The Crème Brûlée Odyssey

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The rich smooth-textured dessert is known as Burnt Cream in England where is has been popular since the seventeenth century. It was not, however, until late in the nineteenth century that the French term crème brûlée, which means precisely the same thing, became popular and the dessert became standard fare in many American restaurants.

~ The Professional Pastry Chef

The last few days I have been either eating out or drinking protein shakes or slurping Campbell's chicken soup in order to help rest and recover from pushing myself too hard. I did treat myself to one homemade treat and what a homemade treat it was! I finally did it. I finally made crème brûlée. After much debate, running around to Canadian Tires and wearing myself out, I finally have the technology to make one of my favourites.

It started off with a phone call with my Mom. She wanted me to buy this crème brûlée torch at Canadian Tire as an early Christmas present for myself. I was so excited! What a deal! For $15 I could make crème brûlée in my own home. I went out the next day, found the torch and saw that the butane was not included. Butane eh? Hmmm...

I went in the camping section and there was this canister with all sorts of warnings on it including one about how you can get butane on your hands when you fill up your torch. Um, I am an air sign. I sensed a potential explosion in my near future. Not only that, I am Aquarius. Freaky stuff happens to Aquarians on a normal day with normal tools! A small flame thrower that requires toxic chemicals? In my kitchen near my food? I just could not do it!

So I walked all the way home with nothing to show for it. Thankfully I put my dilemma up on Facebook and the domestic Goddess Mrs. B came to my rescue. She had mentioned she just uses her husband's heat gun from the garage to melt her sugar. I looked up heat guns at Canadian Tire and there was one on sale for only $9! It was 75% off! So what did I do? Go all the way over to Canadian Tire again as well as do a million other errands which was way too much. I kind of collapsed the next day. The good news? Once you have the materials and tools, crème brûlée is not difficult to make. It just takes time.

I have been saving my last vanilla bean for something special. I had friends coming over, I had my heat gun and zero energy. I knew, it was time to use the vanilla bean in my crème brûlée. I turned to Anna Olson once again and used her Classic Crème Brûlée recipe. I wanted the quintessential and classic technique and recipe. You can always count on Anna! I made half the recipe though and dividing it in half worked out just fine.

I scraped the vanilla seeds out of the beans and put them with one and a half cups of heavy cream. I threw in the vanilla pod too, not going to waste any of that flavour! I warmed up the heavy cream until it was just below a simmer.

Meanwhile, I whisked up 4 eggs yolks (fresh this time!) with a 1/4 cup of sugar. This dessert may be high in cholesterol but it isn't bad on sugar! I whisked it up until it was nice and yellowy and a little fluffy. Then I removed the vanilla bean from the cream which I washed and dried and later put in with my sugar to make vanilla sugar. Down the sides of the mixer I added the hot vanilla cream. I strained the mixture into a bowl and chilled in the fridge.

I got out a large casserole dish, put down my cute little baking dishes and divided the batter into four portions. Then I added enough hot water to come up half way up the sides of the baking dishes. I put them in a preheated 350F oven for 45 minutes because they were small dishes and would not require extra baking. Then I removed them from the casserole dish, put them on a wire rack, let them cool for a while and put them in the fridge. They must chill for at least three hours. As I said, this is a little time consuming but not a lot of effort.

And then...I got out my heat gun! I sprinkled sugar on the top and used my heat gun to melt the sugar into crunchy caramel goodness.

Do you know that feeling? The cracking sound of breaking into the gooey custard through the golden glass? Absolute joy! And I did it! All by myself and feeling like crap, I made crème brûlée. My only issue is the heat of the gun kind of warmed up the custard but that is just me being picky, as always. To have one of my favourite desserts at home when I am not feeling well? Totally worth the $9 investment.

Anyone else try making this themselves? I would love to hear your story!

