Crème Brûlée

This is one of my favorite French desserts, need I say more?  I've ordered it many times in various restaurants, yet I tend to prefer what I can make at home most times.  I took this recipe from Sur La Table's website years ago and wrote it on a recipe card; when I checked recently, this version of the recipe is no longer there.

Ingredients:
8 egg yolks
1/3 c. sugar, plus more for caramelizing
2 c. heavy cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract (or seeds scraped from one vanilla bean)

Preheat oven to 300°F.

Instructions:
1. Whisk egg yolks and 1/3 c. sugar together until sugar is dissolved and mixture is thick, slightly paler yellow:

2. Add cream and vanilla, continue to whisk until well blended:

3. Skim off the foam/bubbles from the top of this mixture.  You will not be able to get every bit of it; just get the majority :)

4. Place ramekins in baking pans with some space between them--should not be touching.  Pour mixture into the ramekins; you may fill to preferred level--keep in mind that baking time will need to be increased for deeper filled ones.  Mine are filled at a depth of about a half inch:

5. Carefully add water to the pan to create "bain-marie" (water bath) for the ramekins.  The level should be approximately 2/3 the height of the fill level of the ramekins:

6. Gently slide pans into oven and for 1/2 inch depth with metal pans, bake for 40 minutes.  To check if they are "set"/ready, jiggle pan slightly.  There should be movement of the water but not in the baked items.

7. Place pan on a cooling rack and cool them in the "bain-marie" until the water has cooled to room temperature:

8. Remove ramekins from 'bath' and place, uncovered, in fridge for at least 2 hours.
9. Do not do this step until you are ready to serve them shortly after, as the caramelized sugar will not remain hardened for a long amount of time.  Remove the ramekin from the fridge and sprinkle sugar over the top of the baked cream, until the surface is covered completely.  It should be just enough to cover, not too thick of a layer.  Use a small kitchen torch** on medium flame setting, passing over the sugar again and again until it browns and bubbles.  Do not stay in one spot for very long or your sugar may flame up!

10. Continue to caramelize the sugar top until all the sugar crystals have browned:

11. Place ramekin back in fridge for at least 10 minutes, but not longer than an hour.  Remove and enjoy!

**If you are VERY careful and have ramekins rated for it, you can use the broiler setting in a toaster oven for the caramelization, but you have to watch attentively and it may not turn out exactly the same.**

Caramel Brownies

I'm sure it will come as no surprise to anyone that I took cooking classes when I was in school.  I took a semester of it 7th-9th grades and another one sometime in high school.  But the ones I took 7th-9th grade were far more memorable due to the wonderful teacher I had for all 3.  She was very kind, easy to learn from, and managed the classes well.  In these courses, we made many things that I really enjoyed, with this being one of my very favorites (from 9th grade "advanced" cooking :))

Warning: to say these are decadent is almost an understatement.  It should also be noted that making these requires a bit of patience; they will not turn out otherwise!

Ingredients:

1 box chocolate cake mix (NOTE: do NOT use Devil's Food; I made these with Betty Crocker Chocolate Fudge cake mix)

1 cup evaporated milk, divided**

1/2 c. butter or margarine, softened/room temp (I used butter)

35 caramels (10 oz)

12 oz. semisweet chocolate chips

**As I went to make these this time around, I discovered that I did not have any evaporated milk in the pantry (d'oh!).  A quick search on the Internet yielded that I could substitute powdered milk made at double its concentration, which is what I did and it worked perfectly!**

Instructions:

1. Preheat over to 350°F.

2. Combine cake mix, 2/3 c.of the evaporated milk, and the butter in a bowl until smooth (make sure no streaks of butter remain):

3. Spread 1/2 of batter in UNGREASED 13 x 9 metal baking pan:

4. Bake for 15 min.

5. While this part is baking, heat the caramels and remaining evaporated milk (1/3 c.) in saucepan over low heat.  Stir constantly until a caramel sauce forms and no chunks of caramel remain (this will take at least 10 min., do not attempt to rush it with higher heat).  It will go from looking like this:

to looking like this:

6. After removing the pan from the oven with 1/2 batter baked, sprinkle the chocolate chips over what has baked:

7. Drizzle caramel sauce over the chocolate chips and baked batter:

8. Drop remaining 1/2 of batter in spoonfuls over caramel mixture:

9. Bake for additional 25 to 30 minutes (until center is set).  It will come out looking like this:

8. Cool completely and enjoy when it looks more like this:

Ratatouille

When I am in France, I love to go grocery shopping (quelle surprise, I know!)  Often, one can find a bundle of vegetables already grouped and ready to make ratatouille, which is what inspired me to create my own recipe for it.  I bought the same veggies, read the ingredients on a canned version, and after a few tries, settled on this as my version.

