I really love your peaches...

Mmm. Crème brûlée is one of my very favorite desserts. I'm a little surprised that I've never made it before. Well, not really I suppose, since I don't have a kitchen torch. And kitchen torches are a necessity for a perfect crème brûlée (as is evident by the above photo). Oh well, it still tasted delicious.

Overall, I really enjoyed this recipe. The custard was perfectly light and creamy, and the sugar topping was nice and caramelized (although not very pretty). I decided to make a just a few minor adaptations to the original recipe. First, I made my own pie crust (recipe here)for a couple of reasons. First, I didn't want the shrinkage that the other girls experienced from the Pillsbury dough. Second, I didn't want that much dough because I was only going to make individual tarts. (As much as the hubs and I would like to eat an entire tart pan of crème brûlée, we probably shouldn't.)

Next, I didn't even use peaches (although I do love them as the title of this post, in homage to SMB, suggests). It's not quite peach season here, so none was ripe enough to my liking to use in this delicious recipe. So, I used blueberries instead (which are very much in season here right now). I also put them at the bottom of the tart to try and get that extra crispy sugar topping.



I loved making the custard! It was so easy. My favorite part, of course, was eating the leftovers that didn't fit into the ramekins. I think I could make and eat custard every day. That would be healthy, right? I used Mexican vanilla instead of the vanilla bean.



After cooling (and tasting many times), it was time to brûlée! I was a bit nervous about this part because, technically, our ramekins aren't supposed to go under the broiler. Regardless, I decided to be daring and try it anyway. Because I was so nervous, I probably didn't leave them in there as long as I should have, though... so they only got a little spotty browned. The non-browned spots were still crusty, though, so that was good! Lesson of the day: buy a kitchen torch!

Week Two Recipe: Grilled Salmon with Blueberry Pan Sauce

This summer, I have developed a new appreciation for blueberries.

I have encountered different versions of blueberry balsamic sauces at various restaurants, topping everything from pork chops to ice cream. This recipe from Bon Appetit Magazine says that it's perfect for a rich fish like salmon, but I'm interested to see what you pair with it.

Grilled Salmon with Quick Blueberry Pan Sauce

Yield: Makes 4 servings
Active time: 40 minutes
Total time: 40 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil plus additional for brushing
• 3/4 cup sliced shallots
• 1 garlic clove, thinly sliced
• 1/4 teaspoon coarse kosher salt plus additional for seasoning
• 1/4 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme plus additional for seasoning
• 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice plus additional for seasoning
• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• 1/4 cup water
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 4 7-ounce salmon steaks or fillets with skin (each about 3/4 inch thick)
• 3 tablespoons thinly sliced fresh mint, divided

Preparation

1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add shallots; sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, 1/4 teaspoon coarse salt, 1/4 teaspoon thyme, and 1/8 teaspoon allspice. Stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add blueberries, 1/4 cup water, and vinegar. Stir to blend. Mash berries with potato masher or back of fork and cook until sauce thickens, stirring often, 3 to 4 minutes. Season with freshly ground black pepper. Remove from heat. DO AHEAD Can be made 2 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature. Rewarm before using.
2. Brush grill rack with oil. Prepare barbecue (medium-high heat). Brush salmon on both sides with oil; sprinkle with coarse salt, thyme, allspice, and black pepper.
3. Grill salmon until just opaque in center, 4 to 5 minutes per side. Transfer to plates. Stir 2 tablespoons sliced mint into warm blueberry sauce. Spoon sauce over salmon and sprinkle with remaining 1 tablespoon mint. Serve immediately.

Note: An additional note from the editors on BA's website suggests adding a dash of lemon juice to the sauce to bring out the blueberry flavour.

Peaches and Cream

I usually do not bake much, I prefer to cook. With this in mind I knew it would be an interesting recipe to try.

