Brrr! It’s 32 degrees Fahrenheit (meaning zero degree Celsius) this morning, it sure is a cold Eastern winter day still. I don’t know about you, but I am ready for warmer days when we can play in the outdoor again. Here’s the summary from last week cooking class along with a few slideshows. Enjoy!
” La Chandeleur” or French Crêpes Day class was a great success and lots of fun! We had a full group session with new and repeat attendees who learned how to make savory and sweet thin French pancakes from scratch. We covered it all from the type of crêpe batters, variety of fillings, cooking techniques, storing tips and lots of eating too.
We began with “les galettes de Sarassin” from Brittany, they are savory crêpes made with buckwheat flour and are traditionally filled with a sunny-side-up egg, ham and cheese. You can use whatever filling you might fancy, the students had fun making their preferred savory combinations using sautéed spinach, herbs mushroom medley, smoked salmon, ham, Gruyère, Swiss or goat cheese. They enthusiastically sampled the freshly made savory “galettes” finding them surprisingly delicate and oh so delicious!
Then, we moved onto the well-known “crêpes” made with wheat flour, the batter is versatile and can be used for sweet as well as savory fillings. Everyone had to try theirs first sweet crêpes with the freshly demonstrated homemade hazelnut chocolate spread and their verdict was: “WOW! You could really taste the hazelnut and it’s not too sweet at all. It’s a nice flavorful combination and does not taste like the store-bought one!” This is what I like to hear after spending the past year tweaking the original recipe. Other sweet filling variations were also available to try such as raspberry jam, “crème de marrons” or French chestnut spread, “beurre-sucre” (butter & sugar), banana, etc.
Of course, I had to show the chocolate batter version since Valentine’s Day is around the corner and you could actually make a Chocolate Crêpes Cake in no time by layering them together in between raspberry jam, strawberry “coulis” (sauce), vanilla ganache, “crème patissière” (pastry cream) and so on.
To conclude the session, we all learned that a simple little crêpe can turn into a show-stopper appetizer, lunch, main entrée for dinner by using a little imagination, creativity and fresh chive.
Voilà, it was easy, simple and delicious from the beginning to the end and you do not have to be an expert to make savory or sweet crêpes at home, you just need a little preparation, practice and patience.
“Merci beaucoup à tous les participants” or thank you very much to the attendees who travelled locally and also all the way from Cherry Hill New Jersey to join me in my kitchen.
I leave you with these fabulous and gluten-free Lemon & Coconut Bars from one of my favorite food blogs Green Kitchen Stories, you could find the recipe here. I made one batch last night following the original recipe and I just made the second version using lime and sunflower seeds flour, it’s smelling good so far. They sure are bringing a little burst of sunshine in your mouth on this cold day though be aware you might not be able to stop after the first bite!
I have a private bread class this week, thus no photos to share, however the “Healthy Winter Quiches & Tarts” scheduled on February 15th from 7:15 to 9:30pm will be another group class I am looking forward to teach again with all NEW recipes using fresh seasonal ingredients. We’ll be cooking with leek, kale, Swiss chard, pear and apple, and much more, look out for the upcoming post soon.
Stay warm and healthy!
Ketmala's Kitchen 