Ingredients:

2 bell peppers (can be any color; I prefer orange or yellow), chopped

3 small to medium yellow onions, chopped

olive oil

2 tsp. minced bottled garlic

2 small zucchini, chopped

1/2 large or 1 small eggplant, cut in small cubes (size of dice)

3 small cans of crushed or diced tomatoes (14 oz size)

1 small can tomato sauce (8 oz. size)

herbes de provence (or: basil, thyme, parsley, and rosemary)

salt

pepper

lemon juice

Instructions:

Note: Normally when I make this, I cook the ingredients in the order I have them listed above.  This time, I started with the zucchini and eggplant just to see if it would work, which it did, and thus will be the order of the instructions and pictures.  I can't say that I have any particular preference.

1. In a large pot (5 qt. or larger), cook zucchini and eggplant with about 1 to 2 T. of olive oil over medium heat until the vegetables begin to soften and brown slightly:

2. Add the onions and garlic, and a splash more olive oil if needed.  Cook until onions begin to soften:

3. Add the peppers and cook until they begin to soften:

(not sure why this picture will not change orientation for me; will fix when I know how lol!)

4. Add the remaining ingredients; concerning the spices--I add them generously, and the lemon juice is just a squeeze.  Turn heat down to medium low or low (depending on your stove) to simmer for 30 minutes:

Enjoy ratatouille by itself as a nice vegetarian dish or a lovely side that pairs well with many main dishes.  I most often eat it with a side of plain rice and some feta cheese (not at all French, but sure is a tasty combo, let me tell you!  I'll add a picture of that soon :))

Beef Stir Fry with Peanuts

Yes, another stir-fry recipe--so fast and easy, can't help it!  This recipe comes from a magazine/book called "Make It Tonight" from the publishers of Fine Cooking magazine.  I haven't made very many things from it and got it quite some time ago; you can find it on clearance here:
http://www.tauntonstore.com/make-it-tonight-052025.html

As usual, I have modified it to suit my needs and taste :)  This recipe is approximately double the sauce amount suggested in the original, as I like it saucy!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. flank steak, thinly sliced on the diagonal against the grain
• 3 T. soy sauce
• 3 tsp. fish sauce
• 3/8 tsp. kosher salt
• 2 1/2 T. fresh lime juice
• 1 1/2 T. brown sugar
• 3/8 c. lightly salted peanuts (cocktail or dry roasted)
• 1 large shallot
• pinch of cayenne pepper
• 3 T. canola or peanut oil
• 1/2 tsp. basil

Instructions:

1. Toss the steak with 1 1 /2 T. soy sauce, 1 1/2 tsp. fish sauce, and 1/4 tsp. kosher salt: 
   
2. Combine remaining soy sauce and fish sauce with 1 1/2 T. of the lime juice and the brown sugar; set aside: 
   
3. Pulse peanuts, shallots, and cayenne pepper in food processor until finely chopped: 
   
4. In large skillet or wok, heat 1 1/2 T. of the oil over med-high heat.
5. When the oil shimmers, add the beef and cook approx. 2 min. (mostly browned but not all pink gone): 
   
6. Transfer meat to plate and add remaining oil to pan.
7. Add shallot/peanut mixture to pan and cook approx. 2 min.
8. Return beef and any accumulated juices back to pan. Stir sauce mixture and add to pan, cook 1 min: 
   
9. Add remaining lime juice and basil to pan and cook 1 more min: 
   
10. Serve alone or with rice and enjoy!  
    

White Mexican Cheese Dip (Attempt #1)

Back where I used to live (not Mexico lol), nearly every Mexican restaurant has this on the menu as an appetizer.  This area, however, seems to have never heard of the dish, thus I am left to gorge on it every time I go where I can find it.  I get cravings for it more often than I can get away to have it, though, so I thought perhaps I should attempt making it.  While this recipe does yield a very tasty dip, it's unfortunately not the one to satisfy my craving, so I'll have to search and make more attempts in the future :)
Here is the link for the original recipe:
http://eatingonadime.com/mexican-white-cheese-dip/

I followed this recipe pretty closely, with only slight changes.

