San Francisco Here We Come... Have Some Pumpkin Brulee While You're Waiting

My wife and I are headed back to the City after a hectic, but very enjoyable visit to New York for my sister's wedding (see previous posts). We had a great time at the wedding, and I even managed to finish the About.com try-out. Now, I just have to wait to hear if I am chosen for the job. Regardless of that decision, I'll be back to a normal filming schedule in a day or two. Thanks for your patience, and while we are in the air, here is a nice seasonal re-run that I think you'll enjoy. Even if you already saw this clip, and made this delicious Pumpkin Brulee, go ahead make it again. Remember how good it was? Original post text to follow:

This is a great seasonal twist on the restaurant classic, and also a really great reason to use a blow torch! I recently had a request for a pumpkin flan. While I love to satisfy my viewers every culinary whim, sometimes I just can’t do it. The problem with a pumpkin flan is that the starchy, slightly grainy texture of the pumpkin puree would ruin the smooth, silky mouth-feel which is what makes a flan, a flan. You would basically be left with a crust-less pumpkin pie.

So, I decided to show this delicious Pumpkin Brulee whichs makes for a great winter dessert. The texture is actually closer to a pudding than a classic crème Brulee, and of course, the star of the dish is the crisp, “Brulee,” sugar top. This is great for your busy holiday schedule, since you can make them the day before and then finish torching the sugar before you serve. Crème Brulee blow torches are very easy to find in any kitchen store or online. You also should have a set of oven-proof ramekins. I use mine for many recipes, both hot and cold.


Ingredients:
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 egg yolks
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp cinnamon
white sugar
pinch salt

Pumpkin Brulee

This is a great seasonal twist on the restaurant classic, and also a really great reason to use a blow torch! We recently had a request for a pumpkin flan. While we love to satisfy our viewers every culinary whim, sometimes we just can’t do it. The problem with a pumpkin flan is that the starchy, slightly grainy texture of the pumpkin puree would ruin the smooth, silky mouth-feel which is what makes a flan, a flan. You would basically be left with a crust-less pumpkin pie.

So, I decided to show this delicious Pumpkin Brulee whichs makes for a great winter dessert. The texture is actually closer to a pudding than a classic crème Brulee, and of course, the star of the dish is the crisp, “Brulee,” sugar top. This is great for your busy holiday schedule since you can make them the day before and then finish the sugar torching before you serve.

Crème Brulee blow torches are very easy to find in any kitchen store or online. You also should have a set of oven-proof ramekins . I use mine for many recipes, both hot and cold.

Ingredients:
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 egg yolks
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp cinnamon
white sugar
pinch salt

Squash the Thanksgiving Dessert Competition with this Delicious Brulee!

Yes, yet another gourd-related crème brulee. I did a version of this using canned pumpkin a while back, and while I love the pumpkin version, this is even better! So, since there are going to be all those pumpkin pies around this holiday, why not go with another gourd, and try some butternut squash crème brulee. Why another brulee video recipe so similar to the pumpkin one? Because I was offered money to film it! I told you I've sold out to my corporate masters.

This video recipe, produced for About.com, uses a roasted butternut squash as the base for this "healthy" dessert. Sure it's loaded with cream, sugar and egg yolks, but its squash… come on, it has to be good for you. Besides, since you'll only need half the squash for this recipe, you can also make a nice soup. Stay tuned for a nice butternut squash soup video sometime soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1 cup butternut squash puree
3 large egg yolks
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon of nutmeg
pinch of salt

Hello from Little Rock – I'm So Busy It's Scary!

Well, I was hoping to have a new video up today, but there just wasn't any time. We put in a full day getting all the scrips finalized and recipes prepped for the eight videos I'm here to film for Kellogg's Snackpicks.com (here are a couple iPhone pics of the studio). The next couple days don't look to get any easier, as tomorrow we begin shooting at 7 AM, and the same on Wednesday.

So, the best I can do is a frighteningly quick Halloween-themed re-run recipes post. To make it an even lamer post, other than the cheese fingers below, I don't even really have any typical Halloween recipes, but all these could work well if your planning a party and looking for some ideas. Just click on the title for the original post with ingredients and more info. Boo!! (yes, that was a double entendre)

Penne Pasta with Neck Sauce – Perfect for that vampire-themed party!




Pumpkin Brulee - Because if it has pumpkin in it, it's cool for Halloween!




"Severed Fingers" Cheese Sticks – So wrong, yet so right!