Basic Crepes With Ham Swiss And Asparagus Variation Recipes

ASPARAGUS HAM CREPES

Steps:

• In a blender, combine the first six ingredients; cover and process until smooth. Refrigerate for 1 hour. , Heat a lightly greased 8-in. nonstick skillet; pour 2 tablespoons batter into center of skillet. Lift and tilt pan to evenly coat bottom. Cook until top appears dry; turn and cook 15-20 seconds longer. Remove to a wire rack. Repeat with remaining batter, greasing skillet as needed. When cool, stack crepes with waxed paper or paper towels in between., In a large skillet, bring 1/2 in. of water to a boil. Add asparagus; cover and cook for 3 minutes. Drain and immediately place asparagus in ice water; drain and pat dry. , On each crepe, layer a ham slice, Swiss cheese slice and three asparagus spears. Roll up and place in a greased 11x7-in. baking dish., In a saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour and bouillon. Gradually stir in water. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat; stir in cheddar cheese until melted. Stir in the cream, mushrooms and chives. Pour over crepes. , Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until heated through.

HAM AND CHEESE CREPES

Steps:

• Add flour, milk, eggs, and melted butter to a blender and process until smooth, 1 to 2 minutes. Set batter aside for at least 20 minutes.
• Heat 1 teaspoon butter in a skillet over medium heat. Cook onions, stirring occasionally, until they start to turn golden brown, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
• Coat a crepe pan or nonstick skillet over medium heat with about 1 teaspoon of the melted butter. Ladle about 1/4 cup batter into the pan, swirling the pan to thinly coat the entire bottom. Cook until small brown spots appear on the bottom of the crepe, about 2 minutes.
• Loosen crepe carefully from the pan using a spatula and gently flip to brown the other side, 1 to 2 minutes more. Slide crepe onto a plate. Repeat with remaining batter, buttering the pan as needed and stacking crepes between pieces of parchment or waxed paper.
• Assemble crepes, one at a time, in the still-warm pan; spread some mustard over one half, cover mustard with some ham slices, and top with Gruyere cheese. Fold the other side over the filling, pressing down slightly, and heat briefly just until the cheese starts to melt. Fold crepe in half again. Each finished crepe should end up about 1/4 the size of the original.

BUCKWHEAT CREPES WITH ASPARAGUS, HAM AND GRUYèRE

Steps:

• Make the batter: Whisk together flours, eggs, buttermilk and salt until well combined. Put the batter in the fridge for at least 2 hours or, preferably, overnight. If necessary, thin batter with a little more buttermilk or water, to the consistency of heavy cream.
• Heat a crepe pan or well-seasoned cast iron skillet, about 8 inches in diameter, over medium-high heat. Use a piece of paper towel to rub a little butter in the pan, then quickly ladle in about 1/4 cup of batter. Swirl the pan to spread the batter all the way to the perimeter. Let crepe brown on one side for a minute or so, until crisp. Flip it over with a spatula (or carefully with your fingers) and cook one minute more. Don't worry about browning the second side. Adjust heat if crepe browns too quickly; the pan needn't be scorching hot. Remove from heat if crepe is cooking too quickly.
• Remove the crepe from the pan and set it aside while you continue to make 5 more. Stack crepes on top of each other as they are finished. (Crepes may be made in advance.)
• Bring a medium pot of generously salted water to a boil. Cook the asparagus for 2 minutes, or just until it is firm-tender, then drain and spread on a clean kitchen towel to cool.
• Heat oven to 400 degrees. Fill the crepes by laying each one top-side down, place a slice of ham on top, sprinkle generously with cheese, and lay 3 asparagus spears on top, off to one side. Fold over to make a half-moon.
• Put the filled crepes in one layer on a baking sheet. Drizzle with a little melted butter, then bake until they are crisp and the cheese is melted, about 5 to 7 minutes. Serve immediately.

BASIC CREPES

Steps:

• In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour and the eggs. Gradually add in the milk and water, stirring to combine. Add the salt and butter; beat until smooth.
• Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each crepe. Tilt the pan with a circular motion so that the batter coats the surface evenly.
• Cook the crepe for about 2 minutes, until the bottom is light brown. Loosen with a spatula, turn and cook the other side. Serve hot.

