What do you like in your crêpes?

[Johnny L.A.]

I just had to go an mention crêpes (in another thread)! Yeah, then I made some*.

I like crab in a white sauce in my crêpes. That's my favourite. Too bad I don't have any crab. So instead, I had a crêpe sprinkled with a little sugar and some lemon juice, one with a little schmeer of Nutella, and one with strawberry jam.

So, as the title asks, what do you like in your crêpes?



*I don't have a special crêpe pan. I just use a non-stick skillet. Works like a charm.

[Le Ministre de l'au-delà]

Brie, sliced pear and hot peppers.

Scallops and orange pieces flambéed in Sambuca.

[Johnny L.A.]

Originally Posted by Le Ministre de l'au-delà

Brie, sliced pear and hot peppers.

Oh, that sounds great! What kind of peppers?

[Taomist]

Originally Posted by Le Ministre de l'au-delà

Brie, sliced pear and hot peppers.

Scallops and orange pieces flambéed in Sambuca.

I think I am literally drooling

[Risha]

I'm a traditionalist - spinach and a white sauce.

[Taomist]

Ok, clearly I need to explore the world of crepes.
I tend to think of them in the 'sweet' category, and I don't have a big sweet tooth.
But the savory ones, holy cow...yeah. Time to learn about crepes!

[Le Ministre de l'au-delà]

Originally Posted by Johnny L.A.

Oh, that sounds great! What kind of peppers?

I like those little Jamaican Scotch Bonnet peppers, myself, but Thai finger hots do the job well, too. Sliced thin and tiny and spread out all over.

I've never cared for jalapeños when they're cooked - I find the heat brings out the bitter in them.

[KarlGrenze]

Nutella with coconut, of course.

[Johnny L.A.]

Originally Posted by Taomist

But the savory ones, holy cow...yeah.

The first crêpes I ever ate were the crab ones. Maybe that's why I like them so much.

Originally Posted by Le Ministre de l'au-delà

I've never cared for jalapeños when they're cooked - I find the heat brings out the bitter in them.

Huh. I've never found them so. (I usually eat them raw or pickled.)

[parthenokinesis]

Tomato, cream cheese and Pastrami (toast some sesame seeds in the pan before batter up)

Vanilla ice cream, dark chocolate syrup and whipped cream (we call 'em Palm Sundaes)

Cottage cheese and canned peaches

[Le Ministre de l'au-delà]

Originally Posted by Taomist

Ok, clearly I need to explore the world of crepes.
I tend to think of them in the 'sweet' category, and I don't have a big sweet tooth.
But the savory ones, holy cow...yeah. Time to learn about crepes!

Oh, they're such fun! The crêpes themselves seem to scare folks off, but once you've made them a few times, you get used to them. I'm not much for the dessert ones, either - there's a good James Barber recipe using avacado, vanilla ice cream and instant coffee which I remember worked out very well.

And they're so versatile - main course, virtually anything you'd use on pasta can work as long as it isn't too runny. Putanesca sauce, Jambalaya-without-the-rice, goat roti, fresh asparagus/green onions/mushroom stems/Italian sausage/chèvre - just let your culinary imagination run wild with what you find in the garden and the fridge. What's the worst that'll happen? You'll be remembered at your funeral for 'Duck à la Banana'....

[pulykamell]

For sweet, I like nutella. I also like layered crepes that are stacked, interspersed with chocolate, nut, apricot, and cream cheese layers, topped with powdered sugar. Yum.

For savory, mushroom & cheese (your pick. I like crimini & gruyere or some variety of goat cheese.) Or dill & farmer's cheese. Or a meat (pork or chicken), paprika, and sour cream filling known as Hortobagyi palacsinta.

[Qadgop the Mercotan]

Sour cream and sturgeon roe caviar is nice.

Failing that, nutella will do.

[Taomist]

Originally Posted by Le Ministre de l'au-delà

What's the worst that'll happen? You'll be remembered at your funeral for 'Duck à la Banana'....

Oh, you don't know what can of condensed worms you have opened up; on another board, my title <and there they're earned, not taken> is The Mistress of Accidental Cooking. It's apt!

Going to have a lot of fun with this, muhahahahaha

[Ají de Gallina]

Mushrooms and shredded chicken

[Little Nemo]

Strawberries and mascarpone cheese.

[needscoffee]

Crepes Suzette
Strawberries and Grand Marnier with sour cream or creme fraiche
Bananas, brown sugar, rum and butter
Mascarpone cheese, powdered sugar on top.

Dinner crepes:

[TheTerribleTako]

My first ever crepe had chicken and shrimp jambalaya. The chicken, sausage, and mushroom crepe was good too. For sweet crepes, I'm a traditionalist and I like nutella with sliced bananas and strawberries.

