Crêpes Suzette in Orange Syrup--To Warm up

Originally, I had a very different idea for today's recipe but, with the subzero temperatures around, a frozen dessert I thought about seemed too cold. Instead, I will share my recipe for crêpes Suzette--a dessert to warm up.

Every two weeks, I make a batch of crêpes for my son, who eats them with Nutella. Although crêpes are a French invention, I have never made classic French crêpes Suzette before. But because this is a high season for oranges, making warm crêpes Suzette soaked in a warm orange syrup seemed to me like a great idea.

There are many crêpes recipes. When I had them in the Parisian Monmartre I asked the gentleman who made them for the recipe. I got it spelled out in the quantities he used to prepare his batter every day, that is, dozens of eggs, and many kilograms of flour and pounds of butter.

And although the Parisian crêpes are reputed to be wonderful, they were slightly too sweet for my taste. So I tried a recipe similar to the one I use every two weeks. In addition to typical crêpes ingredients, it also calls for a tiny amount of beer, which makes the crêpes a little more elastic, and easy to fold and roll. The syrup they are soaked in is aromatic from oranges, sweet and buttery and, thanks to a splash of liqueur, it can also warm you up.

All these wonderful ingredients were not enough for my son, so he added whipped cream on top. But since any dessert on a freezing winter day must be indulging, it may have been not such a bad idea after all.



Crêpes Suzette
(Makes 8 crêpes on a 10-inch frying pan)

Ingredients:

Crêpes
1 cup all purpose flour,
2 large eggs,
1 tbsp sugar,
1 tbsp light vegetable oil (e.g., grape seeds or canola oil),
a pinch of salt,
2 tbsp light beer,
1 and 1/2 cup whole milk.

Orange Syrup
6 tbsp unsalted butter,
1/2 cup raw cane sugar,
1/2 cup freshly squeezed orange juice,
2 tbsp orange zest,
4 tbsp Grand Marnier or Cointreau liqueur,
1/2 cup heavy cream, whipped.

Preparation:
1. Put flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl and gently mix.
2. In another bowl mix eggs, oil, and half of milk. Pour into dry ingredients and beat with a whisker. When the batter is smooth, add the rest of milk and beer and mix until the batter becomes smooth and shiny.
3. Preheat the frying pan and when it is very hot pour about 1/3 cup of the batter. When the edges become dark gold, gently lift and flip the crêpe over.



4. Repeat with the rest of batter and set aside. (If you have no time to make crêpes just before serving them, they can be made a day ahead and kept in a refrigerator; they will be reheated automatically once you put them in the hot syrup.)

5. To make the syrup use a pan large enough for crêpes to fit in. Heat the butter and sugar on a low heat about 5 minutes, until the sugar melts and starts to caramelize.
6. Pour in orange juice and zest and let the syrup to bubble for 3 minutes.
7. Finally add the liqueur. Keeping a heat on low, place each crêpe individually in a pan. When it covers with syrup fold it in half, then in fourth.



8. Drain the crêpe (i.e., let most of the syrup it is soaked in to drip back into the pan) and place on a serving plate. Repeat with each crêpes the same way. If there is any extra syrup left drizzle it at the end on the crêpes.
9. Decorate the crêpes with whipped cream if you like and serve immediately, still warm.

Chestnut Soup with Cheddar Puffs

Chestnuts are a typical winter holiday ingredient, particularly, in the Mediterranean cuisine. They have become popular and available all over the world, already precooked or roasted. So today, I want to share a recipe for an easy, yet sophisticated and tasty chestnut soup that can be served at an elegant dinner party.

It combines elements from three different recipes, which I tested to match the right ingredients. I think the final result is very good. The soup itself is easy and can be made a day ahead. But I think that what makes this soup truly delicious are the home made cheddar puffs spiced with rosemary, which accompany the soup and add the extra sharpness and flavor to its slightly sweet taste.

Home made puffs may seem difficult to make but in fact they are not. The pastry is cooked quickly in a pot and later baked in an oven. They also can be frozen and served cold or gently warmed up.



