I did an informal poll about a month ago about what scares people in the kitchen and what scares people in the craft room. Lots of answers for the kitchen, but most people chose STAMPING for being the most scary thing in the craft room.
It's no wonder. No cut & paste here...stamping triggers that creative gene, things can and WILL go wrong with stamping. It's never the same twice...all that uncertainty is SCARY! Well, I took the fear level up a notch by sharing a stamping technique that includes FIRE! (view video).
Fire & paper? That's just wrong, now isn't it?
But really, it's the most fun I've had stamping in a long while. It's hard to reproduce this look any other way and it's just so perfect for this time of the year (Halloween, Fall & Thanksgiving), so try it out! Please visit the Studio 5 page for all the step by step instructions, visuals and Projects.
And while you have your fire started, why not take it into the kitchen? I've taken an intimidating 'restaurant' (or as Brooke says "Pinky", think English tea) dessert and shown you how simple it is to create Creme Brulee at home.
The same reasons restaurants like to serve this are the same reasons you should make it at home; make-ahead, inexpensive, impressive and delicious! You can get the Vanilla Bean Creme Brulee recipe and visual instructions here.
A couple of things I didn't get to chat about (it was a super busy day at Studio 5 today!) I want to mention here.
*The best price for Vanilla beans I've found is San Francisco Herb company.
*If you don't want to invest in a Creme brulee torch, dig out the old blow torch in the garage. This actually works BETTER and is less expensive. But the little torches are cute. :) You can also use the broiler, but it's tricky to get it evenly browned. You'll have to keep turning it and never leave it for a second as it goes quickly.
*I use a pitcher of hot water to pour into the pan once the ramekins are in the oven. To remove (after they are cooked), I use tongs in one hand and a oven pad/mitt in the other hand to carefully remove one ramekin at a time, transferring quickly to the oven mitt and then to the cooling rack. Then I can let the hot water cool in the oven before I remove it. Some recipes call for the creme to cool in the water, but I've tried it both ways and don't see a difference.
*Don't throw away your vanilla beans after you've scraped the seeds out. I let these sit on the counter and completely dry out. I then add them to a quart sized jar of granulated sugar. Before long you'll have a lovely scented vanilla sugar. Just make sure you use completely dried beans, otherwise your sugar will get clumpy.
*Lastly, I've had requests for the two other recipes I mentioned on air. Coconut Creme Brulee and Pumpkin Creme Brulee. Both of these were yummy (I'm eating the little coconut one I brought home from the show right now), but the texture won't be quite a smooth as the plain one.
Pumpkin Spice Brulee
8 egg yolks
1/3 cup maple syrup
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1 cup heavy cream
2/3 cup pumpkin puree
Mix yolks, maple syrup and brown sugar in a bowl.
heat buttermilk and cream almost to a boil.
gradually mix (temper) hot cream into egg mixture. Strain and mix in pumpkin puree.
Pour into ramekins and water bath (see video) them in a 9x13 pan. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 F for 25-35 minute, depending on how deep your ramekins are. Just keep baking until the center almost doesn't wiggle when touched.
Cool in refridgerator (I cover them lightly with plastic wrap). About 20-30 minutes before serving sprinkle the tops with turbinado sugar (this works best) and caramelize with a torch.
Garnish with whipped cream (because yes, you NEED more!) and some candied pecans.
Coconut Creme Brulee
6 egg yolks
1 egg
1/2 cup sugar (I used my vanilla sugar)
2 cups heavy cream
2/3 cup flaked sweetened coconut
2/3 cup unsweetened canned coconut milk (I used light and it worked fine)
Mix Eggs with sugar in a bowl
Heat cream, coconut and coconut milk in pan until hot, but not boiling.
Gradually mix (temper) hot cream mixture into egg mixture.
Follow instructions for Pumpkin Creme brulee above to complete recipe.
Enjoy!
Am I done...not quite! Just checking to see if you really read my ENTIRE long post! :) We were supposed to do a call-in giveaway on air today, but simply ran out of time. So instead, I'm doing it here! Please leave a comment about what scares you (either in the kitchen and/or the craft room) and I'll choose a winner on Friday. The prize? A Creme Brulee Kit of course! One torch and 4 cute little ramekins!
And lastly...thanks for all your fine guesses on my Sneak-peek. Most everyone got the creme brulee but no one guessed the Stamping Soot Technique. Yes, I know it was hard! I did, however, have two readers guess some kind of heat (embossing gun) technique, so I'm going to send both Arielle and Peggy something for their guess, Congrats!
18 comments:
WAHOO!! That was one lucky guess of mine! Congratulations to Arielle too! I don't know if I'll try that soot technique though . . . as you had nightmares about it, I think I'd do the same! You did a great job, on the television show! You are a gal of MANY talents! Thank you! I'll e-mail you! WAHOO!
