Crêpes with Fresh Apples

• 1∕3 cup flour
• Small pinch salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 2 tablespoons Calvados (or other brandy)
• 4 tablespoons butter, melted in the crêpe pan
• 8 tablespoons butter
• 2 pounds apples, quartered, cored, peeled, and thinly sliced
• Grated zest of 1 lemon
• Sugar

For these crêpes, a small crêpe pan is best. The stuffed crêpes can be prepared 2 or 3 hours in advance, arranged in the buttered gratin dish, and kept covered with plastic wrap, to be finished in the oven at the last minute.

Sift the flour and salt into a mixing bowl, add the eggs, and whisk, working from the center out and adding a little milk, until smooth. Whisk in about half the milk, add the Calvados and melted butter, and with the whisk, stir in enough additional milk to bring the batter to a thin, creamy consistency. Cover with a plate and leave to rest for 30 minutes or so.

Put a ladle in the bowl of batter. Have in readiness a small spatula with an elongated blade or a round-tipped table knife for turning the crêpes and a plate on which to stack them. With a cloth or paper towel, wipe the crêpe pan, leaving only a film of butter. Heat the pan over medium to medium-low heat. Stir the batter with the ladle, lift the pan off the heat and rotate it while pouring batter from the ladle (it should sizzle on contact), until the bottom and the lower edges of the pan’s sides are thinly and evenly coated. Return the pan to the heat until the surface of the batter is dry and the edges of the crêpe turn golden and curl free from the sides of the pan. Gently slip the spatula or knife blade beneath the crêpe and flip it over. The other side requires only a few seconds. Lift the pan off the heat and, pulling gently with fingertips, slip the crêpe from the pan onto the plate. The pan will now be hot enough to receive more batter without being reheated. It should not be re-buttered between crêpes. Stack the crêpes, one on top of the other, as they are ready.

In a large heavy frying pan, melt 6 tablespoons butter. Add the apples and the lemon zest and sauté over high heat, jerking the pan back and forth and tossing the apples repeatedly in the air (stirring causes them to break up), until they are caramelized and nearly tender, without being mushy. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Butter a large gratin dish. Hold a crêpe, golden brown side down on the palm of your hand, spread a heaped tablespoon of sautéed apples down the middle, roll up the crêpe, and place it seam side down in the gratin dish. Arrange the stuffed crêpes snugly, touching each other, sprinkle the surfaces with sugar, place a thin strip of butter on each crêpe, and put them into the oven for 10 minutes, or until the sugar is glazed.

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