Pots de Crème with Strawberries

Is there anything that sounds quite so divine as Pots de Crème? Little pots of cream, and I can just go at them with a spoon? Vanilla custard, while still sounding pretty darn tasty, doesn't sound nearly as sophisticated. But vanilla custard is what it is, and it has the little specks of aromatic vanilla bean to prove it. This is basically a crème brûlée without the brûlée -- perfect for those of us unarmed with a propane torch.

Sarah and I had just taken the kids to a strawberry patch - my very first time. As we drove in to the little farmette, we were greeted with a sign that read "All Picked Out!" and we had to explain to the kids that there were no strawberries to be had. There were tears.

Just as we were about to leave, the owner of the farm came out and said that there were still some strawberries, but we had to really look for them. A strawberry scavenger hunt! This made our berry-picking adventure all the more exciting. Each little ripe red strawberry was a special treasure. The kids marched around holding their buckets with pride.

When we brought our berries home, we knew we wanted to resist the urge to inhale them all and instead incorporate them into something. But we wanted a dessert that would highlight their unadulterated perfection. No need to cook or puree. Pots de Crème were the answer, as these berries were simply the crowning glory to this sweet, creamy dessert.

Pot de Crème with Strawberries

adapted from The Art of Simple Food, Alice Waters

• 4 egg yolks
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 of a vanilla bean
• 3/4 cup half-and-half
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 pint strawberries, sliced

1. Whisk the egg yolks together in a medium bowl and set aside. Place the heavy cream in a different medium bowl and set aside. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape the seeds into a small pot, adding the scraped out bean to the pot as well. Add the half-and-half and sugar, and stir over medium heat until it is just steaming and the sugar is dissolved. When it is warm, whisk into the bowl of egg yolks. Immediately strain this mixture through a fine colander into the cold cream, mixing well. Remove the vanilla bean from the colander and squeeze all the seeds back into the custard mix.

3. Pour the custard mixture into 4 ramekins, and place them into a baking dish filled with hot water halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Cover the top of the baking dish with foil, sealing the edges. Bake until the sides of the custards are set, but the center is still jiggly - about 25-30 minutes. Remove from the baking dish and let cool.

4. Before serving, top with freshly sliced strawberries.

Simple Tomato Soup (The Best Ever)

I’m completely obsessed with this tomato soup.  It’s intensely tomato-y and rich without being creamy.  It’s addicting, and it’s so simple to make.  I found out about it when I tried it at The Kitchen [Next Door], in Boulder, and then was overjoyed to see that they share their exact recipe for it online.  OVERJOYED!

So, this is very simple.  That’s a good thing.  Lots (and I mean lots) of butter give this soup its silky richness, onion is softened in that butter for a luxuriously long time, and then really high quality whole canned tomatoes are added.  San Marzanos are recommended, but we subbed in Muir Glens with great results. After all the simmering is taken care of, you puree this soup in the blender with a little splash of heavy cream.

The Kitchen serves this soup drizzled with flavorful olive oil, and a side of toasted chewy rustic bread.  It’s to die for.  If you like tomato soup, you’ve got to try this one.  My parting words – don’t be afraid of all that butter!

Simple Tomato Soup (The Best Ever)

Recipe from The Kitchen [Next Door]

• 1 1/3 sticks unsalted butter
• 1 large yellow onion
• 3 16 oz cans of high quality whole peeled tomatoes, undrained
• 1/3 cup heavy cream
• salt to taste
• drizzle of high quality olive oil for serving

In a large pan, melt the butter over low heat.  Finely slice the yellow onion and add to the melting butter with a pinch of salt.  Reduce heat to very low, cover the pan, and cook onions in butter for about 30 minutes or until translucent and soft but NOT browned.

Add tomatoes with all the juices from the cans.  Increase heat and simmer for 25 minutes.

Transfer soup to a blender and puree in batches, adding cream while blending.  Taste and add more salt if desired.

Serve drizzled with olive oil and a side of crusty bread.

Gingersnap Key Lime Pie

Every other food blogger is sitting down to write about salads and lentils and oatmeal, but not me. After spending my holidays laid up with various colds and sinus afflictions, I am ready to eat. This gingersnap key lime pie is the perfect January treat - fresh with citrus and spiced up with the surprise of a wintry gingersnap crust.

