Savory Crepes — The Recipe I Made While Everything Was Beginning

First date was Tuesday, June 11th. Dive bar on Western Avenue — he had suggested it and I had said yes and it was exactly right, the kind of bar with cheap beer and a jukebox and wooden booths and no pretension. He was already there when I arrived and he had ordered two beers without assuming what I wanted (I wanted a beer) and he stood up when I came in, which is a thing people do not always do anymore and which I noticed. We sat in a booth for three hours. We talked about everything.

He works at a firehouse in Bridgeport — twenty-four-hour shifts, days off in between. He said the cooking at the firehouse is communal: whoever is on shift cooks for the whole house, rotating. He said he makes a decent pasta and a chili that the guys have requested a second time, which he said is the only metric that matters. I said I write a cooking blog and he said he had read it. I said when. He said after the wedding, the next morning. I said "What did you think?" He said: "I think you're a good writer and you've had a hard few years and you cook really well for what it costs." That is an excellent summary.

Second date was already scheduled before the first date ended. We are going to the farmers market on Saturday and then making dinner at my apartment. He asked if he could see the kitchen. I said yes. He said "I want to see the cast iron." He had read the blog. He knew about the cast iron.

Made shakshuka this week — the first one since DeKalb, one of the recipes I mentioned in the blog post about surviving things. I made it in the cast iron. The eggs cooked in the spiced tomato sauce, the way they always have, the way they will forever. Some recipes come with you through every version of your life. This one started in a dorm kitchen and it is still going. I ate it thinking about the bar on Western Avenue, the wooden booth, the guy who read the blog the next morning. Some things you see coming and some things you do not. Some things you just sit in a booth with for three hours and go home happy.

The shakshuka put me in the mood to cook something that felt intentional — something that required a little patience and paid you back for it. Savory crèpes have always been that recipe for me: the batter needs to rest, the pan needs to be right, and then suddenly you’re turning out something thin and golden and genuinely beautiful from ingredients you almost always have. I made these the same week, filling them with mushrooms and Gruyère, and I ate them standing at the counter feeling like someone who was, against all reasonable expectation, doing just fine.

Savory Crepes with Mushrooms and Gruyère

Prep Time: 15 min (plus 30 min batter rest) | Cook Time: 25 min | Total Time: 1 hr 10 min | Servings: 4

Ingredients

• For the crepe batter:
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/4 cups whole milk
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for the pan
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• For the filling:
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 large shallot, finely minced
• 2 cups cremini or button mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves (or 1/4 teaspoon dried)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 3/4 cup Gruyère cheese, shredded
• 2 tablespoons fresh chives, thinly sliced, for serving

Instructions

1. Make the batter. In a blender or large bowl, combine the flour, eggs, milk, 2 tablespoons melted butter, and salt. Whisk until completely smooth with no lumps. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes (up to overnight). This rest allows the gluten to relax so the crepes cook tender, not chewy.
2. Cook the filling. In a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Add the shallot and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes until softened. Add the mushrooms in a single layer and let them sit undisturbed for 2–3 minutes to brown. Stir, add the garlic and thyme, and cook another 2 minutes. Season generously with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. Heat the crepe pan. Place a 9- or 10-inch nonstick pan or well-seasoned cast iron skillet over medium heat. Brush lightly with melted butter. The pan is ready when a drop of batter sizzles immediately on contact.
4. Cook the crepes. Pour about 1/4 cup of batter into the center of the pan. Immediately lift the pan and swirl it so the batter spreads into a thin, even circle. Cook for 60–90 seconds, until the edges look set and the surface is no longer glossy. Flip with a thin spatula and cook 30 seconds more. Transfer to a plate. Repeat with remaining batter, brushing the pan with butter between crepes as needed. You should get 8–10 crepes.
5. Fill and fold. Lay a crepe flat. Scatter a small handful of Gruyère over the surface, then spoon a few tablespoons of mushroom filling onto one half. Fold the crepe in half, then fold again into a quarter-wedge. Repeat with remaining crepes.
6. Warm and serve. Return filled crepes to the skillet over medium-low heat, or slide them onto a baking sheet and warm in a 325°F oven for 5 minutes. Serve topped with fresh chives and an extra crack of black pepper.

Nutrition (per serving)

Calories: 345 | Protein: 14g | Fat: 20g | Carbs: 27g | Fiber: 2g | Sodium: 390mg