Smoked Brie and Chanterelle Crepes

Last weekend Jenny and I spent our anniversary at the coast. Two days of wandering a quiet little beach town, petting the world's smelliest dog, interrupting a pelican convention, sampling local micro brews and of course eating more than our fair share of bread and cheese (we went to Cape Mears, which is just outside of Tillamook).

Baked Brie with roasted garlic in a sourdough loaf (Prosser Style) for dinner on Friday. Artichoke/cheese dip and bread at the Pelican Brewery Saturday afternoon. Grilled Cheese and Tomato soup for dinner on Sat. Caprese Paninis at the Blue Heron Cheese Factory for lunch on Sunday. Smoked Brie and bread with Cabbage soup for dinner on Sunday night (by the way, you should implore Mother Goose to add that recipe onto the blog, it was AWESOME!).

While I am not ready to trade in my US passport for a buree and a cigarette yet, after three straight days of a Frenchman's diet, my mind seemed reluctant to return to bacon laudened existence that is my life in Portland. So when Jenny's sister pushed a bag of fresh Chanterelles into our unsuspecting arms, naturally and instinctively my mind turned to the French for inspiration. I sauteed an onion, garlic, rosemary and the sliced mushrooms in butter, delgazed with Sherry, and then, with the left over smoked brie, wrapped in a freshly made crepe. Thus creating yet another satisfying bread and cheese meal. Bon Appetit!

Inspiration: A weekend as a pseudo Frenchman
Time: 60 minutes
Difficulty: Intermediate
Special Equipment: Small nonstick pan, fresh chanterelles,
Servings: 4 crepes

Ingredients:
Crepes (I use Alton Brown's Recipe, but if you're lazy you can make a really watered down pancake batter):
2 large eggs
3/4 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1 cup flour
3 tablespoons melted butter
Butter, for coating the pan

Filling:
1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbs butter
1/2 tsp dried rosemary (1 sprig of fresh rosemary), chopped
2-3 hand fulls of fresh chanterrelles (or other wild mushroom) scrubbed clean, and diced into large bite sized pieces
1/4 Cup cooking Sherry (Note: My sister taught me that you should always buy Sherry in the wine section of a grocery store)
2-3 oz. brie (I used the smoked brie we purchased at the Blue Heron Cheese Company), cut up as best you can

1.To make the crepes, combine all of the ingredients in a blender and pulse for 10 seconds. Place the crepe batter in the refrigerator for 1 hour. This allows the bubbles to subside so the crepes will be less likely to tear during cooking. The batter will keep for up to 48 hours.

2. Heat a small non-stick pan. Add butter to coat. Pour 1 ounce of batter into the center of the pan and swirl to spread evenly. Cook for 30 seconds and flip. Cook for another 10 seconds and remove to the cutting board. Lay them out flat so they can cool. Continue until all batter is gone. You can wrap in a damp towel and place on a cookie sheet into a 150 degree oven to keep warm while you make the filling. Of if you want to make crepes ahead of time, you can stack them (once cooled) and store in sealable plastic bags in the refrigerator for several days or in the freezer for up to two months.

3. To make the filling, melt butter in medium pan and saute onions, garlic, rosemary until the onions is transparent. Add mushrooms and saute for 1-2 minutes, but not until mushroom is dry. Delgaze pan with sherry and simmer until sherry has cooked completely off.

4. Place a bit of the filling and cheese in a crepe. Wrap and Serve.

Note: Crepes are actually really easy to make. I highly recommend watching the Good Eats: Crepe Expectations, episode EA1E09.