Back in a while

Well I always say my health comes first and I have been doing too much and now my fibromyalgia is kicking in extra hard. I do my best to stay healthy and live as normal a life as I can (some probably call that denial) but my health is always an extreme challenge even on the best of days. I have been doing too much and need to take better care of myself.

The pain is always hard to live with but right now, it's getting pretty unbearable and the exhaustion is making me more than just clumsy in the kitchen which is dangerous. I want to continue eating my fridge so stay tuned for more of those kinds of future posts when I have learned how to pace myself and stop pushing myself beyond what I am capable of doing.

Living with a disabling illness is such a challenge. I know the dangers of doing too much though and prefer to post here and there as oppose to not at all so I am off to take care of myself and come back when I am less shaky and in less pain.

Eat Your Fridge Week: Warm Spinach Pasta Salad

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Here in Nova Scotia the weather is starting to cool off and as much as I love salad, only a warm salad will do for me right now. Bring on the warmth! So I created a warm spinach salad with rotini pasta, sauteed mushrooms topped with a sun-dried tomato and garlic salad dressing and freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Divine! A fantastic way for me to eat my fridge:

As I am working my way through my fridge I seem to also be eating my pantry. I love Catelli's Smart Pasta line. White pasta with lots of fibre, what could be wrong? But I only had one serving left so I decided to add it to my salad. A perfect way to make room in my pantry and make my salad that much more interesting.

In my fridge were two lonely sun-dried tomatoes, not enough to do a big meal with but I knew that until I used them, I would not go out and buy more. I had some spinach leftover from making manicotti the other day and these mushrooms that were a couple of days old that would be great sauteed.

My Dad's wife Julie shared this sun-dried tomato salad dressing with me years ago and I have been making it ever since. Most salad dressings these days are just some oil and lemon juice which is boring! I like big and bold flavours so bring on the garlic and vinegar!

Using my mini chopper I combined 1/3 cup of olive oil, 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar (I usually add even more), 2 tbsp finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, 1/4 tsp sugar, 2 cloves of garlic, minced and salt and pepper. I whizz it up after doing the basic chopping to get this:

A beautiful foodie elixir! But be warned, this salad dressing is for the bold. Strong, powerful and potentially overwhelming. I LOVE it! Best to be eaten as a couple or when your sweetie is away, the garlic makes its presence known for a long, long time.

I try to have this dressing quite regularly because raw garlic is a powerful cancer prevention and fighter food. It really cleanses the body, even though it does not cleanse the palette. For those who do not like super strong salad dressing like I do, you could of course make it with roasted garlic instead. Sun-dried tomatoes are high in vitamin C which is necessary to pair with spinach in order to absorb the iron in the salad. I usually drink juice as I eat this salad to ensure there is enough vitamin C for vitamin absorption. Don't let those nutritional goodies go to waste!

I sauteed the mushrooms in olive oil, added a little bit of butter and fresh thyme, then deglazed with some white wine for additional flavour. When the pasta was done I tossed it in with the mushrooms to get the flavour everywhere. I grated Parmesan finely over the top and there you have it, a restaurant-quality dish. The best part? I had absolutely everything already in my home to make it therefore this salad did not cost me one extra penny this week.

I had this for lunch with my leftover Quiche Lorraine, which tasted even better the next day! A cozy warm salad with lots of garlicky kick and a slice of hot quiche on a cold and wan November afternoon for free. Life is good.

Restaurant Review: Sou'Wester Restaurant at Peggy's Cove, Nova Scotia

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This is a rare sight indeed. Two in fact! One, nobody crawling all over the smooth giant rocky face of Peggy's Cove and two, The Sou'Wester Restaurant almost empty! I have been here in the brutal cold of New Year's Day and there are always people at Peggy's and in the restaurant but yesterday we lucked out and had the whole place practically to ourselves.

