With crepes, anything goes

One of my favorite things to cook is crepes.

They basically transform watered-down pancake batter into a marvelously impressive dessert. (Or meal, for that matter.)

You can find a trillion recipes on the Internet, but crepes are usually milk, eggs, flour, a bit of salt and a bit of fat (butter or oil). For dessert crepes, I add a drizzle of vanilla extract and a spoonful of sugar.

There are some essential bits, though, at least in my experience.
- use a nonstick pan
- make sure it is hot enough that a drop of water sizzles (usually a medium-hot dial works well)
- make sure the batter is runny enough that the crepe is thin

I tried making crepes in a non-non-stick pan last week, and it was a disaster. Ick! The batter kept sticking, until I was ready to pull my hair out.

Once you get the pan hot, and swirl around the tiny puddle of batter, and get it nice and thin, and wait just a minute or less, and flip it, and wait a few seconds more — you'll have a delicate masterpiece.

Then comes the most important decision. What goes on it?

Chocolate is always a winner. Tonight, I made a peanut butter spread, inspired by a friend's awesome brownies with peanut butter "frosting." Mix peanut butter, a few spoonfuls of confectionery sugar, and water to, well, water it all down to get a smooth, sweet, Reese's-like spread. I melted chocolate chips to get the chocolate sauce. A classic combination.

My friend Jen's favorite topping is a sprinkle of sugar and a squirt of lemon juice. Light and lovely.

My dad likes jam on his crepes.

But my favorite topping so far was a complete surprise, born from what was around and delicious on their own. But together? Who knew that garlic blue cheese could be delicious with ... strawberries?!

Yes, I know it sounds positively disgusting, but it was soooo good!