Crema Cataluna and Spanish Fashion

When I think Spanish fashion, I often get confused between traditional Spanish clothing and anything that Penelope Cruz wears. The truth though is that often
Spanish fashion is on the cutting edge-- Barcelona is itself a city of the advant-garde.

This recipe, I apologize, is not of my own creation but instead from a Spanish cooking class that I recently took. It is funny though how well it complimented this image that I have been waiting for the perfect moment to release.



Creme Cataluna, much like its French cousin the Creme Brulee, is sexy, sheer and deliciously sweet. However, the Spanish version adds a bit more spice and can easily be enhanced with lemon zest, almond oil, or any other flavor combination that fits your particular fetish....mmmmm.... enjoy!

Creme Cataluna


Ingredients:

* 1 cup sugar
* 4 egg yolks
* 1 tbsp cornstarch
* 1 stick cinnamon
* grated rind of 1 lemon
* 2 cups milk

Preparation:

This easy Catalan Cream recipe makes 4 servings.

This is a great dessert to make ahead of time, since it is very easy and requires 2-3 hours of refrigeration before serving. Make it the day before and leave it in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve. Then, heat the broiler, carmelize the sugar and serve!

In a pot, beat together the egg yolks and 3/4 cup sugar until thoroughly blended and the mixture turns frothy. Add the cinnamon stick and grated lemon rind. Pour in the milk and cornstarch. Slowly heat the mixture, stirring constantly, just until thickened. Remove pot from heat immediately.

Tip: As soon as the mixture thickens and you feel resistance while stirring, remove the pot from the heat or the mixture may curdle or separate! The texture of the finished crema will be grainy instead of smooth and creamy as it should be.

Remove the cinnamon stick and ladle the milk mixture into 4-6 ramekins (depending on size). Allow to cool, then refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours.

Before serving, preheat the broiler. Remove ramekins with the crema catalana from refrigerator and sprinkle the rest of the sugar over each ramekin. When broiler is hot, place the ramekins under the broiler on the top shelf and allow the sugar to caramelize, turning gold and brown. This may take 10 minutes or so, depending on your broiler. Remove and serve immediately.

If you'd like, you can serve the crema catalana chilled, but we think it has more flavor when served warm from the broiler.

Fantasy Bread

I love all the fashion trends around fantasy things lately. After all, I wore a midsummer night's dream inspired mask on Halloween.... So, given our emerging theme of connecting fashion and food, I decided to create the sort of food this mask made me think of. Technically, i should have baked a 10 layer fairy cake (my initial thought). Instead I baked a warm cinnamon raisin bread because it represented the fantasy of my childhood: of cinnamon raisin french toast, of fall mornings hanging out with my dad, and of the fantastical way in which a big gooey blob can grow to become a beautiful delicious bread.


Fantasy Bread

• 1 cup milk
• 2/3 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 2 packages active dry yeast
• 2 eggs
• 1/3 raw turbindo white sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup butter, softened
• 1 tbsp almond extract
  
• 2/3 cup raisins
• 4 cups whole wheat baking flour
• 1 1/3 cup white flour
  
• 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon milk
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon butter
  

1. Warm the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then remove from heat. Let cool until lukewarm.
2. Dissolve yeast in warm water, and set aside until yeast is frothy. Mix in eggs, sugar, butter, almond extract salt, and raisins. Stir in cooled milk. Add the flour gradually to make a stiff dough.
3. Knead dough on a lightly floured surface for a few minutes. Place in a large, greased, mixing bowl, and turn to grease the surface of the dough. Cover with a damp cloth. Allow to rise until doubled.
4. Roll out on a lightly floured surface into a large rectangle 1/2 inch thick. Moisten dough with 2 tablespoons milk. Mix together 3/4 cup sugar and 2 tablespoons cinnamon, and sprinkle mixture on top of the moistened dough. Roll up tightly; the roll should be about 3 inches in diameter. Cut into thirds, and tuck under ends. Place loaves into well greased 9 x 5 inch pans. Lightly grease tops of loaves. Let rise again for 1 hour.
5. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 35 minutes, or until loaves are lightly browned and sound hollow when knocked. Remove loaves from pans.

Cranberry Lemon Sugar Cookies

This weekend I went to NYC to do a bit of shopping, to visit an old friend, and to sway the heart of a beautiful boy a tiny bit more in my favor. Lately, I've taken a turn towards 1950s housewife (a really unprecedented turn) and in doing so, I baked cookies for said boy and said friend.

