Beth - Given any anxiety I'm thinking the the best advice to give you is that crepes freeze and reheat extremely well. So don't wait until Sunday.

I'd be happy to post Julia Child's recipe/method if you'd like. For me it worked the first time so I haven't felt the need to move on. I use a well-seasoned Griswold skillet, but I'm sure you can make it work with whatever you have. Heat level you've got to experiment with, the first few are inevitably a flop.

(I'm sorry, I just re-read your last paragraph where you already said you were planning to make ahead. But I'd still suggest start sooner than Saturday if time is a problem.)

Beth....I've used this simple recipe for years. And I learned from a French cook the trick of the cotton ball moistened with oil to lightly oil the pan.
I put about 1 TBS of olive oil in a tiny cup and dip the cotton ball in that, using metal tongs to hold it and swab the pan.

Mine is an (old) non-stick pan measuring 7 inches across the bottom and I use a small ladle to scoop up the batter, whici is then swirled around to coat the pan and a teflon spatula to pry up a corner of the cre to see if it's done and to flip it over to the other side.
Here's a photo of what I use and the recipe....apple is there just for scale.

CRÃPE MIXTURE - makes 8 medium-sized crêpes in 7 in pan
-------------------------------------------------------

1/2 cup plus 1/8 cup milk
1/2 cup plus 1/8 cup water
4 oz flour (just slightly under 1 cup)
2 eggs
salt & pepper

Mix well with beater and put in fridge for one hour.

Use cotton ball soaked in oil to moisten pan before each crêpe. (Use metal tongs to hold cotton.)

Use ladle to scoop up the right amount of batter for each crêpe, pour into hot pan and swirl at the same time to cover pan evenly.

Use spatula or thin knife to loosen around edge after a minute when bottom side is done.

Use spatula to lift and flip crêpe to brown a few seconds on reverse side.

SharonCb

Thanks so much for the helpful advice! Sharon's batter recipe looks very much like the one I plan to use....I'm cooking out of an old, old Mabel Hoffman crepe cookbook (complete with lots of photos) I purchased in the early 70s, when crepes were the rage. Does anyone else remember the restaurant semi-chain called The Magic Pan? It was so popular in the 70s.

My batter recipe is supposed to make 36 crepes, and I only need 12 for the recipe I'm making, so that gives me lots of room for practice crepes.

Saturday will tell the tale :)

beth4,
My son has been asking to make crepes for breakfast now that summer vacation is here, so I guess that's what we'll do... you've inspired me.

And yes, I worked at a couple of Magic Pans during my high school and college years. I remember them well. It was a good place to work.

I've been making crepes since 7 years old (more than 20 years and at least once a week) and Sharon has it pretty much how I do it, but I use a cast iron pan sometimes. Always ignore the first one. Never comes out the same as those after, but since I'm from Europe I mainly eat them like you eat pancakes, but when you are doing filled ones you want them all to look similar.

If you want nice 'lacy' crepes, you might add a tablespoon or two of brandy to the batter.

I make them like Sharon also, and I never discard the first one - it comes out just as nicely as the ones afterwards. I don't understand the tradition of ignoring the first one. If the pan is the right temperature, there should be no difference between the first one and the ones after. I used to make them much more frequently than I do now. I use a crêpe pan made in France that I got at a restaurant supply store for $10, and so it was very much worth it. By the way, I get 16 crêpes from Sharon's recipe, and so mine are extremely thin and delicate. I use only the most minimal amount of batter and swirl it very quickly when I first add it. It helps to have the right metal spatula as well. I use one that looks like it was made for frosting cakes. Some people put pieces of paper between the crêpes, but I have not found that necessary - they do not stick to each other.

Lars

I remember the Magic Pan also. There was one in the IDS Tower in Minneapolis. I never understood why it closed as the waiting line was always really long. Was it a franchised company that went out of business?

The last time I made crepes, I actually purchased Melissa's crepes from the dairy section at a specialty store. I just did not have the time to make my own.....Melissa's were delicious however.

