Crème Brûlée--Coconut Flavored

Crème brûlée. I don't think I have ever met anyone who did not like it. It is probably the most favorite dessert among women. Whenever I am having a restaurant dinner with my girl friends we always look for it in the menu. But unfortunately it is not always equally good. As with any such classic desserts there is always a little secret in making it perfect.

The best crème brûlée I have ever had was at the Ritz Carlton restaurant in Pentagon City. I am not sure they still have the same chef and if that crème brûlée is still on their menu, but ever since I had it, every time I dip my spoon in a ramekin filled with that creamy yellow delight I am hoping it will taste exactly like that one. It was a coconut crème brûlée but without any coconut flakes. It was unimaginably creamy and delicate, just with a hint of the coconut flavor.

I have been searching many recipes, trying to imagine if any of them could possibly have what I was looking for. It did not have to be exactly the coconut crème brûlée, but it had to have the same smoothness and richness. I think that the secret of the good crème brûlée lies in getting the right proportion of eggs and cream, so that the eggs, which are so important in that dessert, do not dominate the taste. Another secret of course is in getting the right method of preparing it.

Yesterday, I made crème brûlée according to a recipe from a very old British Good Housekeeping magazine. Actually, there were two recipes, one for a basic crème brûlée and another one for a coconut crème brûlée, which I decided to do first.

Last night I served it for dessert to my friends. And although it was mainly a male company, they all liked it very much. I admit that the taste of it was amazing--all the ingredients blended into a wonderfully delicious cream which contrasted nicely with the crunchiness of the burned sugar crust. But those who did not try the Ritz Carlton crème brûlée, could not notice that it missed a little bit of that perfect smoothness.

Crème brûlée requires many egg yolks, but in the end it does not taste too "eggy". Save the whites in refrigerator--they can be used in many other desserts.

When preparing crème brûlée, you must observe two rules that are critical for its quality. First, pay attention not to boil the egg and cream mixture--you need to stop heating it just before the boiling point. Also, make sure to bake it properly, so it achieves the right consistency--not to loose but not over baked. The whole preparation takes some practice, but the result is worth the sin.

Crème Brûlée Coconut Flavored
(Makes 6-8 servings depending on your ramekins size)

Ingredients:
6 eggs yolks
2 and 1/3 cup (one British pint) of heavy whipping cream,
1/4 cup sugar,
2 oz (one cup) of coconut cream powder,
6-8 tsp brown sugar.

Preparation:
1. Put egg yolks and sugar in a large bowl and, using a whisker or electric mixer, beat for about 2-3 minutes, until they become pale.
2. Pour the cream into a medium saucepan, add the coconut cream powder and mix well.
3. Heat the mixture until it is hot but take it off the heat before it reaches the boiling point.
4. Whisking continuously pour the hot cream into the yolk mixture and transfer it (the custard) back to the pot.
5. Cook over the medium heat, whisking continuously until the mixture thickens, but again do not let it boil because the custard will curdle. The right consistency is when the custard coats the spatula.

6. Preheat oven to 300F.
7. Take the custard from the heat and pour into the ramekins. Place them in a roasting tin with high walls. Pour hand-hot water into the tin, half way up the height of the ramekins and place it in the oven.
8. Bake for 30-35 minutes, but as the temperature is not always accurately displayed you have to judge it yourself when you stop--the cream should be set but still slightly wobbly, although not runny. If in doubt, you may bake it for a little longer.

9. Take from the oven, cool down, and later refrigerate. Steps 1-9 can be made even a day ahead and the baked custard can kept in the refrigerator overnight.
10. Sprinkle (one teaspoon per ramekin) of brown sugar on top each of the baked custard it melt under the hot broiler. Watch this process carefully, as the sugar may burn easily--it should be melted and brown.

11. Cool slightly and serve.

Coriander Chutney--Afghan All the Way

Last Saturday afternoon I finally got together with my Afghan friend for a long planned cooking session to delve into the mystery of Afghan cuisine. Our plans for the day were very ambitious. I wanted to learn how to make at least six of my favourite Afghan dishes. Fortunately, just at the beginning while making the shopping list, we decided to skip a half of what we were intending to make. As it turned out later, even the remaining half was probably too much for a one, leisurely Saturday.

First of all, I learned that Afghan cuisine is as labor intensive as Polish cuisine. Just cooking my favorite rice is not only tricky--it has to be soaked, cooked, and baked at the end--but it also needs to be planned in advance so it can soak for several hours to wash out the whole starch from it in order loosen the grains.

