say cheese.....

There's an old expression that it's best if you don't know what goes into the making of sausage.  The same could be said for cheesecake.  All that cream cheese, sour cream, eggs and sugar.  Yikes.  That's a secret better left unspoken.  Having said that, there's nothing better than a nice fluffy cheesecake for dessert.  It's hard to see the yellow swirls but I went for light lemon cheesecake using lemon curd.  Those slices didn't last long after our instructor evaluated them.

it was the best of times, it was the worst of times...

We made rice pudding and bread pudding yesterday.  It felt like a Dickens novel.  I'm thinking that they didn't have their bread pudding served with creme anglaise, berries or a fork.  We made the basic versions.  There wasn't any rum or raisins involved.  I haven't had a lot of experience with bread or rice pudding but I thought these vanilla models were just fine...

cla-foo-tee....

Clafoutis is basically a fruit custard.  Some people are insistent that the fruit be cherries but some frisky bakers will use any fruit that sounds good on a menu.  We used cherries marinated in simple syrup and rum.  This custard has some almond flour as well as brandy mixed in.  As a result, this custard has a little more texture and taste to it.  It's not your typical vanilla, creamy custard but it is still a great dessert.

By the way - I've been in this house for 14 years now but I'll be needing some custard dishes for a house warming gift!!

pass the torch....

We made the Creme Brulee yesterday and let it chill overnight.  Today we got to coat the top with sugar and liquify it with a propane torch.  It then sets up into the crunchy crust we creme brulee lovers love.  

This class could also be called Presentation 101.  This is the first class where plating the dessert is important.  When done in a restaurant, it helps justify that $14 cost for the creme brulee.  giggle..  

That little "cookie" on the plate is a Tuile (tweel).  The batter is equal parts flour, melted butter, sugar and egg whites.  You can put any free form shape on a cookie sheet.  Even though they brown, they are totally flexible when they come out of the oven.  If done quickly, they can be bent and formed into shapes (cones, ribbons, spirals, cups, fortune cookies,  etc).  As they cool, they hold the shape.  Fun...

flan - oops - i mean creme caramel...

My hat goes off to the person that thought it would be fun to heat up some eggs, milk and sugar and pour it into a cup with hardened caramel in the bottom.  Bake it for awhile, chill it overnight and plop it on the plate.  The longer it sits in the cooler, more caramel liquifies and spreads on the plate.  It's magic.

custards last stand...

We're trading in the mixer for a saucepan for the next 3 weeks.  We're in the custards, fillings and creams block.  Today was creme caramel (flan), creme brulee, chocolate pots de creme and finally lemon curd.  I came home with an urge to watch Amelie.

atticus...

The Paramount Theatre has classic movies all during the summer.  The Paramount is an old theatre and it is a great place to see movies.  I always sit in the balcony.  I make a goal every summer to see as many as possible but I always fall short of my goal.  This summer is no exception.  I've purchased my 10 ticket bargain pack and I'm determined to use them all.  The summer kicked off with "Casablanca".  I had never seen it before.  Last night was "To Kill a Mockingbird".  This coming Wednesday night is "Cool Hand Luke" and "The Hustler".  They don't make them like this any more.