This recipe is straight out of the pages of the newest Ashley English cookbook, A Year of Pies: A Seasonal Tour of Home Baked Pies. Ashley is a woman after my own heart as she lives the seasonal locavore dream. This book is brimming with both sweet and savory pies (emphasis on the former), and as the title suggests, it is organized by season which I always appreciate. All too often I pick up a cookbook and drool over the recipes only to realize that the author must live in a climate that has an everlasting growing season (hmmm, California?) and only the freshest of all produce will do. So it is nice to turn to a chapter entitled "Winter" and find many seasonal beauties. (Brandy and Spice Apple Hand Pies? Yes, please!)

Ashley English's recipes are also not overly tricky, and this key lime pie is actually one of the easiest pie recipes I have ever made! It does require that one ingredient that might not be so easy to find: key limes. I was happy to find a rather inexpensive bag of them at my grocery store, but I hear that bottled key lime juice works just as well. (I also would go ahead and use just regular old limes.) This recipe is actually lighter on the lime juice than many other key lime pie recipes (and thus, a bit less tart). However, I thought it had an excellent balance of tart, creamy, and sweet.

Gingersnap Key Lime Pie

Gingersnap Crust:

• 10 oz gingersnap cookies (about 2 1/2 cups)
• 6 tbs unsalted butter, melted

Filling:

• 1/4 cup key lime juice
• 3 tbs grated lime zest
• 1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
• 3 large egg yolks, beaten

1. (Make the crust) Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly butter a 9-in pie pan and set aside. Crush the gingersnaps by pulsing them in a food processor. Combine the crushed gingersnaps and melted butter in a bowl. Stir until incorporated. Press the mixture into the pan, pressing halfway up the sides. Bake for 10 minutes and let cool.

2. (Make the filling) Add to bowl and whisk together until fully blended the lime juice, zest, sweetened condensed milk, and egg yolks.

3. Pour the filling into the prepared cool crust and bake 15 minutes. Cool completely before serving.

Tangerine-Almond Tart with Chocolate Drizzle

In the summer, it is so easy to be inspired by fruits and vegetables. In the spring, anything new and green is a promise of all the deliciousness to come. And even in fall, pears and pumpkins feel cozy and fun. But in the winter, it can be hard to muster up that excitement that comes so easily throughout the rest of the year. 

But when I received a handful of juicy tangerines in my Door to Door Organics box, a few still holding onto their vibrant green leaves, I was both inspired and excited. A mad googling ensued, and being the tart-lover that I am, I came up with this delicious creation.

 Tangerines, almonds, and chocolate? I know, it is a trifecta of winter flavor. Better yet, this tart has a fabulous shortbread crust. The recipe that I am working from is from EatingWell. Their recipe called for a rather laborious crust involving whole wheat pastry flour and lots of kneading and rolling. No thanks! This shortbread crust takes fewer ingredients (that we all have), plus you just press it right into the pan.

I loved the way this tart turned out. The citrus and almond flavors were in perfect balance. The chocolate is, well, always a pleasure. If you don't have picture perfect tangerines on hand, oranges will absolutely do the trick.

The chocolate drizzle is something that I haven't done before, and you can see that my work is not so very beautiful. But even my amateurish job impressed my dinner mates. TIP: Spoon your melted chocolate into a sandwich bag, and then cut the tip of a corner off. Squeeze away.

Tangerine-Almond Tart with Chocolate Drizzle

Crust:

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 tsp grated tangerine or orange zest
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 8 tbs unsalted butter, cold, cut into cubes
• 1 large egg yolk (save the white for the filling!)

Filling:

• 1/2 cup slivered almonds
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 egg white
• 1/2 cup tangerine juice (about 3 tangerines) or orange juice
• zest of 3 tangerines (about 3 tsp)
• 3 oz semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 400. Butter the bottom of a 9.5-in two piece tart pan. In a food processor, process the flour 1/3 cup sugar, zest, and salt for a few seconds to combine. Add the butter, and process until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add the egg yolk (don't forget to save the white for the filling) and process just until it comes together in a ball. Pat the dough into the tart pan, prick the bottom all over with a fork, and then bake for 18-20 minutes. Set aside.

2. Turn oven down to 375. Clean out your food processor. Place almonds on a cookie sheet and toast in the oven for 3 to 5 minutes, until golden and fragrant. Let cool for a few minutes.