My daughter loves crepes for breakfast, I usually make them about once a week for her. My recipe and method is pretty much like Sharon's but I'm going to try that cottonball trick! Like most my first one is a toss away....no idea why.

I remember the Magic Pan too and was so sad to see it close. I'm lucky enough to have the recipe for a great salad with mandarin oranges that was a favourite of mine.....time to get it out!

You all inspired me - I am making crepes for breakfast too. The kids want Nutella in them and I am having a hard time trying to think why that isn;t a great idea! LOL!

Alexa

beth4, good luck with your crepe brunch Sunday. I'm sure they'll be delicious.

We ended up in Mystic because we couldn't find a slip for our boat any closer to home (New Hampshire). Normally, we'd sleep on the boat every weekend. At the time we had a small lobster boat with just a cuddy cabin. And, a cuddy cabin with a leak around the hatch that nobody seemed to be able to fix! During summer storms the water would pour in & we'd soon be soaked. It was pretty awful when those storms came at 2:00 a.m.! The Mystic Inn is located right across the street from our marina. Many a night we'd toss a few things in a duffle bag & head to the Inn in the middle of the night dripping wet & leaving a bucket in the cuddy hoping it wouldn't overflow before our return. The Inn's owners got to know us quite well! By the time we were settled into our room we'd be hungry. Of course, the Flood Tide (the Inn's restaurant) wasn't open at 2:00 a.m. so we'd order room service. One of the few items available was the lobster crepes. After our first order we were hooked on those crepes! When we purchased our Mystic home we spent the night before the moving van arrived at the Inn. The Inn had a wonderful fruit, cheese, bread/cracker, wine layout in the room for us as a thank you for our patronage over the years & also as a congrats on our home purchase. Chef Bob Trippe included the crepe recipe in our goodie basket & they've appeared on our table dozens of times over the years. They're supposed to be an appetizer but everybody (including us) enjoys them so much I'm usually asked to plan a meal around the crepes as the entree.

Anyway, if anybody gets a hankering for crepes these are really good. Eventually, Bob left the Flood Tide & the crepes were removed from the menu as the new chef introduced his own recipes. There was a Mystic uproar & the Flood Tide was pretty much forced to add the crepes back to the menu where they remain today over a decade later.

Crepe Filled with Lobster Madeira

A Lobster Recipe from the Flood Tide Restaurant at The Inn at Mystic

Serves: 2

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon whole butter
½ teaspoon finely minced shallots
2 medium mushrooms sliced thinly
1.5 ounces Madeira wine
3 ounces heavy cream
3 ounces fresh picked lobster meat
2 shelled lobster claws
2 crepe shells
Fresh dill for garnish

Procedure:

1. Heat a medium saute pan on medium high heat. Add the butter, shallots and mushrooms and saute for 1 minute. Add the Madeira and reduce by half. Add the heavy cream and reduce until sauce will coat the back of a wooden spoon.

2. Fold in lobster meat and heat through.

3. Place crepe shells on separate plates and divide filling evenly between shells. Roll the crepes. Top with some sauce, a poached lobster claw and a sprig of fresh dill, and serve.

If making for a crowd it's easy to increase quantities & I've learned they hold very well in a chafing dish.

/tricia

Here's a link to the Inn at Mystic. If you follow the link to the dinner menu...there's the crepes. The Inn is a Mystic landmark & the crepes should have equal status! The Inn is where Lauren Bacall & Humphrey Bogart spent their honeymoon.

/tricia

Here is a link that might be useful: The Inn at Mystic

I love all the tips, notes and information you all have provided! And, Tricia, your lobster crepes and the story behind them are so very special. Living in land-locked Utah, I'm going to search for lobster, because I'd love to try those for a future menu.

Today I'm working all day in the yard to tidy it up, since the brunch will be served on the deck, and we'll spend the day there. And then tomorrow is the cooking marathon. I'm so excited to try the crepes....and I think, after I've finished my Sunday entertaining, I'll incorporate crepes in several of my summer meals. They're light, they can be stuffed with anything for lunch, dinner and breakfast as many of you have noted. And I think they'd be very refreshing on a hot summer day.

