But it hasn t happened yet. Some folks do Paris and come home bearing mental souvenirs of caneton a l orange and coquilles St. Jacques , escargots and foie gras , but for me, Paris is about cheap eats snagged from bakeries and markets and little street carts. It s about baguettes and brie and best of all, crepes. They re terrific for a lazy Sunday morning of course, but their potential extends far beyond syrup and fruit toppings. You can dress up just about any leftover by rolling it up in some crepes, or make an easy, elegant dessert by topping crepes with ice cream and melted chocolate.
Crepes are super versatile and almost as easy to make as regular old pancakes.
You can substitute the butter with canola oil and the whole milk with skim, and the flavor will be fine, but it won t be as spectacular as if you just resign yourself to the fat and indulge. In its most basic incarnation, crepe batter consists of just flour, butter, milk and eggs, but you can also flavor the batter by substituting half the milk with beer, or adding a tablespoon or two of cognac, Grand Marnier, vanilla extract, cocoa powder or whatever other flavoring suits your fancy. The easiest way to make crepe batter is using a blender, although an electric mixer or a good old fashioned whisk will do just fine as well. After you ve mixed up the ingredients to get a nice batter, you ll ideally want to let the mixture sit in the fridge for at least an hour, and up to a day. The rest period allows the gluten in the flour to relax, resulting in a smoother batter that ll be easier to work with when it comes time to cook.