Crêpes...

I have a dear friend who has inspired me many times over for her culinary skills and her desire to always prepare a special meal for her guest. She is known by her son-in law, as Queenie, only because she deserves the honor & respect that that title implies. Below I offer two of her recipes that not only impress, but always personify elegant dining.

In my younger and more affluent years I would seek out fine dining venues and savor the visual delights of food preparation and service. Memories of Brennan’s in New Orleans, The Russian Tea Room & Tavern on the Green in New York City, Chateau Frontenac in Quebec City and London's Savoy are filled with flambées! French Service, tableside service, cart service - whatever one wishes to call it - meant seeing your menu orders going through their final preparation right alongside your table. Working from a wheeled special cart fitted with a réchaud flaming lamp (camping store or hot plate), the maître d'hôtel, or head of room would generate tantalizing aromas, sounds of bubbling and sizzling to match, and the sudden flash and flame of a dash of cognac and lastly the presentation of your plate with its culinary treasures. At times, I also would venture out to The Magic Pan in Atlanta for a more casual ‘flash & flame’.

When you have dined like this, you have been pampered and your palette graced!

What does all that have to do with my friend, Queenie ~ you ask? One of her most popular recipes to offer her guest with finesse table side expertize is Crêpes Suzette ~ a dessert created by accident by Henri Carpentier, chef to Edward, Prince of Wales, while making a complicated crêpe sauce. This sauce was a blend of orange and lemon peels, sugar, butter, Grand Marnier, Cointreau and Kirschwasser. By accident, the cordial caught fire and the young chef thought both he and the sauce were ruined. Since it was impossible to start over, Henri tasted the sauce and found it to be delicious. He quickly put the crêpes into the sauce, added more cordials, and let the sauce burn again. Edward was delighted and named it after the lady with whom he was dining.

Here my friend has taken the simple crêpe and made it an easy, yet elegant item to be served at breakfast, lunch, casual dinner or for those special formal dinner parties.



Crêpes Suzette

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1½ cups milk
⅔ cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon salt
3 eggs

Suzette Sauce
⅓ cup orange juice
¼ cup butter
2 tablespoons sugar
¼ teaspoon grated orange peel
Grand Marnier

In medium bowl with wire whisk, beat butter and remaining crêpe ingredients until smooth. Chill 2 hours.

Brush bottom of 7 inch crêpe pan and 10 inch skillet with melted butter.
Over medium heat, heat pans; pour scant ¼ cup patter into crêpe pan to coat bottom; cook 2 minutes until top is set, underside slightly browned.

Loosen crêpe; invert into hot 10 inch skillet; cook other side 30 seconds.
Slip crêpe onto waked paper.

Meanwhile, start cooking another crêpe. Stack crêpes between waxed paper.
Use immediately or wrap in foil and refrigerate. Approx 30 minutes before serving, Prepare Suzette sauce: In 10 inch skillet over low heat combine the orange juice, butter, sugar and orange peel until butter melts.

Serving:

Fold crêpes in quarters; arrange in the warmed Suzette sauce in the skillet; simmer for 10 minutes.

Pour the Grand Marnier evenly over the crêpes and sauce. DO NOT STIR.
Heat the Grand Marnier a minute or two, then remove from stove. Light a long match (such as those used to light kindling in a fireplace). Apply match to the crêpes and sauce in the skillet. Serve crêpes and sauce immediately.

Serves 2

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For those who like a fabulous rich cream sauce, look no further. Here a simple sherry reduction is all you need to add a dynamic touch to your sauce.

Sherried Cream Mushroom Crêpes

Ingredients:
2 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
1 cup flour
¼ cup water
1 small bottle vegetable oil
1 tablespoon butter
3 (8 oz.) packages sliced, white button mushrooms
1 cup dry cooking sherry
1 cup heavy cream
Pinch salt and pepper
1 bunch minced parsley

To make crêpes:

Whisk together eggs and milk in a bowl. Add flour and beat until smooth and a little frothy. Stir in water, 1 tablespoon of oil, a pinch of salt and pepper until smooth. Let batter rest for 15 minutes.

Heat a lightly oiled crêpe pan or large skillet over medium-high heat. Pour about ¼ cup batter in pan and tilt the pan with a circular motion so the batter coats the bottom surface in a thin even layer.

Cook the crêpe for about 2 minutes, until the bottom is light brown. Gently flip the crêpe over and cook the other side for about 30 seconds until brown spots appear. Remove from heat and repeat the process with remaining batter. Cover crêpes with plastic wrap and refrigerate for up to 2 days until ready to use. Warm slightly in the microwave before adding filling and serving to guests.

To make Sherried Cream Mushrooms:
Heat 1 tablespoon oil and butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3-5 minutes. Add sherry and cook until sherry reduces to half, about 3 minutes. Reduce heat to low and stir in cream. Cook for 10 minutes until sauce thickens slightly. Remove from heat and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Plate the crêpes directly on guests' plates for serving. Place a crêpe on the plate and spoon mushrooms and sauce inside. Fold crêpe, spoon a bit of sauce on top, and garnish with minced parsley. Add 2 mores crêpe with filling to the plate so each guests gets 3 crêpes. Serve hot.

Makes about 20 crêpes

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George’s notes:

• The Magic Pan was an American chain of full-service restaurants specializing in crêpes, popular in the late 1970s through early 1990s.
• In France, crêpes are traditionally served on Candlemas ~ La Chandeleur, February 2. This day was originally Virgin Mary's Blessing Day but became known as "avec Crêpe Day", referring to the tradition of offering crêpes. The belief was that if you could catch the crêpe with a frying pan after tossing it in the air with your left hand and holding a gold coin in your right hand, you would become rich that year. ~ now that is my kind of trick to get rich!
• In the United Kingdom, crêpes are traditionally eaten on Shrove Tuesday, also known as "Pancake Tuesday". They are generally associated with the day preceding Lent because they were a way to use up rich foodstuffs such as eggs, milk, and sugar, before the fasting season of the 40 days of Lent.