Preparing kebabs was even more complicated. We decided on trying a Pakistani beef version with beans, potatoes, and many spices and a somewhat simpler Afghan version, with just with potatoes and spices. We cooked all the ingredients in two pots, cooled down, than we ground them, and finally we fried the kebabs on a pan. While the meat was cooking I wrote down some other recipes and in the meantime we prepared a coriander chutney to serve with kebabs.

Almost four hours later, when dinner was served and we sat at the table, we both were exhausted. We had a great time talking not only about the culinary subjects and laughing a lot but somehow the whole event wore us out. And as always the most uncreative and tiring part of cooking was the measurement of all the ingredients used. For both of us a method of dipping a spoon or, even better, a finger to try and decide what else should be added works the best.

I am still processing all the information and wisdom from that even, so please forgive me that for the time being I only have this delicious chutney to share. Mostly because it is not only delicious but also very easy to prepare. It takes a couple of ingredients and two minutes of blender's work.

Chutney can be stored in a refrigerator for weeks and used with grilled meats, rice, or flat breads. It was such an instant hit that the big jar I made to keep for later disappeared within two days and I am sure it will be very popular during the grilling season, especially if I serve it with fresh beef kebab, which I will post soon.

You can decide how spicy you want your chutney to be by adding more or less jalapeno peppers, but an important tip is to use apple cider vinegar. It harmonizes nicely with the coriander and, unlike lemon, it helps preserve and store the chutney for weeks.

Coriander Chutney

Ingredients:
2 big bunches fresh coriander,
1/2 cup walnuts,
4 garlic cloves,
1/2 - 1 jalapeno pepper (depending how spicy you like it to be)
1 tbsp sugar,
1/2 tsp salt,
1 and 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar.

Preparation:
1. Put all the ingredients in a blender and mix first on and off to mince them and then run a motor on high speed for about 1-2 minutes until the chutney becomes smooth.
2. Transfer to a jar that can be sealed tightly, seal it, and store in a refrigerator.

Serve with meats and vegetables, especially grilled.

Potato Cake--From Three Potatoes

Spring came to Washington DC for a brief moment and left again. It seems like it is going to stay with us forever and a snowy rain has been falling from the sky today. I had no choice but to apologize to the potatoes in my refrigerator with whom I was so arrogant the other day. This cold weather makes me still want to eat warm comfort warm food rather than cold crispy salads. And I know that if by any chance warm days will arrive this spring, I will never have an opportunity to use these huge baking potatoes I bought some time ago.

I decided to use all of them and make a potato cake. This is one of those dishes that can unite my whole family at the table. Everyone likes it without any reservations as it is totally vegetarian and very satisfying as many potato dishes are. I am sure it could be delicious as well with some fried bacon inside, but my son would not participate in such a feast. There is a similar dish in Polish cuisine, and we serve it with a meat sauce, Hungarian style.

The beauty of that dish is that it can be made whenever we open a refrigerator asking ourselves "What do we have here? Oh, nothing, just three potatoes". But despite that sad discovery an hour later we can enjoy a nice dinner.

This cake can be made on a frying pan, but that would require more experience, especially when it comes to flipping it upside down. Baking it in an oven could be less messy. Another reason for using an oven would be the smell. I noticed that, no matter how hard my kitchen hood vent is working, the smell of any oil-fried dishes, especially potatoes, beef, and fish is always felt even in the most remote corners of my house. Somehow this is much less of a problem when I prepare these meals in an oven.

As you will see it is a very plain recipe but what makes this dish taste great is a ground nutmeg added to the cake and the spicy yogurt sauce that is put on top. I also like to serve it with with a lettuce salad, drizzled with vinegar dressing.

Potato Cake
(Serves four; should be made in a 10" form)

Ingredients:
3 large baking potatoes(about 2 pounds,)
1 medium onion, chopped,
2 eggs, beaten,
2 tbsp flour,
1/2 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black ground pepper,
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg,
1 tbsp olive oil.

Preparation:
1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Peel off potatoes and grate them on a large hole grater. Put potatoes in a medium bowl squeezing excess juice.
3. Add onion, eggs, flour, and spices, and mix well.
4. Pour oil in a baking pan and spread it all over it. Transfer the potato mixture to a pan and spread it evenly.

5. Bake for an hour or until the top of the cake becomes dark gold.

Cut into four pieces and serve with yogurt sauce on top.

Yogurt sauce:
1 cup Greek yogurt,
2 garlic cloves minced,
1/4 cup chopped chives,
salt and pepper to taste.
Mix all the ingredients and serve in a separate bowl to accompany the potato cake.