Crepes, the word that can strike fear into the hearts of the best home cooks.  I was up for the challenge.  I found a recipe out of a magazine and set out to conquer it.  I assembled my ingredients.

Notice the diet soda?  That is for my nerves, not the crepes. 

I mixed up the batter, per the recipe instructions.

The first one I made was a flop. My heat wasn’t right and my batter had a couple of teeny lumps in it that I failed to notice.  I also was following the instructions of the recipe meticulously, so I did not have enough of the batter in the pan to swirl around.

I went ahead and cooked it through and tasted it.  It was AWFUL! When I taste a crepe, I want to taste a nice sweetness that is not too overwhelming.  This batter tasted like an egg with a bit of flour thrown in.  So, I made some changes and tried again.

Cooked until the top looks dry.

I turned it over and repeated the entire process five more times.

Don’t these look nice!  Some powdered sugar at this point and a fork would have been fine!!!! But, no! Some frozen berries with sugar and yogurt and you get this:

This was DELICIOUS!!!!

Here are the recipes I used.

2 1/4 cups of milk

4 eggs

1 1/3 cup of flour

3 1/2 teaspoons of sugar

pinch of salt

butter

non – stick skillet

Mix the milk and the eggs with a whisk until well combines. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, sugar, and salt until well combined.  Pour the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients. Whisk like mad! You want this batter to be like VERY thin pancake batter. I was going to say the consistency of syrup, but you want it just a tiny bit thinner than that.  Once all the lumps are gone, the batter is ready. Set aside.  Make whatever filling you are going to use.  Get out a wire cooling rack and the butter.

Heat your skillet on medium to medium high heat – you will have to play with this a bit!  Put in a small amount of butter, just enough to BARELY or just barely cover the bottom of the pan, DO NOT go overboard with this! If your skillet is hot enough, the butter will start sizzling and melting right away. 

Pour about 1/4 cup or a bit less, into the skillet, IMMEDIATELY pick the skillet up and start swirling the batter until it is covering the bottom of the skillet and set.  Place the skillet back on the heat and cook until the top of crepe is dry and you notice the edges are starting to brown. Turn the crepe over using luck, a spatula, your fingers, or a Pampered Chef mix and scraper; whatever you are comfortable with. Cook for 30 seconds or so until the bottom starts browning a bit.  Make sure the crepe is not sticking and turn the skillet upside down over your wire cooling rack.  Hopefully, your crepe will fall out flat onto the rack.    Mine did! WOOT!  When it is cool enough to handle you can add the filling, either a sweet filling or a savory filling.  We did both!

Fruit and Yogurt Filling

2 cups of frozen berries

1/2 cup of sugar

1/2 cup of yogurt (I used strawberry)

Mix the berries and the sugar. Pop into microwave for 45 seconds to thaw it.  Stir in yogurt.  This is SO GOOD!!!! Put a few tablespoons into the crepe and put some of the syrup part over the top with a bit of powdered sugar. 

Beef “Stroganoff” Filling

2 cups of leftover grilled sirloin steak

5 tablespoons of sour cream, divided

1 can of cream of mushroom soup, divided

1/2 cup of beef broth

Shred or chop steak. Mix in 3 tablespoons of the sour cream and 2/3 of the mushroom soup. Heat until warm over medium heat. Set aside. Mix the rest of the soup and sour cream together, add enough broth to make it into a sauce that you can pour over the finished crepes.  It should be close to the consistency of your crepe batter, maybe a bit thicker.

I hear all the time about how people "can't cook".  They seem to have a mental block where all things food, save for eating, is concerned.  Boiling water is a challenge.  During a conversation with a cooking challenged friend, I asked how this could be possible.  It seems so simple to me, this idea of cooking, how in the world can it be so complicated for others?  The discussion enlightened me, and I offered lessons to her. So, if you are cooking challenged, here is the first lesson.

Pay attention. 

Seriously,  that is the first order of business.  We have to pay attention to our recipes, our stoves, our ingredients and the time.  My daughter wants to be a good cook.  She has made multiple attempts at this, and it seems that she is chasing an impossible dream.  Her main problem? She doesn't pay attention and will therefore lose steps and/or forget ingredients.

Here is your first pratical lesson; boiling water.
1. Put a pan of water on the stove.
2. Turn the heat on high, put a lid on the pot.
3. Wait; when the water starts bubbling a little, this is a simmer, not a boil.  When it is bubbling and rolling and generally looks very active, this is a rolling boil.  It is ready for whatever you need to boil.

If you are prone to distraction, then set a timer in 5 minute intervals to remind yourself to check on the water. :)