Crepes for dinner

A few years ago, my sister gave me a crepe pan and a crepe cookbook for my birthday.  I haven't made them nearly often enough as I should and yesterday I felt like making something "fun" for dinner. Now, my sister-in-law is the crepe person in the family and I kept thinking of her crepe parties when I was looking through recipes.  These weren't as good as hers but they were still a big hit - my husband asked with a sad voice, "they're all gone?" after he cleaned his plate.

The original recipe was for ham instead of the turkey and I think any thinly sliced deli meat would work in the recipe.  I liked this bechamel - a little different from other white sauces I've made recently but I had good results with it.  You can make all the crepes ahead of time but I made the filling first and as each crepe came off the pan, I filled it, rolled it and put it in the baking dish.  It was a little crazy but worked!  I had some extra sauce so I spooned it over the top when I pulled the crepes out of the oven.

And, for those of you who are interested, big sister ate a plain crepe by itself, turkey by itself, a few slices of cheese, and green beans.  A deconstructed version of our dinner!

Crepes with Turkey, Gruyere & Mushrooms (serves 3-4)
filling adapted from "Blinis & Crepes" by Camille Le Foll

For the crepes:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

Whisk together the flour and the eggs.  Gradually add the milk and water, stirring to combine.  Add the salt and butter; beat until smooth.  Heat a lighly oiled pan over medium high heat.  Pour about 1/4 cup batter into the pan, swirling the pan in a circular motion to evenly coat it with the batter.  Cook the crepe about 1 minute, until the bottom is light brown.  Turn and cook the other side about 30-45 seconds.  Stack on waxed paper.

For the filling:

8 oz mushrooms, cleaned and finely sliced

3 oz unsalted butter

pinch of nutmeg

scant 1/2 c. flour

1 1/4 c. milk

2 T sour cream

1 c. grated Gruyere cheese

10 slices cooked turkey

salt & pepper

Melt 2 T butter in a pan over medium heat, add the mushrooms and toss until cooked.  Season with salt, pepper, and a pinch of nutmeg.  Transfer to a plate or bowl, wipe out the pan, and melt 2 more tablespoons of butter.  Add the flour and mix thoroughly.  Cook on low heat 1-2 minutes and pour all the milk into the mixture at once.  


Whisk vigorously and continuously until the sauce thickens and becomes smooth and velvety.  Cook for a couple of minutes.  Add the mushrooms and cook for another minute.  Remove from heat and add sour cream and grated cheese.  Season with salt and pepper.


Assemble the crepes  & bake
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Place a slice of turkey on each crepe and cover with a layer of mushroom sauce.  Roll it up and place in a greased ovenproof dish (I used an 8x8).  Dot with the remaining butter and cook in oven 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.