CREPES SUZETTES.- A definite for your knowledge base!!!

As a serious Francophile I can state that there's almost nothing better than crepes.... for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Whether you like them sweet, savory, with cream, ice cream, nutella or salmon, chicken or you name it....

BUT, and I arrived at this realization of many years of cooking French Food, travel and tasting it all, even better than French Crepes are Belgian Crepes!!! Yes, sir, the very best and don't involve more work or fuss. These take me back to a little Cafe in Belgium where we've always had the very best breakfasts ever, my whole family says so too, so take a tip and follow along:

FIRST: Make Belgian Crepes: Sweeter than the French version and more buttery Oh La La!

1. • 2 1/2 cups flour
   • 1 1/2 cups whole milk
   • 1 cup of vanilla sugar
   • 2 eggs
   • Pinch of salt
   • Butter or margarine

PREPARATION

1. 
   
   1. Put flour and milk in bowl and mix well. Add Sugar. Mix. Add egg yolks keeping the white aside. Beat the egg white and add a spoon of sugar while beating it. Add the egg white to mixture and pinch of salt. Blend it all together with a spatula. Allow your batter to rest for an hour or two in the fridge. Take a spoonful of butter and let it melt in pan on high heat. Lower heat a little above medium heat when ready to pour in skillet. Use a ladle to pour mixture onto the skillet while with the other hand turns the skillet so that the batter flows evenly over the skillet. If you prefer thinner crêpes add milk. Leave on the stove until lightly browned. Turn the crêpe over until golden brown. Ready! When removing the crêpe from skillet put it on a rack for 1 minute. Keeps it crunchier! Repeat!  Make a stack or how ever many you need then make more, you'll thank me for this later....
   
   
   
   1. OK, now you've got your crepes so it's time to decide what kind of crepes you'll have. When I was a child I would eat them simply with some melted butter and sugar, fold them and enjoy.... they're still good this way but French Style is much better....
   2. SUZETTE SAUCE:
   
   
   1. 1/2 cup sugar and the peel of an orange grated (only the orange and not the pith (white part) in a food processor. Process this until the peels are small and integrated into the sugar; cut 2 sticks of butter into small cubes and add this to the food processor and pulse until it becomes fluffy; now comes 1/2 cup orange juice and mix until it's light and fluffy. You can add as much orange juice as necessary to achieve this (you can also use a mixer). Once this is done, bring out your crepes, put a Tblsp of orange butter in a pan on medium heat until bubbling, add one crepe and get it full of the butter, turn and then fold in half and then half again so it looks like a "fan" shape, put into another pan or dish and continue doing this with your other crepes. Once they are folded then you add the Orange Liqueur and Cognac and flame with a match or on the stove. Shake the pan so all the crepes are covered in this amazing liquid, careful you don't burn yourself. Sprinkle with powdered sugar, serve. You are now in heaven!  You're welcome!....