Yesterday I took a break from eating my fridge to go out to this famous Nova Scotia spot for lunch with the lovely Shelagh from Alice in Paris Loves Art and Tea and her daughter. I had been to Peggy's numerous times but I had never eaten at The Sou'Wester Restaurant. So many people I know have personally raved about the food to me. It was time for this foodie to check it out.

According to thefreedictionary.com sou'wester is a waterproof hat that has a very broad rim behind, worn especially by seamen. You can see pictures of it here, it is the quintessential rain hat we envision on fisherman during cold and rainy days. It makes me think that one of the reasons the restaurant uses this term is to welcome all those weather-worn travellers a safe, warm and cozy place to rest their weary feet and get a good hot meal.

One of my favourite things to eat in the world is seafood chowder and so I ordered the large serving, I was cold and hungry! When it came, it smelled like lobster bisque and there were indeed little chunks of lobster in the soup as well as a pink hue, similar to a bisque but this was all chowder. Small pieces of potatoes, creamy but not too thick. I agree with Shelagh, this seafood chowder makes me think this is what the real local fishermen eat and have been eating on a regular basis a long, long time.

On the drive out to Peggy's along the bay Shelagh and her daughter spoke of the dessert they were going to order: warm gingerbread. A warm dessert on this frigid day sounded wonderful to me! They mentioned you could get it served with a warm lemon sauce which intrigued me. Would I like that? They also said that they thought this was the traditional British way to eat it and they were right, according to celtnet.org. uk. Of course I did not know that at the time but I followed my instincts and ordered the sauce but on the side. That did not last! Comforting, zippy and delicious. The gingerbread with lemon sauce was a real treat.

What a perfect lunch at Peggy's. Most of the time I avoid potential tourist-trap restaurants. Their prices are inflated for what you get and it is usually too crowded to enjoy where you are. Well this grey and moody day at Peggy's was too cold for most people, the food was delicious and even the decaf coffee was fantastic. Our server was lovely and helpful but left us to gab the afternoon away listening as a lady from the gift shop untangle a wind chime made of delicate shells while taking a coffee break. The Sou'Wester Restaurant is definitely a local treasure I will indulge in the next time I visit Peggy's.

Eat Your Fridge Week: Quiche Lorraine

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"Quiche, which originated in Lorraine, took its name from the German word Kuchen, which means 'little cake.' Quiches can be loosely defined as unsweetened custards with various fillings. In some areas of Lorraine, any dish containing custard (eggs and cream), onion, and/or cheese is called a quiche."

~ The Professional Pastry Chef

So why Quiche Lorraine for my Eat Your Fridge Week Challenge? Frozen egg yolks! Yup, I had heard you could freeze your egg yolks and/or whites so every time I made my low fat dill and onion bread I had three egg yolks and nothing to do with them. I put them in my freezer hoping one day I would come up with a way to use them. Hence, Quiche Lorraine.

For this recipe I took a lot of ideas from The Professional Pastry Chef but made it my own, which was a challenge considering the recipes are for making four batches of quiche at the same time! You start of making the pie dough. I used 178 grams of bread flour. According to Culinary Arts at About.com one cup of bread flour will weigh around 140 grams so I guess I used 1 1/4 cups of flour. It is best to weigh it if possible. To the flour I added 1/2 tsp of salt and then mixed in 1/2 cup of cold butter and 35 grams of shortening, it looked like 1/3 of a cup. I used a pastry cutter to break down the butter and mix in the shortening until they were a little pieces. Then I added ice water a tbsp at a time until the dough came together:

You can tell it is ready to come together when there is no leftover loose flour anywhere. Remember, do not over mix/combine. You want these big chunks to stay big chunks. That is what makes the dough so light and flaky.

You can see the chunks of butter in the disc, that is exactly what you want. You want to cover with plastic wrap, shape into a disc and chill for at least an hour. At least! Quiche Lorraine take a little time because of the crust but the rest of the process is super easy. Of course you could skip this step by getting a frozen crust but it will not be the same as homemade.

