Crepes Savory Or Sweet??

[cakerookie]

Hello everyone. Was just curious to know if anyone does a lot of crepes? Should I go out and buy a fancy cooking utensil for these or will a teflon coated skillet work just as well? Are they traditionally served has a sweet or savory item? Thanks in advance...

[MarkV]

Crepes are served both sweet and savory.

I have both an All-Clad crepe pan (10-inch), and an 8-inch All-Clad non-stick skillet that I make crepes in. Either one will do.

http://www.ahherald.com/food/2005/ft_050210_suzette.htm

Mark

[Pete]

Don't go out and buy a "crepe" pan. They jack up the price just because they call it a crepe pan. A non stick skillet will work just fine. 8 or 10 inch depending on the size you want.

Though you tend to see them more often in sweet applications, they are just as at home in savory applications.

[cakerookie]

Thanks.I had forgotten that I had Julia Childs book "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" sorry guys. In her book for the recipes on crepes she states as do many of the recipes in her book that the ingredients should be added in the order they are written in the book. Is there some logic to this? I am sure there is but the book does not go into any detail as to why you add the ingredients in a specific order. Anyone got any ideas? Oh and Pete thanks for the suggestion on the pan and you too MarkV. I will just use my 10 inch saute pan if that will work?

[cape chef]

I have two 6 inch crepe pans from France for over 20 years.The best.I think cooks should learn how to use these products.There was no such thing as non stick pans when I was coming up through the ranks.

[cakerookie]

I totally agree capechef 100%. But I think till I master the art of making these things I will hold off buying that pan for now. I just checked e-bay and they have some reasonable prices on crepe pans. Will proably go there when I get ready for one. Just when I think I have one thing down up pops something else.

[Jock]

I bought a French (Really. Not just French style) crepe pan here in SF for about $15. It was one of those iron pans but it cooked the crepes unevenly with a nicely browned spot in the middle and a pale, barely cooked outer edge. So, for another $15 I bought an American made non stick crepe pan. Works like a charm - even cooking and non stick to boot.

Jock

[Pierre]

i make my crepes in a well seasoned black iron skillet, just like my cajun grandmother did. you gotta be on the ball, but i find that if you always use the same pan you learn how it works. mostly i make savory dinner crepes.

[blueschef]

I am with cape, when we started there was no good non stick pans. We used regular pans and the key was/is the timing and temp, it is an art but an easy one to master.

[Suzanne]

The only thing you absolutely need is patience! It takes practice to get the correct amount of batter in the pan (nonstick is nice, but as you can see from posts so far, almost anything will work) and to swirl it so that it covers the surface evenly. Fortunately, the ingredients are cheap enough (flour, eggs, milk, butter) so that it won't break the bank to keep making batter and practicing.

I cut my crepe teeth on Julia's recipe, and never questioned it. Why should I? It worked!

As for the sweet/savory question: if you make plain crepes (without sugar), you can use them with any kind of filling or sauce. Plus, they are easier to work with. The possibilities are limitless! And if you make a full recipe of crepes, you can stack them (separate with wax paper in between), freeze them -- and have them handy whenever you want to make something elegant out of that little bit of leftover stew or custard.

[chrose]

Ahh for the good old days! When I was a kid my mother would take me to Georgetown in Wash. DC and we would go to the Maison D'Crepe for lunch. We would either get a savory crepe and a dessert crepe or the French Onion soup and a dessert crepe. Years later I got a job as the Crepe Chef at the Magic Pan Crepery. I would be in the dining area with this giant wheel that held about 15 pans at a time. It was timed perfectly, as I put one crepe on the wheel another one was arriving perfectly cooked. We used upside down pans and a butter soaked paper towel that we rubbed the pan against. To this day it's my preferred way of making the crepes. I found a similar, but I think better pan than the one pictured here at a garage sale for $3! And that's why I love garage sales!

[mudbug]

Originally Posted by cakerookie

Hello everyone. Was just curious to know if anyone does a lot of crepes? Should I go out and buy a fancy cooking utensil for these or will a teflon coated skillet work just as well? Are they traditionally served has a sweet or savory item? Thanks in advance...

If you have the money and the storage room and you think you'll be making crepes enough to justify each, then go ahead and buy a crepe pan, otherwise don't bother.

Experiment! Crepes are neutral but can easily be seasoned and filled however you wish. What are you wanting to try?

[cakerookie]

Just anything with them. Nothing in particular just wanted to get a feel for making them. Practiced with creme brulee and I have pretty much got that narrowed down to a science. Just like to try new things and maybe develop a new recipe or two along the way..