crepes a la sorge

Last Thursday was a beautiful day.

What made it so beautiful?  I attribute it to the super savory crepe I consumed at two-thirty in the afternoon.

Yes, I enjoyed a homemade crepe, from my kitchen, that was filled with generous portions of Nutella, sliced bananas and finished with a showering of powdered sugar.  It was quite a delightful treat.

The mastermind behind this delicious creation was Jason Sorge.  He is the most amazing crepe maker.

Earlier in the week, Jason and I had made plans to have lunch together.  I decided to cut a deal, “I’ll make lunch for us if you make us crepes for dessert. ” He agreed, we had a deal and that was that.

The first time I ever experienced one of Jason’s crepes was when I lived at the Chestnut house, our old rental in Costa Mesa.  Jason needed a place to crash one night, so we offered him our couch and he took it.

The next morning when we awoke, Jason was in the kitchen hard at work. In one hand he held a mixing bowl and in the other a whisk.  He was busy beating various ingredients into some sort of batter. The counters were covered with egg shells and dusted with a light covering of flour, salt and sugar granules. You could hear butter crackle as it was heating in the cast iron skillet on top of the stove.  Jason had decided to make us crepes for breakfast.

All three of us enjoyed crepes and hot coffee outside on our beautiful back patio. The crepes made Jason famous at our house and they soon became tradition.

Crepes have also been a long-standing tradition in Jason’s family. Growing up, his dad would make homemade crepes for breakfast.  They refer to them as roll-ups.  A roll-up consists of two or three crepes piled on top of each other, drizzled with a touch of real maple syrup, rolled up and then sprinkled with powdered sugar.

This day, Jason walked me through the crepe making process step by step. First, we gathered all of the necessary ingredients: eggs, flour, milk, sugar and salt.

We couldn’t forget the real butter.  According to Jason, it’s the most important ingredient.  You coat the crepe pan with butter each time before you add new crepe batter. Evidently, it keeps the crepe from sticking to the pan and helps the crepe to have its buttery, crispy texture.

I wanted to fill my crepe with Nutella and bananas.

Jason wanted to make his into a roll up.  We even had real maple syrup that we warmed so it was ready to go!

We beat, mixed and blended the batter, and then it was on to the hot buttered griddle.  I watched as Jason flipped the crepe up, out of the pan and into the air.  He caught it on its way back down.  What can I say, my friend has talent!

Jason was kind enough to take some photos along the way.  Jason is a photographer by trade.  He’s very passionate about photography and he’s also very gifted.  You can visit his website at Jason Sorge Photography.

I do hope you enjoy this recipe, as well as the photos!

Crepes a la Sorge

6 eggs
3 c milk
1 1/2 c flour
2 T sugar
salt, just a dash

Crack eggs in a bowl and beat real good.  Add 1 c of milk and continue to mix. In a separate bowl, mix dry ingredients and add rest of the milk. Beat well.  Add egg and milk mixture and continue to beat vigorously until all lumps disappear.

Place skillet on stove top and turn heat to medium.  Place small portion of butter in the skillet.  Once it’s melted, pour a small amount of batter into the skillet and move it around until the whole bottom is covered.  Let cook for a few minutes, then flip to the other side with a spatula (note: the other side should have a shorter cooking time).  When finished, place on a plate, fill with desired ingredients and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

A few tips from Jason:
1.  Use a non-stick skillet that has short edges so you are able to get down into the crepe in order to flip.
2.  Jason prefers thin to win or you can make them as thick as you like.
3.  Freeze a stick of butter before using, so when used to coat the hot skillet, it’s less likely to melt at a quick rate.

Thank you for an enjoyable Thursday Sorge.  Thank you for bringing your camera so we could capture this experience and our tradition! I hope your photography blesses the world as much as your crepes have blessed us. Peace and blessings to you my brother!