Mellie Helen, an avid cake decorator, and creator of Golly Blog Howdy! writes:
This visit of mine cannot pass without mentioning a long loved, and long lost dish that I have been searching far and wide for, but to no avail.
Do you remember the chain restaurant called "The Magic Pan"? Specializing in crepe dishes, they had a terrific salad too, with Mandarin oranges and sliced toasted almonds, but it wasn't a "Chinese" salad. It was simply delightful.
But the main focus of my Magic Pan quest is a ham and cheese crepe which was actually deep fried, and was called Ham Palincintas (a Hungarian word meaning...I don't know, "Delectable," perhaps?) The ham within was shaved fine, almost like ham "dust." Co-mingled with the ham and cheese was a gorgeous mustard (honey mustard?) sauce, and resting atop the crepe itself was a light sprinkle of Parmesan.
Should you have the wherewithal to point me in the right direction to find the recipe for this item (forget Google), I would be deeply in your debt. Please direct your email to: gollybloghowdy@mac.com. And, if you don't know about this recipe, well...at least accept my gratefulness for causing me to relive the joy of that dish.
If you know of the recipe, please leave a comment below.
And keep those food memories coming!
{ 39 comments… read them below or add one }
Those crepes were to die for – We use to go the The Magic Pan in Oakbrook, IL. My sister has experimented with several variations and has made her own recipe. Which is real close and very good. They are not easy to make but I am sure if we had the original recipe it might be easier.
The Magic Pan was a real favorite for my family in the Boston area. When my nephews and niece came to visit they always asked if we could go there. Good food and lots of good memories.
We had a Magic Pan Restaurant on Larimer Street here in Denver a number of years back. Our favorite meal was their Beef Bourguinon. The recipe, if available,is one you would love to have. I wonder if anyone remembers that? I also wonder if anyone might have the recipe? Your comments would be appreciated.
… Ham Crepes – Use basic crepe recipe Filling – Make a white sauce of 4T butter – 4T flour – and 2C milk To it add grated honey ham and approx 2C …
http://www.hungrybrowser.com/phaedrus/m0503M04.htm
This sounds like what you are looking for. By the way it was on thew first page of a google search. Good luck
I also have been trying to find The Magic Pan crepe recipes for “SPINACH CREPE” “CHICKEN & BROCOLLI” “CHICKEN DIVAN” & I can’t remember the name but also the “SEAFOOD NEWBURG” recipe. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE can anyone help????????????? Thanks!!!
Deb
I too would appreciate it if anyone had the real and true recipe of Ham Palincintas from the Magic Pan. Please email me at stgmng22@aol.com. I would be eternally grateful
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The beef Bourguinon was my fave. I know it had carroway seeds. Anyhow, they are back in a small way:
http://www.leye.com/restaurants/rest_home.jsp?id=35
They have my wifes fave: Spinach Souffle
I worked at The Magic Pan in Smyrna, Ga 3 different times over the course of 4 years. I was a crepe maker, and a waitress for the most part. I loved their food. Grew up eating there and was thrilled to work there. I can tell you that Stouffer’s products were used a lot. The Spinach crepe was stouffer’s spinach souffle with some spices and such added. The cheddar cheese sauce is what made it. They also used Stouffer’s creamed chicken for the divan and the elegante’. The divan had sherry added. I am not sure about the chicken elegante’. I really wish they were still open. I miss it so much.
I can’t believe what I’m reading here…I tapped into google to see if there were any remaining Magic Pans anywhere because I miss it more than anything. My mother used to take me there as a “treat” after school sometimes and we’d always stop there for lunch while on Saturday shopping excursions at Cumberland Mall (I think that was the mall…this was easily 15 years ago). I would have the SAME thing everytime–Spinach souffle crepe and, OF COURSE, a strawberry crepe for dessert. The fresh, homemade whipped cream and sprinkle of brown sugar were the reasons I lived! I can’t believe there are people out there who remember AND loved that place as much as we did. WOW. I am a little surprised, maybe even disappointed, to know there wasn’t some sexy French chef in the kitchen whipping up homemade spinach souffle, but who really cares? That crepe (and yes, the cheese sauce made it special) was the best thing going. I have learned how to make my own crepes and while I use various toppings (apricot preserves, lemon and sugar, and bananas, my favorite is strawberry with my own homemade whipped cream!! Now that I know the stouffer’s secret, I’ll have to make some crepes soon and surprise my mom with a blast from the past. Without the internet would I have ever found you crazy Magic Pan followers? Thanks for the memories.
Magic Pan opens again! Finally the Magic Pan has opened it’s first restaurant in years. It’s located in the Northbrook Mall in Northbrook, Illinois. It’s all the recipes you remember.
