Weeknight Crepes

Monday was a Mack Truck Day.  We had performed twice on Sunday and I was getting over a cold; I felt like I'd been hit by a big ol' truck.

On any other Mack Truck Day I would have just had cereal for dinner...but I'd eaten the last of it that morning.  It was time for Weeknight Crepes.


How to Make Weeknight Crepes in 20 Easy Steps:

(Please accept my apology now for the inferior quality of these photos.  I think my camera was also hit by a big 'ol truck on Monday, and I was in no state to fiddle with the settings or lighting.)

 

Step 1: Go to your bookshelf.  Decide whether to use the 40th anniversary or 50th anniversary edition of your trusty Betty Crocker red binder cookbook.  Ignore the crepes cookbook three books to the right.

Step 2: Place cookbook on table ironing board.  Flip through index to find crepe recipe.  Under Desserts? No. Under Breads? Must be.  But where?  Think how much easier this would be if you could search a cookbook like you can baking blogs.  Finally find crepe recipe under Pancakes, French Toast, and Waffles and flip to page 60.  Get distracted by the yummy waffle picture on page 61.

Step 3: Tape recipe to your cupboard.  Consider taking down recipes from last five or so things you baked.  Then decide that can wait.  You have crepes to make, afterall.

Step 4: Notice this candy bar you bought the other day simply because you had never seen a Reese's candy bar before.  Decide it's time to try it. The crepes can wait a few more minutes, right?

Step 5: Measure out your dry ingredients - flour, baking soda, sugar, salt.  If you're making crepes for one, quarter the recipe, as I did here.

Step 6: Measure out and add your wet ingredients - milk, melted butter, vanilla...

 Step 7: ...Notice that because you're quartering the recipe, you now have to divide an egg in half.  Most annoying thing ever.

Step 8: Get over it.  Crack one egg into a measuring cup and whip until pourable.

Step 9: Go to wash your eggy hands.  Narrowly avoid dumping an entire bottle of dish soap everywhere because somebody didn't screw the cap on all the way.  Remember that it was probably you.

Step 10: Pour 1/2 your egg into the batter and stir to combine.

Step 11: Have another piece of that Reese's bar.  Go ahead.  No one's gonna know you ate your dessert before your "dinner."

 Step 12: Heat a skillet over medium heat.  Grab that leftover 1/2 or 1/3 or 1/4 stick of butter that's been sittin' in your fridge waiting for its destiny.  Rub it all over the medium-hot skillet.

Step 13: When your butter is nice and bubbly like this...

...pour about 1/4 cup of batter into pan and quickly swirl pan to spread batter evenly.  Think how gosh darn ugly your crepe looks.  Then decide it's okay - it's your first one.  Take comfort knowing that your second one will look more like this:

Much better.

Step 14: When crepe begins to look dry on top and brown on underside (edges will start to curl), gently flip crepe and cook until other side is lightly browned as well:

Mmmmm.....

Step 15: Choose your fillings.  Building a pyramid is entirely optional but highly recommended.  Mayonnaise is not actually recommended as a filling, but highly recommended when in need of a sixth member of your spreadable fillings pyramid.

Step 16: Grab a banana from the fridge.  Admit it looks disgusting.  But have faith that since you put it in the fridge at its perfect ripeness, it is still perfect inside.

See?

Step 17: Grab a crepe.  Notice that it's no longer hot because you spent too much time building spreadable filling pyramids.  Decide it doesn't matter.  Spread on your spreadable filling and top with fruit.

Step 18: Roll crepe up and top with whipped cream - and don't use any of that homemade stuff either.  It's a weeknight - the canned stuff just does fine.

Step 19: Eat your Weeknight Crepe, right there at the counter.

Step 20: Banish that Resse's bar back to the corner.  It's got nothin' on the Weeknight Crepes.


Weeknight Crepes
adapted from the Betty Crocker Cookbook
Makes 12 crepes (or 3 if you quarter the recipe)

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups milk
2 tbsp butter or stick margarine, melted
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 large eggs
Butter, stick margarine, or shortening
Spreadable fillings such as peanut butter, jam, Nutella
Sliced fruit, berries, chocolate chips, etc.
Whipped cream

1.  Mix flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in medium bowl.  Stir in remaining ingredients.  Whisk until smooth.

2.  Lightly butter 6- to 8-inch skillet.  Heat over medium heat until bubbly.

3.  For each crepe, pour scant 1/4 cup batter into skillet.  Immediately rotate skillet until thin layer of batter covers bottom.  Cook until light brown.  Run wide spatula around edge to loosen; turn and cook other side until light brown.  Repeat with remaining batter, buttering skillet as needed.

4.  Spread your spreadable filling on a crepe and add fruit; roll up.  Top with whipped cream.