Snow Days usually make one want to make soup or stews. I am married to a husband that isn’t that fond of either, stews being okay if they are full of meat. So, thinking about what I have handy in my pantry and our upcoming trip to Paris, crepes seemed to be the natural winner. I couldn’t wait to eat mine but snacked while I made everyone else’s!

I looked up a recipe for crepes and Alton Brown’s seemed promising. I like how he explains his recipes. Look, I bet you have all these ingredients in your house right now! I made the batter and stuck it in the fridge.

2 large eggs
¾ cup milk
½ cup water
1 cup flour
3 tablespoons melted butter
Butter, for coating the pan

In a blender, combine all of the ingredients and pulse for 10 seconds. Place the crepe batter in the refrigerator for 1 hour. This allows the bubbles to subside so the crepes will be less likely to tear during cooking. The batter will keep for up to 48 hours. This recipe made 9 medium crepes. If I could manage to make the crepes thinner, I would have been able to make more. 

Now – what to fill my crepes with! I had sliced ham, gruyere, spinach, a few baby tomatoes and onions. I decided to caramelize my onions while I waited for the batter to set. I cut an onion and threw it in a pan with some olive oil on the lowest setting and left it alone. Here are some of the pitfalls I encountered and I sure wish I had read this Bon Appetite article before starting to cook – see link.

Tips: Cut your onions thicker so they don’t burn, use a big pan so they can spread out and not steam, mix butter and olive oil for flavor, leave to cook for 45 minutes, add a liquid to deglaze the pan and let the onions absorb the liquid. YUM…

I added my other ingredients to the onions (except the cheese) and sautéed them a bit.

Time to cook the crepes – tips on that? Butter a thick, flat pan after it has warmed up (I had to use my lowest setting because my gas stove is runs hot) – similar to making pancakes. Use a ladle to scoop up the batter out of the blender, pour quickly and use round bottom of the ladle to spread the batter around. I had to use a spatula to turn mine, which broke a few.

Make all your crepes and then, put each crepe back on to melt the cheese and warm it up. I used my last three crepes for dessert and filled them with Nutella! Ah, Paris, I can’t wait for a real crepe! Eaten right on the street as we wander the city!