Now my method w/ making Crème brûlée is NOT the traditional method, and that's fine b/c it still turns out silky smooth, and it's ready faster than the oven method.
You'll need:
3 egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 pint (1 cup) heavy whipping cream
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Superfine sugar
Directions:
Beat egg yolks in medium bowl with electric mixer on high speed, 5 minutes or until thick and light yellow. Gradually beat in sugar.
In a double boiler heat cream over medium heat until just hot to the touch. Stir half of the warmed cream into the egg mixture a little at a time, so the eggs do not curdle.
Stir the egg yolk and cream mixture into the remaining cream in the double boiler. Cook, stirring continuously, over medium heat, 8-10 minutes, until mixture thickens; do NOT boil. Pour custard into 4 small ramekins refrigerate 2 to 24 hours.
Before serving, sprinkle each crème brûlée with superfine sugar and place under preheated oven broiler, or use a kitchen torch to melt sugar. Dessert is served!
So now that dessert has been served onto the main course! I'm a firm believer in good food FAST -especially if I'm busy! Naturally I live in Florida, and have access to fresh seafood and thus I eat a lot of fish.
I can't say that these measurments are accurate (I cook by sight/taste...you know the mindset that a great chef is a great taster philosophy!) but they're pretty close.
Pecan crusted trout:
2 fish fillets
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs, divided
1/3 cup pecans
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp italian seasoning
1/2 tsp McCormick montreal steak seasoning
1/4 cup butter, melted.
Place 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs, and the pecans in a blender**. Blend on high until pecans are finally ground. Remove mixture to a small bowl, add remaining panko bread crumbs and the seasonings. Brush the fish fillets liberally w/ the melted butter. Take the pecan breading mixture, and sprinkle over the fish fillets.
Bake at 400° for about 20 minutes or until fish flakes easily w/ a fork. Garnish fish w/ a few pieces of pecans.
**I use a vitamix blender which is restaurant/industrial quality - you can try a food processor if you don't have a blender.
Last but not least...homemade biscuits!
I love homemade biscuits. They're extremely versatile. You can make biscuits and gravy, you can top the biscuits w/ a cooked sausage patty, scrambled egg and cheese, you can use the biscuits as a chicken pot pie topping, you can add a little bit of garlic powder, parsley and cheese to the dough and recreate those biscuits from an overly priced seafood restaurant, you can even sweeten the dough a litle bit for an old fashioned strawberry shortcake...the ideas are only limited by your imagination.
Some recipes call for shortening, some call for butter, some combine the two. The best I can suggest is don't handle the dough too much b/c if you do, you'll have tough biscuits instead of tender flaky biscuits.
2 cups all-purpose flour
4 teaspoons (1 Tbsp + 1 tsp) baking powder
2 Tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup butter flavoured shortening
1 egg
2/3 cup milk
Directions:
Turn onto a well-floured surface; knead 8 times. Roll to 3/4-in. thickness; cut with a floured 2-1/2-in. biscuit cutter. Place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake at 450 degrees F for 8-10 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.