First, how the heck do you peel peaches? The hubby said to use a vegetable peeler. What? He bakes? New to me and great suggestion. After they were peeled did I learn the boiling trick. Duh, you do that for tomatoes ::smacking forehead:: Anyway...

I used premade crust. Did not have a tart pan so I used a springpan. Custard was super easy to make, although I found that it took longer than the recommended time to bubble and thicken. I followed the recipe and placed the peaches on top. No torch (would a regular blow torch work 'cause I have them) so I used my broiler. It did not carmelize like I envisioned. Instead it blackened the peaches. I watched that sucker every second too. I also noticed that the juices sat on the top. Once refrigerated it seemed to resolve itself a tad.

Overall, I thought it was an easy, light dessert. I never knew custard was so simple to make. If I were to make to make it again I would most likely place the peaches on the bottom.

PS ~ Pics to come. My computer is being uncooperative tonight.

Creme Brulee Tart with strawberries

So when I read the recipe for this week I was very intrigued. I’ve never made a Crème Brulee. I am however a huge fan of eating them.  I’ve also lately been on a chef/cooking binge reading everything I can get my paws on about cooking, chef bio's and doing a fair amount of cooking and baking myself. So I was up for the challenge.  Alas, I didn’t have the proper equipment. No torch, not the right pans, and no peaches also my husband, Eric, and I are also on a mission to eat dinner for $8.00 or less a day so I had to make things work with in that budget as well. So after I cataloged my kitchen I chose to use strawberries instead of peaches as they were on sale and make due with a pie pan. 

Surprisingly making this was fun and pretty easy.  I baked the recommended pie crust, sliced up my strawberries and decided I would follow Alyson’s advice and put my fruit on the bottom.  Also instead of 2% i used fat free milk. It seems to hold up just fine. 

Now for the part that I am going have to buy a torch for. I just could not get my broiler to make the typical crunch crust with the caramelized sugar, and my foil around the edge of the pie pan could have been on a little better so I had a few burnt spots. I promise it is not nearly as burnt as it looks, my camera and the light in my place made it look much darker.

Though it didn't have the typical crunch crust, and sort of looked like a cheese pizza once sliced. It was really delicious. The strawberries on the bottom were really good and added a nice tartness to the crème. Eric I think really wanted to nick another piece.  I think next time I will make the miniature ones in a muffin pan and break out the pyro in me with a proper torch. The first go around was a success and I will make it again with a few tweaks.

Peachy baked

For the past several months, the building next door has been taunting me with the sign, "Crown Prince Dim Sum Restaurant... OPENING SOON". This, plus the fact that our favourite Chinese bakery has been down for renovations since the fall, has resulted in major egg tart cravings.

So I decided to make baked custard tarts.

I started with the pie pastry recipe from my trusty Better Homes and Gardens Baking Book (shortening, flour and ice water). I made the dough and stuck it in the fridge while I worked on the custard.

I used a baked custard recipe also from BHG (3 eggs, 1/3 cup sugar, 1-1/2 cup milk, vanilla). I did replace the milk with evaporated milk for the authentic Chinese egg tart richness. I cooked the sugar and vanilla in the evaporated milk, waited for the milk to cool down, and whisked the milk mixture into the eggs.


Have I mentioned this bottle of awesome that I use in all of my baking? Vanilla extract from Grenada; a friend got it for me while on vacation.

While waiting for the milk to cool, I rolled out the pastry, cut out tart-sized pieces, and lined a dozen muffin cups. Then I filled the tarts.

I wasn't sure how long to bake them, since I had Frankenstein-ed together several recipes (and to think, I'm always the one nagging reminding the hubby that "Baking is not like cooking! You can't just make it up!"). I stuck them in for 15 mins at 375F at first, and watched them closely afterward. They ended up baking for about 23 mins.

They turned out a bit like a souffle. Immediately out of the oven, they were puffy...

... but flattened pretty quickly.
At this point I started getting a bit tired and contemplated stopping here. But I'd come so far! I couldn't quit now! So I prevailed. I threw some chunks of peaches on half of the tarts.

