Chicken Crepes Mornay my 15 year old first attempt

Sorry this is so long, but I hope it makes up for my lack of food input. Somewhere back either side of 1990, my wife started watching those Frugal Gourmet shows. I griped, but became a fan. I know the techniques here are off, and it's nothing to most of you. But after getting interested in FOOD, and doing a little reading I decided to try something "off the recipe". Sure, it's a conglomeration of other recipes but the filling was entirely my idea and I don't know how I did it at the time. I got off into giving the wife a break on weekends and doing a lot of wok cooking, and unusual stuff, but all by recipe. To this day, this is her favorite thing in the world, and she calls me "chef" when I make it for her. I know it's not really mornay sauce either, but it fits better than using swiss. This is the original, so don't beat up on me too much. Before those days my idea of cooking was picking up fast food. The wife, by the way is a really good cook, but stays closer to basics. She is however the best creator of baked goods I know. Her pie crust is the best I've ever had. A local retailer offered her a source of income, but she doesn't like cooking THAT much. Shes the Financial Officer for a company - which by the way relieves me of several paperwork burdens at home. Being a dumb midwestern "hick" and lacking food knowledge and a recipe for this, I proudly said I "invented it" - a little arrogant of me. Personally, I'm just as happy with a plate of pinto beans and cornbread, but it IS really good.

CREPES BATTER 1-1-4 cups flour 3 eggs 1-2 tsp sugar 1-1-2 cups milk 1-8 tsp salt 2 tbsp butter, melted and cooled

Mix all ingredients well in a blender for 1 minute, scrape sides, blend at least another 30 seconds. Refrigerate covered 2 to 12 hours. When ready to use the batter should be the consistency of heavy cream, just coating a wooden spoon. To thicken, add flour. To thin, add water in small amounts.

COOK CHICKEN AND MAKE STOCK 1 rib celery 1-1-2 to 2 lb split chicken breasts 1 large yellow onion salt and pepper to taste (optional) 1 large carrot 12 black peppercorns tiny pinch ground clove a little low-salt chicken base to fortify (optional)

Cut vegetables in large chunks. Reserve 1-1-2 tbsp of onion chopped for later use in the mornay sauce. Place vegetables in a 2 quart dutch oven and fill 2-3 full with water. Bring to a boil, add the chicken pieces. allow to boil 1-2 minute. Turn off the heat and leave covered on burner for 1 hour. Remove chicken, cool, debone and cut into small pieces for use in crepe filling. Return all scraps and bones to liquid along with some low-salt chicken base if desired for fortification. Bring to a boil for 10 minutes, reduce to simmer for 1 more hour. After stock is done, strain, save a cup, defat and store or freeze the rest. You probably won't use all the chicken for this, but the leftovers come in handy. COOK THE CREPES

This was designed for an 8" Silverstone-lined pan. Heat pan to medium heat. Brush pan lightly with canola or peanut oil. Using a ladle, slowly pour in batter, tilt and roll pan to distribute into a paper-thin pancake. Cook until top begins to dry, shake, grab it with your fingers, flip it over and cook briefly. You will have to adjust based on heat and the thickness of your batter. Crepes should be very lightly browned on one side and just beyond moist on the other. Stack them seperated by wax paper.

MAKE THE FILLING 1-4 lb mushrooms, chopped fine 2 tbsp butter 2 tbsp flour 1-2 can water chestnuts, chopped fine 1-2 LARGE clove garlic minced 1 small yellow onion, chopped fine handfull chopped green pepper chop fine 1 rib celery, chopped fine 2 tbsp peanut oil 1 large carrot, finely chopped dry sherry parsley 1-2 to 1 tsp dried tarragon to taste lemon juice ginger salt-pepper to taste

Saute mushrooms seperately in a little butter, set aside. Make a roux by heating 2 tbsp butter to foaming and stirring in 2 tbsp of flour. Cook briefly, set aside. Heat 2 tbsp peanut oil in a skillet or wok. Add garlic, small amt grated ginger, onion, green pepper, celery and carrot. Saute 3-4 minutes. Sprinkle pan with sherry and reduce slightly. Add the chicken chunks you cooked earlier in the amount that looks right to you, and the water chestnuts. Pour in 1-2 cup or a little more of your chicken stock, just enough to moisten. Add the mushrooms. Make a well in the middle and stir in the roux. Cook a bit, mix the roux into the rest. Sprinkle with parsley, tarragon, pepper, lemon juice and optional salt. Continue to stir and allow to thicken so that no free liquid remains.

PREPARE THE CREPES

Place filling on each crepe. Roll and place seam-down into lightly oiled glbutt baking dishes. This will fill about 15 crepes. The leftover crepes (the first few you ruined) can be used as dog-treats.

MAKE THE MORNAY SAUCE 1 cup milk 1-1-2 tbsp chopped yellow onion 1 bay leaf 1-4 cup grated parmesan cheese cayenne pepper to taste 1 tbsp dry sherry 2 tbsp butter 1-1-2 tbsp flour dash worchesterchire sauce pepper and optional salt

Bring milk to a simmer. Add onion, bay leaf and cayenne. Simmer a few minutes, strain the milk stock and return to pan. Make a roux of the flour and butter. Remove milk from the burner, stir in the roux and return to the burner. Simmer, stirring until sauce begins to thicken. Stir in parmesan, black pepper, sherry and worchestershire. Test for salt and adjust. Stir until sauce is quite thick.

FINISH THE CREPES

Spread the Mornay sauce over the crepes. Sprinkle lightly with lemon juice and dry sherry and fresh pepper. Bake at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes, until lightly browned. Check often so the edges don't get crisp.