Creme Brulee Well Done

Snowed in again, the Jersey Girl took to the kitchen and whipped up some wonders such as Crème Brulee. You may recall that my little sis Monica hooked me up with some crème brulee baubles and blowtorches for Christmas.

Unfortunately, the blowtorch was not equipped with the necessary fuel to fire it up. And this realization entered my brain at about 9:30 p.m and a bottle of wine after the fact. So, we finished off the Crème Brulee under the good ol’ broiler. I’m going to have to head on down to Crate and Barrel in Cherry Hill to get the butane. It doesn’t seem like you can order this online. Probably has something to do with terrorists.

Homemade bombs aside, the Crème Brulee rocked. The broiler caused it to come out a bit darker than if I had the torch. But, The Husband likes baked goods well done. So it's all good in the hood. When I get the torch hooked up, the final product will be perfecto.

My first try at Creme Brulee was on the dark side, but it tasted fabilicious.

The blowtorch will help tone it down next time.

The Husband totally loved it, natch. And he sure did work up a major appetite after shoveling our driveway and walkway.

My day also consisted of a few “Sex and the City” epis. I have to say, Carrie Bradshaw is really quite selfish/self absorbed/self involved. I mean her shoes rock my world. But, Charlotte was always closest to my heart. Love her.

I also flipped through the February “In Style.”

And then after din, me and The Husband caught up on “The Office.”

It was all very stimulating. That’s what she said.

Love Steve Carrell.

Just so you know, I wasn’t a complete couch potato, dear readers. I exercised my bootie off. Well, I still have my bootie, but you get the picture. And I cleaned like a good compulsive Italian girl. And I talked on the phone.

So, here’s the recipe for basic Crème Brulee. It’s from the cookbook: “Crème Brulee: More than 50 Decadent Recipes” by Dominique and Cindy Duby.

After filling the ramekins, you need to fill the roasting pan with hot water.

Creme Brulee is really very easy to make. Seriously. The most trying part is successfully placing the baking pan filled with boiling hot water (also known as a water bath for those non-bakers out there) into the oven without spilling it or dropping it into your cute ramekins of Crème Brulee. Or, maybe this is just the case for me because coordination escapes my mind and body – unless I’m playing a Chopin nocturne or a Mozart sonata or a Rachmaninoff etude.

Classic Vanilla Crème Brulee
From “Crème Brulee: More than 50 Decadent Recipes”
(Makes 4 servings)

1 vanilla bean or ¼ to ½ tsp vanilla extract
1 ½ cups whipping cream
6 large egg yolks
¼ cup granulated sugar
2 Tbsp. granulated sugar for caramelizing

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit.

Split vanilla bean lengthwise and, with the tip of a knife, scraped seeds into a medium bowl. (Or use vanilla extract). Whisk in cream, egg yolks and sugar until well combined. Using a ladle, divide cream mixture evenly among 4 ramekins. Place the ramekins in a shallow roasting pan. Pour hot water into roasting pan to come halfway up sides of ramekins. Bake until custard barely moves when ramekins are shaken, or a knife inserted in center of custard comes out clean, about 45 to 60 minutes. Remove the ramekins from the roasting pan and let cool at room temperature for at least 45 minutes. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours (overnight is best).

Just before serving, sprinkle granulated sugar evenly over custards to cover them completely. Turn upside down to remove excess sugar. Ignite a blow torch and caramelize sugar until evenly melted, moving the torch constantly so sugar doesn’t burn.