Ham, Gruyere and Mushroom Crepes

Where have you been?  It’s been a while!  I can’t really explain why. I think it’s just been one of those weeks where I haven’t been able to plan any cooking or baking.  We were taking a lot of things out of the freezer and had take-out once or twice.  I’ll try and do better this week

I’ve started off with something that I think it pretty fun, Ham, Gruyere and Mushroom Crepes.  I’ve never made my own crepes so that was a bit of an adventure.  I think the key to a crepe is don’t over think it.  Just put a thin layer of batter in the bottom of a pan for 30-60 seconds, then flip and cook 10 seconds longer.  Easy peasy!  Flipping the crepes can be a little tricky, they can tear a little and fold on top of itself.  Don’t panic just straighten the crepe out and go with the flow.  Also, the first crepe never works, kinda like pancakes.  So don’t worry if the first attempt doesn’t seem to work, the next one will be better, I promise.

The Hubby was very impressed with dinner tonight and asked what I will put in the crepes next time.  Maybe I’ll try a dessert crepe next time.

Crepes

Ingredients

• 1 cup flour, shifted
• 6 tbsp sugar
• 2 large egg
• 300 ml milk
• 2 tbsp melted butter
• ½ tsp vanilla

Directions

1. Combine flour, sugar and a pinch of salt in a large bowl.
2. Make a well in the center with a wooden spoon, stir in the egg and gradually draw in the flour from the edges.  Add the milk a little at a time, stirring all the time and drawing in more flour until you get a smooth batter.  The consistency should be like single cream.
3. Stir in the melted butter and vanilla and set mixture aside for about 10 minutes.
4. Melt a knob of butter and use a brush to coat a non-stick pan with butter.  Heat pan to medium heat, then add a ladleful of batter and swirl the pan so that the batter covers the base thinly.
5. Cook the batter for 30 seconds to 1 minute until the base is light golden brown. Lift the edge with a spatula to check, the flip over and cook for about 10 seconds longer.
6. Slide onto a warm plate and repeat with remaining batter.

Mushroom, Ham and Gruyere Crepes

Ingredients

• 8 oz package mushrooms, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/3 cup half and half
• Salt and pepper
• 1 cup grated gruyere cheese
• 6 slices ham
• 6 crepes

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400F.
2. Heat a pan over medium heat.  Add mushrooms and cook for about 1 minute, then add garlic.  Sautee until mushroom is tender.  Season with salt and pepper, then add half and half.  Cook for 3-5 minutes until cream thickens and mixture is no longer runny.  Remove from heat.
3. Set up a work space with ham, mushroom mixture, gruyere, and crepes.  Lay out the crepes top each one with a slice of ham.  Divide mushroom mixture between the 6 crepes adding the mushroom in a row across the ham.  Top with gruyere and from the end closest to you roll up the crepe.  Add crepes to a casserole dish.
4. Cook in preheated oven for 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

ENJOY!