Crepes. Happy Bastille Day!
Savory Crepes
Author: UncaMo
Recipe type: Appetizer or Entree
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4 big ass crepes
Well, my Dad was at Taste of Chicago and posted a pic of the ham and cheese crepes he had. My honey decided that since it was Bastille Day, I had to make her crepes. Plus my buddy John Romero has been bugging me to teach him how to make crepes. I haven't made crepes in years! Now I think I'll make them at least every other week. They are so easy and delicious. Fill 'em with whatever the hell you want to get out of the fridge!
Ingredients
- 1 cup (about 4-1/2 ounces) All Purpose Flour
- ¼ tsp. salt
- ½ cup whole milk
- ½ cup water
- 2 large eggs (3-1/3 ounces)
- 2 T. unsalted butter, melted
- (optional, if you have the kind of friend who just comes to your house with a giant goddam OUNCE of saffron) add 5-10 strands to the milk and stir well
- Butter for cooking crepes
Instructions
- Preheat a nonstick saute pan over medium-low heat.
- Mix flour with salt.
- Beat eggs well and add milk, water and butter.
- Sift flour and salt into liquid.
- Whisk just until blended.
- Melt some butter in pan, just enough to coat bottom of pan when you swirl it.
- Pour batter into pan starting in the center and spiraling out, covering about ⅔ of the pan. (About ⅔ cup for a 9 inch crepe)
- Tilt pan to spread batter to fill bottom.
- Cook for about 2 minutes.
- Flip with a smooth motion. Or you can just fucking throw out the batter, turn off the stove and practice flipping with a piece of bread until you get it. Or you can just suck and use a spatula. (I plan on posting a video lesson on how to saute and flip stuff in a pan)
- Cook for about a minute and a half on the second side.
- The crepe will bubble slightly and brown a bit. This is what you want.
- Place the crepes on a plate and cover with a clean cloth. Or put them in a oven on the lowest setting to keep while you cook the rest.
- You will likely have to discard the first crepe. It happens. No biggie.
- Fill crepes with stuff. I'll post a nice recipe later.
- Top the crepes with a lovely sauce. I'll post something kickass later.
Hey look! I figured how to caption stuff! This is the first crepe I cooked in almost a decade. It came out pretty nice. Don’t be scared.
My Biscuit Recipe adapted from Gisslen
My Biscuit Recipe adapted from Gisslen
Author: Gisslen/Mo
Recipe type: quickbread biscuits
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 2-1/2 pounds, about 24 3 inch biscuits
These are perfect to go with gravy. I'll post that elsewhere. This recipe works for me at a mile of elevation. If you are at a different elevation, you may want to adjust it. I will post some suggestions to help later. I really recommend egg washing these. That gives them a beautiful golden brown top. But be sure not to drip the egg wash down the sides because that can seal the layers and they won't puff properly. This recipe is for half the amount of the Gisslen recipe and will feed 6 people easily.
Ingredients
- All purpose flour 1#, 4 oz. (Because pastry flour is hard to find)
- Salt ½ oz.
- Sugar 1 oz.
- Baking powder 1 oz. (you will need more at lower altitudes)
- Shortening and/or butter 8 oz.
- Milk 13 oz.
- 1 egg beaten with ¼ cup milk or water for washing the tops
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F.
- Sift the flour, salt, sugar and baking powder into a metal or glass bowl.
- Cut the fat into cubes about ¼ inch. Toss in the flour, then using your fingers, crumble the fat into the flour.
- Add the milk slowly and mix by hand into a sticky mass.
- Mold into a flattish square and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll out into a long rectangle and fold in half. Turn 90 degrees, roll out into a rectangle again and fold again. Repeat this 4 times. You can do this more for more layers, but working the dough will make each layer tough. Roll out to about ½ inch thick and use a round cutter. DO NOT use a glass like your grandma did. This seals the edges and will prevent the biscuits puffing up. You can also make square or triangular biscuits. This will prevent scraps, which become tough as you re-roll them.
- Place the cut biscuits on a dry sheet pan about ½ inch apart. Brush with the egg wash, being careful not to get it on the sides. Bake for 15-20 minutes until puffed and cooked through.
Biscuits from Gisslen.
Simple Biscuits
Folks are scared of biscuits for some reason. They are actually very easy to make. You can have these ready to go into the oven in minutes. I got this from my baking textbook, Professional Baking, 5th edition, by Wayne Gisslen. Go buy it. You can get a used copy for $15-40 from Amazon.
I’ll post the original here, and my adaptation separately.
Biscuits I
Biscuits!
Author: Gisslen
Recipe type: Simple quickbread biscuits
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 3 to 4 dozen biscuits depending on size
Folks are scared of biscuits for some reason. They are really simple. You can have them ready to go into the oven in just a few minutes. I got this recipe from my baking textbook, Professional Baking, 5th Ed. by Wayne Gisslen. You can pick up a used copy on Amazon.com for $15-40. It's a great book. I'll post the original and then my adaptation.
Ingredients
- Bread flour 1#, 4 oz.
- Pastry flour 1#, 4 oz.
- Salt ¾ oz.
- Sugar 2 oz.
- Baking Powder 2.5 oz.
- Shortening and/or butter 14 oz.
- Milk 14 oz.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400F. Sift together the first 5 ingredients into a large glass or metal bowl. If you don't have an actual sifter, use a colander. It'll work.
- Cut the fat into small cubes and toss in the flour. Using a bowl scraper or a plastic spatula, chop up the fat until is in particles smaller than a pea.
- Slowly add the milk and stir until it forms a sticky mass.
- Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead briefly. Roll out into a long rectangle. Fold in half. Turn 90 degrees and roll out again. Repeat this 4 to six times. Roll out to about half an inch thick and cut out biscuits with a round cutter or just cut into squares. Put the biscuits on a dry baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes. If you want a pretty brown top, you can brush with egg wash (1 egg beaten with an equal amount of water or milk)