Overview

Trends. They’re everywhere. Plastered all over social media: the latest thigh-high boots, a new line of makeup by a millennial billionaire, stainless steel drinking straws. We now have “influencers” — people who can make or break a product with a single Instagram post.

Unfortunately, food is not immune to this phenomenon and falls prey to a constant fascination with everything popular. What’s fashionable today (cauliflower everything!) can be boring tomorrow (remember kale?). If an influencer decides it, avocado toast may soon be passe, my friend — wall or no wall.

[How to nail the ultimate homemade pizza, from crust to toppings]

Every year, we are inundated with lists of the latest food trends and foods no longer considered popular. I have a bone to pick with that. Many of the food trends were forgotten too soon. Back in high school, others got to decide what (or who) was in or out. Today, I ask you to be the change!

Take crepes. They took the restaurant scene by storm in the 1970s. Before the burrito conquered our palates, there were restaurant chains built around this French classic. They featured giant automatic, round conveyor belts that moved over a gas flame. Pans were dipped into thin batter and placed upside down on the belt. You could watch as perfectly cooked crepes went around and around until they were flipped and filled to order. You think watching rotisserie chicken is exciting? Let me tell you, those crepe restaurants left nothing to be desired. Chicken a la king, seafood Newburg, creamed spinach and fruity fillings with Chantilly were just some of the offerings. The electric crepe pan was hotter than the InstantPot. (Well, almost.)

Then, interest in crepes waned. I’ve never understood why. They’re practical, simple, inexpensive and can be filled with almost anything. Crepes can be made ahead of time, frozen and reheated; they’re elegant and comforting. Fill them with ricotta, sauce them with tomatoes and top them with mozzarella for marvelous manicotti. Stuff them with shredded rotisserie chicken, drape with gravy and make a delectable Sunday supper. Smear them with chocolate-hazelnut spread, fold them, drizzle with dulce de leche and top with sliced berries. Then, between forkfuls, tell me why we shouldn’t bring them back.

[Make the recipe: Buttery Crepes]

I made a simplified recipe to help make crepes trendy again, requiring only a bowl, a whisk and a nonstick pan. Crepe batter is very thin, like whipping cream (any thicker and you’ll end up with pancakes). I’ve added a good dose of clarified butter to the batter so it won’t be necessary to brush the pan with it every time. In fact, a good nonstick pan should not need butter at all — a great thing, as too much fat will break crepes and make them look like doilies through which fillings can seep.

Always fill crepes shiny side-up. For dessert crepes, add about 2 tablespoons of sugar to your batter.

I believe your fingers are the best tools for flipping crepes — simply grab the edges of one side with your fingers and flip. However, an offset spatula, long enough to cover a good bit of the crepe’s surface, works too. Chances are you’ll ruin the first couple of crepes, until you get the gist. Those “mistakes” make great chef bites. Go ahead and eat the evidence — no one will be the wiser.

If you entertained in the 1980s, you probably owned a copy of “The Silver Palate Cookbook” by Julee Rosso and Sheila Lukins and may have made their famous Chicken Marbella at least once. (And if you never made it, you probably ate it.) If you have no clue what it is, here’s the idea: chicken marinated in an umami bomb of sweet, salty, briny and spicy goodness, then baked to perfection. The classic, topped with brown sugar, had olives, capers, garlic, prunes and oregano, and it was made for a crowd.

My version is perfectly suited for families and jives with the sheet-pan cooking method popular today. I’ve cut down on the amounts and use the best part of the chicken — the thighs. Use bone-in and skin-on pieces and you’ll never have stringy chicken again. Inspired by the original recipe, I played with many dried fruits that were inaccessible in the dish’s heyday, so use whichever one you love most: dried apricots, currants, giant raisins, dates, cranberries, cherries, mango and blueberries all work.

