Tag: food

Crema Catalana

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Inspired by the Spain Box from Try the World, I made the Crema Catalana recipe from their online magazine with my own twist to it.

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The original recipe is below:

INGREDIENTS

  • 4 egg yolks
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 2½ Tbsp. cornstarch
  • 2 cups plus 2 Tbsp. milk
  • Grated zest of ½ orange (or in my case honey!)
  • Pinch of salt
  • 4 Tbsp. P. Listo jam
  • 4 Tbsp. sugar

DIRECTIONS

1. In a small bowl using a hand held mixer, beat together the egg yolks and sugar until pale and creamy, about 5 minutes. In a separate, larger bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and 2 tablespoons milk until the cornstarch dissolves.

2. In a saucepan, combine the remaining 2 cups milk, orange zest, and salt. Heat over moderate heat, stirring constantly, until small bubbles form along the edge of the saucepan. Once the bubbles appear, lower the heat to keep warm.

3. Add the egg and sugar mixture to the cornstarch mixture and whisk until homogenous. Slowly pour in the warm milk, whisking constantly, until smooth and homogenous, then pour back into the saucepan. Heat the mixture over low heat, stirring constantly with a spoon, until it thickens, 10 to 12 minutes. Do not allow to boil.

4. Pour the mixture into 4 ramekins, then cover and chill in the refrigerator until firm, at least 3 hours.

6. Remove the ramekins from the fridge and spoon 1 tablespoon of the jam onto each custard. Sprinkle with the sugar, then broil until the tops are caramelized, about 5 minutes. Serve immediately.

Note that instead of using orange zest, I added about a tablespoon of an organic lavender honey that I have newly acquired and which is absolutely delectable.

I had never cooked with ramekins before, so I bought mine from Crate & Barrel (only $2.95 per dish!)  on the way home from work one day and am so excited to have them as a new addition to my kitchen!

I’m disappointed because I didn’t have a torch to really get the sugar bubbled and crispy, instead I broiled mine in the oven for a few minutes. They were still sweet and delicious though!

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Enjoy ❤

Review: An Evening at Fleurie, a Romantic French Restaurant in Charlottesville, Virginia

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As I have mentioned already in a previous post, Charlottesville, Virginia has some of the best food in the world. It is less than two hours from Washington, DC and offers a break from the hustle of the capital city. And last night, my friend, Carrie, and her boyfriend, John, spent their two-year anniversary sharing fine wine and delicious food at a downtown French restaurant, Fleurie.

Since it was their anniversary, Fleurie made special menus recognizing their special occasion and even had a bottle of sparking wine from the Loire Valley in France waiting for them on their candlelit table.

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At the beginning of our friendship, Carrie and I majorly bonded over our deep affection for anything related to France, and this restaurant seems to epitomize everything about Paris given its romantic tone and thoughtful ingredients and menu. This restaurant seems like the perfect pick for a special celebration.

Carrie said the ambiance were positively enchanting. The restaurant has exposed brick walls and was playing classical Parisian music softly in the background (think “La Vie en Rose”). Although I haven’t been there myself, Carrie said the food was mouthwatering and delightful. She sent me the following pictures with descriptions and it all sounds so incredible!

They were given a beet amuse-bouche and for appetizer they had soft-shell crab which was on special for the evening.

For the main entree Carrie had butter poached lobster, coral spätzle, and fava beans served with a ginger Sauternes sauce.

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John ordered the meadows pride lamb and braised lamb ravioli with fond de braisage. (This one looks soooo delicious!)

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And of course no celebration goes without dessert. Carrie and John split the chocolate souffle with vanilla bean ice cream and dark chocolate cream sauce…Yum!

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And lastly, Carrie and John were given complimentary petit fours after the meal!

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Fleurie is now at the top of my must-try restaurant list! Also, you can follow Carrie on her travel blog – https://musichanainkibera.wordpress.com/

Banana Pudding Pie with Caramel Drizzle

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Happy Monday! The warm June weather and humidity have started to settle in, and I have had the biggest craving for banana pudding. I looked up various Pinterest recipes and found one that I wanted to try! I varied it slightly to cut back on all the Cool Whip and decided to add a homemade caramel sauce to the recipe as well. If you’re craving the sweet comfort of a homemade banana pudding recipe, look no further!

Ingredients:

  • 1 9 pinch pie crust, prepped, baked and cooled (I was lame and just used a store bought graham cracker crust)
  • 2 cup chopped vanilla wafers
  • 2 bananas
  • 1/2 8oz tub Cool Whip
  • 1½ cups of milk
  • 1 5.1oz box instant vanilla pudding
  • juice from one lemon
  • Homemade caramel sauce for drizzling (recipe below)
  • Optional: chopped walnuts for topping

Directions for the Banana Pudding Pie:

  1. Cut the bananas into thin slices and then toss with the lemon juice. The lemon juice will prevent them from turning brown as fast as they normally would.
  2. Whisk together the milk and pudding mix. Mix in the cool whip. Mix in 1 cup of the crushed vanilla wafers and finally the bananas.
  3. Scrape into the cooled crust. Refrigerate for 10-15 minutes or until set.
  4. Top with any additional or leftover Cool Whip as you please. I just spread some around the edging of the pie. Sprinkle with the remaining vanilla wafers and then drizzle with the caramel sauce and if so desired, walnuts.

