Crepe

The classic dessert bananas Foster was created in 1951 by Paul Blangé in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was named for Richard Foster, a friend of Owen Brennan’s who was then the city’s Crime Commission chairman. If you have been fortunate enough to visit New Orleans and eat at Brennan’s, then you know what an incredible dessert bananas Foster is. Sautéed in a buttery, cinnamony caramel sauce and flambéed with dark rum and banana liqueur, bananas are then poured over creamy, rich vanilla ice cream. On the brunch menu at Bar Americain, I take all those yummy components, replacing the ice cream with a slightly tangy crème fraîche whipped cream, and pair them with delicate crêpes. These crêpes are served as an entrée and not a dessert. I can’t think of a better way to start off my weekend.

A traditional Jewish variation on the crêpe, the blintz can be filled with anything from berries to cheese to mashed potatoes. My mother fills hers with cream cheese and farmer cheese and serves them with a fruit compote. Serve three blintzes per person, accompanied by Blackberry Compote (page 276), strawberry compote (see page 276), sautéed bananas (see Banana Walnut Pancakes, page 122), or Strawberry Jam (page 280). A bit of advice from Mom: Be sure to have all your filling ingredients at room temperature before beginning this recipe, otherwise, it’s difficult to mix everything evenly. Serve with Sliced Melon and Raspberries with Port Syrup (page 228).

A nice vegetarian option, these crêpes have a substantial, almost meaty texture thanks to the mushrooms. They’re rich enough to be a main course and especially flavorful, thanks to the fresh herbs. Serve with Mixed Summer Berry Parfait (page 231).

A sophisticated dessert or even a sweet main course, these crêpes feature two favorite flavors of kids everywhere: bananas and chocolate. Using bittersweet chocolate cuts the sweetness of the banana and makes these crêpes quite elegant.

Crêpes can be sprinkled with confectioners’ sugar and served flat, like regular pancakes; or rolled up around fruit, Nutella (chocolate hazelnut butter), or chocolate; or topped with fruit, fruit compotes, whipped cream, or jam. You can make this batter ahead of time and refrigerate it in an airtight container for up to two days. Use a crêpe pan, which has a very long handle and slightly sloping slides, or a small to medium nonstick skillet. Prepared crêpes can be frozen for up to a month and defrosted at room temperature for a couple of hours. For best results, place crêpes between layers of waxed paper or parchment paper before freezing. Rewarm them by removing the waxed paper and baking them, tightly covered, in a baking pan in a preheated 300°F oven for 10 to 15 minutes.

Gruyère is one of the best cheeses to use in a crêpe because it is flavorful and melts nicely. Here, broccoli adds color and texture. You can prepare both the filling and the crêpes ahead of time and assemble the crêpes at the last minute. If you make crêpes in advance, the crêpes can be wrapped airtight and frozen for up to two months. Serve with Mixed Greens with Shallot Vinaigrette (page 169).

A delicious and painless way to sneak more vegetables into the brunch, these crêpes are good for when brunch tilts more in the direction of breakfast. You can make the filling a day in advance and store it, tightly covered, in the refrigerator. Warm it over low heat before using it as a filling.

Thin, buttery, and delicate, these fall somewhere between crêpes and American pancakes. It’s traditional to eat Swedish pancakes topped with lingonberries (or lingonberry jam) or another tart berry, a slice of lemon to squeeze on the pancake, and confectioners’ sugar. These pancakes cook quickly because they’re so thin. In fact, they’re so thin that most guests will want three or four. Serve with your choice of herrings (page 196) or Smoked Salmon (page 191).

Buckwheat adds a delicious sour note to crepes and breads. As a crop, buckwheat gives a boost to the environment because it suppresses weed growth and provides nectar for honeybees. It requires little to no chemical fertilization and actually adds nutrients to the depleted soil on which it’s grown. I like to fold these savory whole-grain breakfast crepes in half, but they can also be filled and rolled like sushi. For a spicier version of this dish, add red pepper flakes.