I'm excited about the prospect!

I haven't made crepes for several years. I used to have an electric crepe maker, one that you plugged in and when it was hot you dipped the maker itself into crepe batter. It didn't work so well, LOL.

Crepes were a big thing, very fashionable, in the late 70s. Now I see crepe places in food courts in the malls, so they are apparently making a big comeback. They're very versatile, but maybe people just forgot. I've ordered them occasionally at restaurants and my Mother just got blueberry crepes for breakfast when we went to Ohio. At Bob Evans!

Good luck on the brunch, and have fun. Don't forget to let us know how it goes.

Annie

Good luck on your brunch

I will definitely report back to the group. I wish I could promise photos, but I'm usually scrambling to finish the dishes and serve them, so I never even think of photos. I'll try.

The guests are huge fans of careful pairing of wine & food ....as am I. We've traveled extensively and have enjoyed marvelous food & wine all over the world, in humble and elegant establishments. So this brunch is as much about the wine, as it is about the food.

Here's the menu, served slowly through multiple courses:

Available at all time will be:
Fresh fruit, made with apricots from the tree in my back yard that is now exploding with apricots, strawberries from my yard, and some blueberries, blackberries, green grapes & a banana thrown in. Nothing will be added...just the natural flavors of the fruit.

Glazed Lemon Sour Cream Cake (a recipe I posted on this forum back in April or May), baked in a bundt pan. When the pan is removed and the cake is served, I fill the center with fresh blackberries, so guests get a bit of blackberry with their cake. This can be a dessert cake, a tea cake, or a brunch cake, which is why I so enjoy the recipe.

Sparkling wine will be served with the first 2....I've not yet decided what I want to serve. Still thinking about it.

Next course:
Quiche Lorraine crepe cups served with a marvelous white table wine I got near Charlottesville, VA....where I used to live before I retired & moved here. I make an annual trip there each spring to visit the vineyards, sample their great wines, and bring some home. When I sampled this wine -- which the vineyard recommended serving as a "breakfast" wine...I made only 1 note on my tasting notes: "WOW!" It was just phenomenal. So, that's the wine that will be paired with this dish. The crepes will be placed (pretty side up) in muffin cups, will be fluted, then the crumbled, cooked bacon & grated Swiss cheese will be placed in the bottom of the cup, and the quiche lorraine mixture will be poured over, and the muffin tin will be baked.

Next course:
Bibb lettuce salad, with a bit of goat cheese, dried cranberries, toasted pecans, and a very simple dressing made with raspberry vinegar. Light, and not vinegary

Main course:
Crab cakes with lemon dill sauce -- a Paula Deen recipe I got off the web. I'm going to bake these rather than sautee them...the recipe gives that option

Sauteed butternut squash that I thought would pair very well with the delicate sweetness of the crab cakes...and would color complement the cakes.

The wine will be a Viognier from the Charlottesville area, that is just exceptional

Dessert:
Goat cheese garnished with figs poached in Marsala wine, and the Marsala poaching sauce has been reduced to a sauce to drizzle over the goat cheese. Garnished also with carmalized pecans, and a bit of Moustarde --- an Italian product which looks and tastes a bit like orange marmelade, EXCEPT that its got a bit of Dijon in it that occasionally makes its presence known. It's very good.

The wine will be a very well chilled Moscato d'Asti

And then I have on hand some fabulous dessert cheeses and more excellent white wines that we can break out, in case people are relaxed, happy listening to the music and just want to continue the experience.

I'll report back how everything went....but it might not be for several days! :)

In case anyone is interested in the recipe, here's a link to what I posted in the spring. It really is a very good cake...and refreshing.

Here is a link that might be useful: Glazed Sour Cream Lemon Cake

in case people are relaxed, happy listening to the music and just want to continue the experience.

