Aug 31, 2007

Creme Brulee - Another Surprising First Try

The heat wave has been overwhelmingly surrounding Orange County these days,
As a way to avoid direct contact with the gruesome sunlight,
I've been hiding in the house during day times.

But there's not much to do,
So I just kept wandering around my little squarish home, and I stopped, in front of the fridge.
Let me look what's inside..
Eggs, enormous amount of eggs,
I guess it's time to roll up my sleeves and make those eggs into something light and delicious to start out this sizzling Labor Day weekend.

One Large Creme Brulee-


Ingredients?

3/4 cup of heavy cream
1/4 cup of milk
1/4 cup of sugar
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract
Hot water

How?

Just by looking at those ingredients you should know that it will be a really simple dessert to make.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
Simply whisk all the ingredients together and pour the mixture into the ramekin.
You can mix and match between heavy cream, half & half, or milk for the cream mixture,
Just remember it's about 1 cup of those milky stuff per serving.
And of course using the real vanilla bean makes a better creme brulee,
Too bad I still don't know where can I buy it around my area,
I'll keep my eyes wide open next time I go to the grocery store.

Enough of my babbling, let's transfer the ramekin into a pan and fill it with hot water about half way to the ramekin.
In to the oven for about 40 minutes or so, check regularly by poking a knife into the mixture,
If the knife comes out clean, it's ready.

Silly Me Getting All Excited Making This Dessert-


Now put the unfinished creme brulee into the fridge for at least 4 hours.
One thing about creme brulee is that you can make it early and store it in the fridge before serving,
Saves a lot of efforts when you're holding a party!

So when you've decided to monger on your creme brulee,
Turn on the broiler, torch will be much easier but I'm not that fully equipped in my kitchen yet,
Evenly toss some sugar on the top,
Put the creme without the brulee part in the oven for about 2 minutes, until the sugar is caramelized.
I kept checking on my creme brulee during this step cz I never make it before,
I was afraid that I gonna ruin it, I tend to mess up my dishes, not like this never happened before.

Set it aside for a few minutes and it's time for some sweet goodies.

What was I doing before writing this blog entry?
Sitting in the house with my lovely creme brulee and watching people on the streets wiping out their sweat.

Cindy's Rating: 7

Aug 29, 2007

Reunion with My Lovely Friend "Long Long"

"Long Long" (蓉蓉) is finally in LA!
Flew all the way from Taiwan to NY, and from NY to LA,
She's now on the soil of this sunshine state!

I haven't seen her for ages, ok, actually only a few months,
But it feels like forever since we haven't really talk to each other during this period,
No phone calls and no msn (which is one of my essential tool to communicate with the outside world).
That doesn't mean we're not close at all,
Good friends don't need to stick together 24/7 in order to be "connected!"

So as a food lover like me, what did I do when I first met her in LA?


Showed her some good food from Park's Bar B Que, (http://foodmakesmehappy.blogspot.com/2007/06/parks-barbeque.html)
Caught up with each other about what's going on these days,
And enjoyed every moment we had together.
Who knows when will be the next time I get see my big sister.

For sure I'll try to meet up with Long Long as often as I can during her stay in LA,
Maybe have her over at my place for a nice and warm homemade dinner,
Let's just cross fingers that she won't get scared after eating my food!
Or foodsick cz I just can't stop pushing food into her mouth.
I love sharing!