I saw the sneak peek on Tuesday's show that told what you would be doing today, but I didn't want to cheat and give the answer after I heard it. I saw most of your segments live today...great job!
Oh, I have lots of things that scare me, but they are mostly lurking in the kitchen, not the craft area. In my older age I have started to be a little more interested in cooking. I used to tell the story of when my kids were at a church function where they added all of these random ingredients suggested by the kids (mostly salt) to a cookie recipe, then cooked it and offered it to the children...my kids were the ONLY ones who ate them. I joked that it was because they were used to yucky tasting food from their mom. I don't know if I wasn't good at cooking because I didn't like it, or if I didn't like it because I wasn't good at it. Anyway, yesterday I overcame some of that fear by baking some whole wheat bread from scratch for the first time. YAY! (Sorry this post is so long.)
Congrats to you too Peggy! I really didn't expect fire in the craft though Sue! How surprising! That was a really cool technique though.
I am afraid of baking things. Like cakes or pies. I am just afraid they will never turn out right or the middle will be batter and the edges will be burnt. Betty Crocker is slowly helping me cope by letting me practice with mixes, but the only thing I can manage to bake right is chocolate chip cookies.
I think that in the craft room I am not really afraid, just not very confident. I like my work and I like to show it off, but I am always afraid of how I would handle the rejection if I sent my work in for publication or tried out for design teams and don't make it.
Thanks Sue, I will email you!
Probably the thing that scares me the most in the kitchen is lack of time, especially when I am cooking for company, etc. It always takes longer than I expect it to. Usually end up making everyone wait. Oh well. That's life. Craft room scares-my craft room! It's a total disaster.
Crafting....I'm most afraid of PhotoShop (still awaiting a class - hint, hint).
Kitchen....Most afraid of the CLEAN UP. I'm a messy cook!
Great segments, as usual - see you in a few weeks!
I am afraid to try digital scrapbooking. I know I would be a hybrid scrapper but it would be nice to learn how to do both.
In the kitchen making breads is what scares me most. Rhodes and I know each other well. When I was first married I made rolls that were like bullets and I have never regained my confidence.
Oooh, pumpkin crème brulee! Sounds scrumptious!!
I'm not scared to try things out in the kitchen. But fire does make me a bit anxious (having multitasked myself to some burns). Happily only paper cuts are the scary thing in craft life. : ) (Of course, don't we whine and complain that nothing hurts more than a paper cut if/when one happens? LOL)
I can't say I have any fears in the kitchen. In my craft room it is another story, sometimes I am overwhelmed by the things I want to try and just don't know where to start so I leave. Maybe it would help to clean it up after each use...
What scares me in the kitchen is to try a new recipe if I have company coming...stressful!!!!
Oh Yummy!!! I haven't watched the segment yet because I was out of town, but am super-glad it's on my DVR now! Will watch it today...
I can't think of any crafting fears, but I am not so sure about that hot stuff - fire and heat. I've suffered too many burns in the kitchen I think. I'm very careful the few times I use my heat gun. Excited to see what you do with fire - my hubby is a pyro, so maybe I'll let him watch, too. ;)
I actually am fasinated with fire, so both crafts sound fun. Problem is I am kind of a klutz. Anytime I have to use the computer to do a craft I go into a complete sweat. Can't ever find the recipe I need and every time I try to manipulate an image for a project, I just get little beeps.
My son had Creme Brulee at a function he attended a couple of years ago and he's been begging me to make it ever since. I'm usually up for just about anything in the kitchen but this seems a bit daunting. Saw the KSL clip though and think I may be up for it - just need the right tools! :)
The pumpkin creme brulee sounds so YUMMY!! I'm going to have to try it but I think the torch part will scare me. I'd probably over do it!
What kind of sugar did you say again that was the best. I remember something about Hawaiian sugar but I didn't write it down.
Gotta love creme brulee..in any flavor!
Umm... what scares me? In the kitchen I guess canning kind of throws me off. It seems like an awful lotta work and messy! :)
yum! i would love to win that little cooking kit!! {fingers are crossed...}
what scares me most in the kitchen?? opening up pillsbury canisters. whenever we make them, my husband does the honors. :)
I'm mostly scared of messes - in the craft room and in the kitchen!
I think what scares me the most in the kitchen is that I will accidentally make something amazing and I won't be able to duplicate it, disappointing my whole family.
The thing about my craft room that scares me the most is that I won't live long enough to finish all my projects. (I think 200 yrs should cover it.)
What scares me in the kitchen? Can't think of anything except for the fact that I really need two dishwashers like Brooks has...I honestly do two batches of dishes a day and that's not counting the stuff I hand wash. What is wrong with me and my family anyway?
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