Everything about Cr Pe Suzette totally explained
» For the fictional city of Cape Suzette in the Disney animated series, see TaleSpin.
Crêpe Suzette is a typical
French dessert, consisting of a
crêpe with a hot sauce of caramelized sugar, orange juice, lightly grated
orange peel and
liqueur (usually
Grand Marnier) on top, which is subsequently
flambéed.
Preparation
The most common way to make Crêpe Suzette is to pour
liqueur (usually
Grand Marnier) over a freshly cooked
crêpe with sugar and light it. This will make the alcohol in the liqueur evaporate, resulting in a fairly thick,
caramelised sauce.
In a restaurant, a Crêpe Suzette is often prepared in a
chafing dish in full view of the guests.
Origins
The origin of the dish and its name is somewhat disputed. One claim is that the dish was created out of a mistake made by a fourteen year-old assistant waiter
Henri Charpentier in
1895 at the Maitre at Monte Carlo's Café de Paris. He was preparing a dessert for the Prince of Wales, the future
King Edward VII of England, and his companion whose first name was Suzette.
This is told by Henri Charpentier himself in
Life a la Henri, his autobiography, although later contradicted by the
Larousse dictionary.
It was quite by accident as I worked in front of a chafing dish that the cordials caught fire. I thought It was ruined. The Prince and his friends were waiting. How could I begin all over? I tasted it. It was, I thought, the most delicious melody of sweet flavors I'd ever tasted. I still think so. That accident of the flame was precisely what was needed to bring all those various instruments into one harmony of taste . . . He ate the pancakes with a fork; but he used a spoon to capture the remaining syrup. He asked me the name of that which he'd eaten with so much relish. I told him it was to be called Crepes Princesse. He recognized that the pancake controlled the gender and that this was a compliment designed for him; but he protested with mock ferocity that there was a lady present. She was alert and rose to her feet and holding her little skirt wide with her hands she made him a curtsey. ‘Will you,’ said His Majesty, ‘change Crepes Princesse to Crepes Suzette?’ Thus was born and baptized this confection, one taste of which, I really believe, would reform a cannibal into a civilized gentleman. The next day I received a present from the Prince, a jeweled ring, a panama hat and a cane.
Different sources (like the
Larousse Gastronomique) however doubt that Charpentier was serving the prince instead of the head waiter.
The dish was already a speciality of the French restaurant
Marie's by 1898 (
Paris Vécu, L.Daudet, 1929).
References in Popular Culture
- In the The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air episode "Community Action", Alec claims he'd have made crepe suzettes if they'd Grand Marnier.
- In an episode of Pinky and the Brain set in 1800s France, as part of a plan to assassinate Napoleon (and take his place), the Brain alters the recipe for crepe suzette by adding an extra ingredient which causes the dish to explode when ignited. In the end, his plan literally blows up in his face.
- In the movie Trading Places, Coleman the butler makes Crepes Suzette for Louis and Penelope to set the mood for the film.
- In the song Bob Dylan's 115th Dream, Bob sings, "I ordered some suzette, I said 'Could you please make that crepe'."
- The theme song to The Patty Duke Show states: "Where Cathy adores a minuet, The Ballet Russes, and crepe suzette, Our Patty loves to rock and roll, A hot dog makes her lose control -- What a wild duet!"
Further Information
Get more info on 'Cr Pe Suzette'.
|
External Link Exchanges
Do you know how hard it is to get a link from a large encyclopaedia? Well we're different and will prove it. To get a link from us just add the following HTML to your site on a relevant page:
<a href="http://cr__pe_suzette.totallyexplained.com">Crêpe Suzette Totally Explained</a>
Then simply click through this link from your web page. Our crawlers will verify your link, extract the title of your web page and instantly add a link back to it. If you like you can remove the words Totally Explained and embed the link in article text.
As long as your link remains in place, we'll keep our link to you right here. Please play fair - our crawlers are watching. Your site must be closely related to this one's topic. Any kind of spamming, dubious practises or removing the link will result in your link from us being dropped and, potentially, your whole site being banned. |