But crab with white sauce, that's a new one. It sounds great. I'm going to have to look into this one.

[Risha]

Originally Posted by Le Ministre de l'au-delà

You'll be remembered at your funeral for 'Duck à la Banana'....

That... sounds surprisingly good, actually. And I've never really liked duck.

Originally Posted by pulykamell

Or a meat (pork or chicken), paprika, and sour cream filling known as Hortobagyi palacsinta.

*scribbles down* OK, now I know what I'm having for dinner tomorrow night.


While I'm here, has anyone ever tried prepackaged crepes? Are they any good? I'm not very fond of making my own. (I've never been good with pancakes, either.)

[aruvqan]

make crepes
make scrambled eggs
make bacon crumbles
make hollandaise sauce

roll scrambled eggs with a few crumbles of bacon in said crepe
arrange 3 crepes on a plate
sauce with hollandaise ON TOP
garnish with a few more bacon crumbles

Crepes Benedict [I used to make it at SCA camping events =)]

[And DON'T get me started on the absurdity of sauce UNDER foods. I want to actually get the damned sauce ON my food so I can taste it, not frantically scrape for dregs of dainty sauce dribbles]

[Johnny L.A.]

I made crêpes for lunch today. Last time I made them, I did strawberry ones with whipped cream. Today it was a spur-of-the-moment thing, so we just had Nutella ones with powdered sugar on top. (I also had a couple with lemon and powdered sugar.)

[jellyblue]

Gruyere cheese and some nice thinly sliced ham.

I like sweet ones, too though - but simple. Your original butter-sugar-lemon sounds great to me!

I usually have one ham and cheese, one sugar and lemon and one with jam or marmalade. Yep, that's what I'm having for brunch tomorrow!

[Capitaine Zombie]

I love crepes, but I think most of you are talking about galettes.

[Athena]

Originally Posted by Ají de Gallina

Mushrooms and shredded chicken

Yup, this. Wild mushrooms & dark meat chicken or duck, in a white sauce, with some kind of yummy cheese.

[not what you'd expect]

I don't know Crepe...


Off to google recipes.

[BrotherCadfael]

Peaches, blueberries, sour cream, with warm, real maple syrup overall.

[salinqmind]

Whipped sweetened cream cheese with berries or peaches. Maybe a touch of Grand Marnier. Some use ricotta.

The IHOP restaurant here used to have the best. Shredded chicken, swiss cheese, eggs, spinach, fresh mushrooms, and tomatoes, blanketed with Hollandaise sauce. One day they put a sign up on their door: "Closed." No explanation (though of course it has to do with not enough customers). I could just cry whenever I drive by there. I would try to recreate their crepes, but I'm really just too lazy.

[Johnny L.A.]

Originally Posted by Capitaine Zombie

I love crepes, but I think most of you are talking about galettes.

Aren't galettes specifically buckwheat crêpes?

[IvoryTowerDenizen]

Originally Posted by Johnny L.A.

Aren't galettes specifically buckwheat crêpes?

Yes. But they also refer to some types of thin (but not crepe thin), flat cakes, often with fruit.

[Capitaine Zombie]

Originally Posted by Johnny L.A.

Aren't galettes specifically buckwheat crêpes?

Yeah, that's exactly what they are. But no one puts salty stuff in a crepe (well, at least here), you do that with galettes. Sugary for crepes, salty for galettes.
You mean everybody over there puts salty stuff in sugary tasting crepes?

[IvoryTowerDenizen]

Originally Posted by Capitaine Zombie

Yeah, that's exactly what they are. But no one puts salty stuff in a crepe (well, at least here), you do that with galettes. Sugary for crepes, salty for galettes.
You mean everybody over there puts salty stuff in sugary tasting crepes?

When I make crepes, I make sweet batter (sugar added) for sweet/fruit or savory batter (minimal sugar, herbs, pinch of salt) for savory fillings. I don't care as much for buckwheat, so I use regular crepe batter recipe, but modify it.

[Johnny L.A.]

Originally Posted by Capitaine Zombie

You mean everybody over there puts salty stuff in sugary tasting crepes?

I can't speak for everyone, but every crêperie I've been to (except one in a kiosk in Tivoli Gardens in Copenhagen, which sold only strawberry crêpes) have had savoury crêpes on their menus. Crêpes themselves are not sweet themselves, at least as far as I've eaten 'out'. When I make them at home I don't use sugar in the batter.

[Euryphaessa]

What I've always known as "crepes" don't have a sweet batter. They're equally suited to sweet and savoury fillings. My mom makes ham, cheese and asparagus or spinach crepes with cheese sauce, rolled up and baked in the oven until the cheese sauce starts to brown. Grossly unhealthy, but so damn good.

