Gilles Marini's French Trick for Feeding Kids on the Fly
07/15/2011
Photo by: Andrea Cipriani
 |
| Gilles bulding a croquembouche with his father. |
Gilles Marini of Brothers and Sisters shares a French trick for feeding the family on the fly
I grew up in a little bakery in France. My father would bake everything, and I was eating, eating, eating—8 to 10 pastries a day!
Whenever my mother would declare it crepe night at home, we would think, Wow, Mom is so cool! But it was an easy way for my mom to feed us, because when you have nothing in the fridge but eggs and a bit of flour and whatnot, you can still make crepes.
My wife and I do that now with our children, Georges and Juliana. We’ll ask, “What shall we make tonight?” And we usually do crepes. They’re like the French burrito. They can be sweet, like this recipe, or done with ham and cheese and eggs, or with salmon.
I grew up in a little bakery in France. My father would bake everything, and I was eating, eating, eating—8 to 10 pastries a day!
Whenever my mother would declare it crepe night at home, we would think, Wow, Mom is so cool! But it was an easy way for my mom to feed us, because when you have nothing in the fridge but eggs and a bit of flour and whatnot, you can still make crepes.
My wife and I do that now with our children, Georges and Juliana. We’ll ask, “What shall we make tonight?” And we usually do crepes. They’re like the French burrito. They can be sweet, like this recipe, or done with ham and cheese and eggs, or with salmon.
Crepe Expectations
Ingredients:
2 cups milk
1 cup flour
3 eggs
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup melted, unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients in a mixer or blender and blend until smooth.
2. In a medium-size skillet over medium-low heat, melt 1/2 tsp butter; ladle in 1/4 cup crepe batter. Swirl the skillet until you have a thin layer of batter covering the entire bottom.
3. Cook until the underside is golden brown, about 2 minutes; flip. Cook until the other side is golden brown, about 1 minute.
4. Add a filling, if desired, right after flipping. Place ingredients down the center of the crepe so you can fold in the sides like an envelope. If you aren’t using a filling, cook all the crepes, then put them on a plate in the middle of the table alongside bowls of various fillings—jams, Nutella, whipped cream, sautéed fruit, etc.—so everyone can choose their own.
5. Dust with confectioners’ sugar before serving.
Makes: 12 | Per Crepe: 120 calories, 11g carbs, 4g protein, 6g fat, 60mg cholesterol, 40mg sodium, 0g fiber
2 cups milk
1 cup flour
3 eggs
1 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup melted, unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
Directions:
1. Combine all ingredients in a mixer or blender and blend until smooth.
2. In a medium-size skillet over medium-low heat, melt 1/2 tsp butter; ladle in 1/4 cup crepe batter. Swirl the skillet until you have a thin layer of batter covering the entire bottom.
3. Cook until the underside is golden brown, about 2 minutes; flip. Cook until the other side is golden brown, about 1 minute.
4. Add a filling, if desired, right after flipping. Place ingredients down the center of the crepe so you can fold in the sides like an envelope. If you aren’t using a filling, cook all the crepes, then put them on a plate in the middle of the table alongside bowls of various fillings—jams, Nutella, whipped cream, sautéed fruit, etc.—so everyone can choose their own.
5. Dust with confectioners’ sugar before serving.
Makes: 12 | Per Crepe: 120 calories, 11g carbs, 4g protein, 6g fat, 60mg cholesterol, 40mg sodium, 0g fiber
Gille's Tips
• “If you have time, let the batter rest for half an hour before frying the crepes. And you can keep any unused batter covered in the fridge for one day.”• “My secret ingredient is eau de fleur d’oranger [orange-blossom water, available in specialty food stores]. Put in only one or two drops because it’s very, very strong. But people will say, ‘Oh my God, this is delicious.’”
• “I love salmon crepes. But if you want to make the recipe savory, not sweet, you need to lose the vanilla extract and the sugar. Then you can put whatever you want inside.”
No comments:
Post a Comment