Celebrate World Nutella Day - February 5

A few weeks ago in the Food & Life Section of the Columbus Dispatch, I read about World Nutella Day taking place on February 5.  I first fell in love with this chocolate-hazelnut spread during the summer I spent studying in Krefeld, West Germany back in high school.  My host mother would send me a morning "pause" (snack), and she often would send a fresh baked roll with Nutella and a side of fruit.  It was pure heaven.  I loved Nutella so much that I filled my carry-on with several jars of this chocolaty spread to bring back home to the United States.

Nutella is now widely available in the United States.  I've found the best prices to be at Target and I see coupons every now and then in the Sunday inserts or magazines.  My oldest enjoys Nutella spread on toast or on a sandwich.  My youngest likes it on graham crackers.  I still prefer it the way I fell in love with it, on a warm piece of homemade bread/roll.

When I saw this announcement of World Nutella Day, I made sure to include something with Nutella on our weekend menu.  I love coming up with new reasons to celebrate around our family table.  The article mentioned that Nutella is commonly spread on crepes, and the Sneaky Chef mentioned that she makes an easy crepe with wonton wrappers that she fills with Nutella and tops with fresh strawberries.  I had all this on my mind when I put together this morning's breakfast entree of easy crepes filled with Nutella and topped with fresh bananas and strawberries.

These Nutella Filled Crepes were the perfect way to celebrate the weekend!  The family decided we did not need to wait until next year to enjoy this dish.  I love this easy crepe recipe I found (and changed a bit) at Eat At Home, because unlike many other crepe recipes, there's no need to make the batter ahead and let it "rest".  In fact, you can just use a whisk; no need for the use of a blender usually noted in crepe recipes.   I did cook them in our crepe pan, a gift I gave John for Christmas several years ago as he loves crepes.  I think any non-stick fry pan would work okay, though.  I originally hoped to use fresh strawberries for this recipe, but the strawberries were over my price limit when I went to the store yesterday.  Luckily I have several containers of locally grown summer fresh strawberries down in my freezer.  I just thawed one and spooned them over the top with a slotted spoon.

Here's the recipe:

Easy Crepes:
3/4 cup flour
1 Tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup milk
1 egg, beaten
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp melted butter

1.  Whisk together the dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
2.  Melt the butter in a 2 cup measuring cup.
3.  Add the egg and milk and vanilla to the 2 cup measuring cup and mix well.
4.  Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients whisking as you pour. (The batter will be very thin).
5.  Melt a small amount of butter (1/4 tsp) in a crepe pan (or non-stick skillet) over medium heat.
6.  Pour about 1/4 cup of batter into the pan and lift and tilt the pan to spread the batter over the pan so the crepe cooks evenly.
7.  Using a silicon spatula, carefully turn the crepe over once it starts to bubble up a bit (about 1 min)
8.  Cook 30 seconds or so more on the second side or until it starts to bubble up.
9.  Keep cooked crepes warm in the oven on an ovensafe plate.

Fill 7-8 crepes with your favorite sweet fillings.

Easy Crepes will with Nutella, topped with bananas and strawberries.
A side of bacon makes this meal worthy of celebrating any old day!

How will you celebrate World Nutella Day?  Need some inspiration?  Visit Nutelladay.com for more than 500 reader recipes.