Crepes Suzette

Ah, France... I remember visiting in 2000. Such a beautiful city with the most delectable foods! But my all time favorite meal? Crepes! I enjoyed sitting in cafés sipping café au laits and eating crepes.

A specialty of France, crepes are light, thin pancakes that are wrapped around sweet or savory fillings. As you’ll discover, crepes take well to a host of fillings, from ham and cheese to apples with caramel sauce. And they’re extremely versatile. Savory crepes are perfect for brunch, lunch or even a light supper, paired with a bowl of soup or a tossed green salad. Sweet crepes make a wonderful finale to a special meal.

Crepes Suzette

Ingredients
For the Suzette butter:
1 orange
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/3 cup sugar

For the batter:
1/3 all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon salt
4 eggs
1 ¾ cups milk, plus more as needed
3 tablespoons unsalted butter

6 tablespoons brandy
3 tablespoons Grand Marnier
Thin strips of orange zest for garnish

Directions:
To make the Suzette butter:
Grate the zest from the orange. Cut the orange in half and extract the juice. In a food processor, combine the orange zest, butter and sugar and process until completely blended. With the motor running, slowly add the orange juice and process again until blended. Use immediately or refrigerate in an airtight container for up to one week.

To make the batter:
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar and salt. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs and the 1 ¾ cups milk. Gradually whisk in the flour mixture to make a thin, lump-free batter. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.

When ready to cook, stir the batter; it should be the consistency of a heavy cream. If it is too thick, thin with a little more milk. Heat a 12-inch crepe pan or non-stick fry pan over medium heat until hot. Add 1 teaspoon of the unsalted butter and tilt the pan to coat the bottom with the butter as it melts. Ladle 1/4 cup of the batter into the pan, titling and swirling the pan to coat the bottom with the batter. Pour any excess batter back into the bowl. Cook until the edges are dry and separate slightly from the pan, 30 to 45 seconds. Using a spatula, turn the crepe over and cook for just a few seconds. Transfer to a warmed plate and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining batter, adding more butter to pan as needed. You should have 12 crepes.

In a fry pan over medium high heat, melt 4 tablespoons of the Suzette butter and add 4 crepes to the pan. Using 2 forks, turn the crepe in the butter to coat, then fold each into fourths and nestle them in the pan. Add 2 tablespoons of the brandy and 1 tablespoon of the Grand Marnier. Remove from the heat. Using a long-handled match, ignite the brandy and stir the crepe in the sauce until the flames subside. Transfer to individual plate. Repeat the process in 2 more batches. Serve immediately, garnished with the orange zest strips. Serves 6.