Chestnut Soup with Cheddar Puffs

The Soup

Ingredients:
1 cup cooked or roasted and peeled chestnuts,
2 small shallots chopped,
2 celery sticks, sliced,
2 tbsp olive oil,
1 cup of half-and-half or whole milk,
32 oz (4 cups) chicken or vegetable stock,
salt and pepper to taste.

Preparation:
1. Heat the oil in a large heavy duty pot. Add shallots and sliced celery and fry for about 3 minutes. Add chopped chestnuts and cook together for 2 minutes.



2. Pour in half-and-half or milk, cover the pot with a lid, and let it simmer for 5 minutes.
3. Finally, add the stock and simmer the soup on on a low heat for 15-20 minutes.
4. Purée the soup using a food processor or a blender. Taste and season with salt and pepper.

Cheddar-Rosemary Puffs

Ingredients:
1 cup flour all purpose,
1 stick unsalted butter,
1/2 tsp salt,
4 large eggs,
1 cup grated cheddar,
1/2 tsp baking powder.
1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary leaves.

Preparation:
1. Preheat an oven to 400 F. Grease a large baking form with butter.
2. In a medium pot boil a cup of water with a stick of butter and salt. Reduce the heat and quickly sift in flour, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon for about 2 minutes.



3. Remove the pot from the heat and cool slightly then add eggs beating well between each addition.
4. Stir in grated cheddar and chopped rosemary. Using a soup spoon scoop the dough puff by puff and place on the form.



5. Bake the puffs for about 30 minutes until they rise and become gold.
Serve them warm or at least in room temperature.

Roasted Onions with Walnuts and Pancetta--Italian Style

For me, being Polish, traditionally, the Christmas Eve supper is the most important meal during the whole Christmas season. This is the day when I make and eat all my favorite Polish dishes: cabbage with dry porcini mushrooms, cooked yellow peas, clear beet soup, herrings, and pierogi with cabbage, just to name a few. But because of my kids, who are still very picky and eat only certain dishes from a long list of traditional Polish Christmas food, this feast lasts only one day.

Then, for the rest of Christmas Holidays, I prepare dishes that come from other culinary traditions, less meaty than Polish but equally delicious, and that everyone at home likes. And that to me is the way to celebrate holidays, the big part of which is to enjoy good, special food, good wine, indulging desserts, and share these special moments with family and friends.

So when my Italian friend mentioned that pearl onions cooked in vinegar are often served with roasted meat for Christmas dinners, I decided to prepare an onion dish that I found in one of many Italian cook books. It is very rich and therefore perfect for this time of the year. These roasted onions can be served just by themselves as a dish, or just as a starter, or be one of many dishes at a holiday table.

Inspired by pearl onion cooked in vinegar sauce I finished this dish with a drizzle of balsamic di Modena glaze which gave it a nice presentation and extra flavor.



Roasted Onions with Walnuts and Pancetta
(Serves four)

Ingredients:
4 large onions (but not the sweet ones),
5 tbsp olive oil,
1/2 cup lean diced pancetta,
1 cup chopped walnuts,
1 cup chicken stock,
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves,
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar of Modena glaze,
salt and pepper to taste.

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
2. Rub whole, unpeeled onions with 3 tbsp olive oil and bake them 40 minutes.Cool.



3.Peel the onions. Cut off their tops and bottoms and cut them in halves horizontally. Remove the insides leaving about 2-3 outer layers. Chop finely the insides of onions, which will be used for the filling.
4. Place the onion halves in a oven-proof dish oiled with 1 tbsp of olive oil.
5. Heat last two tbsp of olive oil in a frying pan. Add pancetta and fry until brown. Stir in walnuts and chopped onion insides. Cook everything together for about 3 minutes.



6. Pour in 1/2 cup of chicken stock, add thyme leaves and season with salt and pepper. Simmer for about 10 minutes.
7. Fill the onion halves with pancetta stuffing. Add the remaining 1/2 cup of stock to the bottom of the baking dish and bake for about 20 minutes, or until lightly brown.
Serve warm with white Italian loaf bread or baguette.