sinful crepes

Today is the second day of a weeklong class I'm teaching in my kitchen called "50 Techniques in 5 Days." Not sure why I named the class that? It actually sounds like real school and kind of intimidating. But I think when we began the first tester crepe today, the intimidation began. But as you soon realize, it's all about texture. The crepe batter should be the consistency of thick heavy cream. We definitely had to add a little extra milk to get it just right.

When I was in France a few years ago visiting my friends at Mauviel, they gave me a beautiful heavy copper 8-inch crepe pan. We used it today but I remember when I worked at Chez Panisse, the pastry chefs made three crepes at a time. I worked in pastry too for a while but I never had to do that, thank God. I'd watch David Lebovitz as he flipped crepes, every one coming out perfectly. It's all about trial and error and practice, isn't it?

Today, we filled the crepes with creamy wild mushrooms and prosciutto. Everyone was swooning, eyes rolling back in their head. Absolutely amazing!

I promised you the recipe... Here you go!

BAKED CREPES WITH CREAMY WILD MUSHROOMS AND PROSCIUTTO

1/2 ounce dried wild mushrooms
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium yellow onion, minced
1/2 pound fresh button mushrooms, thinly sliced
6 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, cut into thin strips
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
3/4 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano
1 recipe Crespelle or Crepes
2 tablespoons fine dry bread crumbs

Pour 2 cups of boiling water over the dried mushrooms and let sit 30 minutes. Drain well and reserve the water. Chop the mushrooms coarsely. Filter the mushroom water through a paper towel-lined strainer and reserve the mushrooms and mushroom water separately.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the butter in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, 7 minutes. Add the fresh mushrooms and continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms have evaporated their liquid, 10 minutes. Add the chopped soaked wild mushrooms and continue to cook 1 minute. Add the reserved mushroom water, turn the heat to high and simmer, stirring constantly, until almost dry, 10 minutes. Turn the heat to medium, add the prosciutto, and continue to cook 2 minutes.

Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add the flour and stir constantly for 2 minutes. Add the milk, stirring constantly, and cook until the mixture thickens, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the mushroom mixture and mix well. Add 1/2 cup of the Parmigiano Reggiano and season with salt and pepper.

Preheat the oven to 425° F. Butter the bottom and sides of a 9 X 12-inch baking dish.

Place a crepe flat on the work surface. Spread half of it with a few tablespoons of filling. Fold in half, then quarters. Stand the triangles in a baking dish, overlapping one another with the curved side up. Repeat. Melt the remaining 1 tablespoon butter and brush on the tops of the crepes. Combine the remaining ¼ cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano and the bread crumbs. Sprinkle over the top. Bake the crepes until golden on top, about 20 minutes. Allow crepes to cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 12 crepes to serve 6

CREPES
CRESPELLE

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 cups milk
4 eggs
4 to 5 tablespoons unsalted butter

Put the flour and salt in a bowl and add the milk slowly, a little at a time, mixing vigorously with a fork to avoid lumps. Add 1 egg at a time, beating rapidly with a fork after each addition. Let batter rest 30 minutes.

Oil the bottom of an 8-inch crepe pan with 1 teaspoon of the butter to start. Place the pan over medium heat. Stir the batter, pour 1/3 cup into the pan, and rotate to completely cover the bottom of the pan. As soon as the batter has set, loosen the crepe with a spatula and flip the crepe. When the other side is firm, remove the crepe and place it on a plate. Repeat with the rest of the batter, stirring the batter occasionally and adding butter to the pan as needed. Crepes can be stacked on top of one another until ready to use.

Makes 12 crepes