My mom, daughter, and I recently enjoyed our annual summer girl’s trip, and it’s one of my favorite traditions. This year we stayed in New Buffalo, Michigan but made stops in Saint Joseph, South Haven, and Saugatuck, as well. Our week was full of beach time, splash pads, playgrounds, shopping, amazing meals, and lots of ice cream (from Nancy’s and Oink’s), of course!
We enjoyed our New Buffalo restaurants staples including The Stray Dog and Brewsters, and added several more restaurants to our go-to list including: Issa Vibe Café, Hummingbird Lounge, Post Boy, and Bentwood Tavern.
We even got to see The Chopping Block's founder Shelley Young at Viola Cafe in Three Oaks!
On the way back to Chicago, we stopped at Stateline Blueberries in Michigan City, Indiana. They’ve been in business for over 25 years!
We picked 2.5 lbs of blueberries, which is impressive considering that my 2-year-old daughter was trying to eat them faster than we could pick them!
I’ve made a lot of delicious blueberry recipes over the years including Garlic Herb Crusted Rack of Lamb with Blueberry Balsamic Sauce, Blueberry Zucchini Bread, Lemon Blueberry Buckle, and Brownie Fruit Pizza.
Blueberries are often categorized as a “superfood” because they’re loaded with nutrients. They are thought to lower blood pressure and improve memory. One cup of blueberries has 13% of your daily value of fiber, 14% of your daily value of vitamin C, and 24% of your daily value of vitamin K! Blueberries are a great source of hydration as well – they’re 85% water. Blueberries are high in antioxidants, and the anthocyanins are thought to have an anti-diabetes effect by helping to regulate blood sugar. Are you an athlete? Blueberries are thought to enhance performance and decrease inflammation, too!
This year I decided the blueberries would be the perfect accompaniment to blintzes. If you’re not familiar with blintzes, they originated in Eastern Europe. They were brought to America by Jewish immigrants in the late 1800s and “blintze” is the Yiddish word for pancake. I became familiar with blintzes in my time cooking in the kitchens at retirement communities before working at The Chopping Block.
Blintzes are a crepe-like, thin pancake filled with a ricotta cheese mixture, pan fried, and often served with a fruit topping/sauce. Whereas crepes are flipped and cooked on both sides, prior to filling, blintzes are only cooked on one side, filled, and then pan fried. These blintzes are a great addition to any breakfast or brunch, and you can customize the filling (try adding some fruit into the cheese mixture) and fruit to your taste or the season! You can also make these ahead and freeze the blintzes so they’re ready to pan fry and enjoy any time.
Blintzes with Blueberry Sauce
Servings: 5
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cook time: 35 minutes
Total time: 55 minutes
For the filling:
1.5 cups ricotta cheese
4 oz cream cheese
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
For the Blintzes (makes about 10):
1 1/4 cup milk
1 cup all purpose flour
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
2 eggs
1 Tablespoon vanilla bean paste
3 Tablespoons butter, softened
For the blueberry topping:
2 Tablespoons butter
4 cups blueberries
2 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 Tablespoon lemon zest
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3-4 Tablespoons butter, to cook the blintzes in later
Additional fruit to mix into filling and/or garnish
1. In a small bowl, combine all filling ingredients until smooth.
2. Place the bowl into the freezer to chill while you make the blintzes.
3. In a blender, add all the blintze ingredients and blend for 45-60 seconds until smooth. The batter should look like a think pancake batter.
4. Heat a non-stick skillet, or crepe pan, over medium heat (no fat is needed).
5. Pour 1/4 cup of batter into the pan and quickly swirl the pan so that the batter covers the bottom in a thin layer.
6. Let the blintze cook for about 30 seconds, until the top is no longer wet. Remove from the pan and set aside on a platter. Continue this step until all batter has been used. My yield was 10 blintzes.
7. Remove the filling from the freezer (fold in fruit, if you’d like).
8. Place one blintze on a platter, and add 2-3 tbs of filling about an inch from the bottom.
9. Fold the bottom over the filling. Fold the sides in and roll (like an eggroll, or burrito). It’s important to roll them neatly so that the filling stays inside!
10. Repeat until all blintzes are filled.
11. Heat a skillet over medium heat and add all the blueberry topping ingredients. Cook the topping until it’s your desired consistency (about 5-10 min). While the topping cooks, pan fry your blintzes.
12. Heat a skillet over medium and add 2 Tablespoons of butter. Once melted, pan fry blintzes (you’ll likely need to do multiple batches) on each side about 1-2 minutes until golden brown.
13. Serve with blueberry topping and additional fruit as desired!
I hope this has inspired you to travel, enjoy delicious food with good company, and incorporate more blueberries into your diet. Blueberries will be popping up at farmer’s markets, so be sure to check out a market near you! Several of our classes and kids/teen camps incorporate blueberries, so consider getting your fill in:
- Teen Camp: Baking & Pastry Monday, July 21 through Friday, July 25 1:30pm-4:30pm featuring lemon blueberry scones with lemon glaze
- Kids Camp: Coast to Coast Monday, July 14 through Friday, July 18 1pm-3:30pm featuring individual blueberry crisps
- Sunset Sips and Savory Supper Friday, July 18 at 6:30pm featuring Grilled Pound Cake with Blueberry Sauce, paired with Moscato!
- Summer Canning and Pickling Saturday, August 2 at 10am featuring a Summer Berry-Ginger Jam
