Continental Drift

Growing up in my house, we had very few traditions; we were a transient family with few roots and somehow traditions seem to require roots before sprouting leaves and maturing into anything permanent and steadfast. However, in the hazy recollection of my childhood memories, there stands the petrified remains of a few bygone traditions which I hold with some fondness. One of which is Sunday evening pancakes. As missionaries and staunch church-goers, Sundays were not as lazy as perhaps the Lord intended. The frenzy required for preparing for church, followed in stark contrast by the nearly unbearable doldrum of the church service itself, and then the renewed frenzy of a large Sunday lunch, general left our family in a state of exhaustion by mid afternoon. This, coupled with the expectancy of evening church, left little in the way of inspiration for Sunday dinner. Hence Sunday pancake night was born. 

My dad is a fantastic cook, but of all his cuisine, none stands out more than his panache for breakfast; pancakes especially. Particularly living in the bush in Africa or the highlands of Papua New Guinea, nothing quite felt like America as a huge stack of pancakes with homemade syrup, a glass of milk, and if we were really lucky, bacon.

You may wonder what has inspired the reminiscence of so distant a memory as pancake Sunday. While not as regular as a weekly event, my family is developing our own traditions; albeit along the lines of Tara’s innate gourmet leanings. We do crepes; an entire meal event consisting entirely of crepes - and if Tara is inspired (which she usually is) candles, china, and music. The main course usually begins with smoked ham layered with tomatoes and swiss, and seasoned with thyme. Sometimes though, we do breakfast crepes with eggs, cheese and sausage all wrapped up in the crepe. A little green chili and salsa makes them huevos rancheros crepes, and tomatoes and swiss makes them provincial.

The real reason for having crepes though is the desert course - generally fruit compote, or chocolate sauce or ice creme… okay, usually it’s a combination of all three. This last Sunday it was strawberries with a sweetened cream cheese sauce drizzled over top.

Now that I think about it, I think we just might make this a regular tradition.

Crepes may strike you as a posh and intimidating cuisine - I assure you they are not. In fact, they are little more than thin, eggy pancakes with a few simple fillers rolled up inside. The beauty is really in the simplicity of the dish coupled with a very satisfying array of flavors. Below is the basic crepe recipe our family uses and a few of our favorite fillers. If you have your own favorite ways for serving crepes, post them in the comments!

Basic Crepe Recipe (courtesy Alton Brown)
Ingredients
2 large eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1 cup flour
3 tablespoons melted butter
Butter, for coating the pan

Preparation
In a blender, combine all of the ingredients and pulse for 10 seconds. Place the crepe batter in the refrigerator for 1 hour [we rarely bother with this]. This allows the bubbles to subside so the crepes will be less likely to tear during cooking. The batter will keep for up to 48 hours.

Heat a small non-stick pan. Add butter to coat. Pour 1 ounce of batter into the center of the pan and swirl to spread evenly [should be only a couple millimeters thick). Cook for 30 seconds and flip. Cook for another 10 seconds and remove to the cutting board. Lay them out flat so they can cool. Continue until all batter is gone. After they have cooled you can stack them and store in sealable plastic bags in the refrigerator for several days or in the freezer for up to two months. When using frozen crepes, thaw on a rack before gently peeling apart.

*Savory Variation Add 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs, spinach or sun-dried tomatoes to the egg mixture.

*Sweet Variation Add 21/2 tablespoons sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract and 2 tablespoons of your favorite liqueur to the egg mixture.

Filler 1: Ham & Swiss
Ingredients
1. your favorite ham lunch meat
2. slices of swiss cheese
3. thinly sliced tomatoes
4. ground, dried thyme
5. salt & pepper

Preparation
Throw an already-made crepe in a pan and heat it up, lay down the ham, tomato, salt, pepper, thyme, and finally the swiss cheese. Fold over the edges of the crepe and press down the sides to crease the edges and then flip it over. The swiss cheese will melt and help hold down the folds. Shake it out onto a plate leaving the folded side down

Filler 2: Breakfast Crepes
Ingredients
1. eggs
2. cheese
3. favorite omelet ingredients (tomatoes, green peppers, mushrooms, etc)
4. sausage or bacon
5. salsa and sour cream (optional)

Preparation
Essentially make a “scrambled” omelet, mixing in ingredients and scrambling the eggs. Sausage and bacon can be served in the crepe as part of the omelet or on the side. Heat and cover the crepes and fill each one with the egg mix wrap up like a burrito. For huevos rancheros serve with salsa and sour cream on top

Filler 3: Fruit and cream cheese sauce
Ingredients
1. fruit (mixed berries, peaches, strawberries are the best)
2. cream cheese
3. sweetened condensed milk

Preparation
Chop up the fruit and set aside. Soften cream cheese in the microwave or stove and add 2 parts cream cheese to one part sweetened condensed milk (e.g. one cup of creme cheese to half a cup of sweetened condensed milk). Whip till a smooth and creamy. Should be barely runny and slightly warm. Serve with fruit rolled up in the crepe and the sauce liberally poured over top.

Filler 4: Ice cream and chocolate sauce
Do I really need to say anything more? Make sure you chill the crepes in the fridge before filling them!