Mini Creme Caramels

August 26, 2009 | Posted as Baking, Dessert Recipes at 2:21 am | (1) Comment »

Anyone who’s ever made Creme Caramel knows that the hold-your-breath moment happens way after all the work- when the rich flan has been chilled and is ready to be unmolded in all its jiggly glory. As one runs the thinnest knife possible around the edges of the pan, and gets ready to transfer it to a serving platter- that’s the moment we learn whether it’s baked up smoothly and whether the caramel has melted perfectly.

But here’s an idea: make your Creme Caramels in individual portions, such as these affordable aluminum containers pictured above. Serve them right from there with spoons, and you take unmolding completely out of the equation. The containers are disposable, yes, but they look just fine- and believe me, once your friends and family take their first spoons of these creamy delicious flans- made only with egg yolks- they won’t care. Really.

Mini Creme Caramels

1 cup white granulated sugar, divided into two half-cups
6 egg yolks
2 cups whole milk, warmed
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
hot water

Preheat oven to 350F. Now make your caramel: Put 1/2 cup sugar in a heavy saucepan, and cook into a caramel- a rich golden brown (too much and it’ll be bitter, too little and it’ll be too sweet). Immediately remove from heat, and divide up into 9 mini custard cups. Set this aside.

In a large mixing bowl, combine egg yolks with the other 1/2 cup sugar. Mix well with a wooden spoon. Slowly (you don’t want to cook the eggs) drizzle in the warm milk. Then stir in vanilla. Pour into your custard cups.

Set cups in a large baking pan, place on the oven rack, then add hot water to the pan, up to about half of the custard cups. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes, or until a knife inserted in centers comes out clean.

Let cool completely. Cover with foil, and chill until ready to serve- with spoons!

Simply Awesome Fried Chicken

August 25, 2009 | Posted as Tastes Like Chicken at 11:17 am | (1) Comment »

When it’s been raining all day, and you’re exhausted from getting the hard-drive on your laptop (which died unceremoniously for no reason at all) changed, and your feet are aching and your hair is frizzy from the humidity… on an evening like that, when you walk into the house and realize your husband is making perfect fried chicken, and that all you have to do is kick your shoes off and dig in- that’s happiness.

Fried chicken cooked this way is comfort food- for me, anyway. It’s simple, requires ingredients that you probably already have in your pantry (and if not, why not?), and is just awesome.

Perfect Fried Chicken

1 kilo chicken pieces of your choice (I like all drumsticks, piling them up on a serving platter feast-style)
1 cup flour
1/2 cup cornmeal
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 cup buttermilk (regular milk does just fine, btw)
lotsa cooking oil. I’m particular to sunflower or safflower, but that’s because I don’t like canola.

In a large bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, garlic powder and onion powder. In another bowl, put your buttermilk. Heat lotsa cooking oil in a skillet (make sure it covers about 1/4 inch of the bottom of the pan). Dredge chicken pieces in buttermilk then roll in dry mixture. When oil is sizzling hot, place chicken carefully in. Turn after 3 minutes. Remove when golden brown to a bunch of paper towels for draining. Mmm.

Make It Yourself: Baklava

August 24, 2009 | Posted as Baking at 3:36 am | Comments »

Here’s something to file under “Fancy Foods that are Easy to Make”! Baklava (not to be confused with the ski mask Balaclava) is a Turkish delight made from buttery filo pastry, chopped nuts, and honey. It’s an explosion of flavors, and is light and rich at the same time. One of my favorite pastries ever… and so easy to make at home, thanks to the availability of ready-to-use filo (phyllo).

Traditionally, it’s made with chopped pistachios, but I’ve made this with walnuts, almonds and pecans, so it’s really up to you. Experiment! You know you want to.

