Dinner Plans? (7 Viewers)

Similar here last night - Dungeness Crab + Shrimp.

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Turkish eggs with brown butter sauce View attachment 1069395

Also made vanilla bean creme brulee for the first time
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Pro tip on Creme Brule - heat the cream with a stick of cinnamon and the zest of a lemon. Use a china cap to strain it before cooking the custard.

It brings a great dish up one more level! (Technically it would be called Crema Catalina.)
 
Mrs Zombie's 53rd birthday was this past Thursday. That means I get to destroy the kitchen...
1st course, an Amuse Bouche - Seared Scallops with a habanero cream. The cream was spot on with it's consistency - a small miracle for a guy that doesn't measure anything.
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Second Course, appetizer - Seared octopus on a squid ink, smoked onion purée. Served with Red Island sea peas, toasted leek, and orange confit.
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3rd course, soup course - Minestrone from scratch. By scratch, I mean boiled crab & shrimp shells to make the seafood broth as a base. Veggies and kale added to the base. Kale in a soup is actually good, so quit making that "yuck-face". Homemade tortellini filled with mushroom, fried sage, and cheese.
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4th course, main course - Homemade Fettuccini, and diced lobster on a rosé crème sauce. Topped with seared red peppers and Icelandic lava salt.
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5th course, dessert - Crema Catalina.
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Thanks to @Squakmix for posting his Crème Brûlée, otherwise I would have forgotten to post this dinner.
 

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Pro tip on Creme Brule - heat the cream with a stick of cinnamon and the zest of a lemon. Use a china cap to strain it before cooking the custard.

It brings a great dish up one more level! (Technically it would be called Crema Catalina.)
Thanks for the tips, that sounds amazing. It seems like those flavors will synergize well with the vanilla and add a lot more depth to the dish. I've also been tempted to track down some actual vanilla pods to use instead vanilla bean paste but I'm not sure if the difference is worth it.

That looks like an incredible meal! Everything looks super delicious. Happy birthday @Mrs Poker Zombie !
 
Thanks for the tips, that sounds amazing. It seems like those flavors will synergize well with the vanilla and add a lot more depth to the dish. I've also been tempted to track down some actual vanilla pods to use instead vanilla bean paste but I'm not sure if the difference is worth it.

That looks like an incredible meal! Everything looks super delicious. Happy birthday @Mrs Poker Zombie !
I can help you out right there.... a true vanilla bean that you split open is much better than paste. PZ is an amazing chef, but the Crème Brûlée (Crema Catalina) is my specialty. In the pot I add the cream, split open a vanilla bean and scrape in the seeds, add in the bean exterior, zest in lemon, and add a stick of cinnamon. Let it come SLOWLY up in temperature until you see bubbles forming. That's when you take it off the heat and let it sit for 15 minutes. While that is happening.... oh, maybe you didn't actually ask for the process. LOL
 
I can help you out right there.... a true vanilla bean that you split open is much better than paste. PZ is an amazing chef, but the Crème Brûlée (Crema Catalina) is my specialty. In the pot I add the cream, split open a vanilla bean and scrape in the seeds, add in the bean exterior, zest in lemon, and add a stick of cinnamon. Let it come SLOWLY up in temperature until you see bubbles forming. That's when you take it off the heat and let it sit for 15 minutes. While that is happening.... oh, maybe you didn't actually ask for the process. LOL
Thanks for the advice, I'll definitely try using a real vanilla bean next time! I am always interested in learning new recipes and hearing about the tricks that people use along the way to achieve a better result.

Do you use the water bath method in the oven or do you skip that? I had pretty good luck just making the pastry cream/custard on the stove top and letting it set in the fridge (with a torched brown sugar crust) instead of cooking it in the oven. Do you typically use heavy cream or milk? That seems to be one of the main differences between Crema Catalana vs Creme Brulee
 
Thanks for the advice, I'll definitely try using a real vanilla bean next time! I am always interested in learning new recipes and hearing about the tricks that people use along the way to achieve a better result.

Do you use the water bath method in the oven or do you skip that? I had pretty good luck just making the pastry cream/custard on the stove top and letting it set in the fridge (with a torched brown sugar crust) instead of cooking it in the oven. Do you typically use heavy cream or milk? That seems to be one of the main differences between Crema Catalana vs Creme Brulee
I use the water bath method in the oven. I find the consistency comes out best that way. Because the recipe allows for 6 ramekins, I use two pie pans (3 and 3), shift the oven racks so they are just above and just below center, and swap the pie pans half way through.

I do use heavy cream.
 

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