Ingredients:
1/2 lb. white American cheese (I bought sliced from deli counter)
1/4 c. milk (I used skim)
1 T. butter
1/2 of a 4oz. can green chiles
around 1 tsp. cumin
around 1 tsp. garlic salt
pinch of cayenne pepper

Instructions:
1. Prepare double boiler with water in bottom pan, bring to simmer.  If you don't have a double boiler, a saucepan will do, but be careful with the heat.
2. Melt cheese and butter together, stirring often.  (I added about half the cheese at first and after that melted, added more and more at a time):

3. Add milk gradually, stirring until melted/combined after each addition:

4. Add green chiles and spices, stir until well combined.  (I only used half the can of chiles, as that already seemed like a lot to me. Note--you do not drain the chiles before adding):

5. If desired, add more milk to achieve thinner consistency.  Serve immediately with chips and enjoy!

Additional note: I did end up adding a tiny bit more milk, and since I don't have a snazzy little dip-warmer, I had to reheat a few times while enjoying.

Amazing Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bars

The name of this recipe doesn't lie--these really are amazing because they are quite simple to make and most likely you will already have all the ingredients on hand for them.
Original recipe can be found here:
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/amazing-oatmeal-chocolate-chip-bars/
My version contains only two slight modifications:

Ingredients:
1 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. butter flavored Crisco (I often substitute this for butter when baking--but not always! Be sure 'pack' it in the cup when measuring to get the air bubbles out.)
1 c. light brown sugar (packed)
1/4 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 small (3.5 oz) package instant vanilla pudding mix
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 3/4 c. quick oats
2 c. semisweet chocolate chips

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.  Lightly grease a 9x13 baking pan.  Note: I used cooking spray and a glass pan.
2. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a bowl and set aside.
3. Beat butter and sugars together until light and fluffy:

4. Beat in eggs until smooth:

5. Mix in pudding mix and vanilla extract.
6. Gradually mix in the dry ingredients from the bowl set aside at beginning of instructions:

7. Stir in quick oats by hand until combined:

8. Stir in chocolate chips by hand until combined:

9. Press dough into pan until evenly spread:

Note: when I made this, I experimented with adding part of the chocolate chips on top as seen in this picture.  This didn't really have the effect I desired, thus I will not do it this way in the future.  It is best to just add all the chips in step 8.

10. Bake for 25 minutes, until lightly browned.
11.  Cool in pan and enjoy!

(I will add a picture the next time I make these--can't find the one I took of finished product this time!)

Crockpot Short Ribs

This is another recipe that I have created based on reading several others and ones that I have made.  When I made it this last time, I used a combination of English-cut (big chunks) and flanken-style (flat strips), but that is not what I typically do.  I prefer the English cut ones, as the additional marrow gives a deeper flavor.  However, either/both will work in the recipe--just not boneless.  I also normally serve with egg noodles; this time, I tried with mezzi rigatoni pasta and again, wasn't quite as nice.  I recommend medium egg noodles as the accompaniment :)

Ingredients:

about 2 T olive oil

3.5 to 4 lbs short ribs

salt, pepper

3 stalks of celery, chopped

2 large carrots, peeled and chopped

2 shallots, finely chopped/minced

about ½ T minced (bottled) garlic

about 2 T. tomato paste

2 ½ c cabernet sauvignon (Red Diamond if possible)

1 ½ c. beef broth

big splash of balsamic vinegar

2 sprigs thyme

Instructions:

1. Heat oil in ceramic dutch oven over med high heat.  Add short ribs and salt/pepper in the pan.  Brown on all sides:

2. Remove from pan and place in crock pot, set on high:

3. Use rendered fat and remaining oil to cook celery for a couple minutes, then add the carrots and cook a couple more minutes:

4. Add shallots and cook another minute, then add garlic and tomato paste, stirring until red sauce forms:

5. Add wine, cook for a minute:

6. Remove from heat and pour over the ribs in the crock pot. Add the beef broth, splash of balsamic vinegar, and the 2 sprigs of thyme:

7. Cook on hi for at least 7 hours:

8. Serve with egg noodles (or other side) and enjoy!  (forgot to get serving pic--will add next time I make!)