Saturday, January 10, 2015

Bleu Cheese and Sausage Crêpes

By Gail Foley

This recipe is from my first computer file of recipes, dating to the early ‘90s. I have the original magazine clipping that I adapted, but don’t remember the magazine. I dated the year to 1973/74 from the Fisher-Price Family Play Farm advertised on the back. The original recipe, Sausage-Filled Crepes, can be found all over the internet and contained no brand names.

This recipe is made so savory and elegant by substituting shredded process cheese with crumbled bleu cheese. It is also a bit lower in fat by using low-fat milk in the batter, Neufchâtel instead of cream cheese in the filling and non-fat sour cream in place of sour cream and butter for the sauce.

This makes an elegant brunch served with Mimosas and fresh fruit.

Serves 8

Crêpes
3 eggs
1 cup low-fat milk
1 Tbsp. canola oil
1 cup sifted flour

Filling
1/4 cup (1 small) onion, finely diced
1 lb. bulk ground sausage (Good quality country sage)
3 oz. Neufchâtel
4 oz. crumbled bleu cheese
1 cup non-fat sour cream

Combine eggs, milk and oil. Add flour and beat until smooth. At this point the batter can be refrigerated for 3 to 6 hours. At least let it sit for half an hour.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly coat a 12x8-inch baking dish with canola oil spray.

Sauté sausage with onion until done. Drain well, then turn out on paper towels to drain some more. Rinse skillet with hot water to degrease. Place meat back in skillet and stir in Neufchâtel and bleu cheese.
Heat a 6-inch skillet until hot and dry. Remove from heat and lightly coat with canola oil spray. Return to medium heat and pour 2 tablespoons of batter into skillet and rotate to evenly distribute. Cook until set. Invert on toweling and stack to the side. Repeat, to make 16 crêpes. Remember to remove skillet from heat and give a quick spray of oil between each crêpe.
Place 2 tablespoons of meat mixture across center of each crêpe and roll up. Place seam side down in prepared baking dish.

Bake, covered, 30 minutes. Spoon sour cream over top. Bake, uncovered, five more minutes.


Serve immediately with some attractively arranged fresh fruit - a few strawberries, a small clump of grapes, apple slices or wedges of melon. Citrus slices are also elegant.