Aftermath of the Feast

About eight years ago I took on a project for a new business in Missoula. The concept was interesting -- one that incorporated all kinds of beverages (except hard liquor). The specialties of the house were coffee drinks, teas, and chai. But there were a bazillion places to get that stuff so the business needed something to set it apart from the other coffee spots.

Hence, my project. I set about creating a menu of 12 meal-sized crepes, six sweet and six savory. I also created an extra number -- the store's signature crepe -- and I called it "A Study in Chocolate." It incorporated chocolate in six different forms -- a chocolate crepe, filled with chocolate custard with a sprinkling of chocolate chips, dusted with cocoa powder, drizzled with chocolate syrup, and topped with chocolate whipped cream. It was a huge hit.

But an even bigger hit came about when November rolled around and I created a seasonal special I called "Turkey in the Straw." I took an unsweetened crepe, spread cream cheese on it (instead of mayo), topped that with cranberry relish, then some replicated stuffing, bite-sized cubes of turkey and french fried onions (the kind you might see on a green bean casserole).

When the business's crepe-maker broke down (it was a super expensive model imported from Switzerland), instead of replacing it or having it repaired, the place decided to go out of the crepe business and concentrate on its various lines of beverages.

That saddened me. So I reclaimed my crepe recipes and re-purposed "Turkey in the Straw." This time, however, I used the same ingredients but instead of in a crepe, I decided to use a 10-inch flour tortilla. I rolled it up, burrito style, cut it in half on the diagonal and -- just like the crepe version from eight years ago, I couldn't make them fast enough.

So if you're looking for a way to dress up the leftovers from Thanksgiving, try my Turkey in the Straw burrito. A little salsa on the side probably wouldn't hurt.