Crepes filled with Cottage Cheese and topped with Black Cherry Confit and Toasted Almonds

Is there any other food that has as many possibilities as a crepe? They can be eaten hot off the griddle with a slathering of nothing more than butter like they are in the picture top left. Or they can be filled with a multitude of savory or sweet foods. I spread some cottage cheese over a warm crepe, folded it (as pictured bottom) and topped it with some awesome tasting black cherry confit and topped it with toasted almonds. The combination was so complementing, the crunchy almonds was the perfect contrast to the tender crepe and filling.

Crepes can be served for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Use your imagination for savory or sweet toppings and fillings. Here’s a ridiculously simple (takes less than 5 minutes to prepare) basic crepe recipe that works for either savory or sweet toppings and/or fillings.

Helpful to know: Once you’ve prepared the crepe batter, its best if it sits refrigerated for about an hour. Cooking them with a little butter is a matter of preference, I like the chestnut brown color it gives the crepes and certainly the added butter flavor! I cook my crepes in a very well seasoned cast iron, low lip skillet. You really don’t need a special pan to make a great crepe, any skillet with a shallow rim will work.

Basic Crepe Recipe

1¼ cups milk

2 eggs

1 tablespoon butter, melted

¾ cup of all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon salt

In a blender or standing mixer combine all ingredients, blend on medium high heat until well blended. Let rest for about a minute and blend again. Cover and refrigerate for about 1 hour.

About an hour later …

Canola oil or butter for skillet

I prefer cooking crepes to order, but if that doesn't work for you, crepes will keep warm in the oven. Set oven temperature to lowest setting. Warm skillet over moderately high heat, add a little bit of canola oil or a dollop of butter, when butter has melted or when canola oil is hot add ¼ cup of crepe batter, swirl pan allowing batter to move to nearly the edges of the skillet, when the underside of the crepe is lightly brown, carefully flip crepe and cook for about a minute. Cook crepes in batches adding butter if desired to skillet before adding crepe batter. If you're not cooking the crepes to order, transfer cooked crepes to an oven proof baking dish (a pie plate works beautifully) and cover with a damp kitchen towel. Yield: 8-10 eight-inch crepes.