Vive la France! (Well, Kind of)

Passport & Plate - Crepes a la Rachel

France | Saturday, March 7, 2015 | 4 photos

Ingredients
1c milk
1c flour
2 farm eggs
pinch of salt

 

How to prepare this recipe
She was a small town girl… whose high school French teacher changed her world. I grew up in a small town outside of Dallas where the “nice” restaurant was Outback Steakhouse. I wasn’t too sure what else was out there until our HS French teacher began taking us on excursions into the city. We would eat at French restaurants, shop at gourmet groceries and learn how proper baguette was made. All of these things inspired us and for the first time we saw that there were other options than being stuck in this small rodeo town. I distinctly remember having to go to someone’s house after school one day to make crepes for the first time as an assignment. I had such a blast and couldn’t wait to re-create them for my family. To expand their palates beyond meat & potatoes to something as worldly as French food was amazing. I started dreaming of living in Paris, eating crepes and being fabulous. My best friend and I would make crepes every time we had a sleepover and talk about our plans to get out of dodge.
Throughout the years crepes have stayed a staple of my repertoire. No, the actual recipe isn’t fancy or complicated. The method is a little tricky to get perfect but once you get the flip down, it feels great. My favorite piece is that they act as such a blank canvas for whatever I’m feeling that day. Who says you can’t make an Asian crepe? It’s Mardi Gras? Let’s make it Cajun. Went to the farmer’s market this morning and have fresh fruit? Whip up some vanilla cream sauce, toss the berries and serve in a crepe.
I love the communal feeling of making crepes- everyone wants to be in the kitchen and flip them or have input on what goes inside. For my last birthday my family and I spent the morning together making 50 crepes that would become my birthday cake.
Truth be told for all of my dreaming about it, I have yet to travel to France. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve traveled and eaten as much as has been possible but France always seems to escape me. It's time.

 

The story behind this recipe
She was a small town girl… whose high school French teacher changed her world. I grew up in a small town outside of Dallas where the “nice” restaurant was Outback Steakhouse. I wasn’t too sure what else was out there until our HS French teacher began taking us on excursions into the city. We would eat at French restaurants, shop at gourmet groceries and learn how proper baguette was made. All of these things inspired us and for the first time we saw that there were other options than being stuck in this small rodeo town. I distinctly remember having to go to someone’s house after school one day to make crepes for the first time as an assignment. I had such a blast and couldn’t wait to re-create them for my family. To expand their palates beyond meat & potatoes to something as worldly as French food was amazing. I started dreaming of living in Paris, eating crepes and being fabulous. My best friend and I would make crepes every time we had a sleepover and talk about our plans to get out of dodge.
Throughout the years crepes have stayed a staple of my repertoire. No, the actual recipe isn’t fancy or complicated. The method is a little tricky to get perfect but once you get the flip down, it feels great. My favorite piece is that they act as such a blank canvas for whatever I’m feeling that day. Who says you can’t make an Asian crepe? It’s Mardi Gras? Let’s make it Cajun. Went to the farmer’s market this morning and have fresh fruit? Whip up some vanilla cream sauce, toss the berries and serve in a crepe.
I love the communal feeling of making crepes- everyone wants to be in the kitchen and flip them or have input on what goes inside. For my last birthday my family and I spent the morning together making 50 crepes that would become my birthday cake.
Truth be told for all of my dreaming about it, I have yet to travel to France. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve traveled and eaten as much as has been possible but France always seems to escape me. It's time.