3. Place the almonds and 1/3 cup sugar into the food processor and process until almonds are ground. Add eggs, egg white, tangerine juice, and zest to the processor, and process until well blended. Scatter half of your chocolate chips over the crust. Pour the tangerine filling into the crust.

4. Bake the tart at 375 for about 25-30 minutes. The filling should be set. Melt your remaining chocolate chips in a double boiler (I used a small metal bowl placed over a pot of boiling water -- the bowl should be above and not touching the water), or you can use a microwave if you have one of those newfangled gadgets. Drizzle the chocolate decoratively over the tart (see my tip in the paragraph preceding the recipe!)

Cranberry Clementine Cocktail

It’s time to get excited about winter!  Well, let’s just say that we’re pretty excited about this glowy pink cocktail that’s made with freshly squeezed clementines, cranberry juice, and vodka.  We garnished our drink with a fragrant green juniper sprig for its piney aroma and festive look. 

This cocktail is so simple to pull together.  The ingredients are easy to access (you could even sub in plain jane OJ for the fresh squeezed clementine juice if you were so inclined).  The sparkling water adds festivity and fizz, but isn’t strictly required in my book.  And – lucky us – we simply walked into our front yards to snip the juniper sprig garnish!

We highly recommend a juniper spring as a lovely winter garnish.  It’s piney scent and pretty blue gray berries are irresistible.  It’d be perfectly appropriate in a gin-based drink as well because after all, juniper berries are used to flavor gin!

Cranberry Clementine Cocktail

• 2 oz clementine juice, freshly squeezed.
• 2 oz cranberry juice
• 1.5 oz vodka
• sparkling water to taste. I preferred just a dash, Dulcie liked the festivity of additional bubbles!

Combine clementine juice, cranberry juice, and vodka in a shaker with ice. Shake till well chilled. Pour into serving glass, top with your desired amount of sparkling water. Garnish with a juniper sprig and serve.

Simple Butternut Squash Soup

This recipe is one that is in regular rotation in my kitchen. If I get a butternut squash in my CSA, I always have the other ingredients on hand to make this easy and satisfying soup. As a bonus, my toddler just loves it. You can try just about any winter squash in this soup, and I've had great success with acorn squash and kabocha squash.

Based on a recipe from my old favorite Joy of Cooking, this has been even further simplified from what was already a pretty easy rendition of butternut squash soup. The result is a soup that is smooth and creamy (but dairy-free), and it even has the potential of being vegan if you use oil and veggie stock. There is very little hands on time, and the bulk of cooking is just roasting the squash. Once that is out of the way, the soup comes together in very little time.

If you are feeling fancy, you can roast the butternut squash seeds (which are taste just like pumpkin seeds but are teeny and darling) and use them as a garnish. But let's be honest, this is just the perfect recipe when you aren't feeling fancy at all. And that is okay.

Simple Butternut Squash Soup

• 1 medium to large butternut squash, halved and seeded

• 3 tbs butter or vegetable oil

• 1 large onion, chopped roughly

• 1/2 tsp ground ginger 

• 4 cups chicken or vegetable stock

• 1 tsp salt

• parsley or cilantro, chopped (for garnish)

1. Preheat your oven to 400. Place squash with the cut side down on an oiled baking sheet. Roast for about an hour until it can be pierced easily with a fork. Once cool, remove and discard the skin, leaving only the pulp.

2. Heat butter or oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the chopped onions and the ginger, and cook, stirring, until tender (about 5 minutes).

3. Stir in the roasted squash and the stock. Simmer and cook, breaking up the squash a bit, for around 20 minutes.

4. Puree the soup until smooth. I use my immersion blender (which I adore!) because that involves the least amount of clean up. You could also use a blender or food processor. Add salt to taste, and reheat. Add your garnish, and serve!

Blood Orange Sunrise

Here’s our spin on the classic Tequila Sunrise.  Fresh orange juice, tequila, and then we’ve swapped the traditional grenadine for a drizzle of our homemade blood orange syrup. I love this blood orange syrup – it has such an interesting flavor when it’s concentrated in this syrup form. We’ve been sipping this cocktail ever since we made it, while pretending we’re about to jet off to Mexico for spring break. 

