There are certain unique smells from the street food in every city. In New York City, it's the smell of burning pretzels and roasted chestnuts. In Paris, it's definitely the crepes. I love watching the batter spread thinly onto the hot griddle and am hypnotized by the smell wafting onto the street.
At home, I enjoy them with sweet fruit filling (apple, pear...) as well as savory ones like ham and cheese. Almond or cashew butter are great too. I am currently intrigued with the idea of a filling made from almond paste and sautéed Braeburn apples folded into the center and then baked in the crepe for a few minutes in the oven. A scoop of frozen yogurt or ice cream would really make the picture complete.
I do own a crepe pan but have had success with a nonstick pan as well. Take care that your nonstick is not too old or scratched, since that can make the crepes hard to remove. Here is the recipe (which can be made with any jam or seasonal fruit you like):
Crepes
This recipe makes about 8 crepes (with room for a few errors...)
1 cup whole milk
4 fresh eggs (I substituted 2 of the 4 with duck eggs from my local market -- the result was even richer in flavor!)
1 to 1 1/4 cups unbleached flour
1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/8 teaspoon ground white pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons clarified butter, melted (Note: You could also use oil to cook the crepes, but using butter adds more flavor)
1. In a bowl, combine all the ingredients except the clarified butter. Begin with one cup of flour and check the consistency of your first few crepes. You may need some additional flour if the batter is too wet.
2. Heat an 8-inch nonstick skillet (or a traditional crepe pan) until hot. Drop a small spoonful of the clarified butter into the pan; if it sizzles, its hot! Add a little more butter, dripping any excess off to use for the next crepe. Use a small ladle to drop some batter into the center of the pan. Lift the pan off the burner into the air and quickly swirl the pan around. This will ensure the batter spreads as thinly and evenly as possible over the surface. Place the pan squarely on the burner.
3. Note: If the batter looks wet at this point, that's your cue to add some of that extra flour. Cook the crepe for about 1 minute, using a spatula to trace around the edges. Slide the spatula underneath and flip the crepe. Cook for about 1 minute. Place some orange marmalade in the center of the crepe and fold it in half. Fold it in half again so you end up with a small "package" with a marmalade center. The crepes can be made and kept warm in a low oven (250 degrees F) until serving.
One last note: don't get discouraged if your first few are a bit mangled and imperfect. Like anything else, it takes a few tries to get the hang of the "swirling" and to make sure your crepes are thin. The result is worth it!
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