Cooking Lesson #152— Marvin’s Basic Cheese Blintzes

Cheese Blintzes

How you doin’? Are you being able to manage your anxieties? In California it been a rough year—fires, power outages, civil unrest, and of course, contentious elections. Tensions have been running high even as businesses are slowly trying to re-open—maybe just a little bit. Some of us may still have jobs to come back to others won’t and will have to start looking for new options.

What’s needed are fast, easy comfort foods for cooks who may now be on a budget. Which brings me to this inexpensive cheese blintzes recipe and Junior’s Deli.
 
The original Junior’s Deli opened in West Los Angeles in 1959. It had no relationship to Junior’s (cheesecake fame) in New York City. Junior’s LA was a small operation run by the Saul Brothers that mainly sold corned beef, their grandmother’s blintzes and other deli foods to go.
 
They soon moved to a new building that was more of a restaurant than a bakery near Westwood, California. Almost instantly, Junior’s became one of great local success stories for the kind of business of which dreams are made. It wasn’t because the food was so outstanding—it wasn’t. The restaurant thrived on the personality of Marvin Saul. Aside from Marv, what Junior’s had going for it was a good, friendly feel and a great location. If you had to meet a friend or business associate for breakfast or lunch, it wasn’t easily the best choice, it was the only one.  Junior’s is now gone and the building remains empty, but the ghost of old-fashioned blintzes lives on.
 
These are basic cheese blintzes—nothing fancy—develop right here in the Perspectives test kitchens. They are mild, buttery, cheesy and creamy—the ultimate comfort food! Their smell, taste and abundance are sort of imprinted on my memory. Serve these blintzes with sour cream or strawberry jam for those who liked them a little sweeter.
 
Prep time:  20-25 minutes
Batter set time: 1 hour
Crepe cook time:  10 minutes
Yield: 20 blintzes
 
Ingredients
For the crepe batter
3 cups all-purpose flour
6–7 cups 2% milk at room temperature
7 large eggs at room temperature
2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
 
For the cheese filling
3 pounds farmer's cheese (sometimes labeled “hoop” cheese)
3 large eggs
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
 
To finish cook and serve 
2–3 tablespoons butter
 
Optional toppings
sour cream
strawberry preserves
fruit toppings
 
Directions
To make the crepe batter

1. Using a blender, mix all the crepe ingredients until there are no visible lumps. Set aside to let the batter rest for about 1 hour to rehydrate the flour completely and eliminate of any air bubbles.

To make the cheese filling

1. Using a mixer, mix all the filling ingredients together. Set aside while cooking the crepes.

To cook the crepes

1. Line a sheet pan with waxed paper or parchment paper.
2. Heat a nonstick, crepe pan or small shallow frying pan over medium heat before coating the pan lightly with butter.
3. Pour about 1/4 to 1/3 cup of batter into the pan and swirl it around the bottom of the heated pan to cover the pan with a thin layer of batter. Pour out any unstuck batter back in the blender jar to make sure your crepe is paper thin. 
   It’s okay to do a few practice crepes because they seldom come out perfectly the first time. Don't be discouraged if you mess up the first few crepes.
4. Cook on one side only until you can see little holes popping through and the edges come away from the sides of the pan, just a few minutes. Flip the crepe out of the pan onto parchment paper, uncooked side face down. Repeat process with the remaining batter.
5. Once the crepes have cooled, place a couple tablespoons of the cheese mixture in the center of the cooked side of the crepe.
6. Roll the filled crepe skin like a burrito—tuck the sides in and then roll the crepe over the cheese to create a small sealed envelope. The uncooked side of the dough forms the outside of the blintz that will be cooked to finish.
7. Place the completed blintz with the seam down on the lined sheet pan. You can use more or less cheese filling based on your preference, but don’t overfill or it will burst.

To finish cook and serve

1. Heat the butter in a medium pan, add a few blintzes at a time and sauté until golden brown, a few minutes on each side to heat through.
2. Serve the blintzes with sour cream, strawberry preserves or your favorite fruit topping.

To prepare and serve later

1. Freeze the blintzes on baking sheet. When firm, transfer to freezer bags. Keep frozen until ready to eat; then sauté and serve.

 
ChefSecret:  Farmer’s or hoop cheese looks like very small curd, dried cottage cheese. You can also substitute farmer’s cheese with ricotta cheese. What are you going to do with all the subpar test crepes?
Eat them, silly—they delicious coated with cinnamon-sugar, so enjoy your mistakes.

Covid-19 Quip of the Day:  I was just wondering, why do stores have signs, 'Guide Dogs Only', the dogs can't read and their owners are blind?
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To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, be positive, stay well, stay safe and be kind—that’s the American way.  If you have a little extra in your pocket to share with others at this difficult time, please consider donating to Feeding America. Thanks for reading.

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