Crêpes Suzette inspired by Talladega Nights

October 24, 2019 Emilija Saxe

Crêpes are discussed at length, in a pretty threatening manner, in Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. Before his arm is snapped by the very French Jean Girard, he's coerced into admitting he likes crêpes...which he actually does. Which makes sense, because they're the perfect vessel for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and dessert.

For Classic Crêpes

For Buckwheat Crêpes

For Breakfast Crêpes

For Homemade Chili Oil:

For Mushroom and Gruyere Crêpes

For Nutella and Strawberry Crêpes

For Crêpes Suzette

Classic Crêpes

In a blender, combine 2 large eggs, ½ cup of water. ¾ cup of milk, 3 Tbsp of melted butter, a pinch of salt, and 1 cup of flour.
Pulse the mixture 10-12 times on low power until combined and then scrape down the sides for any loose bits of flour. Pulse a couple more times until you have a thin pancake batter. Let the mixture sit in the refrigerator for one hour to get rid of any bubbles.
Using a non-stick skillet or a crêpe maker that is coated with butter, pour your batter in and slowly rotate the pan until the entire surface is covered with batter and it is nice and thin.
Let cook for 30-60 seconds over medium high heat until it is dappled brown. Flip the crêpe and let cook for an additional 15-30 seconds until it is cooked through.

Buckwheat Crêpes

In a blender, combine 2 large eggs, ½ cup of water. ¾ cup of milk, 3 Tbsp of melted butter, a pinch of salt, and 1 cup of buckwheat flour.
Pulse the mixture 10-12 times on low power until combined and then scrape down the sides for any loose bits of flour. Pulse a couple more times until you have a thin pancake batter. Let the mixture sit in the refrigerator for one hour to get rid of any bubbles.
Using a non-stick skillet or a crêpe maker that is coated with butter, pour your batter in and slowly rotate the pan until the entire surface is covered with batter and it is nice and thin.
Let cook for 30-60 seconds over medium high heat until it is dappled brown. Flip the crêpe and let cook for an additional 15-30 seconds until it is cooked through.

Breakfast Crêpes

For making the actual crêpes, follow either the classic crêpe recipe or the buckwheat crêpe recipe, which are both listed above.
Once you flip the crêpe, add a generous grating of swiss cheese to the top of the crêpe.
Coat a pan with butter and fry one egg sunny-side up. Once the egg is fried, add it on top center of the crêpe.
Fold four edges up around the center to make a square. Season with kosher salt, freshly ground pepper, and freshly minced chives.
If desired, add some homemade chili oil (recipe listed below) to top everything off.

Homemade Chili Oil

In a small saucepan, throw a handful of Szechuan peppercorns, star anise pods, cassia bark, a knob of peeled ginger, and 3 lightly crushed cloves of garlic.
Pour 2-3 cups of canola oil over the top and gently swirl over medium heat until the oil reaches about 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Strain and pour over about a cup of Sichuan chili flakes into a heat-proof bowl. Give a little mix and set aside for about 30 minutes to cool.

Mushroom and Gruyere Crêpes

Finely chop up ¼ of a small Spanish onion as well as 1 single clove of garlic.
On the stovetop, coat a pan with 1 tablespoon of butter and let melt over medium heat. Then, add the onion and mushrooms and let them sauté for 5-7 minutes. Toss occasionally and add salt to draw any excess moisture out of the mushrooms and cook until brown and soft.
Add the garlic and sauté for an additional 30 seconds. Season with freshly ground pepper and optionally flambe with a bit of dry sherry or cognac.
For making the actual crêpes, follow either the classic crêpe recipe or the buckwheat crêpe recipe, which are both listed above.
Top off your crêpe with a generous amount of grated Gruyere cheese as well as your mushroom mixture. Fold the crêpe and roll it up like a flat wide open-ended burrito.
Grate a little bit of extra cheese on top and garnish with freshly picked thyme.

Nutella and Strawberry Crêpes

For making the actual crêpes, follow either the classic crêpe recipe or the buckwheat crêpe recipe, which are both listed above.
Slice up some fresh strawberries and set aside for later. To the top of your crêpe, add a generous dollop of Nutella and evenly spread it out to the edges.
Add the strawberries to the top of the crêpe. Fold the crêpe in half like a quesadilla and then fold in half one more time. Add some whipped cream and chocolate syrup to top everything off.

Crêpes Suzette

For making the actual crêpes, follow either the classic crêpe recipe or the buckwheat crêpe recipe, which are both listed above.
Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a large sauté pan and add at least 2 tablespoons of sugar. Then, add the zest and juice from any type of orange of your choice.
Bring the mixture to a simmer and gently swirl to incorporate all of the sugar.
Begin dunking your pre-prepared crêpes into the liquid and make sure that it is nicely coated on both sides of the bottom half of the crêpe.
Lay the crêpe down in the liquid and fold it in half double quesadilla style.
Rinse and repeat with two additional crêpes and arrange them into a quadrant. Cook for about one minute on the first side before flipping to make sure that they are nice and evenly coated.
Let the crêpes sit in the pan for 3-5 minutes over medium heat until they are nice and caramelized on one side. Arrange the crêpes on a plate.
Flambe over the stovetop with either dry sherry or cognac.
Gently pour over the crêpes or add one scoop of vanilla ice cream to top everything off.