Craft: transforming traditional crafts

I'm very, very fond of crêpes. Savory or sweet. Swedish or French. Rolled or flat. Stuffed or stacked. It doesn't matter to me.

I distinctly remember the first time I ate a crêpe. In high school, my friend Ulrika, a Swedish exchange student, made them for her host family and friends just before she went back to Piteå. I can still taste the delicate crêpe, wrapped around a delicious combo of seafood and cream. And the fruity dessert blintzes that followed were equally memorable.

Then there were the crêpes we had in Paris. The street vendor crêpes (Nutella!) were the best things ever. Well, until I had a savory buckwheat crêpe in a tiny out-of-the-way café. Those were amazing! Ti Couz, in the Mission district of San Francisco, is renowned for their crêpes, and the lines of people waiting outside prove it. I've stood in line there several times and have never been disappointed.

Since having kids, the lines aren't really workable, so now Crêpes on Cole is a favorite with the fam. It's casual and kid-friendly, and the crêpes are yummy!

To further feed my crêpe habit, I've now taken to making them at home on the weekends. Most recently, my 6-year-old and I made them for Valentine's Day (photo above). It turns out that they're so easy to make, even tweeners and teens can make them, with little or no supervision. Can you imagine waking up and discovering that your teenage son made you crepes for breakfast? It can happen; I know this because my friend Jenny was once the recipient of such a gift.

Here's the easiest recipe we know of, from Fannie Farmer's:

• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup flour
• 2 tablespoons butter

Beat the eggs, then beat in the other ingredients until smooth. Or use a blender to mix this all together. Cover and let stand for 30 minutes or so. Heat up a cast iron griddle or crêpe pan on medium to medium-high heat. Coat the pan with butter (try using a paper towel).

Ladle about ¼ cup of batter into the pan, quickly spreading it out into a thin layer. Experiment to see how much your pan will hold. Cook until the bottom of the crêpe just starts to brown and the edges lift easily from the pan, about 2–3 minutes. Turn with a spatula and cook a minute or 2 more.

Roll them up, filled with your favorite toppings, or serve them flat with lots of melted butter and warm syrup. A squeeze of lemon is a nice touch.