Welfare Lunch

Our secret source for thin, perfectly browned crepes came through last week, fresh from Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. Baby set to work to make blintzes for breakfast. When he was growing up, on hot summer days (that we long for now!) when his mother made blintzes for lunch in the 70's, sometimes savory, usually sweet (so she wouldn't have the oven on for a long time) with blueberries and sour cream alongside, he and his older brothers always referred to them as welfare lunch.
If you can't find pre-made crepes like we were lucky enough to have been given, I've included a recipe for them below, much like Baby's mother used to make--the filling is his own concoction.

Baby's Blintzes

Preheat oven to 250° F

Ingredients

Crepes (adapted from Gourmet magazine, 1958):

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons whole milk
2 large eggs
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1/4 teaspoon salt
Whisk milk, eggs, flour, 2 tablespoons butter together until batter is smooth, about 1 minute. Let batter stand at room temperature 1 hour (this prevents tough crêpes). Add 1/2 teaspoon butter to skillet and brush to coat bottom. Heat over moderate heat until hot, about 30 seconds, then pour 1/4 cup batter into skillet; tilt pan to distribute batter evenly. Cook until underside is just golden, about 2 minutes, then jerk skillet to loosen crêpe and flip crêpe with a spatula. Cook underside lightly, 30 seconds to 1 minute. Transfer crêpe with spatula to a heatproof platter and keep warm in oven. Make 7 more crêpes in same manner, transferring to oven.

Filling:

1 lb Farmer Cheese

2 eggs

1/4 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup sour cream or plain yogurt (can also use fat-free)

1 tsp confectioner's sugar, plus more for dusting

Fruit jam of choice (we used scrumptious Hero black cherry fruit spread)

Pinch of salt

Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl. Let sit for 15 minutes. Add 1 Tb of cheese mixture to the lower third center of the crepe; add 1 tsp of jam. Fold sides in first and then roll up from bottom. Melt butter in medium to medium-high heat. Pan fry your blintzes approximately 2 minutes on each side until golden brown. Top with a lush amount of jam and a gentle snow of confectioner's sugar. Serve at once.