Saturday, January 24, 2009

Spiced Berry Crepes

Making crepes is so fun! Cooking the crepes is awesome and the smell of the fruit stewing is intoxicating. Frozen berries are great for this recipe too--that saves you the trouble of pulling the leaves and stems off the strawberries. You can make the crepes a day before, but if you don't just make sure you let everything chill in the fridge for a few hours. This allows the wrapes to get a better, less chewy texture, and the sauce to thicken.

P.S. This recipe makes a buttload of crepes. The serving size is six, but I made at least 20.

The filling and sauce recipe is my own, but the crepe wrapper recipe is from Bon Appetit.

Crepes
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups whole milk
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons melted butter, plus additional for brushing

Filling & Sauce
1 1/2 cups blueberries
2 cups strawberries, quartered
1 cup raspberries (optional)
1 cup water
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup Pernot (or other licorice-flavored liquor)
1/4 cup Grand Marnier (or other orange-flavored liqueur)
1 cinnamon stick
2 cloves


For crepes (via Bon Appetit):
Sift flour and salt into large bowl. Whisk milk and eggs in medium bowl. Gradually whisk milk mixture into flour mixture until smooth. Whisk in 2 tablespoons melted butter.

Heat crepe pan or 8-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Brush pan with melted butter. Pour in 2 tablespoons crepe mixture, swirling pan to coat bottom. Cook crepe until golden on bottom and set in center, about 30 seconds. Turn crepe and cook until golden spots appear, about 15 seconds. Transfer crepe to paper-towel-lined ovenproof plate. Repeat with remaining batter, placing paper towels between crepes. Cover tightly with foil. Chill.

For filling and sauce:
Throw all the ingredients (except for the Grand Marnier, Pernot, and strawberries) in a medium saucepan. Simmer on very low heat, uncovered and stirring occasionally. Let this stew for about five minutes, then add the remaining ingredients and stew for another five (If you're using fresh berries, cook the spices, sugar, and water for ten minutes, then add the berries and liquor and stew for 2 minutes on VERY LOW heat). Pull out the cinnamon stick and cloves and strain the mixture. Save the liquid, when chilled it should thicken a bit and become a very nice sauce. Put the filling and sauce in separate containers and chill.

To Serve:
Preheat your oven to 300°F. Heat covered crepe wraps in oven until warmed through, about 15 minutes. Spread 1 rounded tablespoon of warmed filling down the center of each crepe and roll up like a soft taco! Drizzle with the sauce and add a dollop of creme fraiche if you like!

Kimchi Fried Rice

I can't believe I abandoned this poor thing for so long! I will definitely be posting regularly again, with more carnivorous recipes too, I promise!

This is a great way to use up extra kimchi. Also, this recipe is SUPER EASY and great for the lazy and the cooking-retarded. You can't really fuck this up. If you're feeling a little more adventurous, add some pork loin or chicken too!

This recipe calls for Pimenton, which is something not everyone has in their kitchen, but I highly recommend buying. It's cheap and brings out the flavor of everything. It's a mildly spicy, smoky red pepper powder.

2 eggs (optional)
3-4 tablespoons sesame oil
2 cups packed kimchi, cut in to small pieces
2 cups uncooked rice
2 large scallions, minced
1 tablespoon sesame seeds
2-3 tablespoons soy sauce or Braggs
2 teaspoons red pepper
Pinch of pimenton (optional)
Sea salt and black pepper (to taste)

Cook the rice first. Make sure the rice is done before you start cooking and set it aside. It's o.k. if the rice is a little al dente, just stir fry it a bit longer and it should be fine.

Heat the pan/wok on medium-high heat and add a couple tablespoons of the sesame oil. Add the kimchi and stir-fry until transparent.

Add the scallions, rice, soy sauce, sesame seeds, red pepper, and pimenton. Mix well and cook for 3 minutes or so. You'll probably need to add the rest of the sesame oil to prevent burning.

Adding the eggs is optional, but I highly recommend it! Whisk them in a small bowl first and then pour them over the mixture. Stir it often so all the rice gets coated. There should be some small pieces of cooked egg in there, but most of the egg should sink in to the rice, making it a little sticky and sooooo yummy. Stir-fry until the eggs are fully cooked, season with salt and pepper and serve!