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Terry Pulliam Burd[_3_]

On 06 Feb 2008 15:05:44 GMT, (Mike Van Pelt) fired
up random neurons and synapses to opine:

>Was this like a crab crepe using corn tortillas, no chilies?

>Pedro's in the San Jose area used to have something similar,
>"Enchiladas del Mar", I think they called it. It was very
>tasty. I ordered it sometimes, even though when I go to a
>Mexican resaurant, I want chiles.

No, it was a crab crepe he tells me. Upon reflection, this may have
been a dish that was tweaked by the restaurant to use a white sauce
instead of the traditional Enchiladas del Mar, which you correctly
identify and generally has a green sauce.
>
>The "crab crepe with béchamel" suggestion someone else
>gave sounds a lot like what Pedro's had.

Actually, the earlier suggestion of a bechamel sauce got me thinking.
I googled around, looked through my cookbooks and generally spent way
too much time thinking about this, but the DH rarely makes requests of
this nature, so... I came up with the below recipe. Would love to get
some input on whether or not this will work, as I don't want to spend
a chunk on good, fresh crab meat just to throw it all out. The filling
seems a bit blander than I'd like, but the white sauce would likely
make up for it in part *and* I don't want to overpower the crab. I'm
"guesstimating" at the ratio of clam juice to milk in the sauce.
Comment on this cobbled together recipe is welcome:

@@@@@ Now You're Cooking! Export Format

Crab Crepes With Bechamel Sauce

fish and seafood

FOR THE CREPES
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
2 cups milk
1 egg
1/3 cup vegetable oil
5 tablespoons butter, melted, plus more for pan
FILLING
2 cups white wine
1 cup cream
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water
2 cups crab
2 eggs, hard-boiled and chopped
2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
BECHAMEL SAUCE
5 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups whole milk, warmed
1 cup clam juice, warmed
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
pinch freshly grated nutmeg

For the crepes:

Place the flour and sugar in a medium sized mixing bowl. Slowly whisk
in the milk, egg, vegetable oil, and butter. Heat a nonstick pan or
crepe pan over moderate heat. Brush the pan lightly with butter.
Pour 1/4 cup of the crepe batter into the center of the hot pan and
tilt it in all directions. The batter should coat the pan in a light
covering. After about 30 seconds, the bottom side of the crepe should
be lightly browned and the crepe should be ready to be flipped. Shake
the pan in order to release the crepe, then turn it by using a spatula
or the flip of your wrist. Cook the crepe for an additional 15 to 20
seconds and turn it out onto a plate. Repeat this process with the
remainder of the crepe batter. (You can use a round 4-inch cookie
cutter to cut the crepes into hors d' oeuvre sizes, too.)

For the filling:

In a small saucepot, bring the white wine to a boil and reduce by
half. Add the cream and bring to a boil. Mix the cornstarch together
with the cold water and whisk it into the cream and wine mixture until
thickened. Let cool. In a large mixing bowl, place the crab, shrimp,
and chopped egg and toss together lightly. Fold in the thickened cream
mixture and season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Add the parsley.

To assemble:

Place a heaping tablespoon of the seafood filling in the upper left
hand side of a crepe. Fold the crepe in half and then fold it in half
again. Continue this process until all the crepes are filled, or all
the filling is used.

For the sauce:

In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour
and whisk until smooth, about 2 minutes. Gradually add the warm milk,
and warm clam juice, whisking constantly, until the sauce is thick,
smooth, and creamy, about 10 minutes (do not allow the sauce to boil).
Remove from the heat and stir in the salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

** Exported from Now You're Cooking! v5.83 **

Terry "Squeaks" Pulliam Burd
--
"If the soup had been as hot as the claret, if the claret had been as
old as the bird, and if the bird's breasts had been as full as the
waitress's, it would have been a very good dinner."

-- Duncan Hines

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