First up, crepes: we had a delayed Mardi Gras this year- the Missus got buried with Clinicals, as Nursing Students so often do, so we celebrated a day late (technically on Ash Wednesday) and I attempted to make crepes for the first time. After some swearing (nothing seemed to be where I needed it to be- most of which, the Missus will tell you, is probably my fault in the first place as I have this tendency to put things in the most convenient place in the kitchen and then forget where that is-) I got the batter made, greased up my pan and set about making my crepes.
They're easy enough in concept: make batter, scoop batter, spread super thinly on your pan. Let 'em solidify for a couple of minutes then flip. Maybe flip once more until golden brown and then you're done. I ran into some logistical issues right away. First there was the recipe: I have this tendency to stick like glue to the recipe- especially when I'm doing something for the first time ever. Crepes were no exception- except the recipe I pulled from All Recipes.com or something of that nature told me to use 1/4 cup of batter per crepe. WHICH WAS WAY TOO SMALL! As a result, I ended up with these mini crepes- and way more than the 8 the recipe said a batch of the batter would make.
Oh well- you live and learn, right? Although there's no pictures of the condiments- we departed from the usual Cigar Family tradition of sugar and lemon juice and went the banana route. I sautéed up a banana in whipped cream vodka and brown sugar (amazing boozy goodness) and then we cut up another one and smeared Nutella all over the crepes and topped them with whipped cream. Perfect Mardi Gras goodness- with no beads involved. (As I've said before: I used to be willing to do the 'taking the shirt of thing' for beads- but then people saw how hairy I was and would usually give me beads to stop. Or run away screaming...)
Next up: steakhouse pizza...
This was another adaptation from a wonderful recipe I found over at The Pioneer Woman- (here's her version). For the sake of time and, well, money- I adapted it a little bit, using canned pizza dough (which worked perfectly fine) and good old fashioned sirloin instead of the skirt/flank steak that her recipe called for. The results were amazing as promised! The secrets:
Throw some balsamic vinegar and Worcestershire Sauce into the marinara sauce you use for the base. Flavors it right up! And... use a red onion (I'm seriously becoming a fan of red onions- so much more flavor that white or yellow ones) and sautee that up in butter and balsamic for oniony goodness as well.
Cook dough, marinara, onions and a sprinkling of mozzarella for about 15 minutes then when it's all crispy and golden brown, throw on the steak, drizzle with steak sauce, top with parmesan, cut and eat. It's awesome.
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