...or are so stuffed that they couldn't get up and leave even if they wanted to! Wow, that sounds like a killer brunch. You've got some lucky guests. I can now see why you don't want to fiddle with crepes last minute! Have fun; can't wait to hear how it went.

Tricia - Lobster just went on sale today, I think I might have to! ;-)

This thread got to me so I made crepes for dinner last night.
They are posted on the WFD thread.

Nancy

OK, beth, you even sucked me in with the wine. Asti Il Moscato or Moscato d'Asti is one of the few I actually enjoy drinking.

And I'd like the crab cakes too, please, and a slice of lemon cake.

Everything sounds lovely, but, aw heck, you're too far away!

Annie

Beth......THUD!

What an amazing menu! I'm beyond impressed. I'm in awe!

Wow! What an amazing menu! I am definitely C&P that lemon pound cake and absolutely everything sound amazing. Have a great time and be sure to find time to enjoy all your goodies!

A

I have never made crepes, but after reading the recipe Tricia posted I am surely going to give them a whirl!

Beth, your menu is divine! I only wish I was on your guest list! LOL

Linda

Again killer menu and I am sure everything will be as good as it sounds.
Pouring a glass of voignier and wishing I had some of that lemon pound cake!
Linda C

It looks like I'm a little late to the crepe party, because I was out of the country. I hope it went well.

I have been making crepes for years using the following recipe:

3/4 cup flour
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1 Tbsp butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg

Mix dry ingredients in large bowl. In separate bowl beat egg with hand blender on high for 1 minute. Add egg, milk, butter and vanilla to dry ingredients, beat until smooth. Allow batter to rest for a couple minutes. Use this time to chop ingredients, such as ham and swiss cheese for savory crepes.

Lightly butter non-stick 10" crepe pan (or 12" skillet) and heat it over medium heat until droplets of water dance on the surface.

For each crepe, pour 3/4 cup of batter, immediately rotate pan so that batter evenly covers bottom of pan. Cook until bottom of crepe is lightly browned. Carefully flip crepe and cook the other side.
For savory crepes: add ingredients to crepe after flipping it, while it is still in the pan, to allow them to heat and melt. Carefully roll crepe and serve.

For dessert crepes: remove crepe from pan to cool on plate. Add 1 Tbsp sour cream and 1 Tbsp lingonberries (or some other fruit jam or preserves) Roll crepe and serve.

It makes about four 10" diameter crepes, but it is easy to double or triple it.

BTW Beth, care to share the names of the wines? I currently live in Charlottesville.

No one answered Beth's original question, regarding if you can use the Nordic Ware crepe maker on a gas burner, instead of on an electric burner.
I am also wondering the same thing. Does anyone know. It seems like it would cook differently.

Hi Susan....Gosh, it seems so long ago that I was worried about these crepes! I researched the Nordic Ware website, got some of their crepe recipes, compared them against my Crepe cookbook, Julia Child's crepe recipes, and took the plunge. None of these sources indicated any difference between gas or electric heat. So I seasoned my old pan, which hadn't been used in years and years, and made my crepes....and they were beautiful and delicious.

So I can assure anyone that crepes are easy to make on a gas stove.

I'm hosting 11 of the neighborhood ladies for lunch in April, and I'm seriously considering serving crepes for lunch with a frozen fruit salad on the side....and a good wine.

Hi beth4! I know this is really late of a response but for all of you guys, I have this really good crepe recipes, crepe making tips and crepe maker whereabouts from the amazing Chef Phil. Try it out now. ;)

Here is a link that might be useful: Crepe Making Tips

My favorite crepe recipe is Crepes Layer Cake in Recipes for a Small Planet (yes it's from the '70s) the most challenging part is blanching the lettuce!

Beth?,,,,I need to know....with the quiche Lorraine crepes, do the edges of the crepes get crisp and too brown when you bake them with the quiche filling?
And how do you do the sauteed butternut squash?
And next time you are having brunch...I want to come!
Linda C