Remember Crepes Suzette? I think back when I first heard the word “crepe” it was never mentioned without the last name, Suzette.

Crepes Suzette were first introduced to us, here in the U.S. in the 1930s. According to the Saveur website, they were actually invented by a 14-year-old waiter, Henri Carpentier, in a French restaurant when he accidentally lit the orange sauce (made with Grand Marnier) on fire, when serving dessert to the Prince of Wales. Once the fire was put out, the sauce was so yummy that the prince asked that the dish be named after one of his cute young consorts, Suzette.

The Larousse Gastronomique, (thank you Diane Randlett for giving me a copy of the culinary bible) however, says otherwise. It states that the waiter “was not old enough to be serving the prince.” Whatever. I don't care. If you do, Google it yourself.

I didn't make Crepes Suzette for this column. I did, however, make crepes, and I filled them with chicken and portobello mushrooms with a cream sherry sauce. The crepe recipe is below. For the filling I simply simmered boneless chicken breasts in chicken stock and some sherry, removed and cut up the chicken, made a roux and added the liquid for a white sauce, sauteed the sliced mushrooms, and mixed all together.

I had cabernet sauvignon with them because I’m not a wine snob, and I have no problem drinking red wine with white food. The chef at Linekin Bay Resort, Brian Hough, is on the same page about wine.

Anyway, crepes: You can have them for dinner and/or dessert — sweet or savory. When I made the batter for this column I divided it in half and added a couple teaspoons sugar to one half.

For dessert I made raspberry lemon mascarpone crepes. Crepes Suzi: Stir some raspberries, lemon juice and a couple teaspoons sugar into mascarpone cheese. Roll some up in a crepe. Throw on a spoonful of noosa lemon yoghurt (if you haven’t tried noosa yoghurt yet, just do it), and gently (haha) place some big fat raspberries on top. I had some for breakfast too, with bacon on the side. Hello.

I thought about throwing some cocoa into the batter and making chocolate crepes filled with ice cream and hot fudge sauce on top. Next time.

Crepes are kind of exotic. They're thin and light and delicately golden brown and they can be wrapped around just about anything.

And they're so simple to make I don't understand why they're not on every restaurant menu. They're cheap too.

When I worked in the kitchen of Tufulios, at Sugarloaf, Joe Williamson would put me to work making big batches of crepes that I’d pile on a plate and stick in the fridge. One of his specialties was a chicken crepe. It was simple: chicken wrapped in a crepe with a white sauce. I think the only flavoring he used was nutmeg. I asked him about them once and he didn't remember. And I can't ask him again because he died in June.

It was served with a side of grilled asparagus. Simple but pretty elegant.

While looking for crepe recipes I came across an old one for 'Rogers crepes' that calls for beer. Roger was the cook at a restaurant that used to be beside the Tugboat. I think it was called the Boatel. I remember Roger would prepare baked stuffed lobster by laying the live lobster on its back and slicing it down the middle with a huge knife. He enjoyed doing it. I watched that once and haven't eaten a baked stuffed lobster since. I can't throw lobsters in a pot of boiling water either. As I've said before I can eat ‘em but I can't kill 'em. Roger also had a propensity for vulgar language.

Anyway here's the recipe I used: 2 eggs, 1 cup flour, 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 cup cold water, 1/8 teaspoon salt, 2 tblsp. melted butter, plus more for the skillet. (You can use oil for cooking, but butter makes them better.)

Most recipes suggest sticking the batter in the fridge for an hour to overnight. I cooked some immediately and some the next morning, and didn’t see much of a difference. Pour around ¼ cup in hot skillet and tilt it around so batter covers the bottom of the skillet. Cook for around 45 seconds, then flip and cook the other side for around 15 seconds.

Then comes the fun part. Crepes are really just a vessel for whatever the heck you want them to hold. I've used shrimp and asparagus with a lemon white sauce. Ham and cheese. Lobster with a lemon butter sauce. Pan seared thinly sliced steak and spinach. Chicken any way you please. What. Ever. And you can either roll the crepes around the filling or put a small spoonful on them and fold into quarters. It’s kind of cute that way.

For dessert any kind of fruit with whipped cream or noosa yoghurt will work, or get decadent with chocolate and ice cream.

When I was working in Tufulios’ kitchen I could've filled those crepes with anything I wanted. My boyfriend owned the joint, after all. But the way I liked them best was with cold shredded mozzarella cheese rolled up in a cold crepe. Go figure.

I’ve often thought I'd like to open a crepe stand. Savory and sweet. Fast and cheap. Elegant and delicious. I mentioned this once to my friend Ryan Leighton and he won't let it go. He's determined I'm going to do it one of these days, and who knows — maybe I will. Crepes Suzi. I’d serve Crepes Suzette.

But don't hold your breath.

See ya next week.

Disclaimer: I’m not a chef. I lay no claim to being an authority on food or cooking. I’m a good cook, and a lover of good food. And I know how to spell and put a sentence together. This column is simply meant to be fun, and hopefully inspiring. So to anyone reading this whose hackles are raised because you know more about the subject of food than I, relax. I believe you. Email me at: suzithayer@boothbayregister.com