creme brulee

"I think every woman should have a blowtorch." - Julia Child

Indeed, Julia's right. The first time I tried creme brulee, I was in love. The crispy, caramelized top is my favorite part of the dessert - a magical outcome of sugar and a kitchen torch. The creamy goodness below is just as divine.

Using my kitchen torch is likely the most controlled use of fire I'll ever experience in my lifetime. And, I feel so powerful - that's what I'm talkin' about.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I do...

Creme Brulee
recipe & photo courtesy of Williams Sonoma

Ingredients:
1/2 vanilla bean
2 cups heavy cream
3 egg yolks
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup plus 4 Tbs. sugar

Directions:
Preheat an oven to 300°F. Have a pot of boiling water ready. Line a baking pan that is 2 to 3 inches deep with a small kitchen towel.

Using a paring knife, split the vanilla bean lengthwise down the middle and scrape the seeds into a 2-quart saucepan. Add the cream, stir to mix and set the pan over medium-low heat. Warm the cream until bubbles form around the edges of the pan and steam begins to rise from the surface. Remove from the heat and set aside to steep, about 15 minutes.

In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, salt and the 1/4 cup sugar until smooth and blended. Gradually add the cream to the egg mixture, whisking until blended. Pour the custard through a fine-mesh sieve set over a bowl. Divide the custard among four 5- or 6-oz. ramekins and place the ramekins in the prepared baking pan. Add boiling water to fill the pan halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Cover the pan loosely with aluminum foil and bake until the custard is just set around the edges, 35 to 40 minutes.

Transfer the ramekins to a wire rack and let cool to room temperature. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 4 hours or up to 3 days.

Just before serving, sprinkle 1 Tbs. of the sugar evenly over each custard. Using a kitchen torch, melt the sugar according to the manufacturer's instructions. Serve immediately.

Serves 4.

spiced pork tenderloin

This has been a favorite pork recipe of ours - we usually grill the tenderloin. Adds a nice touch of smoky barbecue. The avocado salsa is the perfect accompaniment to the meat. We usually serve with buttermilk mashed potatoes and a green veggie. Enjoy.

Spiced Pork Tenderloin and Avocado Salsa
Gourmet | April 2000

Yield: Serves 6
Active Time: 10 min
Total Time: 40 min

2 1/2 tablespoons coarse salt
1 tablespoon ground allspice
1 tablespoon cayenne
3 (3/4-pound) pork tenderloins
1 tablespoon oil

Accompaniment:Pineapple-Avocado Salsa


Preheat oven to 400°F.

Stir together salt, allspice, and cayenne. Pat pork dry and sprinkle spice rub all over pork, pressing to adhere.

Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown pork, 1 tenderloin at a time, on all sides, about 1 minute each. Transfer as browned to a large roasting pan and arrange 2 inches apart.

Roast in middle of oven until an instant-read thermometer inserted diagonally 2 inches into center of each tenderloin registers 155°F, 20 to 25 minutes. Let pork stand 5 minutes before slicing.

Note: meat can be grilled as well.

Pineapple-Avocado Salsa
Gourmet | April 2000

Yield: Serves 6
Active Time: 25 min
Total Time: 25 min

1 cup 1/4-inch-dice fresh pineapple
2 plum tomatoes, seeded and cut into 1/4-inch dice
1 firm-ripe California avocado, cut into 1/4-inch dice
1/2 cup chopped sweet onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 1/2 teaspoons minced fresh jalapeño chile, including seeds
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice
3 tablespoons fresh orange juice
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Stir all ingredients together and season with salt.

italian green salad

Have you ever had Olive Garden's house salad?! I really don't care for their pasta, etc., but could live off their all-you-can-eat salad and soup and breadsticks. mmmmm.....it's so good (as Mr. Food says.)

Don't know what it is about their salads, but they are the best - always served fresh, crisp and cold, which is a good start. Besides, what is there to love about a room temperature, limp lettuce salad, anyways?

I love how the flavors complement each other - combination of iceberg and romaine lettuce, sliced black olives, pepperoncini peppers, red onion, roma tomatoes, shredded parmesan, seasoned croutons and a nice italian vinaigrette. The tangy surprise bite of the pepperoncini peppers is my favorite. While many may push them to the side, I dig to the bottom of the bowl for them. Those and the black olives.

Here's a recipe I found on Google, and it appears to be a pretty close second to the real deal.

Italian Green Salad
adapted from Food Network

For the dressing:
•1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
•2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
•3 tablespoons Miracle Whip
•1 tablespoon lemon juice
•2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
•1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
•1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning

For the salad:
•1 10-ounce bag American salad blend (I bought an Italian blend mix and doctored up with some fresh romaine lettuce.)
•1/4 red onion, thinly sliced
•4 small pickled peppers, such as pepperoncini
•1 small vine-ripened tomato, quartered
•2 tablespoons sliced black olives
•1/2 cup large croutons
•1 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese

Directions
Combine all the dressing ingredients and 1 to 2 tablespoons water in a blender or food processor; puree until smooth.

