Kim DeStratis
LookUp1977Creme Brulee, Julia Style
March 2nd 2011 15:44
One thing I love to do as much as I love cooking is reading, so naturally, I'm a part of a bookclub. I've been meeting with this group of ladies once a month for over 3 years now to discuss books, talk about each other's kids (even though I have yet to have my own), and drink wine. We have jokingly referred to our meetings as "wine club" so many times I don't know if it's even a joke anymore. Perhaps it's our subtitle; book club with a pinot.
Several of us also consider ourselves amateur bakers so the spread is always wonderful and if the season or book require, themed. From shamrock shaped cookies for March, to an attempt at Potato Peel Pie, it seemed only natural that eventually the book and food would purposely align. Which brings me to My Life in France by Julia Child, naturally. Collectively we decided we'd read her book and then each select a recipe from Mastering the Art of French Cooking and share a dinner rich in butter, cheese and cream. Oh, and wine, of course!
For years my favorite dessert has been creme brulee. I have many ramekins of various sizes and two torches for melting the sugar on top. I have actually made creme brulee once. Still, it seemed a logical choice for me and I was excited at the prospect of using all of my tools which were currently collecting dust in my basement storage residing between a fondue set and a smores maker.
Upon review of the recipe that had been scanned and e-mailed to me, I thought it odd that the recipe required no baking, only stovetop cooking, and chilling to set. It had been a while since I'd made creme brulee but as an ungraceful person, I could hardly forget the ramekins submerged in boiling water in a pyrex dish making a slow, shaky journey from counter to oven then back again. This made me nervous at first till a pushier voice in my head stepped in and said, it's Julia Child, and she knew what she was doing, just go for it. Fortunately I made the creme brulee a day in advance because it didn't turn out at all. I really wanted to believe that Julia wouldn't lead me astray, that the pools of liquid that was supposed to be pudding taking up a whole shelf in the fridge was somehow my fault, but I blame it on the lack of cooking since I was meticulous in my instruction following.
Cue the internet. What did we do before laptops, allrecipes, and the food network? I quickly found another of Julia's creme brulee recipes here that did call for the water bath and baking and this time, I was rewarded with beautiful, set pudding with a smooth surface on which to sprinkle sugar and satisfy the part of me that relishes playing with fire.
It was so very worth it. Yum!
And if you're wondering what happened to the first attempt, do not mourn, it did not go to waste. My husband and I tasted it before the 'trash or not to trash decision' was made and found it made a delightful vanilla flavored milk.
All in all I consider it a successful adventure and would encourage a little creative thinking before something is considered a total kitchen failure.
Bon Appetite!
Several of us also consider ourselves amateur bakers so the spread is always wonderful and if the season or book require, themed. From shamrock shaped cookies for March, to an attempt at Potato Peel Pie, it seemed only natural that eventually the book and food would purposely align. Which brings me to My Life in France by Julia Child, naturally. Collectively we decided we'd read her book and then each select a recipe from Mastering the Art of French Cooking and share a dinner rich in butter, cheese and cream. Oh, and wine, of course!
Upon review of the recipe that had been scanned and e-mailed to me, I thought it odd that the recipe required no baking, only stovetop cooking, and chilling to set. It had been a while since I'd made creme brulee but as an ungraceful person, I could hardly forget the ramekins submerged in boiling water in a pyrex dish making a slow, shaky journey from counter to oven then back again. This made me nervous at first till a pushier voice in my head stepped in and said, it's Julia Child, and she knew what she was doing, just go for it. Fortunately I made the creme brulee a day in advance because it didn't turn out at all. I really wanted to believe that Julia wouldn't lead me astray, that the pools of liquid that was supposed to be pudding taking up a whole shelf in the fridge was somehow my fault, but I blame it on the lack of cooking since I was meticulous in my instruction following.
It was so very worth it. Yum!
And if you're wondering what happened to the first attempt, do not mourn, it did not go to waste. My husband and I tasted it before the 'trash or not to trash decision' was made and found it made a delightful vanilla flavored milk.
All in all I consider it a successful adventure and would encourage a little creative thinking before something is considered a total kitchen failure.
Bon Appetite!
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