If you think of crepes as thin pancakes, you will realize how easy they are to make. This recipe flavors the crepe batter with cinnamon and vanilla, resulting in a speckled crepe that goes great with any sweet filling. While I stuff these solely with dulce de leche, feel free to add chopped fresh fruit, such as strawberries, bananas, or mango, to the filling or to add fruit on top.

While I was studying in France, my friend Lindsay insisted I try this little crêpe place she had found. It turned out to be down a sketchy alley and I began wondering what we were doing there until I went in. The shop was filled with a number of incredibly tasty-looking items, but I decided to order these and it was all over. They were so yummy that I had to order them every time we went there (which was more often than I’d like to admit). Crêpes are easy to make, and any extras can be refrigerated for several days or frozen for up to a month.

Crepes are one of my favorite French desserts, so of course I had to come up with a way to also have them for breakfast. This strawberry filling is light and not too sweet, making it the perfect way to start your day. Crepes can be kept in the refrigerator for several days, so save any extras and eat them with jam, fresh fruit, or chocolate sauce.

If you’ve never made crêpes before, you’ll find that it’s one of life’s most satisfying accomplishments. You spend a few minutes dipping, swirling, and flipping and end up with a neat stack of delicious crêpes. As with traditional pancakes, the first one is usually a dud, so don’t be discouraged. Once you’ve slid a few out of the frying pan, you’ll feel like a pro. This recipe can easily be doubled and they freeze beautifully, so there’s no reason not to keep an extra stack in the freezer for a last-minute crêpe fix.

Is there anything more impressive and exciting than a flaming dessert? It’s not nearly as complicated as you might imagine, and what better way to make your guests feel special? You can make these crêpes in advance. Refrigerate them for up to 5 days or freeze them with waxed paper between each crêpe. Just bring the crêpes to room temperature and warm on a baking sheet in a 350°F oven for 5 minutes before serving.

The filling for these crêpes is made with mirin, a Japanese cooking wine made from sweet brown rice. You can find it at health food stores, Asian food stores, and possibly your local supermarket. This is a fabulous vegan dish, ideal for brunch.

I first became interested in soccas (chickpea flour crepes) because they are allergen-free, glutenfree, low-carb, high-protein, and delicious! Soccas go back to at least 1860. They are from southern France, but were most likely an import from northern Africa, where they eat a lot of chickpeas. In the nineteenth century, there were socca sellers at the markets and at work sites, where they provided the morning meal to the workers. The socca sellers used special wagons with built-in charcoal ovens to keep their wares hot while they announced them with the appropriate cries of “Socca! Socca! Socca!” I have kept my socca recipe simple, because I like the rustic flavor. You can top it with olive oil, salt, and fresh pepper, or go all out, topping it with things like caramelized onions and grilled red peppers.

I prefer thin French pancakes to the more doughy American kind, so I often make a batch of crêpe batter for a Sunday breakfast and have plenty left over to whip up a rolled savory crêpe filled with some leftover that needs dressing up, or a sweet version enrobing some fruit or berries. For breakfast, I slather a warm crêpe with yogurt—preferably Greek-style, because it’s less runny—put another crêpe on top and more yogurt, and leave the final layer bare to catch the warm maple syrup I pour over it. A few berries scattered around complete the picture I remember how James Beard would teach the making and baking of crêpes and pancakes in his opening class for beginners. He liked the students to observe what happened when the batter—some with baking powder, as in American pancakes; some not, as in French crêpes—hit the hot surface of the pan and baked: one rising perceptibly, the other hardly at all but acquiring a crisper tan. And he would prowl around among the students, encouraging them to use their fingers to turn the crêpe and get the feel of the texture. The “nervous Nellies,” as Julia Child always called them, held back, but the intrepid relished the quick finger-flip, and you could tell that they were the ones who were really going to enjoy cooking.

We save time in this recipe (see page 76) by using ready-made crêpes. But if you have the extra time to make your own, you will only enhance your results. If working with crêpes is something you’ve never done, double the batter and give yourself plenty of time for a practice run!