Place the salad blend in a large bowl and top with the remaining salad ingredients. Drizzle with the dressing. Serve in a chilled glass or aluminum bowl. Serve with pasta and/or bread.

citrus beauty

How beautiful is that? Grapefruit. So simple, yet so classic and amazing. So fresh - a glimmer of spring, during this March winter hangover. mmmm.

Growing up, I remember being fascinated by how my dad loved to eat a half grapefruit in the morning. He would split it in half, sprinkle generously with sugar and save the other half for the next day. I remember hovering over his bowl, as he used his serrated spoon to carve out the juicy, pink flesh. At the end, he would squeeze the remaining juice into his bowl and finish it - the best part.

I have the same love and appreciation for grapefruit today. And, Dane & Eleanor love it as well (so, I almost have to eat them by myself.) Otherwise, I'm often left with the juice at the end. There are different varieties of grapefruit, but I prefer the Texas red. In fact, just finished the last of them today. Must go to the store and stock up again...

lemon bars

These are tricky, I won't lie. And, very lemony. But, Ina Garten's recipes are usually winners, so thought I'd give the recipe a shot. I found cutting them into bite size pieces was the perfect dose of lemon for me, but they seemed to lose their form in such small bites. It was difficult to know for sure when the filling was "set" as the recipe suggests. I also think I whisked my filling just a little too much, as it got a little bubbly and frothy, and as a result, the tops of my bars were a little white. Good thing they're dusted with confectioner's sugar.

Surprisingly, my daughter Clare loved these. She tried to share her love with a friend, but her friend wasn't sold by the bars. I served the majority of them for a staff appreciation lunch for my kids' school and I got a kind note from one of the staff. They were gone, so hopefully, another good sign. Next time I make them, I may tweak the level of citrus. See what you think - enjoy!

Lemon Bars
(adapted from Barefoot Contessa)

For the crust:

•1/2 pound unsalted butter, at room temperature
•1/2 cup granulated sugar
•2 cups flour
•1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

For the filling:

•6 extra-large eggs at room temperature
•3 cups granulated sugar
•2 tablespoons grated lemon zest (4 to 6 lemons)
•1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
•1 cup flour
•Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

For the crust, cream the butter and sugar until light in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment.

Combine the flour and salt and, with the mixer on low, add to the butter until just mixed. Dump the dough onto a well-floured board and gather into a ball. Flatten the dough with floured hands and press it into a 9 by 13 by 2-inch baking sheet, building up a 1/2-inch edge on all sides. Chill.

Bake the crust for 15 to 20 minutes, until very lightly browned. Let cool on a wire rack. Leave the oven on.

For the filling,

whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and flour. Pour over the crust and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the filling is set. Let cool to room temperature.

Cut into triangles or bite size pieces and dust with confectioners' sugar.

homemade ice cream and fudge sauce

I LOVE ice cream! I grew up eating ice cream (Schwans vanilla in the tin cans, if you must know.) Today, I share a love of ice cream with my husband, Jeff and my kids. We have it at least weekly (more often in the summer.)

Here's some more recipes of my friend Molly's. I've had both and they are delicious! Enjoy!

Ice Cream

6 eggs beaten (can use an egg substitute if concerned about salmonella)
1 tsp salt
3 pts cream or half and half
2 ½ c sugar
3 T vanilla
3 c skim milk
Mix well and put into ice cream freezer.
Pack ROCK SALT (not table salt) around container.
Follow directions of the ice cream freezer.

Chocolate Sauce

(Molly says it's the best sauce EVER made.)
1 can (tall) carnation milk
2 c white sugar
4 T cocoa
4T butter
2 tsp vanilla
Combine sugar and cocoa and stir over low heat but do not melt sugar. When mixture is hot add butter and blend well. Add milk, stir constantly. Increase heat and boil rapidly for 1 minute. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Keeps well in fridge.

blues over baby green beans

Here it is...

I've got the blues.... This is the last baby food in the house :(. I just can't seem to part with these prunes and green beans. Funny, because none of my kids really cared for the baby veggies, and I really only bought prunes for emergencies. So, why do I still have them in my cupboard? Well, they're not expired yet and I just can't throw them. My babies aren't babies anymore (sad pause...), but I still can't toss them.

How can this stage of my life already have passed?! Brendan is 9 and it seems like yesterday I was a new mom, cuddling him 24/7. Now, he's almost as tall as me and he's grown up to such a young man (or so he seems.) Clare is 7, and a girl who knows what she wants. I chuckle when I think about her wanting to take dance lessons at 3, but deciding it "wasn't for her" by the end of the 6 weeks. Dane will be 4 in July and he's determined to eat all the green beans he can now, so he can be big like Joe Mauer. Dane got a little teary eyed the other day when we were talking about growing up and all the milestones of going to school, leaving for college, getting married, etc. Now, he tells me he doesn't want to grow up because he wants to live with mom and dad forever. (I'm OK with that.) And, Eleanor will be 18 months in April and she's already role playing - crawling around on all fours, acting as a puppy (with panting and barking included. She loves to climb as well (even up to the kitchen countertops.)

My babies are growing up...way too fast. And, I LOVE being their mom. I feel so blessed to have such a wonderful family. And, I may hang on to those jars of baby food for just a little longer. At least I'll have an excuse to throw them once they expire.

And, a message for my kids - our doors are always open and you're always welcome. :)