SO what happened to the actual Magic Pan restaurants? I would like to have the same recipe for the ham crepes…I can’t believe how many of the restaurants closed around the country. Does anyone know the story? Thanks! Karen
I, too have wondered what happened to this neat place. My son kept looking online and found that someone from Texas bought the franchise and closed all the restaurants and used it for a tax write-off! It was active all over the world, in Australia, even. What a stupid waste. I wonder what happened to all the Magic Pan Machines ? The food was yummy and it would be a great success now if someone with lots of money had the inspiration. Lots of people remember and miss the food and the neat atmosphere. Me, too!
California had many Magic Pan’s also. I vote for the spinach souffle crepe as my favorite, but they made a great cream of tomato soup and split pea with a little pitcher of sherry and a tiny bowl of sour cream to float on top.
I worked for the pan for many years. The ham and cheese palincintas were made for the pan by a company and shipped to them frozen. The pan stop carrying them because they were too expensive to buy from an outside company.
I worked at the Pan in Columbia, MD when I was 16. The Chicken Divan is basically a white bechemel sauce mixed with cubed cooked chicken and wrapped in a crepe with two broccolli spears and grated cheddar cheese. Then topped with more cheddar cheese and microwaved until the cheese melts. The entres at the pan came in vaccuum packed frozen bags, but that is essentially how to make the Chicken Divan. Bon Apetit!
I used to go to the Magic Pan at Old Orchard Shopping Mall. This was ages ago – pre-1983 when I moved away from the Chicago area- but like everyone else here – I loved it! The atmosphere was great, especially at the holidays, and the food was incredibly delicious. Don’t know why lately I have been craving the Magic Pan but I am. While it looks like Lettuce Entertain You group has taken on the Magic Pan name, redefined them and plopped them in the food courts, I think they are missing the boat. What with so many folks eating out, there would now be a new generation of folks to enjoy the wonderful crepes – as well as us original fans! I live in Atlanta area now and would love a real Magic Pan restaurant. Bring ‘em back! Give us a cookbook!
My favorites were the Alpine Cheese Sizzle and the Crispy Ham Palancitas. Please post the recipes. Plleeeeeaasse!
ME TOO PATRICT!!
HAVE YOU FOUND THE RECIPE??
RJ
http://www.thismamacooks.com/2004/12/found_the_magin.html
My hero. Thanks
The word; Palincintas is actually spelled palacsinta (palachinta) and the meaning is (you would never guess): crepe!
It is pretty much is a national food for centuries, but mainly made for desert, probably the most famous is the flaming Gundel palacsinta and the Hortobagy chicken palacsinta.
They have been working for years to put together this website. All of us workers from the past (saute cooks, waitstaff, bartenders, and hotside cooks) put together what we remembered and the result is a very nice collection of Magic Pans recipes. Hope you all enjoy!
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/MagicPanProject/
sorry here is the link!
Good News…..they are opening a magic pan crepe stand in Northbrook ct, northbrook, il
Magic Pan Salad Dressing.
I have the actual dressing for the orange almond salad. It is the one with tarragon.
if interested
1 cup of light tasting olive oil
1/2 cup tarragon wine vineagar
1 t. dried taragon leaves
1/2 t salt
1/8 t. pepper
1 t. sugar
1/2 t. Dijon mustard
shake this in a jar and pour it over
spinach leaves or red leaf lettuce
mandarin orange slices
thinly sliced red onion for color
and before serving, toss on slivered almonds
As a child in the late 1970′s and earlu 1980′s, I visited the Magic Pan with my grandmother in Troy, MI, just outside of the Somerset Mall (long before it expanded into a bohemoth mall).
Oddly enough, when I’ve ‘googled’ The Magin Pan, or attempted to look it up on Wikipedia, there is relatively little infotmation about how the restaurant chain met its demise. Does anyone know ?
I, too, loved the Magic Pan. I actually wrote to them for recipes after they left the Boston area, but to no avail. So I had to improvise.
I can’t believe from the posts above that I actually hit on the Stouffers secret for the Spinach Souffle crepe. I just pull the box out of the freezer and slice off a chunk for each crepe, wrap it up and sprinkle a little parmesan over it.
I don’t do fried, so my version of a ham palascinta is actually just a ham and cheese crepe. I take deli slices of Virginia ham and swiss cheese, wrap it, cook it and use T. Marzettis Honey Dijon as a condiment with it.
The Chicken Divan I’ve turned into a Chicken mushroom. I make a bechamel sauce, chop up some mushrooms and cook them in the sauce for a while, then put in pre-cooked chicken breast cubes and sliced mushrooms (the latter only a couple minutes before filling the crepe.
