It may not look the greatest, but it was worth making. And don’t lie — you want one.
I have to be honest — when this theme was first posted, my mind wandered trying to figure out what the heck a blintz was.
Knowing I had heard of it before, I had to head off to Google to figure out what in the name of holy heck a blintz was. I then realized I had eaten them before — they were called crepes filled with stuff.
Still, how to blog about it?
I have no idea where I’d find a blintz around here. There might be a place somewhere, but who knows?
Back to the Google drawing board. How does one go about making one of these things? Is it hard? Easy? Maybe I’ll make my own blintz.
My Google search brought me to The Shiksa in the Kitchen, where I found this seemingly easy recipe for a cheese blintz. I say easy, because I can cook decently well. But things like this usually throw me for a loop. That being said, this recipe was easy to follow and made me interested in trying it out.
Mmmm… frying a blintz.
OK, one thing I must note — making these things requires some patience, which I don’t always have. Shockingly, I didn’t have any issues. I made the batter, then made the filling. Then I started cooking up the blintzes.
They say to cook ’em all first. Well, part of the way. Then fill ’em. Then fry ’em. Then eat ’em.
So, after all were cooked for the first part, I went to filling.
I didn’t take photos of this process as it’s hard to actually take photos when you are using both hands to fill these things. The recipe shows you need to put some of the filling on the crepe and then fold it up, like an envelope.
Easier said than done.
I had a few profanities leave my mouth at times when the rolled up blintz popped out the edges. Then I had to try it all over. Or, when I moved it to the plate, it didn’t seem like it was solid enough.
But, I eventually got it right and then I focused on the frying, where I had to dodge a few splattering shots of oil.
They didn’t look too bad, though.
Frying the first couple o’ blintzes. Not too bad. A little splattering of the oil, but overall decent.
I won’t lie — I did fully cook one of the crepes and ate it, just to see if it was any good. And, despite it not looking pretty, it tasted pretty solid. I’m not on a cooking show or working in a professional kitchen, though. So plating isn’t something I’m worried about.
I’m going for taste. And I think I achieved it with the crepe.
The jury was still out for the blintz, though.
I did have a few issues with the blintzes. A couple of them I went a little longer than I should have, so they didn’t look so perfect. A couple of them opened during the frying aspect.
Some of the blintzes opened during frying… but they still tasted good!
Now, I needed to get these ready to eat. No more messing around.
But a plain blintz?
As if!
So what to put on them? I saw a couple of blintz recipes with a blueberry sauce. How good does that sound? Exactly. And being I wasn’t up for whipped cream (for the record, I make kick-ass whipped cream), so I went for a blueberry sauce.
Yummy!
Back to Google…
I found a recipe, which, again, seemed easy enough. This truly was easy. For the record, I substituted Equal for sugar and it tasted awesome. I have to watch my sugar intake, so any time I can do that, I’m happy.
The sauce was excellent and went very well with the blintzes. Yummy, indeed.
I don’t think I have a calling as a professional cook, but I was quite pleased with this attempt at making blintzes. I have a few things I can do to maybe change the process if I do it again and hopefully they will come out a bit prettier next time!
I also need to improve my food photography!
But, in the end, I call it a success. After all, the idea is to get something that tastes good, right? If it’s done at home, who cares what it looks like?
Although it does look pretty good here, no?
Tasty!
Turns out I didn’t have to go far for a good blintz.
Who knew?
I don’t think I’ll be looking to change careers to a chef anytime soon, but it’s nice to know I can make a decent crepe or a blintz!
Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!
Good job, P.J. Your blintzes look delicious! If I give you my address will you send me some? Or did you eat them all?
nonamedufus recently posted..30DW2-2 – Day 14: Where Can I Get A Good Blintz?
All out! Three people devouring these bad boys. I wonder how they would ship though. Imagine the customs shipping forms? “Blintzes. Priceless.”
That first image makes my mouth water!
That was my favorite shot!
Oh god, that first photo makes me want to lick the screen. It looks amazing!
