French Dessert Cream Custard A creamy custard dish with a delicious carmelized sugar crust. Ooooh, it is so good!
Heat cream in a double boiler, stirring constantly till a thin skin appears on the top. Set aside to cool for a few minutes. Beat eggs in a medium-sized mixing bowl. In a separate bowl, combine sugar and cornstarch; slowly add this mixture to beaten eggs, whisking vigorously. Then, in a thin stream, slowly add hot cream to eggs, whisking all the while (careful not to cook eggs). Return custard to double boiler and continue stirring, 5-7 minutes till the custard thickens and coats a metal spoon. Do not allow it to come to a boil! Remove from heat and add vanilla extract and lemon zest. Pour custard into 6 individual ramekins or a single 1-qt. soufflé dish. Chill for 3 hours till firm. Sprinkle tops with brown sugar. Hold a kitchen or chef’s torch over the tops of the custard for a few seconds, till sugar bubbles and turns into a crispy golden glaze.* Chill again and serve cold. * You can also put the custard under the broiler for a minute or so. But place ramekins in a pan of ice, first, then place the pan underneath the broiler—otherwise, the severe change in temperature could crack the ramekins. |
Tips & Glossary Bouquet Garni: (boo-kay gar-nee) bundle of herbs tied together with string or wrapped in cheese cloth square; usually parsley, thyme, bay leaf, and peppercorns. Flavor is released during long cooking.Remove before serving. Chervil: (sher-vil) related to parsley but has a delicate anise flavor. Long cooking kills flavor, so add at the last minute. Cornichon (kor-nee-shon) teeny-tiny pickle, served with pates & smoked meats; found in specialty food stores. Fines Herbes: (feen-airb) mix of finely chopped herbs: parsley, chives, tarragon, & chervil. Not as strong as a bouqet garni. Buy it at most grocery stores. Fromage: (fra-mahj) Cheese! The French eat more than any nationality, 45 pounds per capita per year; and the country makes more cheeses than any other country, about 400. Herbes de Provence (airb-duh-pro-vonce): mix of dried herbs, usually thyme, rosemary, marjoram, basil, & bay leaf Can be found at most grocery stores. Mutarde: (moo-tard), mustard. Most famous: Nicoise Olive: (nee-swaz- oh-leev) small, purplish-black olive with a mellow, nutty flavor; used primarily in Salade Nicoise. The Picholine variety is a green, medium-sized olive with a light, nutty flavor. Roux: (roo) paste-like mix of melted butter and flour, into which liquid is gradually added. The basis of every classic French sauce.
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French Dessert Crepes with Berry Sauce Crepes are thin elegant pancakes. This recipe is for dessert, but you can fill crepes with almost any food—and top them off with all manner of sauces. All it takes is your imagination. Crepes Sauce Batter: add flour sugar and salt to beaten eggs, whisking vigorously till smooth. Gradually add milk, continuing to whisk as you pour. It's like pancake batter, perhaps a bit thinner. You can make the batter 1 or 2 days ahead of time. Crepes: melt a tsp. of butter in an 8” non-stick skillet and, when it starts to sizzle, pour 2-3 T of batter into pan. Swirl the pan around till till a thin layer coats the bottom; add a little more batter to fill any holes. Cook about 2 minutes on one side, flip carefully (this is the tricky part) and cook about 1 minute (or less) on the second side. Slip out onto a platter and keep warm in a 200 oven. Repeat. * Sauce: bring sugar, water, and lemon juice to a boil. Add berries and bring up to a boil again, stirring gently all the while. Remove from heat, stir in zest. When cooled slightly, add kirsch. Assembly: either roll up crepes or fold into quarters. Place them on one large platter or 2 or 3 on individual plates. Spoon sauce over them and sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar (put through a sieve to get a fine powder). Advance work: you can make the crepes a couple of hours beforehand, keep them layered in linen towels, and heat them up when you're ready. Even better, crepes freeze beautifully. Keep them on hand in the freezer and use them for all sorts of meals. |
Tips & Glossary Bouquet Garni: (boo-kay gar-nee) bundle of herbs tied together with string or wrapped in cheese cloth square; usually parsley, thyme, bay leaf, and peppercorns. Flavor is released during long cooking.Remove before serving. Chervil: (sher-vil) related to parsley but has a delicate anise flavor. Long cooking kills flavor, so add at the last minute. Cornichon (kor-nee-shon) teeny-tiny pickle, served with pates & smoked meats; found in specialty food stores. Fines Herbes: (feen-airb) mix of finely chopped herbs: parsley, chives, tarragon, & chervil. Not as strong as a bouqet garni. Buy it at most grocery stores. Fromage: (fra-mahj) Cheese! The French eat more than any nationality, 45 pounds per capita per year; and the country makes more cheeses than any other country, about 400. Herbes de Provence (airb-duh-pro-vonce): mix of dried herbs, usually thyme, rosemary, marjoram, basil, & bay leaf Can be found at most grocery stores. Mutarde: (moo-tard), mustard. Most famous: Nicoise Olive: (nee-swaz- oh-leev) small, purplish-black olive with a mellow, nutty flavor; used primarily in Salade Nicoise. The Picholine variety is a green, medium-sized olive with a light, nutty flavor. Roux: (roo) paste-like mix of melted butter and flour, into which liquid is gradually added. The basis of every classic French sauce.
