Cooks and Culture Club

By now all of you know that I'm a sucker for library programs.. especially craft nights and cooking ones. Author visits are great too. History events can be interesting. Little Chute Library started a new club this month. It's called  Cooks and Culture Club. 

The Cooks and Culture Club will focus on one of the different cultures that help settle the Little Chute/Fox Valley area. They said we will explore local culture every month as we learn about their history and try an authentic dish. Sounds good to me.. History and Food.

This month was France. To be honest I forgot we had a slight French Influence in the area. Jean Nicolet was the first person to reach Green Bay and travel as far south as possibly Lake Winnebago. The Grignons in Kaukauna were French settlers as well. Again I totally forgot about that despite visiting the Grignon Mansion a few year back. The history portion was definitely interesting. \

Since we learned about the French influence in the area, it only made sense we were going to have crepes. Wine would have been good but since the event was not 21+, that would probably not be a great idea. 

We all got to make our own crepe. Since I've made crepes a few times, I had no qualms at going first knowing the first crepe never turns out. Like usual my crepe was not even close to being perfect. I had trouble flipping it and was not perfectly round. Oh well. 

Toppings were minimal. There was ice cream syrups, Nutella, bananas, and lemon and sugar. Lemon sugar is a traditional French. I went with both syrups and the lemon sugar. Lemon sugar was definitely interesting. I'm not used to a tart crepe but I can see why the French like it. It is kind of addictive.

Besides tasty treats and a bit of history, we also all got our own aprons to take home and bring back each class. It is the perfect apron as it is only the bottom half of the apron which is exactly where I need to cover. My thighs get filthy when I bake. I can't wait to use it at home.

We also get a different button each month to add to our aprons. 

I hope this club keeps going after the first couple of months. It is a great program. It gets people out of the house especially in the winter. Next month is Dutch and I can't wait to see what treat we get to try. 

6775. Make crepes

 When we moved into our apartment, my cousins bought me a crepe pan for my birthday/housewarming gift. That was over 8 years ago. We even seasoned it when we bought it. Then it sat. Last year, I decided I wanted to make crepes, planned a crepe party for my birthday, but had to cancel due to the hubby's schedule. This year I was determined to make crepes. I decided to host a brunch and serve crepes. 

I clipped and printed a few crepe recipes years ago and found one that looked simple enough. It was milk, eggs, butter, and flour. I picked up a can of cherry pie filling and whipped cream for our crepes. I was good to.

The recipe came together easier than expected. 

Then I had to actually cook the crepes. This was the part that I was scare of. I was worried none of them were going to turn out. I knew the first crepe never turned out anyways. Well, my second crepe didn't turn out either. 

I sprayed the pan again and waited a bit more time before attempting to flip it. That must have been key because the rest turned out fine.

They were easier than expected to make unless you have the hubby breathing down your neck because he wants to eat then none of them turn out.

The cherry ones were really good. Erin said they were better than a restaurant. Even Gavin approved.

 Janis bought the fixings for a yogurt bar and Danielle bought fresh fruit so we experimented with various crepe options. 

Danielle did a cherry one with yogurt and granola on top. 

I did a raspberry one with yogurt, sunflower seeds, and almonds on top. That was amazing.

The next night I was going to use the leftover crepe batter so the hubby and I could have crepes for dinner. The batter didn't save well and separated. Even after stirring I was having problems making them. So I whipped up more batter but because the hubby was chomping on the bit to eat, I wasn't patient enough before flipping and was not as successful the second time around. 

Because the hubby likes all the things apples and I had a few apples left from fall, I made an apple filling for me which turned out amazing. There was really only enough for his crepes which was fine as I had left over cherry pie filling to use up.

My crepe adventure went better than expected. I will definitely get more use of out of the crepe pan. Maybe the crepe brunch will be an annual thing. I do really need to find a recipe though for crepes for two.