Archive for April, 2008

Torch Time

April 30th, 2008

During my trip to Vegas a few weeks back, I was had some of the best creme brulee. I’m usually not fond of creme brulee, because 1) I’ve never really had great tasting creme brulee before and 2) there’s no chocolate in it & I tend to not order non-chocolate desserts (that’s just the chocoholic in me). But, the creme brulee I tried in Vegas made me see creme brulee in a new light and see how versatile and delicious it could be. The creme brulee dessert I tried, was a duo of creme brulee, one was classic vanilla and the other was deep chocolate. I was surprised to see a chocolate creme brulee, this was new to me and boy was I excited. So, now I’m sort of in my creme brulee phase and craving it more than ever. I’m in the process of looking for a creme brulee torch, so that I can whip it up in my kitchen, but I’m stuck on whether I should invest my money into an expensive professional one or just get one of those dinky creme brulee torch sets. Bed Bath and Beyond, sells a creme brulee torch set that comes with a torch and 4 ramikins for $19.99. This sounds much more tempting than the Williams Sonoma torch for $39.95 which sadly comes with nothing else. Oh, decisions decisions.


Bed Bath & Beyond Torch Set
Pros: $19.99 and I can use the 20% off coupon. Sweet!
Cons: there’s probably a 90% chance that the torch will be a dud


Williams Sonoma Kitchen Torch
Pros: you could probably torch to your heart’s desire with this baby
Cons: $39.95…and this torch probably won’t be used very often in a regular kitchen

Light and Fluffy Quiche

April 24th, 2008

I made quiche for dinner tonight, after I’ve been wanting to make it for about a month now. It was my first attempt at making quiche and I’m glad to say it was a success. I was worried because I had already messed up one part of the recipe, but I managed to make it work. I used a recipe from allrecipes.com, but I tweaked it quite a bit. Instead of spinach I used broccoli and added some garlic, bacon, feta cheese and an extra egg. I also forgot, I used less mayo. The quiche had a lot of flavor and the broccoli gave it a great texture. This recipe is definitely a keeper! Here’s my tweaked version of the recipe:

INGREDIENTS

  • 1/3 cup light mayonnaise
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 5 eggs, lightly beaten
  • 3/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
  • 1/4 cup feta cheese
  • 1 cup fresh broccoli cooked & chopped
  • 1/4 cup chopped onion
  • 3 garlic cloves minced
  • 4 strips of cooked bacon cut into bacon bits
  • 1 (9 inch) unbaked deep dish pie shell

DIRECTIONS

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Line a cookie sheet with foil.
  2. Sautee onions and garlic in pan until tender. Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, whisk together mayonnaise and milk until smooth. Whisk in eggs. Layer broccoli, cheese, bacon, and onion & garlic in pie shell, making several layers of each. Pour in egg mixture. Place quiche on prepared cookie sheet. Cover quiche with foil.
  4. Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes. Remove cover, and bake 10 minutes, or until top is golden brown and filling is set.

Dessert Heaven

April 23rd, 2008

I went to Vegas this past weekend, and by far it was the best Vegas trip. Not only because of the good company and many highlights during the trip, but also because of all the delicious desserts I had, which probably increased my chances of diabetes in just one weekend. The first dessert I have to rave about was the Boston Cream Pie DeLux at the Grand Lux Cafe in the Venetian. Honestly, it was one of the best desserts I’ve ever had…Creamy Custard Layered Between Moist, Rich Vanilla Cake. Covered with Warm Chocolate and Whipped Cream. I was smiling the entire time I was eating it! Haha. The next thing I have to rave about was the dessert bar at the Treasure Island buffet. It was dessert heaven! I’ve never seen such an impressive array of desserts…freshly made miniature donuts, chocolate dipped banana pops, chocolate dipped strawberries, cupcakes, creme brulee and best of all a cotton candy machine! I think I have to say that it definitely beats the Wynn’s dessert bar.


Boston Cream Pie DeLux