Friday, January 26, 2007 

Creme brulee

I finally got around to making creme brulee for the first time last weekend. I invited a friend over for an impromptu dinner and since I had eggs and cream, I decided to make creme brulee. Ever since I tried creme brulee at Finale in Harvard Sq. I've looked forward to trying to make it myself one day. I'm happy to say that it turned out quite well - as good as the ones they sell at Finale, if I say so myself. My dinner guest concurred. It's really easy too - which makes me wonder why we shell out so much $ for dessert. But then again, maybe it's better that way. Easy access to sweet fattening desserts isn't such a great idea. If you actually had to work to make it, it's more likely you won't want to go to the trouble and thus not forget about it. Or if you buy it, you only buy one as opposed to making it, having extra and eating it all yourself. Hey, if you're going to go to all that trouble, you're not going to make ONE cookie, pastry, etc. Which is why I like having guests or potlucks - it gives me an opportunity to try out new recipes and share the calories. Not that my guinea pigs seem to mind. =)

Crème Brulee

(serves 5-6)

From Barefoot in Paris

1 extra large egg

4 extra large egg yolks

½ cup sugar

3 cups heavy cream

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1 tablespoon Grand Marnier (can be omitted)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

Mix egg, egg yolks and sugar together.

Scald cream until very hot to the touch but not boiled. Slowly add cream to the egg/sugar mixture, mixing while adding cream in portions.

Add vanilla and Grand Marnier to the cream/egg/sugar mixture.

Pour mixture into ramekins until almost full.

Place ramekins in baking pan and carefully pour boiling water into the pan until halfway up the sides of the ramekins.

Bake 35-40 minutes until custards are set when gently shaken. Remove from the water bath and cool to room temperature. Refrigerate until firm.

Before serving, spead 1 tablespoon of sugar (turbinado sugar works better, also known as “sugar in the raw”) even on top of each ramekin and heat until the sugar caramelizes evenly.

7:36 PM | |

Sunday, January 14, 2007 

Best Chocolate in the World?

according to David Lebovitz, the best chocolate in the world may be found in the United States. gasp, not Belgian? not Swiss?

read on:
http://www.davidlebovitz.com/archives/2007/01/chocolatiers_an.html

speaking of chocolatiers, there's an awesome one in Harvard Sq. called L.A. Burdick's. they make the best hot chocolate, great handmade chocolate confections and sell all sorts of European style pastries (Linzertort, Zugerkirsch, macaroons, etc.). it's a tiny, cozy place that's always jam-packed. their coffee (Americano) is really good too.

i purchased some Burdick's chocolate boxes for my extended family as christmas presents last December. i bought one for my cousin who had visited me in Boston a while ago. i introduced him and his gf to Burdick's and he was bowled over by their hot chocolate. so of course i was looking forward to seeing his face when i handed him the chocolate but something went awry.

my mom accidentally moved the box from on top of the fridge to the kitchen table one morning. a few hours later, i returned home to a shredded box with chocolates strewn over the hallway carpet. Homer (our family dog) had decided the chocolate was fair game since it was on the kitchen table (ANY food left on the table is fair game) and he pounced on it.

i was SO peeved! worst thing is that he didn't even eat the chocolate. well, if he had eaten it, he may have gotten sick so i'm glad he didn't. on the other hand, i can't help but feel that it would serve him right if he did get a tad sick. he would finally learn to leave food on the kitchen table alone. sigh.

other chocolatier's that are very well-known:
ScharffenBerger (founded in Berkeley, CA)
Michael Recchiutti (located in SF Ferry Marketplace)

8:40 PM | |

Friday, January 12, 2007 

Heat

the last book i read was "Heat" by Bill Bruford, when i was on the flight home to CA on Christmas Day. the book was a fun, engaging read and thoroughly entertaining while providing a glimpse into the kitchen of upscale restaurant establishments. i always thought that being a chef/cook would be a fun job but it turns out to be a very high stress and competitive environment. i guess what seems to be fun as a hobby most often turns out to be stressful when it's a job...

it was amusing to read about all the cussing that goes on behind the scenes and what a colorful lot chefs are. i remember reading about some cook's blunt description of making bolognese sauce as "cooking the shit out of the f*rs". whoa, can't miss the message there...


a great source for current, popular cookbooks offered at great prices: Jessica's Biscuit

1:48 PM | |