Konky's tradition was that the first Sunday of New Year's always was this wicked huge Sunday-style breakfast. I cant even begin to tell you about the bowls of breakfast potatoes, the scrambled eggs, the piles of bacon, sausage, and ham. Lots of coffee, orange juice and water glasses were ready for drinking. The table would be so beautiful set up. And that one spot on the table that was empty was for one thing. That was the home of where the platter of fresh made crepes were to sit. The fact that the crepes had their own damn place at the table certainly meant that some serious eating was about to start! Everyone loved Konky's crepes! This was the first cooking lesson I had received as a little girl. Fast-forward about 40 years, it has been part of our first-Sunday New Year's tradition.
INGREDIENTS:
8oz AP Flour
4oz Half-and-Half or milk - room temperature
2oz Water - room temperature
4oz Salted Butter, melted and slightly cooled
4 Eggs, large - room temperature
1 TB Vanilla extract
1.) Start with your mise-en-place and get everything weighed/measured out. It is important to have your wet ingredients sit to come to room temperature. 2.) Melt the butter in the microwave in a small 20 second burst. Mix and do another 10 second burst and mix again. 3.) In a high powered mixer or a hand-held blender, add your flour, vanilla, and eggs first. Get this mixed well. It should take only a couple of minutes.
4.) Add the rest of your ingredients (except the butter) and continue to mix. The batter needs to get as smooth as possible. This may take a few minutes to get everything mixed well.
5.) Now, gradually add your butter while mixing the batter. Continue to gently pour the butter into the mixing bowl until complete. Your batter will start to take on a thinner consistency. Mix for about five minutes total.
6.) Once the crepe batter is fully incorporated, you will now grab a small mixing bowl and line it with a fine-mesh strainer. Run your crepe batter through the strainer. This will help remove any small bits of flour and butter that did not mix through. Sometimes it is just something you cannot avoid. That is why this step is absolutely important to do.
7.) Allow your strained crepe batter bowl to sit on the counter for a minimum 30 minutes to allow the flour to fully absorb and rest.
8.) Set up your pan, some pan-spray or knob of butter, a spatula, and a separate plate to the side.
9.) On medium heat, lightly spray the pan or apply melted butter to the pan. Ladle the crepe batter into the middle of the pan and begin swirling the batter around by shifting your pan in a circular motion. Small pans about 3oz-4oz. Large pans about 5oz-6oz. Just use your best judgement on the amount of batter. The key element is getting that batter to spread evenly and thin. DO NOT WALK AWAY FROM THE PAN! Because you are working with a thin batter, this is going to cook fast. After about 45 seconds to 1 minute, you will see the top of the batter almost looking like skin. That is when you will know it is ready to be flipped.
10.) In less than 20 seconds, this crepe will finish cooking. Remove your freshly cooked crepe carefully and place on a plate with a tea-towel to keep it warm. Repeat the process until no more batter is left.
This is a blank-canvas for desserts and breakfast/brunch type meals. If you omit the vanilla, you now will have a crepe that is perfect for savory dishes as well.
FILLING SUGGESTIONS FOR DESSERTS & BREAKFASTS Fresh fruits
Homemade whipped cream Melted chocolate Buttercream
Compotes
Crushed nuts
Pudding/Custards
Ice Cream
Crushed cookies
Hazelnut spread
