2013 09 08 Pickled Asian Pears, a set on Flickr.
Category Archives: Southern Fare
Cooking
Some of my favorite things
Beach Crepes
Enjoying a weekend with my family in Fort Morgan.
I also made some peach compote (compote = peaches and sugar cooked in a skillet on medium heat for about 10 minutes). I use a pretty basic recipe for crepe batter. It lends itself well to sweet or savory uses:
Crepe Batter
2 large eggs (3 if I want a more egg-y consistency)
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1 cup flour
3 Tbsp melted butter.
Mix the first three ingredients in a large bowl and slowly whisk in the flour (to remove any clumps). Don’t rush this part. The butter needs to be melted but not so hot that it will cook the eggs in the batter when it’s added. Do this as the last step. Let the batter rest in the fridge for at least an hour (overnight is best).
Cooking crepes, to me, is just somehting you have to do enough times until you’re comfortable. I don’t use a crepe pan; just a $15 T-Fal skillet that suits my needs perfectly. This recipe has enough butter in it that I don’t need to add any to the skillet for cooking. I pour about 1/3 cup into a hot 10-inch skillet and tilt the skillet to distribute the batter all the way around. I let it cook until a gentle shake of the pan back and forth loosens the crepe (1 or 2 minutes), then flip it and cook for another minute or so. As I said, it’s just something you have to do until you know when it’s done. It’s not rocket surgery or anything. Have fun.
July 14, 2013: Semi-Italian Sunday
Another fun Saturday marketing…
I do these things…
Mushroom Gnocchi and Puppy Love
I had a friend over for dinner who’s a vegetarian, so I wanted to make something meat-free yet satisfying. Gnocchi and mushrooms in cream sauce (including some dried chanterelles I reconstituted in white wine) fit the bill. He also brought his new ‘puppy’ Bentley (the same age as Sookie, but about 45 pounds heavier) to let the dogs meet. They were like peas and carrots from the first moment.