A Sinfully Delicious Dinner

Over the past few years, I've come to realize that one of my favorites things to do during the course of any given week, is to have a leisurely Saturday morning breakfast. I LOVE sleeping in (even when that just means sleeping until 8am), lazily getting up, staying in my pjs, and preparing something delicious without any time constraints or pressures. Breakfast foods are, arguably, my favorite types of food (aside from that big "DESSERT" label, of course), and I love having the opportunity to make them.

Sadly, I am not the kind of person who has the time to make breakfasty goodness during the week or on Sundays. What this really means is that, yes, I am cheating on my breakfast foods because as much as I love them, I love my sleep just a little bit more. Most breakfasts in our house fall into the "quick" categories of cereal, oatmeal, yogurt, bagels, or smoothies. I don't do pancakes or french toast or eggs or anything fun during the week. Translation: all the REALLY good stuff usually gets ignored.

Since my "leisurely Saturday morning breakfasts" usually only occur once, maybe twice a month, I turn to the next best thing: breakfast for dinner! It usually happens about once a month in our house. This week, I decided to try something I've never made before... crepes! They were surprisingly easy to make, and with our teamwork, Josh and I made them pretty quickly. The biggest thing to note is that the batter must chill at least 2 hours before you make the crepes. Take heed. I had a nasty shock the first night I wanted to make them because I forgot about that chill time. However, it takes about, oh, 3 minutes to actually make the batter, so it's super easy to whip up the night before. So, below is the recipe for lemon-ricotta crepes with strawberry topping and all the goodness that comes with them. You will not regret it.

*Note: I made the batter beforehand, then Josh and I worked simultaneously for the actual making and filling of the crepes. While I started cooking the crepes, he made the filling. By the time he was done, I had a few crepes for him to start filling and rolling. It worked out pretty well, with me keeping just barely ahead of him. It took us about 25 minutes to cook/fill the crepes, then the 10 minutes for them in the oven. I highly recommend this method. It's faster and provides some quality hang-out time.

Crepes (Makes about 15 9" crepes)
Prep: 5 minutes, plus 2 hours for batter to chill

• 1 cup milk (the recipe said whole, I used skim, they tasted just fine)
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 eggs
• 6 Tablespoons water
• 3 Tablespoons butter, melted
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

1. Pour all of the ingredients into your blender or food processor, and mix until smooth (about 5 seconds). Put in a covered container and refrigerate the batter for 2 hours -- or up to 2 days.

2. When you're ready to make the crepes, heat a 10" nonstick skillet over medium heat for about 3 minutes (you can use an 8" pan, although I personally prefer the slightly larger crepe size). Brush the bottom of the pan lightly with butter - it should sizzle if the temperature is correct. When the butter stops sizzling, remove the pan from the heat, tilt the pan at an angle, and pour 1/4 cup of the batter at the top of the pan so it drips down the rest of the pan (like going down a slide). As you pour the batter, swirl the pan around so the batter is evenly spread across the skillet BEFORE returning it to the heat (see picture below). Cook until the first side is a spotty golden brown - about 30-60 seconds. Very carefully, use a thin spatula to loosen the crepe, and gently flip it (you'll probably need to use your fingers, too). Cook about 30 seconds longer, then transfer it to a paper-towel-lined plate.

*Note, again: Perhaps you like a LOT of filling, but when we made these, we had almost double the filling we needed for the amount of crepes we had. Now, there are two ways of solving this. Either double the crepe batter or halve the filling.... or just do what we did and stick the filling in the fridge and make crepes again a couple days later. (I also halved the strawberry topping part from the beginning because I knew we wouldn't need it all for one evening and didn't want to waste my delicious strawberries.)

Lemon-Ricotta Crepes with Strawberry Topping

• 1 quart strawberries, hulled and thinly sliced
• 1/2 cup, plus 2 Tablespoons sugar
• 1 tablespoon Grand Marnier (optional)
• 1 15 oz. container ricotta cheese (about 2 cups)
• 1 egg
• 2 Tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/8 teaspoon salt

1. Mash half the strawberries to a rough pulp with 2 Tablespoons of the sugar and Grand Marnier. Gently stir in the remaining strawberries, cover, and refrigerate until needed.

2. Adjust an oven rack to the upper-middle position and preheat the oven to 475. Stir the ricotta, 1/2 cup sugar, egg, lemon juice, and salt together until smooth. Spray a rimmed baking sheet with vegetable oil spray. Working one crepe at a time, spoon 2 full Tablespoons of the mixture in a line across the crepe, just off of center. Fold the "ends" over the filling, then tightly (but gently!) roll the crepe to look a bit like a mini burrito. Place it on the baking sheet.

Since I know that was confusing, below are step-by-step pictures, with Josh being the fabulous model and chef extraordinaire.

3. Once all the crepes are rolled, cover lightly with foil and bake until heated through, about 10 minutes. Let cool a minute or two, then spoon the strawberry topping on before serving... and, ta da! Beautiful, delicious, scrumptious crepes and a fantastically wonderful meal. Enjoy!