Crepes with Mandarin Orange Sauce

Yesterday while I was at the mall with Gary, I dragged him into Williams Sonoma. I love that place-- all those pretty dishes and shiny kitchen gadgets. It's a dangerous place though. I start thinking, "Oh, I need that $400 espresso machine... or maybe that $200 panini press..."

Luckily I left with only a $10 can of "Voila la Crepe" mix. I just loved the name--"Voila!" What could be easier, right?

So on this fine Sunday morning, I decided to make some crepes. I won't go into the details of the crepe recipe. After all, it's a mix, right? How hard can it be? The one tip I would give you is to not let your pan get too hot. If the butter gets brown right away, you need to turn down the heat, because the batter won't spread on the pan. I learned this the hard way.

I wanted to make some kind of sauce for the crepes but didn't feel like going to the grocery store, so I used what I had on hand... so if the ingredients seem kind of random, that's why. It actually came out pretty good, if I do say so myself!

Mandarin Orange Sauce a la Liza

Ingredients

1 15 oz. can of "no sugar added" mandarin orange slices
2 TB corn syrup
2 TB rum (Grand Marnier would be better, I think)
1 TB vanilla extract
Powdered sugar for topping

Mix the can of oranges (including liquid), corn syrup, rum, and vanilla in a saucepan and heat over medium-high heat. When the mixture starts boiling, turn down to medium. Stir frequently and let mixture simmer until most of the water has boiled off and the mixture becomes syrupy-- about 10 minutes.

Pour mixture over crepes. Sprinkle some powdered sugar over the top and serve warm. Makes two servings.