Classic Creme Brulee

I am going to share with you my no-fail creme brulee recipe. I have been making this for years and only once did it not turn out exactly as planned, and that was my fault. This is light, creamy, tasty, easy and fool-proof.

Casey, our oldest, is coming home today and we are preparing a feast. Crab legs, roasted asparagus, an Asian salad and, voila, creme brulee for dessert! Can't wait!

Classic Creme Brulee

8 egg yolks
1/3 c sugar
2 c heavy cream
1 t vanilla extract
1/4 c sugar (for the caramelized tops)

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In large bowl, whisk together egg yolks and sugar until the sugar has dissolved and the mixture is thick and pale yellow. Add cream and vanilla, and continue to whisk until well blended. Strain into a large bowl, skimming off any foam or bubbles.

Divide mixture among six ramekins or custard cups. Place in a water bath and bake until set around the edges but still loose in the center, about 40-50 minutes. Remove from oven and leave in the water bath until cooled.

Remove cups from water bath and chill for at least two hours, or up to two days.

When ready to serve, sprinkle 2t sugar over each custard. Place under the broiler until sugar melts. Rechill custards for a few minutes before serving. For best results, use a small, hand-held torch to melt sugar.

Water bath: Place paper towel on bottom of cookie pan. Place ramekins in pan and place on center rack of oven. Carefully fill the pan with warm water until the level reaches halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Covering the pan tightly with aluminum foil will keep a skin from forming over the top of the custard.

Me and Mom's Shrimp

So Ron had some butterflied shrimp he wanted me and mom to make. Notice how I said me and mom. (I guess grammatically correct it would be mom and I). We talked about how we liked our shrimp prepared. Bri and I just like ours boiled and chilled. Mom likes hers breaded. But neither of us like things fried. (Don't get me wrong, we love the taste of fried but know it's not good for our girlish figures, so baked is the next best thing). The paprika gives this dish a little bit of a kick so cut back if you don't want it too spicy.

We found a recipe online and played with it a little bit and this is what we got:

8 butterflied shrimp (you can purchase these already butterflied or butterfly them yourself by slicing them almost in half lengthwise so it opens like a book and devein)
4 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup butter (we cut back on the butter)
1/2 cup chopped parsley
3 cloves minced garlic
1 cup pankow bread crumbs
2 teaspoons paprika

Place flattened shrimps in individual baking dishes. Sprinkle with portion of lemon juice. Combine butter, 5 tablespoons parsley and garlic in a bowl. Place some of the mixture on each shrimp. Combine crumbs, remaining parsley and paprika and place some on each shrimp.
Bake at 400F for 15 minutes.
Garnish with lemon wedges.

Sausage and Peppers Appetizer

Sausage and peppers is an often overlooked great old Italian dish. Often made as a meal, today for Superbowl, Ron made an appetizer of this flavor-filled classic. This makes for great tinging with bread, one of my favorite things about it.

Layer the bottom of a pyrex pan with very thinly sliced onions.
Layer sliced peppers of various colors.
Season with basil, oregano, minced garlic, thyme, S & P.
Cut up 1-1/2 lbs. sausage into 2-3 inch pieces and layer on top of peppers.
Drizzle with olive oil.
Bake at 400 degrees 1 hr 15 minutes turning the sausage once during cooking.

Optional
Thinly slice potatoes, Spray cookie sheet with Pam. Lay potatoes on baking rack. Add S & P. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes.