The other day was National Pancake Day and since crepes are pretty much thin pancakes and it was already well past breakfast, dinner crepes it was.   I have tried making crepes once or twice before but wasn’t really that great at it so I was going to just buy the pre-made ones at the market.  Of course, they didn’t have any so I decided to suck it up and just try again.  The batter is simple and they tasted great.  I can’t say that they were perfectly formed, but once you wrap them up you can’t really tell anyway so give them a try (or not if you can find them in the market and you’re in a hurry).   I used boneless, skinless thigh meat this time because Husband prefers dark meat but in the future I would cut the pieces smaller and use breast meat.  Chicken Marsala often includes mushrooms, but I left them out in my version (adapted from a recipe at World of Crepes).  

Ingredients:  

• 2 pounds of boneless chicken breast cut into about 1/2 inch pieces
• 3 tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 tablespoons of butter
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 cups fresh mushrooms, sliced (optional)
• 2 shallots, diced
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves, chopped (or 2 tablespoons herbs de provence)
• 1½ cups Marsala wine
• 1½ cups chicken broth (divided)
• 1 tablespoon of cornstarch
• 2 cups broccoli florets
• 1 tsp of salt
• ½ tsp of black pepper
• 8 basic crepes

Making the crepes:  

Follow the recipe for basic crepes  

Making it in the blender mixes it well and makes it easy to pour the batter into the pan.  Placing the cooked crepes between layers of wax paper keeps them from sticking, and makes it easier to roll them up after you fill them.  

Making the Filling:  

Melt olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Sauté chicken until golden brown (about 5 minutes on each side). Remove chicken from pan and set aside. In the same pan, sauté mushrooms (if used) and shallots until the mushrooms are caramelized and shallots are translucent. Add garlic and herbs and cook for an additional minute. Add salt and black pepper.  

Deglaze the pan with the wine and one cup of chicken broth. Combine the remaining ½ cup of broth with the cornstarch in a small bowl. Add to pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until sauce thickens, about two minutes. Add chicken back to pan and mix, then layer broccoli on top of the mixture so it will steam and cover. Cook for 15 minutes longer. Just before serving, if you made your crepes ahead of time reheat for 15 seconds in the microwave or until warmed. 

Assemble crepes: Separate the first crêpe, leaving it on the wax paper on the counter. Put a layer of the chicken and broccoli inside the crêpe along the lower part of the crêpe – I filled them quite full and made only 4 large crepes but, you could use less. (I used the rest of the crepes for dessert).  Roll up by folding the bottom of the crêpe up, then using the wax paper, roll it the rest of the way, placing two on the serving plate with the seam sides down.   Add additional mixture over the top of both crepes and serve immediately. 

 Yield: 8 servings (1 crêpe roll each) or 4 servings (2 crêpe rolls each).  

I decided to put more filling in the crepes and use the remaining ones for dessert or you could double the crêpe recipe.  Dessert is even quicker.  Warm the crepes and some hot fudge sauce (or Nutella), fold each crêpe in fourths, put it on a plate, drizzle with hot fudge and add whipped cream and cherries!