Oh wait, Dulcie actually IS on spring break. Sort of.  She’s visiting her family in Florida where it is 80 degrees.  Meanwhile I’m trudging through the snow to give her cat insulin shots twice a day.  I’m trying not to be jealous…

Now here’s a cool trick about making a beautiful Blood Orange Sunrise cocktail.  You need to add the ingredients in a specific order to create the striations of color.  It’s really easy:  first ice, then tequila, then orange juice, and then the cool part:  you slowly drizzle the syrup over the back of a spoon.  This helps it gently disperse, but not mix into the drink too much, and arrive on the bottom of the glass in a pretty layer of red. Give it one gentle stir, and you’re done.

Garnish with a citrus curl, which we’ll show you a tutorial on next time!

Blood Orange Sunrise

• ice
• 1 1/5 oz tequila
• 3 oz Orange Juice
• 1/2 oz blood orange syrup

Add ingredients to your cocktail glass in the order above, drizzling the blood orange syrup last (and over the back of a spoon, as shown).  Give everything one quick stir, and serve.

Blood Orange Syrup

Here’s another simple but special wintery recipe.  Somewhere along the line we came up with the idea to reduce beautiful (and delicious) fresh blood orange juice to create a syrup.  Probably because we’re always on the lookout for something unique to use in a seasonal cocktail.  This is a winner – sweet and citrusy, but with a slightly bitter piney background note that I really loved.

The recipe is so easy.  Juice a couple oranges, add a little sugar, and simmer until reduced by 1/2.  My main warning to you is that blood orange juice is very…vibrant.  I encountered a few splattering issues.  I had to stop juicing after 1/2 an orange and run to find my apron.  And I may or may not still be finding little red splashes in far flung nooks and crannies of my kitchen.  That may be due to the fact that I’m a bit of a messy cook, though, I’m not sure it’s fair to blame these oranges.

We’ll be back on Thursday with our favorite cocktail (so far) featuring Blood Orange Syrup!

Blood Orange Syrup

Note that this recipes is very flexible – the ratio of ingredients is the most important part.  2:1, juice to sugar.  Reduce by half.  Done. 

• 1/2 cup blood orange juice (we used about 3 oranges to get this much)
• 1/4 cup sugar

Combine in a saucepan and simmer for approx 15 minutes, stirring regularly, until reduced by half.

Oh, and another editorial note.  This recipe is very similar to our recipe for Homemade Grenadine, which is pretty much a Pomegranate Syrup.  Also highly recommend for delicious seasonal cocktails!

Winter Brunch Party

After getting over 12” of snow overnight here in Colorado, we decided to celebrate with a bright and sunny winter brunch party.

We kept it simple; Dulcie and I each made a dish to share (and we made the Rosemary Honey together earlier in the week). I highly recommend having a friend like this…being able to throw together a low stress brunch party  with good friends, in the dead of winter, and where you don’t have to cook everything is priceless. Here was our menu:

Winter Brunch Menu

• Sweet Potato Biscuits (recipe below)
• Rosemary Honey
• Baked Eggs with Crispy Hashbrown Crust
• Orange Juice
• Hot Coffee

Bright citrusy colors mixed with turquoise made the party feel cheery and warm. 

We lit a few candles (which the toddlers desperately wanted to blow out instantly), brewed a pot of hot coffee, and poured ourselves some fresh OJ.

The sweet potato biscuits were flakey and delicious; especially when topped with the sweet and complex rosemary honey. The baked egg skillet, made in cast iron with a crispy hashbrown crust, is deceptively easy to make and so perfect for a winter morning.

We relaxed and chatted to a low key mix of classic jazz and enjoyed the sparkling snow drifts out the windows. Happy winter.

Soundtrack for a Winter Brunch:

Our recipe for Sweet Potato Biscuits was inspired (and simplified) by Martha Stewart.  

Sweet Potato Biscuits

• 1 3/4 cups flour
  
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar
  
• 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
  
• 1 tsp salt
  
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
  
• 6 Tbsp chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
  
• another 1/2 Tbsp melted butter and more, for pan
  
• 3/4 cup mashed sweet potato
  
• 1/3 cup buttermilk (we used 1 Tbsp yogurt mixed with scant 1/3 c of whole milk)

Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. With your hands or a pastry blender, cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. In a small bowl, whisk together sweet potato puree and buttermilk; combined with flour mixture. Do not overmix.
Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface, and knead very gently until dough comes together but is still slightly lumpy, five or six times. If dough is too sticky, knead in up to 1/4 c additional flour. Shape into a disk, and pat to approx 1”thickness. With a biscuit cutter, cut out biscuits as close together as possible. Gather together scraps once, and repeat to cut out more biscuits.
Heat oven to 425 degrees. Butter an 8-inch pie pan. Arrange biscuits snugly in pan. Brush with melted butter. Bake until golden, 20 to 24 minutes.

