If yesterday’s post was probably one of my most-made recipe cards, this might be my most-made recipe in my binder, which is sort of a Binder of Theseus. My sister made me a binder full of typed-out recipes as a gift when I was a sophomore in college, and I still have the section separators, which were collages of images cut from magazines, and I have some (most? all?) of those typed recipes, though the binder itself has been replaced. And of course I’ve added many more recipes, printed from the internet or sent to me by email or clipped from magazines. (I had a subscription to Sunset for a while in the late 00s!)
This recipe, though, was copied from a webpage into probably a Word document and then printed out, and dates from March 15 2003. The URL in the image no longer works, but the contents can be found in the Wayback Machine (ctrl+f, “crepes”). It was posted as part of the author’s “French Week” as sort of an oblique protest of the impending Iraq War. In any case, I have been making it since then.
Because this can be found in the Wayback Machine, and because the instructions are hilariously long, I am not going to retype the whole thing here.
My only personal notations are combining “whole wheat flour” and “white flour” into a single line (I’ve literally never made these as savory crepes in 20 years), and a note that 1 egg approximately equals 3 crepes.
Making the batter
One of the things I love about this recipe is that it scales really well: one egg to ¼ cup flour. The sugar ratio is weird and I usually have to do a rough approximation, because ¼ cup sugar is 4 tablespoons, but also it’s a very forgiving recipe that way.
I have learned over the years to beat the eggs first and THEN add the flour/sugar/salt, much less lumps that way. (ironically, 20 years and I just noticed he never says when to add the salt, altho clearly it’s with the flour)
I have literally no idea how much milk I use. I mix in a bit at a time until it looks like the right texture/color. It’s all vibes, baby.
I don’t think I’ve ever let it sit two whole hours but it definitely does change texture a bit, for the better, if left to sit at least a half an hour. (I have also never drunk a glass of red wine while waiting for the batter.)
Below is: just after mixing in the flour/sugar/salt, then after some milk, all the milk, and after sitting for idk half an hour? 45 minutes?
Jam! Eating while making!
As I said, I’ve literally never made them savory, altho the last time I had them with a little bit of local whipped goat cheese and strawberry jam, and that was FUCKING TIGHT.
My usual is to take out whatever jams I have (today: strawberry and raspberry freezer jam that I made in 2020 and 2021 respectively, quince jam that a friend made, and marmalade) and just alternate flavors as I make them. I usually end up eating some while I’m making them. (As the guy says, bachelor mode™️.)
Two eggs’ worth did in fact make about six crepes, I think, which is kind of a lot for dessert but I guess I had dessert for dinner, it’s fine.
(Oh, and I think I’ve tried flipping them without a spatula exactly once, I am just not that bold.)
In any case, this continues to be one of my favorite recipes of all time, I will make it for anyone at any time for any reason. (The longest stretch I ever went without making it was after Ryn died, and I finally had eggs and milk and enough energy…and found BUGS IN MY FLOUR and about lost my damn mind. But I have made them a couple of times since then.)
Fanfiction bonus content!
So if you are reading my fic for the benefit of all the broken hearts, and you have already read chapter 16, then you know why I posted this today. If you are reading it and have not yet read the new chapter, consider this a teaser.
If you are not reading it: for the benefit of all the broken hearts is a fix-it fic for Water Flowing Underground, a very strange beautiful fic that blurs the line between Actor AU and RPF, that plays with questions of identity and choice and intention and also what we are even doing with fanfiction. My fic picks up from the end of that fic, from the point of view of a character who is dismissed by the narrative of the original, and who finds a way out of the wreckage. (it’s the weirdest goddamn thing I’ve ever written, and yes, I think that includes the Bigfoot fic, and also I think my best writing ever. Certainly the most work I’ve ever put into any writing in any medium.)
And also there are crepes.
