Recipe: Buttermilk crepes

The title for this entry maybe should be "citrus poppy seed buttermilk crepes", but that's a bit much.  There was also some outside inspiration from the local "Taste" magazine for those who live in British Columbia and pick it up at the liquor store.  It's a quality free publication with lots of good information on food and drink - but I digress.  I had been thinking of writing about crepes for a while, and the other day was picking up some beer, grabbed a "taste" magazine, then went across the way to meet my wife at the grocery store.  I was flipping through the magazine while we were in the checkout line and spotted a recipe for lemon poppy seed crepes.  Lemon poppy seed is one of my favorite combinations, so I ran out of the line and grabbed a lemon for the zest.  I made them the next morning using my old buttermilk crepe recipe, adding in proportional amounts the lemon zest, poppy seeds, and sugar since both recipes were almost the same size.  Then I wanted more zing than was there, but I had only bought the one lemon, so I added the zest of two oranges (and an extra tablespoon of sugar).  For filling, we happened to have a tiny bit of lemon curd on hand and some Quark cheese (which I sweetened up with a little sugar and vanilla).  The nice thing with crepes are their versatility,  fill them with anything you like, and top them with anything you like (we made a little fruit salad).  You can use the buttermilk crepe recipe minus the zest, sugar and poppy seeds, and fill them with more savory fillings - a crab salad goes fantastic.

You will need:

1 3/4C / 425ml     all purpose flour
          3                 large eggs
1/4C / 50ml          melted unsalted butter
1 1/4C / 300ml     buttermilk
1C / 250ml           milk
1/2 tsp / 2ml         salt
3Tbs / 45ml          sugar
2Tbs / 30ml          poppy seeds
          1                 lemon zest
          2                 orange zest
as needed             oil or butter for cooking

Method:

 - mix all dry ingredients, then mix in the wet (mixer or whisk) until smooth and let rest in the fridge
 - heat your pan over medium heat - an 8 inch nonstick or crepe pan works perfectly
 - add oil or butter to the pan and pour in about 1/4C / 50ml of batter
 - lift and tilt the pan so the batter flows to the edges - it should be a very thin layer
 - soon you should be able to check the underside with a thin spatula for colour
 - when it is very light brown (some like no colour at all) gently turn it over and cook the other side
 - transfer the crepe from the pan to a piece of parchment paper and repeat with the next crepe
 - stack crepes with paper between each one before filling or storing for later use - they freeze very well
 - fill with your choice of filling, and top with your choice of topping - serve