Classic Vanilla Crème Brûlée

Anytime i get to use my kitchen torch it makes me smile! I use it for a number of dishes including meats, baked pasta dishes, desserts ,... and one of my favorites is just smelling the burnt caramel as you torch your crème brûlée , a delicious french custard. Dinner parties in my place i pass the torch and each guest gets to finish off their own dessert. But before the torching takes place we need to cook the custard.
You will end up with a bunch of egg whites and i either make a egg white frittata or bake some french macaroons.

Ingredients:
1/2 vanilla bean
2 cups of heavy cream
4 egg yolks
pinch of salt
1/4 cup plus 8 tsp of sugar

Position a rack in the center of an oven and preheat to 300F. Have a medium saucepan of boiling water ready. Line a shallow baking pan with a small kitchen towel (The towel stops the rameckins from sliding form one side to the other in your baking pan).
Split the vanilla bean lenghtwise down the middle and scrape the seeds into a small saucepan. Add the heavy cream and stir it. Warm the cream until bubbles form around the edge and steam begins to rise. Remove from the heat and set aside to steep, about 10 minutes.

Whisk together the egg yolks and 1/4 cup of sugar until pale yellow , about 5 minutes.
Remove the vanilla bean from the cream mixture and i usually let it dry and then add to sugar for a later use or you can sprinkle the vanilla sugar on top, your choice. Slowly and always whisking , add the cream to the egg mixture until blended. Pour the mixture into four 6-oz ramekins and place the ramekins in the prepared baking pan . Add boiling water to fill the pan halfway up the side of the rameckins.

Cover the pan loosely with foil and bake until the custards are just set around the edges, about 45 minutes.
Transfer the rameckins to a wire rack and let cool to room temperature , then cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 4 days.
To serve sprinkle 2 teaspoons of sugar on top of the custard and caramelize the sugar with a kitchen torch. Serve right away.

Bouef Bourguignon

Tomorrow is mine and Eric's 6th Anniversary and since he will be on his way back from NYC(work) i decided to cancel our restaurant reservations and cook a nice meal at home , I'm assuming he will be pretty tired and not gonna feel like going out! He absolutely loves when i make this dish. Homemade bread and buttered noodles to go with it and a nice bottle of Bordeaux , and crème brûlée for dessert!
Some people might find it difficult to cook a traditional Bourguignon , and I'll agree that maybe the first or second time might seem a bit too much work ,but once you taste it you will fall in love with the amazing flavor and will want to make it often, and after a few times i can make it with my eyes closed. I make sure i have all my ingredients on my kitchen counter and get cooking!

Ingredients:
8 oz of good quality bacon or pancetta diced
Olive oil
1 large onion chopped
2 large carrots chopped
6 cloves of garlic chopped
3 1/2 lbs. of stew meat ( dry the meat with paper towels so it will brown better)
3 cups of a dry red wine , Pinot Noir always works for me
2-3 cups of dark beef stock , i make my own but you can use boxed or canned
1 tablespoon of tomato paste
Salt and Pepper to taste
Fresh thyme
2 Bay Leafs
Fresh Parsley
3 tablespoons of all purpose flour
Butter
1 lb. of mushrooms
1/2 lb. of frozen pearl onions + 2 tablespoons butter + 1/2 cup of beef stock

Preheat oven to 450F.

Cook the bacon over moderate heat until crispy , trasnfer the bacon to a large dish and set it aside.

Brown beef in batches on bacon grease . Remove to platter with bacon. Add carrots and onions to the bacon grease and cook on low for 8 to 10 minutes, add garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add beef and bacon back to pot and sprinkle salt, pepper and flour on top and toss to coat all the beef. Place it in preheated oven for 10 minutes , at about 5 minutes thru open the oven and toss the meat again. Put the pot back on top of the stove and add fresh thyme, bay leaves, tomato paste, wine and stock till it barely covers the meat, let it come to a simmer and put it back on a 325F oven. Cook it for 3 hours checking the meat to see if it's tender enough.

On the last hour of cooking remove the stems of the mushrooms and slice them thin.

Heat up 2 tablespoons of butter in a frying pan and add the mushrooms , toss them around for a few minutes till they start to brown.

For the onions, heat the butter in a frying pan, add onions and cook for 2 minutes. Add beef stock, bring to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes or until soft. Keep an eye that broth won't dry and onions will burn, stir every few minutes.

Remove the beef from the oven  and transfer it to the stove top .

raw

cooking

cooked

Pour contents into a sieve set over a saucepan. Reduce sauce until thickened. Place meat and veggies back in pan.

Add the pearl onions and mushrooms. Sprinkle lots of fresh chopped parsley and serve it hot over buttered egg noodles.