Recipe Friday(Crème Anglaise)

OK, I know I am a day late this week, but I am operating on the better late than never mantra for now! My oldest and best friend just moved to NYC this week, which is beyond exciting- and she came over to eat dinner last night. We decided we should cook something and crème anglaise is one of her favourite things. Yes, she has admitted to drinking it once in the morning for breakfast, while I am not recommending this- it is that good!!
It is relatively easy to make and requires very few ingredients, most of which you normally have around the kitchen anyway! We decided we would make brownie cupcakes topped with fresh fruit and crème anglaise. YUM. We used Ghirardelli Delux Fudge Brownie Mix:

These are arguably the best "box" brownies you can find! In order to make the dessert a little more "pretty" and easy to plate we made them into cupcakes. We just filled each cup cake tin about 3/4 full and while the directions say these have to bake for about 38 minutes the cupcakes took about 26. 
While they were in the oven we made the crème anglaise, which worked perfectly as it gives it time to cool before you are ready to put it all together!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 whipping cream
1 vanilla bean split(we just used a teaspoon of vanilla extract)
3 large egg yolks
3 tbsp sugar

Directions:

-Combine milk and cream in heavy medium saucepan. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add bean(If you decide to use vanilla extract instead wait a put it in once all ingredients are combined!). Bring milk mixture to simmer. Remove from heat.

-Whisk egg yolks and sugar in medium bowl to blend. Gradually whisk hot milk mixture into yolk mixture. 

-Return custard to saucepan. Stir over low heat until custard thickens and leaves path on back of spoon when drawn across, about 5 minutes (do not boil). Now add the vanilla extract!

-Strain sauce into bowl. Cover and chill. (Can be made 1 day ahead.)

So once your brownies and crème anglaise have cooled enough to eat you can put it all together! This is another one of those cooking endeavours where all of the components are relatively simple but when you bring it together it looks like a lot of work went into it! 

It is easier to tell here how the cupcakes made this a more concise and clean plate! I decided to go for the trifecta and use blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries and it was delicious! The rich chocolate taste so good with the delicate crème and sweet berries! You can use crème anglaise on lots of desserts and it is an easy way to make it look like you went the extra mile! Anything that would generally be paired with vanilla ice cream and be made a little more sophisticated with the addition of this delectable sauce!

So here is one more picture, supplied by my room mate Caroline who has way cooler iPhone apps than me! This definitely does justice to this fantastic treat! So next time you are trying to figure out how to put a new twist on what might be a old faithful dessert think about adding some Crème Anglaise!

Parmesan Tuiles!

I have been hoarding stacks of Food and Wine and Cooks magazines with the intention of going through and copying down recipes to try.....well that still has not happened but last night this recipe did catch my eye. I decided to give it a go! Parmesan tuiles are one of those things that look fancy and potentially difficult, FALSE!
These were so easy, and delicious. The best part is the fact that it only took about 25 minutes to make the whole thing! 

Parmesan Tuiles:

Ingredients:
6 tbsp grated parmesan cheese+2  teaspoons
1 1/2 tbsp butter, softened
2 tbsp flour
Generous pinch of pepper

Directions:
Preheat over to 400 and line baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine all ingredient and mix until well incorporated(I found that using my hands to kind of knead it all together worked best!) Once it feels like a loose dough, roll into a even log shape(about 4 inches long) and cut into equal slices. This recipe yields about 12 tuiles.  Be sure not to place to close together on the baking sheet as they do spread as they cook. Bake on the lowest rack for 7 minutes, rotate the baking sheet half way through the cooking time! Once the edges are brown they are ready! Take them out and let them cool completely on the baking sheet!


Once they are done baking you can make something to put on them while they cool! I decided to top mine with some chopped tomato, sautéed corn, goat cheese, and balsamic reduction!

Sorry the picture quality is lacking, I am way over due for a new iphone! Really hoping AT&T releases the iphone 5 this month! Anyway, here were all my ingredients pre-combination! I sautéed the corn with some olive oil and garlic for about 8 minutes to soften it up. I chopped the tomatoes and let them rest on a paper towel to get the excess juice out! Then I just dusted them with salt and pepper! I made a quick balsamic reduction(would have let it reduce longer if I had time!) Of all the things in this recipe the balsamic reduction takes by far the longest, for it to be really good it is best to let the vinegar reduce on very low heat for about 2 hours! 

So once it was all ready I just put a small scoop of goat cheese on the tuiles, added corn and tomato and topped it all off with some slightly reduced balsamic vinegar! It was sweet, salty, crunchy and fresh! Great way to enjoy the last of the summer veggies! You could put any number of things on these tuiles(tuna tartare with avocado and sesame honey vinaigrette comes to mind), or they would be cute if you made them smaller as cheese crackers!

 So here is a close up of the finished product! It was such a quick as easy endeavour, I am so glad I tried it! I always love something that looks much more difficult than it is, got to love the WOW factor! The room-mates agreeed this recipe was a success and I have a feeling we will for sure be serving them at our next dinner party! 

Babbo

Well I have been on a major blogging break due to moving and trying to get settled in the new place, but I am happy to report it is DONE! My new place is so great, and I have the pleasure of walking by this place miltiple times a day! I have not been here to eat in a while, but I have a feeling I will start going as often as my wallet will allow! So I thought I would do a little throw back and talk about it from my past experiences, which have all been fantastic!