For the Orange almond salad, I know it’s not correct proportions, but I like equal parts canola oil, tarragon vinegar and the juice from the can of mandarin oranges. Very orangy, very pungent. For better proportions, you could use a Good Seasons bottle, substituting the orange “juice” for the water. I use Trader Joe’s blanched slivered almonds.
Rachel Ray had a show on crepes not too long ago. She made a bunch of fillings, then suggested making the crepes as you would omelets for a party.
I too am also a fan of the Magic Pan restaurant. In 1976 I was able to purchase a Crepe Cookery cookbook at the Magic Pan. The author is Mable Hoffman and the crepe’s are exactly like those made at the Magic Pan. I treasure this book and use it all the time. If anyone needs a recipe please feel free to email me.
Hello! I hope you can help! Huge fan of Magic Pan and so cool to see others haven’t forgotten it as well! Lived in Maryland and went there often. I’m so hoping that in your cookbook, there is the recipe for the cheese crepes (I think they were fried, but not sure) with the “to die for” mustard sauce. I’d be your friend forever! Thanks so much for your time, Robin Curtis.
Hi Dottie-
I just purchased a crepe maker for my wife for Christmas and would love to reproduce the mushroom crepes from Magic Pan. Is this recipe in your book?
Thank you
don@warnercompany.com
Does anyone have the recipe from The Magic Pan for a fried cheese crepe w/mustard sauce?? This was one of my favorite’s & would love to have these again!!
Does anyone have the recipe from The Magic Pan for a fried cheese crepe w/mustard sauce?? This was one of my favorite’s & would love to have these again!!
The Magic Pan was the best! I don’t think there was anything on the menu that I didn’t like…some favorites were the seafood newburg crepe, spinach crepe, orange almond salad, spinach salad and the CHOCOLATE COCONUT FANTASY crepe was out of this world!!
we loved the ham and cheese-served as 2 crepes-both fried but to die for. the cheese was some amazing blend of cheeses as smooth as can be. also wonderful salads and dessert crepes. PLEASE COME BACK-WE LOVE YOUR CREPES!!
Robin, look through the comments and use Google to help you find what you’re looking for. I wrote this nearly six years ago, after all.
From:
http://www.hungrybrowser.com/phaedrus/m0909F05.htm#5
These were my faves, there are other magic pan recipes on the website too!
Magic Pan Alpine Cheese Sizzle
On 18 Aug 2005 at 10:46, Jane wrote:
> I just happened upon your website and want to express my awe and
> appreciation for the fine work you’ve done. Now, for my request…I
> would love to find the recipe for Magic Pan’s Alpine Cheese Sizzle
> crepes. They were wonderful cheesy crepes topped with a tangy sauce.
> Can you help?
>
> Thanks.
> Jane
Hello Jane,
According to the person who posted the below recipe on a message board, “Cheese Palacsintas” are the same as the Magic Pan Alpine Cheese Sizzle crepes. Apparently they called the dish by different names at different Magic Pan franchises.
Phaed
Cheese Palascintas With Mustard Cream Sauce
Recipe By :
Serving Size : 4 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories :
Amount Measure Ingredient — Preparation Method
——– ———— ——————————–
Crepes
Cheese Filling
1/2 pound Cheddar Cheese — cut into 4 long strips
Breadcrumb Coating
1 Cup Bread Crumbs
2 eggs
2 Tablespoons milk
Mustard Cream Sauce
2 tablespoons butter or margarine
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup half and half
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
Place 1 strip of cheese on top of one crepe. Keep at least 1 inch from the edge.
Roll up and tuck in corners so it will not leak when frying. Do likewise with all.
Prepare breadcrumb coating: blend milk and eggs together, then place flour, egg
mixture, and crumbs in separate containers in that order in a row. Take each
pancake and cover well with flour, then egg, then roll in crumbs.
Fry in cooking oil until puffy and golden brown on all sides. Fry slowly. Serve
with mustard cream sauce.
For mustard sauce: Melt butter in a saucepan over low heat; add flour and stir
until smooth. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add broth and half-and- half
gradually. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thickened and
beginning to bubble. Remove from heat and stir in mustard, lemon juice, and
pepper. Keep warm. Arrange on a serving dish and top with sauce.
Thanks for sharing the recipe!
I, like many others here, was looking up a resturant I remember from childhood. There was one in the West Farms Mall in Connecticut. I remember getting the ham and cheese crepe and it was awesome. It was kind of a treat to go there. Wasnt there a neat french painted wall mural in the dining area. I would sure visit if it came back. Au Revoir.
“Palacsinta” [correct spelling] is the Hungarian word for “crepes”. Simple as that!