Crepe Suzette
This text message came like a bolt from the blue. It was Friday afternoon and I was getting ready to leave work, already in the weekend mood. It sounded exactly like this: "Daddy, I'd like to order pancakes from you today."
I immediately wrote back that I was accepting the order. You can't just assume that a daughter will visit her father just because she's related to him by blood, and a good pancake is undoubtedly one of the most effective ways to increase the frequency of your offspring's visits.
There is probably no other dish that is as delicious, quick, simple, and, above all, impossible to screw up as pancakes.
I have modified my pancake recipe over the years, trying to achieve the velvety, runny texture my mother's pancakes had, suspecting that she achieved this effect using some secret ingredient. But I discovered some time ago that the trick is to cover the pancakes thoroughly with foil immediately after frying. Then they will remain moist and elastic.
This time I decided to fulfill my daughter's order in the version served at any self-respecting French restaurant.
Legend has it that Crepe Suzette was created in 1895 as a result of a mistake made by a chef at the Cafe de Paris in Monte Carlo, who was preparing a dessert for the Prince of Wales, the future King Edward VII of England, who was hosting a beautiful French woman named Suzette.
I prepare a liter of dough for five eggs, adding wheat flour and milk in proportion by eye and a pinch of salt.
I fry the pancakes in a generous amount of butter, being careful not to overcook them. I put them away under foil.
Melt half a stick of butter in a pan.
I use a citrus peeler or grater to peel six oranges and one lemon, being careful not to scrape off the bitter white part. I throw the peel into the pan, reserving some for decoration.
I add fillets from three oranges to the pan and pour in the juice squeezed from the remaining oranges and lemon. I add three tablespoons of sugar and three tablespoons of my favorite liqueur, such as Limoncello or Curacao.
I keep it all in the pan for a few minutes.
Then I dip each pancake in the resulting sauce and fold them into a quarter circle.
For one portion I put two pancakes. Pour sauce over. Add a scoop of vanilla ice cream and decorate with a mint or basil leaf.
I have no doubt. Maja will come more often.