Babbo is unassuming from the street and the inside is charming and cosy. It is up scale and sophisticated in a way that does not feel uptight. Nestled on one of the most quaint and quiet streets in NYC, you are moments away  from a after dinner stroll through Washington square park. 

Each time I have eaten here we have tried one of the tasting menus. My initial trip to Babbo we had the traditional tasting menu, wowzers it was good, and for $75 per person it is one of the more reasonable tasting menu's I have encountered in the city. When you consider this gets you 8 delectable coursers it seems like a pretty good deal(so I always try to tell myself) Everything was superb, but the pasta course was the clear star, which is fitting for a place that prides itself on its rustic Italian cuisine. So while this menu left nothing to be desired it did entice me to go with the pasta tasting menu on my next visit!

The pasta tasting menu was exqusiite. Some of the most inventive and flavouful plates I have ever had! I always appreciate a combination I could never dream of, but all of the ingredietns work as if they are made for combination! Olive oil also plays a big part in a lot of these dishes and its amazing to see how much this delicate and malleable ingredient can sway dishes. Below are a couple of examples of the scope and variety seen on the pasta tasting menu. One course may look like an ode of the old country and ooze familiarity, when the next has you wondering what exactly is sitting in front of you!

While the black spaghetti may look a little weird the flavour from the squid ink brings something totally different to the dish, and it is divine! So after having tasted a total of 16 different plates from the restaurant I don't have one bad thing to say about the food! Each plate is expertly conceived and executed. Babbo deserves its spot on the NYC best restaurants list! Even though this restaurant has been super popular for 10+ years the people still flock to it, and it can be hard to get a reservation! So call early and call often, this is one place that is worth the extra dollars!

Babbo

110 Waverly Place 

212-777-0303

www.babbonyc.com

Recipe Thursday!(Peach and Blueberry Cobbler)

There is nothing better in the summer than any kind of fruit cobbler. Hands down one of my top five favourite desserts of all time! This past Sunday night I had my oldest friend and her Mom over for dinner, and this seemed like the perfect thing to have for dessert as you can prepare it before hand and it takes a while to cook, so you are not stuck in the kitchen too much while you have guests! This recipe may look super simple, but having tried lots of recipes I truly think it is the BEST!

Easy Fruit Cobbler

Ingredients:

1 Cup Self Rising Flour(if you live in NYC where the don't have self rising flour you can make some by adding baking powder and salt!)

3/4 cups white sugar

3/4 cup milk

1 stick butter

2 cups fresh fruit(My fav combination is peaches and blueberries)

Directions:

-Pour melted butter into the bottom of baking dish(9x9 works well)

-combine flour, sugar, and milk

-pour mixture over melted butter

-toss fruit with several tablespoons of sugar and pour over mixture-use spoon to push fruit down into mixture- it does not need to be fully submerged-just spread equally across dish

-Bake @ 350 for about 1 hour or until top of crust is golden brown

This is quick, simple and easy! The final product is absolutely divine, and next to a scoop of vanilla ice cream is a sweet taste of home! While this may sound awful and wrong, in the winter when these type of fruits are not in season you can make this with frozen fruit and it is ALMOST as good as the real stuff! This is one of the those recipes that you find yourself wanting to use year round! So before time runs out, run to your local produce stand or farmers market and grab some peaches, blueberries or blackberries and enjoy- hard to believe summer is almost over! 

Diablo Royale

Every neighbourhood needs a fantastic Mexican restaurant! Some days after work you just need a good margarita! In the future if you are looking for me, or one of my soon to be 3 room-mates, a good place to look, would be this neighbourhood gem! This is some of the best Mexican food I have had in ages! I know the east coast is not generally touted as having great Mexican but this place makes you want to change your mind! 

Diablo Royale is nestled in a cramped but friendly space on west 10th street. All of the doors across the front of the building open to give it a very airy feel, which will be an ever bigger perk when the fall weather gets here! Their menu boast traditional Mexican fare like really good guacamole, cheese dip(which is hard to find at NYC Mexican restaurants!) and fajitas, while it also mixes it up with the best corn side dish I have ever had and new combinations like the chipotle burger. 

So on my initial visit our table shared all of the following. We had guac and cheese dip which were both awesome! They were quick to re-fill the chips which were always warm, which is a nice touch! Then we got the corn, OH MY GOSH- it was so good. It is grilled and rolled in mayo-cheese concoction seasoned with cayenne and served on the cob. It is sweet, spicy and fresh! So yummy! I am going to attempt to recreate it at home soon, so I will be sure to recount that attempt here! We also split the Croque Senor Chimchanga! It was so good and super rich, a fun play on the traditionally French sandwich. The bechamel sauce was so tasty and the perfect thing for someone like me who can't always handle the super spicy side of Mexican! Overall I loved this place and am only sad I did not discover it sooner! It is small, and they pack you in there but its fun and the food is fantastic. So next time you are in the village and craving a marg, make sure this is your first stop!


Diablo Royale
http://west.diabloroyale.com/

189 W 10th St New York, NY 10014-2903 (212) 620-0223