Source: Mel's Kitchen Cafe
Yield: 10 crepes
Ingredients:
for the crepes:
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups milk
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil or melted butter (I went the oil route)
1/4 teaspoon salt
for the filling:
8 ounces chopped, cooked ham (I just used deli sliced ham)
1 1/2 cups shredded swiss cheese
pinch of black pepper
20 asparagus spears, cut in half (If you like asparagus, you might want to use more)
for the sauce:
4 Tablespoons butter
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup low fat milk
2 Tablespoons stone-ground mustard (I just had the plain-jane yellow stuff, and it was good, but I'm sure stoneground would be even better!)
salt and pepper, to taste
Directions:
for the crepes:
In a blender or large bowl using an electric mixer (I used the blender and it worked like a charm - it even fit a double batch!), combine the eggs, milk, flour, oil (or butter) and salt. Blend or mix on high until the ingredients are well combined. Cover the batter and chill in the refrigerator at least 1 hour or up to 24 hours. This helps the gluten to relax, making the crepes even more tender. Note: If you chill the batter for more than 1-2 hours, go for the oil option, as the butter tends to harden and clump up if refrigerated for longer than a couple hours.
When ready to start cooking the crepes, heat a 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Spray the bottom and sides of the skillet with nonstick cooking spray. The skillet should sizzle like crazy. You want it piping hot before you pour in the crepe batter. Quickly whisk the crepe batter to recombine, then measure out 1/4 cup of the batter. Tilt the skillet off the heat and pour the batter to one side of the skillet, immediately twirling the skillet to coat the bottom with the batter.
Set the skillet back on the heat and cook the crepe until the edges begin to brown, about 1 minute. Loosen the crepe around the edge with a heat-proof spatula and gently (but quickly!) pick up the edges of the hot crepe with your fingers and give it a fast flip. Cook the other side for 30 seconds or so until lightly golden brown and cooked through. Transfer the crepe to a wire rack. The key is to keep the skillet sizzling hot without burning the crepes – you might need to moderated the heat of your stovetop between medium and slightly above that to keep the crepes cooking quickly without burning. You should hear an audible sizzle when you pour the crepe batter into the skillet but if you hear a sizzle with accompanying smoke – the skillet is probably too hot.
Repeat with remaining batter (spraying the skillet with cooking spray every 2-3 crepes), stacking the crepes as they finish cooking.
(Mel says: To store leftover crepes (or to make in advance): once the crepes have cooled, stack them between pieces of parchment or wax paper. Wrap the stack of crepes in plastic and store them in a resealable plastic bag in the refrigerator for several days or for up to 2 months in the freezer. Completely thaw frozen crepes before carefully pulling them apart. I just stacked them up and put them in a ziplock bag in the fridge (sans parchment or wax paper) and they seem to do just fine.)
for the filling:
In a medium bowl, toss together ham, swiss cheese, and pinch of black pepper. Spoon 1/4 cup of ham/cheese mixture down the center of each crepe and top with 2 asparagus spears, cut in half (so you’ll have four pieces of asparagus per crepe -I added more because I like asparagus). Roll up enchilada-style. Arrange the crepes seam-side down on a lightly greased baking sheet (or 9x13 casserole dish - just squeeze 'em in). Bake the crepes at 400 degrees for 10-12 minutes, until the cheese has melted and the crepes are golden brown.
for the sauce:
While the crepes are baking, melt butter in a medium saucepan. Whisk in flour and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly. Slowly whisk in chicken broth and milk until the mixture is smooth. Bring the mixture to a low boil, stirring often, and simmer for 3-4 minutes, until thickened. Whisk in stone-ground mustard (use more according to taste) and add salt and pepper to taste. Serve the warm ham/asparagus crepes topped with the sauce. (We just poured the whole pan of sauce over all the crepes in the casserole dish, and I felt like that was way too much sauce for the amount of crepes - they looked like they were swimming! Gregg loves sauce, so he didn't mind, but next time I think I'll just spoon sauce over individual crepes as they are served.)
Notes:
Crepes are something that I did not grow up with at home. I think the first time I had them was when I was in college with my friend Christine when we visited her sister and nephew in St. George one summer. Since then, I've eaten them a handful of times, but I have never attempted making them. Till yesterday. What the heck was I waiting for? They are NOT hard. Not hard at all. And there are so many delicious things you can do with them! I made a double batch of the crepe batter so I could make a batch of these savory ones and save a batch for some "desserty" ones for later. We piled ours with fresh strawberries, raspberries, vanilla yogurt, peanut butter, bananas, chocolate chips, crushed pineapple, lemon curd, and chocolate syrup (not all together!) and it was quite the fun little feast. If you've never attempted crepes by yourself, don't be like me - make these today!
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