# The Crepe Maker Thread



## geoffthomas (Feb 27, 2009)

I was just enjoying myself reading the waffle maker thread, and......
It occurred to me that just as enjoyable (perhaps more) was making and eating crepes.

They are really kinda just thin pancakes and 
You can put all kinds of food in them and
People all over the world make them and call them different things.

I had one of these.
Wore it out.


So I was given one of these as a Christmas gift.
And I love it.


How about you?
And do you have favorite recipes?
And what do you put in your crepes?
And what do you call your "crepes" if you don't call them crepes?

Just sayin......


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## drenee (Nov 11, 2008)

I would love to learn to do crepes.  I love getting them when I eat out, but would like to learn to do them at home.  
deb


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## 4Katie (Jun 27, 2009)

I used to love eating crepes at a restaurant called The Magic Pan (my favorites were chicken divan and a fabulous dessert with black cherries and cream cheese). Just the memories make me want to learn to make my own.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

They're making crepes now on Hell's Kitchen (yes, I watch Hell's Kitchen ). We had crepes in St Petersburg while in Russia. Mine had caviar in them, yum! I'll see if I can find a picture.










Betsy


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## kari (Feb 15, 2009)

haha I watched Hell's Kitchen tonight too.  They were NOT making it look easy to make crepes!


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## Cindy416 (May 2, 2009)

Love your new crepe maker, Geoff! I used to make crepes fairly often, and usually would put either a sweet filling in them or else a combination of onions, green peppers, mushrooms, cheese, and bacon. I have the recipe if anyone wants it. (We called them Crepes Marquis.)

Years ago, my sister, my daughters, and I began making a homemade cheese and onion enchilada, too, with a cornmeal/flour crepe of sorts. We fill these with cheese and onions, and then top them with a wonderful homemade enchilada sauce. They are among our favorite foods!


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## kindlevixen (Jan 13, 2009)

i love crepes. yum.


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

kari said:


> haha I watched Hell's Kitchen tonight too. They were NOT making it look easy to make crepes!


They needed Geoff there to make crepes!

Betsy


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## geoffthomas (Feb 27, 2009)

My crepes are often "irregular" in their roundness (or lack thereof).
But they are usually the right thickness.

My family likes the basic crepe with shaved ham, shaved swiss cheese shaved tomatoes (I use a mandolin) and some lemon basil.
Make my mouth water just thinking about it.

For dessert sometimes I make a sweet crepe with my version of bananas foster.
Some nutella, sliced bananas, chocolate sauce and vanilla ice cream.

Now I have to go to work and pretend that I never thought about food.

Just sayin......


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

geoffthomas said:


> My family likes the basic crepe with shaved ham, shaved swiss cheese shaved tomatoes (I use a mandolin) and some lemon basil.


They were also using a mandolin (the kitchen tool, not the musical instrument) on Hell's Kitchen last night. Hopefully you don't add fingertips to your crepe like the HK guy tried to do last night. It wasn't pretty.

That really sounds good, Geoff! Maybe the next DC Kindle meet up should be at your house for breakfast!

Betsy


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

Crepes are good. A Maine/Acadian variation are ployes, which are made with buckwheat. Very tasty and easy to make. They sell the mix in the grocery store but for those of you "from away," you'll have to order it online.

http://www.ployes.com/

L


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

I had a crepe maker years back.  I don't remember what I did with it, but it was magical the way you dip the thing and the crepe is made.

Space is so limited in my apartment, so I can't keep many kitchen items out.

Geoff, your new one looks super.


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## geoffthomas (Feb 27, 2009)

Betsy - I am very careful. While I have a collection of other kinds of "pointed sharp objects", they are not to be fooled with.  And the mandolin, as handy as it is, can be dangerous indeed.  My parents were in the restaurant (hotel coffee shops and banquet rooms) business most of my younger years so I kinda grew up in a kitchen. I like to cook. Just got a "comercial grade" griddle for my weber gas grill so I can do bigger groups now. And keep the cooking odors and grease outside.  Got it at Williams Sonoma.

Speaking of WS - they have pre-packaged crepe mix that is pretty good.  But I prefer to make it from ingredients - it is not hard.

Leslie - thanks for the link.  I am always looking for new mixes to try.

Marti - yeah the first picture in the post is from vela ware and it is the dipit kind. Works great and is easy - makes terrific round crepes.  I never did keep the surface buttered enough so the teflon (or whatever) started to peel. But I would recommend it to anyone.  And it is relatively inexpensive so when you get a problem like I did - replace it.

You also can get professional quality pans from France that you do the same thing with- heat them up upside down and then dip the bottom in the batter and put them back over the heat upside down. Works great.  Many people buy a set of several so that they can get more than one burner going at a time.

My new one is a wonderful thing - because I can make crepes up to 14 inches in diameter on it.  The hardest thing is to spread the batter in a circle fast enough.  But even uneven crepes taste terrific.

Just trying to enable here........


