Cheese Blintzes

In the 1950s, Cheese Blintzes were a big favorite at luncheons for the ladies. I don't have a copy of my mother’s recipe, but I found this one on Cooks.com.

Cheese Blintzes

2 eggs, well beaten
1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. milk
1/2 tsp. salt

FILLING:
1/2 lb. hoop cheese [dry cottage cheese] or Ricotta
1 small package cream cheese
2 egg yolks, beaten
1 tbsp. butter, melted
1 tbsp. sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla
Dash of cinnamon

Make batter by adding milk to salt and eggs. Sift in flour gradually until smooth. Heat 7 to 9 inch iron skillet, grease with butter. Pour in enough batter to cover bottom of pan, tilt quickly to cover evenly. Cook on one side until it blisters. Do not turn. Quickly turn out onto towel-covered board.

Filling: Leave cheeses at room temperature. Mix with fork, combine with rest of ingredients. Place heaping tablespoon of filling onto uncooked side of blintz. Fold envelope style. Cook in heavy skillet in small amount of butter until lightly browned on both sides.

Serve with sour cream and/or strawberry jam.

French Crepes

Long ago, my then-10-year old son studied a breakfast menu carefully in a restaurant and announced to the waitress in a clear and carrying voice that he would like to order "the French creeps, please." I believe this recipe is what he was thinking of, because it was always a popular one in our home. It comes from an older edition of The Joy of Cooking. I hear that the new edition no longer contains this recipe. I can’t imagine why they would leave it out.

French Pancakes (or Crepes)

Sift these dry ingredients:
3/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbsp powdered sugar

Mix these ingredients in a bowl with a whisk:
2 eggs
2/3 cup milk
1/2 tsp vanilla, or a little grated lemon rind
1/3 cup water

Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir a bit, just until the dry bits disappear. Lumps are ok as they will disappear during the cooking. Spray a little cooking oil in the pan, or wipe quickly with a paper towel scrunched up and dipped in vegetable oil. Pour in a couple of tablespoons of the batter and swirl the pan to spread it around. Cook until a peek underneath shows that the pancake is brown, flip it over to finish cooking, and put it on a plate to keep warm in the oven.

These can be rolled up with jam; or with powdered sugar, butter, and/or lemon juice.