Friday, February 02, 2007

La Chandeleur in Virginia...



OR...

Why Laura Florand should send me more truffles!




Ever have to do something just because you know you should? Does that ever include an enormous amount of butter, warm fruit, and a stove? Interested in what I did this morning? Well, you should be... :)

I spent the morning making crepes with my family. Don't believe me? Check out those pics! First is Jo, in mid-flip. Next is Maggie, with a look of total concentration on her face. Then is Shane, plate in hand. Everyone tried the flip, except the too-cool-to-flip teenager. There are some things that she just won't consent to do, even for French food. Flipping a crepe to be captured on my camera-phone, to be posted on my blog? Yeah, that's one of those things.

Why were we all flipping crepes? Well, my friend Laura suggested, right here on her blog, that it was a very tasty alternative to Groundhog's Day. And since Laura even shared her crepe recipe, and told us how to do "the Flip", what could we do but try it? Note: If you click over there for the recipe, be sure to check out the comments. I made it the way it says, and the crepes came out fine. But then she corrected it to make it only 1 cup liquid. Guess what? It worked fine the other way too. So, your choice!

We mixed and swished and flipped and ate for a few hours this morning. All of the kids tried the flip, more than once. Maggie was the first successful flipper. Michael had a perfect flip, then promptly ruined it by trying to show off by flipping it onto his plate. My dog, Hershey, loved him for that!

I don't have pics of everyone at the flip, because I was having so much fun watching the kids that I forgot to properly capture the moment on film. But those looks! Don't you just love that look on Maggie's face? She is so serious, so sure that her crepe is going to flip up and over, and land perfectly back in the pan, she all but wills it to happen. Laura suggested things like chocolate for toppings, but we just went basic. I like crepes, and they are a traditional early summer treat for us, usually after a day at the berry farm. So we stuck to what we like, and had blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, and an enormous tub of cool whip. Yummy!

Thanks so much, Laura, for the suggestion! If the cheers and "this was way cooler than watching the groundhog" comments are any indication, we'll be flipping crepes on February 2 for years to come.

Another note: Check out this link here for an explanation of why we flipped crepes today. Laura explains it on her blog, of course, but the link goes into more history.

Bon apetite!

8 comments:

dee said...

Just wanted to post a quick note about the pics. They were taken on my camera phone, so please forgive the 'quality'.
And also, that kitchen? yeah, just ignore it. Please ignore it. It was clean before I started, but you know, three pounds of bacon and seven people flipping crepes? yeah, that's the recipe for a MESS if I ever heard one!

Chari-Dee said...

LOve it! Looks like you guys had a great morning! How do you get the pics from your camera to your computer? I cannot figure this out.

Glad you are enjoying your day together.

dee said...

Well, you can do this here...
http://help.blogger.com/bin/answer.py?answer=42448

OR, you can just e-mail the pics to your e-mail account, then upload them. Most of the pics on my blog are from my phone, so it's not too hard.

And yeah, we had a BLAST. Of course, now the kids think we should just make crepes every day, instead of pancakes. But I'm thinking "Mix up the batter and let it sit, then cook one at a time, every morning OR let Jo add water to a box of dry mix and cook 4 at a time?" Yeah, you be the judge!

Anonymous said...

This is SO COOL. You are the best. You'll think I've totally lost it if I tell you how happy this made me.

I'm sorry about the recipe!

dee said...

Trust me, Laura, my husband thinks you're a hero. Seriously. From him, "Tell your friend that this was a GREAT idea. Very tasty way to spend a day off from work!"

Now he's full, of course, but already looking forward to the next crepes-day!

And no, I don't think you've lost it at all. I think you've held it together in beautiful form. YOU are the best!

Chari-Dee said...

OK, trying the mobile blogger thing, I'll see if I did it right. Doubt it, but I'm trying.
Thanks And, is my computer the only one that cuts the middle of Shane's pic out on the actual post?

Michelle said...

Very cool, Dee! You are a braver woman than I am, as I have yet to try such an event. But the more I look at your pictures the more I want to try this next weekend (especially now that I have my own budding sous-chef in the house)! :)

Cherry Red said...

What fun! YUM!