BAKING

Outside Inspiration

Severin Roesen, 1815-1872
Victorian Bouquet, 1850-1855.
Oil on Canvas, 91.8 x 73.7cm.
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
German American Still-Life Painter

If you haven’t noticed yet, I’m kind of a custard hound. I can’t seem to get enough of the limitless possibilities of infusing all those creamy egg yolks and warm milk; it just gets me very—-inspired.

The other day, as I was gazing out the kitchen window, trying to drum up ideas for new recipes, and my eyes kept on settling on the cascade of rosemary that Tim has growing in one of our planters. Viewed from a distance, the rosemary looks like thick heads of hair, spilling towards the earth in a v-formation not unlike a woman with her hair worn down her back. I couldn’t help myself, so I grabbed my kitchen shears, walked outside and trimmed a few locks and set to smelling the leaves immediately.

I rolled the sprig beneath my nose, allowing the leaves to graze the tip of my nose so as to propel the aroma into my nostrils. I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply several times, so deep I could taste that unmistakable rosemary essence in the very depths of my lungs.

Ahh! MMM!! Damn that smelled good…now, if I were to make a custard with rosemary as the star, just what could possibly complement such a wonderful, earthy herb….?

Here is what I came up with…

ROSEMARY ORANGE BLOSSOM POTS de CRÈME

3 Cups half and half
2 Tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves
8 Egg yolks
¾ Cup Sugar
½ Teaspoon orange blossom water
1/8 Teaspoon salt

Preheat oven 325ºF.

In a heavy bottomed saucepan, bring your milk to a very gentle boil along with the rosemary leaves. Once the milk comes to temperature, immediately remove from the heat and allow the rosemary to infuse the milk for 15-20 minutes.

In the meantime, separate your eggs, reserving the egg whites for another purpose.

Whisk the egg yolks, the sugar and the salt to the ribbon. Add the orange blossom water and whisk again until very smooth.

Strain milk into the egg yolk mixture and stir to incorporate well. Strain custard again if necessary.

Carefully pour your custards into your little ceramic pots or ramekins, cover with aluminum foil (or your ceramic lids if you have them) and then place them into a large roasting pan. Fill the roasting pan with enough boiling water so that it reaches the half-way mark on the pots or ramekins.

Bake your custards for 1 hour or until they are set. Remove from the oven, allow to cool for 1 hour and then refrigerate until serving.




Serves 6

Jan van Huysum, 1682-1749.
Still Life of FLowers and Fruit, 1715.
Oil on Canvas, 79.4 x 60.3cm
The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston
Dutch Painter

October 3rd, 2007 — 9:21 pm

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