Inspired by my cozy wintry outfit, vaguely resembling something crossed between this and this:

I made something both beautifully sweet and wholesome and fresh and frankly perfect. When telling said NYC boy about cooking cookies for my neighbors, he said "Watch out, they will fall in love with you." Yes, I thought, handing him another cookie-- point exactly.

Cranberry Lemon Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:

3 cups sifted all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup white sugar

1 cup butter

1 egg, lightly beaten

3 tablespoons cream

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 c. cranberries

2 tsbps. lemon extract

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) .
2. Sift together all-purpose flour, baking powder, sugar and salt.
3. Cut in butter and blend with a pastry blender until mixture is crumbly. Stir in lightly beaten egg, vanilla and cream. Add cranberries and lemon extract.
4. Drop by spoonfuls onto an ungreased baking sheet and sprinkle with sugar.
5. Bake for 6 - 8 minutes, or until lightly brown.

Apple Oatmeal Cookies

My neighbors and I only meet each other when drunk in the elevator. I always promise to make cookies. This time I came through. They are from California. So I decided to make the most New England cookie possible.

1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. melted butter
1/3 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. milk
1 3/4 c oatmeal
1/4 c. almonds
1 apple, peeled and diced

Preheat oven the to 350 degrees F. Mix the flour, baking soda, cinnamon and salt together in a large bowl. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Arrange by teaspoonfuls on an unbuttered cookie sheet and bake until the edges are brown 10-12 minutes.

Entire Whole Wheat Almond Bread

I really want to create a whole wheat bread recipes that is amazing and fortified with good yummy things because (as previously discussed) I like wholesomeness. Its sort of like how I would always choose the lead actor from Glee over Johnny Deep-- I just can't help it. It's how I was raised. So, this week I tried a new super easy bread recipe and then modified it a little because, well, that's what I do.


2 c. hot milk
1/3 c. tamarind sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 package dry yeast
1/4 c. warm water
2 eggs
1 tbs. almond extract
1/3 c. almonds
5 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/4 cup flax-seeds, milled

Heat the milk and sugar in a sauce pot until hot. Transfer to a large bowl, add salt, and let cool until lukewarm. At the same time, mix the yeast with the water and let double in bulk. (I add a little sugar to my yeast to help it grow). Mix in 2 eggs beaten and the almond extract.


Finally add the chopped almonds, flour and flaxseed. Stir, cover and let double in bulk.

Remove from the bowl, punch down and put into two small greased loaf pans. Cover and let rise again to not quite double in bulk.


Preheat over to 375 and bake bread for approximately 45 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the bread comes out clean. Remove from the pan and cool on a rack.

Enjoy a slice warm and then save the rest for sandwiches during the week. Yum!

Pumpkin Muffin Tops

These technically are not muffin tops - but that is what they taste like. They feel like total breakfast food, not cookies at all.

Preheat oven to 325F. Yesterday I pulled a blond move and turned the timer on, but not the oven. Then I couldn't figure out why my cookies were not baking.

Anyways, sift together and set aside:

2 cups flour

1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt

Beat together using a mixer:

2 eggs

1 1/4 cups brown sugar

Once combined and smooth add:

1/2 cup canola oil

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup pumpkin puree

Then add the four mixture into the wet mixture and combine until smooth. Then I placed it into a piping bag and piped out round cookies about 2 inches wide.

Bake for 15 min, let cool.

Kris - the only reason I am letting you get away with the butternut squash on our blog is because you have the word "baked" in the title. LOL.

Baked Butternut Squash

Technically, this recipe has no place on this blog BUT it is even more technically a baked item and thus by default....... Okay, okay, I'm trying here. Its just I never bake sweet things really because Ash is just so much better at it then me. Well Ash is better at everything sweet and super girly and artful. I'm the heartier, New England one.... Anyway, my contribution...

1 acorn squash
4 c. wild rice
1/4 c. cranberries
1/4 c. almonds
1/4 c. mushrooms
1/4 c. onions
2 heads garlic
olive oil
1 tbs. cumin
1 tbs curry

Cut acorn squash in half. Place in a 375 degree oven upside down on a cookie sheet for 40-50 minutes until you can easily stick a fork through the flesh. In small sauce pan on the stove, make the rice. (You can substitute microwave rice if you want! I recommend using a wild rice with chicken seasoning). While rice and squash are cooking. Saute mushrooms, onions and garlic in a small frying pan over medium heat. Once almost cooked, add the cranberries and spices. Remove from heat mix with rice. Remove squash from oven, stuff with the rice and vegetable mixture. Serve hot.

This recipe is also easy to make ahead of time and heat up in the microwave! Makes 2 servings as an entree or 4 servings if using as a side dish.

Enjoy!