the batter through a strainer or mix the batter in a blender (I should have thought of that, but I didn't)

• Problem: There are holes in the crêpe where the batter didn't cover the area
• Solution: put more batter over the holes. I figured everyone else was just better at tilting the pan to spread the batter (and maybe they are), but this is another way to have crepes that fill the entire area they encompass. The other way is to use a crêpe spreader tool, which is a completely different technique.
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• Problem: The crêpes are supposed to sit in the fridge for an hour, but I don't have space for a mixing bowl
• Problem: I can't eat an entire batch of crêpes
• Problem: taking a cup or ladle full of batter out of the bowl becomes more difficult when there is not enough batter left to submerge the utensil
• Solution: Pour the batter into a mason jar. It takes up less fridge space, and crêpe batter can apparently stay good for two days in the fridge. There is no reason why I have to make the entire batch at once. Even if I do, crêpes can be refrigerated and reheated and still taste good. Also, I found it is easiest to make crêpes by pouring the batter out of the jar straight into the pan.

three eggs, two cups of milk, and one cup of flour all fit in a mason jar

Once I didn't have to worry about scooping out the right amount of batter or tilting the pan exactly right, I could relax and enjoy the process. I was still experimenting with how much batter to pour out, and found I tended to err on the side of not enough, which resulted in crepes with crispy, paper-thin edges. It wasn't very good for rolling up, but one of the edges turned a medium-dark reddish brown color and tasted amazing. I started using more batter so it didn't spread quite so thin, and I got more normal crêpes.

I used this recipe: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/french-crepes/

Beat three eggs with two cups of milk in one bowl and mix one cup of flour, one teaspoon of sugar, and one quarter teaspoon of salt in another bowl. Beat the flour mixture into the egg mixture and stir in two tablespoons of melted butter. Let the batter rest in the fridge for at least an hour, then cook the crêpes.

This was also my first time making savory crêpes. After looking on the internet for ideas of combinations of foods to use, I took a few ideas from the crêpe menu at my school and filled them with onions and little mushrooms I had sautéed in butter, topped with grated gruyère cheese. I had planned on adding some sort of meat, like bacon or ham, but the onions, mushrooms, and cheese by themselves were fantastic.

sautéed crimini mushrooms, sautéed onion, grated gruyère

rolled up and ready to eat

this was the best looking crêpe in the batch, so I used it first and took pictures

I looked at these, and realized that they look like little French burritos or flautas. There is another crêpe recipe that is basically enchiladas, but more French. I haven't made it yet, but I plan to once I get some crème fraîche and make some fromage blanc (French fresh cheese). It comes from my La Cuisine Lorraine book.

Creupes au Fremgeye (crêpes au fromage frais)

Ingredients: 

crêpes

fromage blanc, well drained

crème fraîche

eggs

cooked ham

salt, pepper, and nutmeg

chopped parsley

On each crêpe, spread a thin layer of fromage blanc mixed with a little crème fraîche, an egg, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Put a slice of ham on top and spread it with more fromage blanc. Roll up the crêpes, and put them side by side in a buttered baking dish. Cover with more fromage blanc, put it in the oven, and cook until it turns into gratin. The book doesn't give an oven temperature, but various gratin recipes on the internet seem to agree on about 375 degrees farenheit. Cook until the top is browned, which is probably somewhere between fifteen and thirty minutes. Sprinkle chopped parsley on top and serve hot.

As I was finishing my leftover crêpes filled with sliced peaches, fresh-squeezed lemon juice, and sugar, I wondered about other sweet crêpe fillings I could use. I've had crêpes with chocolate sauce and Bavarian cream custard, so I thought the chocolate crème pâtissière I use in religieuses would be good.

Then I realized: Why don't I just make a religieuse crêpe?

Religieuse Crêpes

ingredients:

crêpes (see recipe above)

crème pâtissière (see this post about religieuses)

crème au beurre frosting (see religieuse post again)

melted chocolate

Spread each crêpe with crème pâtissière. Roll up the crêpe and drizzle melted chocolate on it. Pipe crème au beurre frosting on top with a pastry bag with a star tip. If you are feeling extra fancy, garnish with those curly decorative chocolate pieces or chopped hazelnut and maybe drizzle some melted chocolate on the plate.

Religieuses are usually eaten cold I think, so you could refrigerate all the ingredients before assembling them. This seems easier than refrigerating the finished assembled crêpe. 

Lorraine Food: Sauerkraut

A year ago and a half ago, my French grandmother gave me a book called La Cuisine Lorraine. It isn't so much a cookbook as a book about Lorraine food. It has general procedures for making foods and ingredient lists, but it rarely has anything as specific as cooking time. In addition to these recipes, it has bits of history about food in the Lorraine region, illustrations, poems, and a few stories written in both French and a local patois.

After looking through it occasionally for a while, I decided that I would like to try to make one of the sauerkraut recipes. It consists of pork shoulder slow cooked with sauerkraut, onions, spices, and potatoes. The cooking time was not specified, other than it must be at least a half hour, but I looked at similar recipes on the next page and got an idea of how long to cook it.

If you can read French, cool! If not, here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

• pork shoulder
• sauerkraut- about as much by weight as the pork shoulder. I think you are supposed to rinse it.
• onions
• salt and pepper
• thyme
• bay leaf
• nutmeg
• some liquid to simmer it in. The recipe says dry white wine, but I just used some chicken broth that I had.
• potatoes
• smoked ham or sausage (optional)

Procedure:

1. brown the pork shoulder in the pan. 

2. Add the liquid, sauerkraut, salt, pepper, bay leaf, entire onions, and plenty of thyme and nutmeg. Add ham and/ or sausage if desired.

3. Cover the pan and let it simmer for three hours.

4. A half hour before it is done, cut up some potatoes and put them in the pan. They will cook from the steam.

Chocolate Coconut Omelette

I was looking at a recipe on marmiton.com, when I saw the "Au hasard" button (Au hasard is French for random). I decided it would be fun to click it a few times and see if anything interesting came up. One of the more interesting results was the Omelette chocolat coco, or chocolate coconut omelette. My boyfriend's cousin decided that we should make it after our religion class one evening, so I brought ingredients and the recipe, my boyfriend brought his knowledge of how to actually make an omelette, and his cousin helped us eat the finished product.

http://www.marmiton.org/recettes/recette_omelette-chocolat-coco_50400.aspx

After making this food, I looked at the ingredients again and realized this contains slightly more chocolate than eggs by weight, and I was using extra large eggs. Basically, it tasted like a very chocolaty brownie. Not only can it be made extremely quickly without waiting for an oven to heat up, it would also be a good brownie alternative to people who can't eat flour. Unfortunately, the only person I see very often who can't eat flour also can't eat chocolate. So no chocolate omelette brownies for him.

just poured the chocolate egg mixture into the pan

Ingredients:
100 grams of chocolate chips
100 grams of dark chocolate
3 eggs
shredded coconut

just flipped over the omelette

Procedure:
1. Melt the dark chocolate. You can use a double boiler/ bain-marie, but I used the microwave.
2. beat the eggs in a bowl, then add the chocolate chips and melted chocolate.
3. Make the omelette.
4. Sprinkle coconut on the omelette and serve. We actually added the coconut to the omelette while it was still cooking, so it added some nice texture to the inside.

I would make this again, especially since it is an easier alternative to making brownies, and I don't like waiting for the oven to preheat. I might not put in quite as much chocolate next time, though.

Eating some of the finished omelette.