Ziva recently posted..Where Can I Get A Good Blintz?
That would make for an interesting photo. 😉
Hey P.J.! Fantastic! I have to try this as soon as I get a gas hob! Indigo
Indigo Roth recently posted..For A Stirring Chorus Rendition
Well worth trying. All in all, it took me about 1:30 to get ’em all done.
No lie! I’d eat that in a heartbeat. Looks fantastic! But I would have done the whipped cream! And the blueberry sauce!
Linda Medrano recently posted..Me and My OCD
I think if I do them again, the whipped cream will come out, too.
I can tell you, they tasted as good as they look.
I still don’t think they look all that good… but they did taste good!
Wow, looks like you did an amazing job. Plus, fried in oil? Impossible to fail 🙂
mike recently posted..Where Can I Get a Good Blintz?
Fried oil, indeed. It worked well!
Okay… blintzes at P.J.’s house tomorrow morning!
Boom Boom recently posted..Where Can I Get a Good Blintz? (30M2DoW: Day 14)
Not enough seating! 😀
Had this post happened a couple of years ago, I could have told you of a great place for a blintz. My mother-in-laws house.
Her blintzes were not the sweet kind, but the cheese and onion kind. Oh and were they good. Sadly, her health declined and the only way she’d make them was if she had helped, which I gladly supplied since her blintzes were so good.
We had a great system, she and I. She’d make the stuffing as long as I stuffed and folded them for cooking. My mother-in-law passed away a little more than a year ago. I haven’t had one of her blintzes in almost two years now. I think I need to find her recipe.
Oh, but you’ve brought us some very good memories with this post. Thank you my friend.
Paul Myers recently posted..Blog Roll
That’s a great story, Paul. Thanks for sharing it. If you decide to make those, you should blog about ’em. I’d love to read it!
Now that, my friend, is dedication to the challenge! Fantastic post and those blintzes do look delicious, even if they weren’t “perfect”.
Nicky recently posted..Where Can I Get a Good Blintz?
Dedicated, indeed. It gave me a reason to try something new, which is awesome. Tomorrow’s prompt, on the other hand…
And they were tasty, I will say that!
I would eat that a million times over… WOW it looks fabulous!
Katherine recently posted..Funny How Far The Splatter Of Strawberry Syrup Can Go When Dropped On To An Industrial Carpet
Thanks! I would definitely eat ’em again. I just wish I could make ’em look better! 🙂
I’d eat that. I’ve tried those frozen ones before and they aren’t very good. Yours look 3002% better.
Mariann recently posted..Oh, that’s just not right…
I’m not sure I’d want to try frozen ones! It’s really nice to know they were handmade!
Those look tasty, and the filling is about the same as the crepes I had. The big difference I see here is that yours were fried after they were assembled. I bet I would like both.
Linda recently posted..Or Else
Yeah, it seemed odd to cook them first, then fry. But they came out pretty well. 🙂
Man, this whole post was total food porn. I love the way you’ve documented your blintz journey starting with the initial phase of research and curiosity, and ending with an awesome mouthful of homemade goodness.
You’re not a professional chef, but you’re a good enough photographer to make this stuff look appealing at every stage. Good on you for taking the initiative to actually *make* yourself a blintz for this prompt.
KZ recently posted..Winning Without Trying (Reposted)
Glad you enjoyed! 🙂
Oh man, that looks TASTY!
ErikaJean recently posted..Wordless Wednesday
I won’t lie … it was tasty!
The husband’s new word is “wowzers,” and I have to say this post deserves a “wowzers.” Your crepes and blintzes look great to me – I’d eat them, for sure. I’m too scared to try crepes, so more power to you! You made it look so easy. And you’re *so* right: Taking photos while you’re cooking requires talent. I envy the people who make that look effortless!
Miss Meghan @ scratch-made wife recently posted..WIAW #12: Oven-Roasted Broccoli
Thanks so much, Meghan. And the way I know you can cook, you should try them. If I can do it, you definitely can!