As the hour goes by you can go ahead and fry up 9 slices of bacon. Once cooled, crumble and set aside.

The recipe calls for 200 grams of Gruyere cheese (around a cup and a half) and if I had used it I would not be saving money by eating my fridge so instead I used this aged cheddar I already had!

Roll out the dough so that it is wider than your dish, I used an 11" tart pan I had. Yay! That's the first time I ever used it, so cool. Put the dough on top, fit it to the sides and then either trim the edges or use your rolling pin to cut off the excess dough. I have always wanted to do that!

Dock the dough with a fork so it does not puff up too much while it bakes in the oven. Let the crust rest in the oven for 30 minutes.

Put the bacon and cheese on the bottom. To make the custard combine 1 cup of heavy cream with 1/2 cup of light cream. Add a tiny bit of salt (I would omit it because this bacon, even though it was salt-reduced, was still super salty), pepper, a little big of freshly ground nutmeg and six egg yolks. This is where I ran into a snag. My egg yolks would not break down, they remained little globules. I was running out of daylight so I just used the custard as is but if I ever do this again with frozen egg yolks I will put the custard in a blender and then put it through a fine sieve.

Bake on the bottom rack at 375F for 30 minutes and serve warm.

It is not as pretty as it could have been had I used regular egg yolks but that was not my challenge! I managed to make a fantastic-tasting dinner for only a couple of bucks. Even with the frozen egg yolk issue, this still turned out fantastic. Do not be afraid to experiment! Even when things do not turn out perfectly, they usually end up tasty and may save you some money.

So far, I am loving eating my fridge!

Eat Your Fridge Week

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I apologize for the not-so-great photos, living in darkness makes for very challenging food photography

According to the Canadian Food Network Facebook Group, yesterday was Clean Out Your Refrigerator Day. The challenge was to make David Rocco's Clean Out the Fridge Frittata. I found out too late and had already made and eaten a large serving of scrambled eggs but love this idea. So I have decided that I am going to eat my fridge this week. Yup, I am going to go through the fridge and the freezer and come up with meals to indulge in that will save me money and free up space. Want to join me?!

The first meal I have tackled is chicken with potatoes, based on Laura Calder's recipe for Pork Chops with Potatoes. I had a lot of chicken in the freezer and needed a meal that could last a couple of dinners. Sadly this conversion from pork to chicken did not work very well and all the wine and broth seemed to evaporate too quickly leaving my dinner very dry but I did not despair!

I made a mushroom gravy for it with garlic, shallots and white wine and it was delicious. I served it with roasted fennel and parmesan, as well as homemade garlic bread. Rustic, creamy, saucy and starchy... a good way to begin Eat Your Fridge Week.

So what is in your fridge or freezer that has been there too long and is taking up too much space? How will you eat your fridge this week? I hope you join me!

Recipe Review: Giada's Roasted Fennel with Parmesan

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Now that the world is cooling off outside here, the ground covered in frost every morning and even sometimes visited by snow, it is time to start roasting food. Roasting is one of my favourite methods of making food, flavours develop slowly, ingredients caramelize and get all bubbly. My first roasting recipe of the year? Giada's Roasted Fennel with Parmesan from her show Everyday Italian on The Food Network.

The recipe calls for four four fennel bulbs but I only had one so that is what I used. I sliced it horizontally, placed the slices on a lightly oiled casserole dish and seasoned with salt and pepper. I had some good quality aged cheddar that I sprinkled on top as well as some Parmesan, then drizzled with olive oil.



I baked the fennel at 350F for 45 minutes and look! Golden goodness. I thought the fennel was delicious but sadly, I could not convert my husband. I told him, "Honey, if you don't like fennel like this, you just don't like fennel."

For fennel fanatics, you have to try this recipe. It is simple and delicious! I served it with some roasted garlic chicken and potatoes with homemade bread.

True autumn comfort food. I give this recipe five out of five wooden spoons!