Cheese Blintzes by Jill

I haven't made blintzes in years. It always seems a daunting task. But we celebrate Nisa's 30th birthday just once, so it seemed worth the trouble for her morning after brunch. (And they are really delicious with champagne mimosas!)

To save time I created the blintzes the day before, covered them in the fridge overnight, then just fried them that morning so they would be hot. Blintzes keep beautifully in the refrigerator, and freeze well, also. Just thaw and then fry. YUM!!

This recipe makes about 3 dozen crepes in an 8 inch crepe pan or nonstick frying pan. That feeds a lot of people (2 blintzes is an average serving), so you can easily halve this recipe.

So...here's what you need to know to create your own Jewish soul food!

CHEESE BLINTZES

Preparation: 2 hours Cooking: 30 minutes

Cheese Filling:

2 lbs farmers cheese or dry curd cottage cheese 2 tbs sugar

1/2 lb cream cheese 2 - 4 tbs cinnamon (to taste)

4 egg yolks 2 tsp grated lemon zest (optional)

salt to taste raisins (optional)

Allow cheeses to stand until room temperature. Mash with fork. Add egg yolks, salt, sugar, cinnamon, and lemon zest, and raisins (if using). Blend.

NOTE: So much of our particular tastes have to do with the way our own mother's cooked. My mother and grandmother didn't use cream cheese, so the filling was dryer. Some cooks don't use cinnamon at all. My mother-in-law always used raisins but my mother never did. So, I make some with raisins (for my husband) and some without (for me).

Batter:

2 c water 8 eggs

2 c flour 3 tbs melted butter

2 tsp salt

Add water to salt and eggs. Add melted butter and flour gradually. Mix in blender or hand mixer. Let batter stand for 20 or 30 minutes. Lightly grease skillet with butter. Place skillet over a moderately high flame. Pour about a 1/4 cupful (more or less) of batter into skillet, making sure that the batter completely, but barely, covers the bottom of the skillet. Fry until the blintze begins to "blister" and the edges curl away from the skillet. The top still may be slightly moist. Turn out onto wax paper, fried side up. It may be necessary to tap the edge of the skillet against the counter to get the crepe out. The skillet must be greased slightly after each blintze is made. Make up a number of these and then put in the filling. You may need to thin the batter with a little water as it will thicken as it sits. Place a large rounded tablespoon of filling in the center of each crepe (on the browned side). Fold the blintze over the filling making a little package. Fry in a liberal amount of butter until brown on both sides. You can also brown in butter in the oven. Serve with sour cream and preserves, fruit compotes, or applesauce.

Enjoy,

Jill