I’m on a roll– this makes it three weeks on the fly with new food.  Ahhh, it’s good to be back.

This week, I’m taking on breakfast– rather, brunch for dinner.  I’m making crepes from scratch, and filling them with mushrooms,  onions,  and bacon. There’s a lot to unpack here,  but it’s going to be awesome.

The Crepe batter needs time to rest in the fridge to let the air pockets settle down.  Now,  I haven’t made them in a long time, but I know this step is important if you want the right texture.  Start there,  then turn your attention to the other stuff.

The batter will be much thinner than normal pancake or waffle batter– that’s important. You want a very thin layer to hit the heat so when you swirl the pan you can get the right shape. The first one will probably look terrible, but don’t give up– just adjust the heat so that the the crepe forms without burning or browning. Flip after about a minute, then cook it for another 30 seconds. Then, let them cool, and shift your focus to the rest of the components.

Render out the bacon fat (save most of it for a later day) and get it really crispy. Then,  sauté the onions and mushrooms until they caramelize,  add garlic, and finish it with sage. If you’re clever,  you can even fry the extra sage for later… just saying.

**Quick aside: you don’t have to use bacon, of course– this could be vegetarian if you want…or you can sub in almost anything else**

For the sauce,  I wanted something different.  The arugula was a little more bitter than usual, so I blended it with some spinach to make a basic Gremolata-style sauce with some lemon, capers, and herbs. It’s going to add acidity and freshness to balance out the bacon.

I’m trying to cover all the flavor notes this week,  so I needed something sweet and spicy. I didn’t even miss a beat– this time I finished it with some maple-jalapeño salt. It doesn’t see the light very often,  but it fits the brunch theme,  right?

This one isn’t fully French,  Italian, or even American, but it hits all the right flavor profiles,  and come on, you know you want to make this…

Let’s cook.

You’ll need”

3 Cups Shiitake, sliced

3 Cups Arugula

1 Cup Spinach

1/2 Cup Bacon, minced

3 Cloves of Garlic, minced

1/2 Onion, minced

1 Tbs Fresh Basil, Oregano, Parsley, minced

2 Eggs

1/2 Lemon

1 1/2 Cups Flour

2/3 Cup Milk

1/3 Cup Water

3 Tbs Butter, melted

1 Tsp Capers

1 Tbs Dried Thyme

Salt & Pepper to taste

1. Whisk eggs, butter, flour, milk, and water into a thin batter. Season with salt, and dried herbs. Cover, and chill for at least one hour.

2. Chop the bacon into small strips, then render the fat by slowly raising the temperature to medium-high, and stirring until crisp. Remove the bacon, and retain half of the fat.

3. Sauté onions, and mushrooms in the same pan,  then add garlic once they both caramelize. Stir in sage, and season to taste.

4. Place a well buttered frying pan on medium-high, and add 1/2 cup of batter per crepe. Swirl to cover the pan evenly, and cook for 45 seconds-1minute per side- or until fully cooked.

5. Cool the crepes on a rack, or cutting board with towels.

6. Plate and serve.

Done.