STUFFED CREPES WITH MUSHROOMS, HAM AND BECHAMEL SAUCE

Steps:

• For Filling
• Place porcini mushrooms in large bowl. Pour 2 cups hot water over; let stand 30 minutes to soften. Using slotted spoons, remove mushrooms from soaking liquid. Discard liquid. Finely chop porcini.
• Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and saute 1 minute. Add porcini and parsley and saute 1 minute. Add wine and boil until liquid evaporates, about 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium-low. Mix in button mushrooms. Cover and cook until tender, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes. Uncover and simmer until liquid evaporates, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
• For Sauce
• Melt butter in large saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and stir 3 minutes (do not brown). Gradually whisk in milk. Simmer until sauce thickens, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Stir in nutmeg. Season with salt and pepper. Cool to lukewarm, about 30 minutes.
• For Crepes
• Whisk eggs and salt in large bowl. Gradually whisk in flour, then 1 1/4 cups milk. Strain into medium bowl. Let stand 1 hour.
• If necessary, add more milk by tablespoons to batter to thin to consistency of heavy whipping cream. Heat 8-inch diameter nonstick skillet over medium-high head. Brush with melted butter. Pour 3 tablespoons batter into skillet and swirl to coat bottom evenly. Cook until top appears dry, loosening sides of crepe with spatula, about 45 seconds. Turn and cook until brown spots appear on second side, about 30 seconds. Turn crepe out onto plate. Repeat with remaining batter, brushing skillet with butter and stacking crepes on plate.
• Place 8 crepes on work surface. Place 1 ham slice in center of each crepe. Spread 1 tablespoons sauce over each. Top each with 2 rounded tablespoons mushroom filling. Roll up crepe jelly roll style. Arrange rolled crepes in single layer in 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Spoon remaining sauce over.
• Preheat oven to 475°F. Bake uncovered until crepes are heated through and top is golden, about 20 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese.

HAM, CHEESE & ASPARAGUS CREPES !

Steps:

• Use a non-stick frying pan (or if you don't have one, a very lightly greased pan) and heat it to medium.(I like LARGE crepes -- so I used a large non-stick frying pan -- but you can use a smaller one for smaller size crepes).
• In a bowl, combine flour, milk, eggs, sugar, oil and salt. Beat until well blended (no lumps).
• When the pan is hot, add 3 - 4 tbsps. of batter. Swirl the batter until the bottom is coated and part way up the side of the pan.
• Add 1/4 of the mozzarela cheese, ham (I like to use shredded ham but you can cut up the ham into small pieces),asparagus tips.
• Cook until the edges of the crepe start to come away from the side of the pan and the bottom is golden brown (about 5 minutes).
• Using a spatula, slowly fold the crepe in half and repeat until all of your crepes are made. Should yield about 4 large.
• Serve immediately with a bit of butter on top and maple syrup -- pure comfort !

ASPARAGUS CREPES

Steps:

• For batter, combine milk and egg in a blender; cover and process until blended. Add flour; cover and process until blended. Refrigerate, covered, 1 hour., Preheat oven to 350°. Heat a lightly greased 8-in. skillet over medium heat. Stir batter. Pour 1/4 cup batter into center of pan. Quickly lift and tilt pan to coat bottom evenly. Cook until top appears dry; turn crepe over and cook until bottom is cooked, 15-20 seconds longer. Remove to a wire rack. Repeat with remaining batter, greasing pan as needed., Place six asparagus spears on one side of each crepe; roll up. Place seam side down in a greased 11x7-in. baking dish. Bake, uncovered, until heated through, 10-15 minutes., In a saucepan, whisk egg yolks and water. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture is thickened and coats the back of a metal spoon and a thermometer reads at least 160°. Whisk in the butter, lemon juice, salt and cayenne. Pour over warm crepes; sprinkle with paprika. Serve immediately.

HAM AND ASPARAGUS CREPES

Steps:

• For crepes, combine flour, milk, egg, thyme and salt.
• Beat until blended.
• Spray a 6-inch skillet with nonstick spray coating.
• Preheat skillet; then remove skillet from heat.
• Pour in 2 tablespoons batter.
• Lift and tilt skillet to spread batter.
• Return to heat; brown on one side only.
• Invert skillet over paper towels; remove crepe.
• Repeat with remaining batter.
• For sauce heat carrot, leek, and water to boiling.
• Reduce heat; cover and simmer 5 minutes.
• Do not drain.
• Combine milk, cornstarch, salt, and pepper.
• Stir into vegetable mixture.
• Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly.
• Stir in sherry and 1/2 cup of the cheese until melted.
• For filling, combine ham and asparagus and 1 cup of the sauce.
• Spoon 2 spears and 1 ham strip onto unbrowned side of each crepe.
• Roll up.
• Arrange crepes, seam side down, in a 3-quart rectangular baking dish.
• Spoon remaining sauce over crepes.
• Cover; bake in a 375 degree F.
• oven 25 minutes or until hot.
• Sprinkle with remaining cheese.
• Bake, uncovered, 5 minutes more.