Uppity Cornmeal Crepes

It’s been ages since I’ve posted a recipe from Jeremy Jackson’s wonderfully fun The Cornbread Book. You may find his Buttermilk Cornbread here, and his Gem and Pearl Breakfast Muffins here. I did a little search to see what he is up to these days, and was so surprised and pleased to find that he mentioned the first post on his blog here. Scroll down just a bit to the September 27, 2012 entry. If you read the comments, you’ll see one from my blogging friend Kay!

He offers two recipes, one for Dinner Crepes and one for Dessert Crepes. I made the former. Delicious and perfect.

Uppity Cornmeal Crepes

makes 12-14 crepes, each about 6 1/2 inches.

1/2 cup cornmeal

1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour 

1 cup milk

1/4 cup water

2 large eggs

3 Tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, slightly cooled

1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Lightly grease the bottom of a crepe pan or heavy, flat-bottomed 8-inch skillet (I prefer a well-seasoned cast iron skillet)  with a very thin layer of oil or butter and then wipe it out with a paper towel, leaving only a thin film of grease. Let the skillet heat up over medium heat (or slightly higher). 

2. Whisk all the ingredients together until the batter is smooth. Pour about 3 Tablespoons of batter (for an 8-inch skillet) into the hot skillet, tilting the skillet to quickly distribute the batter over its entire bottom. The crepe will cook quickly, with little beads of water rising to its surface. If it burns immediately, the skillet is too hot.

3. Loosen the sides of each crepe as it cooks with a knife and peek under the crepe to see how brown it is. When it’s very light brown, slide a thin spatula or flexible knife beneath the crepe a few times to dislodge it, then invert the skillet over a paper towel. The crepe should fall right out, where it can cool for a few minutes. Make sure to stir the batter each time before pouring in a new crepe - otherwise all the cornmeal will sink to the bottom of the bowl.

I did the mixing and Tom did the cooking.

My notes:

I used 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour and 1/4 cup white flour.

I used salted butter.

I mixed dry ingredients and wet ingredients separately and then mixed them together with a whisk.

Tom’s notes:

I didn’t wipe out the thin layer of butter, and each time added a tiny bit more.

I didn’t invert it over a paper towel. I gave Nan hers on a plate, and I ate mine right at the stove.

These were sublime. Tom didn’t even butter his, but I did.

And yes, we ate the whole batch ourselves! 

A second offering for this week's Weekend Cooking.