SAY CHEESE….. CRÈME BRÛLÉE
How ya gonna keep her out in the kitchen after she’s been on Air Force One?
That might have been a legitimate question for me this week if our First Fridays with Dorie recipe choice had not been Cheesy Crème Brûlée. It still might have been an issue had I not read some early Dorista comments. Both Teresa and Amanda made six individual servings, enjoying one each evening. Translated: this recipe refrigerates well. Then, Diane called it decadent. It’s settled, I’m all over it.
Realizing that I could make this one recipe, which is decadent, and savor the six servings myself during the coming week, I unfastened my seatbelt, scurried home from my week’s work in California and got out my blowtorch.
“What could be better than combining two of life’s great culinary pleasures, crème brûlée and cheese?” Dorie asks. “It’s a double serving of voluptuousness.”
Even better, it’s darn easy. You simply exchange cheese for sugar. That it can be made up to two days ahead is even better. (Don’t tell Dorie but I still found it tasty on Day 4 and 5.)
Dorie suggested cooking the custard in a 200 degree oven for 50 minutes until firm. It took an extra 20 minutes at my house. Then cool the custard to room temperature, sprinkle grated cheese on top and brown the cheese evenly with a mini propane torch or under the broiler.
Last week I went to California to begin a long-anticipated writing project on the Presidential Libraries, focusing, at first, on the thirteen facilities overseen by the Office of Presidential Libraries in the National Archives and Records Administration. Although all our Presidents have museums dedicated to their memories, the concept of an official presidential library was the brainchild of Franklin Delano Roosevelt and the first was for his predecessor, the 31st President of the United States, Herbert Hoover.
Since this project has been sitting on a back-burner the past ten years, I was anxious to get started and with two libraries in California, where better to begin? Knowing my schedule, I e-mailed Susan Lester, a FFWD colleague who blogs at Create Amazing Meals, and asked if she and her husband, John, lived anywhere near Simi Valley (Reagan) and Yorba Linda (Nixon), my stomping grounds for a few days. Dinner, perhaps?
My inquiry and her quick reply – Napa Tavern, 6:30p.m. – made our introductory dinner together last Friday a reality. If you’ve ever questioned that food translates into friendship and fellowship, the proof was in the pudding Friday evening. With two-and-a-half years of blogging among us, we danced easily from topic to topic. And, since you asked? Yes, John held his own.
If you want to see how well my colleagues liked this week’s recipe, check it out here. Since this recipe is not on the blogosphere, you will have to e-mail me privately and I will be happy to send the recipe.