Then I pondered the brulee situation. I don't have a torch and didn't feel up to the broiler method. But wait! I remembered seeing a cheater's creme brulee recipe in good old BHG, which called for cooking some sugar into caramel, and drizzling the caramel. So I did that. Check out the cool spun sugar thingies I (inadvertently) made.
And done! I've never been very proficient at drizzling but a couple of them turned out OK.
The verdict: Custard slightly overcooked, caramel slightly burnt, pastry pretty good, and egg tart craving well satisfied.

Millions of Peaches

I can't believe either one of the previous gals made reference to the epic song... :)

These peaches did NOT come from a can, they were NOT put there by a man in a factory downtown.

These peaches were actually picked from my in-laws' neighbors' orchard!

I took Alyson's idea and made these individual sized, because, well, I didn't have a torte pan, anyway, and I thought it was smart. And because she told me I could.

What do you know? My Pillsbury crust did the great shrinking act that Alyson's did!

For the custard, I didn't do much different, however, I did use baking Splenda wherever the recipe called for sugar, and I used 1/2% milk... I was worried it wouldn't set up well, but it was perfect! I didn't have a vanilla bean on hand, so I used Mexican Vanilla... My favorite! It gave it a little extra flavor... I highly recommend it! If I had been brave, I would have added the cinnamon I toyed with adding... I think it would have been delicious!

I wish I had a kitchen torch... I didn't think about having to cover all those crusts with foil to keep them from burning while I was broiling the darn things! Also---FYI: If you are ever making cupcakes or muffins or pastries and don't fill all of the compartments of the muffin tin, fill the spare ones with a bit of water to keep the pan from burning and to keep baking consistent... great tip I picked up somewhere... use it all the time!

I don't know if I will make this recipe a lot, because Josh and I are pretty big fans of cobbler, (Josh even calls me "Cobbler" instead of "sugar" or "honey" or "cupcake") and with this being so similar, I doubt it will win out... It was a delicious summer recipe, though, and a great way to utilize some of the ten pounds of peaches I now have sitting on my kitchen counter... :)

Peaches, peaches, peaches

I had plans for adapting this recipe. And then I promptly tossed all the plans out and followed the original instructions.

I wish I'd followed my adaptations! I planned on doing individual sized servings using a muffin tin and placing the peaches on the bottom rather than the top, but did neither. Next time.

So, I served this dessert after dinner out at Canoe (which is one of the best restaurants in Toronto) with some friends who were in town. We were looking for a way to save some money. And although I don't think the recipe was in the same league as Canoe's food, it was still pretty darned tasty, even with the few things I'd change for next time.

Before I delve into the tart, can I just say how much I love peeling peaches? It's so ridiculously easy!

Step one: insert peaches in boiling water for 30 seconds

Step two: remove peaches from boiling water and place in ice water

Step three: Pull skin gently off the peach (it comes in sections) & marvel at your work.

Now that that's over and done with, here were my pros and cons:

1) Pillsbury dough is easy, but salty. Also, it shrank too much, even with me adding lots of chilling time.

2) The custard was delicious, but due to my shrunken crust, I had to much of it. So I had it for lunch. I guess that falls under the pro category.

3) I wish I had placed the peaches on the bottom of the tart, not the top. It wouldn't have been as pretty, but the brulee would have lasted longer. As it was, the top was too liquidy with the peach juices. It made it hard to keep the sugar crystallized. In the recipe's defence, I did make it 7 hours ahead of time instead of the max suggested of 4. (I saved the brulee part until right before serving).

4) Blow torches are fun!

Pre-bruleeing

Sorry about the yellow-o-vision. During the bruleeing

The final product. Crispy sugar topping!

5) When you serve this as a big tart, you have to cut into all the yummy burnt sugar, taking away all the fun from those people who like cracking it themselves.

In short: Tasty recipe. Would make it again with individual servings and fruit on the bottom.