[Capitaine Zombie]

Originally Posted by IvoryTowerDenizen

When I make crepes, I make sweet batter (sugar added) for sweet/fruit or savory batter (minimal sugar, herbs, pinch of salt) for savory fillings. I don't care as much for buckwheat, so I use regular crepe batter recipe, but modify it.

Oh yeah, you're right, some street vendors do that too. You should try buckwheat galettes, they're really better when you start using ham and cheese as fillers.

[Ruken]

Originally Posted by Capitaine Zombie

Yeah, that's exactly what they are. But no one puts salty stuff in a crepe (well, at least here), you do that with galettes. Sugary for crepes, salty for galettes.
You mean everybody over there puts salty stuff in sugary tasting crepes?

"over here" = ?

[Capitaine Zombie]

Originally Posted by Ruken

"over here" = ?

The US. (I wrote over There)

[jabiru]

Apple and sultana with cinnamon. I've had some extraordinarily yummy savour crepes as well but apple crepes I love.

[Ruken]

Hard to say what's my favorite. I'm partial to fresh fruit, but as long as I'm not being served a tube of corn-starch goo (think canned pie filling, blech) I'm not too picky.

I haven't found a savory filling that I'd repeat over trying something new. Not a big fan of ham in general.

Originally Posted by Capitaine Zombie

The US. (I wrote over There)

Whatever. It's not like we knew where that was either.

I've never been to a single crepe place in the US that didn't have both sweet and savory fillings. Same when I was in France.

Galette in most US culinary circles refers to a free-form baked pastry, often with a fruit filling. AFAIK using that term for buckwheat crepes is a Brittany thing that has spread.

[Tapioca Dextrin]

Bacon and cheese. And syrup. Apparently that's the Dutch way of doing things, and who am I to argue?

[Acsenray]

My favorite is the standard ham, gruyere, onions, mushrooms, and an egg. The yolk should be runny when it comes off the grill.

[Antigen]

Originally Posted by Euryphaessa

What I've always known as "crepes" don't have a sweet batter. They're equally suited to sweet and savoury fillings.

Same here. It's my grandmother's recipe. I grew up eating those crepes on weekends and special occasions, and it was always the same. Start with a huge, hot crepe taking up the entire plate. Sprinkle on some brown sugar, and make sure to get some all the way to the edge. Roll up the crepe with your fork, then drizzle it with maple syrup.

I can hunt down the recipe for the crepe batter, if anyone's interested.

[Acsenray]

Originally Posted by Capitaine Zombie

Yeah, that's exactly what they are. But no one puts salty stuff in a crepe (well, at least here), you do that with galettes. Sugary for crepes, salty for galettes.

Where's here? Crepe makers all over Paris seem to be using the same batter for both sweet and salty crepes.

[CrazyCatLady]

Originally Posted by TheTerribleTako

But crab with white sauce, that's a new one. It sounds great. I'm going to have to look into this one.

It's a pretty traditional French filling for crepes or appetizer bites. Not necessarily crab, though, you can use pretty much anything you have lying around. A few weeks ago I made it with some leftover pork roast, shallots, and leftover rose instead of shellfish, green onions, and vermouth. Was ridiculously nommy.

[Capitaine Zombie]

Originally Posted by Acsenray

Where's here? Crepe makers all over Paris seem to be using the same batter for both sweet and salty crepes.

Here being Paris. But you're talking street vendors when I'm talking restaurants (even cheap ones).
BTW:I wouldnt use Paris as the standard for proper crepes.

[Acsenray]

Originally Posted by Capitaine Zombie

Here being Paris. But you're talking street vendors when I'm talking restaurants (even cheap ones).

Funny, the restaurants I went to also had both kinds. In any case, you seem to be perfectly aware that it's common where you live for people to put savory fillings in crepes -- a place where the crepe is ubiquitous and possibly the place where more crepes are made on a daily basis than anywhere else in the world -- but you express bafflement at the idea.

BTW:I wouldnt use Paris as the standard for proper crepes.

A True Frenchman or a True Scotsman?

[Capitaine Zombie]

Originally Posted by Ruken

I've never been to a single crepe place in the US that didn't have both sweet and savory fillings. Same when I was in France.

Galette in most US culinary circles refers to a free-form baked pastry, often with a fruit filling. AFAIK using that term for buckwheat crepes is a Brittany thing that has spread.

Lol, crepes and galettes are a Brittany thing that spread. Never been to a restaurant that served salty fillings in crepes.

[AndyLee]

I like Jelly but really crepes are too thin for me. I'd rather eat a REAL pancake with jelly