1 cup flour
1½ cups milk
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon oil for the pan plus additional oil as
needed
Whisk the eggs, milk, and salt until well mixed. Slowly whisk in the flour.
Note: You can cook the crêpes immediately, but refrigerating the batter for 20 minutes will smooth out any lumps or bubbles. Letting the batter rest makes it less likely the crêpe will tear in the pan. The batter can keep for a day or two.
Heat a 10-inch skillet or crêpe pan at a medium setting. To keep crêpes from sticking, do not put the oil or batter in until a few drops of water sizzle in the pan and disappear in 2 seconds.
Add enough oil to cover the bottom of the heated pan. Pour a scant ¼ cup of batter into the pan and tilt it so the batter spreads into a thin circle coating the bottom. Cook at medium heat until the edges turn light brown and the center of the crêpe has hardened past a liquid stage. Gently loosen the crêpe with a spatula and flip it. Cook for another minute and transfer it to a large plate or platter, where the crêpe can lie flat.
Repeat the preceding step, stacking the cooked crêpes on the plate, until the batter is gone. Add a small amount of additional oil after every other crêpe to keep the batter from sticking.
Yield: 10–12 eight-inch crêpes
ORANGE BUTTER SAUCE FOR CRÊPES SUZETTE
10–12 crêpes
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
¼ cup sugar
1 orange for 1 tablespoon grated orange zest and
⅓ cup orange juice
¼ cup Grand Marnier, Cointreau, or other orange
liqueur [optional]
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat until it foams. Stir in the sugar, orange juice, and liqueur. Simmer on low heat until the sauce thickens a little and looks syrupy. Remove the skillet from the heat.
With tongs, add a crêpe to the pan, coat both sides in the syrup, and fold it into quarters or roll it into a flattened cylinder. Put it on a warm plate.
Repeat the previous step for each crêpe.
Serve crêpes as is or with ice cream for dessert.
Yield: 10–12 eight-inch crêpes
SWEET POTATO ROUNDS WITH GOAT CHEESE, CRANBERRIES, AND NUTS
This makes a good autumn appetizer or side dish. It’s easy to make and healthy to eat.
An elongated unpeeled sweet potato, scrubbed
and cut into ¼-inch rounds, about 2 inches in
diameter or smaller
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ cup dried cranberries, chopped
4 ounces goat cheese at room temperature
½ cup chopped walnuts or pecans
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Spread the olive oil on a rimmed baking sheet. Lay the rounds on the sheet in a single layer, and then flip them so both sides are oiled.
Put the pan on the middle rack in the oven and bake for 8 minutes. Flip the rounds and bake for another 5 minutes or until the potatoes are soft.
Remove the rounds from the oven, top them with goat cheese, and sprinkle them with a mixture of chopped cranberries and nuts.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
Yield: Serves 4 (may vary depending on the size of the sweet potato)
PARSNIPITY PORK
Orange marmalade gives this recipe for boneless pork a tangy flavor. The parsnips add a bit more sweetness.
1¼ pounds of pork tenderloin, cut crosswise into
1-inch thick slices. For faster cooking, pound
the slices with a meat mallet until they are half
as thick.
½ cup chopped onion
2 cups of cubed parsnip pieces about ½ inch on a
side
½ cup orange marmalade, made with sugar, not
artificial sweetener
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Olive oil to coat the skillet
Heat a teaspoon of oil in a 10-inch skillet at medium heat. Sauté the onions until they turn translucent. Add the parsnips and cook until slightly softened. Set aside the onions and parsnips.
Wipe out the skillet and heat ½ teaspoon oil in it. When the skillet is hot, but before the oil starts smoking, add the pork slices, and sear them for 1 to 2 minutes a side (until they brown).
Combine the marmalade and thyme. Add it and the onions and parsnips to the skillet. Simmer for 3 to 5 minutes until the pork is tender.
Serve with wild or white rice.
Yield: Serves 4
MADELEINES
A madeleine is a small shell-shaped cake often treated like a cookie because of its tiny size. Crunchy on the edges and firm on the inside, it’s perfect to eat with tea or coffee. To bake madeleines, you need a special pan with shell molds.
2 eggs
1 lemon for ½ teaspoon of freshly squeezed juice
and ½ teaspoon lemon zest
1 cup confectioners’ sugar (more if you want to
dust the madeleines with sugar when they’re
done)
¾ cup sifted cake flour/self-rising flour. (If you
have all-purpose flour, add ¼ teaspoon of baking
powder to it before sifting.)
½ cup butter, melted but no longer hot
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Before mixing the ingredients:
• Grease and flour 24 madeleine molds
• Zest the lemon
• Melt the butter, setting it aside to cool
Beat the eggs, lemon juice, and zest at high speed with an electric mixer for 3 minutes. Add the sugar gradually while beating the mixture for an additional 4 minutes. Fold in the sifted flour little by little. Then fold in the butter, stirring until it’s blended with the batter.
Spoon the batter into the shell molds, so they’re ¾ full. Don’t smooth out the batter. It will fill the shell evenly as it bakes.
Bake for 10 minutes or until the edges are brown. The tops should be golden yellow and spring back. Add another minute or two in the oven if needed.
Cool the pan for 1 minute, then loosen the madeleines around the edges with a knife. If they don’t come out easily, you may need to tap the bottom of the pan. Cool them on a rack.
You can serve madeleines plain or dress them up by sprinkling them with confectioners’ sugar, dipping one end in melted chocolate, or glazing them with a mixture of lemon and confectioners’ sugar thinned with water to a spreading consistency.
Yield: 24 madeleines
Crypt Suzette Page 23