I was working with my friends in the Food & Wine test kitchen the other day. It was the last day for a number of folks before the Christmas break, so the refrigerators had to be cleared of food that wouldn't survive for the 5-6 days before people returned. (Yes... it's GREAT job!!)
I was given lots of fresh herbs, some cheese, and some asparagus. By the time I got home I was beat... but you can't let a bounty like that go to waste. I remembered I had some crêpes left from the other day, as well as a bit of roast chicken and some chicken stock. So I made a quick chicken velouté like last time, but I used only stock... no dairy at all.
I blanched the asparagus, cut it in 1-inch pieces, and added it to the diced chicken. Then I tasted the velouté... added salt and pepper, but not much salt because I planned to add some of the various cheeses, and they'd contribute salt, and added about one-third of a cup to the chicken mixture.
I filled the crêpes with about 2 tablespoons of the chicken, and then rolled them. I put them in a buttered dish and topped it all with more of the velouté and gratings of various cheeses (including Parmesan and Gruyère).
I baked it for 15-20 minutes in a 350° oven, plated 3 per person and sprinkled snipped chives on top. Believe me, you'd never know this food is making an encore appearance. Treat these ingredients like a mise en place prepared for you by your sous chef, and you'll have a whole new appreciation of...
Encores!!!