turning tidbits into treasure

I don't know about you, but I seem to end up with odd assortments of food left in the fridge and the freezer.  A single chicken breast half.  A bit of ham -- not enough for a sandwich even.  Three or four mushrooms begging to be used.  A knob or two of cheese...

A meal fails to suggest itself to me until the idea of a unifying element suggests itself.  Enter the simple, but oh so delicious crepe.  Crepes are simplicity themselves.  They whip up in seconds in a blender.  The batter can rest for an hour or a couple of days.  Leftovers freeze perfectly.  They are thin little wonders of ingredient-unifying simplicity.  A couple of eggs, a cup of flour, a bit of milk and water, and a pinch of salt is all it takes.  A non-stick pan with a thin smear of butter will cook up a dozen in a matter of minutes.

the thin batter is just a quick whir away with a blender

a pile of crepes, ready for filling

Feeling experimental, I decided to cook my lone chicken breast half "sous vide".  The technique, long popular in European restaurants, involves sealing the ingredients in a vacuum sealer, and maintaining the water temperature at the exact temperature you want the food to cook to.  Using a candy thermometer, I brought the water up to 160 degrees.  It wasn't very difficult to maintain it there.  I sealed the breast in a bag with some salt, pepper, thyme sprigs, and lemon slices.  The idea behind the sous vide temp is that food will not overcook, because it will never exceed the temperature of the water.

the chicken cooked up tender and flavorful -- 

once the temp came up to 160, it was easy to maintain

From there, the filling was a snap.  I was going for a Chicken Cordon Bleu flavor profile, because I had the ingredients on hand, and I used to adore a Cordon Bleu crepe at a little French bistro in Erie.  I sliced the ham into little batons, and sauteed that with some mushrooms.  I added the sliced chicken, some salt, pepper, and a little thyme and chopped chives, and the grated gruyere cheese.  I bound that all together with a few tablespoons of the cream I had leftover in the fridge.

The filling was simple and tasty

I made a simple salad of arugula with a parmesan peppercorn dressing, filled the crepes, put a little of the sauce on top, and ran them under the broiler.  They made a delicious and pretty presentation from a few odds and ends in the refrigerator and freezer.  I will make a point of thinking about crepes more often, and I will certainly be trying my hand at other sous vide applications.

who would know that this is a plate full of leftovers?