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

And doing a fine job of it, too!



Betsy


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

I love crepes.. LOVE LOVE LOVE. 
This may be the second thing KB enables me to get... Zarafina was first.


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## Carol Hanrahan (Mar 31, 2009)

4Katie said:


> I used to love eating crepes at a restaurant called The Magic Pan (my favorites were chicken divan and a fabulous dessert with black cherries and cream cheese). Just the memories make me want to learn to make my own.


4Katie,
Wow, you brought back memories with The Magic Pan! That's where I took my husband on our first date! (I asked him out  ) I also loved the chicken divan!

Geoff, thanks for starting this thread. I always make my crepes in the bottom of my non-stick pan. Is dipping the bottom of the pan in the batter and cooking it that way better? More authentic?

Oh now I have to go wake up DD and see if she wants to go to Lulu's, a little french cafe nearby that makes wonderful crepes! Thanks you guys!


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## klrodrigues (Mar 29, 2009)

I had one like Geoff's top pic... oh I loved that thing..

We used it with a big bowl & just dipped it into the batter & rolled it around.  It was awesome...

(thanks, enablers,  .... off to get me a new one)


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## Scheherazade (Apr 11, 2009)

I saw someone on Chopped with an interesting way of making crepes... it didn't quite work for them in the time alloted but I can see it working.  Basically had a skillet and just dipped the base of it in the crepe mix then turned it upside down over the heat.  Viola.  Alton Brown is a proponent of using the bases of pans to cook as well.  I guess that's thinking out of the box.


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## klrodrigues (Mar 29, 2009)

Scheherazade said:


> I saw someone on Chopped with an interesting way of making crepes... it didn't quite work for them in the time alloted but I can see it working. Basically had a skillet and just dipped the base of it in the crepe mix then turned it upside down over the heat. Viola. Alton Brown is a proponent of using the bases of pans to cook as well. I guess that's thinking out of the box.


I never thought of trying that...
hmmmmmmmm


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## The Atomic Bookworm (Jul 20, 2009)

Um, Moderators and Admins?

Can we just have a sub-forum for kitchen appliances?


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## geoffthomas (Feb 27, 2009)

klrodrigues said:


> I never thought of trying that...
> hmmmmmmmm


Actually that is how some French Restaurants make crepes. There are special pans that are meant to be used "upside-down" with the bottoms coated with the batter and the tops exposed to the heat. It is a quick, rather cleanly way of making crepes. You get an even batter distribution because of the dipping and the crepe is almost always round and uniform in shape. But your pan has to be used for nothing else. The bottom must not be used as a bottom. And don't under any circumstances use a "coated" pan for this. That will be exposing the teflon (or other coating) directly to the heat source. Not a good idea. That is why these pans are plain carbon (blue) steel.

I thought long and hard before deciding on the crepe maker that I now have rather than the pans.


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## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

Geoff, with the pan you have now, it looks like you would pour the batter over the surface, since it doesn't have a handle.  Is that how it works?


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## Betsy the Quilter (Oct 27, 2008)

The Atomic Bookworm said:


> Um, Moderators and Admins?
> 
> Can we just have a sub-forum for kitchen appliances?


LOL! and recipes and food discussions....

Betsy


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## geoffthomas (Feb 27, 2009)

mlewis78 said:


> Geoff, with the pan you have now, it looks like you would pour the batter over the surface, since it doesn't have a handle. Is that how it works?


Yes. It is a self-enclosed unit. Has it's own heat source. So you pour the batter and spread it out.
Key (As pointed out in many places) is to let the batter sit for about an hour (cooled is good) before using.
My current unit allows me to make small crepes and up to 14 inch ones.

But there is a bewildering supply of crepe pans. Amazon is a wonderful place to do a search.


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## Carol Hanrahan (Mar 31, 2009)

geoffthomas said:


> Actually that is how some French Restaurants make crepes. There are special pans that are meant to be used "upside-down" with the bottoms coated with the batter and the tops exposed to the heat. It is a quick, rather cleanly way of making crepes. You get an even batter distribution because of the dipping and the crepe is almost always round and uniform in shape. But your pan has to be used for nothing else. The bottom must not be used as a bottom. And don't under any circumstances use a "coated" pan for this. That will be exposing the teflon (or other coating) directly to the heat source. Not a good idea. That is why these pans are plain carbon (blue) steel.


Just my luck, I'd have a crepe pan for only crepes, and the kids would make scrambled eggs in it!


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## geoffthomas (Feb 27, 2009)

Well I just made my houseful of people a brunch of the ham/cheese/tomato/lemontyme crepes.
Got inspired by this thread.


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## B-Kay 1325 (Dec 29, 2008)

geoffthomas said:


> Well I just made my houseful of people a brunch of the ham/cheese/tomato/lemontyme crepes.
> Got inspired by this thread.


YUM!!! No, I just bought a Rice Cooker am not buying a crepe maker, no no no!!!


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