Creme Brulee

Recipe Courtesy of BHENGEN of Allrecipes.com

This recipe was good, but can definitely be better. It seemed that the custard didn't have much of a custard flavor. It was lacking in something, I'm just not sure what. I will be experimenting with this recipe to perfect it!

Ingredients:

• 3 cups heavy cream
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla (I added an additional 1/2 teaspoon)
• 3 eggs (I used 4)
• 4 tablespoons white sugar for topping

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) and line the bottom of a large baking pan with a damp kitchen cloth.
2. Bring a large pot of water to boil. While water is boiling, combine cream, 1/4 cup sugar and salt in saucepan over medium heat. Stir occasionally 4 to 5 minutes, until steam rises. In a medium bowl, beat egg yolks and vanilla until smooth. Pour hot cream into yolks, a little at a time, stirring constantly, until all cream is incorporated. Pour mixture into four 6 oz. ramekins.
3. Place ramekins on towel in baking dish, and place dish on oven rack. Pour boiling water into dish to halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Cover whole pan loosely with foil.
4. Bake 25 to 30 minutes in the preheated oven, until custard is just set. Chill ramekins in refrigerator 4 to 6 hours.
5. Before serving, sprinkle 1 tablespoon sugar over each custard. Use a kitchen torch or oven broiler to brown top, 2 to 3 minutes.

The BEST French Toast EVER

We had a craving for french toast, so we did what we do best and created a recipe! This is so good, you will not be disappointed!! For best results, let the mixture sit for about 5 minutes so all the flavors can incorporate. Best served with fresh fruit, butter, and syrup!

Ingredients:

• Texas toast bread
• 1/4 cup flour
• 1 pinch salt
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup half and half (or milk of your choice)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• pinch of nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons white sugar

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, combine flour, salt, eggs, half and half, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and nutmeg. Whisk until well blended and smooth and let sit for a few minutes.
2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium heat.
3. Soak bread slices in mixture until saturated. Cook bread on each side until golden brown. Serve hot.

Buttery Soft Pretzels

Recipe Courtesy of Christa Rose from Allrecipes.com

At the time I made these I only had whole wheat flour on hand so the recipe outcome definitely was not the same. If I make these again, I will definitely be using white flour.

Ingredients:

• 4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon white sugar (or honey)
• 1 1/4 cups warm water
• 5 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup baking soda
• 4 cups hot water
• 1/4 cup kosher salt, for topping

Directions:

1. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy, about 10 minutes.
2. In a large bowl, mix together flour, 1/2 cup sugar, and salt. Make a well in the center; add the oil and yeast mixture. Mix and form into a dough. If the mixture is dry, add one or two tablespoons of water. Knead the dough until smooth, about 7 to 8 minutes. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
3. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). In a large bowl, dissolve baking soda in hot water.
4. When risen, turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a rope and twist into a pretzel shape. Once all of the dough is all shaped, dip each pretzel into the baking soda solution and place on a greased baking sheet. Sprinkle with kosher salt.
5. Bake in preheated oven for 8 minutes, until browned.

Seasoned Catfish

Scott and I had decided to stock up on all sorts of seafood and meats from Costco. Definitely the best way to go. You get your money's worth per pound of meat/seafood. Plus, who doesn't like shopping in bulk??? I will typically stock up then portion and freeze as necessary. Each Costco shopping spree lasts a couple months. We decided to season up and pan fry some catfish and serve it with sauteed fresh vegetables and rice.

We seasoned the catfish with some salt and pepper then dredged the fish in a seasoned flour and cornmeal mixture. In the mixture was: flour, cornmeal, pepper, paprika, Cheyenne pepper, and parsley flakes. We sprayed the fish with a little bit of PAM then baked in the oven for about 10-15 minutes. I believe the temperature was 400 F.

While the catfish was baking we sauteed up some freshly cut vegetables in a mixture of vegetable oil and sesame oil. We seasoned the veggies with salt/pepper and lightly sprinkled them with sesame seeds.

Pizza Dough I

Recipe Courtesy of Gudny Bjorg Kjaerbo from allrecipes.com

I wanted to to start making my own pizza at home so found this recipe and gave it a shot. It turned out ok, nothing crazy. I think the dough could be a bit sweeter. Next time I will check out another recipe. I usually bake all my pizzas on my awesome pizza stone. You'll never get a soggy crust!
I went ahead and added all the water, honey/sugar and yeast in my kitchen aid mixer bowl and let that sit for about 10 minutes. I mixed all dry ingredients in another bowl and gradually added them to the wet using my dough hook. I let my kitchen aid knead the dough for about 10 minutes until smooth and elastic.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 1 (.25 oz) package active dry yeast
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon sugar (or honey)
• 1 cup warm water
  

Directions:

1. Combine flour, salt, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl. Mix in oil and warm water. Spread out on a large pizza pan. Top as desired.
2. Bake at 375 degrees C (190 degrees C) for 20 to 25 minutes.