Something yummy....cheese blintzes

Mmmmmm....mix some farmers cheese with some vanilla and sugar, and the result is heavenly. Delicious. Mouthwatering. Scrumptious. (Can you tell I'm hungry?) Some of you might recognize these as crepes, but growing up they were called blintzes. Sure, you can pick up a pack of Golden's Blintzes from the store, but you just can't compare the freshness and the taste to a fresh, homemade blintze. Some people get scared away by the many steps of making  blintzes, but it's really very simple. The technique for making the blintze skin may take a few tries, but once you get it right, its very easy. And if you have already made egg rolls, the rolling is the same technique. So lets get started, shall we?                                        

Blintze Skin Batter

3 eggs

2/3 cup water

1/2 cup milk ( soy, for non dairy)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup flour

Beat eggs and add rest of batter ingredients slowly. Mix with a wire whisk to eliminate lumps. Heat a large frying pan over medium heat. Spray a 1 second spray of Pam. Have a clean dinner plate ready next to you so that you can flip the skin into it. Using a ladle, pour about 3 tablespoons of batter into the hot frying pan. Lift the pan off the fire and tilt the pan in all directions so that the batter spreads all over the bottom of the pan. Put back on fire until the top of the skin looks dry to touch, and not sticky.

If the edges start to crisp, the fire is too high. Flip the skin over onto the dinner plate. You may need to loosen the edges with a spoon until it flops out. Spread onto the plate, respray the pan with Pam and pour the batter for the next blintze into the pan. While the next skin is frying, spoon a heaping tablespoon of filling (recipes to follow) in the bottom center of the skin like this:

Fold the bottom strip of skin over the filling:

 Then the left side:

And the right:

Then roll up....

Until you've got this:

A few points:

• Try to roll it as tightly as possible without breaking the skin.
• Each time you pour the batter into the pan, stir the batter a bit as the flour tends to settle to the bottom. 
• If the batter is too thick, and doesn't spread easily in the pan, add some water- 1 tablespoon at a time. If the skin is translucent, it was too much water, and you need to add some flour.

Now for some yummy filling recipes:

Cheese Filling

1 pound farmers cheese

2 egg yolks

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon vanilla sugar, or 1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix everything together.

Potato Cheese Filling

8 medium potatoes

1/2 cup cottage cheese

1 large onion

1/4 cup oil

Peel and boil potatoes. While they are cooking, saute the onion in oil. Drain and mash the potatoes. Add the sauteed onions and cottage cheese. Salt to taste.

Each filling recipe makes enough for one recipe of batter, about 15 blintzes. Raw blintzes freeze very well so you can make a lot and and take them out as needed. When you are ready to serve them, fry them in about an inch of oil, 3-4 minutes on each side. Or you can bake them at 375 for about 15 minutes, until they are crispy.  Blintzes can be enjoyed anytime- for breakfast or a snack. Pair them with a light salad and soup, and you got yourself a delicious dinner.