Crepes a la Ryan

When my brothers-in-law come to town, the first thing we do is plan when our crepe night will be. Both Ryan and Rodney lived in France and they both make excellent crepes. Since Ryan is the one who taught me how to make crepes, he gets the honorary recipe title.

Crepe recipes are really simple, and they don't require any fancy ingredients. But they are versatile, quick, and super delicious. I have adapted Ryan's basic crepe recipe to work with a gluten-free flour that I love to use: Grandpa's Kitchen gluten-free flour. I found it at Harmon's Grocery store in Draper, but you can also check out their web site if you are having trouble finding it. I love the consistency of this flour. It is so fine and light. The crepes turned out beautifully. Here's a tip: Get a 12" non-stick Silverstone-type pan at WalMart. Designate it as your crepe pan. Never, ever use metal utensils on it. That way you will be guaranteed a nice surface that your crepes won't stick to. So, enough talk! Get to the recipe already.

Ryan's Crepes

(makes 10-12 crepes)

2 1/2 cups milk

2 cups Grandpa's Kitchen Flour

1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil

2 eggs

pinch of salt

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

Heat a large, nonstick (preferably a Silverstone-type pan) to medium heat. When pan is hot, spray with Pam. (You will only spray the pan before the first crepe.) In a large mixing bowl, blend all ingredients together well with a whisk. The consistency of the batter should run off the whisk like water. If it is too thick, add a little more milk. Using a 1/2 cup measuring cup, pour the batter into the pan, a little at a time, while turning the pan to coat the bottom of the pan with the batter until totally covered and thin. Let the batter cook until the edges pull off the sides of the pan and bubbles form on the top of the batter, about 2 minutes. Using a spatula, flip the crepe over and cook for about 1 minute to brown the back side. Lift off the pan with a spatula and place on a plate. You can layer several crepes together, just peel one off when ready to eat. Top with your favorite toppings and roll up like a burrito. You can use any fruit or spread that you like. My favorite combinations are:

Strawberries, Nutella and Cool Whip

Lemon Juice and Powdered Sugar

Maple syrup and Apple Slices

Peanut Butter and Homemade Raspberry Jam

You can also omit the sugar and vanilla and fill them like a wrap with:

Scrambled Eggs and Ham (top with cheese and melt in the oven for 5 minutes at 400 degrees, yum!)

Sausage and Hash Browns or

Your favorite Sandwich Ingredients

Happy Eating!