Directions for Homemade Caramel Sauce (taken from my Caramel Toffee Cheesecake Recipe)

  • 1/2 cups sugar
  • 2 tablespoons light corn syrup
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 1/3 cup heavy cream

In a medium sauce pan, combine the sugar and syrup. Cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally with a rubber spatula. Once it is caramel colored, add the butter and stir until the butter is melted. Add the cream and stir until it’s all combined. Bring it back to the heat if you get clumps and stir it until they’re dissolved. Store in the refrigerator if not using right away. Makes about 3/4 cup.

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Strawberry Cheesecake French Toast

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In case it’s not completely obvious, strawberries are my absolute favorite fruit. And I happen to also love eating sweet, dessert-like brunch food! This recipe was actually adapted from a foodie Facebook video that a family member of mine had shared. My mother showed it to me and we knew we had to make it the next morning…with our own adjustments of course! It ended up being the perfect meal to start off our Memorial Day Weekend before going hiking in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Ingredients:

10 Slices of Brioche Bread (to make five French Toast “Sandwiches”)

3/4 Cup of Chopped Strawberries (or any fruit you prefer!)

4 Large Eggs

3/4 Cup of Milk

1/2 Tsp of Cinnamon

Filling:

1 Package of softened Cream Cheese

1/3 Cup of White Sugar

1 Teaspoon of Vanilla Extract

(Optional) 1 Egg

Sugar Coating:

1/4 Cup of Brown Sugar

3 Tablespoons of White Sugar

1 1/2 Teaspoons of Cinnamon

  1. Heat a large skillet or pan on medium heat.
  2. To make the French Toast Egg mixture, beat the 4 eggs together, then add the milk and cinnamon and stir until fully blended. Set aside.
  3. In a separate bowl, beat the cream cheese, sugar, egg, and vanilla extract until fully blended. I recommend using an electric beater for this part. Set aside.
  4. Mix the brown sugar, white sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl and set aside
  5. Add butter to the heated pan and dip one side of every piece of French Toast in the egg/milk mixture and place the dipped sides down onto the pan. Let cook for 2-3 minutes until the sides facing down start browning slightly, then take them off the pan and set on a plate.
  6. After removed from heat onto the plate, spread a coat of the cream cheese mixture onto the cooked sides of every bread slice.
  7. Next, layer 5 of the 10 slices with strawberries then use the other 5 slices as tops to the open face sandwiches. You will essentially have 5 French Toast sandwiches.
  8. Butter the pan again.
  9. Carefully submerge each entire sandwich one at a time into the egg mixture then, coat by dipping them into the sugar mixture before placing immediately onto the hot pan.
  10. Cook for 3-4 minutes depending on how well-done you like your French Toast then flip the sandwiches to the other side and do the same until they are cooked to your liking.
  11. Remove the sandwiches from the heat and top with powdered sugar or syrup or other fruits!

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Sweet Lingonberry Crepes with Cream Filling

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Crepes are one of my all-time favorite indulgences. Ever since I had my first one in fourth grade made by my favorite teacher in French class, I’ve been hooked. The great thing about them is that they can be oh-so sweet and bursting with Nutella, sugar, and fruits, or they can be excessively savory with creamy French cheeses and sliced meats. When Try the World surprised us with their most recent subscription box featuring Sweden that offers mouth-watering goodies like Elderflower Saft Syrup and Lingonberry Preserves, I knew instantly what I wanted to make. If you’re interested in learning more about Try the World, here is the link to our introductory blog post or check out their website and use our discount code “bonvoyage” for 15% off!

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Crepe Recipe (adapted from here)

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups flour
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 cup water
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • 4 tablespoon butter, melted
  • 2 tablespoons sugar
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Directions:

  1. In a large mixing bowl, whisk flour and eggs (texture of dough will be a bit tough and sticky). Slowly add milk and water stirring until smooth. Add salt, butter, sugar, and extract and continue beating until smooth.
  2. Heat and oil pan to medium high temperature. Pour about ¼ cup of batter into pan and tilt the pan to swirl in a circular motion so that the batter coats the surface evenly in a circle that covers the whole frying pan.
  3. Cook crepe for about 1 to 2 minutes until the bottom is light brown. Loosen with a spatula, and turn crepe over and cook its other side for about 1 minute.
  4. Remove from the crepe from heat and onto a plate and spread cream filling (see below) in the middle and roll crepe and top with Lingonberry Preserves or other sweet jams, fruit, chocolate, powdered sugar or even whipped cream! This recipe makes a of crepes (around 20) so repeat, repeat, repeat, and eat, eat, eat!

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Cream Cheese Filling with Elderflower Saft (adapted from here)

  1. 1 (8 ounce) package Cream Cheese
  2. 1/3 cup Sugar
  3. 2 tablespoons of Elderflower Saft
  4. 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
  5. 1 teaspoon of lemon juice (optional)

Combine all ingredients into a mixing bowl.  Using a hand mixer blend together until light and creamy.  Transfer to a bowl until ready to use.

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Since the recipe made so many crepes, I actually added dark chocolate chips and Try the World’s Holiday Box Italian Hazelnut Spread after flipping the crepe over the first time on the heat. I put the toppings on the crepe while it was still in the pan and then folded it four ways to create the traditional triangular shape!

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Bon Appetit! ❤