Baklava

1 package filo dough (16 oz.)
1 lb. chopped nuts- use pistachios for traditional Baklava
2 sticks butter, melted
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup water
1 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup honey

Preheat oven to 350F. Generously butter a 9×13″ pan.
Chop nuts, sprinkle with cinnamon, and mix lightly. Set this aside.
Get your filo dough. Unroll, cut to fit pan. Now work this way: put two sheets of filo in the pan, brush with melted butter. Repeat until you have around 8 sheets layered. Evenly sprinkle with around 3 tablespoons of your nut mixture. Top with two sheets of dough, butter, nuts– and so on. The top layer should be about 8 sheets deep.
Cut into diamond or square shapes using a very sharp knife. On a hot day, I’ll chill the raw Baklava for around 15 minutes first for easier cutting.
Bake for about 40 minutes, or until it’s golden and crisp.
While it’s baking, make syrup: boil sugar and water together until melted. Add vanilla and honey, and simmer for around 15 minutes.
When baked, remove Baklava from the oven, and immediately pour the delicious syrup over it. Let cool.

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Guilty Pleasures: Fig Newtons

August 21, 2009 | Posted as Guilty Pleasures at 1:54 pm | (1) Comment »

A new feature on this blog: Guilty Pleasures, featuring food and drink that isn’t necessarily good for you, but are certainly good. To me, anyway.

To kick things off: Fig Newtons!

Anyone who grew up in the 80′s should remember Nabisco’s slogan for these little fig-jam-filled cakes: A cookie is just a cookie, but a Newton is fruit and cake. Ooh, yes- that must explain why it’s definitely one of my Guilty Pleasures. I’ve always been more a cake person than a cookie.

Originally named “fig in the roll” (I kid you not), Newtons come in Strawberry and Raspberry flavors too (which, ew)- and are also available in mini sizes, for extremely guilty snacking. Finally, I leave you with a recipe for homemade fig bars:

Make Your Own Fig Newtons
(source: Recipezaar

1 pound dried figs
1 cup sugar
1 cup water
1/2 cup butter
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tablespoon heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 3/4 cups flour

Dice figs, soak in water 1 hour. Add sugar & cook on medium heat until the consistency of thin jam.

In a large bowl, beat sugar, butter, egg, milk & vanilla until well blended. To this, add your dry ingredients. Mix well and transfer to the refrigerator for about an hour.

Place 1/2 of the dough on well floured board or dough cloth; knead about 6 times. Roll out to 1/4″ thick. Line 13 x 9″ glass baking dish; cover with figs.

Roll out remaining dough, cover figs with this. Cook at 350° for 30 minutes.

Let cool and cut into squares. Depending on the size you cut you can get a couple dozen cookies.

Brown Sugar Caramel Popcorn

August 20, 2009 | Posted as Caramel, Snack Recipes at 1:54 pm | (2) Comments »

I’ve never understood why anyone would buy packaged caramel popcorn (yes, I’m talking about those tin cans)- or worse, the “caramel-flavored” microwave popcorn which comes with a little pack of artificially flavored caramel to mix with your popcorn while its hot. See, the thing is that caramel is sugar. And if you have popcorn and sugar in your house, you can make caramel popcorn that tastes a thousand times better than anything storebought.

My own recipe, which I think is based off one I got in Seventeen magazine when I was, um, around 17, uses brown sugar, honey, kosher salt, and plenty of butter. I love that phrase, plenty of butter. It always equals something good.

Brown Sugar Caramel Popcorn Recipe

3-4 cups plain popcorn, popped (you can make this in the microwave, hot air popper, or kettle)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon kosher salt
4 tablespoons butter

In a large pot, over medium heat, melt the butter. To this, add the brown sugar, honey and salt. Stir while cooking, so that it all melts into a gorgeous, golden caramel… just below boiling. Immediately take off heat, pour onto your popcorn, and mix mix mix.

I don’t always have honey around, so sometimes I omit it altogether. And of course, you can add all sorts of goodies to this, like chopped walnuts or almonds- even some chocolate, if that’s your thing.