Winter Sun Cocktail

Here's a little cocktail confection to brighten even the most dreary winter day. Clementine juice and a touch of lemon combine with vodka for a bright and happy drink. A sprig of rosemary adds a whiff of wintry evergreen.

We added some lemon zest to a few tablespoons of sugar to create a citrusy sugared rim. The rosemary is almost entirely for the benefit of your nose (and eyes). I was surprised by how much I enjoyed its herbal, piney scent!

This is one of our favorite cocktail creations. Sweet, tart, a little herbal. It goes down really easy (too easy?) Hmmm... I might need to head to the store for another crate of clementines.

Winter Sun Cocktail

• juice of 2 clementines (about 1/4 cup)

• juice of 1/2 small lemon (1/2 oz)

• 1/2 oz triple sec

• 1 1/2 oz vodka

• sprig of rosemary

• lemon zest

• sugar

1. Moisten the rim of your glass with some fruit juice. (The juice helps the sugar to adhere better than water does.) Combine zest and sugar in a shallow bowl or plate. Turn the glass over onto plate and coat with sugar. 2. Fill your glass with ice, and then add juices, triple sec, and vodka. Stir. Garnish with rosemary sprig. (Makes 1.)

Top 10 Winter Brunch Ideas

Ah, the doldrums of winter. What better way to warm the cockles of your heart than a wintery brunch celebration with friends?  We’ve rounded up 10 of our favorite winter brunch ideas to get you going.  We’ve got the sweet and the savory covered; and don’t forget a special brunch-y cocktail or the perfect cup of coffee.

 

Sweet Brunch

• Cinnamon Pull-apart Loaf
• Cranberry & Almond Upside Down Cakes
• Cocoa Nib Coffee Cake
• Baked Oatmeal with Blackberries & Ginger

Savory Brunch

• Baked Eggs with Prosciutto & Gruyere
• Roasted Potato Wedges
• Strata with Mushrooms, sweet potato, & bacon
• Ham & Egg Tarts

Drinks for a Brunch

• Blood Orange French 75
• Best Coffee Ever

 

Cinnamon Roll Pull Apart Loaf

A decadent classic of soft yeasty dough sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar.

by The Knead 4 Speed

 

Baked Eggs with Prosciutto & Gruyere

These are not only shockingly delicious and simple to make, it’s as easy to make one as it is to make 10.  Which means it’s the perfect dish for entertaining.

by Two Tarts

 

Blood Orange French 75

Blood orange, a little lemon, a little gin, and fizzy champagne makes for a nice wintery spin on the brunch classic – the mimosa.

by Cookie & Kate

 

Cranberry & Almond Upside Down Cakes

Gorgeous individual cakes flavored with tart cranberries and sweet almonds. 

by Roost

 

Roasted Potato Wedges

Look how beautiful these simple roasted potato wedges can be, served with eggs for a lovely simple brunch.

by Shop Cook Make

 

Cocoa Nib Coffee Cake

Crunchy earthy cocoa nibs make this coffee cake special, and they help make it a delicious pairing with a steaming cup of coffee, too.

By Not Without Salt

 

Baked Oatmeal with Blackberries & Ginger

A great simple, almost rustic, brunch treat that easily serves a crowd without much prep.  Frozen berries are always a great wintertime treat, and they’d work wonderfully here.

by Family Kitchen

 

Strata with mushrooms, sweet potato, and bacon

Eggy custardy goodness combined with bacon, sweet potato, and mushrooms.  Talk about the best of winter flavors!

by 5 and spice

 

Ham & Egg Tarts

Pretty and simple little tarts made with ham and egg, then topped with a fresh herb garnish.

by Daisy’s world

 

The Perfect Cup of Coffee

Tips & tricks to brewing the brunch essential – a delicious cup of coffee.

by Today’s Nest