Crepes for Mom a tradition for sons.

Byline: Randi Bjornstad The Register-Guard

Thanks to Alex Leong and his brother, Adam, lucky mom Anne Leong knows she'll always be remembered on Mother's Day, and she even knows how.

"My brother and I have been making crepes for many years for my mom for Mother's Day," says 9-year-old Alex, a third-grader at Pleasant Hill Elementary School. "I think we've been doing it as long as I can remember."

That's probably true, his mother agrees.

"I can't remember exactly when (the tradition) started, but I think it was as soon as he was old enough to stand on a stool," she says.

Alex developed an early love of cooking from his late father, Albert Leong, "who was a very good cook - my dad did a lot of cooking," the boy says. "He always added certain spices that we haven't figured out yet. We're still trying."

In fact, he enjoys cooking so much, he may make it a profession someday, partly in honor of his father, a professor of Russian literature, language and culture at the University of Oregon, who died of cancer in 2002.

In the meantime, Alex practices on scrambled eggs, waffles, omelets, french toast and pancakes - and, of course, the Mother's Day crepes.

"I never worry about him in the kitchen," his mother says. "He's young to use the stove, but he's very careful - he's probably more reliable than I am."

She looks forward to the "over the top" performance she'll see on May 8 when Alex and Adam - an 18-year-old senior at Pleasant Hill High School who also will follow in his father's footsteps when he attends his father's alma mater, the University of Chicago - fete her with breakfast in bed.

They put on their best clothes - nice pants, white shirts, ties and chef's hats - and ceremoniously deliver the crepes on a tray, along with tea and a bowl of flowers.

"I don't know if I want that (in print) - people might hate me," she jokes.

Just how the crepes will be served this year remains to be seen. Alex says "you can roll them up, cut them in shapes, do anything you want."

One of his favorite ways is with fresh fruit or jam and rolled up. His recipe calls for cassis, a black currant liqueur.

"But that's optional, because you have to get it at the liquor store," Alex says. "But it's OK - the alcohol cooks out when you make the crepes."

Alex and Adam's

Mother's Day Crepes

3 large eggs

2/3 cup milk

1/3 cup light cream or evaporated milk

1/2 cup water

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup flour

1 tablespoon melted butter

1 tablespoon sugar

2 tablespoons cassis liqueur, optional

Additional butter for the skillet

Beat the eggs well and slowly add the milk. Add the cream or evaporated milk, water and salt until blended.

Add the flour gradually, mixing well until the batter is perfectly smooth. This can be done in a blender. Stir in the melted butter, sugar and optional cassis.

Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat; melt butter to coat the pan. Pour a small amount of batter into the skillet and quickly tilt it in all directions to spread the batter evenly. If it doesn't cover, quickly add a bit more batter.

Cook for about a minute, until the pan-side is golden, then flip the crepe and cook the other side, which will take less time.

Serve with fresh berries, jam, powdered sugar, syrup "or any other yummy things you can come up with."

Yield: About 10 crepes, depending on the size of the pan and the thinness of the crepe.

Note: The first crepe out of the pan probably will not turn out as well as the others.