Seafood Stuffed Crêpes

- Crêpes Roulées et Farcies -

(Crêpes Rolled Around a Creamed Seafood Stuffing, Gratinéed in Wine and Cheese Sauce)

This is the final recipe I have to post from our latest Julia Child dinner. It took a little longer to get this one written up, because it was from my Uncle Dean's Julia Child cook book-- The French Chef Cook Book, so I didn't have the recipe initially. However, I happened to be in Chapters the other day, and saw it just beckoning to me from the shelf, so I took a few seconds to jot it down, and here I have it for you now! These crepes are absolutely amazing. The original recipe calls for shellfish, but we use a mixture of shellfish type seafood. (I'm not entirely sure what shellfish is to tell you the truth). We used a little extra vermouth (like a cup extra or so) when we made it, so it was extra extravagant. I don't know if you will be feeling as bold as us when you make it, so you can choose yourself whether to follow the recipe, or just keep pouring in the booze. Anyway, I don't think there's much else to say; the recipe's pretty simple to follow. Just, enjoy the process and remember cooking is about the experience in itself, not only the end product, and eating it. This was a wonderful dish to do with family and friends; there were probably ten of us who helped throughout different stages of the recipe, and we had a whole line of people rolling crepes together. It was great. Hope you have as much fun with the recipe as we did!

The Creamed Seafood:

2 tbsp butter

3 tbsp minced shallots or onion

1 1/2 cups mixed seafood: shrimp, scallops, and crab

Salt & pepper

1/4 cup dry white vermouth

• Heat the butter in the skillet, stir in the shallots or onions and cook for a minute. Add the seafood, and stir over moderately high heat for 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper, then add the vermouth and boil until the liquid has almost entirely evaporated. Transfer the seafood into a bowl.

The Wine and Cheese Sauce:

1/3 cup dry white vermouth

2 tbsp cornstarch blended in a small bowl with 2 tbsp milk

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1/4 tsp salt

White pepper

1/2 cup grated Swiss cheese

• Add the vermouth to the skillet and boil on high heat until reduced to a tablespoon. Remove from the heat and stir in the cornstarch mixture, cream and seasonings. Simmer for two minutes, stirring, and then stir in the cheese and simmer for another minute. Taste and adjust the seasonings as necessary.

To Assemble:

12 cooked crepes, (click here for the recipe - I posted it a couple of days ago.)

1/4 cup grated Swiss cheese

2 tbsp butter

• Mix half the sauce into the seafood, then place a big spoonful of the shellfish mixture on the lower third of each crepe and roll crepes into cylindrical shapes. Arrange the crepes closely together in a lightly buttered baking dish, spoon over rest of sauce, sprinkle with the cheese, and dot with bits of butter. Refrigerate until you are ready to bake. Fifteen to 20 minutes before serving, set in upper third of a preheated 425-degree oven until bubbling hot and cheese topping has browned lightly, or heat and brown under a low boiler.

Enjoy!