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CREPES:To prepare the crępes, combine the ˝ c flour snd 1/8 tsp salt and sift them into a deep bowl. Add the eggs and stir with a wire whisk until the batter is smooth. Whisking constantly, pour in the milk in a slow, thin stream. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let the batter rest at room temperature for about 1 hour before using it.
˝ c unsifted flour ˝ c milk 1/8 tsp salt 2 to 4 T melted butter 2 eggs 1 T butter, softened ---------------------
Heat an 8-inch crępe pan, or skillet, over high heat until a drop of water flicked into it evaporates instantly. With a pastry brush, lightly grease the bottom and sides of the pan with a little of the melted butter. Pour about ź c of the batter into the pan and tip the pan so that the batter quickly covers the bottom; the batter should cling to the pan and begin to firm up almost immediately.
At once tilt the pan over the bowl and pour off any excess batter; the finished crępe should be paper thin. Cook the crępe for a minute or so, until a rim of brown shows around the edge. Turn it over with a spatula and cook the other side for a minute longer. Slide the crępe onto a plate. Then brush melted butter on the skillet again and proceed with the rest of the crępes; you should have enough ingredients to make eight or nine in all. The crępes may be made hours or even days ahead of time and kept, tightly covered, in the refrigerator or freezer. IF you do this, let them return to room temperature before attempting to separate them.
Preheat the oven to 400°. With a pastry brush, spread the T of softened butter evenly over the bottom and sides of a 13-by-9-by-2-inch baking-serving dish, and set it aside.
SAUCE AND FILLING:To prepare the sauce and filling, melt the 4 T of butter bits over moderate heat in a heavy 1- to 1˝-quart saucepan. When the foam begins to subside, add the scallions and, stirring frequently, cook for about 5 minutes, or until they are soft but not brown. Add the ź c of flour and mix well. Stirring constantly with a wire whisk, pour in the chicken stock and wine in a slow, thin stream and cook over high heat until the sauce mixture comes to a boil, thickens lightly and is smooth.
4 T butter, cut into small bits ˝ tsp salt ˝ c finely chopped scallions 2 egg yolks, lightly beaten ź c flour 1˝ c fresh, frozen or canned 1˝ c chicken stock, fresh or crabmeat, thoroughly drained and canned picked over to remove all bits of ˝ c dry white wine shell and cartilage ź tsp ground hot red pepper, 2 T finely chopped fresh parsley, (cayenne) preferably the flat-leaf Italian variety --------------------------
Stir in the red pepper and the ˝ tsp salt, reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 3 minutes to remove any taste of raw flour. Ladle about 3 T of the sauce into the beaten egg yolks and whisk together thoroughly. Then, whisking the mixture constantly, pour the egg yolks slowly into the sauce and simmer for 2 or 3 minutes longer to cook the egg yolks. Do not let the sauce come anywhere near a boil or the yolks will curdle. Taste for seasoning.
Ladle 1 c of the sauce into a bowl and stir in the crabmeat. Set the remaining sauce aside off the heat.
Place 3 T of the crabmeat mixture on the lower third of each crępe and roll it up into a cylinder; do not tuck in the ends. Arrange the filled crępes side by side in the buttered baking dish and pour the reserved sauce over the center of the row of crępes, leaving the ends unsauced. Bake in the upper third of the oven for 10 minutes, or until the sauce bubbles. Sprinkle the crępes with the parsley and serve at once, directly from the baking dish. Serves 4 as a main dish or 8 as a first course.