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French Dessert Chocolate Mousse Step away from the table...step away from the table...and no one will get hurt. Let others have their share.
Chocolate: chop chocolate into small pieces and melt in a microwave. Put egg yolks into a double boiler set over barely simmering water, add 3 T water, and beat vigorously. (Make sure to maintain a very low heat so you don’t end up with scrambled eggs!) Continue beating yolks, over low heat, till they turn thick and creamy. Fold melted chocolate into egg mixture and turn combined mixture into a mixing bowl. Stir in sugar. Assembly: whip the cream till stiff (forming soft peaks) and gently fold into chocolate-egg mixture. Beat whites till stiff (forming soft peaks) and gently fold into chocolate-egg-cream mixture. Spoon into a glass or crystal bowl and chill for at least 3 hours. Garnish with whipped cream, grated chocolate, or raspberries. |
Tips & Glossary Bouquet Garni: (boo-kay gar-nee) bundle of herbs tied together with string or wrapped in cheese cloth square; usually parsley, thyme, bay leaf, and peppercorns. Flavor is released during long cooking.Remove before serving. Chervil: (sher-vil) related to parsley but has a delicate anise flavor. Long cooking kills flavor, so add at the last minute. Cornichon (kor-nee-shon) teeny-tiny pickle, served with pates & smoked meats; found in specialty food stores. Fines Herbes: (feen-airb) mix of finely chopped herbs: parsley, chives, tarragon, & chervil. Not as strong as a bouqet garni. Buy it at most grocery stores. Fromage: (fra-mahj) Cheese! The French eat more than any nationality, 45 pounds per capita per year; and the country makes more cheeses than any other country, about 400. Herbes de Provence (airb-duh-pro-vonce): mix of dried herbs, usually thyme, rosemary, marjoram, basil, & bay leaf Can be found at most grocery stores. Mutarde: (moo-tard), mustard. Most famous: Nicoise Olive: (nee-swaz- oh-leev) small, purplish-black olive with a mellow, nutty flavor; used primarily in Salade Nicoise. The Picholine variety is a green, medium-sized olive with a light, nutty flavor. Roux: (roo) paste-like mix of melted butter and flour, into which liquid is gradually added. The basis of every classic French sauce.
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French Side / Dessert Champagne Sorbet Cool, elegant, refreshing. Traditionally served between courses—an "entremet"—to cleanse the palate, we also include it here as a dessert.
Syrup: bring water and sugar to a boil, stirring constantly till sugar dissolves. Boil for another 3-5 minutes, stirring. Allow syrup to cool completely, stirring occasionally. Once syrup is cool, stir in lemon juice and champagne. * For an alcohol-free version, replace champagne with your favorite fruit juice and add extra flavor by stirring in pureed fresh fruit before freezing. |
Tips & Glossary Bouquet Garni: (boo-kay gar-nee) bundle of herbs tied together with string or wrapped in cheese cloth square; usually parsley, thyme, bay leaf, and peppercorns. Flavor is released during long cooking.Remove before serving. Chervil: (sher-vil) related to parsley but has a delicate anise flavor. Long cooking kills flavor, so add at the last minute. Cornichon (kor-nee-shon) teeny-tiny pickle, served with pates & smoked meats; found in specialty food stores. Fines Herbes: (feen-airb) mix of finely chopped herbs: parsley, chives, tarragon, & chervil. Not as strong as a bouqet garni. Buy it at most grocery stores. Fromage: (fra-mahj) Cheese! The French eat more than any nationality, 45 pounds per capita per year; and the country makes more cheeses than any other country, about 400. Herbes de Provence (airb-duh-pro-vonce): mix of dried herbs, usually thyme, rosemary, marjoram, basil, & bay leaf Can be found at most grocery stores. Mutarde: (moo-tard), mustard. Most famous: Nicoise Olive: (nee-swaz- oh-leev) small, purplish-black olive with a mellow, nutty flavor; used primarily in Salade Nicoise. The Picholine variety is a green, medium-sized olive with a light, nutty flavor. Roux: (roo) paste-like mix of melted butter and flour, into which liquid is gradually added. The basis of every classic French sauce.
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