The Perfect Creme Brulee

I was standing in my good friend's pantry a little while ago and I noticed some chamomile tea. I stood there thinking, "Hey, wouldn't it be cool to do a dessert with chamomile and honey?" Then I forgot about it. Until a few days ago when I really wanted to bake. Then I remembered my little epiphany and pioneered this brainchild:

Chamomile and Honey Creme Brulee

Makes four 6 oz creme brulees

You will need:

A kitchen torch

Four 6 oz ramekins AKA those cute little ceramic dishes --> check out bed, bath and beyond or willams sonoma if you have trouble finding them

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5 egg yolks

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup honey

1 pint heavy cream

3 chamomile tea bags

Extra sugar for the tops

1. Measure out your ingredients. Separate the egg yolks into a bowl. Save the whites for something delicious like chocolate mousse. :) Pour the cream into a small pot and add the tea bags. Turn the cream on low heat so the tea bags will steep and the cream can scald.

2. While the cream is scalding, add the honey and sugar to the egg yolks and beat vigorously with a whisk until the mixture is pale and smooth.

3. Remove the tea bags from the cream (squeeze all of the flavor out before you throw them away!) and pour slowly into the egg mixture, whisking continuously.

4. Pour into ramekins that have been placed in a baking dish. Pour water halfway up the ramekins. Cover with foil and bake at 325* for 35-45 minutes, or until the centers are set, but still jiggle slightly.

Just after removal from the oven

5. Chill the creme brulee in the fridge for at least 4 hours, or overnight.

6. To caramelize the tops: Pour sugar on top of the creme brulee and move it around, dumping out the excess sugar. Using a kitchen torch hold the flame just above the top and move it around slowly to caramelize. Be careful not to burn the sugars, especially around the edges where it burns more easily.

Serve in the ramekins. Fresh berries on top are a nice touch!

New Mexican Christmas Eve

Every year for Christmas Eve my family has a traditional New Mexican dinner: Tamales y frijoles. This year, we had the missionaries that are serving in our ward over for Christmas Eve dinner, so we ramped up our dinner a little bit and added a salad and a dessert. Our salad was a lovely southwestern number complete with a rockin' tomatillo lime vinaigrette, compliments of yours truly. :)

Tomatillo Lime Vinaigrette

1 cup apple cider vinegar

Juice of 3 limes

1 bunch cilantro

2 cloves garlic

2 tomatillos, halved

1 shallot, quartered

1 1/2 TBS dijon mustard

1 1/2 cups olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Add the cilantro, tomatillos, shallot, lime juice, vinegar, garlic, and mustard to a large bowl

2. Blend using an immersion blender (you can also do this in a normal blender)

3. Once the above mixture is blended smoothly, add the oil in a slow stream with the blender on. Adding the oil slowly creates a better emulsion.

4. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Now for my salad: I chopped some lettuce, tossed it with arugula, tomatoes and roasted corn kernels. Done. You could also make some seasoned tortilla strips. Just cut the tortillas into thin strips, toss with oil and seasonings and bake in the oven at 350* until crispy. They would add a fabulous crunch to this salad.

Happy cooking everyone!