• Editor's note: This is an updated version of a March 20, 2007 column.

Spanish Fork resident Dawn Graham, 39, loves French cooking. The homemaker and mother of five children worked as a nanny in France and later served as a Latter-day Saint missionary in the same country. To solidify her French leanings, her mother-in-law, Bobbe Graham, also served a mission to France.

Both women love to make crepes (pronounced "cr-ehps," not like the crepe paper we decorate with) for their families. When Dawn worked as a nanny, the family she lived with had a cook. "I was a 'domestic,' so I ate in the kitchen with the kids while the cook was making dinner for their parents," she said. Dawn picked up pointers on making crepes as she watched the cook in her element.

"The French cook had a very nice crepe pan, which I don't have," said Dawn. She makes do with a regular skillet that she's sprayed with nonstick oil spray. "The French cook would take a little potato, dip it in oil and rub the pan with oil. I like to do that, but when I'm in a hurry ... "

Her husband, Charles, gets into the act as well because he grew up with crepes. "He doesn't use a recipe. He has a flair for it, but I'm very tied to recipes," she said. His batter is thick, but Dawn likes a thin batter when she's preparing them.

The tricky part is flipping the crepe over in the pan without a spatula, which is a must in France. "Hold the pan in one hand off the burner," said Dawn. "Tip the pan at an angle, pour ¼ cup of batter in, tip around so it covers the bottom of the pan."

The next step involves wrist movement, and even her 9-year-old son can do it. "Jiggle your wrist so the crepe starts to wiggle and slide in the pan so you can get a good flip," said Dawn. The edge of the crepe needs to curl away from the side of the pan to show it's ready to be turned. You can cheat and use a pancake turner to loosen it before you do the "little flip," she said.

"If it's stuck, use a pancake turner to flip it over," said Dawn.

She and Charles or one of the children usually have two skillets of crepes going at one time to keep up with the hungry family.

The family's favorite treat is strawberry crepes with sour cream and powdered sugar.

"Smooth around a dollop of sour cream on the finished crepe," said Dawn. "Sprinkle a tablespoon of powdered sugar over that, then put a row of sliced strawberries down the middle. Fold it up or roll it up like a burrito." Next, she sprinkles more powdered sugar over the top of the crepe and layers more strawberries on that.

You can also top crepes with ice cream, whipped cream, and fresh fruit such as peaches, raspberries or nectarines. Charles's favorite creation is an applesauce crepe with cinnamon and sugar on top. The kids enjoy grated apples with cinnamon. Dawn loves Nutella (hazelnut with chocolate) and peanut butter, "but the French wouldn't like that -- they don't do peanut butter." Then she drizzles hot fudge over the top.

Savory crepes hit the spot with the Grahams, too. The same recipe can be used for the batter, but leave out the sugar and vanilla, she said. Sliced ham and grated cheese are the family's favorite savory combinations.

With a little practice in the wrist movement, making crepes is not that difficult. "A lot of people haven't had crepes because they think it's fancy and too hard," said Dawn. "But they are as easy as pancakes and much yummier. My husband's not a chef, but he can make them. You can personalize them with whatever you want with any fruit."

Graham Family Crepes

• 1½ cups flour

• 4 eggs

• 2 cups milk

• 1 tablespoon sugar

• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Measure flour in mixing bowl. Make a well in the center of the flour and break the eggs into the well. As you begin to beat the eggs, add the milk a little at a time and incorporate the flour from the edges. Batter should be fairly thin, thinner than pancake batter. Mix in sugar and vanilla. Cover bowl and leave batter in the refrigerator 30 minutes or overnight. "Sometimes I've used the batter right away," said Dawn. "They are especially yummy when they are thin and really stretchy so they don't fall apart."