A Crepini from Crepini Cafe!

I will admit, I had never heard of Crepinis until I met @CrepiniCafe on Twitter or their website CrepiniCafe.com.  She started telling me about crepini, these delicious crepe-like foods she makes.  Some are savory, some are sweet.  All, she assured me, are delicious.

Then she let me try some.

She sent me two boxes: Greenwich Spinach Gourmet Crepes and Vishnya A La Russe Sour Cherry (a Silver Finalist in the 2009 NASFT sofi™ Award!), letting me try both the sweet dessert and savory crepini.

So What is a Crepini?

I think calling a crepini a cross between a filled crepe and a blini (Crepini Cafe’s own description) is a petty good description, but it’s doesn’t give you the full pictue.

For instance, that definition leaves out the masterwork that are the crepes themselves (which you can order without filling.)  My crepini were shipped to Kansas, then frozen, then microwave thawed, and then cooked in a skillet.  That’s pretty rough treatment, but still the crepes were very light and almost airy.  Bonus points there.

The Greenwich Spinach crepes were filled with a mixture of spinach (organic spinach!) and feta cheese.  They tasted like Greek spinach pastry, but in a much less heavy dough.  I do wish the taste were a little more bold, but that’s hard to do without overflowing the pastry.  So, all in all, they were good and something I would be proud to serve at a cocktail party.

On the other hand, the sour cherry crepini filling was just that: sour cherries.  However, the cherries they use superior.  They are a palate pleasing mixture of sweet and sour from the cherries with these little bursts of citrus that give the filling a deep, layered flavor.  It’s no wonder they were a Silver Finalist! 

If I had any word of caution, it’s the word I keep coming back to: light.  Crepini are definitely light, as in don’t expect to feed a family of four on a single box, light.  So, if  you are going to serve them at a party, consider buying several boxes.  Then again, with eight different types of crepes and crepini, buying several boxes shouldn’t be a problem.

How to Make Them?

The recipes for making crepini are included on every box, but I had some thoughts.  First, you have to thaw them, either by letting them stand at room temperature or do what I did and put them in the microwave. 

 After that, the directions say cook them in a skillet until the outsides are browned and the filling is warmed through.  This works pretty well, though it should be pointed out that the crepes will get brown, not crispy.  I was expecting crispy and nearly overcooked my crepini!

When I make them again, I won’t make that mistake.  (Not sure what I was thinking in the first place.) 

What I am going to do is thaw them at room temperature first.  Then I might even microwave them for 60 seconds to cook the insides.  Then I’ll melt a little butter and cook the crepini just long enough to brown the outsides.   Then I’ll dig in.  I’ll decide at that point if I am going to share.  I’m thinking not.

In Summary

In summary?  In summary?  What are you still doing reading the summary?  🙂

Go to CrepiniCafe.com and order a box or 10.  They are ridiculoulsy affordable (we’re taking less than $7 for most varieties) and they are made from quality ingredients.

So try some for yourself and enjoy!

The Crepini picture was taken from the CrepiniCafe.com website.