We’re all about honey this century. Use it in place of brown sugar. Clover honey will impart a lighter taste than pungent Manuka honey, and it will be cheaper, too. Use honey flavored with bourbon, thyme, sage, lavender or rosemary. My favorite is sourwood honey from Appalachia, with undertones of sweet spices, licorice and anise. Sorghum or dark molasses also work. Leftovers will be welcome; the dish tastes better the next day, and you’ll want to have it again.

[Make the recipe: New Century Seven-Layer Bean Dip]

Just in case you still doubt how something old can become trendy again, remember seven-layer dip? Everyone was serving it during the 1980s and 1990s. Some of you are still serving it today. It deserves a modern redo for the 21st century.

The original idea behind this dip was to make everything with ingredients readily available in your kitchen. That remains true in this version, which is as creamy and colorful as the original. However, everything else is new, from the cannellini beans, to the pesto-creme fraiche and Fontina cheese. It might remind you of the original, but it will seduce you like a new lover. Crispy fried shallots are its crowning glory. Crunchy, sweet and nutty, you’ll want to make extra to nibble on all day. Serve the dip with toasted pita chips, crostini or baked wonton skins. And you can layer it into miniature glass containers and Instagram the heck out of them.

The Marvelous Chicken Marbella Redo

Consider using sliced fennel for anise flavor, roasted red bell pepper for sweetness and toasted almonds added at the end for crunch. As long as you combine sweet, sour, savory and briny flavors, you’ll find success. Serve this chicken with mashed potatoes, steamed white rice, creamy grits or polenta, and always offer plenty of crusty bread to sop up the juices.

Recipe note: The chicken will need to marinate, refrigerated, for at least 4 hours and up to 8 hours.

Ingredients

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Juice of 1 large lime or lemon (about 1/4 cup)

1/3 cup chopped dried fruit, such as wild blueberries, apricots, dates or raisins

1/4 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, thinly sliced

1/4 cup manzanilla olives (or pitted Kalamata olives)

3 large cloves garlic, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons capers

2 teaspoons dried thyme

3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

1/2 teaspoon Aleppo pepper

8 bone-in skin-on chicken thighs

1/2 cup white wine

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Steps

Step 1

Combine the oil, lime juice, dried fruit, sun-dried tomatoes, olives, garlic, capers, thyme, salt and Aleppo pepper in a gallon zip-top bag. Add the chicken; press the air out of the bag, seal and massage through the bag to distribute the ingredients. Place the bag in a mixing bowl (to avoid leakage) and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 8 hours, turning every once in awhile to make sure the chicken thighs are evenly coated.

Step 2

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Arrange the thighs, skin sides up, in a single layer in a 9-by-13-by-2-inch baking dish. Pour the marinade around the chicken, then add the wine and drizzle the honey evenly over the chicken.

Step 3

Roast for 30 minutes; then start basting the chicken every 10 minutes with the marinade in the baking dish, continuing to roast for 20 to 25 minutes more, or until the chicken has browned on top and its temperature (taken away from the bone) registers 165 degrees on an instant-read thermometer. The juices should run clear when the chicken is pierced with a fork.

Transfer the chicken to a serving platter and tent it loosely with the aluminum foil.

Step 4

Pour what’s left in the baking dish into a medium saucepan; bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook for 5 to 7 minutes, or until it has reduced by half.

Step 5

Uncover the chicken; pour the sauce over the thighs, then garnish with the parsley. Serve warm.

Adapted from “The Silver Palate Cookbook” by Sheila Lukins and Julee Rosso.

Sandra Gutierrez is a cookbook author.

Tested by Richard Kerr; email questions to voraciously@washpost.com.

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(Nutritional analysis is based on 6 servings.)

Related recipes:

Buttery Crepes

New Century Seven-Layer Bean Dip

Nutrition

Servings Per Container: 4 to 6; Calories: 630; Total Fat: 39 g; Saturated Fat: 9 g; Cholesterol: 265 mg; Sodium: 800 mg; Carbohydrates: 23 g; Dietary Fiber: 2 g; Sugars: 16 g; Protein: 44 g.